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Death By Stereo get back to the Grind

In a way, it’s unfortunate that the TV show The Osbournes was ever conceived and put on the air.

What: Grind Tour — Belvedere, Death By Stereo, Bigwig, Tsunami Bomb & Misconduct

Where: Boot Pub

When: Saturday, May 15

Tickets: $15

Before that hard core rockers had a mystique about them. They were dark and intense and unpredictable, able to inspire a respectful fear with the twitch of an eye.

But watching the crazed bat-beheading maniac of yore bumbling around like a slightly more clueless version of the Family Ties dad, a couple of darn kids, annoying dogs and a loopy wife flitting about, kind of killed that sentiment.

In an era lacking "heavy band mystique" it seems reasonable to ask people like Death By Stereo drummer Todd Hennig to tell you something goofy about the band.

Pre-Osbournes it would seem blasphemous to even toy with the idea that the So-Cal punk-metal hardcore rulers might listen to the Sound of Music soundtrack in their touring van.

But post-Osbournes?

The amicable Hennig laughs, then takes things to the next level.

"We listen to some wacky stuff," he says sheepishly, citing the dance music of Fanny Pack, as well as Justin Timberlake, Avril Lavigne, and cheesy rap.

To all the Death By Stereo fans out there I am so sorry to have corrupted the raging circle thrash pits in your brains with an image of the five band members cruising down the highway singing, "why you have to go and make things so complicated?!"

Believe me when I tell you Hennig said they also listen to Iron Maiden, Slayer, In Flames, Archenemy, Bad Religion and AFI. There, there now. The universe is right again.

Obviously what plays in the van, stays in the van because on stage Death By Stereo is as hard and intense as ever. According to Hennig, they wouldn’t have it any other way.

I happen to have caught the ever-touring musician at a rare moment at home, on the eve before he and his band mates are to leave for the Grind Tour, a 16-date Canadian tour, which kicks off in Vancouver and hits Whistler this Saturday.

At the time, it’s been less than a week since Death By Stereo finished touring with psycho nü-metal troupe Slipknot, an experience Hennig describes as "inspiring."

"They have a good live show. They put their all into it every night," he elaborates. "They’re not getting lazy considering how big they are. And it’s cool to see so many kids into a band that’s different and off the beaten path, because we’re not that ‘safe’ of a band either. When you see a band like Slipknot or System of a Down who are doing that well, it gives new hope."

Hope for that kind of a breakout is resting on the group’s upcoming fourth album, currently still in the writing stages. It’s the reason they will skip the summer festival circuit, foregoing Warped Tour 2004 and other gatherings like it. The intention is to begin recording the work in progress following a short tour of Europe in the fall. The album is intended for release on the band’s current label Epitaph. But unlike 2003’s Into the Valley of Death , the band will not self-produce this time around.

Valley of Death

hits as hard as its name might indicate, tackling touchy subjects such as abuse, consumerism and the hypocrisy of the Bush administration with the band’s signature sonic assault. The album was launched during last year’s American offensive in Iraq, and in light of the recent prison abuse scandals and sadistic activities reported from the region, the searing condemnations seem to have increased in relevance.

Hennig explains that while undeniably opinionated, he wouldn’t exactly describe the band as "political."

"We all have our own views and we all agree on everything that is said in the lyrics but we’re not the kind of band that takes a certain stance," he muses.

"If you had to pick one thing that we try to convey to people it’s to think for themselves. Don’t just take whatever’s rammed down your throat. Really think about it.

"We’re not necessarily saying we’re right. It just seems like in America people just follow whatever’s said in the media or whatever they’re told to do. So that’s really the whole message, if we had to choose one. Politics, religion, whatever that applies to."

The fact that there has been so much to think about lately sets the dark tone of Valley of Death , says Hennig, referring to personal challenges the band has faced as well as world-shaking catastrophic events like the 9/11 attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon.

Along with the music, the upcoming tour of Canada offers the chance to experience an outsider’s perspective, something Hennig says Death By Stereo as a whole has learned to appreciate.

"It’s cool to get out of your country and see how other people do things," he says. "It really gets you to think more when you get back."

There have been many Canadian shows in the band’s five-year history even though Saturday night’s event at the Boot will be Death By Stereo’s first visit to Whistler. Other than an incident in Winnipeg when a soundman with fellow touring band Nicotine was senselessly attacked with a pool-ball in a sack and then shot between the eyes with a pellet gun, Hennig still considers the Great White North less violent and more reasonable than his home country.

"In general, Canada is a friendlier environment," he says. "People seem more open to talking to you, more open minded."

Such an ability to put things in perspective, to be able to look at an isolated situation without drawing sweeping conclusions will inevitably be a factor in the band’s longevity, protecting them from high profile Metallica-esque breakdowns and in-fighting.

If they can rage on stage and in the recording studio and joke around in the touring van, Death By Stereo (which incidentally draws its name from the Vampire home-stereo electrocution scene in ’80s teen horror classic The Lost Boys ) has the wherewithal to continue to rule.

"We take the band very seriously," confirms Hennig, "but if we weren’t having fun I think we’d all stop doing it."

Death By Stereo joins Calgary punk band Belvedere, California’s Tsunami Bomb, New Jersey’s Bigwig and Sweden’s Misconduct at the Boot Pub this Saturday for a night of hardcore punk metal craziness known as the Grind Tour.

Tickets are $15 at the venue. Doors open early at 7 p.m.

For more information call 604-932-3338.