Dark-edged. Intriguing. Seductive. Hard-hitting. Poetic. Pick your poison to describe Vargotah, the constant evolving experiment for the lyrical and musical talents of namesake mastermind. It isn't accurate to call them a group. Due to the rotating cast and perpetual change of location Vargotah is regarded as an anonymous multinational act, primarily of american-european heritage. As the charismatic frontman puts it bluntly: "Don't believe in us, we are a lie."
Despite the fact that Vargotah fronts a sinister alliance of varying artists he remains the only permanent member of the avant-garde formation since founding the project in 1999. The musician, lead singer and composer solely heads the artistic and musical direction: Along with writing all of the lyrics, Vargotah is likewise designing, recording and producing the band's whole body of creative output which purely consummates through an artistic perspective rather than satisfying mere commercials.
Appearances of the dark rockers have always been an eclectic mix of concerts, secret gatherings and art performances. The band's quietly sinister imagery, subdued appearance and darkly sensual looks fashion an amalgam of code, secrecy and concealed ambitions, moreover, illuminate their ambiguous appeal. Underground audiences welcomed the invitation-only events which were held in privacy. It's no coincidence that this veiled subculture, wallowing in glum, melancholy and escapist motifs, slowly won the band a cult and established their own niche. Followers endearingly refer to the group also as the »Cult of Vargotah« or »The Vargotah Cult« while fans associate them with modern day vampires and the occult.
Vargotah's brooding persona and creative instincts have ever been a powerful and unrepentant catalyst for sultry music, gloomy stage presence and intense visuals. The strange blend of his distinctive sonorous low voice with poetic-twisted lyrics, the hook-laden songwriting, peculiar sound design and development of uncommon musical ambiences has been conducive to formulate a unique sonic signature marked by novelism.
The musical style of Vargotah fuses a wide gamut of musical genres and techniques. Densely layered facets of forcefully driven alternative rock, metal, goth, industrial, electronica and psychedelic influences embrace those of undetermined traditional origins. Dark poetry, romanticism and surrealistic-dreamesque themes are counter portrayed by emotive subjects and post-modern sound experiments; ranging from otherworldly soundscapes, incandescent-hypnotic sonorities to resonating emittances and feedback-heavy elements.
Carrying the silent whispered air of captivating mystery, intrigue and cryptic visions, the strange blend of unusually arranged songs, odd segues and extensive forays into exploring abstract tonal textures reflect their efforts to create moods rather than grinding genre specific clichés. It's when Vargotah's deep, lush and hypnotizing vocals collide with those passion-fueled aural collages, that the obscure art-rock visionaries run at full blast, spreading out saturnine wings over an unbounded temper that is heavy, dangerous, striking, deeply emotional and fascinating.
Vargotah's trajectory over the past years has been a series of limited vinyl-only records released on Nonaural, followed by remixes and unplugged versions of songs not available before. With their latest offerings from the upcoming album Memeplex the enigmatic entity amongst Vargotah will serve up another hour of their own particular mix of heavy alternative sound, muscular metal riffs, highly emotive phrases and coldly haunting sci-fi aesthetics: Be prepared for a never ending reverie in a darker vein.
Discography: 2001 Blitz Breeze | 2002 A Kiss To Your Precious Lips | 2002 Black Heroin | 2006 Dirty Black Summer (Danzig Tribute Album) | 2005-2007 Nine Inch Nails Remixes (The Hand That Feeds, Only, Survivalism) | Memeplex (TBA)