Victor and the Bully (VATB) has welcomed a new bandmate, which led in a roundabout way to a new music video filmed at the historic Crossness Pumping Station in London. Frankie Doom joins Victor Ghastly, Crowboy, and Halo in what’s now a quartet. He shares lead guitar duties with Crowboy.
Ghastly, the bandleader, put “new member” in quotes because Doom has performed on all the band’s previous albums, he said.
Doom “even did the majority of guitar in the recordings of Deathbed Confessions and 8th Deadly Sin,” Ghastly said. “When you hear Victor and the Bully you also hear his heart and soul.” Doom also played in Ghastly’s previous band, Billy Rebel.
The new guitarist made his first live appearance with VATB at last year’s Asylum Steampunk Festival in Lincoln, U.K. “We introduced him halfway through the set, and he absolutely stole the show,” Ghastly said.
With Doom officially on board, VATB booked a photo shoot at the pumping station. They had to reserve a four-hour block, “which is a very long time for a photoshoot,” Ghastly said. So they decided to spend half the time shooting the new video, entitled “Falling Down.”
The song, Ghastly explained, “is about going on a night out, which all seems fine, but then a zombie outbreak happens. At least that’s what you think in the drunken state.”
As for the music, “we wanted to create something a bit heavier now that we have two lead guitarists,” he said. “Even throwing in a heavy metal growl was something different for us.”
The video was shot and edited by Beth Robertson, who Victor describes as VATB’s “Fifth Beatle.” She also handles the band’s social media and vlogs. She shot it with a new camera, which means “you can expect to see more videos,” he said.
Steampunk fans on both sides of the Atlantic will soon have opportunities to see the full band on stage. They’re set to perform at the Fantasy Forest Festival, July 20-21 in Winchcombe, U.K., then they cross the pond to take the stage at the Key City Steampunk Convention, Aug. 9-11 in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. There, they’ll be joined by Madam Misfit in her U.S. debut. Then it’s back to the U.K. for an Aug. 25 performance at the Asylum Steampunk Festival in Lincoln.
See the band’s website for more info.
