Vile Mind out of Huntington, West Virginia released their debut EP “Endless Suffering” last May and have not looked back having a busy run ever since as they build up their local scene along with the recently formed Huntington Music Collective. One might not think immediately of hardcore when you are talking about the Appalachian Mountain region but when you are done reading this interview with Vile Mind’s lead singer Nate Holley you will see that they are dead serious about the music and message they put out and it seems like nothing is going to stop them. New music is on the way in the coming weeks as well so stay locked in. This interview took place on February 15, 2026. Lead photo by: Sam Rottschafer taken at Vile Mind’s January 31st show in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Graphics by: Jon Berg. Photos also provided by: Myles Jaeckel
IE: What’s up Nate? Where exactly are you right now and what would you usually be doing at this time of the day if you weren’t answering these questions?
Nate: Well, right now I’m in a van, on a 14 hour haul back to WV from FYA Fest in Florida. It was absolutely insane and we had a blast. Typically on a Monday afternoon I’d be at the gym with my wife or on my way home to see my kids when they get home from school later in the day.
IE: For a band that just started out in 2025 I don’t think you could have had a better first year. In the first week of 2025 you guys made an Instagram post announcing the band’s start… then in March your EP came out and then from there you had a really solid year. Can you fill us in on details like how many shows you played, where Vile Mind traveled to play and with who?
Nate: Yeah, so our first year had been an absolute whirlwind. Even before our release it seemed like there was a little bit of a buzz in anticipation. Then, when we started playing shows and released the EP, there was such a great reaction. It honestly took us all by surprise. This year we’ve played a total of 10 shows. We had great shows in Columbus OH, New Kensington PA, Louisville KY and a few here in Huntington WV. We’ve had the absolute honor of playing with great bands like Haywire, Death Before Dishonor, Street Power, Years Spent Cold, Missing Link and Power Of Fear. It’s honestly been a dream come true having all these bands that we look up to be so cool and welcoming to us. Having bands like Merauder share your music seems surreal.
IE: When exactly did the 5 of you get in a room together to start jamming and writing the first Vile Mind songs? Was there a spark or something that happened in your life that finally made you say “lets start a hardcore band”?
Nate: All the members of Vile Mind have played music with one another in one band or another for over 20 years now. At the beginning of 2025, after about an 8-10 year hiatus, all the planets aligned and it seemed like the universe guided us in each others paths again. It was all so organic that when we started writing and playing it all just came out so naturally. We all share a deep love for everything hardcore and are on fire to be heard.
IE: The Huntington Music Collective seems to be something that came along with the start of Vile Mind and seems to be in lockstep with what Vile Mind is all about. Please fill us in on how they sort of go hand and hand?
Nate: Now, the Huntington Music Collective is a non-profit we started at the beginning of 2025 and another thing that seemed to manifest out of thin air along with Vile Mind. The entire story is much too long for this interview, but the collective started with a core group of committed members who were frustrated with our scene or lack there of. We had a large, thriving scene here in the early 2000’s that had demo shows to almost nothing, for a number of complex reasons. So the only place to have shows was at an 18 and older bar… and hardcore doesn’t belong in 18 and older bars. To be brief, we live in a region that has been devastated by the opioid epidemic and the last thing we needed was more bar shows. We have an entire generation of new kids who are in love and falling in love with hardcore who need somewhere to come express themselves in our unique way. An entire generation of kids that have been directly or indirectly traumatized by substances and need a place to come and release their fears and frustrations… and hell, not just the kids, we all need that.
IE: Who are some of the other active bands in your area that people should get behind?
Nate: Other active bands in our area off the top of my head are Bad Terms, Violent Convictions, Vilomah, Ghost Home, Don’t Look Back, Truth Is Treason, and Ligature. Super sorry if I forgot one.
IE: Huntington, WV is about 2.5 to 3 hours away from both Cincinnati as well as Louisville, KY. What is life like these days in Huntington? I know you have some strong feelings about this with themes that have popped up in Vile Mind tracks as well…
Nate: Life in Huntington can be hard. Now listen… I’m a firm believer that life is what you make of it. The old “wherever you go, there you are”. However, with the amount of sick and homelessness, death and drug addiction it’s hard not to feel a bleakness all around you in the streets. We’ve all suffered from or watched our loved ones suffer from it.
CLICK BELOW TO STREAM/DOWNLOAD “ENDLESS SUFFERING” BY VILE MIND
IE: Is being into hardcore, punk or metal in your area something absolutely foreign or is it generally accepted by people not into it?
Nate: The disease of addiction. Our city is an epicenter for recovery houses and rehabs and it can have a certain dampening effect on a person’s hopes and dreams. You have to learn to rise above. Maybe because of that, we have always had some sort of metal or hardcore scene here. It’s very normalized. We live in a college town (Marshall University) with lots of kids looking for shows and counter culture. As mentioned before, our scene in the early 2000’s was large and thriving. We had a large DIY space where everyone from Paramore to Agnostic Front came to play.
IE: “Endless Suffering” came out last May and is only about 10 minutes in length. What were you guys playing to fill up your live sets?
Nate: So we actually had a few songs we didn’t include on “Endless Suffering” which we play live and they will be included on the next EP.
IE: How many new songs have been written since “Endless Suffering” came out? Most of the tracks on that release were more mid-paced groove type of hardcore songs as well. Can you tell us about some of the newer songs as well?
Nate: We are in the process of working on the next record. It is called “Doomed Future” and it will be released this spring. It will be a 5 song EP and we are really proud of it. Being into hardcore for so long now, we tend to take inspiration from multiple styles of hardcore. So we try to blend a lot of groove into our own brand of heavy hitting hardcore.
VILE MIND @DIRTY DUNGAREES, COLUMBUS, OH JANUARY 30, 2026. PHOTO BY: MYLES JAECKEL
IE: Aside from Vile Mind your profession is in tattooing. How long have you been doing that and how did you initially get into that profession?
Nate: Yeah, so I’ve been a tattooer for 5.5 years now. I work at Prestige Tattoo and Piercing in Huntington WV. Since I was a little kid I could always remember being kind of obsessed with tattoos. From as far back as I can remember I always wanted to be a tattooer. I spent most of my adolescence being a shop rat. Unfortunately my early dreams were delayed by the disease of addiction but after I got clean and got a college degree I had one last shot at an apprenticeship and I took it. I threw away the degree and carved a new path. It was really scary but I can’t imagine making any other decision.
IE: In your tattooing profile the header says “tattooing for criminals and moms” which is pretty damn eye catching… Care to explain this a bit more?
Nate: Tattoos for criminals and moms! Yes! Really that was just the best way I could express the fact that I’m a people person and that I have experienced very different lives in my time here on earth. From living on the street as a derelict addict, to things like powerlifting and hardcore, have connected me with wildly different groups of people. So I wanted to convey my ability to get along with and find common ground with most anyone. Furthermore, our shop is a real meeting place for all types of people. It’s a hub for the Huntington Music Collective and art and positivity. Every member of Vile Mind has at some point been a shop rat.
IE: Who are the other members of Vile Mind and can you give us an interesting fact about each of them?
Nate: Vile Mind is Ryan Herndon (guitar), Trent Heck (guitar), Mike Young (bass), Chad Facemyer, (drums) and me, Nate Holley (vocals). Each of us have been lifelong friends and playing hardcore with each other since we were kids. Their commitment to making real hardcore with heart and message keeps this thing moving forward. We are looking forward to many more years of hardcore for hardcore.
VILE MIND @MORNING RITUAL, GRAND RAPIDS, MI JANUARY 31, 2026. PHOTO BY: SAM ROTTSCHAFER