This, from Chris Harris at MTVnews.com's "Metal File."
For metal, hardcore and hard-rock fans, the last two years have brought some long-awaited, never-thought-we'd-see-'em reunions. Bands such as Carcass, Snot, Overcast, Pestilence, Living Sacrifice, At the Gates, Possessed, Rage Against the Machine and Suffokate — among others — have all been resuscitated, as members have put aside their various differences, with some groups staging rather successful comeback tours. But the thing about reunions is that they don't always stick, lasting — in some cases — just two or three gigs.
Such has been the case for Long Island hardcore hellions Vision of Disorder, who've played just a handful of reunion shows since dissolving back in 2002. Frontman Tim Williams — who didn't languish in the wreckage left by V.O.D.'s demise, instead teaming up with guitarist Mike Kennedy to launch Bloodsimple — is looking forward to the band's upcoming reunion gig in New York on November 16 (the bill will also feature Overcast, Indecision and Nassau Chainsaw) but isn't so sure V.O.D.'s return will lead to anything more than feelings of nostalgia.
"Never say never, but reunions are short-lived; everyone knows that," Williams told Metal File this week. "Who knows what's going to happen, but for the time being, this will be it. We're going to do some shows, but V.O.D. will never come back the way it was. It'll never be like a full-time, full-on reunion, but there's definitely going to be some shows. Then again, if the right opportunities presented themselves to the band, and we all agree on it, I think we'll probably do some more shows, because we were pretty happy with the success and the turnout the last couple of shows have had. We're just very skeptical, and we want to be careful."
Williams and the rest of V.O.D. are playing November's show to celebrate the release of their first-ever DVD, "Dead in New York," which hits stores just five days before they'll be taking the Irving Plaza stage. The bandmembers started working on the effort two years ago, culling video footage they'd been shooting over the course of their entire career for what Williams said will be a must-have for any true V.O.D. fan. "Dead in New York" also features footage from the band's three most recent reunion gigs.
"It's just straight-up V.O.D.," he explained. "I've only seen it once, and I was drunk, but it's awesome. You're going to get a lot of behind-the-scenes V.O.D. stuff, a lot of stuff we'd taped throughout the years, and you're also going to be able to take home those three reunion shows, which were really powerful and amazing and in a small-club atmosphere, where V.O.D. has always been at its best. There's also some funny stuff in there and some stuff from when we were f---ing young as hell. That's always funny and interesting to see. In some of this footage, we were just children."
Williams said he hasn't completely ruled out recording new material with Vision of Disorder and said the band has yet to have a serious discussion about hitting the studio. But the more he talked about V.O.D.'s future, the more open he seemed about taking the reunion to the next level.
"If something comes along with V.O.D., which it might, we're going to be very careful," he insisted. "We're very wary of contracts, because we made some serious mistakes when we were younger, which we don't intend on repeating. I also feel V.O.D. is in a position to do one-off deals with labels within our realm, and that's where we'd feel safest. That said, I think there will be some other V.O.D. stuff in the future, but I don't want to say anything more about it."
But then, he did say more. "It feels like it might be the right time," he said. "I'm just sick and tired of being on everybody else's time. If V.O.D. will do anything, we're going to make the calls, and we'll do it when we feel the time is right. If we record, it will be on our terms — not on any timeline dictated by management or a label timeline. It's going to be on our terms, and we feel we've earned the right to pick and choose our battles."
Williams did say it's possible the band could release a live CD, given "Dead in New York" was initially conceived as a DVD/CD set; audio recordings of those reunions gigs exist, along with a bunch of other studio material that Williams doubts will ever see the light of day. So, again, Williams isn't sure what the future might hold, but it could very well include some sort of album release. For now, Williams is concentrating on his own solo projects.
"I've been working on some things," he explained. "I'm working on putting together a book and some acoustic material for a possible acoustic EP release in the not-so-distant future. We'll see — it's something I've always wanted to do, but it's got to be really good. I really feel that the work I did with Bloodsimple was really solid, vocally. I set a new bar for myself on that last Bloodsimple record, so I don't want to follow it up with something I don't feel is as good, if not better, than that. But I've been writing poetry for eons, and I've got a lot of journals, too, from throughout the V.O.D. and Bloodsimple years. I've been compiling some poems and some essays for it. In a perfect world, I would like to release a book with a four-song acoustic EP to go with it."
As for Bloodsimple, Williams said they haven't broken up, contradicting rumors to the contrary. They're on hiatus, he said, but he doesn't see it as an indefinite one.
"Bloodsimple is just taking a well-deserved break at the time," Williams said. "Some things came up in everybody's personal lives that needed some attention, but we're a tight-knit family, and we all realized it might be a good time to step away for a little while, because Bloodsimple was at it for six years straight. I feel Bloodsimple is some of the best music I have ever been a part of, so my eyes are still looking towards the future, and when the time presents itself, I think we'll get back together and do some more shows and probably do some recordings."
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