Ottawa’s Ritual nightclub was literally shaking as Canadian electro-hardcore band, Abandon All Ships took the stage in front of hundreds of fans Sept. 11.
Toronto-based Abandon All Ships consists of Angelo Aita, Martin Broda, Sebastian Cassisi-Nunez, Daniel Ciccotelli, and Chris Taylor.
The band performed a 40-minute set at Ritual nightclub along with bands We Came As Romans, Skip The Foreplay, and Ice Nine Kills.
The band created a carefree environment while performing. Aita got his fans to put their middle fingers up in the air, fist pump and sing along to their lyrics “We don’t give a fuck/we just came to party,” off their 2010 track “Geeving.”
The crowd of hundreds danced and sang along to Broda’s singing as well as ran into each other and jumped to Aita’s screaming.
Abandon All Ships released their first album Geeving in 2010 and since then have toured across Canada, the United States, Europe and have even won themselves a MuchMusic Award for MuchLOUD Rock Video of the Year. Their newest album Infamous was released this past July.
The band redefined their sound with the release of Infamous. “[Infamous] is more hip hop influenced, production wise,”Aita said.
The response to Infamous and the band’s different aesthetic has been mixed.
“There are always people who dislike things, but it’s doing really well. We’re really happy with it, “ he added.
“People seem not to like the whole idea of creating more new in a decently new genre and it’s obviously like anything, when you do something innovative, most people are skeptical about it. But people have been taking [Infamous] really well,” Aita said.
Although some fans have been somewhat skeptical about Abandon All Ships’ new sound, Aita says the band wants to continue in this direction.
“I’d love to work with more hip-hop artists. We’re definitely going to go in the direction of more commercial hardcore. It’s cool,” Aita said.
The band is currently doing a cross-Canada and US tour and will be doing VIP meet-and-greets with their fans on the US portion of the tour, which is something Aita says is important for the band to do.
“I think it’s important for [the fans] to meet us to see that we’re not some fake vision that they probably see us as considering our reputation. It’s good for them to see that we’re nice, cool dudes.”
Although the band is not doing VIP meet and greets on the Canadian portion of the tour, they always take time before and after the show to talk, sign autographs and take pictures with their fans.
Despite the constant criticism the band faces, Abandon All Ships’ success is rising progressively.
“We’re all really happy,” Aita said. “The future looks promising.”
