Interview with Tyrants of Chaos

Jarod Smith

Aug 4, 2022

What got you into music, and if you had not gotten into music what would you be doing today?

I got into music at a very young age, as most do. I listened to early Maiden, Priest and Black Sabbath and realized it had a hold of me and all I wanted to do was air drum off the side of my waterbed as soon as I was home from school. Things haven’t changed much besides now I have drums and don’t need to air drum anymore. If I didn’t get into music, I’m not sure what I would be doing. Unfortunately, probably still working like I must anyways….. due to the fact music doesn’t pay all the bills.

What do you like to do when you are not playing music and how does that influence your creativity?

I enjoy spending time with my family and hanging out with friends when we aren’t busy playing music. The break from writing and playing gives you time to reflect on what other things are important to you. Another big thing I enjoy is watching other drummers on youtube and such and learning new techniques and drum patterns which help my creativity as a musician.

How long has your band been around?

Tyrants of Chaos has been around for quite a few years in different forms and members but as of 2019, the current lineup has been solid. The last two albums have really shown the growth of this band and the professionalism of the team.

Where are you based out of and how did that influence your music?

TOC is based out of Lethbridge, AB. You would think from being a city located in the biggest farm belt that we would be influenced by country but that is far from it. Metal music around the area is bigger than ever and is continuing to push the market and venues for airtime.

How did you come up with the name of your band and what does it mean to you?

Tyrants of Chaos – means to me…. crazy ‘meat and potato’ riffs and beats that flow into a ‘Chaos’ stew!!

Tell me about your most memorable shows.

Our band got to open up for Monster Truck at our local Whoop up days. Was a crazy night partying with those guys and was an awesome crowd that got to see it.
Another one was at Spitz stadium opening for Tom Cochrane, Rik Emmitt and Streetheart. That was a crazy big stage and was awesome meeting all the bands backstage and talking about music.

What is your favorite venue to play at, and do you have any places you want to play that you have not already?

There have been a few times that I have played on some big stages but one that sticks out is playing in front of 5000 people at the Lethbridge Enmax arena. We do have some local venues that are awesome to play because of the interaction of the fans.
Would love to play at some bigger festival stages someday when the world settles down and things get a little bit normal.

If you could play any show with any lineup, who would be on the ticket?

Iron Maiden without question.

What is some advice that you would give to someone who is just getting into playing in a band and some advice that you would give to your younger self?

One thing to remember is that you are in a band but that means you are on a team. Everyone has different opinions on things and all members must have an open mind to hear them. Some advice I wish I gave to my younger self is to have widened my playing ability more. Some guitar and piano playing never hurt any drummers in the long run.

If you could go back in time and give yourselves advice, what would it be?

I would have given the advice of not playing to one style of drumming but to widen your ability by listening to some jazz. It was a lot later that I started playing jazz, country and other forms of drumming which has improved my overall metal style. One other thing is keep up on the 40 drum rudiments…..that advice will never go away.

Of your songs which one means the most to you and why?

The song ‘Chaos Train’ from our second album means the most to me. Besides being a thumper of a song the lyrics grab me……..’riding the rails of the chaos train into oblivion’ everyone’s ride of life and then out!!!

Which songs are your favorite to play and which get requested the most?

My favorite song to play is ‘Slay the Hostages’ the groove and fierce double bass get me going every time. The recent video we shot for it speaks for itself. The most requested songs we do now are Chaos Train and our new radio hit Lucky Dog. Lucky Dog is going to be a big hit on our new album……it has an awesome groove and feels!!

What is the creative process for the band, and what inspires you to write your music?

The process of our band's creative process is to get together at the jam hall and riff out on some grooves and if something catches our ear, we do a quick recording and Arik usually has a structure written around that by the next practice. Then we form it into verse and chorus and of course guitar solos (HA)! Once we have the foundation for the song, we pass it on to Phil to come up with some lyrics (which he does very quickly). We all get inspired to write our music and songs all from that one riff or beat that feels like a TOC song!!

What kinds of messages do you like to get across in your music?

Are songs being from battle cries in the 1300’s to people struggling with depression and on to racing cars!!! Our message in our music is ‘things in life get you down but get the hell back up and grab the rails of this life and ride the Chaos train because it can be over before you know it’!!

Do you ever have disagreements in your band, and how do you get past them?

Our band is a tight group of good friends for the past 5 years. We have known everyone from other bands, and we have found an awesome brotherhood that is as tight as ever. Yes, there comes a time when disagreements happen, and we take it and discuss it as a whole, and things smooth out quickly. We aren’t a high school band and realize we are doing something special!!

What are your plans for the future, and do you have anything that you want to spotlight that is coming up?

Plans for TOC are to push our new album ‘Relentless Thirst for Power’ as much as we can in 2022 and strive for some big things in 2023 and beyond. The album release is on Aug 19th and can be found everywhere that Tyrants of Chaos has its grip on. Cheers and Beers!!!!

Music Video T.O.C. -