Toronto's METZ are one such band and on their long gestating self-titled debut which was released last year on indie powerhouse Sub Pop, they have created an exciting slab of music that has attracted not only the attention of fans of the loud and burly, but also of many music critics throughout the blogosphere and even in more traditional, yet weird-for-this-type-of-music publications such as the New Yorker. A noise rock band in the New Yorker? We seem to live in very curious times indeed, but singer/guitarist Alex Edkins takes it all in stride. "I think it's something we are not used to, but if it gets our music out there, then it's fine with us. We made the record we wanted to make, nobody told us what to record. If doing this gets more people to hear our music, that's cool, because there is a very fine line between getting too much press and being overexposed and not getting enough of it," said Edkins.
Originally, they started out five years ago in Ottawa. At that point, it was Edkins, drummer Hayden Menzies and another guy. Edkins felt like he needed a change of scenery, so for personal and professional reasons he moved to Toronto about a year ago. Menzies followed him soon after. They both moved in order to take advantage of Toronto's larger music scene and the fact that were more opportunities to be had, not just with the band, but with work, too. Once in Toronto, they added bassist Chris Slorach and the trio was complete. Unlike some bands who get impatient and release music before they should, it took them a full five years of being a band to get to a point to record their debut album. All that time wood shedding has paid off, because it is one beast of a record, that envelops the listener in a monstrous wall of sound. The great notices it received upon its release were well earned. According to Edkins, none of this was forced. "We didn't rush it, so when the record finally came out we wouldn't go back, listen to it and cringe. It took that amount of time. It wasn't planned out, it just happened that way and I'm really glad how it turned out," he said.
Capturing their massive live sound on disc was one of the biggest challenges of the recording, but if you listen to it, you can hear the band's in-your-face noise has been kept intact. You see, for this band, playing live is all about volume and energy, yet, there is a definite method to their madness, though it also a little spontaneous, too. "Our live sound is a combination of a bunch of factors. Hayden plays really loud, so Chris and I have to play even louder to be heard over the drums. We want to create one big, unified sound. But, we are really not gear heads, in that we have very few pedals that we use. It's more how we approach playing live that counts. We grew up listening to a lot of loud, intense music and that intensity comes out of us when we are on stage. We give it 100 percent, so we don't blow our chance. Honestly, you can't play a chill set with this type of music," said Edkins. They also have a bit of a sense of humor, too. On this tour, which takes them to Cafe Nine on April 12, they will be playing shea stadium a few days later. But this won't be any weird type of overblown Clash moment, because this shea is actually a medium sized venue in Brooklyn that has hosted a whole bunch of great punk and underground rock bands over the past few years. This band is going to be added to that fine list of bands. It was an opportunity they couldn't pass up.
After this North American tour is done, they will be embarking on a tour of England, doing some dates with Fucked Up and other dates with the Meat Puppets and label mates Mudhoney. There is talk of another record, but that will come up after this touring cycle is complete. So, here is your chance to catch a new, up-and-coming band in an intimate setting. One that is likely to blow the roof of this well respected venue. Plus, this could be one of those gigs, that you might like to say you were in attendance, sort of the same way everybody talks about how they were at that Nirvana show at the Moon all those years ago. Don't miss out. Manic Productions Presents:METZOdonis OdonisEternal SummersFriday, April 12, 2013Cafe Nine250 State StreetNew Haven, CT 06511$10 - 9pm - 21+
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