The Agonist (formerly The Tempest) is a Canadian melodic death metal/metalcore band signed to Century Media Records. Hailing from Montreal, The Agonist is comprised of vocalist Alissa White-Gluz, guitarist Danny Marino, bassist Chris Kells, drummer Simon McKay and touring guitarist Chris Adolph.

They released their first album Once Only Imagined on August 14, 2007. Released August 28, 2007, the video for "Business Suits and Combat Boots" was filmed by acclaimed director David Brodsky (Strapping Young Lad, Gwar, God Forbid). The video was voted the number 6 video of the year 2007 on MTV2's Headbanger's Ball. The mini-video for "...And Their Eulogies Sang Me To Sleep" off the album Lullabies for the Dormant Mind, also filmed by director David Brodsk, was released April 18, 2009. Shortly following this, on April 22, 2009, was a video for the song "Birds Elope With The Sun," which consists of live concert footage from the band's tour. Their third video, for the single, Thank You, Pain premiered on the Peta2 Blog on September 3, 2009.

After releasing their first album (August 2007), The Agonist toured extensively, playing with bands such as God Forbid, Arsis, The Faceless, Sonata Arctica, Overkill, Epica, Visions of Atlantis, and Enslaved.

One of the band's tours was disrupted when its equipment trailer was damaged in a blizzard in the Rocky Mountains.

White-Gluz was named one of "the hottest chicks in metal" in the July 2007 issue of Revolver. She also appeared as a "hottest chick in metal" in the May 2009 issue of Revolver

The band released their second album, called Lullabies for the Dormant Mind, in March 2009.

Style

The Agonist are known primarily for White-Gluz's ability to use both clean vocals and metal growls. Guitarist Danny Marino, nephew of guitar legend Frank Marino (of Frank Marino and Mahogany Rush), uses a melodic yet aggressive guitar style, making The Agonist's music both catchy and heavy. The Agonist can also be identified by their creative basslines by Chris Kells, and Simon McKay's intense and energetic drumming. Also known for their environmental consciousness, song's themes often revolve around moral concerns such as animal rights, societal dilemmas, and the state of our world.

On the first record, Once Only Imagined, Alissa claims to have written the song "Rise And Fall" about the "rise and fall of mankind", "Born Dead, Buried Alive" about genocides and The Holocaust, "Business Suits And Combat Boots" about one of her first jobs and how the people with painted hair and combat boots worked in the basement of the building, and how the top business-suit-wearing people worked on the executive top floors.

On the second record, Lullabies for the Dormant Mind, Alissa claims to have written "The Sentient" about animal rights and slaughter, "Chlorpromazine" about how the mind works, and the single "...and Their Eulogies Sang Me To Sleep" about the feeling of death and claustrophobia.

 

Discography

Once Only Imagined (2007)


Lullabies for the Dormant Mind (2009)

Singles & Music Videos

Business Suits and Combat Boots (2007)
And Their Eulogies Sang Me to Sleep (2009)
Thank You Pain (2009)

Links