THE BAD PENNY STANDS WITH CANADA
IN TRUMP’S DUMBASS TRADE WAR.
Ombra – a thrash unit from Montreal consisting of Giuseppe “G” Criniti on vocals and lead guitar, Marco Sisti on rhythm guitar and his cousin Nico‑Angelo Sisti on drums – just released their first EP, Night Terror, on Monday. But we’ll be damned if these hosers (we’re kidding; these are three bright dudes) don’t know their metal history, especially when it comes to their Canada homeland.
Ombra – not to be mixed up with the Indonesian hardcore-punk band of the same name – live by a simple credo: “We encourage listeners to think freely, explore their minds, and express themselves without compromise,” the band states on its website. Their mesmerizing, pulverizing music is far more complex, however; it’s a stew of old‑school thrash, sludge, groove metal and psychedelic rock that will appeal to fans of Mastodon, Power Trip, High on Fire and Motörhead. It’s almost impossible to believe that only three guys are making Ombra’s music.
Before delving into Ombra’s picks for the best Canadian heavy bands, check out their cosmic, seizure-inducing new video for the psych-metal voyage “Blue Dream,” one of the songs featured on Night Terror.
And now, Ombra’s picks for the best heavy metal bands to come out of Canada.
1. Rush
Rush tops the list because of their impact, influence and pioneering of the heavy-rock scene. Canada’s first arena-scale heavy act: the Zeppelin-weight riffs of “Working Man and the sci-fi crush of 2112 proved a Toronto trio could hang with Sabbath and still invent something no one else was doing. They never stayed in one gear, but when they wanted weight – with Stick It Out, Far Cry and stretches of Clockwork Angels – they delivered drop-tuned, dissonant heaviness without abandoning the virtuosity that made every later Canadian metal band possible. Influence plus longevity plus those genuinely heavy moments is why they sit at number one to us. -G
2. Spiritbox
Spiritbox lands at number two because no Canadian heavy band this decade has moved the needle like they have. Holy Roller and Eternal Blue turned a Victoria act into a global force. Courtney LaPlante’s shift from glass-clear melody to gut-level lows – stacked on Mike Stringer’s precision-groove riffs – gives them both the hooks and the impact that most modern metal chases and misses. They’re the proof that Canadian heaviness didn’t freeze in the thrash and death-metal eras; it just got sharper, louder, and harder to ignore. -G
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