Aural Aggravation

After rising through the ranks steadily from their 2014 album Distorture through to 2017’s Invidia record and following a series of EPs and singles, alternative rock hybrid outfit Ventenner return with new EP Slow Dissolve on 31st October (Athanor Records). Known for flawlessly blending metal, atmospheric electronics and doomy riffs, this latest release marks a new era for the band, following a number of years of major changes and upheavals. Though the concept of change has been a constant theme that has run through Ventenner’s music. Frontman Charlie Dawe comments,

"A lot of my music over the years has centered around the idea of something ending and something new beginning. There’s always been a strong theme of death and rebirth in the approach. These were normally restricted to the lyrical themes and to a personal level, this time however it was more about the band as a whole and a concept.

We had got to a good point by the end of the decade. Our 2017 album Invidia had been a success, so had the subsequent singles we released in its wake. It had opened doors to big shows and big tours, management, a publishing deal, tipped as the next big thing etc etc. After the lockdown, we had some key line up changes that didn’t end on good terms, and I spent the following years releasing Ventenner albums and EPs with fellow long time member Luke Jacobs. But the way things were, the industry was on pause still, and our momentum had stalled."

Despite those releases being some of Ventenner’s best work to date, it all came to a head in 2023, with their first step on to the stage in 4 years. Charlie explains,

"The newly joined RomyBen-Hur and Ted Nieddu, both on guitars and backing vocals, came along for the trip and musically it was great. The tour was fun, the people who came said we were on our A game, but it was stressful and difficult and without the support of our agent (who had quit the business in covid) it wasn’t a success. Personally, my life was in a similar situation. Having made some difficult decisions to move on from people and things, done the therapy thing, I had no idea where I fit in to music any more, if Ventenner was still a thing or ever would be, generally an existential crisis and cataclysmic shift on every level.”

After nearly 20 years in London, Charlie admitted defeat, closed his record label and moved to the wild coasts of Rural Suffolk. Away from the pressures of living in the capital, he got sober, ran in the woods every day, immersed himself in a burgeoning career as a film score composer and thought that maybe, that was it…. Charlie adds,

"We had put out an album in 2024, Exit Manual, which was the most startlingly apt title I’ve ever come up with for what I and the band were going through at that point. For me it was probably a swan song and it was time to bow out, quietly and without applause.

At some point, whether it was the newfound clarity and productivity, the letting go of negative elements, or just being away from everything and being ‘on the outside’ of the industry, something just sparked. I had a few things left over from the previous album sessions that didn’t fit, and some ideas I had from a side project called Last Sign which never really came into full bloom. So I started writing for Ventenner again, not because I thought I had to or I had something to prove like the last 10 or so years, but just because I wanted to. I had been writing a lot out here, both for solo work and soundtracks, and it was flowing easily. The long drawn out slow dissolve of the last 10 years was not the demise I had thought it was, rather just a very gradual reveal.”

The results are the Slow Dissolve EP, now once again a solo project with Charlie handling all the music and vocals, this is the sound of an artist refreshed, refocussed and reenergised across 4 new tracks of dark heavy rock & metal, underpinned with atmospheric textures. Essential listening for fans of: Nine Inch Nails, Filter, Smashing Pumpkins, Deftones, Failure, Tool & Massive Attack with Cold in Berlin vocalist makes a guest appearance on ’Sway’.

Today sees the release of first single ‘Ultraviolet’ which according to Charlie, “is about examining things close up. Things that are only visible under a certain light, but are there all the time and affecting everything we do. This song, and this record, is about finding the hidden reason in our actions. Things that wanted to stay hidden for our own protection, but need to be uncovered if we ever want to move forward.”

Listen to the track now: