Bison B.C.

Bison B.C.
Background information
Origin	Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
Genres	Heavy metal, sludge metal
Years active	2006–present
Members	James Farwell Dan And Masa Anzai Matt Wood
Past members	Brad Mackinnon

Bison B.C. is a heavy metal band from Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. The band was formerly signed to California based Metal Blade records. ^{[1] [2]} Bison B.C. recorded their Metal Blade debut 'Quiet Earth' with Jesse Gander (3 Inches of Blood, Subhumans, Mass Grave, S.T.R.E.E.T.S.) at The Hive Studios in Burnaby, British Columbia. The album was released on 30 September 2008.^[1] On December 7, 2009, the band announced that they were heading into the studio, once again with long-time friend Jesse Gander as the producer, to record their follow up to the Metal Blade records album "Quiet Earth". The album, entitled Dark Ages, was released on April 13.

Bison is especially known for its intense live shows. They have built themselves a strong fan base around North America. Bison have toured with the likes of 3 Inches Of Blood, Genghis Tron, Baroness, The Ocean Collective and Priestess.

The band was released from its contract with Metal Blade Records in February 2013.^[3]

History

Earthbound

In the summer of 2007 Bison released their first EP/LP titled Earthbound on Nick Hart's Forest Records. Only 1100 copies of the album were ever printed.^[4] A digital re-release of the album was made available in Canada via iTunes on September 2, 2008. An American iTunes release is expected by 2009.^[5] Founder of Bison, James Farwell (Vocals/Guitar) is best known for his affiliation with the skate-punk band S.T.R.E.E.T.S (Skateboarding Totally Rules Everything Else Totally Sucks).

Mike Payette, another former member of S.T.R.E.E.T.S, has done the artwork for both of Bison B.C's albums - Earthbound and Quiet Earth.

There has been some confusion over what the band's official name actually is. While having referred to themselves as Bison for several years, since their signing with Metal Blade, there have been some postings referring to the band as Bison B.C. (i.e. Before Christ; or British Columbia, the Canadian province in which they live). The name change was done to avoid any confusion with other bands of the same or a similar name.

In a recent interview with Discorder Magazine, Bison B.C. guitarist Dan And gave his output on the Bison name confusion.^[6]

Quiet Earth

On September 30, 2008 Bison B.C. released their first full length album for Metal Blade records. Comprising 8 tracks, one being an instrumental, the album has been given mixed but mostly positive reviews. 'About.com' gave the album 3.5/5 saying that "There's a definite retro feel to some of the songs, but others are very contemporary. There are a few lulls and some songs that could be a bit shorter, but Quiet Earth is a surprisingly good CD from a relatively unknown Canadian band that shouldn't be unknown for much longer".^[7] The website 'ReviewBusters.net' gave the album a 9.5/10 stating that, "In Bison b.c.’s case you get a terrific album. Quiet Earth makes everything Mastodon put out look like child’s play"^[8]

Quiet Earth marks many 'first times' for the band. This record is the first to feature a song over 6 and a half minutes in length. "Wendigo Pt.1" clocks in at just over 8 minutes. The same song is also the first to feature cellos and violins. Also, Jamie Hooper (scream vocalist from Canadian power metal band 3 Inches Of Blood) does a guest vocal appearance on the track "Slow Hand of Death". This is the first time Hooper has done any sort of vocal since taking a hiatus from 3 Inches of Blood.

Dark Ages

On April 13, 2010 Bison B.C. released their second full-length album for Metal Blade records. Comprising 7 tracks, the album gained largely positive reviews, with one critic stating "if you’re thirsty for unpretentious, balls-out, heavy-as-hell metal, this album is set to be the soundtrack to all your future raging keggers".^[9]

"Dark Ages" was named the No. 6 Metal Album of 2010 by Exclaim! magazine.<ref name= Exclaim!'s 2010 Year in Review: Metal>"Year in Review: Metal". Exclaim!. </ref>

Discography

• Earthbound (2007)
• Quiet Earth (2008)
• Dark Ages (2010)
• Lovelessness (2012)

Band members

• James Farwell – guitar, vocals (2006–present)
• Dan And – guitar, vocals (2006–present)
• Masa Anzai – bass (2006–present)
• Matt Wood – drums (2011–present)

Former Members

• Brad Mackinnon - drums (2006–2011)

References

External links

• Bison B.C. on Myspace

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