Calgary-based metalcore band Shark Infested Daughters is back in Nanaimo for the second time in six months with the addition of a new EP and the subtraction of one member.
Yesterday the group – vocalist Chris Thoresen, guitarists Oliver Carter-Wells and Dan McCormick, bassist Tyler Beninger and drummer Yannick Mathieu – released the four-song collection Phoenix Down and today they’re kicking off their release tour in B.C. On Monday, Oct. 15 they play the Cambie.
Thoresen said the EP was originally recorded more than a year ago and was intended to follow the release of their 2016 full-length debut These Tides, Our Tombs. SID had been shopping Phoenix Down around hoping to attract label interest. Thoresen said the EP is an update on where the band is at right now.
He described it as “a quick, little EP to showcase what we’re doing these days as opposed to what we did on the full-length. Just kind of like the natural progression of sound.”
Thoresen said in a response to listener input, the EP is heavier than their last album. So far it’s been well received, with the single Cetra doing better than any previous single.
“We took some constructive criticism from the release of our full-length and every YouTube kid in the world going, ‘That’s not heavy enough!’ so we definitely added in some spicy bits just to prove that we’re multifaceted and that we don’t really know how to do one thing,” he said. “So it’s definitely on the edgier side. It’s more of an angrier EP, whereas the full-length was more about touching on sad things, this one’s more about getting mad about it.”
This is also SID’s first tour as a quintet since singer and keyboardist Erika Leah left the group in August. Guitarist McCormick, who usually sings harmonies, will be taking on Leah’s vocals.
“He’s going to be stepping into the singing role for this tour, not to say that this is our plan in longevity’s sake but for the sake of right now,” Thoresen said. “We had this booked when everything happened so he really stepped up, stepped out of his comfort level a little bit being able to sing Erika’s parts while playing guitar at the same time.”
In response to the lineup change, Thoresen said SID are planning to “shake it up a little bit” in the future. He said they have some prospects and ideas on how the group will tailor its changing sound, but he said it’s still the same band.
“You definitely miss that element of the female-fronted vocal, but as far as that it’s the same five dudes who we’ve done eight tours with,” he said. “We’re all really locked in, we all know what it needs to sound like … we’re very comfortable doing what we’re doing and we all know how to make it sound good.”
WHAT’S ON … Shark Infested Daughters perform at the Cambie, 63 Victoria Cres., on Monday, Oct. 15. Doors at 8 p.m., bands at 9. $10 at the door.
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