Vektor's David DiSanto on roots of his sci-fi obsession

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Vektor frontman David DiSanto says his sci-fi obsession started with 1983 film Spacehunter.

Starring Peter Strauss, Molly Ringwald and Ernie Hudson, Spacehunter: Adventures In The Forbidden Zone follows the story arc of a bounty hunter on a mission to rescue three women stranded on a brutal planet.

Although widely described as a thrash metal band, DiSanto embraces his prog influences and says Vektor is simply a melting pot of his various influences – most notably 80s sci-fi films.

Speaking before his band’s appearance on the Sophie Lancaster stage at Bloodstock today (Sunday), Di Santo tells TeamRock: “My dad got me into sci-fi way younger than most parents would let kids watch those movies!

“I loved The Thing and Mad Max, but my favourite was Spacehunter. I loved the post apocalyptic movies. It’s like that – but in space. The planet is a very harsh environment and I just loved it.

“So the sci-fi is a big influence on me, along with bands like Kreator and Destructor. A lot of prog records too – it’s just throwing all that stuff into a blender.”

DiSanto’s love of sci-fi and prog led him to take “a lot of astrology courses” and he also has a degree in biology. All of these things find their way into his music.

Vektor’s third album Terminal Redux was released this year and DiSanto says the concept, which explores the intergalactic Cygnus regime, is a nod to Rush’s Hemispheres.

Vektor remaining 2016 tour dates

Aug 16: Dublin Voodoo Lounge, Ireland
Aug 17: Manchester Star & Garter, UK
Aug 18: London Underworld, UK
Aug 19: Tilburg LittleDevil Bar, Netherlands
Aug 20: MEan Metal Festival, Belgium
Aug 21: Saint Nolff Motocultur Festival, France
Aug 22: Thessaloniki Eightball Club, Greece
Aug 23: Athens AN Club, Greece
Aug 25: Bergamo Festa Bikers, Italy
Aug 26: Innsbruch PMK, Austria
Aug 27: Neuborn Open Air, Germany
Aug 29: St Petersburg Opera Concert Club, Russia
Aug 30: Moscow Volta, Russia

Why Vektor are taking trash into the final frontier

Stef wrote close to 5,000 stories during his time as assistant online news editor and later as online news editor between 2014-2016. An accomplished reporter and journalist, Stef has written extensively for a number of UK newspapers and also played bass with UK rock favourites Logan. His favourite bands are Pixies and Clap Your Hands Say Yeah. Stef left the world of rock'n'roll news behind when he moved to his beloved Canada in 2016, but he started on his next 5000 stories in 2022.