Long Island's Vision of Disorder are a band that feels the need for intensity and the ability of being able to channel one's anger, life's experiences, and visions within one's music. On their debut album, _Vision of Disorder_ (Roadrunner/Supersoul), the quintet's music blares powerful chants of hatred, respect, love, and despair, coated with thick metallic tones and hardcore tendencies. But as much as they believe in the power of a hard-hitting song, they also believe in the need for growth in a band.
"We are very happy with the style and sound that we have progressed into," says frontman Tim Williams in a thick Long Island accent over the phone from Roadrunner Records New York H.Q. You see, Williams and his band - guitarist Mike Kennedy and Matt Baumbach, bassist Mike Fleischmann, and drummer Brendon Cohen - have grown with their music ever since the formation of the band in 1992, a process that has involved numerous live shows, being included on a compilation titled _New York's Hardest_, and the release of a popular 7".
"I don't think we have lost anything with growing," continues Williams, " I think we are still completing our goals. One of which is being able to reach a larger audience which we are doing now, being able to tour and have a record out. It was tough for us to do that in the beginning, but now we have people out there doing it for us and spreading the message. I don't think we have lost anything in growing. We have gained through experience and being on a label and releasing our record."
Most new bands will notice the vast amount of requirements and conditions that come with being on a label: press, record company executives, touring, etc. It is all part of being on a label, and Williams and the rest of his crew are seeing this first hand. "I can't tell you how much I have learned. It is fucking ridiculous. The whole recording process of making the record was one in its own. It was very difficult. I still don't know much about it and we let them (record company) deal with it, but I am still learning. I guess I have learned a shit load since getting signed."
When asking Williams what he thinks sets VoD apart from other bands, he responds, "One thing is the drums. People always for some reason hear the drums. People also tell us the vocals separate really well. I don't think that my vocals are the key. I think it is everyone doing their own part for the record and each one of those parts coming together. I think the whole unit and our sound together is was sets us apart."
The sound of the band is something to behold. The debut album, shows off the band as a monstrous flow of reality and hard-life tales told through the words of Williams. Tough to take, but nonetheless realism thrown into our faces. And live the band is something also to see says Williams. According to Williams, the music and live show are two very different things. "When people come to our shows, they get a completely different slap of reality. We are not a fake band that stands up behind a microphone or on a pedestal. People know we interact and mingle. We know that they know that we know that we are not above them, rather they are above us. They are what made us. They got us to Roadrunner. Maybe our music got us there but without the fan base it wouldn't have happened. The labels go for someone when they see money. If they see a thousand kids going to a show they go 'Wow' and see money. Then they listen to the music. But first you hear the buzz from the kids."
About signing to Roadrunner or a label in general, Williams says, "I had a feeling that it would happen, that all of this would pay off one day. This is what we worked hard to do and something had to go right for us. It hasn't paid off yet but it is starting to. I have been doing this since I got out of high school, four years ago, and every fuckin' day it has been the band. I went out of my way all the time for the band. The band has been my number one priority in life for the last four years now. It will always be that way and I'm glad to be doing it on this level now."
"I am doing this for self-gratification and getting my message out," says Williams about his music and wanting to keep at this band for years to come. "I also want to see different lands and meet lots of people and acquire knowledge. I think knowledge is the key. You can get knowledge from anything, you don't have to go to school for it. I did, but I think the best knowledge comes from experience."