Canadian band Supermodel Taxidermy fuse metal, hardcore punk and thrash in a sound that’s just as likely to have you headbanging as it is picking the bones out of their intriguing lyrics and enjoyable storytelling ability.
The Fort McMurray, Alberta, band began as a solo project of Shawn Maynard (guitar and vocals) to keep himself sane during the Covid lockdown in 2020. He wrote the band’s first album and took it to the studio as soon as could then, after releasing it, started looking for people to play shows with. He ran into Michael Cheney (bass and vocals) and they started jamming with a drummer who had commitment issues.
Shawn had already booked in their first gig at a skateboard competition and music festival in their hometown, which was looking unfeasible due to the internal issue. But Michael came to the rescue as he suggested Reilly Williams take over on the drumkit. Reilly learned the songs in a month, the trio killed it at their debut gig, and, as Shawn tells us: “Our dynamic was too good to pass up.”
On the sound the trio have honed since, Shawn says: “We are a metal band that is very heavily influenced by hardcore punk rock in most of our songs, while our other songs display a punk rock nature with metal nuances.”
Our latest taste of this is their most recent single Blood Painted Dash, which epitomises Shawn’s excellent storytelling style. It opens up with a delicious chugging riff supported by rolling drums, which continue as engaging shouty vocals take over. It goes a little more thrashy in a heavy section that you can probably get away with calling a ‘chorus.’
But the entire song tells the story of the aftermath of a car crash, with lyrics like “Cold and grey, Dry to the touch, My metal bed, Locked inside of a box, A wall of shelving, Our names on the front.” A feisty little guitar solo drops into chunky guitars and more intense vocals, as a faster guitar riff takes over and sets up a heavy conclusion.
On the track, Shawn tells us: “The response has been amazing so far, the song just hit Loudwire’s top 50 chart in rock and metal weekly. Our music video for it is also grabbing a lot of attention as well, It’s been described to me as uncomfortable to watch and “eerie” due to its content. A song about three teenagers who die in a car crash and ‘wake up dead’ in the morgue will tend to have that effect.”
That follows the aforementioned debut album A Whorer Story, which was released in January. It starts in style with the catchy Martyr Complex and is packed with lively metal goodness, including a personal favourite Deism.
Supermodel Taxidermy tell us their music would be a good fit for anyone who likes Iron Reagan, Suicidal Tendencies, D.R.I or Biohazard. While Shawn’s biggest influences include bands like Slayer, Dayglo Abortions, The Smalls, old Metallica and Pennywise, which he grew up on and still tend to be in his constant rotation.
And on what inspires them to write music, Shawn tells us: “Mainly atrocities, when something doesn’t sit well with me I’ll usually write it out and figure out how to push it. For instance, A Whorer Story was based on a few discoveries I made in a past relationship. I was completely blinded to drug use and prostitution feeding her addiction. It was a tough one for me to get through but, in the end, I had a lot of content from it. It should have been a book but I’m a musician and not a writer. That album is my journey through a nightmare I never wished to endure.”
There’s more to come from Supermodel Taxidermy, who are currently focused on writing new music with a view to having their next album ready for release sometime in 2023. They’ve also just approved test pressings on the vinyl version of their debut album, which is available on their website.
You can follow Supermodel Taxidermy on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter, and check out their music on Spotify, Apple Music, Deezer and YouTube.
Listen to Supermodel Taxidermy on our Spotify playlists GigRadar Metal and GigRadar Punk
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