Rock 'n' Roll Call: Shelter With Thieves

posted in: Features • Reviews & Playlists • Rock

Having spent 11 weeks in our Best of Rock Charts, Canada’s Shelter With Thieves just might be on their way to becoming rock royalty.

Like fellow Canadians Billy Talent, Shelter With Thieves boast expressive vocals against driving punk beats and aggressive riffs. And with a live show succinctly described as “fearsome,” the group is known for being just as relentlessly vicious in their on-stage banter as they are with their performance.

Shelter With Thieves’ latest release, Confessions of a Toxic Generation, features the songs “Ocean Graveyard” and “Riot Gear Fashion Show 2009,” both of which are driving rock anthems just begging to be belted out from a crowd.

Unlike the majority of punk vocalists, frontman Mike Johnson actually has the chops to carry impressive melodies, adding a welcome change to a genre whose vocals are usually confined to exasperated yells. Confessions is not only well written, but also well produced, and earned them two Music Nova Scotia Award nominations, one for “Group Recording” and one for “Loud Recording”.

After sharing the stage with everyone from Our Lady Peace to Slayer, the band has been working on an upcoming album with producer/Sum41 bassist Cone McCaslin and mix master Eric Ratz (Cancer Bats, Billy Talent). The record is titled Life Art and will be released soon! Until then, you can check out one of its tracks, “Chemicals” on the band’s MySpace page.