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Head on a Stick 4:040:00/4:04
About
Rat Silo: /ratˈsīlō/
noun
1. Sonically prodigious contusive post-rockpunk methodically devised and surgically executed by four entirely disparate humans and their electronically enhanced acoustic output machines.
Rat Silo is a band formed in 2007, featuring Jim Newton, formerly of the seminal Canadian rock band Sons of Freedom. Their debut album, What the Butler Saw, was recorded in a three-day session with Don Binns on bass (Sons of Freedom, TrailerHawk, Econoline Crush, Art Bergmann), Sean Stubbs on drums (Numb, SNFU, Jakalope, Bif Naked), Finn Manniche on guitar (the Jazzmanian Devils, Van Django), and Dave Osbourne on keyboards (5440). Mark Henning produced and engineered the album.
Their second album, doubleplusungood, was recorded by Rob Handel (The Bad Beers) and mixed by Mark Henning, released in April 2009. The band continued to evolve with their third album, The Great Northern Way, recorded and mixed by Dave Ogilvie at Vancouver’s legendary Mushroom Studios and released in October 2011.
In 2017, Rat Silo regrouped and began creating new material, adding Erkan Gencol on loops and noises. This period of renewed creativity led to the release of the single I Sacrifice: A Veteran’s Lament in November 2019, recorded and mixed by Mike Foster at Blackfish Sound.
Rat Silo’s fourth album, The World Is Going To End Tomorrow, was recorded and mixed by Dave “Rave” Ogilvie and Anthony “Fu” Valcic at Hipposonic Studios (formerly Little Mountain Studios) and released in May 2020. The album reflected the band's evolving sound and continued commitment to their craft.
In May and August of 2022, Rat Silo released two singles, "The World Is Going to End Tomorrow" and "Head on a Stick", from their upcoming album Unfortunately.... These songs were written during various intermittent band rehearsals amidst the 2020-21 COVID pandemic. The tracks were recorded at Hipposonic Studios, Vancouver, BC in December 2021 by Dave "Rave" Ogilvie and mixed shortly after by Anthony "Fu" Valcic at his home studio in Halfmoon Bay, BC. Unfortunately... was released on November 21, 2022.
In 2024, with a new label partnership with Montreal's SODEH Records, Rat Silo released the single Gun Gun Dogh in May and Go_Go_17 in June. These are the first of six singles from the upcoming album Id, set to be released later in 2024. The nine tracks from Id were recorded at Vancouver's Hipposonic Studios in 2023 by Dave "Rave" Ogilvie and Liam Moes, and mixed by Anthony "Fu" Valcic at his home studio in Halfmoon Bay, BC.
Rat Silo makes music for desperate times. Setting up tight, bottom-heavy grooves and mixing in samples for added texture makes a juicy base for the singer's voice. Rat Silo uses machines but, the machines sync to the band, so, the tempos change during songs more organically. Lyrics are mostly from the urban angst / post-apocalypse / blind-rage bucket.