SOiL, Finger Eleven, et Adema

The group emerged in 1997 originally as a side project to the death metal band Oppressor. The three members to come from that act were Tim King, Tom Schofield, and Adam Zadel. Additionally they recruited the bassist from Broken Hope, Shaun Glass ,and vocalist Ryan McCombs.

In 1997 the members put out their debut self-titled EP (often referred to as “the worm disc”), which came out through Century Media. Their 2nd EP “El Chupacabra”, an album named after a mythical Puerto Rican beast, was issued on 24 November 1998 this time through the label, MIA. They also put out their debut album “Throttle Junkies” through this label; however, MIA folded shortly after it’s release. The album hit the shelves on 18 May 1999 and was produced by legendary sound engineer Steve Albini (Big Black, Rapeman, and Shellac). None of these early releases managed to break into commercial ubiquity, but at this point the group had enough material to showcase to major labels.

Their single “Halo”, which received extensive airplay caught the attention of many labels, including J Records who eventually went on to sign a recording contract with the band. By this stage the members decided to leave their previous groups and focus on SOiL full time.

On 11 September 2001 SOiL released their 2nd studio album “Scars” and their 1st through a major label. This album garnered much acclaim and commercial attention, seeing them frequently appear on MTV and winning accolades such as Metal Edge magazine’s 2001 “Readers’ Choice Award for Next Big Thing”. To support the album the band participated in the Mayhem tour alongside Ozzy Osbourne, Rob Zombie, and Mudvayne and later started a US tour with Soulfly, Static-X, and Onesidezero.

2004 saw the release of their 3rd studio album “Redefine”, which debuted at No. 78 on the US Billboard 200. Following this release singer McCombs left the band on the basis of wanting to spend more time with his family; however, just a year later it was announced that he would be Drowning Pool’s lead singer.

Despite this crucial change in line up the band continued outputting material, releasing their 4th studio album “True Self” in 2006 with AJ Cavalier assuming the role of lead vocalist. The group’s next album “Picture Perfect” came out in 2009 and was produced by Johnny K (Disturbed, Staind) and Ulrich Wild (Deftones and Incubus). By the time the band put out their 6th studio album “Whole” (2013), they reverted back to their core line up featuring McCombs as their lead singer.

Originally formed under the moniker Rainbow Butt Monkeys, the funk fusion band generated significant local buzz and a devoted following during their early years. Having played an early show at Lester B. Pearson High School’s Christmas concert in 1990, the band won a rock contest for 97.7 CHTZ, and used the money to record a debut album “Letters from Chutney” in 1995. In 1996 the group began to be managed by Coalition Entertainment, and opted to take their music in a more serious direction, later changing the name to Finger Eleven.

Formed of vocalist Scott Anderson, bassist Sean Anderson, drummer Rich Beddoe, and a pair of guitarists James Black and Rick Jackett, the band released their sophomore album “Tip” in 1997. Markedly far-removed from their earlier releases the album features a hard rock sound and resulted in Finger Eleven touring alongside Creed and Fuel in support of the record. The full-length “The Greyest of Blue Skies”, like its predecessor was produced by Our Lady Peace’s Arnold Lanni, and released in July 2000. Whilst failing to cause a stir in the U.S, “The Greyest of Blue Skies” represented their biggest Canadian release to date with over 50,000 units sold. Peaking at No. 17 on the Canadian Albums Chart, the record earned positive reviews aided by the singles “First Time”, “Drag You Down”, and “Bones + Joints”.

The band’s subsequent album, 2003’s “Finger Eleven” represented the band’s mainstream breakthrough with over 500,000 albums sold in the U.S. alone. Aided by appearances on the TV series “Scrubs”, “Smallville”, and “Third Watch” the record significantly increased Finger Eleven’s international exposure, later peaking at No. 4 on the Canadian Albums Chart. Following an extensive touring period which included parts of Europe, Australia, and North America, the group issued their fifth studio album “Them vs. You vs. Me” in March 2007. Led by the single “Paralyzer”, which topped the Canadian Single Chart, the record cemented the group’s popularity, and later won the 2008 Juno Award for Rock Album of the Year. The studio album “Life Turns Electric” appeared in 2010, after which drummer Rich Beddoe left the group and was replaced by Chris Powell.