Vangough

Vangough is a progressive metal band from Oklahoma City, Oklahoma formed in late 2007 by Clay Withrow, Abe Hartley and Brandon Lopez. Despite a few line-up changes on bass, the band still maintains the three original core members today in support of their new release Manikin Parade. Originally founded around Clay's solo debut Dissonance Rising (2007), the band now known as Vangough came into contact with each other through mutual friends. Clay first discovered drummer Brandon Lopez working in the Oklahoma City Guitar Center where the two immediately hit it off and agreed to start on a new project. Within a few months the entire line-up was formed, which now includes Abe Hartley on keys, as well as Carlton Dorsey on bass. Their showcase performances at Dfest 2008 and Play: stl 2008 solidified the band as a unique combination of musical theater and heavy prog rock. Vangough wears their influences on their sleeves, which includes everything from Pain of Salvation and the Flower Kings, to classic video game music from companies like Nintendo and Capcom. This tends to manifest itself in the form of twisted cover tunes like Wily's Castle from Mega Man 2 or Corneria from Star Fox. Their upcoming album “Manikin Parade” was recorded and performed by Clay Withrow on guitars, bass, keyboards, and vocals with Brandon Lopez on drums. It was mixed by legendary engineer Sterling Winfield who is most famous for his work on many Pantera albums, Damage Plan and Vinnie Paul's latest group Hell Yeah!