Watch Your Back
Thunder Bay’s Killer on the Loose
Story by Justin Allec, Photo by Adam Sabaz
While Thunder Bay has always been well represented by metal, we’re starting to see some real diversity in the sounds bands are presenting and performing. Yes sir, thrash has roared back onto the city’s stages thanks to bands like Killer. A three-piece featuring Chris Barnes on guitar and vocals, John Ryder behind the kit, and the rocksteady bass of Curt Mill, Killer excel at playing really fast, really loud songs that get crowds moving.
In just a few years, the band has performed more than 40 shows and notched four releases, with a new album, Delicatessen of Death, released just last month. Like their other album and their pair of EPs, this new release features plenty of tight, technical thrash songs that have one purpose: ecstatic destruction. “The RPMs are always in the red, right where we want them,” Ryder explains. “Every time there was a part where we thought maybe the drums could slow down or there could be a little break, it always ended up with us deciding that it should just be fast all the time.”
While that’s very much been thrash’s MO since its inception, Killer’s take balances the sharpness of the genre’s music with very personal lyrics. “Chris Barnes usually gets an idea going for a song from something dumb that happened 25 years ago or something that we think is funny or ridiculous. We like the comedic side of it for sure, but we also like a little local folklore too,” Ryder says about the distinct TBay flavour to their songs. For example, “Secret Recipe” is about Barnes’s annual effort at making zucchini bread to enter in the Hymers Fair, while “Holland Bakery” is an ode to the Victoria Street East institution’s doughnuts. Seeing a packed Black Pirates Pub crowd freak out when Killer starts a song about a local bakery would be more of a head-scratcher if it wasn’t so much fun.
And that’s the big reason the guys are enjoying playing in Killer. Locked into jobs and happy with their families, the trio know they’re not going to tour the world—but they don’t really want to. Instead of global domination, Ryder offers a more fulfilling view. “Sharing the stage with other local bands is what it's all about at this point,” he says. Musicians are also fans, after all, and Killer’s now had the chance to share the stage with some of their favourites, thanks to venues like the Pub, Cinema 5 Skate Park, and Definitely Superior Art Gallery’s sprawling Hunger. With the new album promising even more thrashing mayhem, Killer’s a band on the prowl.
For more information, visit facebook.com/killerthunderbay.
