CHRONOBOT

DROP OUT OF LIFE

Channeling the cosmic, phase-shifted frequencies of space rock overlords, Hawkwind, and the psychedelic stoner grooves of desert icons, Kyuss, while adding their own interstellar hurly howls and resin-encrusted deviations, are Saskatchewan’s ChronoBot. With a bubbling bong hit, their self-titled 2013 full-length debut begins. One short year after its DIY release, they sold out of the initial 200-copy pressing. Not bad for a band consisting of four “broke-asses working our asses off.”

“Our band technically started in 2010,” begins guitarist and vocalist David Landry. “A bunch of guys wanting to doom out and trip out a little.”

Joined by effects and guitar player Darius Simonot, drummer Cody Futerko, and new bassist Quinton Anderson (who replaced Dan Troupp, who is featured on the album), the quartet has crisscrossed the West and is gearing up to record their sophomore offering. They’ve also got several splits on the way, the first of which will be with Ontario’s Algoma. As it was on their debut, future recordings will be unpretentious slabs of riff ‘n’ roll conjuring hazy nights with space trippin’ pals.

As Landry puts it, “There is just a psychedelic, cosmic dust flowing over some of these tracks.”

“I remember one night a couple of summers ago a bunch of us were hanging out, just tripping out on acid, and In Search of Space [1971] by Hawkwind just spun and I remember the look in people’s eyes when those noise generators just ripped right through them. There was just this terrifying beauty to this noise just destroying people’s minds.” Therefore, for ChronoBot, “We just took the groovy, stoner rock stuff that we grew up tripping out on, threw it together with some space, and it started expanding.”

The live delivery continues this lineage in unsubtle, yet fitting, ways. The set is never twice the same, as the quartet reads the crowd.

“None of our shows are the same because of the flow of the sweeps. Do we go for a crushing set, or do we go for a spaced-out set?”

One can only assume their Calgary Metalfest performance will be the latter.

“If you’ve got front row, a bunch of rank metal dudes, you’ll switch to crushing. I’ll switch the fuzz pedal to a dirty distortion… throw in a little extra low end.” Concludes Landry, “You feed off the people.”

Get stoned with ChronoBot on Saturday, June 7 at Vern’s Bar during Calgary Metalfest. 

By Sarah Kitteringham
Photo: Courtney Schaefer