Preview
DAMN 13
Sunday, April 17
The Whiskey
It’s only taken about seven years to get a word out of Toronto-based riot rockers Damn 13, but the time is – to quote zombie flick 28 Days Later – extremely fucking nigh.
Preparing to embark on a cross-Canada tour in support of rock stalwarts Motorhead and Corrosion Of Conformity, Damn 13 are understandably psyched. And after years of silence, they’re also finally ready to chat.
"I have my shrine to Lemmy at home," half-jokes singer Adam Sewell, maintaining a cool composure that most bands would have lost the second they heard their name in the same sentence as Motorhead.
"These are fantastic bands. If I was just going to see the show, I’d be happy with that. Having Damn 13 (completed by guitarists Mike Charette and Justin McWilliams, drummer Dan Cornelius and bassist Dave Smedley) along for the ride makes me ecstatic."
Longtime friends of both Motorhead and Corrosion Of Conformity – dating back to the days of Sewell’s former metal outfit Monster Voodoo Machine – this trek has been ages in the making.
"It just never seemed to work out the right way in the past," says Sewell with a sigh, happy that things have finally come together. "Either we weren’t ready to get out there on the road or neither band was doing a full-on cross-Canada tour.
"We’re quite lucky that everything is happening right now. The timing is impeccable…. We’re up for the challenge to get up there and kill it every night. There’s a lot of energy built up and we’re ready to explode. But it won’t be random chaos…. You can bet that it will be a meticulous attack."
In regard to timing, Sewell is referring to the fact that Damn 13 recently signed with Distort Entertainment (the brains behind your favourite screamers Alexisonfire,) which will be releasing the band’s debut effort, Black Heart, Northern Soul, later this month.
Years in the making itself, Sewell and crew are equally excited and relieved for that album to see the light of day. Flitting about the country in various unofficial incarnations, the sounds we are set to hear on this version of Black Heart, Northern Soul should be an otherworldly experience. Even Damn 13 are somewhat taken aback by the raucous power of the album.
"We’ve found our sound," admits Sewell. "It feels like a big fist hitting you. We knew we were searching for Damn 13 over the past few years, so we waited to release anything. There was something inside of me saying that (we) weren’t ready. Things were on the right path, but it just wasn’t… there. Not until just now."
"If this is the last record I make, I’ll be happy with it," he continues. "Even though the rest of the guys want to kill me for taking this long, they know it was worth the wait. When I think of what a Damn 13 album should be, this is it."
Still, the band’s incorporative sound might leave some listeners a little confused and Damn 13 are curious to see how their blend of hardcore ferocity, heavy-metal riff madness and no-nonsense rock delivery will go down with Motorhead fans. Damn 13 are optimistic, though. Motorhead, went through many fan clashes in their early years – they were the only band punks and metalheads could agree on liking.
Yet while Damn 13 aren’t about to call themselves a continuation of that extreme music amalgamation in the tradition of Lemmy and crew, they do enjoy escaping instant classification.
"The metal kids think we’re too punk, the punk kids think we’re too rock, the rock kids think we’re too metal," says Sewell with a shrug. "I don’t give a fuck… we’ll just do our thing." |
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