Volumes is a nu-metalcore and djent band formed in 2009 in Los Angeles, California by guitarist/producer Diego Farias. One of the many bands that came in on the djent wave in the early 2010’s, they quickly made a name for themselves in the djent and metalcore scene, though not without troubles along the way.
Volumes’ original lineup were guitarists Diego Farias and Daniel Braunstein, singers Gus Farias and Michael Barr, Raad Soudani on bass, and Chris Khoury. After finalizing the lineup, the band got to work on their first EP, The Concept of Dreaming. Before the EP released, Braunstein was out and Daniel Schwartz joined to help finish the EP. Volumes soon announced they signed to Mediaskare Records and they released The Concept of Dreaming in November 2010. The EP was well received and it got Volumes to start touring the US. Volumes would start work on their debut album, Via, throughout 2010 and 2011. However, Khoury left the band and Schwartz would take up the sticks. Via released in September 2011 to rave reviews and quickly put Volumes on the map as a band to watch out for. As predicted, more tours would follow. However, in 2012 Schwartz left the band and was replaced by Nick Ursich.
2013 and 2014 saw more growth for Volumes, supporting bands such as Crown the Empire and Ice Nine Kills, as well as getting on the Vans Warped Tour in 2014. In 2014 Volumes’ second album, No Sleep, released. No Sleep saw a greater emphasis on cleans as well as some hip hop and nu-metal influence. More tours followed suit. In 2015 they embarked on their biggest tour to date with Australian metalcore band Northlane, touring Europe and Australia together. Despite the surge in popularity, trouble would hit the band. Volumes revealed that Mediaskare failed to pay them royalties for Via and No Sleep, and after a lot of legal issues the band got the rights back to their first two albums and re-releasing them on their own label, 91367 Records. Volumes announced in late 2015 that Michael Barr would be leaving the band due to Creative Differences.
After a brief search for a new vocalist, Volumes decided on Myke Terry of ex-Bury Your Dead fame. Volumes also announced they signed a new contract with Fearless Records and released a new single “Feels Good” in 2016 and a new album was in the works. Different Animals was released in 2017 under Fearless and saw an even greater expansion on their sound with more alternative metal and hip hop influences. After several years of touring, Volumes released a surprise EP Coming Clean in April 2019 which hearkened back to their Via-era sound. 2019 was mostly a quiet year for the band, with Diego focusing on his producing career, Gus launching his trap project Yung Yogi, and Raad filling in for Of Mice and Men as their bassist, all while writing a follow up to Different Animals. Then October 2019 hit and Gus and Diego Farias were no longer in Volumes and Michael Barr was back in the band. With the new lineup, Volumes released a new single "holywater". As of writing of this page, the band is continuing to work on their fourth album and have yet to announce a new guitarist.
Tragedy struck the band in February 2020, when news that Diego Farias passed away. Despite leaving the band at that point, it hit the band hard and they cancelled a planned European tour with Born of Osiris to mentally recover.
Current lineup (founding members in italics):
- Raad "Bass Dragon" Soudani - bass
- Nick Ursich - drums
- Michael Barr - vocals
- Myke Terry - vocals
Notable past members:
- Gus "Yung Yogi" Farias - vocals (2009-2019)
- Diego "Yaygo" Farias - guitars, production (2009-2019, died 2020)
- Daniel Schwartz - guitars, drums (2009-2012)
Discography:
- The Concept of Dreaming (2010, EP)
- Via (2011)
- No Sleep (2014)
- "Feels Good" (2016, single)
- Different Animals (2017)
- Coming Clean (2019, EP)
- "holywater" (2020, single)
- "Pixelate" (2020, single)
- Happier? (2021)
IT WAS IMMACULATE IN ITS BEAUTY, A THOUSAND TROPES!
- Addled Addict: Gus and Barr both had issues with drugs. One of the reasons why Barr left the band was his worsening drug issues. Gus has gone in and out of rehab trying to stay off harder substances. Ultimately, a drug overdose is what did Diego in.
- All Drummers Are Animals: Nick goes to town on the drums, his long hair and shirtless wardrobe completing the look.
