Dopethrone (Band)

Dopethrone
Dopethrone circa 2018.
Background information
Origin	Montreal, Quebec, Canada
Genres	Doom Metal, Sludge Metal, Stoner Metal
Years active	2008 - Present
Labels	Totem Cat Records
Associated acts	Unquintessence, Downtrodden, Vatican
Website	Facebook
Current members	Vyk Vincent Houde Shawn Julie Unfortunate
Past members	Big Borman Thomas Polychuck

Dopethrone are a band from Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Active since 2008, this DIY band is known for their abrasive mix of sludge, stoner and doom with lyrics based in self-destruction, murder, cannabis and sleazy drug abuse. Although some people think they are named after the Electric Wizard album, they hold no dedication to the Electric Wizard sound, leaving many to believe it is simply a nod at the titanic gods themselves. In a 2018 interview with Decibel the band confirmed the band's name was a joke and a spoof on "Darkthrone", though the band also enjoys Electric Wizard. Dopethrone also refer to their style of music as "Slutch".

Since their formation Dopethrone has released five studio albums to date and have regularly toured Europe and Canada.

History

Demonsmoke, Dark Foil and III (2008 - 2013)

Dopethrone started in 2008 with the lineup of Vyk, Shawn and Thomas. The band thought up the name as a joke as the band were smoking a ton of pot and listening to black metal in their high school years, going with Dopethrone as a spoof on Darkthrone, whom they were huge fans of. In the band's early days they largely played only in Montreal, sharing the stage with the likes of Downtrodden, Depletion, Memories of an Old Man, Fuck The Facts, KEN Mode and The Great Sabatini just to name a few in their early days. A debut album in Demonsmoke would see release sometime in 2009, seeing positive reception from the likes of Doom Mantia among others. According to an interview with Temple of Perdition, Demonsmoke was recorded only nine months after the band had formed and according to the band, was "still figuring out what our sound was gonna be, it was kind of a experiment".

Following recording in late 2010, Dopethrone would release a follow-up album in Dark Foil circa 2011, featuring five new songs and a cover of "Ain't No Sunshine" by Bill Withers. The next year would see the band's earliest known European show with an appearance at Roadburn Festival. Around the same time the band would release their third album, colloquially calling the album III. III saw it's release on 12 August 2012 to positive reviews. The next year would see a full tour of Europe alongside Huata along with signing with Totem Cat Records, whom re-released all three albums. The band also made their earliest known live appearance in the United States at Autumn Screams Doom in Baltimore.

Hochelaga (2014 - 2016)

2014 would see the trio on an extensive tour of Europe alongside gurt, spanning nearly two months. Following the tour work would begin on a fourth studio album through the remainder of the year. On 22 January 2015 it would be announced that Dopethrone would be releasing their fourth album Hochelaga through Totem Cat Records on 13 April 2015. Hochelaga would see critical praise along the likes of Echoes and Dust, Doom Metal Heaven, CVLT Nation, More Fuzz and The Sludgelord among others.

Following the album's release Dopethrone would go on a tour of Europe seeing the band at DesertFest London, DesertFest Berlin and Heavy Days in Doomtown amid marquee shows alongside the likes of Acid King, Black Cobra, Eyehategod and Belzebong. Further touring would be intended in 2016 but several dates would be canceled after Vincent broke his leg, forcing the band to cancel appearances at Maryland Deathfest and Hellfest. However touring through Europe would happen in the fall, with second drummer Carl Borman quitting. Notably Dopethrone would also release a split with Fister on 11 May 2016 and an EP entitled 1312 on 29 August 2016.

Transcanadian Anger (2017 - 2020)

With a new drummer named Shawn in tow the band would take a break from touring in January to concentrate on their fifth studio album, with one notable exception being an appearance at Maryland Deathfest. On 7 May 2018 Dopethrone would announce their fifth album Transcanadian Anger in lieu of their tenth anniversary as a band. Seeing a further evolution on their mix of sludge, crust, blues and punk Transcanadian Anger saw praise from several publications such as Metal Injection, Outlaws of The Sun, More Fuzz, Metal Nexus, and CVLT Nation among others. Notably guest vocalist Julie Unfortunate would also officially join the group as a second vocalist.

