Vampire Champagne: Rebirth and New Beginnings

Over a year after releasing Decay/Metamorphosis, the post-hardcore band Vampire Champagne is back with a new, mysterious, and instrumentally daring single, "Cosmogony," part of their forthcoming album.

Cosmogony is the study of the origin of the universe, or more broadly, the start or creation of something. For Vampire Champagne, the band's formation feels sonically cosmic—a mission to make listeners feel, dance, and connect through music. Drawing from math to progressive rock, Vampire Champagne blends post-hardcore roots with harmonious chaos, creating a unique musical space that fosters emotional evolution. Since releasing Decay/Metamorphosis over a year ago, the band has embraced change. While that album represented a period of growth and acceptance, their new single, “Cosmogony,” marks a new chapter. It not only showcases confident flex of experimentation and new ideas but also reflects the band’s maturity, shaped by experience. “Cosmogony” is a story of raw experimentation, refined soundscapes, and bold unpredictability, shaping a band that has gone through the roses and thorns of searching for identity and purpose and, like the swirling void before creation, has reached the zenith of creative freedom through their willingness to go beyond the traditional walls of post-hardcore and with their unique flair of storytelling have created a sound that is distinctly their own. For Vampire Champagne, this is not just a new era, but a band fearlessly pushing themselves from the darker interpersonal tension of Decay/ Metamorphosis to brighter, nostalgic, emotionally voltalic soundscapes that coat “Cosmogony”: explosive, defining, and full of potential.

Vampire Champagne

When we last spoke, you had just released “Medusa Stare.” I always liked this track because you really showcased nostalgic post-hardcore influences that intermingled with these really beautiful melodic spaces within the guitar riffs and vocals. A lot has changed since you initially released this track back in 2023. Going into this new single release. What were some things coming into this new single you wanted to push or experiment with more?

Sanyi: Across the board, it was important to us that we level up. When it came to the instrumental, that meant improving technically but using that in the service of a song with vocals in mind. There’s something really special about a band coming together to use these chops and keep things sounding tight, like a “sum greater than its parts” deal.

Kyle: For the release of “Cosmogony,” we wanted to show that we are entering a new era of the band. We are really pushing ourselves musically to be more technical and experimental, but at the same time more emotional and memorable. Our last album tended to lean more into a darker vibe, but for this song, we wanted to come back to that upbeat and nostalgic post-hardcore sound.

Sasha: Vocally, my goal was to bring something bright to the forefront. Recently, I’ve been falling back on darker tones and lower singing; it was a lot of fun to push something bright and bubbly.

Jake: For drums, I wanted to incorporate a bit more finesse in my parts. I usually default to a sort of heavy, hard-hitting style, but for this one, I was really feeling a more intricate vibe. Fast and chaotic, but still refined and articulate. For example, in the bridge right after the second verse, I added a sort of jazz-inspired groove with some ghost notes sprinkled in. Which gives it a nice little ”bounce.”

Listening to the new single, “Cosmogony,” instrumentally, you guys were inspired by bands like CHON and The Fall of Troy, with these really nice aggressive spaces of metal intertwined within. I think it’s great that bands are starting to connect again with melodic math rock acts like CHON, And So I Watch You From Afar, Stage Kids, and Giraffe? Giraffe! bands of that nature, as I think that kind of melodic dissonance shows that rock music is more than its aggressive counterparts. What inspired this music direction for this particular track?

Sanyi: All amazing bands! We love playing with the balance between beautiful, lush sounds and aggressive, angry dissonance. That’s part of the joy of being in this band: we can go from ripping aggressive metal to pretty groovy vibes, and it’s still genuinely us. Having instrumentals lend to the emotional drive of a story, along with the vocals themselves, just hits harder, and it’s a reason we love so many of the math/core bands you mentioned, too. They do an amazing job with their instruments to make you feel a certain way while still blowing you away.

Kyle: We are definitely wearing our influences on our sleeves here. This song is a love letter to that style of music! It’s really inspiring to take that sound and mix it with a bit of a modern twist. We want to use extended range guitars in an interesting way and show that it’s not always about being as heavy as possible; it’s more about creating a unique emotion.

Jake: This song really made me feel nostalgic for the good old days of mathy emo rock, and I wanted to try and channel that a bit. So I went and just binged a lot of those types of bands, like The Fall Of Troy and Icarus The Owl, to get into that mindset and really tried to channel that fun yet chaotic vibe.

