Doomed Confessionary: Ante, Božo & Jakov (Vukojarac)
Vukojarac is a doom oriented power trio from Split, Croatia, focused mostly on exposing the hidden and horrid part of self and humanity. Experts in existentialism, dabblers in botany.
Slowly creeping from the realm between existence and perception, Vukojarac finally took corporeal shape in 2018 in the form of a three-piece. Once posessing the chosen Three, these humans turned from Those Who Greeted In Elevators into the very will of Vukojarac made manifest; their bodies now but vessels for the Riff, in an everlasting march towards oblivion.
Can you say a few words about your band?
Vukojarac is a three-headed, one-track-minded entity formed from the ill-willed thoughts about humanity from the perspectives of Ante Kodžoman, Božo Križan and Jakov Runje.
Started as a side project then having grown into a fully formed concept, offering the three followers of this “un-thing” that neither exists nor doesn’t exist a creative outlet unlike any other before it.
Having poured such a mix of emotions and thoughts into the thing that should not be, the end result is something that is and is not at the same time. It’s doom metal, but isn’t quite doom. It fits the stoner genre, yet doesn’t really feel stoner. From the seeds of ideas of “what it shouldn’t be” it has grown into a thing that simply is; into Vukojarac.
What was the biggest challenge for the band last year?
The biggest challenge was to find the time to rehearse and to find time to refine the ideas that were brewing since the covid pandemic started.
Having been on a break for two and a half years has taken a mental toll and struck a hit on general well-being of the three members. There were other bands, other projects that were engaged and tackled and attempted, but the heart remained in that dark place; in the security of the feeling of Vukojarac.
To find time to rehearse in between being a member of the army (of the dead) and upbringing a new generation of acolytes of Vukojarac and wallowing in the pains of the island of the damned (Brač) is no small thing, but having started the ball-roll, things are looking infinitely more brighter as we fly ever closer to the ever more blackened sun.
What can you be most proud of last year?
We survived with our heads still on our shoulders and the almost instantaneous outpour of quality ideas. Ever since the corpse of Vukojarac has been reanimated, the magicks that were involved in raising it from the dead have kept the blood energy, the same one necessary for unlocking new sonic mysteries, flowing strong.
What was your biggest regret?
Not becoming the rulers of the cosmos and the space-time continuum in which the only religion would be Vukojarac, and the only source of sustenance would be The Riff. Better luck this year.
What was the best concert/tour last year and why?
There were none. Although Vukojarac is an interdimensional being that flows in and out of several planes of existence, such journeys take a toll on the cloven hooves of its ancient legs and leave it unable to walk for long in this realm.
What was the biggest surprise on the music scene for you?
Wizard Of Stone Mountain’s album »Stoned Ape Theory«. It has everything one needs to survive in this world: melancholy melodies, the groove that pounds, The Riff that flows and a progression that grows.
Where can we see you live this year (concerts/tours)?
The only (so far) confirmed place of sighting for Vukojarac in Anus Dominis 2024 is at the Bear Stone Festival.
What are your plans for this year as a band? What do you personally want the most?
To record a new album, to have merch to sell to use capitalism as a catalyst for accelerating the doomed fate of humanity, to produce misery on a scale never before seen in the world and to rule the cosmos.
How can people best support your band?
Spread the message of the Vukojarac.
Know someone who knows someone who knows someone who has a place that holds concerts? Mention the name.
Know someone who’s into violating their own eardrums? Mention Vukojarac.
Know someone who you hate and wish to inflict untold misery onto their psyche? Mention Vukojarac.
You can listen to Vukojarac on vukojarac.bandcamp.com and, if for some strange reason you like it, you can even support us.
Do you have any message for your listeners?
Buy our music (or get it for free), don’t listen to mom & dad, fuck politicians, form a band, go on a world tour, get monies, join the cult of Vukojarac, live to an unnaturally long age, spread The Riff. Huzzah!
Bojan Bidovc // music enthusiast, promoter, misanthrop and sometimes a journalist as well