Saving Vice

Hello There

Based out of New England, Saving Vice is a new independent Metalcore band formed in 2017. Band members include: Tyler Small (vocals), Robbie Litchfield (Guitar), Kenjamin Smiertelny (bass), Chase Papariello (vocals), and Sammy Whelton (drums). Not much is known about Saving Vice but what is clear is that their sound is unrivaled and unchallenged. This new generation of metal manages to take aspects from bands that came before like Suicide Silence, and combined that sound with bands like Ice Nine Kills to make these incredible songs. Saving Vice has released one full album titled Hello There. A song on the album that really makes me think of Suicide Silence and Ice Nine Kills is the song “Nerve Damage”. That song really brings out the sound of other bands that have inspired the sound of Saving Vice. The full album is linked below and I suggest looking at “Never Knows Best” and “Endgame”.

Now why listen to “Never Knows Best” or “Endgame”? I picked these two songs out of the rest because they both offer the listener a general overview of what Saving Vice is capable of. Both of these songs offer both the intense metal you are expecting from a metalcore band, but also giving you just a taste of how they take the genre and spin it. The band is able to use a unique style of screaming for the main vocals (preformed by lead vocalist Tyler Small), and then incorporate a more rock or punk style of chorus vocals. The main chorus of “Never Knows Best” is the best chorus out of these two songs:

“The days I spent dreaming
Daydreaming believing
Give me just a moment of your time
Let me follow the contours of your spine
denial”

This song is awesome! I love every single word and beat of this song. The intro just goes hard with the drums and the light guitar strumming really sounds spooky and mysterious. The whisper of the first verses is such a good hook because it draws new listeners in. Small really does a fantastic job at showing his range of screaming in the verses just before the main chorus. That is something I have found that many artists don’t have. Then Small comes back with an extremely “loud” chorus and one that really sticks in your head. Now I say “loud” meaning that the lyrics are “loud”. That not only are they powerful words, but they also give a great mental picture of why this song was written. The lyrics just ringing in your head and the instrumentals along with them just bounce off the walls of your head and keep replaying. This song was stuck in my head for weeks because Saving Vice did such a good job with editing and performing this song. Not only that but the strong music video helps convey the message of help and the messages of denying what is truly there. Right in front of your face.

Now this is an amazing first album from such a young and new band but along with that you can tell the inexperience of the band. They are all just so young that it is noticeable that they have not figured everything out yet. What I mean is that the band uses too much screaming or too much regular vocals at some points. There is a good balance of both within songs and this is an area I feel the band can improve greatly in.

Saving Vice has done great with using very unconventional words like the ones in the chorus of “Never Knows Best”, and that’s something that the band does very well. Using different words and words that most bands wouldn’t use to describe something has really set them apart from the rest. I am so excited to continue to listen to this band and am ready to see what Saving Vice will become and evolve into over the course of time.

Meet the band: