Chord Progression Podcast: The Gateway to New Rock and Metal Music · Chord Progression Podcast

Meredith & John of VCTMS: Blending Metalcore & Hardcore with Collaborations on Pain Processing 2 EP

April 2, 2026·55 min·3 clips

Meredith confirms Pain Processing 2 is due May 1 and includes seven songs, two singles, and three more features.

1. Chord Progression Podcast focuses on Victims, their 2026 singles 'Devil Speak' and 'Burning Bones,' and the upcoming EP 'Pain Processing 2.' 2. Kevin hosts Meredith and John from Victims, and he matters because he ties the band to a 2021 West Chicago Social Club release show and his first post-pandemic mosh pit. 3. The episode asks how Victims can add features, new sounds, and festival reach without losing the band's core identity. 4. Kevin says he has wanted Victims on the show since July 2021, after seeing them at the 'Numb the Ache' release show. 5. Meredith and John describe their collaboration with Nathan from Fox Lake as a friendship built through Colorado shows and touring in 2022 and 2024. 6. Meredith explains that Ben from Extortionist has known her for years, designed the first Victims artwork, and worked on merchandise and visual ideas. 7. The band says those relationships make features feel like two bands being blended into one song rather than a small guest spot. 8. John says the feature approach pushes Victims to write parts they would not have created alone. 9. He points to 'Devil Speak' and a fast rap-like ending as an example of trying a new vocal idea while keeping the song recognizable as Victims. 10. Meredith says the band wants to be 'adventurous' rather than 'experimental,' because they want to dabble in new sounds and still return to their roots. 11. Meredith says John's voice is the part that always sounds like Victims, even when the band uses hip-hop elements, slams, or faster-paced vocals. 12. John says the band has had several songwriters over nearly 15 years, but Victims keeps finding its way back to the same home base. 13. Meredith names 'Pain Processing 2' as the next EP and says it comes out May 1. 14. She says the EP has seven songs, including 'Devil Speak,' 'Burning Bones,' and '28.' 15. Meredith names three additional guests on the EP: Aaron Matz of 1056, Juan Gutierrez, and Austin Hayes of Heavy Hitter. 16. John says one unreleased track has singing from Meredith and Juan, while another has him mixing singing and pitchy screams with Meredith rapping later in the song. 17. The tone is loose, joking, and heavily contextualized by live-show history, touring, and crowd energy. 18. The format is a long interview with Kevin steering from new music into collaboration, songwriting, and the business side of touring. 19. Best for listeners who follow metalcore, hardcore, and feature-heavy band collaborations. 20. Skip if merch-cut logistics and tour-circuit talk are not useful to you.

As heard by us

The band teases unreleased songs that keep its core sound while stretching into singing, screaming, rap, and pitched vocals.

Kevin keeps pushing for a taste of the unreleased songs, and the band answers by saying the new material still sits in its core sound, just with a cooler new wrinkle.

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Why you'd press play

You want a teaser for VCTMS's next release.

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