After decades of performing alongside rock’s biggest names, the veteran musician takes complete creative control with a self-titled debut built on instinct, heavy riffs, and the freedom to follow his own vision.
After spending decades helping bring other artists’ musical visions to life, Brian Tichy is ready to put his own creativity front and center. With Led By Vultures, the veteran drummer steps into a new chapter as frontman, songwriter, and the primary creative force behind a project that gives him complete control over the music he creates. From the first guitar riff to the final mix, this is a record shaped entirely by his instincts, his ideas, and his willingness to see where the process takes him.
For someone who has spent much of his career performing alongside some of rock’s most recognizable artists, the shift from supporting someone else’s vision to building his own is significant. When asked what Led By Vultures allows him to express that he couldn’t fully explore as a hired drummer, Tichy makes the distinction clear.
“When I’m hired as a drummer, it’s that simple; play the drums and make the band sound as good as you can. Maybe you’re singing some background vocals here and there, but you’re mainly there to keep solid time and be super-consistent.”
With Led By Vultures, however, the expectations are entirely different. There is no established sound to replicate or another artist’s creative direction to follow. Tichy writes the music from the ground up, handling the engineering, recording, mixing, and mastering himself.
“With Led By Vultures, there are no rules and I’m not working for anyone, which also means I’m not getting paid! Haha!“
Behind the humor is a genuine appreciation for the freedom that comes with independence. Tichy explains, “The music and lyrics are all mine, so that’s the biggest difference right there. I’m trying to create vibes and emotions rather than support the ones that already exist in the music I’ve been hired to play when I’m in someone else’s band.“
Both experiences have their own rewards, but Led By Vultures represents something different: the opportunity to create without having to fit into an already successful band or work within the expectations attached to familiar songs. It is a chance to establish an identity entirely on his own terms.
Finding His Voice Beyond the Drum Kit
Stepping into the spotlight as a front-man might seem like unfamiliar territory for someone so closely associated with drumming, but Tichy has explored this side of music before. During the late 1990s and early 2000s, he played guitar and sang in his own band. Although he hasn’t pursued that role consistently in recent years, Led By Vultures gives him another opportunity to reconnect with it.
“I had my own band in the late ’90s/early 2000s I played guitar and sang in. I have already done this, so it’s not really new. It’s just something I haven’t pursued in a while,” he explains.
The challenge isn’t necessarily learning how to be a frontman again. Instead, it is getting comfortable with the vulnerability that comes with placing his voice and lyrics at the center of the music.
“The most challenging aspect is getting over the hump being the singer/lyricist. That’s always at the forefront of any music that has vocals, and it’s what I have to spend the most time on to get to a place where I’m okay with it.”
For Tichy, that adjustment became particularly noticeable while recording the album. With every vocal performance and lyric under his own scrutiny, he had to work through the uncertainty that comes with putting something so personal into the world.
“In recording this record, that took a little bit of time to get past and not bug-out too hard on…“
It is an honest admission that makes this new chapter all the more interesting. Even an experienced musician can find himself navigating unfamiliar feelings when the responsibility for every creative decision rests on his shoulders. With Led By Vultures, Tichy is giving himself the room to work through those moments rather than allowing them to dictate what the music can become.
“Waves” and the Pursuit of Something Meaningful
One of the project’s most intriguing releases, “Waves,” explores contentment and the ongoing pursuit of happiness. Its hypnotic repetition and expansive chorus create a feeling that invites listeners to reflect on their own experiences, but Tichy doesn’t believe there is a universal definition of what it means to feel fulfilled.
“That’s a completely individual thing we can only answer for ourselves,” he says.
For him, happiness is closely connected to pursuing goals and dreams, particularly those that come without guarantees. Rather than measuring success solely by whether someone reaches a final destination, he places value on the act of moving toward something meaningful.
