(Creative Process, Recording Journey, Chaos, Catharsis & Cymraeg-Friendly Curiosity)
Massive thank you to the mighty Versus for taking time out of their chaos-fuelled schedule to chat with us. Proper legends, mun! Since 2016, these riff-slinging, stage-levelling maniacs have been tearing through the UK scene with a sound that hits harder than a steel toe-cap to the shins.
This is a band that fuses grunge grit with post-hardcore bite, serving up guitars that slice like broken glass, drums that detonate like controlled explosions, and choruses big enough to rattle the valleys. Every gig is a full sensory assault — lights, lungs, sweat and soul — leaving crowds wrecked, buzzing, and begging for more. Tidy!
🎤 The Chaos Crew Behind the Noise
- Shortie (Salt-Short) – Vocals that can soothe, scorch, and scream your eyebrows clean off
- Sparks (Bray) – Lead Guitar wizard summoning riffs from another plane
- Rob Kewley – Rhythm Guitar backbone, crunchmaster general
- Bear (Freeman) – Bass tones deeper than the Mariana Trench
- Calvin Sargeant – Drums so heavy your nan can feel them
These five aren’t just a band — they’re a force of nature. A proper job unit.
📞 Want to book, shout at, or worship Versus?
Hit up their legend of a manager Elizabeth Brown, keeper of schedules, slayer of admin, and general hero.
Manager: Elizabeth Brown
Email: ThatCKRecords@gmail.com
Website: versusbandinc.com
Give ’em a bell, butt — before they blow up even bigger.
🌋 THE VISION & THE VIBE
- When you first started sketching out ideas for The Catalyst, what was the emotional or sonic “big bang” moment that set the whole album in motion?
The Catalyst album seems to have developed incredibly quickly – probably one of the quickest projects we’ve worked on, both in creativity and recording. The album started with the first full song on the album – Lost and Found. We had the bare bones for this song musically mid-June (2025) and we all knew this was the start of a new album and new sound for the band. The vocal melody came pretty quickly too, especially the chorus. From that point we wanted to strike whilst the iron was hot and sketch out the plan for the new album, single releases and a launch show. We set ourselves a very tight deadline to have the album written by the end of August, recorded in September and get tight in a live performance by the album launch on 12/12/2025.
- Did you always intend for the record to explore destruction, renewal, and self-discovery, or did those themes naturally emerge as you wrote?
Musically Rob tends to write songs with natural ebb and flow anyway – calmer ambient verses and powerful energetic choruses – post-hardcore 101! That naturally lends itself to lyrics that follow suit. Originally we were going for a theme for each track but as a whole, there was a lot of thought and meaning going into the lyrics; the themes were naturally and emotionally charged by the life experiences that the band was going through in that moment. Plus, we were changing significantly as a band and evolving into what we are now, so that definitely helped.
- What artists, films, or even random life moments were feeding into the mood board for this album? Anything surprising?
Ah…. How long have you got? When we were writing we wanted to add so much more to our music without taking anything away from the track itself. I am a HUGE nerd and have managed to sneak some insanely awesome (easter eggs, ahoy!) samples all the way through the record. All Good Things is actually named after the final episode of Star Trek: The Next Generation, maybe a couple of Star Destroyer (the other major sci fi movie thingy that no one can ever name otherwise they get sued by a frickin’ mouse) alerts going off in another track, and I definitely used a recording of the pacific ocean ‘growl’ or ‘moan’ too (I know, random AF, but honestly. go and look it up). Like I said, how long have you got for my Mr Nerdi McNerdesen ‘vibe’?
🎛️ THE RECORDING JOURNEY (AKA THE CHAOS BEHIND THE MAGIC)
- Where was the album recorded, and what made that space the right environment for such an emotionally heavy project?
We used various locations depending on what was being recorded. Drums were recorded by Brett at Blue In Green Studios – Massive thanks for fitting us in short notice and on a weekend, Brett! Vocals were recorded at Pirate Studios in Leeds. I’m pretty sure the place permanently smells like coffee after the amount of hours we’ve spent there writing melodies and lyrics, re-writing, recording and double tracking! Everything else was recorded at Robs house, much to the detriment of his girlfriend’s patience.
- Was there a moment in the studio when everything clicked and you thought, “YES MUN, this is the sound of Versus”?
