Vancouver's punk scene is starting to resemble a game of musical chairs. Between the releases of White Lung's It's the Evil and Nu Sensae's TV, Death and the Devil, not to mention some serious touring, both bands already have their schedules reasonably stacked. But, as we recently reported, Nu Sensae drummer Daniel Pitout has cherry-picked members from each group to take part in his new Eating Out project during whatever downtime the outfits have. To make things even more hectic, some of the remaining members between the two acts have taken to some inter-band tomfoolery themselves, and that's where Heavy Chains comes in.
Fronted by Nu Sensae bassist Andrea Lukic, Heavy Chains is a sludge rock monstrosity that burrows deep into your brain with its punishing, cyclical riffs. While White Lung skin-pounder Anne-Marie Vassiliou locks into an impenetrable groove, it's Lukic and guitarist Brody McKnight that devastate your ear drums with their brash blasts of distortion.
Owing their vicious, repetitive style to the Stooges and Sweden's Brainbombs, McKnight explains that despite the simplicity of the melodies, Heavy Chains can be an extremely difficult band to play in.
"The songs are actually hard," McKnight tells Exclaim! with a laugh. "It's hard to figure out where we are in the songs because Andrea and I keep playing the same thing. It's up to Anne-Marie to make it easier for us, to figure out where we are. We've been playing some songs for almost a year now and we're still getting confused."
Despite their difficulties, the trio are ready to hit the studio to record a pair of vinyl EPs, to be released on Vancouver imprints Broadway to Boundary and Needs More RAM, respectively. Both are expected to be released sometime in 2011.
But while Heavy Chains are hunkering down for the next little bit, McKnight knows that soon enough the side-project will be put on hold again. Even so, he will keep jamming with his friends, because no matter how busy they may be, it's easier than meeting new people.
"I don't know why there is incest between all the bands," he says of the situation. "Instead of finding new people and introducing them to the group and seeing if it works, we already know we get along. We're already really close friends."
Tour dates:
10/23 Vancouver, BC - Zoo Zhop
10/29 Vancouver, BC - Scratch Records
18 Sep 2010
HEAVY CHAINS | MySpace Music Videos
Fronted by Nu Sensae bassist Andrea Lukic, Heavy Chains is a sludge rock monstrosity that burrows deep into your brain with its punishing, cyclical riffs. While White Lung skin-pounder Anne-Marie Vassiliou locks into an impenetrable groove, it's Lukic and guitarist Brody McKnight that devastate your ear drums with their brash blasts of distortion.
Owing their vicious, repetitive style to the Stooges and Sweden's Brainbombs, McKnight explains that despite the simplicity of the melodies, Heavy Chains can be an extremely difficult band to play in.
"The songs are actually hard," McKnight tells Exclaim! with a laugh. "It's hard to figure out where we are in the songs because Andrea and I keep playing the same thing. It's up to Anne-Marie to make it easier for us, to figure out where we are. We've been playing some songs for almost a year now and we're still getting confused."
Despite their difficulties, the trio are ready to hit the studio to record a pair of vinyl EPs, to be released on Vancouver imprints Broadway to Boundary and Needs More RAM, respectively. Both are expected to be released sometime in 2011.
But while Heavy Chains are hunkering down for the next little bit, McKnight knows that soon enough the side-project will be put on hold again. Even so, he will keep jamming with his friends, because no matter how busy they may be, it's easier than meeting new people.
"I don't know why there is incest between all the bands," he says of the situation. "Instead of finding new people and introducing them to the group and seeing if it works, we already know we get along. We're already really close friends."
Tour dates:
10/23 Vancouver, BC - Zoo Zhop
10/29 Vancouver, BC - Scratch Records
18 Sep 2010
HEAVY CHAINS | MySpace Music Videos
