A Textbook Tragedy: Textbook Hardcore

Vancouver five-some, A Textbook Tragedy, has been thrashing through the Canadian music scene since their formation in 2004. The guys began playing together in high school and have been touring relentlessly ever since. Their aggressive and chaotic music has grabbed the attention of metal fans across North America. They have played alongside some of the biggest names in hardcore music, including Comeback Kid, All That Remains, Misery Signals and the list goes on.

Originally, A Textbook Tragedy was a foursome who lacked a lead vocalist. The vocal duties were carried out by guitarist Kai Turmann. In the spring of 2007, the band decided to recruit Chris Bahris to complement the band's already heavy sound. "[Chris'] vocals are kind of at the opposite end of the metal spectrum from Kai's, so they can do cool trade-offs and layers and stuff like that," says ATT's bassist, Bill Crook, adding, "He also makes our live show look way better. He is definitely a bad a**." With a new singer enhancing their sound, A Textbook Tragedy was ready to continue rocking the Canadian music scene.

With inspiration from their early pop-punk roots, to their musical taste today, the guys recently released their new record, named Intimidator. The album is a great display of their musicianship, as well as their ability to put out a solid 12-track album. For the most part, the album is filled with hardcore screams and groans, shared between Kai and Chris. "I think a lot of what you hear on Intimidator comes from new sounds and genres we have experienced and discovered from the last couple years on the road," explains Crook.

There is a break in the madness though, three-quarters into the title track Intimidator, which turns out to be a nice change. The guys show off their ability to add some melodic singing to the mix, which turns out to be very pleasant.

Along with the new album, the band released a music video for the CD's first single, titled Dude, I'm on Alesse. "We filmed the video at Riverview Mental Institution," says Crook. "They filmed some X-Files episodes there, as well as Freddy vs. Jason. We were looking for ghosts and goblins all day, but didn't find any. It got a little creepy when the sun went down."

If you are a fan of hardcore music, A Textbook Tragedy's Intimidator is an album you will probably want to add to your collection. It's nice to see a Vancouver band produce this quality of music.

Their space: www.myspace.com/
atextbooktragedy