The Burning Hell (band)
Encyclopedia
The Burning Hell is a Canadian band from Peterborough
, Ontario
, Canada
, now based in St. John's, Newfoundland.
label and distributed by Outside Music
in Canada and Rough Trade Records
in Germany and Austria. Both their second and third albums, Happy Birthday and Baby
, were produced by Andy Magoffin
at House of Miracles in London, Ontario
.
Known for their strong live show and literate and humorous lyrics, Kom has been described by The Globe and Mail
as Canada's "Randy Newman
and Cole Porter
rolled into one, with one eye on the coming apocalypse and another on the neck of his ukulele."
Frequent subject matter includes death, aging, children, dancing, things and conferences. Two songs are named after The Berlin Conference and the Bretton Woods
monetary and financial conference. The band also has a song about frequent tour mate Wax Mannequin
.
The Burning Hell were a finalist at the 2009 CBC Radio 3
Bucky Awards for Best Lyrics.
In the spring of 2010 Kom toured western Canada with a version of the band that consisted of cult-favourite Wax Mannequin
on bass and popular CBC Radio 3
host Vish Khanna
on drums. Kom and Khanna also formed Wax Mannequin's backing band on the tour. The trio recorded a split 7" while in British Columbia, which was released in 2010.
From April to June 2010, The Burning Hell embarked on a large-scale European tour with fellow Canadian acts Shotgun Jimmie
and Construction & Destruction, playing over 60 concerts in Germany, Poland, Austria, Switzerland, Liechtenstein, the Czech Republic, Slovenia, Slovakia, Italy, France, Belgium, and Spain. That summer they played at the Dawson City Music Festival and Calgary Folk Festival. In the fall, the band returned as a trio to tour Germany, Poland, Latvia, Lithuania, Belarus, and Estonia.
In the winter of 2011 The Burning Hell recorded a new full-length album in St. John's, Newfoundland. The album, Flux Capacitor, was released on weewerk in May 2011. In addition, the band released two cassette tapes on Ticker Tapes, "Duets mit Germans," a collaboration with an array of Berlin-based songwriters that was recorded in the German capital in 2010, and "Saddle Sores," a collection of country songs.
In May, June, and July, the band embarked on another extensive European tour that saw them playing four concerts in four different countries (Germany, Switzerland, Austria, Liechtenstein) within 24 hours and adding Finland to the countries that the band has played in.
Peterborough, Ontario
Peterborough is a city on the Otonabee River in southern Ontario, Canada, 125 kilometres northeast of Toronto. The population of the City of Peterborough was 74,898 as of the 2006 census, while the census metropolitan area has a population of 121,428 as of a 2009 estimate. It presently ranks...
, Ontario
Ontario
Ontario is a province of Canada, located in east-central Canada. It is Canada's most populous province and second largest in total area. It is home to the nation's most populous city, Toronto, and the nation's capital, Ottawa....
, Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
, now based in St. John's, Newfoundland.
History
The Burning Hell is led by Mathias Kom and band members fluctuate with a rotating cast of up to fourteen other musicians. They are signed to the Toronto based weewerkWeewerk
Weewerk, stylized as ', is an independent folk, roots, bluegrass, country record label and artist-management company based in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It was founded in 2002 as an art-and-music salon series in the apartment of Teenage USA Recordings partner Phil Klygo and artist-curator Germaine Koh...
label and distributed by Outside Music
Outside Music
Outside Music is a Canadian record label and distributor, founded by Lloyd Nishimura in 1995. In 2007, it expanded to include an artist management division which counts Jill Barber, Matthew Barber, One Hundred Dollars and Sunparlour Players as management clients.Outside has released countless...
in Canada and Rough Trade Records
Rough Trade Records
Rough Trade Records is an independent record label based in London. It was formed in 1978 by Geoff Travis who had opened a record store off Ladbroke Grove...
in Germany and Austria. Both their second and third albums, Happy Birthday and Baby
Baby (The Burning Hell album)
Baby is the 2009 release from the Canadian indie band The Burning Hell, released on the Canadian independent record label weewerk in the spring of 2009.-Track listing:All songs by Mathias Kom#"Old World"#"Dancer/Romancer"...
, were produced by Andy Magoffin
Andy Magoffin
Joel Andrew Magoffin, best known as Andy Magoffin, is a Canadian musician and record producer. He is the songwriter, vocalist, and guitarist for the indie rock band Two-Minute Miracles and the bass guitarist for Raised by Swans....
at House of Miracles in London, Ontario
London, Ontario
London is a city in Southwestern Ontario, Canada, situated along the Quebec City – Windsor Corridor. The city has a population of 352,395, and the metropolitan area has a population of 457,720, according to the 2006 Canadian census; the metro population in 2009 was estimated at 489,274. The city...
.
Known for their strong live show and literate and humorous lyrics, Kom has been described by The Globe and Mail
The Globe and Mail
The Globe and Mail is a nationally distributed Canadian newspaper, based in Toronto and printed in six cities across the country. With a weekly readership of approximately 1 million, it is Canada's largest-circulation national newspaper and second-largest daily newspaper after the Toronto Star...
as Canada's "Randy Newman
Randy Newman
Randall Stuart "Randy" Newman is an American singer-songwriter, arranger, composer, and pianist who is known for his mordant pop songs and for film scores....
and Cole Porter
Cole Porter
Cole Albert Porter was an American composer and songwriter. Born to a wealthy family in Indiana, he defied the wishes of his domineering grandfather and took up music as a profession. Classically trained, he was drawn towards musical theatre...
rolled into one, with one eye on the coming apocalypse and another on the neck of his ukulele."
