FIVE QUESTIONS WITH NICK SEWELL OF BIBLICAL
TORONTO'S Biblical play Bovine Sex Club January 6th
Legendary Toronto band Biblical Return to Bovine Sex Club with USA Out of Vietnam and Cigar Club
BIBLICAL BIO
Formed in Toronto, Canada during the spring of 2010, BIBLICAL is the roar of mountains splitting and oceans parting.
In 2011 BIBLICAL released a self-titled EP that delighted rock fans with a blast of tense garage metal, steeped in minor-key twang. POP MATTERS called the release “a grand debut”, while stoner aficionados THE OBELISK praised the band’s sound, noting “BIBLICAL‘s swagger is definitely their own.”
In 2014, the group released their full-length debut MONSOON SEASON. Lauded by PITCHFORK as a “climactic, Red Sea-parting surge of narcotic guitar noise”, MONSOON SEASON earned critical acclaim from both metal and indie outlets alike. METAL SUCKS pegged the album as “an early contender for year-end-list honors”, while KEXP SEATTLE praised the band as “apocalyptic rock and roll, worthy of the lasting canon.”
2017 saw BIBLICAL release their second full-length THE CITY THAT ALWAYS SLEEPS. The product of almost 2 years in the studio, the album was BIBLICAL at its weapons-grade best, leveraging rhythm, dynamics and atmosphere to explosive effect. ALL MUSIC GUIDE selected the release as an Editor’s Choice, saying “the eight-track set delivers both atmosphere and power”. THE OBELISK also came away impressed, calling it “bold in reach and tightly executed. There isn’t a moment here that doesn’t brim with the fullness of its realization.” METAL HAMMER agreed, calling the album “an utterly hypnotic voyage” that lacked “neither vision nor ambition”.
BIBLICAL is now in-studio, completing their third LP.
FIVE QUESTIONS WITH NICK SEWELL OF BIBLICAL
NICK SEWELL OF BIBLICAL
WHEN AND WHERE WAS BIBLICAL FORMED?
We originally started getting together to make noise in the fall of 2009 here in Toronto, although we wouldn’t actually name the project until the following spring. At the time, we had all been playing together for a series of parties called Lovin’ In The Name Of. It was a regular group of players in the band with rotating guest singers, of which I was one. One night Jay asked me if I wanted to get together and make some noise.
WHAT WAS THE FIRST CONCERT YOU WENT TO?
The first major concert that I got to see was the Jackson 5 Victory Tour at Exhibition Stadium in 1984. My Dad worked at the Globe and Mail at the time and one of the music journalists gave him tickets. It was October, so it was super cold. And the seats were metal!
WHAT WAS YOUR FIRST “BIG SHOW”? OR YOUR FIRST SHOW EVER?
We actually hit the ground running with this band. Our first show was opening for Danko Jones at the Mod Club. Having played in a bunch of different bands over the years, there was a lot of support for Biblical right out of the gate. Maybe a month or so later, we played the Mod Club again, with Fucked Up.
WHAT WAS YOUR WORST SHOW OR FUNNIEST SHOW MEMORY?
I’m not sure this is the worst or the best show story, but certainly super memorable. In 2013, we played the Sled Island festival in Calgary. We flew in on the Thursday to play with Torch. We had a couple more shows scheduled too. We played the Torch show, but by Friday morning the whole downtown had flooded after an unusual amount of rainfall swamped the rivers that surround the city. The whole festival got shut down, as did the airport, so no one could leave. All the bands (that had arrived on Thursday) were staying at the Fairmont downtown. So we had this bizarre outpost of musicians in the middle of a deserted city. It was a state of emergency and just blocks from the hotel, the streets were filled with water and floating cars. It really was a surreal experience. But we eventually got moved to a different hotel that had power and we cobbled together some pickup shows at restaurants and such outside of the affected area.
WHAT’S NEXT FOR YOUR BAND?
We’re hard at work on our 3rd LP. We’re very excited to share it with everyone and we’ll be including some tunes from it on the upcoming run of shows.