REALITY DENIED

PHOTO CREDIT: HANS (@analogdigitalobscurity)

1. Would you please introduce yourself and what you do in the band?

Yo! My name's Matt, I play drums in Reality Denied. Thanks for having me.

2. Can you provide us with a little context about the band such as where you’re from, how you knew each other, and how you formed?

These days we're spread out over a few regions in Southern Ontario but the band is based out of the Niagara/St. Catharines area.

Me and our singer Conner go way back, we met in 9th grade and have been in bands together for almost half our lives now. Our old band in high school fell apart weeks after graduation. At the age when most kids in our hometown piss off to college to find their place in the system, all we really wanted to do was keep making mosh music, as corny as that sounds haha. Everything else felt kinda secondary to that. Which is kinda funny looking back cuz we definitely weren’t necessarily that good at it back then. But regardless we formed RD in 2018/2019 along with our bassist Andy B, who fronts a band called Sunnycide (underrated af, FFO old Code Orange). There weren't many younger bands around when we were coming up in the 2010s so naturally those guys have always been brothers to us.

Our guitarists Andy D and Dillon joined RD in 2022 and together we completed writing ...Comes With A Price shortly thereafter. I had known D for a number of years through the more punk-adjacent side of the scene. I played in his band Deck Piss for a little while during the pandemic, which is where I met Dill. RD needed a guitarist so I asked D and he told me only if Dill can join too. We ended up being lucky enough to round out the lineup with two absolute units on guitar.

3. What about your personal hardcore origin story? What attracted you to the genre and made you not just love the music but feel like you had to make it yourself?

I was fortunate to find hardcore at a young age and it was pretty much the only constant through all my formative years. My first “core” gig was Alexisonfire's supposed “final” show with Moneen when I was 13. Most of Alexis is from St. Catharines so that was a cool thing for my young self to be exposed to. Following that, I dove headfirst into local punk/hardcore/metal shows in St. Catharines and never really looked back. Through my teen years I’d try to hit any show of any sort of alternative nature, just to take it all in. Saw a lot of garbage (and still do) haha. Started hitting gigs in Toronto pretty often in high school. Warped 2013 and Life and Death tour 2015 are some core memories early on. Finding a band and learning they're from my neck of the woods or that they would even play around here was so cool to me. As a kid, the music world was something that seemed far away, something that only really existed in big cities on big stages with big platforms. I remember finding more underground bands and being excited that stuff like that was so accessible – independent from the big business stuff on the radio/TV or in the record stores at the mall, and often with more substance, authenticity and character than what I had been exposed to. I happened to already be taking drum lessons from a neighbour for a couple years by this time (shoutout Marshall), so when I found my love for underground music I just felt compelled to pursue that and make my own contributions. My/Conner’s first HC band played our first gig in grade 10 and the rest is history I guess haha.

4. Who would you say are some of the band’s primary influences? Are there any personal ones that may be significant that might differ from the band or not be connected to hardcore?

RD draws inspiration from heavy hc bands like No Victory, God’s Hate, No Zodiac, Weekend Nachos, 100 Demons, Unit 731, Three Knee Deep etc., but we all come from pretty different and diverse backgrounds. Dill's big into Megadeth, power metal, and jazz fusion stuff. Conner’s into everything from Cocksparrer to Dismember. I’m all over the place from Gojira to New York Hounds to Bryan Adams and Madonna haha. We all share a common love for older rock n roll. GNR, Van Halen, CCR, Motorhead, Rush, ZZ Top, Kiss, Skid Row. I feel like a lot of these influences make subtle appearances in our sound, performance, and ethos.

5. How has your sound evolved from the beginning to now?

I'd like to say our sound has become more focused and mature over the years. More dialed in on writing actual songs instead of just mosh parts and riff salad. Used to just want people to mosh but now I think we want give people a bit more to chew on, on top of that.

6. What have been some of the highlights of the band’s existence so far?

Madball run 2025 + Freddy donning an RD shirt at the Toronto gig. Southwest USA tour 2026 with Load tha Nine, specifically the belligerent San Bernardino gig and playing the iconic Midnight Hour in San Fernando. Halloween Texas run 2024 with Sanity Slip. Joe's backyard in Corpus Christi. Bringing Sworn Enemy to Niagara.

7. What’s coming up for/from the band that we should be keeping an eye out for?

Playing a couple shows in New England at the end of July with Satiate. Hamilton in September with Counterparts. Expect a new record soon enough but no official release date yet. Lots more shows once that's out.

8. Who are some of the major players in your scene we should be aware of and following?

Windoc, Last Retch, Mile End, Gods Last Wish, Sold Short, Weakness, Blood Wraith, Ethereal Tomb, 100% Pure, BFD.

9. Who are your Big Four of Canadian Hardcore?

Damn, tough one. If we're talking bands with the biggest impact, I’d have to say No Warning, Cursed, Comeback Kid, and Alexisonfire. I'd be remiss if I didn't give a nod to some OG's though - SNFU, Teenage Head, DOA.

10. Thanks for taking the time to answer my questions. Any last words for the readers?

Drop out of school, start a band, mosh for yourself not the camera. Thanks for having me chop it up Jacob, this was fun.