Vipers began as a solo project from Coke Bust vocalist Nicktape before becoming a full band built on longtime friendships and a shared love of stripped-down hardcore.
“My primary band, Coke Bust, toured South America a few times,” the singer tells No Echo. After his second tour in 2015, he stayed in São Paulo, Brazil. While living there, he recorded a song for a planned compilation of one-man bands. “I named the band Vipers because my Brazilian permanent resident visa was called a VIPER visa. The comp fell through, but I still wrote and recorded my song. Afterwards, I wanted to keep the project alive.”
Years later, after moving back to the U.S., Nick began to rethink the whole solo concept. “I thought really hard about what made punk rewarding to me… ‘The life I love is making music with my friends.’ It didn’t make sense to hoard Vipers as some bullshit solo project.” He reached out to longtime friend Biff, who helped assemble a Buffalo lineup featuring guitarist Johnny and drummer Drew, and you might know them from such bands as Science Man, Radiation Risks, and Candy. The new group learned the songs from rough demos and quickly recorded the material together.
Just last week, Vipers dropped their debut, a 7-song ripper that is adorned with cover art suited for the debauchery at hand. The EP collects songs written over several years. “This is a band for people who like stripped-down hardcore punk,” Nick says. “These songs reflect a desperate, broken man trying to figure it out and keep it together during his worst.”
Musically, Vipers stick close to fast, straightforward hardcore. “My biggest influences when I write these songs are bands like Raw Power, SOA, Antidote, the Ramones, and Direct Control,” Nick says. “I love their simplicity. I love the way the guitars sound choppy and abrasive. As a songwriter, I never progressed past that and kind of don’t want to.”
At the same time, the band embraces over-the-top guitar leads. “I’m a big New York Dolls fan, and I really like those solos that are so fabulous, decadent, and gaudy… while also having a real toilet bowl quality.”
Vipers are planning an East Coast and Canadian tour in the late spring. “We’re planning a run to get together, hang out, eat food, and get these 7-inches into shoeboxes around the country,” the vocalist tells No Echo. “I’ll write some new songs.”
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Vipers is available as 7" vinyl via Swimming In Faith (U.S.), Broken Skull Records (Canada), and Undershows (Brazil).
