If you’ve dreamt about fusing djent and prog riffs, anthemic symphonic metal and orchestral sections, then we’re pretty sure you’ll be hooked on the sound of Birmingham’s Vanitas. The quintet have crafted an epic “cinematic djent” style that combines engaging and intense vocals with technical instrumentals and crushing metal riffs, which they describe as “heavy, ethereal, progressive and explosive.”
The foundations of Vanitas were formed when vocalist Jade Maris was introduced to guitarist Mitch Barlow and bassist Jon Willingham at university, and they formed a band called Verb the Noun. After graduating and, in their words, “growing up a bit,” they relaunched and started afresh as Vanitas in 2022, bringing in guitarist Elijah Storer and drummer Jackson Cann to complete the lineup. They’ve since launched two EPs and a series of singles as they hone their unique sound, alongside their debut tour earlier this year.
On the Vanitas sound, Jade told us: “We’re a prog-metal band, but we like to use the term ‘cinematic djent’ to describe how we like to combine modern-metal and djenty riffs in the style of say: Periphery, Monuments, Protest the Hero etc. with big cinematic orchestral elements inspired by our favourite video games and anime soundtracks!”
We spoke to the band ahead of the release of their brand new single Wait And See, which was released on Friday (15 November). It opens up with wild guitars and pounding drums supporting Jade’s powerful vocals, before flowing into a delicious singalong chorus “All I need, Is a second and some space to breathe, I can’t believe, What I can clearly see, All I need, Is this clarity you bring to me, That all I needed was to wait and see, Wait and see.” It drops straight back into another wild riff under vicious vocals before another big chorus.
A section of big dramatic guitar licks support clean vocals and drop into huge chugging djent guitars alongside heavy screamed vocals and a dramatic instrumental backdrop. That sets up a final blast of the delightful chorus.
On the track, Jon told us: “I’m really excited for people to hear Wait and See, because it really does already feel like it is going to be one of our most iconic songs with all of the elements that make up Vanitas coming together into this next step of our career as a band.”
And Jade added: “I’m really proud of the chorus on this one. We had so much fun in the music video too, as we got a good friend to do trick riding on a horse, which turned out amazing! I won’t give too much more away than that, you’ll have to go listen/watch for yourself.” You can do just that by watching the typically dramatic video here:
Wait And See follows on from Vanitas’ second EP Chaos Theory, which was released in August. It opens up with a banger in Grey Morality, in which the massive djenty section that follows the lines “Kneel before him, An idol painted pure, Break the chains, Fall into the void, Kneel before him, I never had much choice” and flows into a final chorus is very much a highlight of the EP.
A personal favourite track may be Lies, which opens with heavy guitars and drums that drop into engaging high-pitched vocals feeding into a chorus “Lies, You shackle all my pride, Reduced to just a bride, I wanna move, I wanna feel the light, And claim the space that’s mine.” Heavy instrumentals drop into a creepy second verse that feeds into another engaging chorus, which ends on powerful instrumentals before big low-tuned guitars support Jade’s vicious growled vocals. Check it out in the video here:
If you like things on the heavier side then E.D.G. will be for you, with big proggy riffs flowing into huge screamed vocals. But, in classic Vanitas style, that gives way to a calm and beautiful chorus. Mixing things up completely, title track Chaos Theory opens up with mellow vocals and guitars that feed into a dramatic instrumental section and a faster, more powerful verse. It gradually increases in intensity, towards big screamed vocals supported by a variety of fun guitar riffs.
The EP closes out with the excellent Queen of Nowhere, which begins with an instrumental section that ends with dramatic orchestral hits teeing up a powerful first verse. That feeds into a trademark engaging chorus “Take another piece of me, I’m kicking and screaming, Make a home that I can’t reach, Isolate me, Well I move alone, it’s all I’ve known, The queen of nowhere I belong, Long after I’m gone, Nowhere I belong.” A second chorus ends with repeats of “Nowhere I belong” over huge metal and orchestral elements, which drop into a light guitar lick and calm vocals, before a big guitar solo tees up a final chorus. Check it out in the video here:
On the EP, Elijah said: “The response has just been phenomenal, and I’m so grateful for all the love and kind words people have said about this EP! Expect epicness and heavy riffage if you haven’t heard it before.”
And Jon added: “The response to the EP really has blown me away with hope and how much love people have for it. I feel like it has brought together people who enjoy the heaviest parts of metal and the more epic parts of modern metal into one very friendly place.”
Unsurprisingly, the Vanitas sound has been inspired by a wide range of genres and artists, largely through a common love for Periphery. Jade tells us she’s been influenced by the likes of Monuments, Voyager, Incubus, Spiritbox, Devin Townsend, as well as Hyperpop, video game soundtracks and musical theatre. Elijah listens to bands like Intervals, Polyphia, Chon and Monuments and Jon also loves Devin Townsend. Mitch namedrops Mark Holcomb of Periphery, Nobuo Uematsu, Shoji Meguro, Dream Theater and Ihsahn, while Jackson looks up to the likes of The Rev of Avenged Sevenfold, Chris Adler from Lamb of God and Ray Luzier from Korn as well as hip-hop influences like Wu-Tang Clan and MF DOOM.
And on what inspires them to write music, Jade explains: “Generally speaking, I’m inspired by my own experiences and tend to write a lot of songs about overcoming hardships, mental health and the fight to feel free. I like to think that our lyrics can be interpreted in many ways though. If it helps somebody to express their emotions, feel hopeful for the future, or like they can fight another day, then I’ve done my job! It’s always interesting hearing from fans their interpretations of lyrics too.”
And Jackson adds: “Drum-wis,e I think mainly about following riffs and vocal melodies. For example, in a lot of tracks, I add little cymbal bits that follow whatever deep, introspective lyrics Jade is singing.”
There’s plenty more to come from Vanitas, who’ve had content blasting out of their eyeballs this year – just check out the Tour Vlog series on their YouTube channel to see more of that. They’re still writing new music, starting with, in Jade’s words, “a cheeky Christmas cover” – which we’re intrigued to hear – so expect plenty more new music and gigs throughout 2025. You can also see them live at The Pipeline in Brighton on Saturday (23 November) and The Sanctum: Merry Metal Meet in Birmingham on 14 December.
Vanitas are right up there as one of the most fun bands we’ve discovered. Their music is diverse, dramatic and powerful yet strangely catchy, and they genuinely seem like a really fun band to follow and see live.
As Jade says: “We recently came off of our debut UK tour. We’re a band who really enjoy connecting with our fans and documenting our journey and the fun we have. So we vlogged the whole process, and it was a lot of fun to make and I’m really proud of how all the footage came out!”
And Mitch added: “This band ultimately, to me, is my nerdy little project where I get to do all my silly video game soundtrack ideas in prog metal form. I’m always surprised that anyone enjoys it and forever grateful people do – check out our YouTube channel to discover lots of silly fun stuff!”
You can follow Veritas on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok and Twitch, and check out their music on Spotify, Bandcamp, Apple Music and YouTube.
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