KEN mode (an acronym for Kill Everyone Now) is a Canadian

noise rock Noise rock (sometimes called noise punk) is a noise music, noise-oriented style of experimental rock that spun off from punk rock in the 1980s. Drawing on movements such as minimal music, minimalism, industrial music, and New York hardcore, a ...

band from

Winnipeg Winnipeg () is the capital and largest city of the province of Manitoba in Canada. It is centred on the confluence of the Red and Assiniboine rivers, near the longitudinal centre of North America. , Winnipeg had a city population of 749,6 ...

Manitoba Manitoba ( ) is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada at the Centre of Canada, longitudinal centre of the country. It is Canada's Population of Canada by province and territory, fifth-most populous province, with a population o ...

, that was formed in September 1999.

History

Formed by brothers Jesse (guitar/vocals) and Shane Matthewson (drums) and long-time friend Darryl Laxdal (bass), the group released several demos from 1999 to 2003, leading to the release of their debut full length ''Mongrel'' on Escape Artist Records. Several tours followed with the likes of

Relapse Records Relapse Records is an American independent record label based in Upper Darby, Pennsylvania. It was founded by Matthew F. Jacobson in 1990. The label features many grindcore, death metal, metalcore and sludge metal artists. History The label was ...

The End The End may refer to: Films * ''The End'' (1953 film), a film by Christopher Maclaine * ''The End'' (1978 film), a comedy by Burt Reynolds * ''The End'' (1997 film), a Canadian film of 1997 * ''The End'' (1998 film), a skateboarding document ...

, Sulaco and American Heritage in addition to regional dates with

Mastodon A mastodon ( 'breast' + 'tooth') is any proboscidean belonging to the extinct genus ''Mammut'' (family Mammutidae). Mastodons inhabited North and Central America during the late Miocene or late Pliocene up to their extinction at the end of th ...

Burnt By The Sun ''Burnt by the Sun'' (russian: Утомлённые солнцем, translit. ''Utomlyonnye solntsem'', literally "wearied by the sun") is a 1994 film by Russian director and screenwriter Nikita Mikhalkov and Azerbaijani screenwriter Rustam ...

, Anodyne,

Pelican Pelicans (genus ''Pelecanus'') are a genus of large water birds that make up the family Pelecanidae. They are characterized by a long beak and a large throat pouch used for catching prey and draining water from the scooped-up contents before s ...

, Harkonen,

Breather Resist Breather Resist was an American hardcore punk band from Louisville, Kentucky, formed in 2002 and dissolved in 2006. They take their name from the song “Breather Resist” by Hoover. History Breather Resist formed in 2002 and recorded 8 songs, ...

, The Dream is Dead,

Psyopus Psyopus (sometimes written as PsyOpus) was an American mathcore band from Rochester, New York. History Formed in 2002, the band is noted for the unorthodox and extremely technical guitar techniques of Christopher Arp, often referred to as "Arp ...

Daughters A daughter is a female offspring; a girl or a woman in relation to her parents. Daughterhood is the state of being someone's daughter. The male counterpart is a son. Analogously the name is used in several areas to show relations between groups ...

, and Buried Inside across the Midwestern and East Coast United States, and throughout Canada. In 2004 Laxdal left the band, only to rejoin in 2005 to finish the band's follow-up record ''Reprisal'', released in 2006 on CD by Escape Artist Records, and on double-LP by No List Records. After the recording of ''Reprisal'' Laxdal and the band parted ways again. Picking up bass duties after Laxdal's departure was Drew Johnston (guitarist in

Electro Quarterstaff Electro Quarterstaff is an instrumental metal band hailing from Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. They play a form of progressive/technical heavy metal and employ three lead guitarists. Initially consisting of three guitarists, a vocalist and a drumme ...

) who also played with Jesse, Shane and Darryl in Hide Your Daughters. In October 2006, the band took part in the "

Exclaim! ''Exclaim!'' is a Canadian music and entertainment publisher based in Toronto, which features in-depth coverage of new music across all genres with a special focus on Canadian and emerging artists. The monthly Exclaim! print magazine publishes 7 ...

Magazine Aggressive Tendencies Tour" with

and

across Canada. Bass duties were handled by former

Kittens A kitten is a juvenile cat. After being born, kittens display primary altriciality and are totally dependent on their mothers for survival. They normally do not open their eyes for seven to ten days. After about two weeks, kittens develop qui ...

and Projektor member Jahmeel Russell who played with Jesse, Shane and Drew in Hide Your Daughters. KEN mode went on to work with Jahmeel for the band's third full-length, ''Mennonite'', which was released in July 2008 on CD by Jesse Matthewson's own label, Arctodus Records, and on 3x7" vinyl by No List Records. Prior to releasing ''Mennonite'', Chad Tremblay joined the band as their fourth bassist in two years. The band embarked on a European tour with Welsh rockers Taint. Tremblay went go on to direct the band's debut

music video A music video is a video of variable duration, that integrates a music song or a music album with imagery that is produced for promotion (marketing), promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a m ...

for the song "Extending Common Courtesy Throughout The Evening" from their ''Mennonite'' album. In 2010, the band announced that

Profound Lore Records Profound Lore Records is a Canadian independent record label founded in May 2004, which "began as the 'hobby-like venture' of a few friends but, over the past six years, the label has evolved into a one-man enterprise, shaped a distinct 'aestheti ...

will release its fourth full-length album, titled ''Venerable'', to be recorded August 2010 with Kurt Ballou of

Converge Converge may refer to: * Converge (band), American hardcore punk band * Converge (Baptist denomination), American national evangelical Baptist body * Limit (mathematics) * Converge ICT, internet service provider in the Philippines *CONVERGE CFD s ...

