Naarm/Melbourne metalcore outfit Vault Hill are preparing to release their new EP Modern Way this Friday, 25 September, and today we’re thrilled to give you an early listen to the record in full.
Inspired by vocalist Morgan O’Brien’s experiences living and working across the Northern Territory, Modern Way is an ambitious and deeply personal collection. Across seven tracks, the band reflects on inequality, culture, responsibility and the ongoing challenges facing First Nations communities, while also paying tribute to the immense beauty, harshness and power of the landscape.
Musically, Vault Hill channel those themes through a bruising combination of modern metalcore, groove and aggression. Guest appearances from Mark Ninnal of Nangu Red Sunset Band, Furious Jake and Ricky McCandlish of Saving Face bring additional voices and perspectives into the record.
Alongside the EP, Vault Hill have also released a new video for “Curlew”, featuring Ricky McCandlish. The track turns its attention to the Northern Territory’s dramatic wet and dry seasons, the power of the landscape and our relationship with the land and those who have cared for it for generations.
Enjoy this remarkable EP. The band have put together a track-by-track breakdown. It’s insightful and adds important context. Crank it up, press <play> and read on.
Vault Hill – Modern Way – Track by Track
Broken Promise/Sands of Time
This track is about reflecting on the health of the focus on the past, present and future of equality between indigenous and non-indigenous Australians. Wadeye local Mark Ninnal reflects on this struggle and the issues and challenges indigenous people face and integral importance of unity for the future through celebration and preservation of culture while layers of voices repeat the chant of lyrics meant to show unity of backgrounds that each have to help by observing and listening as a step to addressing change for what communities say and need. It is purposely difficult to hear individual voices and what each is saying to emphasise the state of noise and confusion that surrounds this narrative. You need to stop and replay and listen carefully to discern which is a metaphor for the driving message of the release, there’s no easy solutions.
Modern Day feat. Furious Jake (Furious George):
This track explores rather bluntly the disparity in equality that exists in modern Australia in the Northern Territory, which to people new to the region or visiting is quite confronting to observe and accept given the often positive image in Australian media. Spending time in the territory allowed me to observe this, the use and misuse of government funding and the commentary and attitudes of non indigenous people on this (often critical and whether implied or intended or not frequently racist- casual racism is very common and accepted). The cycles of domestic abuse and the knock on effects of that to the next generation and the broader historical impact of the past and the complexity of helping and tendency for money and funding rather than harder solutions and realities being dealt with a lot of issues seem to be treated in a way that doesn’t fix the issue but shows that something is being done. Another key theme is the diffusion of responsibility, to many the problem is not seen as one they need to help with or should help with, it’s an indigenous person’s problem to solve.
Wadeye feat Mark Ninnal (Nangu Red Sunset Band)
This track is about Wadeye, its history as a mission where indigenous clans were brought to live in close proximity to one another, it is and remains one of the largest in the Northern Territory and has a very over-represented crime rate. The mission no longer exists but the consequences of close proximity, poverty, and the knock on effects to fuel violence and unrest the track describes the harsh world people living here have to face. It is something that I feel every Australian should see to understand the level of disparity that still exists in modern Australia. Mark Ninnal features and echoes the strength and meaning of his message for unity in Wadeye in the opening track. The final verse echoes Mark’s message for hope for the future through listening and helping one another and safe keeping culture and its strength for community unity.
Wilt
This track is about the sacredness, beauty, harshness and power imbued in the Northern Territory landscape. It is not a forgiving place underscores by its remoteness the creatures and nature that survives even thrives here has not done so easily. I spent a lot of time in Nitmiluk/Katherine gorge by myself, an incredibly beautiful and powerful place that certainly changed me. My work has me travel so most communities across the northern NT and each city is place has its own unique signatures of beauty and struggle and ancient stories within.
Curlew feat Ricky McCandlish (Saving Face)
This track is about the cycle of the seasons with an emphasis on the brute power and force that the wet season storms pose for pilots here. Many long days navigating the skies weaving around these beasts you build a strong respect for their ability to give but also take away. It’s also a track to describe the seasons, the massive falls in the wet season give way to bustling growth of nature which is then burnt in the dry season to prevent uncontrolled burns endangering us. The track acknowledges the way the indigenous people have kept the land and their unique connection to it which is something the population benefits from collectively. The theme of disrespect, often forgotten and sidelined and difusión of responsibility for the problems indigenous people face here re-emerges in the guest vocals from Ricky McCandlish. Nothing is separate and the way we treat indigenous people should be with the same respect we treat the land.
The Pain We Keep Alive
‘The Pain We Keep Alive’ is about an uncomfortable truth, the more we look away, the more we distance ourselves from the problems people face here in the Northern Territory and remote Australia, the longer we give life to the pain these problems bring. The lyrics contain the description of the story of oppression and how modern Australia has addressed it. The Bridging the Gap Royal Commission’s findings and evidence that these problems have not gone away, in many cases have become worse and yet the perception in the media, for the sake of tourism or to globally save face as a nation, is that equality not only exists but is celebrated. It makes you realise there is a more troubling narrative here that non indigenous Australians find a subconscious benefit or gain from feeling separated and not the same, and therefore not part of or responsible for helping in the struggles and oppression. This track asks this difficult question, why are we not doing more, why is it accepted as ok?
The New Way
The final track closes with a message for confronting and challenging the issues raised. It asks what more can we do, what are we accepting and will we accept it or find ways to really combat the inequality and indifference that permeates life here. It sends a message that this is how we see it, we don’t like it and we shouldn’t accept it and we can do better. Change is slow and Australia has come a long way where it was 100 years ago on these issues but there is still work to do and not all is well and equal here and hopefully with hard work and admissions we can work to find difficult but necessary inclusive solutions.
Modern Way is released Friday, 25 September. Vault Hill will celebrate the EP with a launch show at Melbourne’s Retreat Hotel on 20 November. Grab yourself a ticket HERE and support live music.
