Please tell us about the history of your band and its members.
Well Matt and I (Scott) were homies back in the Lethbridge metal scene from 2010-2013. We played in a deathcore band called "Reborn Extinction" together for a time, and after I had left The Avulsion on vocals Matt joined on as the Bassist for a while too. So, we definitely have history as friends and likeminded musicians, long before we both ended up in Calgary. We talked about getting a new project going since like, 2015 but it didn't really start until I met Chris in 2016 through Kijiji! He had moved to Calgary from Grande Prairie a year earlier after leaving his old band, Arrival of Autumn. We immediately clicked and started auditioning drummers & bassists to complete the lineup. Over the course of a few months we had some people come and go during the early writing process. We had a few songs written by the time Mike & later on Pat would join. Mike has played in a few bands around the Calgary area, such as Netheriel and Pecado. Pat was a lucky catch for us actually, he had just moved here from Toronto to be closer to family and we scooped him up within weeks! After that we just got serious and started writing furiously and laying groundwork for our breaking out into the scene. Having gigged across Alberta in 2017 and getting our name out there a little bit, we're heading into 2018 with bigger and better things planned, such as a CD release set for April and a tour in August.
How would you describe your style? Which bands influenced your music?
This is honestly a tough question for us haha we're all influenced by such different kinds of music (some the same like Necrophagist, Meshuggah, Children of Bodom all the staple bands of course) and some less obvious. I like to jam really chill EDM and emo albums by Tycho and Bayside like on the daily alongside Ingested, Baptized in Blood, Eye of Horus etc I guess I would describe our sound as really nasty, chaotic tech death with some groove. Like if there was a spectrum for tech death with Rings of Saturn on one side and Cryptopsy on the other, we'd definitely be snuggled up close to Cryptopsy haha
Why should a metalhead buy your demos/albums?
Straight up there's a bit of something for everyone! We as a collective jam lots of different music and enjoy our own music like we do most bands that have inspired us. It's not going to be for everyone because people will always have their own tastes and opinions on what makes music good. But we like it and we know there are going to be others out there who like it too. I think we'd just be stoked if you at least gave it a shot.
What have you released so far and how were your releases received by the public/media?
We released one demo song in December 2016 for "Debt Collector" it was well received by mostly everyone we met! Now that we have an official EP release coming in April, we're so excited to hear people's reactions! It's so much more polished and aggressive sounding then the demo.
Do you play live as well? How's your live activity so far?
Hell yea we do! Playing live is probably the #1 reason we all play in a metal band at all haha we love the energy, adrenaline and atmosphere of being on stage and letting hell break loose. We gig as often as we can but not excessively, and our live show is very energetic, comedic and genuine. We love what we do and being able to share it with people is our passion.
What should labels/zines/promoters know about your band? Why should they be interested in it?
I think anyone who knows us knows, that we're driven as all hell to succeed without employing underhanded techniques. We're honest and hardworking, fair and have a lot of love to give. That may sound weird but we just love everything about what we do, from the business aspects to the soggy sock no sleep hamburger grease fueled touring, that we're in this for life.
What plans do you have for the near future as a band?
April 27 is our EP release show in Calgary, following that we have the Decimate Metalfest in Calgary as well from June 7-10 (We play the 7th). Then we're planning a tour for August which will include an appearance at the Metallion Fest in BC August 10-11! Our tour will be all over Alberta & BC so if you're in western Canada you'll definitely have a chance to catch us and see for yourself what we're all about. After that we'll be buckling down to work on our first LP, but that's nowhere near worth talking about yet haha
Where can we listen to your band and where can we buy your stuff?
We have Facebook, Youtube & Bandcamp you should check out! Including preorders for our upcoming EP on Bandcamp and numerous other platforms very soon! I'm warning you though, you might see some questionable stuff haha
https://www.facebook.com/widowspeakdm/
https://wpdm.bandcamp.com/releases
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC-EdVxxBbzsoiERcw91-Z1w
March 2018