Grief, Growth, and Metalcore: Vilamoura Breaks Down Lost

Grief, Growth, and Metalcore: Vilamoura Breaks Down Lost

Austin metalcore outfit Vilamoura has never shied away from the heavy stuff, but their new EP Lost pushes deeper than ever before. Built as a dark coming‑of‑age journey, the record traces childhood wounds, self‑betrayal, addiction, and the complicated ways love can bruise. I sat down with vocalists Jon Jon, Josh Huber, and guitarist Don Shipman to talk through the EP track by track, the band’s explosive growth, and the unexpected breakdown that almost didn’t make the cut.

Since we have three of you here, let’s start with introductions. Tell me who you are and what you do in Vilamoura.
Jon Jon: Hey, I’m Jon Jon and I sing.

Don: I’m Don and I play guitar.

Josh: And I’m Josh. I’m the other vocalist.

Where are you guys based, and what’s your local music scene like?
Jon Jon: We’re based out of Austin, and it’s pretty comfy out here—especially within our niche, the metal scene. There’s a really welcoming vibe from the audience. There’s not a whole lot of elitism in Austin, at least from what I’ve experienced. People are down whether you’re going super heavy or leaning more toward the pop side of rock. It doesn’t really matter what you’re doing; people usually just want to have a good time.

There are a lot of bands with chill vibes too. Sure, you get a couple that can get a little competitive sometimes, but for the most part it’s just relaxed—good people having a good time playing music.

I want to dive right into the EP. Let’s go in the order I see on Spotify. The EP is called Lost, and it opens with “Orphan.” Tell me about that song and the inspiration behind it.
Jon Jon: Orphan—and the Lost EP as a whole—is basically a very dark coming‑of‑age story. It starts with “Orphan,” which represents childhood. It’s written from my experience with my mother, and it’s also inspired by Huber’s experience growing up with his parents. It’s something we worked on together.

I was actually talking to some friends about this earlier today: when you’re conceived, that has nothing to do with you. Your parents don’t know who you are or who you’ll become. They’re having children for reasons tied to their own interests and desires. That doesn’t automatically make it bad, but it does mean that once you’re born, it’s easy for parents to see you as a reflection of themselves—a piece of their legacy.

If that goes unchecked, like it did in my life, it can turn ugly really fast. You can end up in an environment where you never feel good enough, where you’re not allowed to make your own decisions. If parents don’t like what they see in that “mirror,” it can lead to dismissal, trauma—things a kid shouldn’t have to deal with and never asked for.

Orphan is about that. Feeling abandoned not because your parents left, but because you grew up feeling like you were only ever a mirror for them. I think a lot of people relate to feeling abandoned, but this specific angle isn’t something I’ve heard explored much in music. It’s a sentiment a lot of us in the band share, and that’s what shaped the song.

Pretty heavy stuff.
Jon Jon: It gets like that in this band, yeah.

Let’s move on to the second song, “Craven.” Tell me about that one.
Josh: Craven is about being disappointed and angry at yourself for choosing to overlook red flags in someone. It’s about ignoring the negativity someone is throwing your way, ignoring the people around you who are warning you—“Hey, this person isn’t good for you. This person is using you.” And then, ultimately, being betrayed by that person.

It’s about the internal struggle that comes with realizing, Yeah, I should’ve trusted my instincts. I shouldn’t have listened to them. I let them twist the situation in my head. And once you realize they were lying to get what they wanted, you’re left thinking, What the hell do I do now? That’s the emotional core of Craven.

Let’s move on to the third song—the title track, Lost. Tell me about the inspiration behind it.
Jon Jon: Lost is definitely the most important song Vilamoura has ever written. It ended up becoming the mission statement for what our music and message are going to be about for the foreseeable future. When I said the EP is a story, I don’t mean there’s a literal narrative, but there’s a continuous purpose that each song follows and builds toward. Lost is the culmination of that purpose.

When you’re a kid thinking about your future, most people start idolizing who they think they’ll become. You imagine having tons of friends, doing big things, maybe curing cancer—whatever your childhood brain thinks adulthood will be. Then life hits you. You go through trauma, things don’t go the way you expected, you cope in the wrong ways, and you end up hurting yourself even more. Before you know it, you’re an adult. Maybe you’re a good person with good things in your life, but you look back at that idealized version of yourself and think, I missed the mark. I don’t know how to fix that.

