Alex Edkins, front man for the Toronto-based punk rock band, METZ, says he needs to start each day with music. If it’s true, as some suggest, that human beings respond to songs, melody and rhythm on a cellular level, then this compulsion makes perfect sense. If Edkins’ is a world of music, then there must be a renewed source for it each day. So, he puts on an album or a swath of singles and lets them unravel and begin to chart the course of his morning. This practice has helped buoy over a decade of the songwriters’ life as a professional musician and likely much longer than that as a fan. The most recent output from this artful lifestyle is METZ’ latest LP, Atlas Vending, which the band released in October. To support the album, METZ more recently released its latest video for the track, “Framed by the Comet’s Tail.” The new work is emblematic of the propulsive force a song can provide.
Videos by American Songwriter
“We’re all three of us very proud of the record,” Edkins says. “It shows an evolution, I think, in our sound, in our playing, in our ability to play and our ability to write. I think it’s the most interesting thing we’ve ever made, it’s also the best sounding thing we’ve made. I really poured my heart into it, as far as the songwriting goes.”
The band’s drummer, Haden Menzies, created the new video, using dimly lit footage taken from his life around Toronto to complement the track’s brooding, industrial feel. The song is also one of the rare METZ tracks, Edkins says, written from another person’s perspective. It marks both a progression in substance and a familiarity of style. But just because the sonic texture and depth read one way, doesn’t mean the meaning behind them are always predictable. Often the songs the band write can be misinterpreted from the outside, whereas those on the inside better comprehend the tough exterior mixed with welcoming sensibilities.
“As far as lyrics go,” Edkins says, “I’m expression myself in an honest way so that we could possibly connect with people and create some form of community of comfort there, knowing we’re not alone in this. I think all of us are more similar than we are dissimilar. It’s about that. Although it may sound negative or nihilistic, I’ve always known punk and heavy styles of music to be incredibly positive and welcoming and joyous. At our shows, it’s smiling faces and sweat.”
Edkins, who began playing in bands and jamming at around ten-years-old, despite not growing up in a particularly musical home, recalls the early house shows of his youth. He remembers seeing recurring faces at the shows, kids wanting to absorb the most they could from the art around them. From these beginnings, first around Ottawa and then later when he and the band moved to Toronto, Edkins says, a newfound chosen family has arisen around METZ.
“When I was coming up in Ottawa,” he says, “there was a huge family of friends who you could count on. When we travel the world now, I feel like that family is just getting bigger and bigger. It’s very comforting in that way.”
From those early shows, Edkins met his future band mates (bassist Chris Slorach rounds out the trio). As a kid growing up in the suburbs, Edkins was one of the only kids around who didn’t have a passion for sports. Instead, he took an old dusty acoustic off a shelf and began teaching himself. He was “drawn” to the guitar, he says. He spent nearly every waking hour he could playing it in the family basement. He found friends to jam with, too. Later, he felt compelled to enter Ottawa in search of more music discovery. Without the ability to explore the city, Edkins says, he doesn’t know where he’d be today. He went to shows religiously. There, he met Menzies, who was in his own band at the time that had already played big spots and was set for a DIY European tour. Two weeks before the trip, though, the singer dropped out. So, Edkins took his place.
“As the tour was ending,” Edkins says, “we were hashing out a plan to start METZ. We came home and did it.”
METZ projects rugged power in its music. Those looking for a comparison may turn to the British group, IDLES, which, in fact, used to open for METZ overseas. Today, the band, which is signed to the famed Seattle label, Sub Pop, continues to grow and cover new ground. Along the way, standout songs are the band’s ultimate aim while, too, the members strive to maintain that global family its accrued. While there is, nevertheless, a great deal of uncertainty in the world, Edkins says he’s remaining optimistic as 2020 dwindles and 2021 materializes. With each new day, a step forward is taken. One note, song or record spin at a time.
“We’re absolutely hoping,” Edkins says, “that we can carry on the way we have been, as far as playing live music. So, although there are a lot of unknowns, we’re just trying to focus on making that happen as safely as we can and get back to the thing we love, which is playing music together for people. It’s crucial for my day and my existence.”
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