“I guess true levels of happiness is when you pursue goals and dreams that have no guarantees and hopefully make progress getting closer to them. It can take a lifetime, and maybe you’ll never get all the way there, but I’d rather go for that as opposed to settling for less.“
That perspective gives “Waves” an especially fitting place within a project that represents a new creative adventure for Tichy himself. Launching a band, stepping into a front-man role, and taking responsibility for an entire album all involve uncertainty. There is no guarantee of where the journey will lead, but the opportunity to pursue something personally meaningful makes the process worthwhile. Interestingly, the song’s structure wasn’t designed to symbolize life’s cycles or the repetition of human struggles. Although listeners might find those connections within its arrangement, Tichy says the songwriting process was much more instinctive.
“I don’t think I ever got too heavy analyzing it. The chord progression seemed to make sense being both the verse and chorus, with only the lyric and melody changing.”
He points to familiar songs such as “Smells Like Teen Spirit” and “Let It Be” as examples of how the same underlying progression can work across different sections of a song. For him, the arrangement simply made musical sense.
“It wasn’t intentional as much as it seemed ‘songwriting sensible,’ at least for that particular song.”
The chorus was the first part to take shape, both melodically and lyrically. Over the years, Tichy experimented with different ideas for the verses but never found anything that felt as natural as the original chorus. Eventually, he settled on a looser thematic approach that allowed the song to remain open to interpretation.
“I just tried to stick with a loose theme and not being overly-direct about it. And the listener may come up with their own images and ideas of what the song may mean to them…”
That willingness to let listeners find their own meaning is an important part of the song’s appeal. Rather than explaining every emotion or defining every lyrical detail, Tichy leaves space for people to connect with the music through their own experiences.
A Band Name Without a Hidden Agenda
The name Led By Vultures might suggest something dark or symbolic. Vultures can represent survival, opportunism, or the unsettling feeling of being surrounded by forces waiting for a moment of weakness. Given the emotional range suggested by the album’s song titles, it would be easy to assume the name carries a deeper message, But Tichy has a much simpler explanation.
“No, it just sounded like a cool band name! Haha..”
Originally, Led By Vultures was the title of a song. During the recording process, co-producer Sean White suggested that it could work as the name of the band itself. Tichy agreed, and the idea of presenting the record as a band project rather than a solo release quickly took hold.
“It was originally a song title, and my co-producer Sean White said, ‘that could be a cool band name.’ I agreed and we immediately talked about changing this ‘solo’ LP to Led By Vultures, as it changes the whole perception, and I’d much rather have people hear it as a band rather than a drummer’s cute, little side project.”
That decision speaks to how Tichy wants listeners to approach the music. Although his history as a drummer is an important part of his identity, he doesn’t want it to define the limits of what this project can be. Led By Vultures deserves to be heard for the music itself, rather than being treated as a secondary creative outlet. As for the name’s possible interpretations, Tichy remains playfully open-minded.
“Led By Vultures; could be a positive or negative, depending on what you may need or get from them! Ha ..”
It is a fittingly unpretentious answer from a musician who seems more interested in following an exciting idea than constructing an elaborate explanation around it. Sometimes a name simply feels right, and that is enough.
Letting the Music Lead the Way
The self-titled debut features song titles such as “Below The Clouds Of Jupiter,” “He Who Greets With Fire,” “Psyched To Be Psycho,” and “Better Left Behind.” Each suggests a different atmosphere, from the cosmic to the confrontational, leaving plenty of room for curiosity about the worlds contained within the album. Yet Tichy doesn’t approach songwriting as a deliberate exercise in creating elaborate narratives or constructing fictional universes.
“No. I don’t really get that heavy,” he explains.
Instead, everything begins with the music.
“I start with guitar riffs that get me excited. Then I either come up with titles, melodies and lyrics, or refer to my list of song titles and lyric ideas. If something seems to click with those, cool!“
When nothing immediately fits, he doesn’t force the process. He continues experimenting with sounds until an idea begins to take shape.
