Vended

Vended was formed in 2018 by Griffin Taylor and Simon Crahan when they were teenagers; the duo then recruited Jeremiah Pugh, Cole Espeland, and Connor Grodzicki.^[6] Their name is pronounced with emphasis on the second syllable: "ven-DEAD", and is based on the word vendetta.^[4] The band avoided touring during their first few years due to their young age.^[7]

The younger Taylor and Crahan resist comparisons of the band to Slipknot, maintaining that they are largely self-taught musicians and did not receive extensive instructions from their fathers.^[8][9] This assertion has been supported by the elder Taylor and Crahan.^[10][11][12]

Their first live performance was in Des Moines in March 2020,^[13] just before being forced to go on hiatus by the COVID-19 pandemic. They released their first recording, the single "Asylum", on September 21, 2021.^[14] Vended released a second single, "Burn My Misery", on October 19 and announced that they would be releasing the EP What Is It/Kill It the following month on November 12.^[15] The five-song EP What Is It//Kill It was released in November 2021.^[5] In late 2022 Vended toured the United States with Jinjer and P.O.D.^[16] Vended released several stand-alone singles starting in 2022.^[17][18]

• Griffin Taylor – lead vocals
• Cole Espeland – lead guitar
• Connor Grodzicki – rhythm guitar, backing vocals
• Jeremiah Pugh – bass, backing vocals
• Simon Crahan – drums