When you buy through links on our articles, Future and its syndication partners may earn a commission.<\/i><\/p>\n Credit: Leni Klockow<\/p>\n For Felix Vogelsang, guitarist in Germany\u2019s madcap genre-mashers Vianova, changing his weapon of choice has helped turn the band into one of metal\u2019s most exciting new prospects.<\/p>\n Seven years ago, the band showed their hand with rapid-fire riffs and tapping<\/a> licks galore on debut EP A Place I Want to Live in But I Don\u2019t Want to Die For. Later, Vogelsang ditched his Mayones Regius in search of a new sound.<\/p>\n With a 30″ Squier Vintage Modified Baritone Jazzmaster in the ever-divisive Antigua Burst finish, he and the band found their voice. Heck, they even have a song called Squier Talk. Their technicality has evolved, and their blend of prog metal, R&B, soul and electronic music is unlike any of their peers.<\/p>\n While Loathe changed the baritone game<\/a>, Vianova have funnelled its energies through their own lens, making HIT IT! the best modern metal debut album in years. Vogelsang explains how it happened.<\/p>\n Where did your guitar journey start?<\/strong><\/p>\n \u201cI was raised with Michael Jackson, Queen and a lot of the Beatles, because of my dad. When I heard that lick in Black or White, it blew my mind. But it wasn\u2019t until I heard a power chord run through distortion that I fell in love with guitar. I\u2019ve had some classical lessons, finger-picking and stuff like that, but I’m also self-taught.\u201d<\/p>\n Was there a moment when you felt you were no longer a beginner?<\/strong><\/p>\n \u201cI challenge myself all the time \u2013 as soon as I start to learn something new, I feel like a beginner again. It makes me think, \u2018Am I good at guitar or not?\u2019 Social media shows you the variety of amazing guitar players that are out there smashing it, so I don\u2019t know if I\u2019m any good!\u201d<\/p>\n What inspired the switch to <\/strong>baritone guitars<\/strong><\/a>?<\/strong><\/p>\n \u201cWhen we started, we felt like we had to shred and show off. Then you realize it takes a lot of time learning that. Obviously, the baritone is inspired by Loathe. I\u2019ve always found it fascinating to see someone picking an instrument that\u2019s unusual for the style of music they play. Watching Loathe made me want to do that.<\/p>\n Credit: Vianova<\/p>\n \u201cI wanted to simplify what I play without sacrificing the technicality of it, so it\u2019s a lot more rhythmic now. I also want to write catchy parts that are still technical, which is hard to do. It\u2019s changed how I write my riffs.\u201d<\/p>\n How has it changed your playing?<\/strong><\/p>\n \u201cPlaying a 30″ guitar is like playing a tree! It\u2019s crazy how far your hands are away from your body when you hit the first fret. I can\u2019t play a lot of our older songs on the Squier, so live, I play the Mayones for those.<\/p>\n \u201cWe don\u2019t have to argue that P-90s are crazy on these guitars, which is why I wanted to try a Jazzmaster out. We were looking for the twang in the tone. But there\u2019s a lot of noise floor with the P-90s, so you have to play cleaner, which makes you practice more.\u201d<\/p>\n You tune low \u2013 are chords still possible?<\/strong><\/p>\n \u201cI play in drop E, but an octave lower than regular guitar, so I play a lot of single-string stuff. I struggled with the power chord stuff at first. I didn\u2019t know if the guitar could get them to sound the way I wanted them to.<\/p>\n \u201cI ended up changing the string gauges to an 80-16 set, so power chord stuff still sounds cool. After I did that, I realized it\u2019s a very diverse guitar. All the strings are wound, except the .16, which is great for playing really funky stuff.\u201d<\/p>\n Talk us through some of the album\u2019s recording tricks.<\/strong><\/p>\n \u201cWe played around to create unusual sounds \u2013 we didn\u2019t want things to sound polished. We tried putting distortion through a room mic and things like that. In Future Nostalgia it\u2019s layers; but there\u2019s a room mic so you can hear the acoustics of the guitar and the click of the strings.<\/p>\n The baritone is back in fashion. People are realizing they can be used for metal!<\/p>\n<\/div>\n \u201cIn Whatever Alright, I programmed lots of strange noises on a synth, then I tried to make a riff out of it. We like to have lots of ear candy. Sometimes it\u2019s an accident. Sometimes it\u2019s intuition, like the piano line in the breakdown of M\u00e1s R\u00e1pido \u2013 there was space for it. We like elements that are surprising, or guitar sounds that are over the top. We want those moments to be fun!\u201d<\/p>\n There are a lot of <\/strong>Orange amps<\/strong><\/a> in your videos.<\/strong><\/p>\n \u201cThat\u2019s just for social media! I actually play a Quad Cortex<\/a>. I used to use amps, but transportation and playing in small venues can be an issue. I switched to Kemper at first, but we use so many Neural DSP plugins on the album that it made sense to switch again.<\/p>\n Credit: Leni Klockow<\/p>\n \u201cI use Nameless Fortin a lot, and you can\u2019t go wrong with Rabea. I like Gojira for the octave pedal<\/a>, and the Whammy is great for throwing noises in. That\u2019s what a lot of our tone is on the album.\u201d<\/p>\n You aren\u2019t the only metal guitarist to have fallen in love with baritone guitars in recent years. What makes them so special?<\/strong><\/p>\n \u201cI can’t really tell! I think it makes sense to have a 30″ scale guitar for lower tunings. Aesthetics and trends change all the time, and right now the baritone is back in fashion. People are realizing they can be used for metal!\u201d<\/p>\n And not just for playing the Beatles.<\/strong><\/p>\n \u201cExactly!\u201d<\/p>\n<\/span><\/div>\n
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