Music
Press
Life is a battlefield for local band This Is War.
The metal six-piece fought through more hardship during the making of its debut album than many bands will face during an entire career.
After a lengthy two-year recording process, This Is War will finally drop Substitute for Silence with an all-ages show at Duggan Community League, 3728 106 St., Saturday.
“We’ve faced some pretty serious adversity, man. I’m pretty proud of all of us, how well we stuck with it,” bassist Paul Thompson says. “There were times when we were biting each other’s heads off.”
Guitarist Jeff Kittlitz’s father passed away the day This Is War hit the studio.
Over the next two years, the band lost grandparents and two close friends, and singer Mackenzie LaHaye’s sister had a bout with cancer.
Immediately after completing the album, their drummer left them.
But Thompson should be especially proud. Last February, he went to the doctor with excruciating stomach pains and found out he had a tumor wrapped around his aorta. Like a true metalhead, he toughed it out as long as he could, defying the doctor’s orders.
“They wanted to admit me on Feb. 24 and we had a show with City of Fire on Feb. 25, and I said, ‘Well, I’ve got a show to play,’ ” he says. “The doctors thought I was crazy living with that kind of pain.”
Thompson spent a month and a half in the hospital, with his bandmates visiting him after jam sessions, followed by two months of chemotherapy. He credits camaraderie, exceptional doctors at the Cross Cancer Institute, and the power of positive thinking for helping him pull through.
“Not just our band, but 30 of my other friends were all right there with me living it and kicking its ass with me,” he says.
Thompson’s upbeat outlook and triumph through adversity is symbolic of This Is War’s message.
Many of the band’s lyrics, belted by a dual vocal team of LaHaye and Jason Thiessen over dark and pummeling instrumentation, glorify loyalty, respect and gratitude.
They carry that message outside their music, as well. Kittlitz, who shares guitar duties with Jon Hofmann, helps run the Centre for Art and Music, where he teaches at-risk youth how to play music, write and record songs – “a ‘play rock, not smoke rock’ kind of thing,” he says.
It’s through that gig that Kittlitz found the band’s new drummer, 19-year-old Kody Cole, who is the son of the centre’s executive director Carson Cole.
A veteran of the local music scene who is in his 30s, Kittlitz has learned to turn tragedy into inspiration.
“My dad was a big thing in my life. He taught me how to play guitar, he was that guy for me. (His death) was crushing,” he says.
“Sometimes tragedy brings people further apart. For us, it has tightened us up. We’re blessed and thankful for what we have.”
This Is War might also be the hardest- working band in the city. The guys jam five to seven nights a week, meet twice a week to discuss band matters, and even built their own studio in order to record Substitute for Silence.
When asked if they ever considered splitting up in their darkest moments, they all answer emphatically and without pause: “Never.”
DRT and Death Toll Rising will open Saturday’s show. - Kevin Maimann, Edmonton Examiner
Life is a battlefield for local band This Is War.
The metal six-piece fought through more hardship during the making of its debut album than many bands will face during an entire career.
After a lengthy two-year recording process, This Is War will finally drop Substitute for Silence with an all-ages show at Duggan Community League, 3728 106 St., Saturday.
“We’ve faced some pretty serious adversity, man. I’m pretty proud of all of us, how well we stuck with it,” bassist Paul Thompson says. “There were times when we were biting each other’s heads off.”
Guitarist Jeff Kittlitz’s father passed away the day This Is War hit the studio.
Over the next two years, the band lost grandparents and two close friends, and singer Mackenzie LaHaye’s sister had a bout with cancer.
Immediately after completing the album, their drummer left them.
But Thompson should be especially proud. Last February, he went to the doctor with excruciating stomach pains and found out he had a tumor wrapped around his aorta. Like a true metalhead, he toughed it out as long as he could, defying the doctor’s orders.
“They wanted to admit me on Feb. 24 and we had a show with City of Fire on Feb. 25, and I said, ‘Well, I’ve got a show to play,’ ” he says. “The doctors thought I was crazy living with that kind of pain.”
Thompson spent a month and a half in the hospital, with his bandmates visiting him after jam sessions, followed by two months of chemotherapy. He credits camaraderie, exceptional doctors at the Cross Cancer Institute, and the power of positive thinking for helping him pull through.
“Not just our band, but 30 of my other friends were all right there with me living it and kicking its ass with me,” he says.
Thompson’s upbeat outlook and triumph through adversity is symbolic of This Is War’s message.
Many of the band’s lyrics, belted by a dual vocal team of LaHaye and Jason Thiessen over dark and pummeling instrumentation, glorify loyalty, respect and gratitude.
They carry that message outside their music, as well. Kittlitz, who shares guitar duties with Jon Hofmann, helps run the Centre for Art and Music, where he teaches at-risk youth how to play music, write and record songs – “a ‘play rock, not smoke rock’ kind of thing,” he says.
It’s through that gig that Kittlitz found the band’s new drummer, 19-year-old Kody Cole, who is the son of the centre’s executive director Carson Cole.
A veteran of the local music scene who is in his 30s, Kittlitz has learned to turn tragedy into inspiration.
“My dad was a big thing in my life. He taught me how to play guitar, he was that guy for me. (His death) was crushing,” he says.
“Sometimes tragedy brings people further apart. For us, it has tightened us up. We’re blessed and thankful for what we have.”
This Is War might also be the hardest- working band in the city. The guys jam five to seven nights a week, meet twice a week to discuss band matters, and even built their own studio in order to record Substitute for Silence.
When asked if they ever considered splitting up in their darkest moments, they all answer emphatically and without pause: “Never.”
DRT and Death Toll Rising will open Saturday’s show. - Kevin Maimann, Edmonton Examiner
Discography
Stabbed In The Face E.P. 2008
The Forecast E.P. 2010
A Substitute For Silence 2012
Photos
Bio
When seen live, This Is War gives a performance one does not forget. The intensity and passion brought on stage by each member immediately culminates into a shredding, pulsing, trance inducing energy that lifts the mood of whoever is watching and wherever they are playing to a whole new level.
A band that can help you release your frustrations, This Is War is fast hard-hitting metal that brings messages of the truly important things in life, the mistakes we make and to never stop trying. With guitar licks reminiscent of Metallica with the likes of All That Remains and In Flames the melodies are smooth, crisp, just epic. Driving and relentless, the bass and drums will leave you catching your breath. All of this capped off with gut wrenching screams mixed with from the heart harmonies, you have something that you can’t put down. You have something you can’t put any other name to. You have This Is War.
The band played their debut show in late September 2008 with Zimmer’s Hole and followed up with a second show in October where they were honored to share the stage with 3 Inches Of Blood. Building steam and pushing through trials and tribulations they have played with many great acts including City Of Fire, Kobra And The Lotus, Municipal Waste and most recently Deicide. Now with their long awaited debut album released, This Is War is setting their sights on new horizons.
The debut album “A Substitute For Silence” is a celebration of what the band has been through and how hard they have worked to get to this point. 12 songs spanning 4 years; Surviving through two drummer changes, one members’ battle and victory over cancer and the deaths of several family members and friends, nothing has come easy for This Is War. Now at a strong point, with a solid line-up, TIW is ready to take their debut disc around the globe. From engineering and mixing to booklet artwork and design, the record is completely independent. It is derived from countless hours at the jam space and making ideas a reality. In addition, with their indie filmed and produced “Retaliate” video single scheduled to release shortly after the album, you can only count on two things. Count on hearing more of this metal force and count on becoming a This Is War fan!
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