Theory of a Deadman is back on the road after the July release of their fifth studio album, Savages with 13 Canadian stops on their international tour, one of which happens to be Red Deer’s own Memorial Centre on Nov. 15th.

Having just finished the European leg of their tour, lead singer Tyler Connolly says he is excited to return to the band’s home country of Canada. They will be kicking off the Canadian leg of their tour in Vancouver near where the band was discovered 12 years ago by Nickelback front man Chad Kroeger.

“The last 12 years feel like they’ve happened in a matter of minutes, it’s the craziest feeling you could ever imagine and it’s hard to explain,” said Connolly.

“Sometimes it feels like you’ve stepped into a time machine because when you get out on the road, months fly by. Your family and friends’ lives just continue without you as you go tour for months at a time. Then you come home and everyone has kids and is getting married and it’s just been a crazy ride.”

Connolly stated during an interview with the Express that over the last 12 years the band’s sound has changed significantly, and this time around Theory of a Deadman wanted to return to their roots and make an album that steered away from relationships, love and songs about girls.

“We wanted to put out a heavier album this time but it changed a little bit along the way – the last two records we did were rock records – yes – but they just seemed a bit more glossy than we had wanted,” he explained.

“From day one we kind of got away from our sound and we had a lot of success with songs like Bad Girlfriend and Not Meant To Be so it became apparent that the songs people wanted from us were not as heavy.

“So we kept writing those style of songs that people tended to want but going into this album, we just got a bit tired of it I guess and we really focused on trying to write some darker, heavier music.”

Connolly and fellow band members Dave Brenner, Dean Back and Joey Dandeneau teamed up with acclaimed producer Howard Benson who is known for his award winning work which places a high emphasis on clean, strong vocals on records.

“Howard and his team are incredible, we keep going back to him to work with because it just clicks,” said Connolly who has worked with Benson on Theory of a Deadman’s last four albums.

“Vocals are his big thing and he tends to focus primarily on the vocals and the lyrics and it makes sense to do it that way and he is really good at what he does.”

Although their newest album Savages is primarily filled with heavy, post-grunge tracks like the title track which features Alice Cooper, there is a high diversity of sound on the album which Connolly said leaves “Something for everyone.”

Connolly said the band has always had what he refers to as a “Southern sound” utilizing banjos and slide guitars in a majority of their past tracks.

However, their collaboration with Joe Don Rooney of Rascal Flatts on the track Living Life Like a Country Song was the first time the band had gone full ‘country rock’ according to Connolly.

“We just went for it, and our first version of the song was heavier and very Theory of a Deadman sounding. Then we had Joe come out and he threw some country style guitar and vocals into it and we just fell in love with the song,” explained Connolly.

“Diversity is something we’ve always done – our first record sounded mostly the same from front to back but in the last 12 years we’ve started to get into more of a diverse sound.”

Connolly stated that while the last 12 years have truly been a roller coaster, he is excited for what he hopes to be the next 12-plus years of the band’s future.

“It’s interesting because we don’t know what music will be like in the next 12 years, things are changing and we just hope we can continue to make music,” he said.

“The good news is our band gets along really well and we enjoy touring together and making music together so we just want to keep doing what we’re doing and hopefully the winter stays away while we are in Canada.”

Theory of a Deadman will be playing in Red Deer at the Memorial Centre Nov. 15th with opens bands Head of the Herd and Gloryhound with the show starting at 8 p.m.

To get your tickets, visit www.blackknightinn.ca.

jswan@reddeerexpress.com