Selkirk Record- Shane Gibson

Distance makes the rock get harder


Kill Star releases debut album
by Shane Gibson


The fact that all three of the band's song-writing core hail from three seperate Canadian cities has not held metal band Kill Star back in the least bit, in fact the hard rockers have just began selling their freshly pressed debut album.
Two members of the band- lead and rhythm guitarist Brent Andres of Selkirk and lead singer Purple- sat down with The Record in Purple's Winnipeg home last week to discuss their new disc 'Threshold' and how it came together.
The band's bass player Derek Dufresne couldn't make it on short notice- he lives in Vancouver, BC.
"None of us lives in the same city so we actually email the tracks to eachother," explains Andres, adding the process isn't too difficult because the three band mates have known each other for the past 20 years and used to play together in different bands when they all lived in winnipeg.
"We were all really good friends and we've really clicked as a band."
Kill Star, which is rounded off by drummer Josh Gray and guitarist Jay Coates, formed about a year and a half ago when the three old friends met on Facebook.  The trio quickly began sending audio files back and forth and before he knew it, Purple says the band had been formed and booked for their first live show.
"We wrote three songs right off the cuff, like boom, boom, boom, and then all of a sudden it was like "we booked a show," he laughs.  "We wrote six more songs in the next week or two and for that first show we were actually practicing together for the first time in the hotel room right before we went on."
At that first show- a Battle of the Bands in Winnipeg- Kill Star walked away with first place, and since then the band has played together three more times live.
Last February, after they had written and recorded more than an album's worth of material, Dufresne flew in from Vancouver and the band recorded "Threshold" live together at Winnipeg' Platinum/Gold Studios.
It took four days for the band to record the album's 12 tracks and Andres says he was so moved by the experience of playing all together he decided to compose three of his solos right on the spot in the studio.
"When I was in the studio I wanted to give to the audience, through the cd, the emotion of us being there and all connecting," he says. "I wanted to bring that intensity to the listening audience."
After finishing the recording process, the band was thrilled to have the final product mixed and mastered by Eric Mosher who has worked with huge names in the industry like Metallica, Nine Inch Nails and Tool.
"There are a certain criteria you have to meet to be able to work with him because his name's on that too... and after he heard our stuff he really liked it," says Andres of working with Mosher.  "It was really cool to have him first of all like our stuff, and then decide to work on it with us."
Kill Star hopes to hold a concert to officially release their new album and thank all those that helped make it happen sometime in December.
The album is currently available at Blaine's Records and Tapes and Shoppers Home Furniture in Selkirk and can be downloaded at iTunes etc..  Find out more about the band online at their website killstar.org or check out their Facebook Page.