HIS BLOOD HER HOPE: VHS PANTY RIOT & Disco Dread

The first single from MY FACE YOUR GHOST arrives on 30 October 2026.

I can finally share the name of the first single from the new record: HIS BLOOD HER HOPE, a collaboration between VHS PANTY RIOT and Disco Dread.

It’s a heavy, melancholic instrumental that brings together melodic-metal influences, darksynth and the atmosphere of an imagined 80s slasher film. There’s pounding percussion, plenty of that metallic, clangy bass, and synth melodies that are just as important to the song as the riffs underneath them.

There’s also a substantial contribution from Disco Dread, whose cinematic writing takes the track somewhere I wouldn’t have taken it alone. That’s a big part of why I’m excited to share this one.

Working with Disco Dread

One of the things that mattered to me with this collaboration was keeping the character of both artists. I wanted it to feel like we’d made a song together, but still leave room for you to recognise what each of us brought to it.

Disco Dread’s contribution gives the track a large cinematic passage before moving into a heavy section of his own. It changes the scale and atmosphere of the song, rather than simply adding more sounds over an existing arrangement.

That gave us something interesting to work with. My parts lean into the bass riffs, groove and melodic-metal side of VPR, while his section allows the music to open out in a different direction. Preserving the contrast between those sections became an important part of how the finished track was put together.

The ending brings those ideas together more directly: the music returns to my section, with Disco Dread’s synth melody running over it. You’ve heard the different sides of the collaboration, and then you hear how they work together.

For me, that’s one of the satisfying things about collaborating. Someone can bring in a part you wouldn’t have written yourself, and suddenly you hear a different possibility for the song.

View Disco Dread’s website

Heavy, melodic and a little miserable

There’s a strong melodic-metal influence running through HIS BLOOD HER HOPE, even though the instruments doing most of the work are electronic.

That influence is in the relationship between the riffs and the leads. The bass and drums give the track its weight and forward movement, while the melody carries a lot of the emotion. I like those things happening at the same time. The music can be aggressive without the feeling behind it being anger.

On this track, that feeling is much closer to melancholy.

The nostalgic synth sounds are part of it, but I didn’t want nostalgia to be the whole point. I wanted the melodies to have something of their own to say, rather than relying on a familiar sound to do all the emotional work.

The same applies to the heavy sections. Distortion is a sound I love, but the riff still has to work. The drums have to make it move. And when the arrangement changes, there needs to be a reason to follow it somewhere else.

That’s where the cinematic passages matter. They give the track a different kind of intensity and make the return to the heavier material feel earned.

An imagined slasher soundtrack

The idea behind VHS PANTY RIOT has always been soundtracks to 80s slasher films that never existed. HIS BLOOD HER HOPE sits very naturally within that.

The title gives you a sense of the story: violence on one side, the possibility of escape on the other. There’s danger in it, but there’s also someone worth caring about and something worth getting out for.

That human side matters to me. A horror soundtrack can make you anticipate something awful, but it can also make you care about what happens next. I’m interested in both. The heavy parts can provide the threat; the melodies can give you a reason to hope it doesn’t win.

There are no lyrics telling you exactly what happens, and I like leaving that space. You might picture a scene, connect it to something completely different, or simply enjoy the music. The song needs to work either way.

The first release from MY FACE YOUR GHOST

HIS BLOOD HER HOPE is your first listen to the forthcoming MY FACE YOUR GHOST record, which features mixing by Steve Evetts and mastering by Thibault Chaumont.

I’m keeping the rest of the record under wraps for now. This is Disco Dread’s and my opportunity to share something we’ve worked on together, and I want to give the song its own introduction before revealing what comes next.

HIS BLOOD HER HOPE arrives on 30 October 2026.

Pre-save the single here, and thank you for being part of the next VPR release. 🎈🔪