Dopethrone would embark on some of their most extensive touring yet, embarking on a lengthy summer European tour with Bongzilla, Sons of Otis and Church of Misery. This tour would also see festival appearances at Duna Jam, Red Smoke Festival, Stoned From The Underground and Hellfest. A tour of North America was planned but ultimately canceled due to VISA issues so thus the band returned to Europe in the fall alongside Sunnata and featuring an appearance at Desertfest Belgium. Further touring in support of Transcanadian Anger would follow in the summer of 2019 throughout Europe.

Broke Sabbath (2022 - Present)

After a series of massive tours in 2019, the band has not hit the road since, and focused on the “delicate” baking of their new release. The new effort was just released on May 24 2024 and is coming with some North American tours and only a handful of European shows.

Vincent Houde on "Broke Sabbath":

“We went full ‘Volume 4’ on this one. The last few years have been tough for the underground, we swam against a tsunami of nonsensical bullshit and still managed not to drown. It's just like a stew, we all know that the scum always rises to the top… And here we are!”

“We wanted to stick to our guns and work with JB for the recording, as he’s been part of the crew since Hochelaga's initial release. Broke Sabbath was mastered by Brad Boatright (Sleep, Off!, Noothgrush), we wanted to make sure it was coated with the proper amount of asphyxiating sonic density.We decided to turn up the ‘not giving a fuck’ knob to 11, stepped out of our rusty dumpster, gave it a spit-shine and lit the fucker on fire.”

“We'll never forget where we came from. So, in that spirit, we went ‘full DIY’ on the cover artwork. We grabbed a shit-ton of Hochelaga alley dirt, junk, slutch and dumped it on our Saloon floor, made a concoction of ‘fake’ blood and proceeded to surgically etch the band’s logo on this stinking putrid pile. In the same dynamic, we also DIY’ed all our videos with limited budget and extreme dedication. Passion is known to exceed the norms of expectation, but we're not passionate, we're obsessed, so you better buckle up.”

Discography

Studio Albums

• Demonsmoke (2009, Self-released)
• Dark Foil (2011, Self-released)
• III (2012, Totem Cat Records)
• Hochelaga (2015, Totem Cat Records)
• Transcanadian Anger (2018, Totem Cat Records)
• Broke Sabbath (2024, Totem Cat Records)

Misc. Releases

• Dopethrone / Fister (Split with Fister) (2016, Self-Released)
• 1312 (EP) (2016, Self-Released)

Members

Current members

• Vincent Houde - Guitars, Vocals (2008 - Present)
• Shawn - Drums (2018 - Present)
• Mike - Bass (2024 - Present)

Former Members

• Vyk - Bass (2008 - 2024)
• Julie Unfortunate - Live Vocals (2018 - 2022)
• Big Borman - Drums (2011 - 2017)
• Thomas Polychuck - Drums (2008 - 2011)

List of Known Tours

• Europe13 Tour (With Huata) (2013)
• 2014 European Tour (With gurt) (2014)
• 2015 European Tour (2015)
• Tour XVI - Part I (2016; Canceled)
• Tour XVI - Part II (2016)
• Tour XVI - Part III (2016)
• 2018 European Tour (With Bongzilla, Sons of Otis; Select Dates with Church of Misery) (2018)
• 2018 North American Tour (2018; Canceled)
• September 2018 Canada Mini-Tour (2018)
• 2018 Fall European Tour (With Sunnata) (2018)
• Transcanadian Tour 2019 (2019)
• 2019 European Tour (2019)

External Links

Official Links

• Dopethrone Myspace
• Dopethrone Bandcamp
• Dopethrone YouTube

Archival/Reference Links

• Interview via G. H. Gumman
• Interview via MHF Magazine
• 2013 Interview via The Sludgelord