For a lot of people, that becomes a source of dread and regret. And instead of facing it, they try to ignore it. You see people go through midlife crises, uproot their lives, fall apart, completely change who they are, get involved in things that don’t align with who they really are. It’s sad.

Right now, Vilamoura is really focused on themes like accountability, mental health, growth, and learning how to move forward and live a happy life. That’s important to all of us. It comes up constantly when we talk about our plans or what’s going on in our personal lives. Our mental health and wellness are always part of the conversation. Learning to cope with trauma and regret, figuring out how to move on, understanding that there isn’t always a good path—but there’s always a best and worst path. You can always choose the best one, be the best version of yourself, learn, and live the best life you can.

That’s the message we’re trying to send, and it starts with Lost. I like to describe it as a eulogy for the image you had of yourself as a kid. It’s a moment to look back and say, This is who I wanted to be. Maybe that’s not who I became. This is my chance to grieve that and accept it. That acceptance is the first step toward moving on.

So yes, it’s a dark EP. It’s about trauma, failure, loss, and regret. But it’s also the beginning of a healing process.

Now let’s talk about the fourth track, “Spirited Away.” What can people expect from that song?
Josh: That one is our heaviest song to date. It’s really fast—maybe not the fastest BPM ever, but it definitely feels that way.

Don: It’s 200 BPM.

Josh: Okay, so it is pretty fast. It’s heavy, it hits hard, and the verses are really punchy. The choruses flow really well and tie everything together. I really love Jon’s chorus in “Spirited Away.”

The message behind it is basically a personal battle with addiction—any kind of addiction. I don’t need to go too deep into it, but it’s something everyone deals with in some way, and it’s impacted my life pretty significantly. As I’ve gotten older, I’ve been trying to grow past it and move on from it. Putting it into a song was a way to express the anger and frustration of realizing you’ve slipped down that slope and now you’re trying to climb your way back out. That’s what “Spirited Away” is about.

And let’s see how the EP concludes with “Dissolve.” What can listeners expect from that song?
Jon Jon: Dissolve is… how do we even describe it? It’s very different.

Josh: It’s a sleeper.

Jon Jon: Yeah, that’s what we all keep saying—it’s the sleeper hit of the record. It’s the song where, the first time you hear it, you think, Yeah, that was good. But then you walk away and don’t fully process it. Later, you come back to it—maybe after a rough day or when you’re in a certain mood—and suddenly it hits you in the chest. That’s what Dissolve is meant to do.

It’s very cleans‑heavy. We end the record with a track that’s extremely scream‑heavy and metal, and then Dissolve comes in with something much more… pretty. Not whimsical—more ominous, honestly. It has this mystique to it.

Don: It’s very ambient‑heavy.

Jon Jon: Exactly. Concept‑wise, by the time you reach Dissolve, we’ve already covered childhood ideals, trauma from abuse or neglect, being taken advantage of in adulthood, the existential crisis of Lost, and the struggle with addiction in Spirited Away. Dissolve is where we finally bring romance into the story—one of the most intimate ways people can hurt each other.

Ideally, relationships aren’t like that, but a lot of people experience the darker side of romance at some point: getting involved for the wrong reasons, treating someone poorly or being treated poorly, being manipulated, being influenced by someone who has a huge emotional pull over you. All the messy, complicated things that come with that part of life.

It’s another chapter in the story—another thing that can knock someone off course and lead them to the emotional place that Lost represents.

If you were to arrange the EP chronologically as a narrative, Dissolve wouldn’t be the final chapter. But this is music, and we also think about mood. The way Dissolve leaves you—the emotional space it creates—just feels like the right way to end the EP.

Who produced the Lost EP, and what was it like working with them?
Don: We worked with Robby Joyner from Black Book Studios in Houston. The whole process is always really fun. We usually go in with six to eight songs that we think are strong enough to rework and make better. For this EP, we had two songs that were almost finished from a previous session, and then we brought six more. We ended up with three final tracks from that batch—Dissolve, Spirited Away, and Craven.

Our process is: we bring in a demo, then spend a day or two reshaping it—restructuring, improving riffs, tightening ideas. If we like a chorus from the demo, we usually keep it, and that’s what you hear in the final version. Dissolve was one where we kept about 75% of the original demo. We already had a solid foundation, and then we just tweaked things to give certain moments more impact.

