MIKE CUTHBERTSON
Arts Writer

Untimely Demise does a shocking amount of damage considering that they have just three members.

Naturally, they keep busy when they play: with Matt Cuthbertson singing and playing all lead and rhythm guitar, Murray Cuthbertson on bass and Scott Cross on a huge drum kit that must have been stolen from Neil Peart. Listening to their latest work convinced me that Untimely Demise has more firepower than all these five and six person bands who hide behind their numbers (see indie rock).

What carries Demise so far is their uncompromising focus on musicianship. They choose the toughest styles to write in; Matt’s lead guitar sounds downright classical. Likewise, they play the most physically demanding styles; thrash and death metal is some of the fastest, busiest music on Earth. Put together, I’d describe the band’s sound as “really greasy rhythms with classy leads on top.” Few bands have dared this difficult juxtaposition of metal and classical music but Untimely Demise do and they pull it off. As Murray Cuthbertson puts it, “the songs are hard to play but easy to listen to.”

After a year of writing and recording, the band is all set to unleash their first full length album. On Dec. 10, a CD release show at the Fez on Broadway will unveil City of Steel, an album many are eager to hear.

City of Steel has already received some big praise, most notably from the world famous lead guitarist of Arch Enemy, Michael Amott, who says it “sounds good and old school!” Absorbed into the new album’s sound are Demise’s key inspirations: Death, Children of Bodom, Megadeth and Arch Enemy.

The sound of Megadeth is especially salient on City of Steel, due to the involvement of producer Glen Drover, the former lead guitarist of Megadeth. When Glen offered to produce the album and do some guest solos, the band was thrilled.

“It helps that our producer has played in a band we’re actually inspired by,” Matt Cuthbertson explained.

The Megadeth connection can also be found in the album’s artwork which is done by Ed Repka, best known for his album artwork on Megadeth’s Rust in Peace and Peace Sells”¦ But Who’s Buying?

Getting big names to help was not cheap, but after a rigorous and competitive process to acquire an arts grant, the band got the money it needed.

“The Saskatchewan Arts Board grant was a big deal for us. We gave them a written vision for the new album and they were really receptive and gave us exactly what we asked for, which was $10,000. Most of that was just covering recording and actually flying out to Toronto to do the album. That really pumped us up. We now know we’re getting some formal recognition outside of the metal world for what we’re doing,” said Murray Cuthbertson.

Truly, the grant is a watershed moment for the whole Saskatchewan metal scene.

Traditionally, the Sask Arts Board has overlooked metal in favour of more “cultural” genres like folk, country and world music, Murray Cuthbertson admitted.

“It’s hard when you’re doing metal because it’s an underground style but technically when you go to apply for funding from people it’s considered mainstream and not specialty music. When they think metal, they might think of some cheesy thing like Three Days Grace, something that’s more like modern rock with metal distortion.”

These days, Untimely Demise is getting more respect at home and abroad. This next year will see the band trekking to Eastern Canada and the all important U.S.A. Although they’ve never carried their show so far away, Demise anticipates a good response.

“Montreal and Quebec especially seem to like the kind of music we play.”

Going international is a huge step and Demise hardly believe it’s happening.

“It seemed like just a dream a few years ago, but now we’re really attaining that dream,” said Murray Cuthbertson.

In recent months, the band has been doing warm-up tours around Western Canada. When asked if they could pick the most memorable show the response was unanimous.

“We played on the Squamish First Nation [B.C.] in a little hidden mountain valley. There were northern lights in the background while playing. The mosh pit had a bunch of kids and even a dog. Plus, about 50 feet from the stage there was an ancient Squamish burial ground, where 500 to 1,000 people are buried.”

Now that’s metal.