EPK – Varius – Concordance (2021) (EP)
Publicist – Jon Asher – jon[@]ashermediarelations[.]com
“We are very excited to present our new EP, Concordance, the strongest Varius release to date. Concordance represents Varius at its most collaborative; each member of the band has brought a unique song to the table. The result is an EP defined by both its diversity and its consistency in spirit. We were all very motivated to bring each others’ visions to life, and the tracks came together as some of our heaviest and grooviest to date. Each of Concordance’s four songs are rooted firmly in their own area of the metal spectrum, and they are as varied lyrically as they are musically. Concordance explores themes of battle, demonic magics, psychological challenges, and a bleak look at the future of death. We believe that all types of metal fans, and fans of fantasy and science fiction alike, are sure to find something they like about Concordance.” – Varius
For fans Dethklok, Death, Children of Bodom, Hypocrisy, Lamb of God
EP Title: Concordance
Release Date: November 5, 2021
Label: Self-Release
Distribution: Distrokid
Facebook.com/Varius.band | Instagram.com/varius.official | YouTube |
Varius.bandcamp.com | Spotify | Apple Music
“One thing I know for sure is that they’re great. The guitar riffs are tasty, it’s plenty heavy, energetic vocals and gnarly rhythms encompass the sound of Varius.” – Technical Music Review
“One of the bands taking over my playlists these days are the beasts of VARIUS with their heavy mix of progressive melodic metal. Full of crushing instrumental progressions, deep growling vocals, and a number of quirks, their chuggy calculated riffs create an interesting song dynamic which keeps me coming back for more.” – Blessed Altar Zine
“Varius hits hard with a blend of traditional groove and progressively heavy metal. [Each of their songs] brings something slightly different to the table, showcasing their embrace of fast paced guitar groove, progressive song structure, and mix of traditional and unorthodox instrumental combinations.” – Heavy Metal Sasquatch
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Quick Facts about Varius:
1. Varius decided to build the Concordance EP around the concept of each member of the band bringing one unique song to the table. Recording this EP for them was a fun process of each getting to play “producer” for their own songs, bringing in ideas from the rest of the band to really bring their visions to life.
2. Varius’ efforts in the years leading up to Concordance have paid off by landing the band some higher-profile shows in their local Niagara area, allowing them to share the stage with more popular touring acts including Beyond Creation, Ninjaspy, and The Anchor.
3. Varius vocalist Joey Scaringi is a popular radio host for 97.7 HTZ FM. Joey’s effort and enthusiasm have helped him pave the way to getting more heavy metal bands, both famous and local, some radio airplay during his segments.
4. Concordance was engineered, mixed, and mastered by Eddie Lucciola of 414 Recordings. Eddie is a talented up-and-coming engineer and producer who also develops digital plugins with Kiive Audio. Eddie’s expertise in engineering contributed massively to putting Concordance together.
5. Varius has always taken an open-minded and experimental approach to the way they do things. Before their vocalist Joey joined the band, their audience got to know them as an instrumental group. Several of their early performances featured their bass player Joel’s cousin Vanessa playing keyboards to help fill out the sound!
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Track By Track Explained by Varius:
1. Golden Crown – This song represents something completely different as far as what our audience would expect of us. It is the album’s most straightforward track and is a mid-tempo wall of sound. It has a more classic-metal kind of sound, but with almost Amon Amarth-style vocals. The calmer intro gives way to a massive chord-based riff, and the song progresses into an epic guitar solo and dynamic build to through the outro. Lyrically, the song touches on themes of battle, loyalty, and brotherhood. The lyrics were influenced by the concept of ancient warriors who lived and died by the sword and battled for their brothers in arms rather than glory and wealth.
2. Concordance of the Legionfall – This track dives back into traditional Varius territory with its chaotic but exciting structure. There are plenty of groovy riffs as well as several dynamic shifts and trippy moments. The guitar parts and vocals in particular shine on this song and keep the listener occupied as the track goes through its many movements. There are tinges of black and death metal in this track, with progressive twists and psychedelic-sounding transitions. The song concludes as it began, with raging guitar sweeps and brutal vocals. Lyrically, the song describes themes of evil and black magic. The concept was to tell a story of powerful warlocks defeating legions of demons by using their dark powers to “fight fire with fire”. This fictional concept was influenced by the video game World of Warcraft, which some of us in the band are great fans of.
3. Lament of Dissonance – This song is a bit of a balance between a relatively straightforward groove track and an experimental piece. The song begins with melodic guitars before descending into a crushing groove riff in the verses. This song has the most traditional chorus part of any Varius song to date and incorporates a little bit of clean backing vocals. After the first few verses, the song gives way into even more crushing riffs and a strong guitar solo. The end of the song transitions into one of our signature Varius experimental moments, which takes the listener through a jazzy outro. Lyrically, the song describes a brilliant creative person cracking under the pressure of expectations of his audience. The song takes a personal perspective from this individual and describes the burden of living up to the demands of a hungry audience.
