Vancouver bud metallers Bison B.C. show some shocking maturity on their sophomore outing for Metal Blade, Dark Ages. There’s still plenty of the hellraising atmosphere that so deeply permeated 2008’s Quiet Earth, but the band is beginning to sit back a little and feel out song dynamics, allowing tracks to develop more fully. They haven’t lost any of their heaviness (which I feel is unfortunately implied when discussing a band’s maturity), but they’re just starting to approach that heaviness in a new way, and Dark Ages captures the four-piece at this fascinating moment in their development.

Opener “Stressed Elephant” tops eight minutes, boasts complex melodies and arrangements and still somehow manages to leave a black eye when it’s done. It’s this duality that Dark Ages does such a good job of framing. Even when Bison B.C. are at their most Mastodon-ish, arguably the early moments of “Two-Day Booze,” they’ve begun to retain their own personality, and that comes through in the riffs and rhythms. The vocal tradeoffs between guitarists James Farwell and Dan And sound more plotted out in “Melody, This is for You” (after the three-minute heavy jam that precedes the vocals, anyway), but that only seems to enhance the overall affect of the song, which is a Dark Ages highlight.

Structured though it may be, Dark Ages is far from rigid. Humor and not taking itself too seriously was central to the success of Quiet Earth, and that remains true for the follow-up. In particular, “Take the Next Exit” gives the impression there’s definitely a story behind it, if only that the GPS in the tour van got a little too repetitive for the band’s tastes. And the doomiest song on the album is called “Fear Cave,” so you know Bison B.C. aren’t trying to include any kind of pomposity in their approach. Yes, that is as refreshing as it sounds.

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Vancouver riff mongers Bison B.C. are gearing up to release their new album, Dark Ages, next month, and as we all know, the new way to roll out singles and album highlight tracks is by putting them on websites that aren’t The Obelisk. It’s an important marketing move for any act looking to make themselves known.

Accordingly, the song “Stressed Elephant” premiered via something called ExploreMusic, whose standing in the heavy rock underground I’m sure is unquestionable and who make a wholly appropriate outlet for music as riffy and bastardly as that of Bison B.C.

“Bitter?” you ask? Yes. Here’s “Stressed Elephant,” because I can:

…Places like all over everywhere. The Canadian riffy stalwarts are heading out from their peaceful post-Olympic home in Vancouver and are set to take North America by storm in support of their new album, Dark Ages (not to be confused with the Soulfly album of the same name), which is out April 13. I haven’t heard the record yet, but if it’s half as destructive as was their Metal Blade debut, Quiet Earth, it’ll be well worth the time when I do.

Until then, speaketh the PR wire:

Vancouver‘s Bison B.C. is getting set to release their third album (second for Metal Blade), Dark Ages. This will hit streets on April 13, right in the middle of the biggest tour of the band’s career — High on Fire, Priestess, Black Cobra. Before that tour starts, Bison B.C. will be playing at the Music Hall of Williamsburg in Brooklyn, NY on 3/13. If you haven’t seen this band live, this will be a great opportunity to see how these guys decimate crowds in a small club.

Bison B.C.
Tour w/ Shadows Fall, Baptized in Blood
03/04 Toronto, ON     Opera House
03/05 London, ON     Music Hall
03/07 Ottawa, ON     Mavericks
03/08 Montreal, QC     National
03/09 Quebec City, QC    Imperial
End Tour
3/13  Brooklyn, NY     Music Hall of Williamsburg w/Priestess
3/14  Greenville, SC    Earshot
3/15  Atlanta, GA     PS Warehouse
3/17  Austin, TX      The Mohawk SXSW w/ High on Fire
3/24  St. Louis, MO     The Fubar
3/25  Indianapolis, IN    The Tip Top Tavern
3/26  Pittsburgh, PA    31st Street Pub
Tour w/ High on Fire, Priestess, Black Cobra
03/31 Minneapolis, MN   Triple Rock Social Club
04/01 Madison, WI     High Noon Saloon
04/02 Chicago, IL     Lincoln Hall
04/03 Columbus, OH    Skully’s Music Diner
04/05 Morgantown, WV   123 Pleasant Street
04/06 Philadelphia, PA    First Unitarian Church
04/07 Cambridge, MA    The Middle East
04/08 Milford, CT     Daniel Street
04/09 New York, NY    Gramercy Theater
04/11 Washington DC    Black Cat
04/13 Charlotte, NC     Tremont Music Hall
04/14 Atlanta, GA     Masquerade
04/15 New Orleans, LA   One Eyed Jacks
04/16 Houston, TX     Walters on Washington
04/17 Austin TX      Emo’s
04/18 Dallas, TX      The Loft
04/20 Boulder, CO     Fox Theater
04/22 Tempe AZ      The Clubhouse
04/23 Los Angeles, CA    El Rey Theater
04/24 Costa Mesa, CA    Detroit Bar
04/25 San Diego, CA    The Casbah
04/27 Fresno, CA     Audies Olympic/Club Fred
04/28 Santa Cruz, CA    Blue Lagoon
04/30 Boise, ID      Neurolux Inc
05/01  Spokane, WA    The Boulevard
05/02  Bellingham, WA   The Nightclub
05/04 Seattle, WA     Chop Suey
05/05 Portland, OR     Dante’s
05/07 Eureka, CA     Nocturnum
05/08 Oakland, CA     The Fox Theater

You might remember the interview with Bison B.C.‘s James Farwell (aka Gnarwell) this site did toward the end of the last decade. Well, things are officially gearing up for the release of that anticipated second Metal Blade full-length, and it looks like as the band gets ready to hit the road, they’re helping out fans in their home and native land — true patriot love if e’er I saw it — by giving away tickets to their shows. The PR wire has the scoop:

Vancouver, British Columbia-based doom metal band Bison B.C. have teamed up with digital music download site LoudTrax.com for a contest on the bands upcoming tour with Shadows Fall throughout Canada. LoudTrax.com will be giving away two tickets for every show of the Shadows Fall, Bison B.C., Goatwhore and Baptized in Blood tour.

Participants will be able to select the date and city of the show they wish to win tickets for. Winners will be announced five days prior to each concert via email.

Feb. 23 – Spokane, WA – Knitting Factory*
Feb. 24 – Calgary, AB – Republik*
Feb. 25 – Edmonton, AB – Starlite*
Feb. 27 – Regina, SK – The District*
Mar. 01 – Winnipeg, MB – WECC*
Mar. 02 – Thunder Bay, ON – The Roxy*
Mar. 04 – Toronto, ON – Opera House
Mar. 05 – London, ON – Music Hall
Mar. 07 – Ottawa, ON – Mavericks
Mar. 08 – Montreal, QC – National
Mar. 09 – Quebec City, QC – Imperial
*With Goatwhore

Bison B.C. are gearing up to release their highly anticipated second album, Dark Ages, this spring on Metal Blade Records. The band will also be joining the High on Fire tour with Priestess and Black Cobra starting on March 31st in Minneapolis, MN.

To enter the contest, you can visit the LoudTrax.com website.