Bison

Bison
Bison
	;
Background information
Also known as	Bison B.C. (2007 - 2013)
Origin	Vancouver, British Colombia, Canada
Genres	Stoner Metal, Sludge Metal
Years active	2006 - 2007 (As Bison); 2007 - 2013 (As Bison B.C.); 2013 - Present (As Bison)
Labels	Metal Blade Records, Pelagic
Associated acts	Black Wizard, Black Mountain, 3 Inches of Blood, Iamthethorn, Chapel, Cooked and Eaten, S.T.R.E.E.T.S., Ten Miles Wide, The Almighty Punchdrunk, Hopeleus, Onslaught, The Hookers, Goatsblood, Almost Transparent Blue, Hospital, Beard, Congress
Website	Bison Facebook

Bison (Also known as Bison B.C.) are a stoner/sludge metal band based out of Vancouver, British Colombia. Defined by a colossal sound with elements of punk, thrash and sludge, Bison quickly established themselves as a force in the Canadian heavy scene, releasing three studio albums via Metal Blade Records, followed by a fourth via Pelagic among other releases and a relentless touring cycle.

History[]

Bison would form sometime in 2006 with the founding lineup of Dan And, James Gnarwell, Masa Anzai and Brad McKinnon. Quickly establishing themselves in the Canadian heavy scene, the band would record an EP circa March 2007 at The Hive Creative Labs in Burnaby. Earthbound would see release via Forest Records that same year, followed by a string of shows with the likes of Black Mountain and 3 Inches of Blood, including a handful of shows in the United States.^[1]

Bison would sign with Metal Blade Records in early 2008 as work began on a debut album. Notably the band had signed under the name Bison B.C.^[2] to avoid any kind of legal conflict as several bands around the world also shared that name.^[3] Dan And would state the following about the name change and the "B.C" in an interview with MindYourMind: "The "BC" doesn't actually stand for any one particular thing. In fact we chose it because it could be interpreted in a few different ways. After a couple years as a band we discovered that there were a few other bands with the same name but of completely different musical styles. After some friends of ours experienced a horror show of legal trouble simply because of a name dispute we decided to cover our asses just in case."^[4]

Quiet Earth would see release via Metal Blade Records on 30 September 2008 to positive reviews the likes of Invisible Oranges,^[5] Blabbermouth^[6] and Review Busters^[7] among others. On 27 October 2008, RollingStone.com featured Bison B.C. as one of 10 Buzz-Worthy Breakouts as part of a feature called CMJ's Hottest Bands. Chris Steffen described them as "Heavy man. Real heavy. Jean-jacket heavy."^[8]

Bison B.C. would tour through Canada and North America in 2008 to support Quiet Earth, alongside the likes of The Sword, Priestess, Black Cobra and Baroness among others. 2009 would see the band touring Europe for the first time along with extensive touring alongside the likes of Kylesa, Saviours, Red Fang and Tombs among others.^[9] The band would begin work on a second studio album with Jess Gander at The Hive Creative Labs that December.

Dark Ages would see release on 13 April 2010 to positive reviews^[10]^[11] and being named among the top ten metal albums of the year by Exclaim!.^[12] Bison B.C. would embark on an extensive touring cycle, supporting High on Fire as they toured behind Snakes For The Divine, touring through Canada with the likes of Helmet and closing out the year touring through Europe with Coliseum and Kvelertak. Barring a North American tour the next year with Weedeater, the band toured sporadically as work began on a third record.

Bison B.C. opted to change things up for their third album, recording at Soma and Electrical Audio Studios in Chicago, Illinois with producer Sanford Parker. Lovelessness would see release on 22 October 2012 to positive reviews. WeLoveMetal.com described the album: "Lovelessness is a prime example of keeping your metal simple and straight forward. Instead of doing a lot of different stuff poorly, Bison makes their in your face metal balls to the wall."^[13] AxisofMetal.com's Alex Gallant gives the album a 9/10 stating, "The band lays its outlook bare on this record, making you feel it through the construction of their songs and a wall of sound that pushes forward relentlessly like a tidal wave."^[14]

In early 2013 Bison B.C. would leave Metal Blade Records, followed by reverting their name back to simply Bison.^[15] Bison would tour Canada and Europe in 2013. Bison would independently release One Thousand Needles (The first release under the name "Bison" since 2007) on 1 July 2014, with a summer tour of Canada to support the new EP.

