Tell me a bit about the past of Vicious Alliance?
Vicious Alliance was founded in the fall of 2005 by me, Elijah S. Arms and
Miss Natalia Kowalski. I had always been interested in creating my own
(industrial / ebm / electronic) project, having been involved in several similar
projects in the past. However; the idea for Vicious Alliance really took off after
I met Miss Kowalski. To be frank, she really impressed me with the power of
her live vocals. I encouraged her to try and sing for a track I was working on
“My Salvation.” When I heard her voice mixing with my vocals and the music,
I was hooked. I immediately had us start working on tracks, which we gave
out to Dj’s and put online. Some of our earlier tracks no longer in existence
are “The Road of Blood” and “Alpha and Omega.” Maybe these tracks will be
revived one day. These early tracks were catchy and got a lot of attention,
but we felt that Vicious Alliance needed to focus its energy on live play, and
we also wanted to start producing our music with a professional quality.
Mr. George Lewis was added in July of 2006 as our live keys, and we played
our first show at Mr. Small’s Theatre on August 26th in Pittsburgh Pennsylvania,
courtesy of Elise's Playground Fetish Ball for the benefit of
St. Bernard's Animal Shelter. After that show, our local popularity took off like
a rocket and we began to tally up the live shows in Washington D.C, Baltimore,
and Philadelphia. At the same time we were creating tracks that were more
powerful, had better production, and most importantly, developed the
Vicious Alliance sound. Examples are “Social Conciousness”, and
“This Is A War Now!”. We were mailing these to Dj’s all around the globe,
trying to reach out to fans, and extend our base of support. We recieved so
much positive feedback and helpful critisicm that I am in debt to people all over
the globe for helping us out and listening to Vicious Alliance. I am afraid I am
digressing here, and to bring it back on track, Mr. Bryant V was added in November of 2006 as our live drummer. The energy he brought to our live performances
cememted his position in Vicious Alliance and really added the extra kick to our
live performance. We played several more fantastic shows, especially at Insanium
Night at the Sterling Hotel in Allentown PA, with Psyclon 9 and other great industrial
bands.Just recently we added new live and studio equipment to Vicious Alliance
and have been working on releasing our first proffesional demo which we will be
sending out to labels hopefully by spring. We have been continuing to market our
music to clubs and develop our sound further. “Disease of Rotten Minds VII”,
“Hikikomori (All the Rage)”, and “II Ice Age”, area all examples of what to expect
from our upcoming release, and the direction we continue to head. This month
we will be playing live in Cleveland and Baltimore.
How did you come up with the name Vicious Alliance?
In our music we stress the decay of modern society and the need to destroy the world
around us and build a better one; naturally we wanted this to extend into our name.
Alliance is a militant word that stresses togetherness, a united sense of purpose.
We are an Alliance seeking to bring forth a better world. In order to do this we need
to be Vicious, strong, and without mercy. So Vicious Alliance is what we want our
music to inspire the listener to be. We want them to unite with our ideas, tear down
the old rotten world, and build something greater. More tritely, Vicious Alliance is
catchy, has great symbolism, and hopefully is something that everyone can remember.
Who are the members of Vicious Alliance and what’s their role in the band?
The members of Vicious Alliance are:
Myself, Mr. Elijah S. Arms. I bring the ideas together, create the music, produce it, and
do vocals. I also write lyrics, promote incessantly, and generally tie things together.
Despite doing all this, I really don’t want to elevate myself above anyone else in the band.
Without them I’d be one man making music by myself and to me that is not exciting or fun.
I’d also be one man alone in all of the small things that go into playing live and maintaining
a project. They complete me and the VA.
Miss Natalia Kowalski. Miss Kowalski is the female vocalist of Vicious Alliance and the
human soul amidst the machinery. She brings to the recording studio and to the stage her
beautiful female vocals which really give Vicious Alliance a distinctive edge. She comes
up with new ideas constantly, creates our flyers, edits our photos, and runs our You Tube
website. She also writes lyrics and makes clothing for us. Without her Vicious Alliance
would not have the same sound and I know it would be a loss.
