Bassist Chris van der Walt of South African metal combo Vulvodynia is here to rattle your cage on this sunny Saturday evening…
Simple things first – where are you guys from?
We’re from South Africa. Everyone lives in different towns. Pretoria, Durban, Port Elizabeth and Cape Town.
How did you meet?
Duncan, Luke and Kris have been friends for years. They started writing songs together by sending voice notes. Thomas and Chris also grew up playing in bands together. Everyone got together through the music scene and constant gigging.
How long have you been playing as a band?
Vulvodynia started in 2014. In 2016 the rigorous touring started. There has been a few line-up changes. The current line-up has been together since 2018.
Before you get sick of being asked… where does the band name come from?
Looking in a medical textbook will tell you the following: Vulvodynia is a chronic, severe vaginal pain with no identifiable cause.
What are your influences?
Waking the Cadaver, Acrania, Suffocation, Abominable Putridity, Dying Fetus, Aborted, Devourment. etc
Describe your music. What makes you unique?
We don’t only play Slam. We have a lot of influences from various musical areas. Kris is into fusion, Thomas loves punk, Luke digs trap, etc
Do you have any particular lyrical themes?
Each album has a different concept and approach, the earlier albums were more scifi, Psychosadistic Design is about serial killers, and Mob Justice covers some violent issues in and around South Africa like mob justice, addiction, child soldiers, cultural misogyny, and more.
What’s your live show like? How many shows have you played?
We have a very intense and heavy live show. We put every ounce of energy into it and the crowd erupts. Slam dancing, circle pits, crowd surfing, rowing and hammers are a few things you’ll see at the shows. We’ve probably played more than 200+ shows.
What’s the wildest thing you’ve seen or done at a live show?
Every show has something special. We’ve thrown out pool noodles into the crowd where everyone used them as weapons in the pit. There have been crazy fights. People in strange costumes (or completely naked). You can never expect what is about to happen, and it always gets wilder.
What kit do you use / guitars do you play / etc.?
Thomas uses Yamaha Drums and Zildjian Cymbals. Kris uses Ormsby Guitars, Swiss Picks, Ernie Ball Strings, Kemper Profiling Amp, and Horizon Devices pedals. Luke uses Horizon Devices Apex Preamp. Chris uses Dingwall Basses and strings, Darkglass Electronics pedals and amps. Duncan uses a wireless SM58. The whole band uses Westone Audio in-ears, and NeuralDSP for guitar and bass production.
What, if anything, are you plugging/promoting at the moment? What are your plans for the rest of 2019 and into 2020?
We’re doing our Australian and New Zealand tour in November. The Tech Trek tour in December with Archspire, Beneath the Massacre, and Inferi. We have also released a brand-new album Mob Justice which you can find on Lacerated Enemy Records and everywhere online. We are also planning on doing Asia, more videos and more tours in 2020.
If you were second on a three-band bill, which band would you love to be supporting and which band would you choose to open for you? A chance to plug someone you’ve toured with, or a mate’s band we’ve not heard of before!
The Black Dahlia Murder, Vulvodynia and Wormhole.
Vulvodynia: facebook | instagram | reverbnation | spotify | youtube
