Acoustic Heavy Rockers Treading Zero Celebrates The Battle Well Fought On “Brittle”
There’s determination, and then there’s outright naïveté. Nobody could ever accuse Ontario’s “acoustic heavy rock” outfit Treading Zero of the latter; on their new single, “Brittle,” they put a tight bear hug on the former. And when they finally let go, what they’re left holding is a powerful affirmation of resilience and growth.
Making a sound as muscular as you can get on instruments that are acoustic with no distortion, the band forcefully advances the gospel that every setback is an opportunity for personal development, strength, and reflection. The toughness of spirit gets top marks in a number that takes us listeners on an emotional journey from feeling trapped and overwhelmed by life’s challenges to finding emancipation through self-discovery and perseverance. It’s a stirring paean to the universal human experience of overcoming adversity and emerging a hardier soul on the other side.
Yes, but what’s it about, specifically? Now that’s a little harder to pin down. Ask the band once, and they’ll tell you “Brittle” is “a personal testament to our own journey,” with words that synthesize the players’ shared experiences. Ask again, and they’ll say they drew direct inspiration from a close friend’s remarkable return from the brink of death. But that deliberate haziness is perfectly in keeping with the song’s craftily ambiguous lyrics, which forgo concrete scenarios and character I.D.s for imagery anyone who’s ever had to struggle can take to heart:
I’m sifting through this cold embrace
Coping with the pain inside
I’m breaking through the core, encased
Knowing there’s no place to hide
You rise from the fall
The starkly poetic sentiment benefits from the band’s stripped-down approach to arrangement, with singer Tony Nouragas’ hyper-dramatic vocals ricocheting over a repeated guitar figure that gradually imparts a state of true hypnosis. It’s perfect music for those who harbor fond memories of the acoustic Alice in Chains EPs (or just haven’t gotten over the absence of Days of the New).
The recording process amounted to its own study in “Where there’s a will, there’s a way.” The band tracked the various parts to “Brittle” in three different studios in Goderich, London, and St. Thomas before sending the entire package to Toronto for mixing and mastering. Jesse Vallee’s drums and Rob Butterwick’s guitars were recorded at Beach Road Studios in Goderich by longtime band friend and collaborator Siegfried Meier, in a large tracking room overlooking the stunning Lake Huron sunsets. Brandon Sennema’s bass lines were captured in London by another old friend, producer/engineer Aaron Murray (who also helped assemble secondary guitar takes from the Goderich session). Finally, Nouragas laid down his vocals for recordist Chris Costa at Conjure Recording Studio in St. Thomas (where some more secondary guitar parts were also added).
The track was mixed in Toronto by Ian Bodzasi (Katy Perry, Sam Roberts, The Tea Party) and mastered by João Carvalho (Alexis on Fire, Protest the Hero, Sloan), the latter of whom has done the mastering on every one of Treading Zero’s recordings.
It fell to guitarist Butterwick to oversee the various stages of production, relying on the organizational skills he’s honed in his full-time job as an advertising producer/multimedia specialist to corral and coordinate the various studios and engineers.
Fortunately, the members of Treading Zero will have no trouble being in one place at one time when they play a quartet of upcoming shows, each of them absolutely free to attend:
July 5: London, ON – Palasad Socialbowl (with Abandoned Souls and Crowning Kings)
July 27: London, ON – FitzRay’s (with Jupiter Hollow)
Aug. 16: St. Thomas, ON – Railway City Music Festival, Pinafore Park
The Beachfest appearance is a “battle of the bands” affair in which Treading Zero is an invited finalist, vying for the honor to headline the Canada Day Stage on July 1. The group has been positively awash in such honors recently: On May 26, they performed at Collective Arts Brewing in Hamilton, ON, as a finalist in the It’s Your Festival New Music Expo Challenge. And they were also a finalist in the recent Forest City London Music Awards, in the fan category of Favourite Artist. Seems this “overcoming hardship” business is awfully popular with the public and the powers that be alike. Stay strong, fellas. It looks good on you.
Hi Rob! Care to introduce yourself to the readers?
I’m Rob Butterwick the guitarist in Treading Zero an Acoustic Heavy Rock band from London Ontario.
Can you describe the process of making such a powerful sound using only acoustic instruments with no distortion?
Using an acoustic guitar feels more primal and raw, especially without a massive wall of distortion. Our current songs are written in drop tunings, including drop C, which is quite unusual for an acoustic guitar. This tuning gives our music a thicker, deeper sound that stands out. I focus on the potency and energy of my riffs, aiming to create compositions that are dynamic, memorable, and unique.
When creating a new song, my main goal is to bring something that will inspire the rest of the band. The band is the litmus test; if everyone is excited, we know we have something special to work with. Each of us writes our own parts, but we work as a team to serve the song. By staying honest and humble during the process, we’ve created a space where we can freely explore ideas and develop songs together, ensuring that we’re all passionate about the final product.
It’s this passion for creating original music that unites us, but we’re more than bandmates; we’ve become like family. Outside of jamming, we’ve built strong friendships over the years. This tight bond brings authenticity to our music, as our songs reflect the good times and hardships that we all go through. Tony is really good at crafting his lyrics in such a way that makes the listener see their own experiences reflected in the song. All of this combined with the musical talent we each bring to the table, creates a powerful sound that is uniquely Treading Zero.
You mention that the song is a personal testament to your own journey. Can you share more about the specific experiences that influenced its creation?
Our latest single “Brittle” delves into themes of personal struggle, inner turmoil, and resilience. Tony’s lyrics really say it best “You rise from the fall. You’ve grown from it all”. The guitar composition draws direct inspiration from a close friend’s remarkable recovery from the brink of death. Despite hardships and emotional struggles with this song, we wanted to convey a sense of hope and transformation, exploring the complexities of human emotions and the process of overcoming difficult circumstances to emerge stronger and more self-aware.
How do you think your music, particularly “Brittle,” resonates with audiences who have faced their own struggles and adversities?
It seems like they are really connecting with it because we see a lot of people in the audience getting lost in the song, and we have had more than a few people approach us now, letting us know how they related, sharing their own personal stories of overcoming hardships. Some people have also been expressing how it brought them to tears, so that’s pretty crazy to hear. We really enjoy connecting with the people who are into our music, and it’s really cool when our songs resonate in a deeper way like this one does for some people.
What can fans expect from your upcoming shows, and how do you plan to translate the intensity and emotion of “Brittle” to a live performance setting?
We put on a high-energy show from front to back that brings our audience along on a journey, much like watching a good movie. From heavy-hitting thrashing songs like “A Thrall to a Fallen Empire”, our softer, more introspective uplifting song “Brittle”, to an arena rock ballad, “Critical Epiphany” that makes you want to throw up your fist and sing, really want to make sure by the end of the set we’ve created a memorable experience where Treading Zero and our original heavy acoustic rock sound stands out from our “plugged-In” contemporaries. We don’t just want you to hear our music, we want you to feel it.