- all lowercase letters: "holywater" and "hello goodbye".
- Band of Relatives: Brothers Gus and Diego Farias.
- Barbarian Longhair: Gus had this for most of Volumes’ life, but cut it off during 2018. Nick Ursich keeps this as his default hair, and gives him quite a wild look when behind the kit.
- The Cameo: Marc Okubo (Veil of Maya), Adrien Oropeza (After the Burial), and $UICIDEBOY$ appear in the party in the "On Her Mind" music video (among others).
- Caps Lock: "NO LOVE" and "ALIVE" from the Coming Clean EP.
- Cover Version: Drake’s “Hold On We’re Going Home” for Pop Goes Punk.
- Deathcore: The Concept of Dreaming was djenty deathcore that wasn’t too removed from what Born of Osiris or After the Burial were doing at the time.
- Djent: One of the codifiers for the djent scene in the early 2010s, along with Periphery, Erra, Northlane, Born of Osiris, and After the Burial. Though they started incorporating nu-metal in their sound before other bands did so.
- Early-Installment Weirdness: As mentioned, The Concept of Dreaming was straight up deathcore and their only release so far that lacks any clean vocals.
- Grief Song: "Vahle" from No Sleep, a tribute to a friend of the band who passed away in a car accident.
- Hip-Hop: Another huge influence on the band, and it really shows on tracks like "On Her Mind" and "Hope" from Different Animals. Every now and again Terry or Gus would MC hip hop shows in LA and Volumes once played a hiphop festival in Cali.
- I Am the Band: Volumes was the project of the Farias brothers, but as of 2019 Raad Soudani is the legal owner of Volumes’ name and music.
- Intercourse with You: "Across the Bed" and "On Her Mind."
- Lighter and Softer: No Sleep and Different Animals saw increases in cleans and non-metal influences. Different Animals' second half in particular is some of the lightest material the band has written.
- New Sound Album:
- No Sleep had a noticeable increase in cleans from Barr, as well as more nu-metal and hip hop influences. Different Animals would take the alternative influences even further, even going as far to have rapper Pouya featured on a track.
- Coming Clean saw the band go back to their Via sound, albeit with some of the hip hop influence they showed on Different Animals.
- Nu Metal: They started incorporating nu-metal in their sound starting with No Sleep.
- Persona Non Grata: Due to Barr’s antics at Rocketown in Nashville, Volumes were banned from the festival. Volumes approached the festival again in 2017 with a new lineup and label only to get turned away.
- Special Guest: Quite a few:
- For studio efforts, Chris Letchford drops a solo on "Serenity" on Via (though his solo was cut from the re-release), Pouya on "On Her Mind," and Fronzilla on "NO LOVE."
- For live fill ins, Michael Lessard (The Contortionist) and Joe Buras (Born of Osiris) have filled in for vocals. Marc Okubo (Veil of Maya), Olly Stelle (Monuments), Sam Beck, and Trevor Woodson have all filled in for guitars.
- Raad has filled in for Of Mice and Men on bass when Volumes isn’t touring.
- Soprano and Gravel: Barr and Terry provide harsh and cleans contrasted with Gus’s harshes.
- Start My Own: Originally subverted with Gus’s trap project, Yung Yogi. He started it as a way to explore his musical tastes that he couldn’t while in Volumes. After his split with the band, it became his main musical focus along with a currently unnamed metalcore project he’s been working on.
- Updated Re-release: Via and No Sleep both were released with new art on Volumes’ own 91367 Records after their split from Mediaskare. "Wormholes" was also re-recorded for Via.
- Vocal Tag Team: One of the most notable examples in metalcore along with Erra and Make Them Suffer. Gus provided harshes and raps with Terry or Barr providing additional harshes or cleans.
- We Used to Be Friends: Gus with Barr and Raad. Gus and Barr’s relationship was so bad that it was one of the reasons that he left the band the first time around. After the 2019 lineup change, Gus and Raad are no longer on speaking terms.
- A Wild Rapper Appears!: Pouya’s verses on "On Her Mind". Terry also drops a few bars on "Hope."
