Shades of Sorrow

Introduction

When we talk about Canada in our small country we always think about the great nature, the enormous distances between places, the Dutch people who moved there just after world war two and the cold in winter. But we don’t talk much about Canadian metal music. Is it unknown? Maybe, but band as Nickelback, Kobra and the Lotus and Unleash the Archers are bands which played in Holland the last few months.  I just think people didn’t realize they are from Canada.

Another metal band from Canada is Shades of Sorrow. And if you ask me how did you found them I have to tell you that’s purely by coincidence. I was on Instagram when I was reading a post and saw the name Shades of Sorrow. And most of you already know that I’m always curious when I see bands I do not know. So I looked them up.

And I was very happy I did. Shades of Sorrow is a metal band you like from the first moment you hear them. For me it’s not easy to say which kind of metal they play. Not important at all I think.

I got more curious so I decided to ask them if they could tell something about the band and their music. And they did. And for that I’m very great full to them. Let’s see what they can tell us.

History

Shades of Sorrow was formed in 2006 and their hometown is Moncton (New Brunswick, Canada). The drummer (Pascal Deslongchamps) came up with the name of the band. Not all the bandmembers were happy with the name they told me. The first singer of the bad didn’t like it and so he even decided to leave the band for this reason.

Until now the band has been through some changes throughout the years. Mostly singers and bass players leave the band. But the bandmembers which are now in the band have been in it since late 2014.

The band

The current bandmembers are:

Monise Quellette (vocals)

Monise has been singing since almost all her life. Starting when she was little and taking part in choirs. She started writing songs, singing and playing guitar in bands at the age of 13. She joined Shades of Sorrow in late 2014.

Mike Taylor (guitar)

Mike played guitar for over 25 years now. He was a so called “bedroom Rockstar” and  occasionally he jammed with friends until he formed Shades of Sorrow (with Pascal). Shades of Sorrow is his first band so far.

Julien LeBlanc (bass)

Julien started playing guitar at the age of 7 and bass at the age of 15. He gained experience playing in the black metal band Havengrave for 3 years. After the demise of that band, he joined Shades of Sorrow in October 2010.

Pascal Deslongchamps (drums)

Pascal has been playing drums and a bit of guitar for over 35 years. He studied percussion and music theory at the Conservatory for Classical Music of Quebec for a year, as well as with a few private teachers in Montreal. He has been in many bands and started playing in clubs and bars in the early 1990’s. He does most of the production of the music of the band in his studio, the One Eye Cat Studio.

 

The music

And I already told you is a bit difficult telling which genre of metal the band is playing. So I asked them. The answer was quite simple. We make rock/metal. And I think that’s the best way to describe it.

They compare themselves with bands as Lacuna Coil, Pantera, In Flames and Godsmack.

 

The Canadian Metal Scene

Because we don’t know much about the Canadian Metal Scene I’ve asked them if they can tell us something about it.

“The Canadian metal scene is very supportive of each other, especially on the independent level. There are many different kinds of bands, which keeps things interesting and fresh”.

 

Discography

The latest release is the album with the name Ascension. This album was originally self-released in 2015. And this year the album was re-issued.

In 2014 they released an EP called A Few Creatures.

A full length album Dropping the Dead Weight in 2011.

And a self-titled EP in 2009.

Performances

They mostly play in eastern Canada but they are hoping to branch out into the rest of Canada and Europe in the near future.

The best gig so far was the one they were opening for Arkona. This band came to their hometown Moncton.  It was a packed house with an energetic crowd and Arkona was phenomenal!!!!

Future plans

As we talk about the future, they are planning a short tour of eastern Canada for the end of August. And they are also working on a new album. The recordings are almost done and thy hope to release it soon.

Important links

Their latest album is available to order and download at:

https://deadpulse.com/product/shades-of-sorrow-ascension/

They are also on Spotify:

https://open.spotify.com/artist/23oQ4oq0uGwZ4NhzoWuyZP?si=JZW-YiydQ4ylrIIKhBFwnQ

And they have links to all their social media profiles on the website: www.shadesofsorrow.ca