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Los Brujos Errantes
Mexico’s young Heavy Metal upstarts Shadow of Death undertake First Canadian Tour
By Ferdy BellandÂ
“We’re thrilled to be on the road again – and Canadian roads this time!” says Eddy Bones, the guitarist-vocalist for Mexico’s notable young stoner-thrash metalheads Shadow of Death. “And to be touring with such a great Canadian thrash band as Balrogath is a true honour. I’m living in a dream – sometimes we can’t believe this is really happening! We are SO excited!”
And excited we all will be when Shadow of Death hit the stage at the Cranbrook Hotel Pub (719 Baker Street) on Friday, June 16Â as part of their upcoming Canadian tour.
“The first time we played in Canada, it was only for two shows,” explains Eddy.
“One was in Calgary and the other one was at the Alternative Waves Festival in Medicine Hat, and both of those shows were just off the hook! After that experience, we went home to Mexico just emotionally electrified, and we vowed that we would return to Canada as fast as we could. This is the first time we’re undertaking a true tour where we hit many cities in a row. Seven shows altogether, which might not seem like much of a tour as far as Canadian bands go, but this is a huge accomplishment for us.
âWe’ll be appearing in Edmonton, Calgary, Princeton, Salmo, Medicine Hat again, Fernie, and your town of Cranbrook! This will be our first time thrashing our way through British Columbia – such a beautiful place.”
Shadow of Death formed in 2008 in Celaya, a bustling city of over 310,000 people in the interior Mexican state of Guanajuato, which dates back all the way to 1570 and is famous for its well-preserved beautiful Spanish colonial architecture.
“I was 15-years-old when I decided that Shadow of Death was going to be my lifestyle,” says Eddy. “I was singing and playing cover tunes of AC/DC and Van Halen or whatever when was 12, but when I started writing seriously, everything got louder, faster, and harder. I dropped the covers and went strictly original. Which only made sense. After all, AC/DC is an original band. Van Halen was an original band. Why couldn’t I form an original band? Why couldn’t anybody? It’s the same story wherever you go.”
And so it’s been a great run for Shadow of Death, who released their current album Lords Ov Apostocracy in November 2022.
“We made a good impression when we played before in Canada,” says Eddy, “and it’s inspiring for us to see how many people in the Canadian underground metal scene are sharing social-media posts and talking about us. It’s awesome to be watching this from afar. We’re not taking that sort of attention lightly, and we’ll be on top of our game when we take the stage.
âWe’re doing rigorous rehearsals, where we invest a lot of passion and a lot of love into what we’re doing. We have a new album out and we’ll be showcasing most of the tunes found on it. We’re hoping for the best when we return to Canada – and what I mean is that we kick out tight sets and that people go wild for it. That’s the reward for us. This is going to be the time of our lives.”
Eddy Bones gives fascinating insight into the world of the Mexican underground metal scene.
“The Mexican heavy metal scene is very different from what you find in Canada,” says Eddy. “There are so many active metal bands across Mexico, whether they’re in the big cities or the small towns. And there are many thousands and thousands of Mexican metal fans who love the music. But sadly, we can’t find a lot of logistical or infrastructural support for what we do in the Mexican music industry.
âYou’ll come across an upper-level concert promoter or events coordinator who works with a bunch of desirable live venues, but often they’ll only want to work with bands who are already well-established and have a big name and can draw a full house without any risk.
“For small underground bands like us, it’s practically impossible for us to play shows in those places. So we’re forced to find alternate venues at the grassroots level in order to play shows and build an audience from the ground up. A lot of the smaller live venues in Mexico have a pay-to-play policy, which is not good.
âIt’s completely unfair to the artists, and we’re against that. In the bigger Mexican centres, like Monterrey or Guadalajara or even Ciudad Mexico itself, you’ll find big venues dedicated to the metal scene, but sometimes it’s a lot of work for us to travel out there. Mexico is a big country, and it takes five, six, seven hours to drive from Guanajuato to the big cities, which can be difficult – and sometimes dangerous.
âAnd our research into finding different ways to perform gave us the idea to attempt playing in Canada in the first place. It’s very complicated and frustrating for a Mexican band to play in the United States. Getting together the proper paperwork to play in Canada was way simpler, and it’s the only time we’ve played outside our country! But for next year, throughout 2024, we want to return to Canada, and conquer Europe, and we really want to aim to play South America, where there are many huge strong metal scenes.”
Despite the working frustrations of promoting Shadow of Death, Eddy has many more joyful memories to share.
“We played the local Mexican chapter of the Wacken Metal Battle,” says Eddy, referring to the series of talent-scouting showcase concerts designed to recruit young international artists to perform the much-desired side-stage opportunities at Wacken, the world-famous German metalfest that draws immense audiences of 85,000 people annually.
“And that was awesome! The experience allowed us to meet and befriend and network with a lot of other accomplished Mexican metal bands who are operating on the same level as us, whether they’re Power Metal or Black Metal or Thrash Metal or whatever particular style they’re writing in. We knew we weren’t alone, but it’s so validating to be in a big room with lots of people who are all there for the same reason you are.”
It takes courage and inner fortitude to slug it out in any obscure arts world, but the often-worrisome Mexican experience (making it a perfect artistic cooking-pot for heavy metal music in the first place) requires greater levels of strength and determination.
“There are more and more smaller venues opening up across Mexico that do cater to bands like Shadow of Death,” says Eddy. “But another negative aspect to the scene is just how dangerous Mexico generally is these days. It’s very rough on the streets. Mexico is in violent crisis these days, for many reasons. More so than in the past, even.
âSometimes it makes it risky to go play in a club at midnight, or even just go see a show – you can get hurt. Sometimes you’ll encounter rough customers inside at the shows, or outside on the sidewalks. It’s confusing to explain to other people from other countries just what the day-to-day reality is in Mexico. They can’t relate to what we have to deal with. What we do, and other bands do, to work around the problem of potential violence – and keep the scene alive and enjoyable – is to host early shows, where the gig starts at 3 p.m. and at 10 p.m. it’s over. If your band has a bunch of fans, and if you partner up with other bands, you can make your average show into a small festival of sorts.
âAnd if you can’t find a taberna to host the show in, you can drag your drums and your amps into somebody’s garage, or into somebody’s backyard, or into a community hall that’s rented for the day. And everybody enjoys themselves, no matter where they are!”
Eddy is quick to point out that, despite the sometimes-frightening news headlines, the grand old country of Mexico is not all about tension and fear and gloom. Far from it.
“Mexico is such a beautiful country, everywhere you go. And I believe the Mexican people are some of the loveliest people in the world,” says Eddy. “If you’re in Mexico, and you find yourself suddenly needing help, you can approach nearly anybody, even if they’re strangers you don’t know, and most of them will help you, whether it’s borrowing money or whatever. It’s been in our culture for centuries. You’ll find so much support and helpfulness, without hesitation or suspicion.”
Shadow of Death take the stage at the Cranbrook Hotel Pub (719 Baker Street) the evening of Friday, June 16 (with opening support from Calgary’s thrash-metal favourites Balrogath) as part of their inaugural Canadian tour.
Admission: $10 advance (tickets available at the Pub during regular business hours), $15 at the door, showtime 9:30 p.m.
Please visit www.facebook.com/shadowofdeathband for all your Mexican stoner-thrash needs. Thank You for Supporting Live Music in Our Community – See You There! Â
Photos submitted
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