Canada
Writer based in Toronto. Author of In Too Deep: When Canadian Punks Took Over the World, published by House of Anansi Press. Bylines at Exclaim!, Premier Guitar, Bandcamp, VICE and others. Name rhymes with bible.
With their new record Watch It Die, the Edmonton rabble-rousers storm the gates of the post-punk revival.
The pioneering emo classic was shaped by everything from post-hardcore to minimalism.
"One of the insults we get is people call us 'Disney rock.' But we fuckin' love it!"
There's a good argument to be made that Will Yip is the most significant figure in alternative rock of the last decade. Here are 10 essential records from the Studio 4 stalwart's production catalog.
This is the story of how Alexisonfire slowly and carefully pieced themselves back together, and how, in mending the cracks in their relationship, they ended up stronger than ever. In other words, Alexisonfire are back — and there may be nothing that could tear them apart again.
Emo has entered a new era. The oft-maligned and widely misunderstood offshoot of punk rock has come a long way since its origins in the mid ’80s, evolving in waves with each resurgence building off the last while establishing its own unique characteristics, trends, and flag-bearers. These are the artists riding emo’s “fifth wave.”
Today, one of emo's hottest bands is a group of four kids from Ontario, and Arm's Length may just turn Quinte West into a name that emo fans remember.
Billy Talent's new album is the product of nearly six years of pent-up frustration over what they're seeing in the world, in their communities and in their lives. But it's not all doom and gloom. Crisis of Faith is about making the world a better place — not only with righteous anger and indignation, but also with love and compassion.
The dream is over. The phrase crept right into the fears of four guys in their late 20s who had quit their jobs to play in a band that looked like it had a good shot at making the long haul. Suddenly, those hundreds and thousands of kilometres on roads that had taken them across Canada, the U.S. and all around the world may have led them to a cul-de-sac. Instead, they hit the gas.
In the mid ‘00s, local heroes Alexisonfire, Silverstein, and Billy Talent rose from the basements of southern Ontario to become global heavyweights. Twenty years later, post-hardcore’s moment in the MTV sun is long since over. But the emo kids and screamo scenesters who grew up on that music are now forming bands themselves, proving that southern Ontario remains a fertile ground for the genre.
