Rock Monsters Romania

by Ana-Maria Corjos

Private Venganza is a Romanian emo-rock band that just released their first album with the same name! 

If you don’t know them, they are a teenage band from Bucharest. The band consists of four members: Ștefan Tudose (guitar, who also contributes vocals), Victor Daraban (guitar), David Botonogu (drums), and Doroteea Maria Toma (bass), along with lead singer Maria Avram.

The six songs on the album express the experiences of being a youngster, so I’ll discuss them collectively. The first time I listened to the whole album on Spotify, it felt like home. Their sound feels very familiar because they have a vast influence from the emo, grungy, edgy and pop-punk rock cultures. 

Private Venganza‘s sound is somewhat simple, yet so well chosen and combined that their songs emerge as quite epic. The songs are not very long, but they feel longer than they actually are, because a moment is created while listening. The artists manage to transmit heavy emotions through their music and the listener can just get carried away with the melody. 

The instrumentation is very elaborate, which I personally always appreciate a lot in any music. And that is because it shows once again how passionate the artists are, how much they care about the work they give to the world. Same goes for the pictures they associated with this album on their social media platforms. They were posted with the purpose to tease the release of the album. They add to the vibe of the album and the general image that the band has already created for themselves. 

The high-pitched vocals might seem a little feminine at first, but I think they can be compared more to banshee screams. This feature makes their music be interpreted as a little dreamy and maybe even inspired by the psychedelic culture. The artists juggle with the notes and tunes giving the sensation of a wiggly line.

The lyrics have particularly caught my eye (or may I say, my ear), thanks to the interesting metaphors that still got explained through some more clear storytelling. Which brings us to the story they are telling: disparate teenagers simply coping. 

The album can be described as a voice for all the teenagers who have their feelings constantly invalidated. They need to be listened to and because this is a commonly unmet need in younger people, the result consists in many forms of extreme art, just like these kids’ music. I believe many rock music lovers can relate to this phenomenon. 

Private Venganza is a band made of clearly very passionate teenagers with tons of potential. And if you want to see them live, you have the perfect opportunity this week. They are going to release their album with a live concert, on the 14th of March, at Nether, together with Asincron.