The dark, the weird & the strange: The Black Vomits at a crossroads

The dark, the weird & the strange: The Black Vomits at a crossroads

by rick olivares

It’s past nine in the evening of a hot and humid Friday, and the members of post-punk band the Black Vomits are getting ready to play in some production at the Eton Centris in Quezon City. There are a bunch of bands and by the time the Vomits hit the stage, the crowd has rather thinned out.

Scanning the audience, there were a few who looked like they were ready to rock. As for the rest, they actually fit the profile of those who line up for noon time shows.

Guitarist Bryan Escueta later observed, “I wasn’t sure what reaction we’d get because it didn’t seem to be our crowd. But we have to perform.”

And perform there did. No compromises. Songs from their debut album. A mélange of songs with soaring vocals and odd time signatures, and a cover of the Who’s “Baba O’Riley”.

The Black Vomits is a riddle wrapped in an enigma. In late 2016, the band released an extended play album of six songs on vinyl. Almost immediately after the album launch, they lost lead singer Joyen Santos. Suddenly, the grand plan to conquer the world spun off its axis.

“We were like an earlier version of (soul/jazz band) Apartel,” dryly said drummer Julius Sanvictores over the dinner preceding the Eton Centris gig. “We sort of lost whatever momentum we had after our album launch and all that initial exposure.”

Not soon after Apartel released its debut record in December of 2016, the band parted ways with vocalist Jay Ortega. Like Apartel which quickly prepared to write and record new material a little over a year later, the Black Vomits too have written new songs with new singer Mark Albert Contreras who stepped into the breach.

The new vocalist, who aside from adding a second guitar to the sound brought a punk sensibility to the Vomits’ overall dimension. After all, he also performs with his punk outfit, Sub. “It’s straightforward different from what we do here in the Black Vomits,” pointed out Contreras.

“Mark brings something different; we can rock out a bit more and do a bit more since he also plays the guitar,” remarked guitarist Bryan Escueta who all the other Vomits point to as their leader.

And then there is their band name.

“When people hear the name of the band, they say, ‘Oh, you’re a black metal or grindcore band.’ Some have outright revulsion for us when they haven’t even heard us play. Then they hear our music and it’s completely different,” shared bassist Igan D’Bayan. “To us, the word ‘vomits’ is like pouring out our ideas and influences which is different and varied. They all form a unique meld.”

“The first album had rock and prog arrangements. But that isn’t who we are now. When we write songs, it starts with a riff, a lyric, a theme…. different things. We write the music based on how we feel and not because of a style.”

Chimed in Escueta, “Out of ten people, only two understand what we are doing. The dark, the weird, and the strange. That is what we are all about.”

During the Eton Centris performance, it was a rather surreal atmosphere. In front of the stage as the Black Vomits performed, about six kids romped and played tossing confetti over each other. And in the audience, it was mostly a mom and pop noontime show crowd. But after each song, they nodded and applauded. Some of the younger crowd, millennials clapped enthusiastically. Some even held up their smart phones to video the band’s performance. And perhaps somewhat satisfyingly, some even asked for selfies after the show.

“Weird, huh,” said Escueta with raised eyebrows after their five-song set that seemed to last an eternity. “We sneaked in some really long songs. Six, seven-minute ones.”

And speaking of songs, the band isn’t sure if they want to proceed with the second album or re-record the first album.

“We are going to try to re-record the album we made because we aren’t happy with the sound,” divulged D’Bayan.

It turns out that when the band sent the recording, it didn’t sound like they recorded and the test press came back sounding subdued. The pressing plant said it was the master recording. Whether it was mastered for compact disc or vinyl isn’t the point now. The band regardless is tempted to re-record to also make use of Contreras’ vocals. “We’re just a different band now,” said D’Bayan. “So right now it’s either re-record the first album – also on vinyl -- the way it should sound or move on to the new one.”

Speaking of vinyl, a couple of weeks earlier, during Record Store Day on April 21, the Black Vomits temporarily stopped vinyl hunters from digging. “Yeah, we noticed that they stopped digging and began to listen to us. That was some gig,” observed Contreras.

“That’s the shock value for us,” summed up drummer Julius Sanvictores. “You peg us for something but we’re not. And we hope it’s good music.”