“If not, I’ll just hum meaningless syllables and phrases until something pops up that inspires ideas that fit with the vibe of the music.”
This approach places feeling ahead of formula. A riff might inspire a title, a title might suggest a lyrical direction, or a melody might lead him somewhere he hadn’t anticipated. There is no requirement for every song to emerge through the same process, and no pressure to make the music fit a predetermined concept. That flexibility also helped shape the album as a whole.
Building a Debut Around Riffs, Grooves, and Instinct
For Tichy, the self-titled debut needed to introduce listeners to the elements that excite him most about rock music: aggressive guitar work, powerful grooves, and the occasional shift into something more restrained.
“I like aggressive guitar riffs and kick ass grooves that immediately hook you in. And every now and then something mellow may come into play.”
Rather than beginning with a completely defined vision for the album, he allowed the recording process to determine its direction.
“As I was recording this record with no 100% vision or direction other than hard rock/metal and cool riffs, I let ‘how I feel in the moment as the process is happening in front of me’ dictate where it would go and how it would continue.“
That decision allowed the album to evolve naturally, but it also changed what ultimately made the track list. Tichy originally intended to record an album made entirely of new material. However, revisiting older demos reminded him of songs he still enjoyed, and he didn’t want to leave those ideas unfinished.
“It was supposed to be all new material, but I didn’t like looking back at old demos that I still dug, so it became about 50/50 old and new.”
The result is a debut that brings together different periods of his songwriting, combining ideas that have stayed with him for years with newer material developed during this creative chapter. Some of the older songs also offered a different emotional texture, making room for the mellower side of his musical identity.
“And with that, a couple mellower songs made it on the LP, simply because they had been around for a long time and I wanted to see them through as showing that side of music I write.”
Rather than forcing the record into a single sonic category, Tichy allowed it to reflect the range of ideas he wanted to explore. The heavier tracks deliver the riffs and grooves he loves, while the softer moments demonstrate that his songwriting doesn’t begin and end with sheer aggression. That balance makes the self-titled album feel like an introduction to the person behind the music, not just a showcase for one particular sound.
A New Chapter, Entirely on His Own Terms
What makes Led By Vultures compelling is not simply that Brian Tichy has moved from behind the drum kit to the front of a band. It is that he has embraced the opportunity to take responsibility for every part of the creative process, allowing his experience to inform the music without limiting what it can become. He isn’t trying to construct a grand narrative around every lyric, attach a deeper meaning to every decision, or follow a strict artistic blueprint. He starts with what excites him, trusts his instincts, and continues working until the pieces fall into place.
That philosophy extends from the band’s name to the album’s final track. An idea can begin as a guitar riff, develop into a song over several years, or take an entirely unexpected direction during recording. What matters is whether it connects with him and feels worth pursuing. There is something refreshing about that approach, particularly for an artist who has spent so much of his career helping other musicians realize their own visions. Led By Vultures gives Tichy the freedom to explore his ideas without needing to fit into someone else’s established identity.
And perhaps that is the most significant part of this new adventure: the opportunity to create something that is unmistakably his, while remaining open to the possibilities that emerge along the way. With its combination of hard-hitting riffs, infectious grooves, and unexpected melodic turns, the self-titled debut introduces Led By Vultures as more than a side project. It is a statement of creative independence from a musician who continues to find new ways to challenge himself. After decades of bringing other artists’ music to life, Brian Tichy is now building a world of his own, one riff, one lyric, and one instinctive decision at a time.
Pre-order the CD, vinyl, and exclusive bundles while supplies last: https://www.
TRACK LISTING
- Get It Right
- Massivity
- Straight To The Bottom
- Below The Clouds Of Jupiter
- He Who Greets With Fire
- Lunatic Fringe
- Led By Vultures
- An Evening Of The Odds (CD Only)
- Waves
- Psyched To Be Psycho
- Say No More (CD Only)
- Better Left Behind
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