Voidatlas made their first mark on the Denver heavy scene in summer 2024, with the release of debut EP, Surrounding. The raw, but resonating rookie collection impressed across the genre, with its deft clean/scream interplay and gripping instrumentation capturing the imagination. With three members emerging from former math rock bands, it's perhaps no surprise that angular guitars and mesmerizing riffs perforate the Voidatlas soundscape.
Please list all of your band members and their roles in the band.
Trent Heddings - Guitar/Vocals
Jake Juarez - Bass/Vocals
Stephen Valeriano - Guitar
Joseph Morales - Drums
For starters, what bands were you guys a part of prior to Voidatlas? How long has the band been around?
Trent: “Most of us come from much more mild bands immediately prior to Voidatlas. Stephen and I met when we were playing in our jazzy math-rock bands a number of years back (Big Paleo and Dang’O, respectively). Covid hit and both those bands have pretty much been on hold ever since. I later joined a similarly jazzy/mathy instrumental band called Liontortoise, which Jake eventually joined shortly before we reformed into Voidatlas.
Joseph has an extensive resume of bands as well. He was the singer/main songwriter for an indie rock group called Father Help Me, and is the original drummer of Overslept, who happened to play at Voidatlas’s first show.”
What’s the origin of that name and have you changed the band’s name before?
Trent: “So the band emerged out of another band called Liontortoise, which was kind of an instrumental prog rock band. I joined towards the end of that band’s tenure, only performing rhythms on the last record. Jake joined up with the band in 2023, but by that point we were already playing songs that would become Voidatlas songs. (I think we only ever played 1 Liontortoise song with him). Long story short, we wanted to be heavier and have vocals to be more accessible.
With such a drastic change, a name change was warranted. We wanted a name that could roll off the tongue but wasn't taken already. There's really no story behind the name, the truth is we went with Void and Atlas because they were neat words and could conjure up an ambiguous meaning to the listener.”
Who writes your songs? What are the main themes or topics for most of your songs and do you think these topics will change over time?
Stephen: “Our primary writers are Jake, Trent, and myself. Usually one of us will bring in an initial idea—sometimes a riff, sometimes a full song rough draft—and then we pass it around to refine, revise, and build on it together. Musically, our writing is driven by motivic development and groove; those two elements are really at the core of how we shape our sound.
Lyrically, we cover a wide spectrum of themes: mental health and depression, religion, folklore, and even songs inspired by video games. As we keep growing, we’re open to exploring new themes, but those core interests tend to be the backbone of what we write.”
What bands are currently inspiring the music that you’re making?
Stephen: “We draw a lot of influence from modern djent and progressive metal bands like Periphery, Vildhjarta, ERRA, Meshuggah, Gojira, and Tesseract. At the same time, we pull inspiration from outside our main subgenre—bands like CHON and The Black Dahlia Murder, and even artists from completely different worlds such as Louis Cole. That mix helps us keep our sound both heavy and dynamic.”
Was there a particular band/artist or concert that inspired you to start a band?
Joseph: “When I started playing drums there were 3 bands that really spoke to me. The first was Paramore! They had so much power and yet captured emotion really well. The Farro brothers wrote parts that made me want to smash the drums. Second and third were Underoath and The Jonas Brothers hahaha. Aaron Gillespie and Nick Jonas both sang and drummed at the same time and it was fun to watch. Obviously significant differences between the two but both had some fun parts that caught my attention.
Watching live videos of all three opened my eyes to the beauty of sitting with a single group of people and creating together over a period of time. Family is big for me so the idea of bridging the two things has always spoken to me!! And playing music with other people is more special than a lot of things I’ve found to be joyous haha something about that vulnerability and it coming together is just unmatched!!”
What do you do to prepare for a show? Any flexing, exercises, etc …
Joseph: “I’m a stretcher haha especially as the drummer, I really gotta get loose. Jumping jacks and calf raises get the juices flowing and warm up the limbs real well! I will also sneak away to have some alone time. I use it to warm up my hands and feet and just sit with myself. Drumming is a deep part of who I am so sitting alone before I do what I do slows my head down and gets me focused!”
What has been the biggest highlight of the band’s career so far?
Jake: “We actually recently got to play with Soulfly! They had a stop here in Denver on their Dystopia/Favela tour and they (along with Go Ahead and Die) had slots for local openers along the way. One of our best shows to date!”
If you could tour with any bands, past or present, who would they be and why?
Jake: “If we could tour with any bands, I think a few at the top of the list for us (collectively) would be Periphery, The Contortionist, and Animals as Leaders. Getting a chance to see the very people who so strongly influence us, night in and night out, would be a dream!”
Is there anything else you would like to add?
Trent: “Thanks for reading – check out our latest single “Descent” & keep an eye out for our upcoming EP Descending, set for release December 5th.”