Hailing from Austin, TX (USA), we’re listening today to the latest single from Venustra. Hopping The Train has just been released and the team at Send Me Your Ears are more than a little intrigued by this track. With influences from the likes of Rammstein and Nine Inch Nails, we knew we were in for a heavy ride.
Hopping The Train is from the upcoming E.P. “Rise Of The Ringmaster. The EP focuses on the story of an orphaned teen in a gritty early century-Esque timeline. The orphan comes into possession of an amulet that casts the desires of its holder. In this case, to take revenge on a sadistic headmaster of the orphanage that threw him out and caused a close friend of his to die because of food poisoning. These friends were supposed to run away to join the traveling circus that was set up miles out from town. The story goes on and is a gripping tale and an interesting subject matter. Many artists write from their own experiences, others create their own unique fantasies. Venustra seems to be very much a story teller.
Hopping The Train has some really chunky kick drum and a really popping snare. There’s some fabulous drums fills and the drums are very present and driving throughout the song. The guitars in the track are crunchy and heavy and perfect for this style of music.
Hopping The Train has lots of different sections. Our particular favourite was a really creepy and weird breakdown section that felt like you were walking through a haunted hall of mirrors at a circus that’s been closed for years. This is really spooky stuff and it makes you uncomfortable like all good art does.
Vocally, the metal scream technique is done well with just the right nasal and tinny qualities. Just a couple of times we felt the vocal was a touch lost, which was a shame because it really is done superbly.
From a production perspective, a large low shelf boost from around 500Hz down and an additional thinner boost around 175Hz would add a lot of extra depth and warmth to the track. Another large and wide boost centred around 11kHz with an additional high shelf boost in the top octave would add a lot of presence and brightness. A light compressor and some make up gain would bring the volume more in line with other similar commercial releases.
Venustra was a new artist to us today, but we’re really excited at the musicianship and creativity of this track and we’re very much looking forward to seeing where things progress.