Calgary band Throne of Vengeance (TOV) has steadily been gaining popularity with their unique ‘thrash tinged rock and roll’ – a distinctively clear and lyrically focused heavy sound.
Band mates and brothers Trevor Cobb (drums) and Riley Cobb (bass) have toured with close friends Tommy Holt (guitar and vocals) and Brady Side (guitar) across Canada several times, performing together for six years.
“We’re all really good friends, so travelling together isn’t a problem. I think the hardest thing is trying to make it a business. To make it thrive by itself, that’s the most difficult part. We’ve been going at this for six years now, so why stop?” said Trevor.
TOV has gained much popularity in Calgary, being named Best Rock Band in the City twice at the Calgary Beer Core Awards. They have performed several cross-Canada tours from Calgary to London and from Fernie to Montreal.
They are set to play during the Alberta’s Own Independent Music Festival which takes place Aug. 29-31 near Alix.
The group has released three albums including their debut EP Toxic Black Cloud in 2009, their first full-length album Flesh Engine in 2011 and most recently, Live Evil in 2013.
Trevor said that Flesh Engine was more of a concept album and is a change from Live Evil, with the latter being more so based on personal experiences rather than broad topic opinions.
“For (Live Evil), we wanted to be more natural and open up about our life experiences. It’s a collection of songs based on the last couple of years of our lives,” he said.
“One song is called Hands Tied, and that is about our buddy going to prison. He was a victim of crime and it was hard on all of us as a group. Another song is called Impact (From The Top Of The World) and it’s about the human race destroying ourselves from the top of the world down.”
Trevor said the idea for people listening to Live Evil is to embrace themselves for who they are, and to not succumb to other evils of influence in personality or perspective.
“Don’t let your environment and the media change who you are or change your perception of life. You are you. Be natural and be real. That’s the most important thing – be real.”
The group’s sound is unique in that they derive their influence from a wide variety of sounds and don’t really fit into either rock n’ roll or heavy metal. They have aspects in their music from both, but focus heavily on lyrical excellence and engaging their listeners through thoughtful wording.
Trevor added the group takes influence from hip-hop to country individually, but their group identity tries to remain versatile because they feel that they don’t fit into one specific genre.
“We do a lot of guitar harmonies, double kicks and singing melodies. We kind of keep it all over the map. We want people to be able to hear the lyrics and really attach themselves to them, so it’s important that they’re clear.”
As with any musician or group, TOV revels in the exchange of energy between show goers and the other members of the band. Trevor describes that exchange as ‘a united, reciprocal, amazing’ relationship. To TOV, the best kind of show is for a crowd full of head bangers, movers and shakers.
Later this month, TOV will be touring through Alberta to attend and play at a number of festivals. In three short days, they will be stopping in Lethbridge for Deathfest, then heading to Valleyview for Beaverfest 2014, where they will join big names such as Silverstein, Protest the Hero and Comeback Kids. They will finish up the weekend at Alberta’s Own.
Fans of the group have a live video from Calgary’s June Metalfest to look forward to, while the group starts recording for a new album this winter. Throne of Vengeance is also looking to potentially expand their tour into the United States next year.
kmendonsa@reddeerexpress.com
