The six members of Cry Oh Crisis positioned themselves into a tidy triangular formation. Abruptly, three guitars struck heavy notes, the bass thudded and the drums boomed.
The metal started to roar and hands began to bang. For the whole set the band hopped around like wild hares with guitar swinging tricks. Flashing lights darted across the faces of moshing students and one hyped-up judge/professor.
“They got up there and tore everyone’s face off with their super awesome set…everyone was having a great time, myself included,” said the hyped judge, Andrew Titus.
The Welcome Week Battle of the Bands was the metal group’s first campus show. For guitarist Aaron Malley and vocalist Jason McKnight, the show was more than a little competition.
“It was especially good for me and Jason because St. Thomas is our home and we love this school,” said Malley. “Even though we didn’t win it was one of the greatest shows I think we ever played.”
Vocalist and third-year student Jason McKnight has found balancing the books, music, and rugby to be a gruelling task at times, but says it pays off.
“We want to put on a show so bad that it’s worth the little bit of stress we go through.”
With graduation looming, fourth-year student Aaron Malley has been visualizing his future, and ditching the band for a shirt and tie career is not a part of it.
“I’d like to push farther and harder with the band, but if it seems like it’s idling or going slow then I’ll probably just take a fifth year,” said Malley. “It’s not just a weekend thing for us, we take it pretty seriously. We’d like to do this full time.”
As the school year chugs on, the band is planning to take a break from playing live gigs. The guys want to focus on writing new material.
“That’s half the battle,” said Mallet. “You spend half a year writing music and the other half promoting it. It’s an endless cycle.”
However, Cry Oh Crisis fiends won’t have to quiver with metal withdrawals as the band will play the occasional live show throughout the year.
“We try to play at a bar every weekend. We’ve played at the Capital a bunch of times and we’ve played Fusion Nightlife about a million times. So, for us having three shows in three months is a big drop from what we’re used to,” said McKnight.
The band members say although they love Fredericton, they are hoping to broaden their horizon and get their music into the hands of as many metal fans as possible. The guys went on a 10-day tour across the Maritimes and Quebec last summer and are itching to pack up the old mini-van and do it again.
“There’s for sure a scene in Fredericton, but I’m not sure if there’s an industry for metal here,” said Malley. “It’s a good place to start playing shows. There’s a lot of resources here, a lot of art students and recording studios. Fredericton is great for supporting local music and that’s what any band needs when they are starting up.”
The metal-heads are hoping to have a new CD released sometime next summer.
“We’re going to be applying for some recording grants and we’ve been looking at some studios in Toronto,” said Malley. “The next CD is going to be above and beyond.”
For more information on the band and their new E.P. “Training the Moths” visit www.cryohcrisis.com or scope out their Facebook page.
