The Red River Riot – Five Questions With

Jenna Melanson·February 22, 2023

Red River Riot

The Red River Riot shares their single, “New Shackles”

The Red River Riot, the acclaimed rock duo, has unveiled its new music video and single, “New Shackles.”

The Acton, ON-based duo have been sharing their adventurous brand of rock for years, delivering powerful performances and boundless energy to stunned audiences. And now, the band has released their latest adventure, “New Shackles,” to the world.

“New Shackles” showcases a band taking 80’s Canadian Rock and subverting it with psychedelic ideas and Herculean 8-string guitars. It is a powerhouse of heavy rock with ornate intricacies that will appease any hard-rock/heavy metal lover. With its deceptive summer-chord riffs, gargantuan drums, and soaring vocals, “New Shackles” perfectly represents a band happy in transition; going from dirty arena rock to somewhere more esoteric and intriguing.

The music video for “New Shackles” is a cinematic feast, depicting the tragic story of one’s unfortunate actions fueled by hatred.

Watch the video for “New Shackles” below and learn more about The Red River Riot via our Five Questions With segment.

Care to introduce yourself to our readers?

Dear reader, I am Chris Krupey, the guitarist/singer for The Red River Riot. We are a band from the hill village of Acton, Ontario. The band is comprised of myself and Joe Field on drums. We have released two albums and seven singles over the past few years. Available on all streaming platforms.
I would say our musical canvas is heavy rock painted with brushes of goth, 60’s pop, and punk. It’s dirty with heavily layered production.

We are currently working on our third album, which is due out sometime in 2023.

Tell us a bit about your most recent release.

“New Shackles” is our seventh single and has a concept video that goes along with it. The song’s theme seems to be about how hatred can consume you, whether it’s self-hatred or the addiction to outrage.

Musically, the song is inspired by the sound of Canadian rock from 1984: Artists like Kim Mitchell and Honeymoon Suite with big open chords and vocal harmonies. It is someone’s nostalgia projected through a much darker lens.

It was the first time we used an 8-string guitar for the writing process, creating a sense of space and uncertainty. An 8-string has its own set of biases and tropes that we wanted to avoid, and thankfully it gave the song a nuanced psychedelic direction.

2022 was a year where we involuntarily went from a trio to a duo. It became a productive time of navel-gazing and yelling at the sky for our misfortune. Joe (drummer) selected “New Shackles” as the single to push ourselves forward, and it is the injection of enthusiasm we needed for the band’s future.

Where do you tend to pull inspiration from when writing?

These days, I’m fortunate that I don’t have to seek or pull inspiration. Usually, one idea inspires the creation of another idea. I try to stay out of my own way, not judge the ideas, and put them down as quickly as possible. Writing is a process, a joyful moment of clarity and therapy. The end product is secondary.

Because of this, I would say this band suffers from an embarrassment of riches when it comes to the number of songs we have. While we are working on our third record, we are also planning albums 4 and 5.

I used to be that artist who believed one had to endure untold suffering to produce a worthwhile statement for an audience sold on the same romantic fallacy. It’s a centuries-old marketing gimmick that has become a ubiquitous archetype which gatekeepers irresponsibly promote to this day.

Do you have any upcoming shows you’d like to tell us about?

Currently no. We decided after the bassist left to focus on producing higher-quality music in the studio. Not suggesting our previous efforts were subpar, but it is time we move to another phase.

Ideally, we’d like to be a trio again and play live, but we haven’t found the right person for the job yet. If there are any bassists out there who can sing, feel free to reach out to us.