Localized: Vicious Souls

As you flip your calendar to October, are you filled with a lurking desire to do… the mash? The monster mash? There’s no better place to get your fix than SLUG Localized at Kilby Court on October 22. Post-hardcore band Warm Veins will treat you, and heavy metal bands Vicious Souls and Wicked Temple will trick you. See you there — if you dare!

Sitting side by side in Shane Halen’s (founder, lead guitar) garage-turned practice space, the five members of Vicious Souls exhibit a bond that most can only pray for. It is often difficult to work so closely with four other people, especially people with personalities as expressive as these guys, but these men seem to only find ways to complement each other. They hold each other up, both on and off stage, and that is what makes this group so valuable to the Salt Lake music scene.

Every single one of these men has been making music for at least 35 years. It was only two years ago, 11 years after Halen originally started the band, that the lineup was finally solidified. Chris Margetts was the final addition to the band, coming in on bass. Margetts went to practice with the band to decide whether or not he wanted to join them; after only one song, he was sure. When Margetts joined the band, he made the other members agree that this was the lineup they were going to stick with, and they haven’t once regretted that decision. Halen was happy to agree, given that he had spent the last 11 years going through many different bassists and vocalists.

“From where I stand, I could always tell if they were bad or not, and I have yet to hear a bad show.”

On vocals is Gary Luahiwa, possibly the most kickass guy to ever come out of Fountain Green, Utah. With Paul Griffin on drums and Tracy “Rooster” Sweetring on bass, we have all the musicians of Vicious Souls — but there is one more honorary member. Steve Hentschel is the blood and bones of Vicious Souls. From organizing bookings, coordinating travel plans, running websites and social media, to being a brother to every one of the members, Hentschel does it all. Hentschel met Sweetring through work and has since become a vital pillar for these men. He is their number one supporter in every sense. Hentschel has seen Vicious Souls through everything, and to this day he says, “From where I stand, I could always tell if they were bad or not, and I have yet to hear a bad show.” Hentschel has stood in crowds of hundreds as well as crowds of only one other person, but no matter the crowd, “when they play, they play.”

The fact that each one of these guys has been in at least one previous band and has years upon years of playing and performing under their belts allows them to work through anything they come across. As Margetts puts it, “We’ve all been through so many years of doing things wrong.” These men are ready to do things right – and they are.

“[They’re] going to have a good time no matter what.”

There are so many venues Vicious Souls still wants to play, so many places they want to go and so many more people they want to share their music with. They have one single out now, while they are actively working on recording a few more songs for an EP which they hope to have out on streaming platforms by the end of this year. Whether they are putting out music, performing or just jamming, Vicious Souls is “going to have a good time no matter what.”

Every single one of these men has come a long way from performing at high school talent shows and watching their older brother’s friends play music. Halen has been making music since the ‘80s, and he’s “not stopping till he’s in the grave.” At a young age, Luahiwa believed you had to be a god to be able to create music; since then, he has either learned differently or discovered himself to be godly. Utah has produced a lot of incredible musicians, and you can certainly add these five men to that list.

Read more about local bands and their badassery:
Local Review: Mortal American Body — Mortal American Body
Local Review: Jennifer Brasseur — Jennifer Brasseur

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