Mr. George Lewis. ComiGeorge as he is known, Is our workhorse. Onstage, officially he
plays the live keys. However if you have seen us live, you know that what he does is a lot
more than stand behind a keyboard the whole time. When he’s not rallying people onstage
or dancing his heart out to the music, he is all over the details of our performances planning
our lodging and transportation. He is always finding samples for me to use, and always
coming up with new ideas. He is the ideal “shock-trooper” of Vicious Alliance.
Mr. Bryant Shunk. Bryant V is our newest member and also one of the most enthusiastic
people I have ever met. He is officially our live drummer, but like George, he is much more
than that onstage. Bryant’s passion for drumming and pounding out hard beats matches
his unique style and stage presence. Behind the lines, Bryant helps me create beats and
provides me with new insights into percussion. He also provides the marching drums we
use in our live performances.
There are also so many others who help and support us live.
Where the members before Vicious Alliance active in other bands before?
I was involved in some minor projects before starting the VA. Also, Bryant and I used to fool
around in high school, but none of us were involved in anything major.
How did you all meet together and decided to start Vicious Alliance?
I knew all of the members before I asked them to join Vicious Alliance. Natalia and I had
met at a club and had been dating for a few months before the day she first sang for VA.
She and I were really the first ones to forge the project into what it is today. George had
been one of my best friends for about two years, and he was a natural choice for keyboardist.
Bryant and I went to high school together and grew up in the same neighbourhood. I had
sort of fallen out of touch with him, because he moved a few hours away. However, we
managed to meet up and I told him about VA. He jumped on the idea of doing live drums
for us and I’m glad to say that I see much more of him now.
How would you describe your music and what are influences on it?
Ha-Ha. There are so many genres today! And it seems to me that if you say your music is
something specific, people who disagree with you will do their best to stomp all over your
ideas. The whole idea of fighting over classifications really makes no sense to me. But I’m
not going to rant about that right now. Vicious Alliance is a fusion of Aggrotech, EBM, and
Futurepop. Some people want to call us Terror or Darkwave. That’s fine with me.
Vicious Alliance is hard dance music with an epic feeling. We want to be melodic yet harsh,
passive yet aggressive. Above all we want to inspire you to move your body. Hard drums,
throbbing bass, powerful leads; we try to put all of these elements into our songs.
We have been described as very upbeat while being dark. I love the contrast between the
two and with Miss Natalia’s vocals, my own vocals, the epic melodies, and hard lines we
pull that off pretty well.
Now to describe our influences! Musically we are very influenced by amazing bands such as,
Accessory, Amduscia, Assemblage 23, Clan of Xymox, Dawn of Ashes, Die Sektor,
Funker Vogt, Grendel, God Module, Hocico, Juno Reactor, Lights of Euphoria, Pride and Fall ,
Rotersand, Seabound, S.I.T.D., Suicide Commando, Tactical Sekt, Z Procheck,
and countless others. Iv’e been listening to these bands all my life and to say they don’t inspire
me would be a lie. Ideas that influence us are war, violence, the past, time travel, ego,
genocide, pollution, history...I could go on and on. The message of most of our music is a
strong dissatisfaction with the future course of humanity and the desire to renew it.
The number one messsage of Vicous Alliance is that together we can change our destiny.
We don’t want to preach, but we find an uplifting message can be a very powerful thing.
We want to be “cool” and catchy too, we want people to request or music and dance!
But we want to give them something to think about too.
Some known dj’s speak very highly about Vicious Alliance, what do these
compliments mean to you?
