killing Canadian metal
by Heath Fenton
by Heath Fenton
photo by Scott Kinkade
KEN mode were proudly crowned masters of Canadian metal at the 2012 Juno Awards, the inaugural winner for the heavy metal category. Okay, maybe heavy metal people don’t put too much stock into award shows as most don’t even recognize metal as a genre. Last year that all changed and the Junos got it right. Spearheading this movement are Winnipeg’s noise mongers KEN mode.
“It was a very cool experience to win a major award at a very highly regarded Canadian music industry showcase,” says guitarist/vocalist Sean Matthewson. “And it was nothing I thought was ever even close to being in the cards for the band when we first started playing music.” KEN mode challenges what some may say that Canada’s metal scene has never been anything to write home to Satan about. They are a legitimate power force in metal. “I think the Canadian metal scene is quite healthy, and I'd like to help do my part to bring more of the amazing bands to more of a forefront on the international scene.” Matthewson goes on, “Groups like The Great Sabatini, BIIPIIGWAN, Vilipend, Titan, Wake, Cellos, Burning Love, Electro Quarterstaff, Baptists. There are a ton of extremely talented groups pushing their craft all over the world. Even Canadian legends like Voivod and Gorguts have new records coming out this year. Team Canada has a very strong lineup in 2013,” he says.
On March 19 they will drop their fifth full-length album entitled Entrench on Season of Mist records. Matthewson has been releasing albums with his brother Shane as KEN mode since 1999. They hail from the cold tundra of Winnipeg and emerged from the noise/metal scene there, essentially snatching the Winnipeg noise/metal flag that fellow legendary tundra dwellers, the Kittens left for them. They’ve just recently employed Andrew LaCour as their full time bassist.
The KEN in their namesake is an acronym for “Kill Everyone Now,” a phrase coined by Henry Rollins. And that is quite fitting for the music that KEN mode brings forth. The phrase may conjure up images of a violent killing spree gone wild. But their approach to killing is more slow and methodical. Like a sadistic torture killer. A slow bludgeon of doom-inspired metal. Then they will move on to frenetically stab you with some hardcore and still take their time with their art noise chaos to paint the walls of your apartment with your blood. Finally dismembering you with some post metal craziness and then bury you with some hard hitting punk. KEN mode bring it all with a weird, twisted and fierce manner. “We're undoubtedly an aggressive band, but people expecting thrash or death metal will likely be pretty disappointed,” Matthewson explains. “We draw from all kinds of various sub-genres both within and outside of metal, it's all mixed together into a fairly noise rock hardcore package overall.”
For the full experience of this violent purification, KEN mode must be witnessed live. “A whole lot of balled up intensity spewing forth all over everyone in the room. We're feeling this music, and the stage show is very much a part of this pretentious catharsis,” Matthewson describes and “you'll leave feeling judged, shaken, a little bit slimy, and guilty for enjoying those feelings more than you should.”
KEN mode, Today Is The Day, Black Tusk, Fight Amp and Cooked and Eaten play the Rickshaw Theatre on March 29.
