By: Andy Price
Picture
the scene… it is 1999, record stores still exist in a real way, everyone was
very excited about the Y2K bug, and I was a gangly and uncoordinated youth
working a shitty temp job in Nottingham. This was great because it meant I
could go walk into the town at lunchtime, go to Selectadisc, my favourite
record store, and spend the tiny amount of cash I was making on awesome music.
So,
back in ’99, I was finding my way in extreme music. Like a blind man at an
orgy, I was carefully feeling my way. I’d done the Nu-metal thing (I’m not
ashamed. Well, I’m a bit ashamed), and had pushed into more extreme waters,
albeit mostly still pretty mainstream ones. Fear Factory, Machine Head et
al were lighting my candle, but not quite fulfilling me. I’d formed a friendship
with one of the owners of the store and then one fateful Wednesday lunchtime he
beckoned me over and placed a CD in my hand saying ‘Andy, you’ll like this. Trust me.
Give it a listen and if you like it, you can pay me then. If not, no harm, no
foul’. That album was the self-titled early retrospective by Canvas.
I put the CD on for the walk back to work but never made it back; I got half
way there, turned around and went and paid the man. The album was a revelation,
a desperate, urgent, strangled scream from the underground; a mangled noise of
instruments that made no sense and yet also made perfect sense. It was
absolutely beautiful in its twisted rage.
I
never looked back; I picked up the two splits that followed, even the 7”,
despite not having a record player. I bought the follow up album, the
masterpiece ‘Lost in Rock’ on the
day of its release, and revelled in it. Canvas opened my eyes to the underground; both
in terms of metal and hardcore. They are the gateway that got me to Converge,
Botch,
The
Dillinger Escape Plan and significantly my eyes were opened to the UK
This
is one of the reasons why Canvas were important; they started out in
that hardcore scene and bridged the gap between metal and hardcore, and kind of
opened up everything, especially when they started picking up real media
coverage. They were important because they led hardcore kids to metal and vice
versa; they are important now because their recordings are seminal. They feel
as fresh, exhilarating and powerful as ever, with a level of invention that is
still staggering, especially on ‘Lost in
Rock’. In hindsight that record started shaping my love for diverse and
technical music like Meshuggah; just listen to the groove and
dizzying rhythms of the opening track and you’ll see what I mean. If the band
had been able to hold it together a little longer, that record would have been
huge, and might have helped them break out of the scene they found themselves
in. As it was it seemed to sink a little, almost without trace, which is
criminal. It’s a labyrinthine and almost uncomfortable listen, but thoroughly
compelling and a constant well-spring of inspiration.
It was not long after Canvas split up that I started playing music, and looking back even my earliest bands reflect the influence that Canvas exerted on me, albeit filtered through the prism of the other musicians I worked with, and my own lack of ability. Experimentation, a lack of compromise in sound and wilful abuse of time-signatures were a good example of this; that has never left me and is still very much part of the sound that I bring to Conjurer.
To say that I’m excited that Canvas have come back together for Ritual Festival inLeeds is a massive understatement. Canvas
are in the shortlist of bands that I really have never stopped listening to
since I bought their records. Some bands fall in and out of favour as tastes
change, but that never happened to Canvas. I only caught the band live once, at a
show in London
I’m excited to see how 15 years has tempered the band and their performance; we’re all older and creakier, but the level of experience on that stage now is fantastic. I’m used to the records now too; I expect the live experience to be heavier and darker. That we get to share a stage with them is mind-blowing to me, I’m so excited to be playing the same bill as them. I’d love to see them do more shows, although I’d completely understand if they want to keep it as a one-off. I think that there’s a whole generation of music fans that should hear these songs; especially given that so much of the hardcore / post-hardcore scenes have converged onto some of the same ground that Canvas stamped down back in the day. I hear traces of the Canvas sound in other bands that are around today; chaotic rhythms, progression and naked experimentation has become far more normal. While we’re making a wish list though, I’d like some merchandise and if we’re really shooting for the stars, a pressing of some kind of discography on vinyl. Chaps, if you’re reading this, make it happen please!