I can’t thank the Dj’s who spin Vicious Alliance enough. They are the number one mouthpiece
that lets music reach the masses. Dj’s can make or break a new band. The fact that some of
them choose not only to spin VA but to write reviews of our music and compliment us means
so much to me. It gives me a lot of hope that we may be able to spread our message and our
songs over an ever increasing area. The fact that the Dj’s who have complimented us are well
known and have huge nights astounds me. These people spin the very best, and here they are
giving us a spot in their sets and a chance to be heard. So to all the Dj’s who read this and who
have supported VA, thank you from all of us, we mean it from our hearts.
What can people expect from a live show of Vicious Alliance?
Our live performance is where we unleash all of our energy and potential. You will see elaborate
sets and costumes. You will hear marching drums and bugles being blows. You will see flags
waving, smoke machines, strobe lights, and the classic elements of an EBM show. We really
try and pump up the crowd with the energy of our music. We try and make everyone go crazy,
thrash around, and stomp the floor. We will jump off the stage and trash around with you, invite
you up on stage. We always have themes to our shows. Some of the past themes have included
priest performing an exorcism, a World War I medical station, and a 1920’s lounge. The main
goal of Vicious Alliance is to provide the show element. To often people get bored just watching
the artist perform the music. So we try and make it an interactive elaborate experience for
everyone involved. We capitalize on the themes in our songs and try and bring them to life.
We have specialized microphones and other props that help us bring this life. It’s hard to
describe you will just have to come and see it for yourself.
How are the responses on your demo, can people still purchase it?
Our initial demo Humanity Bleeds had problems being pressed and we did not have enough
copies to respond to all of the people who sent us letters and emails asking for it. We are still
trying to track down those who mailed in payments and give them special signed copies and
free promotional materials. Because of these setbacks, we have put our first demo online for
sale through SnoCap. The sales have been steady and we are waiting until they taper off to pull
them from online. At shows, we have special promotional copies of Humanity Bleeds which
are also available for purchase until they finally run out. We have sold a few hundred so far at
shows and have about two hundred left. We are all waiting anxiously to unveil our new studio
recorded, pressed demo to the masses. This one will be the demo not to miss. We will be
sending it out to Dj’s and labels all over the globe. I’m not going to name an exact date but
be on the look out for it by summer.
When can we expect a full length album?
A full length! As I stated before we are still working on our new six track demo. My friends like
to make fun of my perfectionist traits and I can see why. Those traits are coming out in force with
Vicious Alliance releases. I refuse to put anything out unless it’s “finished” For samples of
what is going to be on the demo check out our tracks “Disease of Rotten Minds”, and “II Ice Age.”
Our goal is to get signed by a label with our fresh, studio recorded demo. When that happens,
I will throw myself full force into the creation of album. The fact is we already have enough tracks
to make one, but now we are waiting for the distribution resources.
www.myspace.com/viciousallianceebm
Which band would you love to play with?
Wow so many options to choose from here too. Some of the bands that have given us the
most support, who I’d love to play a show with are; Pride and Fall, Die Sektor, and Grendel.
Also who wouldn’t want to play a live show with Amduscia, Tactical Sekt, or God Module?
I could go on and on. We are always looking for shows so hopefully one day I’ll be able to
say that we played with every band we always wanted too.
What’s next for Vicious Alliance plans for the near future?
In the near future we have our upcoming demo release to look forward too, and several more
live performances in Cleveland, Baltimore, and Philadelphia. We have a lot of remixes to do
and a lot to still be done for us. We plan on continuously improving our live performances,
maybe adding another keyboard player. We plan on improving our music, or ideas and delivery.
On May 25th, in Cleveland we will be fulfilling our accomplishment of playing with Die Sektor.
That’s about all I can say for now.
Any last words for the readers?
So much I’ve written already. I want everyone to support bands by going to see them live.
Often you will get a much more exciting performance then by just listening to them in the club.
Also spread the word about local bands you know. We all have to support one another.
If you’re not satisfied with something go out and change it, remember that together we can
change our destiny.
We also had an interview with Natalia for the Girls Only section. Click here to read it.