Let's Angrily Dance

Welcome back to Finetuned! Sorry friends, I am hitting ya with another metal group this week. The thing I’ll say is if you enjoy pop, R&B, and some glitch-pop kinda shit, you’ll also find moments of enjoyment, even if you don’t like metal as much. This week we are chatting about vianova. Let’s bang them heads, yet again, lads! 🤘

vianova is a metalcore band from Berlin, Germany. It was founded by two brothers, Felix and Paul Vogelgesang (heavy sigh, I have two brothers but no music was made), in 2014, initially as a project between them. Over the next few years the lineup solidified: vocalist Alexander “Alex” Kerski joined around 2017, and bassist Raoul Zillani joined at a later stage (post-2020) as part of a phase in which the band intentionally shifted their sound and identity. They are currently signed to Arising Empire.

In terms of their general vibe: vianova mix aggressive metalcore with genre-blurring tendencies. They cite influences from more conventional metalcore bands (e.g. Parkway Drive, Northlane, August Burns Red) but have been pushing beyond strict boundaries. Their visual aesthetic and presence also lean into theatricality, youthful energy, and sometimes irony or playfulness. I would also say even given their citations of influence, they definitely have similarities to The Ongoing Concept (IYKYK), a BIT of The Dillinger Escape Plan, and then just a skosh of Volumes.

vianova’s sound is built around this tension of contrast and hybridization. On one hand, heavy djent-leaning riffs, breakdowns, and the aggressive components of metalcore are always in play and then on the other, clean vocals, hooks, groove, and even elements borrowed from genres like R&B, jazz, ‘80s synth or soul make their way in. Their production tends to lean toward modern polish, but retains enough of that rawness so that the heaviness hits, and still hits hard. Part of their signature is how they shift between heaviness and mood, between blistering chug and more melodic or atmospheric moments.

Vocals play a big role in their approach as well! There are clean singing passages (often melodic, sometimes quite high notes), harsh screams, and a willingness to experiment with vocal effects, rap-inflected rhythm, and different emotional registers. Instrumentally, the guitar work can go from technical riffing and djenty palm-muted heaviness to more open chord structures, synth textures, and sometimes funk or groove-oriented rhythms. Drums follow suit: aggressive but with dynamics, transitions, sometimes moments of restraint.

On Hit It! (our rec today), the lads have amplified their genre-fusion tendencies even more than on prior material. One texture that comes through strongly is contrast: ambient or synth-laden intros or interludes with sudden heavy drops, aggressive djent-style riffs, and breakdowns. There is also a strong presence of groove-heavy riffs, sometimes borrowing from funk or jazz in the rhythm or in backing instrumentation, before pushing into more chaotic or technical metal pieces.

Lyrically, Hit It! leans into themes of identity, conflict (internal and external), the absurdities of modern life, betrayal, frustration, and sometimes existential reflection. For example, in “Obsolete,” there’s a questioning of human value in an automated or emotionally detached world. Other tracks touch on burnout, being pulled into darkness, being stabbed in the back, etc. The lyrical voice tends to be quite direct, often emotionally raw, with vivid metaphors and a willingness to be theatrical or even self-aware.

Thanks for reading here, Finetuners! I do hope you all have enjoyed this week’s Finetuned. I’d appreciate any insights, admiration, or otherwise. You can email me here: [email protected].

Please do share Finetuned with your friends & fam & whoever else! I believe great music should be shared, cherished, and understood from all sorts of perspectives.

See you all in the next one! 🙌

^{(Sources: Arising Empire, Hold Tight PR, GoOut, The Progressive Subway, Jace Media Music, Suffer Magazine)}