Following up an astronomically successful debut album can be tough. This is why the cliché “sophomore slump” exists: to summarize the phenomena of those artists who are not able to repeat that initial spark that is so often found in a really great debut album. For Toronto’s Metz, I may as well be speaking in tongues.
“We were just doing what we do, and trying really hard not to overthink the whole ‘second record’ thing” says vocalist and lead guitarist Alex Edkins. We reach him just hours before he embarks on a North American tour to promoteII, the band’s sophomore effort. “I think the worst thing we could have done was try to make a jump to some kind of commercial success, which might have been what a lot of people thought we were gonna do, but we just make the music we like, which happens to be dark, noisy heavy stuff right now.”
Let us go back in time to 2008. Metz was born when Edkins and drummer Hayden Menzies moved from Ottawa to Toronto, where they met bassist Chris Slorach. Over the next few years, they released a couple of singles, and quickly built up a reputation for their thundering live shows. Most of the time, you’d hear about them from a friend, opposed to a barrage of social media invitations. Their live shows are brutal, heavy and loud. To leave without hearing is the norm, and a welcome one at that. Over time their electric grunge reputation led to bigger venues, more fans (without the help of social media), and, in 2012, signing to the legendary Sub Pop Records, the golden label of alternative rock.
Edkins notes their organic success as a result of life outside the blogosphere. “What we take a lot of pride in, was that it was a total word-of-mouth kind of thing, where people [would come] to the shows and tell a friend, and then they’d tell a friend. That’s where we’ve always come from, as far as music fans. Going to the little shows, with that kind of community or music scene, is [to me] the most real kind of way you can build something lasting.”
Shortly after signing to Sub Pop, they released their debut, Metz. It was met with high praise from concert-goers, critics and the blogosphere alike, being crowned with the much sought-after “Best New Music” label from Pitchfork, and making fans out of childhood heroes, like ‘90s grunge kings Mudhoney, who later brought them to South America on tour.
“The reception of the record was definitely more than anyone, including the label, could have thought,” says Edkins, still noticeably perplexed. “To be doing music as weird as our music is, and doing it full time is kind of a dream we didn’t even dare to have.”
After two years of steady touring that included Europe, Australia and North and South America, it’s hard to imagine how anyone would want to go home and immediately write another record. Yet this is exactly what Metz did, barely taking six months off between touring, and completing II without that existential pressure to repeat their initial success. Not even from their label, which is virtually unheard of in Musicland.
“From Day 1, they’ve been like, you guys do what you guys do, and we’ll do what we do, and what we do is put out records,” says Edkins. “I think they’ve gone through it all. They’ve had massive success, and total failure. The best thing that they’ve learned, it seems, is to stay completely out of it. And we love that.”
II, produced by “Shaman of Rock” Graham Walsh (Holy Fuck), is a brash, sludge-filled punk explosion that reflects their live performances even better than their debut. There’s the distorted bass driven “Acetate”, that frantically pummels a cathartic hole into your skull. Then there is “I.O.U.”, which sounds like a distant cousin of Nirvana’s Bleach. There are zero radio friendly unit shifters.
At press time, the band is already on the road on a tour that includes dates all over North America, Europe, and hopefully Asia in the new year. Despite II coming out in May, Metz already have a 7-inch in the bag and ready for release. Edkins swears they are taking a more “civil” approach to touring this time around. But not too civil. Despite their violent, intense and physically demanding shows, Metz is the proverbial shark. To slow down is to stop, and that won’t be happening any time soon.
“After the shows we’re pretty beat up, [but] it is without a doubt the best part of every day. You drive all day, and it’s all so you can have that one hour of letting everything go, and going crazy.”
• METZ play Aug. 3rd at Rickshaw Theatre with guests Dilly Dally and Big Ups
