Metal band Scimitar has a reputation for hosting the most violent mosh pits in Victoria and now they want to wreak similar havoc here in the Kootenays.
“We really encourage the crowd to get amped, run around, head bang,” said lead guitarist Noel Anstey, who will be playing in Nelson next Wednesday at Kootenay Co-op Radio as part of the Crank it to 6 concert series. “We’re coming for you.”
The live-to-broadcast concert will be the first Scimitar has played in Nelson, but Anstey said they already have a communicative fan base.
“Nelson’s only one stop on an 11-city tour we’re doing, but we’ve already had lots of people messaging us about that show in particular. We’re pretty stoked.”
Scimitar released their first album, Black Waters, in 2010. The bandmates all spent the last few years working on other opportunities and pursuing post-secondary education, but now the band is swinging back into full gear with a crowd-funding campaign that will give fans an opportunity to pre-order their next record Shadow of Man.
Their latest single, Wandering at the Moon, will be released on Saturday. The most recent one, To Cultivate with Spears was about, of all things, the violent rise of the Zulu nation.
It featured lyrics like the following: “Zalwa qu Quazulu Nathal a leader of the plains Shaka Zulu, was his name/An incestuous son of Senzanagakona/To the tribe his existence was wreathed in shame.”
Needless to say, the son returns to make bloody battle with those who wronged him.
Anstey said Scimitar’s lyrical content separates them from some of their metal peers.
“It’s kind of interesting. You listen to most metal lyrics and they’re pretty boring, cookie-cutter. Our bassist Angus Lennox is our main vocalist, bassist and main lyricist. And he’s a history major, so there’s lots of epic battles, all that.”
According to Lennox, Scimitar’s lyrics are “largely based in historical narrative, with rare digressions into philosophy and the supernatural”.
But whether or not audience members will be able to appreciate these lyrical nuances, they’re sure to have a raucous time, said Anstey.
“Pretty much you’re getting twice as much Scimitar,” he said. “We’re going to be playing our first album front to back, and then the second set will be all new material.”
Scimitar will be playing with special guests Breaking Affliction. Tickets are $10. Doors at 8 p.m.