LUCIDMEDIA

In 2004 Jesse Tomes, lead guitarist, took the initiative and coaxed Rose Perry, lead vocals, to start a band. After Jesse had Rose on board it was then a matter of filling out the rest of the band with the exceptional talents of Nicole Van Haverbeke on bass, and Matty Cole on drums.

The influences of each musician proved not to be a problem for the inventive band and they immediately came up with a plan. Their vision was crystal clear; take all the diverse musical backgrounds of each member and concoct a rapid blend of experimental and accepted musical tradition and infuse this mixture into the bodies and minds of the four members of Anti-Hero.

When asked how their sound has evolved from the earlier notions of the band, Perry said “It has definitely gotten heavier with the influence of  Van Haverbeke and because we've become more comfortable with each other and have developed a process of how to work well as a team. Writing has become a lot quicker and easier, and we've set into what we can truly consider our "sound" because we've defined and established the goals that we are seeking musically”

The band is clearly able to define and then re-define itself; a undeniable precursor to success. But before they were Anti-Hero, they were four talented musicians each going in their own directions. Tomes was playing in the goth/industrial group Eliminate the Body. He decided that, as an artist, it was time to move onward and when he met Perry, who left the band HER, it was a stroke of artistic coincidence. Cole has been a drummer since high school and cites Nirvana, Rush, Pantera, Korn, and Metallica as some of his influences. Tomes and Perry then met Van Haverbeke; the crushing death metal vibrations of her bass guitar filled out the Anti-Hero sound and a new band was born.

All these influences and all this diversity can only make one contemplate the kind of riffs coming out of this band. Perhaps; a grunge tainted operetta? A pots-and-pan accumulation of fuzz and static? A mish mash of muddy rock and blues being dragged down by the weight of metal, or even a yodeling goat skewered by a flying-v guitar singing Leonard Cohen’s “Hallelujah” with the distortion turned up?

Well, it’s none of these things. The only way to experience the sort of sound coming out of these musicians to listen to the music they produce. At times Perry’s voice hovers over the landscape of power guitar riffs and cuts cleanly into your brain, at other times the influences of previous classic rock bands shines through and Perry and Van Haverbeke’s choruses sound something AC/DC might have conjured up on their highway to hell.

At other times the music is reflective and contemplative as Perry sings “People ask me why I wear my make up so dark/maybe it’s because I try to cover up each and every little scar” over Tomes’ guitar and Van Haverbeke and Cole’s rhythmic foundation on "Unpretty", but at all times, the band just plain rocks.

Anti-Hero has made it; they have recently been signed to a major record label: Addictive Records, a sub label of Universal Music. After touring Canada on their 2005 Unpretty tour they received such honors as Cover Zone magazine’s Readers Choice Band of 2005 and a nomination for Best Indie Rock Band of 2006 by Triple X Radio from Germany. It is no surprise that they are elated to begin touring again and so have planned to tour the US. They will return home in July and August to continue rocking on Canadian soil.

Although there are many bands out there now being picked up by all sorts’ people in all sorts of genres, there aren’t nearly as many as hungry for success and exposure as Anti-Hero. They may not be for every individual, but you should give these cats a listen and see what their about. They may not be your cup, but they’ll certainly fill you up; these girls and boys of rock and roll are not one to disappoint. Check them out at their official website http://www.anti-hero.ca/index.htm.