Alberta rock trio Royal Tusk released their highly anticipated album, Altruistic today via MNRK Music Group with an accompanying documentary out now, "Do No Wrong: The Making of Altruistic."
Royal Tusk bottle raw feelings of alienation into a clarion call on the most recent single, “Hated.” The soaring melody resounds with undeniable honesty underlined by fret-burning lead licks.
“It was written from the point-of-view of someone who is labeled unredeemable,” frontman Daniel Carriere said. “It doesn’t campaign for this person’s innocence, but it poses a question. If our world can’t believe an individual can change, it’s a self-fulfilling prophecy. Change is a running theme for this body of work. I think people can and do change. It’s the hardest thing, yet it’s possible.”
Spending nearly a year writing throughout the pandemic, the trio eventually hunkered down in Alberta’s Audio Department recording studio where they self-produced Altruistic . “We usually go out of town to record, but due to the Pandemic we looked for a place locally,” said Carriere. “There was this crazy old studio in town, and it hadn’t been updated or anything. It was very vintage. We made it our home for this one.”
With an unwavering determination, the band faced highs and lows that pushed them to the brink, including an almost career-ending illness that threatened to shatter their dreams. In the midst of the process, Carriere wound up in the throes of a year-long battle to get healthy after suffering from a blood clot in his lung. He lost over 20lbs and could barely speak.
“Sandy [bassist] and Quinn [guitarist] helped me through the entire experience,” Carriere said. “These songs were written prior to this life-changing event, but they still tell a story of struggle, suffering, uncertainty, courage, and watching your back. It’s bizarre how that happened. When I think of them now, they definitely illustrate what we all went through.”
US Vinyl: out 3/1/2024
