Sandveiss Introduces New Album, Standing in the Fire With Two Powerful Singles “I’ll Be Rising” And “No Love Here”
Sandveiss is a heavy rock band from Quebec City that came to life in 2011. Their music is heavy yet also melodic. On a songwriting level, they like to go to “different places” on the same album, and each time pushing things a little further towards new directions while staying true to what they really are. This is exemplified on the first two singles off their upcoming album “Standing in the Fire”, which comes out on October 11, 2024, from Folivora Records. The singles “I’ll Be Rising” and “No Love Here” paint a juxtaposed image of the band, Vocalist/guitarist Luc Bourgeois comments on the latter:
“I guess that the song “No Love Here” isn’t a typical single due to its longer and unconventional structure, but we wanted to release singles that represent different moods of the album. This track clearly demonstrates the band’s prog-rock influences, both in its musical arrangements and in its sounds and textures. Regarding the lyrics, I rarely write about light subjects, and this one is no exception: I wrote it as a reaction to the alarming and horrific rise in domestic violence and femicide, especially during the pandemic. Not one more.”
“No Love Here” is the most prog-rock song on the record. The longest one, the more “developed” and unpredictable in terms of structure and sound.
“I’ll Be Rising” uses a blend of heavy riffing, melodic parts, and somewhat unusual time signatures for the band. It gives the song a proggier feel but still has a lot of their more “usual elements”. A good balance between what they’ve always been and what’s new. Lyrically, it’s a song about resilience, justice, and empowerment from the perspective of a survivor of rape and abuse. Anxiety, shame, depression, and the fear of not being believed.
Sandveiss likes to guide the listener through different kinds of emotions on the same album while of course trying to maintain a certain level of coherence and continuity. A bit like different chapters of the same book. Even the singles were chosen to demonstrate different sides of the album and different moods. It is recommended for fans of Black Sabbath, Mastodon, and The Sword.
Pre-order Standing In The Fire, here.
First off, care to introduce yourself to our readers?
We are SANDVEISS, a Heavy Rock band from Quebec City, formed in 2011. Our music combines heaviness with melody, drawing influences from Black Sabbath, Kyuss, Tool, and Mastodon. We released our debut album, Scream Queen, in 2013, which won “Heavy Album of the Year” at the GAMIQ Awards in 2015. In 2016, we followed up with the 7” EP Save Us All and toured Sweden, performing at the “Live at Heart” festival. After a successful writing period, we returned in 2019 with our second full album, Saboteur, and released Sandveiss Bloody Sandveiss, a tribute to Black Sabbath, in 2020.
Our lineup includes Luc Bourgeois (lead vocals, guitar), Shawn Rice (backing vocals, guitar), Maxime Moisan (bass), and Dominic Gaumond (drums).
Tell us a bit about your recent release
Standing in the Fire is our third full-length album. It’s funny because its release date is exactly five years after our second album, Saboteur. On this album, we wanted to explore different musical directions while staying true to who we are. We aimed to guide the listener through various emotions, keeping a sense of continuity—like different chapters of the same book. Even the singles were chosen to highlight the album’s diverse moods. Our inspirations range from Black Sabbath to Mastodon, depending on the song.
Technically, we sought to create a more textured, airy, and lively sound. To achieve this, we worked with Karl Daniel Lidén, known for his work with Dozer, Greenleaf, Lowrider, The Ocean Collective, and Katatonia, who helped bring our vision to life.
How do you typically go about the songwriting process? Do you have a specific method or creative routine that you follow?
As for our general writing process, it really varies. Sometimes Luc or Shawn (guitar) will bring a few riffs to a rehearsal, and we’ll jam them out together, throw around ideas, and then Luc will work on it further at home. Other times, Shawn will come up with a spontaneous killer riff during a jam, and Luc will record it on his phone, which might spark a whole new song. And sometimes, Luc writes and arranges the entire thing by himself, records some demos, and shows them to the band to get feedback. These are the most common scenarios for us.
This album is the first one with the current lineup, so at the beginning, we thought it would be cool to jam together and see what kind of chemistry and ideas each member could bring to the table. We started writing and arranging as a band, but when the pandemic hit, our plans shifted. We did manage to work on a few songs together before that, but Luc ended up writing a lot on his own during that time—almost two albums’ worth of material over the first two years. Despite this, every member’s input was crucial, and we all worked on the record in different ways, so it’s still very much a band effort. Each person’s unique “color” is present on every track.
While Luc is typically the one who takes the band’s riffs and turns them into full songs, he doesn’t write every single riff. Shawn is also a great help when it comes to lyrics, as Luc wrote all the lyrics for the new album but often leans on Shawn’s expertise in English since he’s perfectly bilingual.
Looking ahead, what are your plans for supporting this new release? Are there any upcoming tours, music videos, or additional content that fans can look forward to in connection with this project?
We released a music video for our single “Standing in the Fire.” After that, we’re hitting the road for our album release tour later in October.
We’ll be touring Quebec and Ontario in October and November with our great friends, Sons Arrakis. If you don’t know this band already, you should definitely check them out. We’ll continue our Quebec tour in Winter/Spring/Summer 2025. Hopefully, we’d like to tour in Europe sometime in 2025. We encourage everyone to follow our Instagram and Facebook pages for exclusive tour content and special announcements supporting the release and beyond.
Looking back on your musical career, is there a particular moment or accomplishment that you consider a turning point or a highlight?
2015 was a landmark year for our band. We released our first full-length album, and the response was fantastic. We secured spots on rock radio stations like Chom 97.7 and had the privilege of sharing the stage with Megadeth and High on Fire at FEQ. A few weeks later, we performed at Heavy MTL. To top it all off, our album was named Heavy Album of the Year at GAMIQ. This incredible year marked a pivotal moment in our band’s history.
Last but not least, it’s time to pay it forward, what upcoming band or artist would you recommend your fans check out?
Later this fall, we’ll be hitting the road with Sons of Arrakis, a heavy/stoner band from Montreal. If you haven’t heard them yet, we highly recommend checking them out. Their albums are fantastic, and the buzz around them is growing. If you’re into big, tasty riffs and powerful tones, they’re definitely a must-listen!