Pythonic Q&A: Vincent Kohut on Death Groove and Death Metal

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Pythonic Q&A: Vincent Kohut on Death Groove and Death Metal

Interview with Vincent Kohut, rhythm guitarist of Pythonic, a Canadian death metal band blending crushing riffs, aggressive vocals, and groove-driven breakdowns into their signature sound, which they call “Death Groove.” Formed in 2016 by guitarists Vincent Kohut and Ryan Hunter, Pythonic.

From opening for 200 Stab Wounds to playing Slaughterfest in Edmonton, Pythonic continues to build its presence in Canada's underground metal scene. Pythonic is a death metal band known for its blend of death metal brutality and groove-oriented heaviness, which the band describes as “Death Groove.”

Check Out the Sound of Pythonic

Spotify: Listen to Pythonic on Spotify
YouTube: Watch Pythonic on YouTube
Bandcamp: Explore Pythonic’s music and merch

Vincent Kohut of Pythonic is bringing a behind-the-scenes Q&A to you.

In this Q&A, Kohut discusses Pythonic’s evolution, collaborative songwriting and recording process, musical influences, memorable live performances, and upcoming plans.

Tell us more about the band.

The band started in 2016 with guitarists Vincent Kohut and Ryan Hunter. After many years of working with many other musicians, we later in 2025 would connect with the current line up that would consist of the true Pythonic sound. We are all very dedicated to the project, and all bring a different set of skills to the table that really adds to the music and sound!

Who’s in the band?

The band members are Morgan Warriner on vocals, Ryan Hunter on lead guitar, Vincent Kohut on rhythm guitar and backing vocals, Max Hiske on bass, and Jayden Warriner on drums.

What was the spark that got the band started?

The true spark to push the band to where we are now was moving Morgan Warriner from bass in January of 2025 up to vocals and fronting the band the change in vocals really gave the band the push, they needed to bring themselves to the next level. The new aggressiveness he brings to fronting the band really compliments the music well and has been pushing us to writing devastating riffs.

How would you describe your sound or genre?

We usually describe our sound as Death Groove. It's a complimentary mix of death metal such as Cryptopsy, The Black Dahlia Murder, and Morbid Angel with bands like Lamb of God and Devildriver.

What’s one surprising fact about you that fans might not expect?

Despite how well put together we sound on stage we haven't really toured all the much which usually surprises bigger touring acts like The Convalescence when we shared the stage with them as well as 200 Stab Wounds who couldn't believe we were just a local band! Most people also wouldn't believe that despite the farming background Vincent ended up gravitating to cresting metal music.

What artists, experiences, or moments shaped your current style?

Pantera, Death, Cryptopsy, and The Black Dhalia murder have definitely shaped the band musically a lot through out the years. The experience of working with terrible people have shaped the band to just be a great group of dudes who care about the vision and have the drive to achieve it. Our style comes from many bands across all the members we all add a little bit of ourselves to every song we write.

Can you walk us through your musical process as a band?

As far as songwriting goes it always starts as riffs from either Vincent or Ryan with a title for the riffs that is either followed for lyrics by Morgan or changed up to fit a vibe he feels works better. Bass and Drums then adds their own parts to fill out the sound making it unique each time since everyone has the chance to input into the creative process.

Production wise most of the instrument and vocal tracking is handled by Vincent and as of late we have been running our mixing and mastering through Reid over at Lucid Distortion Audio. He does such an amazing job with our tracks and has been a long-time friend of the band. He is a true master at what he does, and we couldn't recommend him enough to whoever needs mixing and mastering of metal tracks!

What’s one piece of gear or tech you can’t live without?

As a guitar player it's a tie between my Kemper and Jackson rhoads RR34. Both these are staples in my sound and Jackson has been the guitar brand I have been repping for almost 10 years now and exclusive the rhoads V at that it's just such a sleek instrument and everyone I've played just sits perfectly and feels great.

When do you know a song is finished?

Honestly, we usually don't know the song is finished until we fully have it recorded. During the recording process we usually have something we add in being backing vocals and extra guitar track here or there or a different scream style to make the track pop harder. We might play some songs live before they are recorded but they aren't finished until the tracks are done being mixed and mastered.

How much of your personal life makes it into your lyrics?

I would say it's a good 50% personal life and 50% other content.

How do you handle creative block when it happens?

We don't try and force art if we have a block, we let everything come as naturally as possible to the creative process if someone can quite do something someone else might have an idea and that may spark the other member to come back to it. It's group effort every time.

What’s on your current playlist? Any song suggestions for our readers?

Lately we have been ripping a lot of Sanguishuggabog, Peelingflesh, Bodybox, 200 Stab Wounds, Cryptopsy, Defeated Sanity, and Suffocation.

What’s been some of the best moment in your career?

Definitely the proudest moment was opening up for 200 Stab Wounds it was a surreal experience!

If you could collaborate with any artist, living or dead, who would it be and why?

It would be absolutely amazing to have Chuck Shuldiner have a featured solo in one of our tracks. But we would also love to work with some of the slam bands that have been rising like Sanguishuggabog or PeelingFlesh just running some dirty breakdowns with then would be amazing!

What were some of the biggest challenges you've early in your career?

Definitely it was tracking down the right fit for band members. One of the longest running challenges was definitely replacing our original vocalist he tried ingraining himself into the band and was not a great person so freeing him was a very needed endeavor.

What’s been your most memorable show so far — good or bad?

Most memorable definitely opening up Slaughterfest in Edmonton, Alberta. We got to play the Starlite Room main stage and being a stage that big and watching more and more people file in and head bang as we were lying our set was so amazing. We also had some younger kids in the front singing our songs with us it was quite the experience!

What changes have you noticed in the music industry since the band began?

We started the band before streaming was as big as it is now, so people used to buy CDs all the time; now you have to give your music for free to get people to come to shows. The way shows are booked also feels different from when we started, but I wouldn’t be able to thumb down why. I wouldn't say the changes are decidedly bad, but just something you have to get used to keep progressing.

What’s a part of the music business that actually takes up most of your time?

I would say recording music definitely takes up the biggest chunk of time. Right after that is social media posting can be tedious and exhausting.

Five men in black metal band shirts stand before a colorful graffiti wall, posing seriously. Pythonic band members.

What’s a stereotype about music or your genre that you’re tired of explaining?

It's all just screaming you can't understand the lyrics. Once you train your ear you can hear what is being said a lot of times the content is really great!

What advice would you give to emerging musicians?

Just keep trudging if a member doesn't feel like a correct fit; good chances, they aren't the correct fit. A good group of dudes is better than insane virtuosos any day of the week. People will remember more how you act besides just you’re playing.

Are any upcoming projects or collaborations we can be excited for?

We do have some upcoming tour dates with some sick bands we are looking forward to keeping an eye out for this coming fall!