Zeus is a

Toronto Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...

-based Canadian

indie rock Indie rock is a Music subgenre, subgenre of rock music that originated in the United Kingdom, United States and New Zealand in the early to mid-1980s. Although the term was originally used to describe rock music released through independent reco ...

band signed to the Arts & Crafts record label. (Not to be confused with the first band ever to be called ZEUS A NWOBHM Band from Durham England formed in 79 still going.) Its members include Rob Drake, Carlin Nicholson, Mike O'Brien, and Neil Quin. The band have released three albums and one EP since 2009. They have also served as the backing band for Canadian musician Jason Collett.

History

O'Brien and Nicholson were childhood friends from

Barrie Barrie is a city in Central Ontario, Canada, about north of Toronto. The city is within Simcoe County and located along the shores of Kempenfelt Bay. Although it is physically in the county, Barrie is politically independent. The city is part ...

Ontario Ontario is the southernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Located in Central Canada, Ontario is the Population of Canada by province and territory, country's most populous province. As of the 2021 Canadian census, it ...

, and played in one another's first bands along with Afie Jurvanen. When Jurvanen was recruited by producer

Howie Beck Howie Beck is a Canadians, Canadian musician, mixer and producer based in Toronto, Ontario. He has been nominated for three Juno Awards in Canada on three occasions for Adult Alternative Album, Engineer of the Year and Producer of the Year (2017). ...

to play guitar for Jason Collett, Jurvanen brought along O'Brien and Nicholson, who had learned Collett's album ''Idols of Exile'' in its entirety before their audition. The band he brought to Collett, which called itself "Paso Mino" consisted of Jurvanen, Michael P. Clive, and current Zeus members O'Brien and Drake, with Nicholson commonly acting as sound technician. After several years performing behind Collett, as well as performing original material and releasing the album ''Good People'', Paso Mino dissolved when Michael P. Clive left the band to pursue a career as a professional chef, and Jurvanen began a new solo project under the name "

Bahamas The Bahamas, officially the Commonwealth of The Bahamas, is an archipelagic and island country within the Lucayan Archipelago of the Atlantic Ocean. It contains 97 per cent of the archipelago's land area and 88 per cent of its population. ...

". O'Brien and Nicholson began recording together, joined for the original sessions by Dave Azzolini, Jess Grassia and Taylor Knox (The Golden Dogs). Their personal history went back to high school when they formed the band The 68's. Neil Quin (ex-The Golden Dogs) was soon added, completing the Zeus lineup. The members of Zeus continue as Collett's backing band. and toured with Jurvanen in a revue style tour Bonfire Ball Revue, when he described Zeus as sounding like

The Band The Band was a Canadian-American rock music, rock band formed in Toronto, Ontario, in 1957. It consisted of the Canadians Rick Danko (bass, guitar, vocals, fiddle), Garth Hudson (organ, keyboards, accordion, saxophone), Richard Manuel (piano, d ...

behind Collett, and sounding like

Crazy Horse Crazy Horse ( , ; – September 5, 1877) was a Lakota people, Lakota war leader of the Oglala band. He took up arms against the United States federal government to fight against encroachment by White Americans, White American settlers on Nativ ...

behind Bahamas".

Releases

Their debut EP ''Sounds Like Zeus'' was released by Arts & Crafts in June 2009, and includes a cover of the

Genesis Genesis may refer to: Religion * Book of Genesis, the first book of the biblical scriptures of both Judaism and Christianity, describing the creation of the Earth and of humankind * Genesis creation narrative, the first several chapters of the Bo ...

song " That's All". The band's debut album, ''Say Us'', was released 23 February 2010. A

vinyl LP The LP (from long playing or long play) is an analog sound storage medium, specifically a phonograph record format characterized by: a speed of rpm; a 12- or 10-inch (30- or 25-cm) diameter; use of the "microgroove" groove specificati ...

was released two weeks ahead of the CD release. ''Say Us'' was included on the 2010 Polaris Music Prize long list, but failed to advance to the short list. In March 2010, the band performed at the SxSW Music Festival with long-time collaborators Jason Collett and

. The band released two 7" singles, "Hot Under The Collar" b/w "Aeroplane" (7 December 2010) and "Permanent Scar" b/w "The Darkness" (12 April 2011). The second album ''Busting Visions'' was released in March 2012 entered the album charts at number 73 in Canada. It was preceded by the single "Are You Gonna Waste My Time?". Zeus' third full-length album ''Classic Zeus'' was released on Arts & Crafts on 2 September 2014. Zeus' most recent album ''Credo'' was released through Arts & Crafts on 8 September 2023. The band released the first single from the new record, "Air I Walk," on June 29, 2023.

Band members

* Rob Drake (2009–present) * Carlin Nicholson (2009–present) * Mike O'Brien (2009–present) * Neil Quin (2009–present)

Discography

Studio albums

Singles

:1. "Hot Under the Collar"

References

External links

Zeus
official site at Arts & Crafts {{DEFAULTSORT:Zeus Musical groups established in 2009 Musical groups from Toronto Canadian indie rock groups Arts & Crafts Productions artists 2009 establishments in Ontario