METZ talk the long wait for their debut album and finally getting out of Toronto

by Sam Sutherland

November 20, 2012

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Photo by Colin Medley, courtesy of Sub Pop

This article originally appeared in the November issue of AUX Magazine. Download and subscribe for free in the App Store.

They’re no longer a local secret for heavy-minded Torontonians – METZ’s full-length debut, five years after they first started demolishing eardrums across their hometown, is a perfect snapshot of their harrowing sonic violence achieved in their live shows. In an era of “loud wars” and increased volume on everything from Taylor Swift singles and Judy Garland reissues, loud is as emotional as it is physical, and the self-titled METZ has that gravity in spades.

On the eve of their record release in Toronto, we spoke to bassist Chris Slorach and drummer Hayden Menzies about the band’s half-decade lurch towards their debut on imfamous indie Sub Pop Records.

PART 1: METZ started playing around Toronto in 2007; their growth has been slow and deliberate, with touring limited to the city’s east and west ends until the release of METZ started to take them all over the world.

PART 2: For a long time, the only way that anyone could check out METZ was at one of their raucous live shows, or via a series of lo-fi seven-inches. Questions about a full-length circled them starting with Show One, but the band’s glacial writing pace meant it would be years before a proper full-length would be written.

PART 3: METZ already possess a piece of punk urban lore – that the band sent the album to only one label, Sub Pop. It’s true, but the band explains that it wasn’t an example of cocky bravado, and that their relationship with the label goes back a few years.

PART 4: METZ the live show and METZ the record are two very different experiences – it’s clear from the first note of album opener “Headache” that the band isn’t just presenting a neatly-captured version of their standard set. How they piece together an album and the differences from their intent on stage is part of the band’s creative appeal.

Tags: Music, Cancon, Featured, Interviews, News, METZ

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