That is a tough one because we all heard the songs all the way through the demo process to pre-production, and all the way to the finished product so when we listen back to the album each one of us will have a different answer, and I think that is a beautiful thing. Could we all pinpoint one specific track? Sure we can, but as a band, the whole album is our sound. (All Good Things did it for me)
- On the flip side — did anything go horribly wrong? Broken gear? Lost stems? Calvin playing blast beats at 7am?
Horribly wrong… not really. We had a couple of issues we had to work to get around; last minute lyric changes, guitar lines clashing with vocal melodies which didn’t come to light until vocals went down, bleed from the drums making certain parts unusable etc. Nothing that brought things to a halt, just some patience and creative thinking to make things work in our deadlines. It helped that the songs were brought to a really good demo level first, so we ironed out most of the kinks before they even had chance to be.
- How long did the full recording process take, and did it feel like a sprint, a marathon, or a fever dream?
Absolutely a sprint. And fair play to each of the guys in Versus for knowing their parts in such a short space of time to get an album quality take down so quickly. Cal recorded the drums in a weekend after only having approx. 3 weeks to practice the album, and not only that… recorded 3-4 takes of every song… in a weekend! Bear recorded bass in a matter of hours – we expect nothing less from him though. Sparks recorded his guitar parts in a couple of evenings. Rob recorded his guitar parts intermittently as things came up – it was easier for him being the producer. Shortie recorded vocals intermittently too, probably over the course of about a week but spread out over a month or so. Musically the album was recorded in approx. a week.
🎸 THE CRAFT & THE CREATION
- When you balance post-hardcore grit with post-grunge atmosphere, what’s the secret? How do you keep the raw emotion without losing the melody… or vice-versa?
I don’t think you can do anything without a melody or the emotion, so they really are inseparable when we are writing. Rob will knock a riff out and then I will put a melody to it and the emotion flows naturally from the melody. I think the multiple and vastly eclectic influences that the band collectively has contributes immensely to the way we write as well; it just works for us.
- Which track changed the most from demo to final recording?
Static From An Old TV Set. This song was always going to be the ‘ballad’ on the album, but originally the song was in a completely different key, the choruses didn’t build the way they do now (chorus one is really stripped back, chorus 2 is heavier, and chorus 3 is full), the first verse was longer, the verse melodies changed multiple times and the first chorus is half the length it originally was. This song took the most ‘massaging’ to make sure it sat well, not only as a standalone song but as part of a much heavier album
- Was there a song that nearly didn’t make the album but fought its way in like a proper underdog hero?
Breathe. Technically Breathe is ‘old Versus’ but never got the chance to be recorded which seemed like a shame. It was only when Battle of The Binary Stars was written that Breathe stepped back into the fold – both songs are guitar driven groove style riffs. Either song on their own in the album doesn’t really work – they hold each other up.
- Who in the band is the most ruthless about changing arrangements, and who’s the “nah that riff stays or I riot” member?
I want to say Rob. Sometimes he can be a nuisance with changing things BUT also in his defence, 60% of the time he is right every time.
🔥 VOCAL & LYRIC DEEP DIVES
- Shortie, your vocal delivery moves between vulnerability and absolute volcanic eruption — how do you approach finding that emotional balance?
I get what I need to get because I let the emotions take over in whatever shape they need to, and I find the whole process quite cathartic. Imagine being in a room where you are allowed to feel whatever you want to feel and to be able to express yourself with no judgement at the time; it’s so liberating.
- Were there any lyrics that were particularly difficult to write because they cut close to the bone?
Static From An Old TV Set. I put myself back in a moment when I was going through one of the hardest times of my life and was literally just trying to honestly convey some of the emotions that I was feeling at the time if that makes sense? I was a hot mess hearing that back for the very first time post-production.
- If you had to sum up the message of The Catalyst in one line, what would it be?
LET’S FUCKING GO.
🥁 INSTRUMENTATION & SONIC DESIGN
- Sparks and Rob — how did you two build those huge guitar landscapes without drowning each other out?
This naturally happened as Rob wrote the demo tracks. He tends to write two guitar parts (sometimes more if the song calls for it!) often doing separate things to give it sonic width, then when both guitar come back to doing the same thing it carries more weight and impact – like main guitar riffs on Burning Bridges and All Good Things.