I’d be fascinated to hear new music from this line-up too, but I suspect that might be too much to ask for. I’ve been sharing about my love of the music the band created since the announcement – I’ve had a lot of people ask questions about where to start with the band. Obviously the answer is ‘all of it’ – especially since the band have been good enough to put their back catalogue up for free download on their bandcamp. That said though, ‘Womb Plague’ from the split with Hard To Swallow is an excellent place to start, or ‘Black Shape of the Nexus’ – both versions of that are great but I love the intro of the version from ‘Lost in Rock’. ‘Unworthy of Perfection’ is great too, all grinding rhythms and brutal vocals. I give up on trying to narrow this down; just go and get the whole lot. Your MP3 player and your ears will thank you for it.
It was not long after Canvas split up that I started playing music, and looking back even my earliest bands reflect the influence that Canvas exerted on me, albeit filtered through the prism of the other musicians I worked with, and my own lack of ability. Experimentation, a lack of compromise in sound and wilful abuse of time-signatures were a good example of this; that has never left me and is still very much part of the sound that I bring to Conjurer.
To say that I’m excited that Canvas have come back together for Ritual Festival in
I’m excited to see how 15 years has tempered the band and their performance; we’re all older and creakier, but the level of experience on that stage now is fantastic. I’m used to the records now too; I expect the live experience to be heavier and darker. That we get to share a stage with them is mind-blowing to me, I’m so excited to be playing the same bill as them. I’d love to see them do more shows, although I’d completely understand if they want to keep it as a one-off. I think that there’s a whole generation of music fans that should hear these songs; especially given that so much of the hardcore / post-hardcore scenes have converged onto some of the same ground that Canvas stamped down back in the day. I hear traces of the Canvas sound in other bands that are around today; chaotic rhythms, progression and naked experimentation has become far more normal. While we’re making a wish list though, I’d like some merchandise and if we’re really shooting for the stars, a pressing of some kind of discography on vinyl. Chaps, if you’re reading this, make it happen please!
I’d be fascinated to hear new music from this line-up too, but I suspect that might be too much to ask for. I’ve been sharing about my love of the music the band created since the announcement – I’ve had a lot of people ask questions about where to start with the band. Obviously the answer is ‘all of it’ – especially since the band have been good enough to put their back catalogue up for free download on their bandcamp. That said though, ‘Womb Plague’ from the split with Hard To Swallow is an excellent place to start, or ‘Black Shape of the Nexus’ – both versions of that are great but I love the intro of the version from ‘Lost in Rock’. ‘Unworthy of Perfection’ is great too, all grinding rhythms and brutal vocals. I give up on trying to narrow this down; just go and get the whole lot. Your MP3 player and your ears will thank you for it.
The
funny thing is that at the time I didn’t really pay attention to individuals in
the band – I was never really that interested in musicians at that time, that’s
only come after I started playing music myself – and it’s been surprising to
find that I’ve actively followed some of the bands that some of the members
created after Canvas
ended, including Humanfly, Kings and Amplifighters; I’ve spent time with John and
Albert, and Paul across various shows and events. Someone actually had to point
out that the Sutcliffe brothers were the same ones that drove my favourite
underground band; I nearly fell off my proverbial chair. I have only mildly
fan-boyed since. Well, probably a bit more than mildly, but I think I got away
with it
In
the summer of this year I got the logo for the band tattooed on my leg. Partly
this stemmed from a conversation with Dan from OHHMS – he’s a big fan as well
and got the same tattoo in the same session. We were playing a show together in
Leeds and had gotten talking about Canvas,
what the band meant and how much they had inspired us – it seemed a natural
conclusion at the time. For me, the tattoo serves as a reminder of how I should
strive to create with music, to plough a musical furrow that interests me, but
also that I should not hold anything back. These are the lessons I’ve taken,
and this is the reason that Canvas remain special and a massive
inspiration to me.
No
pressure lads.
The
Canvas
discography is up on bandcamp as pay what you want/free here and
Ritual
Festival tickets are still up for grabs here with
the full line up of the festival included below.
