Vexed were formed on New Years Day 2019, by vocalist Megan Targett, guitarist Jay Bacon and drummer Willem Mason-Geraghty.[2][3] All three members had played together in a band whose direction they had grown to dislike following numerous lineup changes;[4] Targett said that she felt limited in what she could do as a female musician in the band, and as a result "didn’t have a lot of respect for the music or myself because none of it was genuine to me."[2] After reaching a collective breaking point that almost led them to quit music altogether, they decided to form a new band together where they could write, wear, play and say whatever they wanted.[2][3] Targett said that Vexed's name was inspired from the widespread use of the word in The Count of Monte Cristo, stating that she related with the word and her lyrics.[5] The band's lineup originally featured guitarist Callan Hughes.[6][7]
After the band's formation, Vexed began meeting up a couple of times a week to work on new material.[3] In April 2019, Vexed self-released their debut single, "Elite", featuring then-Thy Art Is Murder vocalist CJ McMahon.[8][9] The collaboration came about from Targett reaching out to McMahon on Instagram; he initially declined due to his busy schedule, but quickly changed his mind after listening to the music and recorded his parts for the song the following day.[10][11] The song received over 500,000 streams across various platforms by 2021.[12] In May 2019, they released their second single, "Dominate".[13] In July 2019, Vexed performed their first ever show on the Fireball Whiskey stage of the UK Tech-Fest in Newark-on-Trent.[14][10][N 1] The success of "Elite" brought Vexed to the attention of a promoter in Switzerland, leading the band to organize a tour of the country.[1] Vexed recruited bassist Al Harper for the tour two weeks before it began;[4] by its end, he had officially joined the band.[3][16] In October 2019, the band toured the United Kingdom with In Depths.[10]
2020–2022: Culling Culture
In 2019, Vexed recorded on their debut album, Culling Culture, with producer and Exist Immortal frontman Meyrick de La Fuente.[3][17] The album revolves around the idea of removing or "cancelling" negative individuals from one's life,[18][19] and standing up for yourself.[20] Targett has said that eight songs are based on a set individual, detailing "the experience[s] I went through, and now how I have absolutely nothing to do with them."[3] Most of the bass parts on Culling Culture were written by de La Fuente, as Vexed did not have a bassist at the time; Harper joined as they were completing the album.[3] Despite this, he learnt and played all of its bass parts and contributed to the writing of "Fake",[3] the last song written and recorded for the album.[18] In late 2019, Vexed signed with Tone Management, who shopped the band and the near-complete Culling Culture to various record labels.[3][16] After a period of no interest, Napalm Records offered to release the album and Vexed subsequently signed with the label.[3][21]
Vexed planned on releasing the album in 2020, but the COVID-19 pandemic forced the band to delay its release by eight months.[20] The pandemic also led to the cancellation of a planned tour of Europe supporting Whitechapel and numerous festival appearances.[22] In January 2021, Vexed announced their signing to Napalm and released Culling Culture on 21 May 2021,[12][23] to generally positive reviews.[24][25][26] Following the album's release, Vexed performed at the 2021 Bloodstock Open Air festival on the Sophie Lancaster stage,[27] and embarked on a headlining tour of the United Kingdom in January 2022.[28] The band also performed as an opening act for In Flames on their tour of the United Kingdom in March 2022,[29] and for Spiritbox on two London dates in June 2022.[30][31]
2023–present: Negative Energy
On the day of Culling Culture's release, Targett's grandfather was hospitalized with pulmonary fibrosis.[32] Vexed was put on hiatus to allow her to care for him; he died three months later.[33] The other members of the band also lost family members and loved ones after the album's release.[34] The band attempted to work on new material in November 2021,[35] but struggled with writer's block; Harper stepped back from writing after a year.[36] Targett said that the band had tried to apply a positive "silver lining" to their songs due to the turmoil in their lives, but ultimately found it disingenuous.[32][34][36] After eight months,[37] they scrapped seven songs worth of material, saving only three or four riffs.[37] The band eventually decided to write about how they truly felt,[33][38] and wrote and recorded their second album, Negative Energy, in three months.[36] Meyrick de La Fuente returned as producer and also played bass on the album in place of Harper, who still performs with the band live.[39]
Negative Energy features an overall heavier sound to their debut, reducing the use of clean vocals.[40] Whilst primarily addressing the subject of mourning and loss,[39] its also covers the music industry, religion, and mental health.[38][41] The album was released on 23 June 2023[42] to positive reviews.[43][44][45] Vexed embarked on a headlining tour of the United Kingdom in October 2023, supported by Pulse.[46] The band toured Europe with Cabal in January 2024,[47] and toured the continent again supporting Carnifex in March and April.[48]
^Vexed were previously booked to perform a number of shows prior to the 2019 UK Tech-Fest, but they were cancelled "due to circumstances outside of [the band's] control", according to Tagrett.[1] The band had been scheduled to play their debut headline show at the Black Heart in London on 28 June 2019;[11] the venue was raided by the authorities before the band could take the stage.[15]
^Weaver, James (3 October 2021). "Vexed: A Baptism Of Fire". Distorted Sound Magazine. Retrieved 23 August 2024.
^Weaver, James (7 October 2021). "Vexed announce UK tour". Distorted Sound Magazine. Archived from the original on 17 April 2024. Retrieved 23 August 2024.
^ abcdBorghi, Maurizio (8 July 2023). "Vexed - La grinta sotto il dolore" [The Grit Beneath the Pain]. Metalitalia.com (in Italian). Archived from the original on 18 May 2024. Retrieved 21 August 2024.
^Weaver, James (7 August 2023). "Vexed announce UK tour". Distorted Sound Magazine. Archived from the original on 7 August 2023. Retrieved 24 August 2024.