The whole process took about four or five days for the three songs. It’s always a great time recording with Robby.

Jon Jon: There’s a funny story connected to what Don said about Dissolve. When we made the demo—well, when he made the demo—everyone loved everything he wrote… except the breakdown. Even Don didn’t like it. We all assumed we’d change it later.

We didn’t. It’s in the final version exactly as he wrote it.

Once we added vocals and post‑production, we listened back and went, Dude… this is one of the hardest breakdowns we’ve ever written. It was hilarious. The part nobody liked ended up being one of the best moments on the record.

I’m looking at your Spotify numbers—“Double Down” has 863,000 plays. Good lord. What does that number even mean to you guys? You’ll probably hit a million before the end of the year.
Josh: That’d be something.

Jon Jon: It’s honestly hard to comprehend. As a listener, you go on Spotify, see a song with a million plays, and think, Yeah, nice pipe dream. Maybe my garage band will get there someday. Then we look at our Spotify for Artists and go, Oh… this might actually happen in my lifetime. Every time I check it, I’m like, Oh my God. I think it’s going to happen this year.

You recently opened for A Skylit Drive. What was that experience like?
Josh: I listened to them in high school, so that was a huge moment for me. Really nostalgic. They played a couple songs I used to love back then. It was a full‑circle moment—super cool, really fun.

The new EP is about to come out. Do you plan to tour in support of it, or what are your plans for the future?
Josh: We’d definitely like to. We’ve got some things in the talking phase—nothing set in stone yet. For now, we’ve got a few shows in Austin, Dallas, and the surrounding areas. Once the EP drops, most of our sets are going to be centered around it. We’re really going to push it hard.

Jon Jon: As far as a tour goes—fans should definitely expect one. Our plans aren’t fully fleshed out yet, but they do exist. We’ve got several irons in the fire, and we’re figuring out which option makes the most sense. Once we lock that in, there will be a run to promote this EP. We just don’t know exactly what shape it’ll take yet.

Do you have any messages for fans reading this, or for Metalcore fans discovering you?
Jon Jon: Short answer—yes. But do either of y’all have anything that comes to mind first?

Josh: I’m just super grateful that everyone’s been enjoying the music and supporting us the way they have. The support has been overwhelming in the best way. From the bottom of my heart, I’m really grateful.

Jon Jon: One thing I want to mention—I don’t know how soon this interview will be up, but if it’s up before 6 p.m., we have a show tomorrow night. We’re recording a live music video at that show. Everyone who comes out is going to be in a Vilamoura music video on our YouTube. I’m making sure the cameraman gets on stage and pans across the whole crowd. It’s going to be a blast.

Don, any final words?
Don: We have the EP dropping January 30th, and then on January 31st we’re playing in Pharr, Texas. In February we’re in Austin and Dallas. In March we have a show in Austin with Volumes, which we’re really excited about. Moving forward, we’re hoping to play outside of Texas. That’s a huge goal for us. Texas is so big that it’s hard for bands here to break out into surrounding states. So hopefully, if we play our cards right, we can get out to Arizona, Kansas, Oklahoma—just somewhere besides Texas.

Josh: Somewhere else! Please…

Somewhere else—Los Angeles, maybe?
Jon Jon: That would be fun.

Don: I’d be 100% down.

Josh: Over the moon, dude. Over the moon.

In Conclusion

Vilamoura may be rooted in Austin’s metalcore scene, but Lost makes one thing unmistakably clear: this is a band thinking far beyond their local footprint. Their willingness to dissect trauma, accountability, addiction, and the fragile architecture of identity gives their music a depth that resonates long after the last breakdown fades. And with streaming numbers climbing, a growing fanbase, and a hunger to take their message beyond Texas, Vilamoura is stepping into a new chapter—one built on honesty, vulnerability, and the kind of heaviness that hits in all the right ways.

Whether Lost becomes the record that breaks them out nationally or simply marks the beginning of something bigger, the band’s commitment to growth—both personal and artistic—feels like the real story here. If the EP is about grieving who you thought you’d become, Vilamoura seems more than ready to embrace who they are now, and where they’re headed next.

(Interview by Ken Morton)

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