Chase the Grey – Canadian Metalcore on the Rise

Coming from Calgary, Alberta, Chase the Grey brings a metalcore and hard rock sound to audiences. The band formed in 2010 when John Saffrey got into the scene by writing songs on his own and getting friends around him to help bring them from page to sound.

After a lot of line-up changes and some name changes, the band reformed with different members and settled on the name Chase the Grey in 2014. Currently, Saffrey is the lead singer, guitarist and lyricist, with Conrad Heavyshields on guitar and backing vocals, Hunter MacFarlane on drums, and Marcus Hume on bass.

According to Saffrey one of the main challenges in the creation of Chase The Grey was getting a name that wasn’t yet taken. The band went through “about 20 names in one month” trying to find one that wasn’t yet taken. Luckily, Chase The Grey is his favorite of the names they came up with.

Another challenge was in finding a stable line up for the band. Saffrey noted it was like Foo Fighters documentary, Back and Forth when Dave Grohl mentions how their band went through several members before settling down on a solid group. Some other hurdles Chase The Grey has dealt with were getting constant shows booked, and wanting to practice as often as possible without rushing any of their work.

“Basically, all the typical band roadblocks, like keeping a solid lineup for a long period of time, and getting a finished product we’re completely happy with,” he said. “There’s obviously everyday stuff that everyone has to deal with, too, like money and work and all that fun stuff.”

As the main lyricist of the band, Saffrey gets his inspiration from “real life extremes” — little things in life blown out of proportion, and from the personal relationships with people around him.

“I’ve written all the material so far,” he said. “It’s basically just real life experiences from relationships and everyday life pushed to an extreme level of exaggeration. Some things can be quite literal, but for the most part it’s all just exaggerated real experiences.”

Saffrey and the band’s musical influences include Led Zeppelin, Black Sabbath, Avenged Sevenfold, Bullet For My Valentine, and Protest The Hero. In addition, around the time Saffrey was 13, Green Day’s American Idiot got him started playing guitar and writing songs.

As for touring, Chase The Grey hopes to go out on the road later this year. Their original plan to do a summer tour was delayed because of production on their debut EP. Despite the hiccup, Saffrey says the band will probably do a “couple of little runs at the end of the year.”

With their shows, Saffrey said audiences can expect a “good high energy rock-metal show”. People enjoy their shows primarily because Chase the Grey doesn’t use “crutches like backing tracks” — aside from the intro track that plays when they walk on stage, of course.

“We’ve got a bit more of an old school attitude when it comes to being in a band,” he said. “No backing tracks live, just lots of energy.”

Another aspect the band relies on to stand out from other up-and-coming acts is the overall strength of the songs they write.

“When it comes to the studio, we make sure what we write is something we’d listen to on a daily basis, and extreme attention to detail in our songs,” Saffrey said. “I do a lot of rewriting and demoing to make sure everything is exactly where it needs to be before we hit record for real.”

An example Saffrey cited to show the endurance of their work is a song they currently have out now. Their first song, “Forget The Sorries,” was originally a project for a final in music school that they had to record, produce and send out for mastering.

Though it has caused some delays, the band stands by their desire to “get it right” and not be “half-assing any of their work.”

In terms of the future, Chase the Grey hopes to have a music video out sometime in the early fall. Their biggest goal for the rest of the year is to get the EP out and go touring. According to Saffrey, so far there has been a lot of background work and they all are “excited to get out” and play for people.

“We’re just hoping to get this EP finally ready to go and sounding exactly how it should,” he said. “Once that’s taken care of, we just want as many shows and tours as we can handle.

“We’re really fortunate living where we do and being surrounded by some of the most gorgeous scenery on the planet in the Rockies, so we’ll be doing some cool stuff out there.”

Originally published on Metal At the Gates, a former metal and hard rock music webzine.