. They also announced several North American tours with Gaza, Engineer, Rosetta, Buried Inside, Wolvhammer, Clinging To The Trees Of A Forest Fire, and others. ''Venerable'' was released March 15, 2011 surrounded by an 8-week North American tour, joining forces with the likes of Black Breath,

Fuck the Facts Fuck the Facts is a Canadian Juno-nominated, grindcore band from Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, formed in 1998. They began as the solo recording project of musician Topon Das. Their earliest recording was in January 1997; they began using the name Fuc ...

and Khann. An unrelenting tour schedule followed for the bulk of 2011 and beginning of 2012: June 2011 in the US with

Deafheaven Deafheaven is an American post-metal band formed in 2010. Originally based in San Francisco, the group began as a two-piece with singer George Clarke and guitarist Kerry McCoy, who recorded and self-released a demo album together. Following i ...

; June 19, 2011 the band played the

Hellfest Hellfest (), also called Hellfest Summer Open Air, is a rock festival focusing on heavy metal music, held annually in June in Clisson, France. Its high attendance makes it the French music festival with the largest turnover. It is also one of ...

Open Air festival in Clisson France; July/August 2011 in the Midwestern US and Eastern Canada with the Great Sabatini; Sept/Oct 2011 in the US with

the Atlas Moth The Atlas Moth is an American post-metal band from Chicago, Illinois (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footno ...

and an extensive European run with

Kylesa Kylesa is an American heavy metal band that was formed in Savannah, Georgia. Their music incorporates experimentalism with heavy riffs, drop-tuned guitars and elements of psychedelic rock. The group was established in 2001 by the former member ...

and

Circle Takes The Square Circle Takes the Square is an American screamo band from Savannah, Georgia. It is composed of founding members Drew Speziale and Kathleen Stubelek, as well as Caleb Collins. Their debut release was a 6-track self-titled EP released in 2001, foll ...

in January and February 2012. On March 31, 2012, ''Venerable'' won the inaugural Heavy Metal/Hard Music Album of the Year

Juno Award The Juno Awards, more popularly known as the JUNOS, are awards presented annually to Canadian musical artists and bands to acknowledge their artistic and technical achievements in all aspects of music. New members of the Canadian Music Hall of ...

in Canada. ''Venerable'' was also nominated for Rock Album of the Year by the

Western Canadian Music Awards The ''Western Canadian Music Awards'' (WCMAs) are an annual awards event for music in the western portion of Canada. The awards are provided by the Western Canada Music Alliance, which consists of six member music industry organizations from Br ...

. In addition to the non-stop touring cycle for ''Venerable'', KEN mode went through three bassists before finally enlisting former Khann guitarist and songwriter Andrew LaCour, who toured with the band from July 2011 onward, and contribute to the writing of their fifth album, '' Entrench''. November 2012 saw the band sign a worldwide deal with Season of Mist Records to release its fifth album, who they spent September and October recording and mixing with Matt Bayles. '' Entrench'' was released in March 2013. In June 2013, the album was longlisted for the

2013 Polaris Music Prize The 2013 edition of the Canadian Polaris Music Prize was presented on September 23, 2013

and was nominated for the Heavy Metal/Hard Music Album of the Year Juno Award, their second album nominated since the award's inception in 2012.

Members

Current members

* Jesse Matthewson − vocals, guitar, piano (1999−present) * Shane Matthewson − drums (1999−present) * Scott Hamilton − bass, backing vocals (2014−present) * Kathryn Kerr − saxophone, synth, piano, percussion, backing vocals (2021−present)

Former members

* Darryl Laxdal − bass, backing vocals (1999−2004, 2005) * Drew Johnston − bass (2006) * Jahmeel Russell − bass (2006−2007) * Chad Tremblay − bass, backing vocals (2007−2010) * Thérèse Lanz − bass (2010−2011) * Andrew LaCour − bass, backing vocals (2011−2014)

Timeline

Discography

* ''Mongrel'' (2003) * ''Reprisal'' (2006) * ''Mennonite'' (2008) * ''

Venerable The Venerable (''venerabilis'' in Latin) is a style, a title, or an epithet which is used in some Western Christian churches, or it is a translation of similar terms for clerics in Eastern Orthodoxy and monastics in Buddhism. Christianity Cathol ...

'' (2011) * '' Entrench'' (2013) * ''Success'' (2015) * ''Loved'' (2018) * ''Null'' (2022)

Awards and nominations

References

External links

Official Season Of Mist Records website

Official Profound Lore Records website

Official Escape Artist Records website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ken Mode Canadian noise rock groups Musical groups from Winnipeg Sludge metal musical groups Musical groups established in 1999 Canadian post-hardcore musical groups Canadian musical trios 1999 establishments in Manitoba Juno Award for Heavy Metal Album of the Year winners