Metz - The new standard-bearers of post-hardcore

Then, digging deeper into the record, I found a lot of common ground with the hardcore, noise and post-hardcore scene, with bands like Fugazi or Shellac.

Thank you so much for the comparisons. You know, those are bands we love deeply, that we've listened to a lot, so it's inevitable that something rubbed off on the way we write.

But I can assure you it all happens in a completely natural way, nothing planned out in advance. Evidently our inclination just leans toward that kind of sound.

What's your background? Which records do you consider milestones in your musical education?

Each of us has very broad musical influences. A few albums we consider truly important to us are “Banned In D.C.” by Bad Brains, “Versus” by Mission Of Burma, “Zen Arcade” by Husker Du, and Naked Raygun, just to name a few. 

How did you end up on Sub Pop: did you reach out yourselves by sending the classic demo, or did they get in touch with Metz?

Our friends in the band Constantines recorded three incredible albums for Sub Pop back at the start of the last decade. We asked them for a contact at the label and simply sent in our demos.

Your debut album was very well received in Italy. How's it doing in Canada and the United States? How many copies have you sold so far?

The record was well received in North America.

Unfortunately I don't have any solid figures on the album's sales.

What does your songwriting process look like?

We usually write collectively. We all get in the same room, start cranking up the amps, and see what comes out.

When a rhythm, a riff or a melody stands out, clicks and sticks with us, that's when we start building something around it, starting from that passage.

Did recording for Sub Pop shape the sound of your debut album? If you'd been signed to a different label, could your sonic trajectory have developed differently?

No, I'd rule that out. We wrote, recorded and self-produced the album before signing to Sub Pop. So the label had zero input and no influence at all on the record's sound.

We would have done exactly the same work regardless of the label.

How rewarding is it to record for such an important label?

It feels great. We're really happy to be part of a family that genuinely cares about music and works hard to support all its artists.

The Canadian music scene is considered one of the most interesting of the new millennium. Bands like Arcade Fire, New Pornographers, Black Mountain, Broken Social Scene, Japandroids, have become known and influential worldwide. Even more niche bands, like Fucked Up or Death From Above, are reaching the status of contemporary icons. What made such an explosion possible?

I couldn't tell you the reasons, maybe the cold forces everyone down into the basement to play.

Anyway, I realize that from far away it can all look like one big shared stage, but in reality there are a thousand different streams within the "Canadian scene". For instance, Broken Social Scene are veterans by now, probably destined to become icons over time, like Neil Young. Arcade Fire are from Montreal, New Pornographers from Vancouver, although actually Neko Case, just like Win Butler, is an American "exiled" in Canada.

Among the top hardcore acts, by now well-established, there's Fucked Up, and in the punk scene Death From Above are fairly well known too, but there's a whole host of names still unknown to most people,

Do you feel part of this "movement"? And how do you relate to the rest of the Canadian scene, to the bands, the festivals, the clubs?

We're fans of a lot of these bands and we've played with Fucked Up, with Japandroids and with Death From Above.

We have connections with Fucked Up: in fact, we share a rehearsal space with them.

We're also friends with some of the guys from Arcade Fire: Jeremy from Arcade Fire and I were even roommates in Ottawa.

Chris, on the other hand, worked at the label Arts & Crafts, which put out the records by Broken Social Scene.

Canada is smaller than it might seem!

Toronto in particular is very lively. What's missing for your city to become a new Seattle? Maybe it lacks focus? Maybe its very versatility ends up being its limit? In Toronto everything and its opposite coexist, no single scene can take control of the city, young-old, straight-gay, liberal-tories, rock-jazz-classical, sane-completely insane, it doesn't matter who you are, in Toronto you'll find a place for yourself anyway…

I think in the end Toronto is great exactly as it is.

Suggest us a few up-and-coming bands from the GTA (Greater Toronto Area), that would be worth checking out.

I'll give you a few names: Teenanger, Ell V Gore, Odonis Odonis, Thighs, Dusted, Absolutely Free, Beliefs, Soupcans.

Which albums from the past few months have you enjoyed the most?

I'll mention three titles: “>>” by Beak, “Overgrown Path” by Chris Cohen, “Researching The Blues” by Redd Kross.

Do you know any Italian alt-rock bands?

If I'm not mistaken, some of the Blonde Redhead guys are Italian, right?

Right!

And did you know that the Italian band Jennifer Gentle were the first European band to sign with Sub Pop?

Yes, I knew that!

A friend of mine told me that at our show in Bologna.

In case you don't know them, I'd also recommend listening to something by "our" Uzeda. A Sicilian hardcore band that recorded for Touch & Go.

Never heard of them. Thanks for the tip!

What kind of reception have you been getting in Europe? And what differences do you notice between American and European audiences?

The response in Europe has been amazing!

All the shows went great, and we met some fantastic people,

You're currently on tour, so what's next for Metz?

We'll be touring for most of the year, then we're planning to start working on the new record. But it's still too early to say when it might come out.

Are there any bands you particularly enjoy playing with?

Right now we're on tour in England with Mudhoney and Meat Puppets, and I'm really happy about that!

Ride the wave of great music

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