Introducing...
The New Viminal
John Sawicki (@john_sawicki ) - Vocals + Guitar
Ren De La Torre (@tarzanmang ) - Bass
Doc Runii (@docrunii ) - Drums
Our first show with the new lineup is happening Wednesday May 21st at The Sewer (@sanssouci_aka_thesewer ) in Ventura, CA. It's a special "birthday" show. Y'all are gonna wanna be there. Thanks to @wickedwednesday805 for the invite.
More soon,
\m/ Viminal
Post-Thanksgiving show THIS Saturday in Ventura!
While all your gravy is still digesting, come throw down with us at @sanssouci_aka_thesewer .
We'll be joined by @toosick_topray and @black_lament .
These shows are always a fun time, with lots of folks hanging out, having a drink (or a few), and making noise. So we're gonna bringggggg it on Saturday (including a new song).
Come hang and let's hsve a good time.
Free show. Starts at 9:30 (but it's also a regular bar so you can come whenever). Viminal at 11.
And thanks as always @wickedwednesday805 for inviting us.
See you there,
-V \m/
Wanna play guitar in Viminal?
Hey folks. We are looking for a 2nd lead guitarist.
You may know us as a 3-piece, but really, Viminal is meant to have 2 guitarists.
We've been perfectly active playing shows, writing music, etc, just as a 3-piece. But it's time to find our 4th amigo.
That said, we're really looking for the right person. You gotta be a cool cat, good at your instrument, vibe with us, etc.
And we do have a bunch of shows coming up. So you'll be playing live with us soon!
If this sounds like the right fit, just message us and we'll go from there.
Watch the whole video and you'll see some Viminal guitar moments if you aren't already super familiar with our music.
Also if you're seeing this and you know someone else who would want the gig, send this to that person and connect us. I mean, imagine it's the right person. Wouldn't we all be so stoked?
All right. Thanks for checking out the post. We're looking forward to meeting you whoever you are.
- \m/ John (a.k.a. the other guitar player and vocalist)
Today's the day...
Ruinfest 2025 in Santa Ana, CA at @stagesbar
The whole thing begins at 7:00 pm with Viminal (hey, that's us!)
2 stages. Sooo many sick CA bands.
This only happens once a year. And it's never the same again. Don't miss out. Come rage and have some fun with us.
We'll see you at 7.
PS: They're also raffling off a 7-string Jackson King V. Come thru and you just might win. That is, if John doesn't win. He loves V's. He wins raffles. He is also writing this post.
@ruinfest_official@voicesofruin@phobiagrindcore@hatriot_official@lurkingterrorusa@sicariusofficial@crawlingthroughtartarus@official_synabsence
Next up we welcome the melodic shred machine @viminalofficial !!! This band has been ripping up the underground for a few years now and we've been really impressed with their melodic style of technical death metal. Viminal has been making waves recently and is posed to take the metal world by storm. We know that Viminal is the perfect band to kick off a night of brutality at this year's fest!
Check them out on Soundcloud, Youtube, and Spotify!
Soundcloud:
/viminalmetal
TOMORROW 9/12: Ozzy Tribute show for charity...
This is super cool and fun. Viminal will be a part of an Ozzy Osbourne tribute night tomorrow in Santa Barbara at @whiskeyrichards_sb .
Not only will there be a bunch of great bands playing Ozzy and Sabbath tunes...
But all proceeds are going to charity.
That's definitely something Viminal is all about.
We play around 10:30 pm. Any votes for what songs we should play? Favorite Ozzy/Sabbath tunes? Drop em below...
And thanks as always to @ladyhoneywolff for the invite
See ya tomorrow,
- V
@blues_bullet_@805proof@untilthestormband@plumeriametal@ransom_note_805@deathmachine_band
AAAAND WE'RE BACK.
WE MISSED YOU GUYS.
Our next show is this Saturday at @mrsolsons in Oxnard.
This one is gonna be a blast...
Joining forces with:
@stmofficial@cerebellion@therelativeminimum
It's our first time playing Mrs. Olsons, but it's a favorite in the scene. So y'all better come thru and have some fun with us.
Doors at 8 pm. See you there!
Oh, and many thanks to @ladyhoneywolff for hooking us up with this show.
- \m/ V \m/
"To lions and fire..."
Clip from this evening's practice. This is from the Viminal (@viminalofficial ) song "Imperator", which is usually our opener if you ever see us play live.
I wrote this solo like 5-6 years ago, but it has so many techniques and I still feel like I'm refining it.
Tonight I was mostly working on that Persian Scale tapping lick and the 2-string sweep arpeggios toward the end.
Also I forgot the tremolo bar when I made the video (since I was mostly working on non-trem stuff, as mentioned), so I just jiggled the bridge instead. I mean we've all been there. Sometimes you just gotta jiggle the bridge a bit. I dunno what I'm saying.
Anyway my mom would be so disappointed to see me on the internet without sleeves. She "raised me better than this", allegedly.
Meanwhile I was raised such that I am a disciple of the metronome. But no parent is giving me any praise for that. No. We're all focused on lack of sleeve.
Ok I'm gonna go before I kill anymore brain cells.
Toodles,
J
This morning, Seymour Duncan (@seymourduncanpickups ) posted the full playthrough for the 2 songs I wrote for their Black Winter pickups demo video. \m/
Since it was a pickup demo, it had to have "everything":
Riffs all over the neck.
Leads.
Solos.
Clean parts.
Different pickup positions.
And we needed 2 songs, one for 6-string and one for 7-string.
Worked pretty hard on this cuz I wanted to do right by Seymour Duncan.
And ya know, I think I did! I'm pretty proud of these 2 little songs.
Since the Black Winter pickups are perfect for black metal, death metal, and extreme metal...I wanted to invoke some Behemoth, Dimmu Borgir, Cradle of Filth, Lorna Shore, and stuff like that. Hopefully you can pick that up (pun intended) in the songs.
I'd be curious to hear what anyone thinks!
(My favorite riff is probably that brutal chuggy part at 00:22.)
Posting links on IG is a bit of a pain. So I'll throw it in my bio. Or you can just search it on YouTube.
Thanks for reading,
John
If you head over to the Seymour Duncan (@seymourduncanpickups ) YouTube channel, you'll see a video for their new Black Winter pickups - featuring little ol' me.
Composed 2 songs for this video, and you'll see them interspersed throughout the video.
It was a good challenge, a lot of fun, and a great experience. The folks at Seymour Duncan were wonderful.
Check out the video, and maybe snag some pickups for yourself
Cheers,
J
