The Agonist

The Agonist is a Canadian metal band from Montreal, Quebec. Their debut full-length album, Once Only Imagined was released on August 14, 2007. Their second full-length album, Lullabies for the Dormant Mind was released on March 19, 2009. Alissa White-Gluz's uses both death growls and clean vocals for the band.

Beginning and Once Only Imagined (2004-2008)

The Agonist (formerly known as The Tempest from 2004–2007), was formed by guitarist Danny Marino, bassist Chris Kells, and vocalist Alissa White-Gluz. Legal issues prompted the name change when they signed a contract with record label Century Media Records. They released their first album Once Only Imagined on August 14, 2007. Originally intended as a demo, the release of Once Only Imagined stimulated The Agonist to add metal drummer Simon McKay to the band. Released August 28, 2007, the video for "Business Suits and Combat Boots" was filmed by acclaimed director David Brodsky (Strapping Young Lad, Gwar, God Forbid). The video was voted the number 6 video of the year 2007 on MTV2's Headbanger's Ball.

After releasing their first album (August 2007), The Agonist toured extensively, playing with bands such as God Forbid, Arsis, The Faceless, Sonata Arctica, Overkill, Epica, Visions of Atlantis, and Enslaved.

One of the band's tours was disrupted when its equipment trailer was damaged in a blizzard in the Rocky Mountains.

White-Gluz was named one of "the hottest chicks in metal" in the July 2007 issue of Revolver.


Lullabies for the Dormant Mind and present (2009-present)

The band released their second album, called Lullabies for the Dormant Mind, in March 2009. The mini-video for "...And Their Eulogies Sang Me To Sleep" off the album Lullabies for the Dormant Mind, also filmed by director David Brodsky, was released April 18, 2009. Shortly following this, on April 22, 2009, was a video for the song "Birds Elope With The Sun," which consists of live concert footage from the band's tour. Their third video, for the single, Thank You, Pain premiered on the Peta2 Blog on September 3, 2009. The band achieved major popularity with the release of Lullabies for the Dormant Mind, mostly for their single / video "Thank You, Pain".

Vocalist Alissa White-Gluz appeared again as a "hottest chick in metal" in the May 2009 issue of Revolver.

While touring Lullabies for the Dormant Mind, The Agonist made their first trips to Mexico, Venezuela, Japan, China, Colombia, and toured Europe. After finishing a tour with Epica and Scar Symmetry in December 2010, the band confirmed on their Facebook page that they are writing a new album to be released in 2011.

Style

The Agonist are known primarily for Alissa White-Gluz's ability to use both clean vocals and metal growls and Danny Marino's use of two or more intersecting melodies and unorthodox chords often featuring wide intervals and octave displacements. Songs' themes often revolve around moral concerns such as animal rights, societal dilemmas, and the state of the world.

Members

Current

Alissa White-Gluz - lead vocals (2004–present)
Danny Marino - guitars (2004–present)
Chris Kells - bass, backing vocals (2004–present)
Simon McKay - drums, percussions (2007–present)

Former

Andrew Tapley - guitars (2007–2008)
Chris Adolph - guitars (2009)

Touring

Pascal "Paco" Jobin - guitars (2010–present)