March has been off to a great start musically wise, thanks to HIMALAYAS’ newest release ‘V.O.V.’ For their new record, the Welsh band consisting of Mike Griffiths, Joe Williams, Louis Heaps and James Goulbourn have had a helping hand from none other than AC/DC legend Brian Johnson!
The lyrics for ‘V.O.V’ were co-written by the AC/DC frontman and then gifted to the band via a mutual friend, after Johnson had heard some of HIMALAYAS other tunes. “When I was played their recordings, I immediately thought they were the perfect band for the song; the attack they bring to V.O.V is musical violence, brilliant,” he said. Whilst Brian Johnson contributed lyrics such as “A bitter pill, a hollow line / a luxury life on a Disney ride”, the rock quartet have given the song their own personal touch thanks to the instruments accompanying the words: There’s an epic guitar intro, as well as heavy drums accentuating the sound nicely in the background whilst vocalist Joe Williams belts the lyrics into the microphone. Just like with their debut album From Hell To Here, the underlying influence of grunge and blues rock is noticeable on the track, assuring that HIMALAYAS are staying true to themselves despite not having written the lyrics by themselves: They sound just like that indie rock band recording from inside their garage that you want to make it big out there in the scene!
‘V.O.V’ has a vibrating sound to it, with the band describing it as “a song of resistance and struggle against violence and suffering. We wanted to talk of contrasting worlds and how the cracks between them are so readily paved over.” Well, they definitely achieved what they were aiming for. Oh, and if you were wondering what ‘V.O.V’ stands for, the gloomy chorus of the song clears that up: “Victims of your violence, slaughter of your innocence/ victims of your violence, slaughter of your innocence.”
Dark lyrics like these were co-written by the AC/DC frontman, and regarding their collaboration, the Cardiff quartet states: “Brian was really complimentary of our music and what we had achieved so far, something we were really grateful for.” The listener for one, can definitely be grateful for this collaboration between HIMALAYAS and Brian Johnson, as ‘V.O.V’ makes one hell of a tune.
Written by: Svenja Nowak
Edited by: Naomi Krauthausen
