Canada's a curious place. The world's second largest landmass, yet with a population smaller than the state of California. Turns out, however, that a lot of those Canucks are metalheads. Just check the litany of heavy bands that have been crankin' off certifiable bangers from above the 49th parallel over the past 50 years.
The country's vast-and-varied heavy-music scene has gifted us prog legends, tech-death innovators, multi-genre cross-pollinators, and the face of metal to come. So, we asked you: Who's the cream of the Canadian crop?
While you maple patriots were dropping great suggestions on anything from Eighties speed-metal warriors, to a wave of prolifically brutal Quebec grinders, to aughts-era crust and everything in between, these five were the biggest vote-getters.
5. Spiritbox
Spiritbox come from humble beginnings — the core duo of vocalist Courtney LaPlante and guitarist Mike Stringer met within a super tight-knit hardcore community tucked within a reasonably remote region of Vancouver Island. After cutting their teeth in Iwrestledabearonce and then forming Spiritbox, however, they vaulted from their small scene towards becoming one of the metal world's most talked-about acts. And for good reason.
The past few years have seen Spiritbox absolutely dominating through their mix of djent-pop heaviness, industrial-dusted metal and more — all of which is driven by Stringer's earworm-chunky riffage and LaPlante's vocal seesawing between poke-the-bear growls and dark violet melodicism.
Spiritbox's music has even transcended the metal scene, whether through single "Holy Roller" getting covered on America's Got Talent, or LaPlante and Stringer remixing Megan Thee Stallion's "Cobra." They're Canadian-made game-changers of the highest degree.
4. Alexisonfire
When you're self-describing as "The Only Band Ever," you'd better go big.
Alexisonfire formed from the ashes of a trio of tech-metal, punk and hardcore-minded outfits, and the St. Catharines, Ontario, quintet took on some of those aesthetic qualities, and a whole lot more. Their 2002 debut album leaned towards the screamo spectrum, ricocheting frontman George Pettit's feral howl against metal pull-off licking, post-hardcore percussiveness, and yearning sad boi-isms from backup vocalist and guitarist Dallas Green (guitarist Wade MacNeil got raspy on the mic, too). Over the years — and especially in their current reunion phase — they've tempered those breakdowns with heart-worn rock dynamics to great effect.
Their early '00s success put their videos on perma-rotation on MuchMusic, the nation's music station. And while well-respected outside their borders, they're certified arena-fillers in their native land. They might not be "the only band," but Alexisonfire are one of Canada's biggest.
3. Strapping Young Lad
While West Coast wunderkind Devin Townsend first hit the mainstream by singing on Steve Vai's Sex and Religion album, he came into his own while leading Vancouver extremists Strapping Young Lad.
Transforming from a one-man studio project into a crack team of metal vets that included Death/Dark Angel drum god Gene Hoglan, Townsend led Strapping Young Lads through five killer albums of technical thrash, progressive groove, and bombastically jet-black melodizing. And as a true power vocalist, Townsend contorted his throat through the sickest of death screams, as well as an acrobatically virtuosic, interval-hopping croon.
Revolver readers rightfully also shouted out Devin Townsend as a solo artist and leader of the Devin Townsend Band, but SYL occupies a particularly special place in our heavy-metal hearts.
2. Voivod
Voivod have gone through numerous stylistic and structural changes since forming in Jonquière, Quebec, in the early Eighties. But damn, what a journey it's been.
From the wildly adventurous and feverishly thrash-freaked sound of 1984's War and Pain, to the psychedelic sci-fi mutations of their late Eighties period, to a three-album stretch with Metallica bassist Jason Newsted in the '00s, to their most recent round of terror-skronk soundscaping, Voivod has remained one of Canada's most iconic and uniquely weird metal bands.
And while guitar maniac Denis "Piggy" D'amour sadly passed away in 2005, vocalist Denis "Snake" Bélanger, drummer Michel "Away" Langevin and longtime mascot Korgull have kept the flame alive for this legendary unit.
1. Rush
Rush manages to be both a contentious and no-brainer pick. It's not hard to rattle off the XYZ — or is it "YYZ" — of how important the Toronto, Ontario, trio are to heavy music, though.
They were an endlessly inventive force that flirted with arena-rock anthems, pensively-shredded prog and so much more. Their effortlessly epic, signature-pivoting expertise remains a foundational influence for modern-day prog-heads. And while Rush are certainly a band with a plethora of less-metal moments — take the pitch-shifted skeleton rapping about his gluteus max on "Roll the Bones" — the drop-tuned, dissonant alt-doom of Counterparts' "Stick It Out" proved that while Rush didn't always want to, they could certainly hang heavy if they tried.
By no measure were Rush a fly-by-night outfit. Rather, they're not only one of Canada's greatest heavy forces, but also one of popular music's most impactful acts ever.