Lyrically, “Cosmogony,” if you look at the context of what that means. It’s the origin of the universe, or if you sort of look deeper, it's the start or creation of something; in essence, it's the beginning of something new, ascending to something greater. I think it's pretty fitting considering this is the first single off your upcoming new album. I also like that you are making that sort of connection with your new music video for the single.  The video captures the essence of spring, with decorative flowers, lush greenery, and those Wes Anderson-esque shots add to that sort of bright, quirky side of your band. What inspired you to write this track and the idea for the music video? Is this opening up the doors for what the new album could potentially be about?

Sasha: You really hit the nail on the head with the symbolism of new growth and new beginnings. That new love that’s expanding and constantly changing, while being surrounded yet completely unreachable. Overall, we have a really dark image, and with “Cosmogony,” we wanted to flip that and fall into spring and bright colors. I feel like the music video did an amazing job of capturing that. In a way, it’s a hint at the rest of the new music coming soon, with lots of experimenting and mixing sounds and ideas.

Aldrynne: Kyle wrote the skeleton of the song, and the working title ended up becoming the actual title. So, I wrote lyrics loosely around the definition of "Cosmogony.” If you dig into the lyrics of the song, there are themes of astronomy, different theologies, and generally a ton of space themes and rebirth. As for the new material we are currently prepping to release, I think what "Cosmogony" represents for the other tracks is strong narratives. A lot, if not all, of the new songs are story-driven.

Since you guys are working on releasing this new album, what does this mean to you, being that it has been over a year since you released Decay/Metamorphosis?

Kyle: We are definitely very excited and itching to release new music! Now that our first album has been out for a while, it’s been amazing to see people singing along at shows, and we believe that there is a really special community for this genre. Our goal is to release music at a more consistent pace and keep making these amazing connections as often as possible!

Aldrynne: With Decay/Metamorphosis, the theme was evolution. With the music we are writing now, I feel like, thematically, we are learning to live with ourselves as the musicians we have grown to be together. Vampire Champagne is an amalgamation of collaborative efforts. With Decay/Metamorphosis, we were figuring out how to function as a band together. With these new releases, we are pushing that potential, focusing on all of our strengths to create a powerful collection of songs

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Sasha: This year, since the release of Decay/Metamorphosis, has definitely been a season of growth for me. The balance of life, with work, music, and family, has been a challenge, but it has led me to be so much more self-aware. I think this awareness has shown in my mindset and even in my writing. I’m trying to live in the music and enjoy what we’re creating.

What is something that you are learning about yourselves during the development of this new album?

Sanyi: We’ve come to learn that what matters most is making music we care about together and getting to share that to hopefully bring some joy and connection with our community. Because of that, we’ve really embraced a DIY spirit. This is the first song mixed by our very own Kyle Scott, and we made the music video ourselves, from start to finish. There’s something really empowering knowing that we have this freedom and ability within our reach to create something so important to us and then share it out in a very real way with our friends, fans, and community.

Kyle: It’s been really eye-opening to see how much we can do on our own, what can be accomplished with creative control and putting more time into improving our process. This is the first time that we’ve taken audio mixing and video production entirely into our own hands. It was definitely a learning experience, but it has really set up a solid foundation for what we are going to do in the future.

Sasha: I’m learning that patience is such an important skill that I need to work on. A lot of these upcoming songs have been in the works for a while. Even though hiccups and bumps along the way have stretched our timeline, the songs have had the time to grow and mature and truly find their shine.

Aldrynne: I'm constantly sharpening my tool kit as a vocalist, and I grow and improve with every single song we write. Every time I feel like I've reached my limit, there's a new song that pushes my creativity. So, I've learned to trust myself and enjoy the process. I've also learned to have a healthy balance between compromising for the good of the project and sticking with my gut with certain ideas. It can be worth it to die on your hill when you have an idea, and other times, you can sacrifice that idea because a bandmate or producer can help improve it.

Jake: I find that taking on these new, various challenges has been teaching us what we're really capable of and how far we can take our creativity. Getting into these new headspaces and approaching each project from a new perspective has allowed us to grow in such unique ways that our music just keeps evolving and changing. And that's awesome!

What is next for you guys?

Kyle: We are taking it slow with playing shows this winter and planning to really focus on writing and releasing new music. Our next single, “Torn Up,” is about to be sent off for mastering, and we are putting the final touches on new songs we’ve been playing live this summer. Plenty of new ideas in the works as well, so you can expect a lot of new music from us over the next year!

Sasha: Expect lots of new music, pots are cooking. Gears are already turning for our next couple of music video ideas as well! We’re so excited to show everyone what we’ve been working on.

Aldrynne: A steady trajectory upward. We have more in store for everybody. Stuff that can be more experimental or heavy, it's a mixed bag. There will be something for everyone.