Hail The Villain spreads evil to Windsor
By Lindsey Rivait
Arts Editor
January 30, 2008
 Hail The Villain has been compared to Billy Talent, Disturbed, and Rise Against, but the four-piece from Oshawa, ON are so much more. Fuelled by an intense stage presence along with a true team dynamic and songs that will haunt you, Hail The Villain proves to be one of the most unique and innovative bands to come out of Ontario in a long time.
The band, consisting of vocalist Bryan Crouch, guitarist Joseph Stamp, bassist Chad Taylor, and drummer Drew Dockrill, were first known as Fahrenheit. The name change to Hail The Villain came suddenly while the band was in Vancouver preparing for a radio interview. “We had to change the name right before the interview that day,” recalls Crouch. “Hail The Villain” was the first name that Crouch brought up and the one the band ended up sticking with. “It suits the direction we were going,” says Crouch. “[Fahrenheit] wasn’t suiting the evilness we were trying to get across.”
Their first album Population: Declining is already out, leaving the Oshawa boys with a pretty big project ahead of them. Hail The Villain is currently working on an animated movie to go along with their album. “We wanted to do something like Pink Floyd’s The Wall,” says Crouch. “Now that we’re in talks to sign a major record deal, it’s going to happen. We knew that going into this, so we wanted a name to follow a comic book theme,” explains Crouch, who cites the story line of their movie similar to the feel of The Crow.
While Crouch won’t name the major company they’re negotiating with, he does mention that the company wants to remix and re-release Population: Declining before releasing a newer album. “We’ll tour for a year and a half to two years. There will be the DVD, which will also be part of the live show. It’ll be massive like Pink Floyd’s The Wall. We will give people something to look at. We’ll also release a live DVD of us playing along with the movie.”
As for their musical influences, Crouch states that the band “pulls from everything we hear.” Each member is inspired by different aspects of a band. For example, Crouch looks to other successful front men. “I’d look at Axl Rose or Steven Tyler, people who put on a show more than anything else,” explains Crouch. “We want to captivate a crowd.”
Hail The Villain has had a solid career so far, sharing the stage with some big names like Billy Talent and Hedley as well as teaming up with esteemed record producer, Gavin Brown.
“A few months into being a band, Gavin Brown approached us and we started working with him. He trained us how to write a song and helped us make the big leap from being amateur to becoming pro.”
That’s not to say that everything has been smooth sailing for the band. Recording Population: Declining was quite an experience. “Me and Drew were mugged,” says Crouch. “Drew and I were walking back [to the studio] from McDonalds and this guy stuck a knife to Drew’s neck,” he explains. Luckily, Drew was left with only a mark on his neck and the thief escaped with $5. “The police thought we were someone famous in the studio, so they flooded the area to find him,” laughs Crouch. The incident went on to fuel the fire for their album.
Besides having an amazing stage presence, Hail The Villain also has a great team dynamic. When writing songs, the band collectively goes with the best idea, no matter whose it is. “We don’t settle. We want what sounds, feels, and looks right,” says Crouch. “Darryl Romphf, our producer, is one of the best I’ve seen. He sat down with me and broke down what was in my head and showed me the right way to write a song.”
Crouch’s favourite song to play live is “16 Cradles.”“When it changes at the end of the song and we go into the part that sounds like KISS’s ‘Detroit Rock City,’ I think it really excites the crowd. The crowd goes a bit nuts.”
As for what the future holds for Hail The Villain: “The DVD is something we talked about a lot. The rest of the stuff is under wraps. We know we have a lot more in our heads that we’re planning on doing.”
For more information about Hail The Villain, visit them online at http://www.myspace.com/hailthevillain. Catch Hail The Villain at The Basement Pub on February 9.
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