January 27 2003

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that manage to be aggressive,
but not overdone in a typically
cliched black or death metal
way. The vocals, even when
being screamed, are still
almost completely under-
standable.

Sometimes the occasionally
wanky guitar mini solo will
sneak out, breaking the
aggressive rhythm the song
has fallen into, and many
songs seem to simply peter
out into a faded ending.

However, over all Zos Kia
Cultus is a strong release for
fans of black/death metal look-
ing for something really differ-
ent to listen to.

-Kathleen

3.5 stars

Merauder
Bluetality
Century Media 2003
Merauder are really, really,
angry. This five piece act hail
from New York, wonderfully
famous for being a rough
place to grow up. The mem-
bers of Merauder all grew up
in the less savory parts of that
great city, dodging inter-city
gangs and roving packs of
police trying to beat the tar out
them, all while trying to learn

how to play guitar.
Understandably, this has had
some impact on the musical
stylings of Merauder.

Lyrically, Merauder is trying
to purvey a message, “fight
back against those pigs! Don’t
let the police get you down
and kill your friends” and
although this comes from
years of painful experience for
the group, I’m sure this will go
over really well with a bunch of
16 year old white kids living in
the suburbs as something they
can really identify with. Cause
their lives are so hard. | was
one of those kids, so don’t
doubt my sage like advice.
Foo.

Merauder’s sound is metal-
core, heavier than anything
you'll hear on the radio,
although much more accessi-
ble and easier to sing along to
than death metal. To put it in
terms of Devin Townsend,
heavier than Terria, lighter
than Physicist. Merauder are
heavy, macho, metal core that
doesn’t end up sounding total-
ly forced and fake. Musically,
the vocals are competent, but
don’t show much variance
through the entirely too short
album (31 min, 41 seconds)
although the rest of the band
is very good, playing strong
and somewhat simple (but not
stupid) things to complement
the message of the lyrics.

Merauder are angry, have a
message, and really, aren't
half-bad.

-Katleen

3 stars

“Over the Edge cb R: ting G Guide! 2
*& | can feel my brain leaching from reduncy.
kk More favorable than anal probing.OK. =>

%**&*& Like peanut butter sandwiches, nothing spe-
cial but comfort food.
tekckek Definitely worth it!
tekkkek Musical ecstascy!

Over The Edge Page 9

An interview with
Matthew’s Grin

By Josh Hammersteat

Rock band “Matthew's Grin,”
who played at the Generator
from January 20-25, are no
strangers to the Prince
George area. In fact, the
Edmonton-based group has
had a great many adventures
around here, including signifi-
cant band changes, encoun-
ters with clones of ex-girl-
friends, and awkward vehicle
breakdowns. In fact, after
arriving in PG for their latest
gig, they found that -their van
had somehow developed a flat
tire.

“When we finally got here,
we found out that our tire had
been flat for quite a while,”
says frontman Matt Robertson
during a break in their Monday
show. “That explained why the
van was handling so badly.”

Formed in 1995, the band
had a complicated history of
cast changes, including the
death of a dear friend and
bandmate of Matt's. Despite
this and other challenges, Matt
persisted with his singing, gui-
tar playing, and songwriting,
but did not form the band as it
exists today until about three
years ago.

In his search for a new band,
Matt found Lanny Maskell,
who took over as drummer,
and Dave Graham Jr., who
became their second guitarist.
Finally, Andrew de Groot, who
had filled in for Dave on guitar
in the past (in Prince George.
See?), took a permanent seat
as their bass player, and the
current lineup of Matthew’s
Grin was formed.

Matthew’s Grin started out
as a cover band, playing all
other until Matt showed Dave
some of his older original
recordings. “I like Matt’s
lyrics,” says Dave, “| am a fan
of Matt.”

It was soon decided that the
entire band was interested in
songwriting, and they began to
work on original songs. With
their diverse musical pasts,
they began to produce a deep,
intelligent sound all their own,
utilizing their vast experiences
to develop a well-rounded
musical style.

Recently, the band has col-
laborated with producer Nick
Blagona (The Tea Party, The

Moody Blues) to record their
upcoming album, which they
have loaded with ten songs
ranging from hard rock to con-
templative ballad. They had
trouble selecting songs for the
album, but not for lack of mate-
rial - when it came time to
write songs for the CD, they
came up with thirty almost
overnight. Narrowing the list
down to ten, they have their
CD ready to release sometime
around March or April.

Now that their album is
about to be released, they
plan to tour Canada and the

United States thoroughly. “If

your tour follows the release of
an album, people will know
who you are, and watch your
shows” says Dave over coffee
on Tuesday. Their tour is set to
take them to almost every cor-
ner of Canada and the States,
to spread their sound to as
many people as they can.
Now that they have their
sound the way they want it, if
Matthew’s Grin’s album and

Mattew’s Grin played at the Generator Jan 20 to the 25

Band provided Photo

tour go well, what do they plan
to do? They’re not positive,
but Lanny says “I’m going to
buy Spain.” Why Spain? ‘1
don’t want Mexico.” .

Local bands Do
you want some

exposure?
Drop your CD’s off
at Over the Edge.