Meet Draghoria’s New ‘Demon’ Vocalist

Draghoria is a Colorado metal institution.

For the past thirteen years, the Greeley group’s been pushing out breakneck death-trash, building a loyal local following as a result. But the five-piece is ready for a new chapter, as Draghoria recently announced the addition of vocalist Victor Cabrera, who steps in for former member Benjamin Riggs.

“When we made the decision about bringing in a new singer, we listened to some of his recordings, but were already familiar with some of his stuff,” says founding guitarist Ron Carrillo. “We were like, ‘Holy shit, he kicks so much ass.’ At the same time, Victor sounds totally different.”

While Cabrera only officially joined in December, he’d previously worked with Draghoria drummer Alex Carrillo on solo material at Carillo’s studio, Natu Productions, so the band knew what he was capable of.

“This guy is a demon,” Alex Carillo says. “He was the first person I called. It was perfect timing. Everything happened linearly and the universe laid out this plan for us to work together.”

With fresh pipes in the fold, the first order of business was rerecording latest EP Eternal Sleep, released last June, which will be reissued by summer. Draghoria shared the redux title track featuring Cabrera in January, and it’s definitely an amped-up version of the original.

“It’s a lot more aggressive. It’s bizarre we’re playing the same tempos, but it’s like, ‘Whoa, you guys sound faster.’ We’re always playing that fast, but his vocals are really adding that,” Ron Carillo explains. “It is exciting. When this record came about and we first came up with all the music, before vocals, there was a conversation that John [Colucco, bassist] and I had, we were like, ‘Man, we should try to have very heavy vocals.’ I think Victor is doing that now.”

“He definitely modernized us. We’ll see what happens from here, but I think it’s going well,” Colucco adds. (Fun fact: Colucco was one of the first bassists for New York brutal-slam pioneers Internal Bleeding.)

In the immediate future, Cabrera is set to make his live debut with Draghoria on Friday, February 27, at the Federal Theatre. Thicker Skin and Last Nerve round out the local bill.

Pre-gig jitters are normal, Cabrera admits, but he’s stoked for the opportunity to grab the mic for Draghoria, especially since his newfound bandmates have been nothing but encouraging.

“When they asked me to be the vocalist, I was worried because I sound nothing like Riggs. I was a little worried, like, ‘I’m not going to be able to do any of that stuff,’ and they were like, ‘No, we want you to do your thing on here,’” he recalls.

“Ultimately, when you’re in the moment, you’re in the moment. It’s hard to explain it. I feel like it’s always in the back pocket,” Cabrera adds. “Once it’s there, I can pull it out and have fun and be someone else. I am nervous, but I am just as confident as I am nervous.”

Cabrera credits Alex, who is also remixing and remastering Eternal Sleep, for pulling some deep-seated growls out of him during the rerecording process.

“We added a lot of low, heavy, nasty stuff,” he continues. “You can hear all the lyrics still, there’s clarity, but there’s definitely way more punch than ever before. You’re going to hear some lows you never heard before in Draghoria. You’re going to hear a bunch of nastiness you’ve never heard, piercing highs, yells, nasty gutturals, you hear me screaming for life in my mids. Alex dragged that out of me. He used me up, like I was the puppet, and he was the puppet master.”

That type of commitment is contagious, too.

“Ever since Victor come into the band, I’ve been writing a lot more recently. He’s been inspiring the fuck out of me,” says guitarist Ryan Nevins, adding he’s even taking some voice lessons from him. “Now I can’t stop screaming in the shower.”

Optimism springs eternal in the Draghoria camp, but “beefing it up” and a “darker sound” will have that effect on a band, according to Ron Carillo, so keep an ear on the ground for more distortion from the north.  

“Once you hear some of these tracks, you’re going to hear that,” he concludes. “It sounds like a different monster, a different beast.”

Draghoria, with Thicker Skin and Last Nerve, 6 p.m. Friday, February 27, Federal Theatre, 3830 Federal Boulevard. Tickets are $26.