Frequent subject matter includes death, aging, children, dancing, things and conferences. Two songs are named after The Berlin Conference and the Bretton Woods
United Nations Monetary and Financial Conference
The United Nations Monetary and Financial Conference, commonly known as the Bretton Woods conference, was a gathering of 730 delegates from all 44 Allied nations at the Mount Washington Hotel, situated in Bretton Woods, New Hampshire, to regulate the international monetary and financial order after...
monetary and financial conference. The band also has a song about frequent tour mate Wax Mannequin
Wax Mannequin
Wax Mannequin is the stage name of Chris Adeney, a Canadian indie rock singer-songwriter. His style has been described as "a hybrid of Bruce Cockburn and Frank Zappa", "Tom Waits and Type O Negative jamming on the early Beatles catalogue",...
.
The Burning Hell were a finalist at the 2009 CBC Radio 3
CBC Radio 3
CBC Radio 3 is a radio station that consists of two parts devoted to Canadian arts and music: a radio service which is available on Sirius Satellite Radio and streaming audio, and several daily and weekly podcasts from the CBC Radio 3 website...
Bucky Awards for Best Lyrics.
In the spring of 2010 Kom toured western Canada with a version of the band that consisted of cult-favourite Wax Mannequin
Wax Mannequin
Wax Mannequin is the stage name of Chris Adeney, a Canadian indie rock singer-songwriter. His style has been described as "a hybrid of Bruce Cockburn and Frank Zappa", "Tom Waits and Type O Negative jamming on the early Beatles catalogue",...
on bass and popular CBC Radio 3
CBC Radio 3
CBC Radio 3 is a radio station that consists of two parts devoted to Canadian arts and music: a radio service which is available on Sirius Satellite Radio and streaming audio, and several daily and weekly podcasts from the CBC Radio 3 website...
host Vish Khanna
Vish Khanna
Vish Khanna is a Canadian musician, music journalist and radio personality, currently best known as the host of The Wrath of Khanna show on CBC Radio 3, his work as an Assistant Editor at Exclaim! Magazine, and as a contributor to Signal to Noise. Khanna was born in Kitchener and raised in nearby...
on drums. Kom and Khanna also formed Wax Mannequin's backing band on the tour. The trio recorded a split 7" while in British Columbia, which was released in 2010.
From April to June 2010, The Burning Hell embarked on a large-scale European tour with fellow Canadian acts Shotgun Jimmie
Shotgun Jimmie
Shotgun Jimmie is the stage name of Jim Kilpatrick, a Canadian singer-songwriter. Formerly associated with the band Shotgun & Jaybird, since that band's breakup he has released several albums as a solo artist....
and Construction & Destruction, playing over 60 concerts in Germany, Poland, Austria, Switzerland, Liechtenstein, the Czech Republic, Slovenia, Slovakia, Italy, France, Belgium, and Spain. That summer they played at the Dawson City Music Festival and Calgary Folk Festival. In the fall, the band returned as a trio to tour Germany, Poland, Latvia, Lithuania, Belarus, and Estonia.
In the winter of 2011 The Burning Hell recorded a new full-length album in St. John's, Newfoundland. The album, Flux Capacitor, was released on weewerk in May 2011. In addition, the band released two cassette tapes on Ticker Tapes, "Duets mit Germans," a collaboration with an array of Berlin-based songwriters that was recorded in the German capital in 2010, and "Saddle Sores," a collection of country songs.
In May, June, and July, the band embarked on another extensive European tour that saw them playing four concerts in four different countries (Germany, Switzerland, Austria, Liechtenstein) within 24 hours and adding Finland to the countries that the band has played in.
Singles and EPs
- "Grave Situation Part One" (2008) split 7" with Jenny OmnichordJenny OmnichordJenny Mitchell, better known by the stage name Jenny Omnichord, is a Canadian indie rock musician. She has released three solo albums and an EP as a solo artist, and also records and performs with the bands The Barmitzvah Brothers and The Burning Hell....
- "The Burning Hell and Construction & Destruction" (2009) split 7" with Construction & Destruction
- "Hear Some Evil" (2011) split 7" with Wax MannequinWax MannequinWax Mannequin is the stage name of Chris Adeney, a Canadian indie rock singer-songwriter. His style has been described as "a hybrid of Bruce Cockburn and Frank Zappa", "Tom Waits and Type O Negative jamming on the early Beatles catalogue",...
Albums
- Tick Tock (2006)
- Happy Birthday (2008)
- BabyBaby (The Burning Hell album)Baby is the 2009 release from the Canadian indie band The Burning Hell, released on the Canadian independent record label weewerk in the spring of 2009.-Track listing:All songs by Mathias Kom#"Old World"#"Dancer/Romancer"...
(2009) - This Charmed LifeThis Charmed Life (album)This Charmed Life was released by The Burning Hell in the spring of 2010. It is available only on LP at the band's live shows or as a digital download...
(2010) - Flux Capacitor (2011)
See also
- Music of CanadaMusic of CanadaThe music of Canada has influences that have shaped the country. Aboriginals, the British, and the French have all made unique contributions to the musical heritage of Canada. The music has subsequently been heavily influenced by American culture because of its proximity and migration between...
- Canadian rockCanadian rockCanadian rock describes a wide and diverse variety of music produced by Canadians, beginning with American style rock 'n' roll in the mid-20th century. Since then Canada has had a considerable impact on the development of the modern popular music called rock...
- List of bands from Canada
- List of Canadian musicians
- :Category:Canadian musical groups