- Bear — the bass tone on this album is filthy in the best way. What were you chasing sonically?
I felt this from the start of hearing Lost & Found for the first time. The band was becoming musically more powerful and I knew Cal and I had to make the rhythm section more thunderous than we ever had before. That naturally means it needs distortion, but I also wanted the note to be clear and where you can feel it in your chest, and I think it’s been nailed on this album.
- Calvin — did you record drums live and chaotic, or meticulously layered? Any drum parts that nearly broke you?
The drums were all live takes, and multiple takes with a few tweaks between each take just in case something sat better than others. As much as meticulous layering is appealing we just didn’t have the time with the schedule we set ourselves. By far, the most challenging track was All Good Things. It’s a relatively quick track anyway when compared to the rest of the album, but it’s also pretty technical and has numerous timing changes.
🎧 PRODUCTION & COLLABORATION
- How hands-on were you with production? Were you the “turn that knob to 11” type or the “trust the wizard behind the desk” type?
Rob is the producer in Versus so it makes life a bit easier knowing that the production is already pointing in the same direction as the bands plans for the sound. Whilst the album went through multiple tweaks in terms of production there wasn’t any significant changes to the overall sound, it was minor points here and there.
- Did your producer push you out of your comfort zone at any point?
The Catalyst has various points in various songs that challenge each band member – Shortie has some melodies that really push his range like previous recordings never have, guitars and bass have some really technical and quick parts, and we’ve already mentioned Cal’s challenge track – All Good Things.
- Any guest musicians or secret collaborators that fans should know about?
Not this time, but we have a fair few people that we would love to collaborate with on a track or two.
💔🔥 EMOTION, CATHARSIS & THE FINAL RESULT
- What was the hardest track emotionally to lay down?
I think it was Static From An Old TV Set. I lost someone very close to me a few years back so the track is about going through that grieving process, really. I mean, grief is an odd one – you can grieve through the breakdown of a relationship, the loss of someone you love, or simply the loss of something (or anything) that you hold dear.
- Which track feels like the purest expression of Versus as a band right now?
We have differing opinions on this within the band. Some say Overwhelmed, some say Blinded By The Lights and others Say Battle Of The Binary Stars. They all have merit for different reasons, and it’s those differences that help us write songs that pull from different genres.
- If your younger selves heard The Catalyst, what do you think they’d say?
Again, it depends who you ask. Rob and Shortie think they wouldn’t like the album if they had heard it when they were younger, their music tastes have changed massively over the years. Sparks and Bear think they would have loved it when they were younger.
🎤 LOOKING AHEAD — THE LIVE CHAOS
- Which songs from the album are you most excited (or terrified) to play live?
It might be a case of ‘famous last words’ but we’re feeling confident about our live show. The ones that will be most tasking as a band is going to be a mixture of Overwhelmed and All Good Things. We have a lot of tech in the background of our live shows compared to before, so whilst we’re not overly worried about our own performance any form of tech crash would be a nightmare!
- If The Catalyst had to be performed front-to-back at a future hometown show… would you do it? 👀
Coincidentally… we are! Our album launch show is on the same day as the album release (12/12/2025) and we’re playing the album front to back. We’re incredibly proud of the album we’ve made, we’ve poured our blood sweat and tears into it, and it would be a wasted opportunity for us not to use all that effort in a live show.
- What do you hope fans feel the first time they hear the album start to finish?
I think music is more interpretational, so it would really depend on the person, where their head is at that moment, where they are in their journey through life and I personally hope that people would just feel anything, good or bad. I would love for people just to connect with our music in whatever shape that takes, and be able to think back in 5 or 10 years and remember what point in their life they were at when they first heard the album.
🏔️ JUST FOR FUN (RIFF REPORT ENERGY)
- Who was the biggest gremlin in the studio?
Rob. Most definitely Rob.
- What non-musical item was essential to the recording sessions — snacks, plushies, emotional support Greggs?
Coffee. Specifically, McDonalds coffee for vocal recording. We should have bought shares in McDonalds prior to recording the album….
- If the album had a smell, what would it be?
See above (and cigars)!
- Who wins in a fight: a distortion pedal the size of a fridge or Calvin with two sticks and no fear?
Calvin would eat the damned distortion pedal for breakfast
