IT was past 9 p.m. on a hot and humid Friday, and the members of post-punk band The Black Vomits were getting ready to play in some production at the Eton Centris in Quezon City.
There were a bunch of bands prior and by the time the Vomits hit the stage, the crowd had rather thinned out.
With a quick scan at the audience, there were a few who looked like they were ready to rock. As for the rest, they actually fit the profile of those who line up for noontime shows. Guitarist Bryan Escueta later observed, “I wasn’t sure what reaction we’d get because it didn’t seem to be our crowd. But we have to perform.”
And perform, they did. No compromises, with songs from their debut album. A mélange of songs surged, with soaring vocals and odd time signatures with a cover of The Who’s “Baba O’Riley”.
Initial exposure
THE Black Vomits is a riddle wrapped in an enigma. In late 2016, the band released an extended play album of six songs on vinyl. Almost immediately after the album launch, they lost lead singer Joyen Santos. Suddenly, the grand plan to conquer the world spun off its axis. “We were like an earlier version of (soul/jazz band) Apartel,” dryly said drummer Julius Sanvictores over dinner preceding the Eton Centris gig. “We sort of lost whatever momentum we had after our album launch and all that initial exposure.”
Not soon after, Apartel released its debut record in December 2016. The band parted ways with vocalist Jay Ortega. Like Apartel, which quickly prepared to write and record new material a little over a year later, the Black Vomits too have written new songs with new singer Mark Albert Contreras who stepped into the breach.
The vocalist, who aside from adding a second guitar to the sound, brought a punk sensibility to the Vomits’ overall dimension. After all, he also performs with his punk outfit, Sub. “[That]’s straightforward (with Sub); different from what we do here in the Black Vomits,” Contreras pointed out.
“[Contreras] brings something different; we can rock out a bit more and do a bit more since he also plays the guitar,” remarked Escueta, whom all the other Vomits point to as their leader.
And then, there is their band name.
Different, varied
“WHEN people hear the name of the band, they say, ‘Oh, you’re a black metal or grindcore band.’ Some have outright revulsion for us when they haven’t even heard us play. Then, they hear our music—and it’s completely different,” shared bassist Igan D’Bayan. “To us, the word ‘vomits’ is like pouring out our ideas and influences, which is different and varied. They all form a unique meld.” “The first album had rock and prog arrangements,” D’ Bayan went on. “But that isn’t who we are now. When we write songs, they start with a riff, a lyric, a theme…. different things. We write the music based on how we feel, and not because of a style.”Escueta chimed in, “Out of ten people, only two understand what we are doing: The dark, the weird, and the strange. That is what we are all about.”
During the Eton Centris performance, it was a rather surreal atmosphere. In front of the stage as the Black Vomits performed, about six kids romped, played and tossed confetti over each other. And in the audience, it was mostly a mom-and-pop noontime show crowd. But after each song, they nodded and applauded. Some of the younger crowd made up of millennials clapped enthusiastically. Some even held up their smartphones to record the band’s performance. And perhaps somewhat satisfyingly, some even asked for selfies with the crew after the show. “Weird, huh,” Escueta said with raised eyebrows after their five-song set that seemed to last an eternity. “We sneaked in some really long songs: 6-, 7-minute ones.”
Re-recording on vinyl
AND speaking of songs, the band isn’t sure if they want to proceed with the second album, or redo their first. “We are going to try to re-record the album we made because we aren’t happy with the sound,” divulged D’Bayan.
It turned out that when the band sent the recording, it didn’t sound like they recorded, and the test press came back sounding subdued. The pressing plant said it was the master recording.
Whether it was mastered for compact disc or vinyl isn’t the point now. Regardless, the band is tempted to record it anew to also make use of Contreras’ vocals.
“We’re just a different band now,” said D’Bayan. “So right now, it’s [about re-recording] the first album—also on vinyl—the way it should sound, or move on to the new one.”
Speaking of vinyl: a couple of weeks earlier at the Record Store Day on April 21, the Black Vomits temporarily stopped vinyl hunters from “record shopping” while the band members did their thing on stage.“Yeah, we noticed that they stopped digging and began to listen to us. That was some gig,” observed Contreras.
“That’s shock value for us,” summed up Sanvictores. “You peg us for something, but we’re not. And we hope it’s [because of our] good music.”