Doomed Confessionary: Domagoj, Sandro, Marko, Andrej & Bruno (Vûlom)
Photos by @fuckin_strawberry
Vûlom is a five-piece death/doom metal band from Zagreb, Croatia. Founded in 2018, the quintet consists of Domagoj Zrinski (vocals), Sandro Radan (guitar), Marko Katavić (guitar), Andrej Andonov (bass), and Bruno Biloglav (drums).
Vûlom is an auditory representation of the unbearable weight of living, a collective swarming with ideas of blending melodic phrases and crushing heavy sound with depressive and soulful soundscapes.
Inspired by doom giants like Saturnus, October Tide, Dawn Of Solace, Hamferð, Paradise Lost, Swallow The Sun, etc., Vûlom are trying to find a unique expression of their views towards the world and emotions.
Can you please say a few words about your band?
The shortest possible way to describe us is that we are a “melodic death/doom” band. But lately, we are not quite satisfied with that label because, in our opinion, it doesn’t encapsulate the whole pallet of things that we do, that inspire us and that we want to convey to the audience. From the beginning, we didn’t want to be shut and stuck inside one box, within one genre. Rather, we like to experiment (not to some avant-garde extent) with soundscapes, moods, energy and, of course, some closely and not-so-closely related genres. All of the members come from different backgrounds, and every background can be heard to some extent in segments of our music – melodic death, black, old school death, technical death, old school and blackend doom, dark atmosphere, folk noir, and even jazz and classical music. Our music isn’t written by planning; it is written of pure inspiration, of our current state of minds, our emotions and our worldviews. It isn’t written to fit a box, it is written to express ourselves without any boundaries and constraints. Our music is a reflection of how we felt at the moment of writing. It isn’t sad music just for the sake of being sad… because we are a doom band. Each song contains real stories, real snippets into our lives. That is what Vûlom really is about.
What was the biggest challenge for the band?
Currently, we would say we have two challenges – one not so big, the second maybe bigger. The first “challenge” is to get to practice together. Not in a way that we are unorganized and lazy – the current state is that the five members of the band reside in four different cities across Croatia – Zagreb, Sinj, Zadar and Slavonski Brod. But, functioning like that for 3 years, releasing music, doing gigs and travelling, this appeared not to be a problem at all. A bigger challenge, which I know are facing a lot of bands, is the fact of very limited places we can play at and, we would say, the underappreciation of the “doom metal” label. From where we come, people would say it is boring, monotonous, maybe even cringe at some times due to “pathetic” lyrics and visual appearance. But somehow we cope with it, and we don’t intend to stop.
What can you be most proud of so far?
This is a tough one, to be honest. None of us is exactly 100% satisfied with everything. We always think things could have been done a little bit better, a little bit different. But if we had to pick something, we would say that we are proud of us, of the things we do, of holding it up no matter what, and we will be proud of our upcoming album.
What was your biggest regret?
I would say we have no regrets so far.
What was the best concert/tour so far and why?
We try to enjoy all our gigs equally, and we try to make the best of it every time. Sure, some gigs bomb and we have 11 members of the audience, and some feel great, have a tone of people coming to hear us out, but in the end we love what we do and we know there are people who enjoy our music – that is what is important to us. If we had to pick something, we would say the mini tour we had in Czechia this spring. The ambience, the people, the hospitality and the people we played and hung out with were on a whole other level.
What was the biggest surprise on the music scene for you?
We would say there are no huge surprises… We know our people, we know who metalheads are – a colorful bunch of the most diverse and interesting people you could think of. And we know when we play with some of them or to some of them, that we are going to have a great time and huge support.
What is currently in your heavy musical rotation?
Again… all sorts of subgenres and bands. In Flames, Dark Tranquility, Archspire, BMTH, Decembre Noir, Swallow The Sun, Hamferđ,… and we cannot skip our new friends we met during gigs – Guyođ, Blightbringer, Urschrei and Embrace The Darkness (if you don’t know them better change that).
What was the best advice you’ve ever been given as a musician?
This might be the cheesiest response ever, but it is never to give up, and we stick to it. There are ups and downs when you are an underground band, especially when you are playing “boring” music, but there is an audience, there are people who will find themselves somewhere within our music, and that is what pushes us not to stop making music.
What are your guilty pleasures?
Ooooof… as we already said… we like all kinds of music, and by “all” I mean also, EDM, pop and, since we live where we live, Balkan folk music. There is something about it that drives us and pulls us out of our ordinary state of minds. We wouldn’t say it is a guilty pleasure to us, rather to people around us looking at us the way we are “supposed” to act. But, in our defense, Balkan folk music is sometimes more doom metal than some could imagine. I mean… have you ever read the lyrics of some of those songs…
Can you say something more about the current music scene in Croatia?
The music scene in Croatia is booming – there are so many new, good bands, diverse, fun, technical to say the least. And everyone is trying to do their best. A small downside of the scene is not so many places to play, bad communication of the existing places and organizers with the bands and maybe not so many opportunities for bands who only start from the ground up.
Where can we see you live this year (concerts/tours)?
So far, only one gig has been officially announced for the rest of the year – and that is the support slot for 1914 on 28.9. in Močvara, Zagreb. But there are already some plans and gigs that are not announced still.
What are your plans for the future as a band?
In the short run, we finished our new album, which will be announced soon; in the long run – more gigs, getting to more people, meeting new awesome bands, and doing what we do best… our music
How can people best support your band?
Morally… listening to our music on whatever platform someone uses to enjoy music (because nothing compares to seeing the numbers of people listening and hopefully enjoying your music and the feedback you get); financially… of course coming to our gigs, buying merch in person or online.
Do you have any message for your listeners?
Thanks for the support and love you’ve given us over the years. Hopefully, you will continue (if you are listining to us for some time) or start (if you are newly discovering our music) to coincide with our music because that is the thing that moves us and drives us the most. Without you there wouldn’t be Vûlom. And we hope to see you somewhere.
Bojan Bidovc // music enthusiast, promoter, misanthrop and sometimes a journalist as well