The Agonist Get Called Freaks In America, Tour Anyway
One of Canada's most brutal metal exports, the Agonist, can cause quite a stir amongst the locals when they travel through town. "Anywhere we go in the States, people know we're from out of town, like we stick out like sore thumbs," vocalist Alissa White-Gluz told Noisecreep in an interview. "People are like 'Freaks! Go cut your hair!' and whatever. It's a little weird.
"I haven't seen too many similarities between Montreal and American cities," White-Gluz went on to say. "I find that there's a different vibe in a lot of American cities. But I haven't been to any European cities yet either, so I don't know. It's hard to judge." Even from a casual observation, one might chalk up the difference in attitude to cultural differences between city life in the band's hometown of Montreal and more rural areas in America. She likens Montreal to more of a European metro area than an American one.
A metal musician can benefit from the appreciation of cultural and lifestyle differences that come with areas that have a diverse demographic makeup, but the lack of tolerance can be keenly felt. "I noticed that traveling through the States," Alissa began. "It's really weird when we'll see signs off the highway, like 'Jesus Hates Sinners' or like 'Abortion Is Murder,' but then like two feet there's a slaughterhouse ... I'm not going to judge other people's values, but to post it on a highway sign and sort of throw it in my face like that, I don't totally appreciate that.
"We've been to a couple places [in America] where it says like, 'You're in America now. Speak English.' Signs like that." Alissa said, but then admits to some of the same attempts of cultural preservation in her homeland. "I can't help but draw a similarity there actually between that and in Quebec, where there's the Québécois de la Langue Française, which is basically the office that controls the French dominance in Quebec. To me, the more cultures and more languages a city has, the richer it is -- but apparently not."
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