Carbondale drummer Carl Canedy unleashes solo album ‘Warrior’ with new Scranton band
From a press release:
Following the news last month that classic heavy metal band The Rods changed their lineup and are working on a new album, founding drummer Carl Canedy released a new solo album this month featuring fellow musicians from Northeastern Pennsylvania.
The respected drummer and producer from Carbondale debuted “Warrior” digitally on Friday, May 8, with CD and vinyl versions coming on Aug. 7 via Sleaszy Rider Records. Simply called Canedy, the rest of the band is comprised of members of former Scranton hard rock band Totally Lost Cause – lead vocalist Mike Santarsiero (who now sings for The Rods), guitarist and synth player Charles Russello (also known for the Russello Project), and bassist, cellist, and vocalist Tony Garuba, who also plays in the Jeffrey James Band with Canedy.
As the title track and first music video shows, the quartet specializes in a decidedly vintage metal sound with a modern approach, which was on full display in their debut performance headlining the 2019 Blues on the Bridge in Binghamton, New York.
“I had been looking for musicians who lived close to me and who were interested in writing original material,” Canedy said.
“After my first Canedy album, I wanted my next project to be a true band effort. Tony asked me if I would do a TV show with him and his former band TLC. I did the TV show with them, and we all worked so well together we decided to write and record an album. I couldn’t have asked to work with more talented guys. Tony, Mike, and Charlie are all great songwriters and musicians.”
“The beginnings of this project was a drummer bailout on a TV appearance,” Garuba added.
“I had been playing with Carl in a party/wedding band and he graciously bailed us out; hearing Carl’s take on what we were doing planted the seed of things to come. With Carl in the fold, it freed us up to let our imaginations run wild – Mike’s vocals have never been better, and Charlie’s guitar playing transforms the ordinary into extraordinary. What’s exciting is this project was very organic – whoever’s the main songwriter, the rest of the band chips in.”
Streaming below, “Warrior” features 10 new tracks, and each one tells a story.
01. “Do It Now” is an autobiographical cautionary tale about workaholics with children.
02. “Not Even Love” is a dark tale of an artist who might be willing to give up everything he has, family included, to return to his past life again.
03. “Lies” is the admonition of people who suspect that their beliefs defy logic and scientific fact but still selfishly cling to those beliefs, much to the detriment of society at large.
04. “Hellride” is about God’s most formidable angel battling Satan in hell, with vocals by Garuba.
05. “Warrior” is a story about the abandonment of, and the triumphant return to, the type of songs they love to write.
06. “3rd Time’s a Charm” is a story of a young man and his trials and tribulations with love.
07. “Out for Blood” is a societal statement.
08. “In This Sign” is the story of Roman Emperor Constantine the Great and Rome embracing Christianity.
09. “The Prize” encourages listeners to never give up on their dreams and aspirations. In time, people may find a way to make things happen.
10. “Attia” is about the doomed love of Atia, mother of Roman Emperor Augustus, and Mark Antony.
“We are very excited to sign Canedy and to release their upcoming masterpiece, ‘Warrior,’” said Tolis G. Palantzas, owner and managing director of Sleaszy Rider Records in Greece.
“Carl Canedy is a talented musician (drummer of The Rods), a great and well-known producer (Anthrax, Overkill, Blue Cheer, Possessed, etc.), and a cool, easygoing guy above all. We have a very good experience working with him in the past, releasing the 2016 album by American hard rockers St. James, where Carl played the drums. As we are often in touch with Carl, it became a mutual interest to collaborate and to release ‘Warrior,’ a pure heavy metal album that I loved from its first tunes! The album has a massive sound and production – it’s heavy, it’s epic, it’s catchy, melodic, powerful, and I’m sure that all metal fans will love it the same as we did. The artwork of Eric Philippe is wonderful, and I imagine now how beautiful it will appear on the final vinyl and CD editions we will print! We can’t wait till the 7th of August release date of ‘Warrior!’”
“Having worked with Tolis and Sleaszy Rider records on the St. James re-releases, I knew signing with them we would be working with a person and label of integrity,” Canedy enthused.
“Although there were several labels interested in the band, we felt Tolis and Sleaszy Rider to be the best label for the Canedy ‘Warrior’ album.”
Canedy’s name is long-familiar to metalheads worldwide as the drummer of The Rods, who were signed to Arista Records and released classic albums like “The Rods,” “Wild Dogs,” “In the Raw,” and “Let Them Eat Metal” while touring with the likes of Metallica, Judas Priest, Iron Maiden, Ozzy Osbourne, and Motorhead in the 1980s. The band parted ways in 1986 and didn’t reunite until 2008, releasing a comeback record, “Vengeance,” in 2011 and a follow-up, “Brotherhood of Metal,” last year. Santarsiero has since taken over vocal duties on their next album, “Shockwave,” due out in 2021.
Canedy was also a brief early drummer of Manowar, but he is better known as a producer of seminal albums by Anthrax (“Fistful of Metal,” “Armed and Dangerous,” and “Spreading the Disease”), Overkill (“Feel the Fire”), Exciter (“Violence & Force”), Possessed (“Beyond the Gates”), and Blue Cheer (“The Beast Is Back”), which helped him earn a Lifetime Achievement Award at the 2019 Steamtown Music Awards in Scranton.
Now, Canedy is putting both his production and artistic talents to good use on “Warrior.” The album was mixed by Chris Collier, who previously mixed albums for Korn, Prong, and Last in Line.
“I am really proud of this album and the fact that we can do these songs justice live,” Canedy said.
“I’m looking forward to people hearing the album and catching a live performance. I’m thrilled to be part of a band that is as strong live as it is in the studio!”
See NEPA Scene’s full review and photos of the band’s first concert last year here.