4. Gut Shoveler – This track is almost structured as if it were two songs in one. It begins with furious death metal and thrash-influenced guitar riffs before transitioning into a lower-tempo, nearly-doom metal groove featuring church organ sounds. The song’s dynamics go through the motions from slamming metal to atmospheric, ambient and acoustic sounds by the end of the song as it fades out and concludes the Concordance EP. The lyrics discuss a potential dystopian future in which planet Earth is so overpopulated that cannibalism becomes a normality. In fact, the song is sung from the perspective of a hypothetical human-meat factory worker. Songs about fictional apocalyptic futures have been a theme on previous Varius releases, and Gut Shoveler stands out as the most brutal example yet.
[Download EP Cover | Download EP Lyrics ]
EP Title: Concordance
Release Date: November 5, 2021
Label: Self-Release
Distribution: Distrokid
Track Listing:
1. Golden Crown (6:03)
2. Concordance of the Legionfall (4:59)
3. Lament of Dissonance (4:43)
4. Gut Shoveler (5:28)
Digital EP Length: 21:14
Note: Physical CD copies of Concordance will feature a bonus track (previously released digitally – 2019)
5. P.I.S.S. (3:22) (CD Bonus Track)
EP Length (CD version): 24:40
EP Recording Credits:
• All songs performed by: Varius
• All songs written by: Varius
• Produced by: Varius and Eddie Lucciola
• Mixed by: Eddie Lucciola (414 Recordings)
• Mastered by: Eddie Lucciola (414 Recordings)
• Album Artwork by: Riaj Gragoth (Luciferium War Graphics)
• Member of SOCAN
• Canadian Content (MAPL)
EP and Live Band Line Up:
Joey Scaringi – Vocals
Patrick Forlin – Guitar
Joel Tassillo – Bass
Vladimir Prokhorov – Drums
L-R: Joel Tassillo (Bass) / Joey Scaringi (Vocals) / Vladimir Prokhorov (Drums) / Patrick Forlin (Guitar)
Photo Credit: Britney Goertz
Varius are a Canadian band inspired by a diversity of heavy music. Varius’ powerful sound features an experimental fusion of aggressive guitar and vocals along with deep rhythms and exotic atmospheres.
Unable to be defined by a single genre, Varius’ take on heavy music is characterized by vocalist Joey Scaringi’s diverse range, guitarist Patrick Forlin’s signature groove riffing and melodic catchiness along with Joel Tassillo’s thick bass foundation, underscored by drummer Vlad Prokhorov’s genre-crossing rhythmic pulse and power.
Varius released their debut EP “Red Messenger” in 2017. The following EP “The Great Tribulation (2019) saw Varius performing to wider audiences across southern Canada and appearing at shows with international touring acts including Beyond Creation and others. Varius also released the single and accompanying music video for “P.I.S.S.” in 2019 and now have new music to unleash in 2021 with their new EP “Concordance”.
Due out during Fall 2021, “Concordance” is all about both diversity and consistency. As a band, Varius were motivated to include four distinct tracks with each one primarily written by a different band member. The result was a naturally diverse recording. Despite taking this approach, Concordance can still be considered their most collaborative release to date. Once each member of the band presented their song, that song belonged to Varius as a whole, and they did their best to support the original vision. That kind of teamwork lead the EP to be just as consistent in sound as it is diverse. Concordance is a heavy offering throughout, but the four distinct songs approach the heaviness in different ways. Across the four tracks, the listener can expect to hear the influence of death metal, thrash, progressive, doom, and classic metal with experimental dynamic twists. The EP is as diverse lyrically as it is musically; fans of fiction, fantasy, horror, and humanity will find something that they like in Concordance. From the apocalyptic themes you’d expect from Varius in Gut Shoveler and Concordance of the Legionfall to the more reflective stories of battle (Golden Crown) and personal struggle (Lament of Dissonance), Concordance covers a variety of heavy lyric themes that listeners can connect to.
“Concrodance” is due out on November 5th, 2021.
Discography:
2021 – Concordance – EP
2019 – P.I.S.S. – Single
2019 – The Great Tribulation – EP
2017 – Red Messenger – Demo
Shared Stage with:
Beyond Creation, Ninjaspy, The Anchor, A War Within, Alukah, Astaroth Incarnate, Lycanthro, My Hollow, Dumpster Mummy, Insurrection, Duskwalker, Temple of Night
Tours and Festivals:
2019 – Algorythm tour (supporting Beyond Creation) – St. Catharines