Work would begin on a fourth studio album, working again with Jesse Gander. You Are Not The Ocean You Are The Patient would see release via Pelagic Records on 23 June 2017 to positive reviews from the likes of Toilet Ov Hell,^[16] Invisible Oranges,^[17] MXDWN^[18] and Indy Metal Vault^[19] among others. Along with touring Canada to support the album that year and Europe the next the band would also release a compilation EP known as Old Shit and Bullshit on their Bandcamp in 2017.

Currently Bison are working on a fifth studio album.^[20]

Discography[]

Studio Albums[]

Quiet Earth (2008, Metal Blade Records)
Dark Ages (2010, Metal Blade Records)
Lovelessness (2012, Metal Blade Records)
You Are Not the Ocean You Are the Patient (2017, Pelagic Records)

Other Releases[]

Earthbound (EP) (2007, Forest Records)
Stressed Elephant (Single) (2010, Metal Blade Records)
One Thousand Needles (EP) (2014, War on Music)
Old Shit and Bullshit (EP) (2017, Self-Released)

Members[]

Current Members[]

Dan And - Guitar, Vocals (2006 - Present)
James Gnarwell - Guitar, Vocals (2006 - Present)
Shane Clark - Bass (2015 - Present)
Eugene Parkomenko - Drums (2018 - Present)

Past Members[]

Masa Anzai - Bass (2006 - 2015)
Brad McKinnon - Drums (2006 - 2011)
Matt Wood - Drums, Vocals (2011 - 2018)

List of Known Tours[]

2007 Mini-Tour (With 3 Inches of Blood) (2007)^[21]
Exclaim! Aggressive Tendencies Tour (With Baroness, Genghis Tron) (2008)^[22]
Summer 2008 North American Tour (With 3; Select dates with The Sword, Black Cobra) (2008)^[23]
Fall 2008 Canada Tour (With Priestess, Barn Burner, Flash Lightnin) (2008)^[24]
Spring 2009 European Tour (With The Ocean, Burst, Madela) (2009)^[25]
Spring 2009 North American Tour (With Barn Burner) (2009)^[26]
Baptized in Beer (With Barn Burner, Lazarus A.D.) (2009)^[27]
Fall 2009 North American Tour (With Kylesa; Select dates with Tombs) (2009)^[28]
Spring 2010 Canada Tour (With Shadows Fall, Baptized in Blood; Select dates with Goatwhore) (2010)^[29]
Snakes For The Divine North American Tour (With High on Fire, Priestess, Black Cobra) (2010)^[30]^[31]
Fall 2010 Canada Tour (With Helmet) (2010)^[32]^[33]
October 2010 Canada Mini-Tour (2010)^[34]
Fall 2010 European Tour (With Coliseum, Kvelertak) (2010)^[35]
Fall 2011 North American Tour (With Weedeater, Saviours, Fight Amp) (2011)^[36]^[37]^[38]
Spring 2013 Canada Tour (2013)^[39]
Spring 2013 European Tour (With Black Cobra, Arabrot) (2013)^[40]
Canadian Desolation Tour 2014 (2014)^[41]
Fall 2014 Canadian Tour (2014)^[42]
You Are Not The Ocean You Are The Patient (2017)^[43]
11th Anniversary Earthbound (2018)^[44]
2018 European Tour (With LLNN) (2018)^[45]

External Links[]

References[]

[1] Last.fm

[2] Metal Blade Records

[3] Last.fm

[4] MindYourMind

[5] Invisible Oranges

[6] Blabbermouth

[7] Review Busters via Wayback Machine

[8] Rolling Stone via Wayback Machine

[9] Last.fm

[10] Angry Metal Guy

[11] Blabbermouth

[12] Exclaim!

[13] We Love Metal

[14] Axis of Metal via Wayback Machine

[15] Louder Than Hell via Wayback Machine

[16] Toilet Ov Hell

[17] Invisible Oranges

[18] MXDWN

[19] Indy Metal Vault

[20] Bison Facebook

[21] Last.fm

[22] Bison Facebook

[23] Last.fm

[24] Last.fm

[25] Last.fm

[26] Last.fm

[27] Last.fm

[28] Last.fm

[29] Last.fm

[30] Last.fm

[31] Last.fm

[32] Last.fm

[33] Last.fm

[34] Last.fm

[35] Last.fm

[36] Bison Facebook

[37] Last.fm

[38] Last.fm

[39] Last.fm

[40] Last.fm

[41] Bison Facebook

[42] Last.fm

[43] Bison Facebook

[44] Bison Facebook

[45] Last.fm

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