What does it mean to be reborn?
To some, it’s a religious experience—it means to find oneself through worship and embracing a higher power. To others, it’s rejuvenation by rest; a means of recovery and repair. To others still—and to Virginian metalcore act RVNT—it means to undergo a state of self-improvement and betterment that transcends the acts of a God or a good night’s sleep. To be reborn is to take the successes and failures of one’s past and take the good with the bad—combine bitterness, betrayal and anger with invigorating energy and bold, boundless creativity to make something thoroughly new and original, free of constraints set by homogeny or routine.
And that’s exactly what RVNT does.
A contemporary spin on the term Revenant, RVNT are a bombastic amalgamation of incredible, boundless and brilliant vivacity with crushing, cruel-and-unusual heaviness that shrinks the listener’s spine while shining light and lifting tall their soul. While they may not have a broad discography or worldwide tours under their belt, the band are young and hungry, supported by a loyal following and a stop-at-nothing attitude, ready to take over the ears of heavy music enthusiasts world wide in thirty seconds or less.
Emerging out of the hot and humid Virginian heat in early spring of 2014, RVNT instantly captured the ears and eyes of many with their breakout music video for “Vain.” With mere minutes of material released, the quintet’s penchant for punishing aggression, powerful, catchy hooks and grisly, gnashing grooves earned them a dedicated following in days. Not only did the likes of “Vain” capture the attention of heavy music enthusiasts from around the world, it captured the attention of US-based record label We Are Triumphant—who signed the band and announced the release of their debut EP, Vulnerable, later that same year. 2015 proved to be even bigger and bolder than the year before, with the group releasing Vulnerable to the masses, proving they are anything but. Packed with punchy, pummeling moments of aggression that are divided by choruses and hooks catchier and more contagious than the common cold, RVNT’s unique spin on post-hardcore infused metalcore was a critically acclaimed success. However, the band’s effort in the studio wasn’t the only place they truly shined; as the band’s vigorous and vicious live performance earned them spots supporting acts like ten-ton-titans of heaviness The Alaskan, and once-label-mates Animal.
As 2015 faded into 2016, RVNT slowed down—but that isn’t to say they lost their momentum. Rather, 2016 saw them becoming more introspective than ever, searching for a new and dynamic spin on their sound that would keep fans on their toes and the entire heavy music community guessing; and, as it happens, they found it. Within the first few weeks of 2017, RVNT made a dashing and devastating return with the music video for “Hollow,” featuring Shawn Spann—a touching and powerful song with both boisterous brutality and marvelous catchiness to be had by the boatload. RVNT kept their renewed momentum rolling, announcing tours with New York metalcore act Somewhere to Call Home, We Are Triumphant label-mates A Scent Like Wolves and Softspoken, as well as providing regional support for Sworn In and Backwordz. RVNT emerged from their quiescence with both fists swinging, bringing the un-expecting public to their knees, proving that as people, musicians and a dynamic collective, they simply refuse to sink into complacency.
Role Call! Introduce yourselves and each of your roles in the band!
Ricky Gillis - Vocals
Jeremy Anderson - Guitar/Vocals
Fabian Castaneda - Drums
Matthew Madariaga - Guitar
Christian Gordon - Bass
NEWS
RVNT has released a new single, Bad Habits, and gave us a chance to be the first to give you guys a listen and let us tell you IT HITS HARD!
The mix of the both the bass and the guitar together makes for a sick match when it comes to the tone. Having the low end meeting the distorted bass, bring the breakdowns to a whole new level. But how could we forget all the amazing vocals? The versatility/range of the screams and clean vocals make the syncopation of the lyrics fit more naturally with the instruments. Between the verse, chorus, and bridge the drum fills bring a new light to the cadence of the beat.
We're more than stoked for you guys to hear this song and can't wait to hear what else RVNT has in store for us this year!
The band also wanted to share with us that they'll be under new management!
https://www.nightfallmanagement.com/
We got a chance to ask some questions we've been dying to know the answers to. Check out what they had to say!
1.) How was 2017 for the band?
2017 was a pretty cool year for us, we spent a lot of time playing shows and getting a lot of the newer material written We did our longest tour with A Scent Like Wolves and Softspoken and had some of the greatest times as a band together. Also we had the pleasure of doing a small run with Stargazer and Somewhere to Call home too, both great bands full of cool people.2.) What was your favorite show to play in 2017
The Wage War show at Shakas was definitely our favorite. The show basically sold out and we got to play to a huge crowd in our hometown.3.) If you could tour anywhere in the world where would it be?
Honestly that's hard to pick I'll say 3 Anywhere in Europe, Japan, and Australia4.) Stoked for your new music! What would you say sets it apart from any of your previous releases?
Thank you, we're stoked to release new stuff! I would say the biggest difference would be that it was written by newer members so by default it will be different. We feel the newer music is a bit more technical but still heavy. Expect to hear a bit of diversity when our next ep comes out!5.) Any new music videos in the works?
We're planning on working on a new video in the near future for a single we're working on finishing up!
6.) What inspired a majority of the Lyrical content?
Hardship, depression, deceitful people7.) Where can we expect to see RVNT play this year?
We're trying to hit a lot of new markets this year so we at least want to reach out to the midwest and maybe even further if the timing is right.8.) What would be your dream lineup to tour with?
The Plot in You, Wage War, and Sylar9.) What was the writing process for this album? Was it any different than what you did in the past?
Basically the writing process consisted of me (Jeremy) writing a majority of the material in my studio along with Fabian writing some of the songs with his own studio setup. We then came together and finalized a lot of the writing before going to Zach Jones from My Enemies & I. From there we changed some songs up and even wrote songs on the spot with Zach's help. Ricky has been writing all of his own vocal parts and tracking them with me for the past year as well.10.) Any advice for a young band looking to make their start and record their first body of work?
The most important thing that should be established immediately is if this is just for fun or if you're going to take it seriously. If you decide to take it seriously I would highly recommend not going cheap when it comes to any aspect of creating your brand especially with recording. Make sure you do everything with a business/professional mindset and don't ever settle.11.) Does your band have any pre-show rituals?
Honestly not really, we may knock back a few beers or so but nothing ridiculous haha.12.) What were your top 3 albums of 2017?
Back to Beautiful by Picturesque, The Beast Inside by My Enemies & I, and Dreaming is Sinking Waking is Rising by Dayseeker13.) How would you describe RVNT in a sentence to a first time listener?
Sometimes life isn't good so we rant about it.14.) What are your thoughts about Warped tour ending?
It honestly made us pretty sad because we've always dreamed of playing it one day. Hopefully we can make that happen this year!15.) What does RVNT have in store for 2018?
We plan releasing a lot of new music, establishing new partnerships, touring as much as possible, and making waves in the industry.