Vended are a band with a lot of weight on their shoulders, we here at Rockflesh have covered them on numerous occasions including their show at Rebellion and also at Sweden Rock festival, they have become somewhat of a favourite amongst our reviewers. It has become almost an obligation to mention that they are the products of absolute metal royalty, with 2 members having dads who play in Slipknot, as is apparent with their massive Iowa Era influence. Nepotism is part and parcel of music these days, and whilst some bands are almost stealing a living this way, there’s something different about Vended, despite them wearing their familial inspirations quite firmly on their sleeves. 

Profiler first came onto our radar at Radar Festival last year. They get things underway tonight with their own take on Late 90’s Nu Metal, with their own contemporary twist. There was a lot of Deftones influence at play here, with massive, slow guitar riffs, rap verses into clean vocal choruses and at time massive breakdowns. At times the vocals were a tad pitchy, and the bass was overpowering in the mix, but they still displayed enough decent ideas to come across as a band who knew what they were doing and where they wanted to take their sound. The complete, polished end product will come eventually, but there’s a lot of promise here.  

Second band, The Gloom In The Corner, started off on the wrong foot with the Liverpool crowd, accidentally greeting them as Birmingham. Luckily, they were Australian, therefore they managed to finesse the situation with that trademark Aussie charm, and all was eventually forgiven. It’s very hard to pigeonhole The Gloom In The Corner on terms of their sound. At times they sounded almost Emo-esque, other times Metalcore and other times almost grungy. It was never an overwhelming mixture of sounds, however if you took a liking to a particular direction of theirs, it may be a couple of songs before you are back at that particular genre. It did add a level of excitement to their set however, as you simply didn’t know what was coming next. The production and sound design was absolutely crisp and they made great use of backing tracks to add that next dimension to their sound. This was a collected, professional and slick performance from a band who are no strangers to life on tour. They will definitely be a band I’ll be wanting to see again next time they come around.

Upon taking to the stage, it is instantly apparent that Vended present themselves with the level of professionalism one would expect from a band with so much exposure to the music industry. Their sound is absolutely crisp, their ability to work the crowd shows the maturity of a band who have been doing this for years, not a band that only rose to prominence post-pandemic. What is most striking about Vended however is their songs. Their sound is most comparable to that of 2000s Nu Metal. As well as the aforementioned Iowa Era Slipknot influence, comparisons can also be made to P.O.D, Papa Roach and to an extent, KoRn. Whilst vocalist, Griffin Taylor, has unavoidable vocal properties to his dad in terms of his vocal style, Vended are so much more than Slipknot 2.0 in pretty much every respect. Every song sounds like an original Vended piece of work, sure there are influences, but it never once felt like cheap parody. 

I found it incredibly admirable that Vended are a band that are intent on carving their own legacy. Throughout the set, the authenticity of Griffin as a vocalist shone through in his constant appreciation for being able to do this as his day job. He constantly thanked the crowd, the support acts and everyone who made tonight possible. His likeable personality added a level of depth to this admiration for his peers and it never once seemed cliché or forced, you could just tell he loves what he does. 

If they really wanted too, they could’ve avoided the need to cut their teeth on smaller stages and have been handed a support slot for any band they wanted to fast track their rise to prominence, so choosing to make their name on these smaller stages around the world, shows the level of commitment to their band and also a level of appreciation to those bands around the world who have to do this in order to get their name out in the world. They may be the product of success, but that doesn’t mean they’re using it as a fast track, and I have nothing but respect for that.  

This was a short, succinct, 45 minute glimpse into the type of beast Vended are destined to be. There wasn’t a single wasted note or movement or word, everything had a purpose, and it’s purpose was to ease us in to the inevitable Vended explosion that we are sure to see in the future. It won’t be long before we will see this band take to larger stages, explore complex production ideas and become their own bespoke entity at the forefront of this new boom of Nu Metal that we are currently seeing.  

Check the “In The Flesh” page for more photos!
Vended + The Gloom In The Corner + Profiler