Canadian heavy rock outfit Suicide Star shaped their pressure cooker of an LP, Generation Doom, with the weight of social pressure, isolation, uncertainty, resilience, and the art of staying emotionally alive in a world that keeps turning the volume up. In this interview, the band unpack how the album grew from observation, personal reflection, and the collective strain facing younger listeners, while still carrying hooks, force, and a refusal to sink into defeat. They also speak frankly about the realities of Canada’s original rock scene, the fight for space outside the mainstream, opening for Gene Simmons in Niagara Falls, and why audiences across Europe, Asia, and the UK still seem to understand the lasting electricity of darker, heavier music.
Generation Doom is a heavy-hitting title. What made those two words feel right for this new album?
The title really came from the themes that naturally started showing up across the whole record. As we were writing the songs, we noticed a common thread about the challenges younger people are facing today — things like social media pressure, isolation, and the constant noise that can make it harder to feel confident or connected. But the album isn’t meant to be a negative statement about this generation at all. If anything, it’s about recognizing those struggles while also admiring how resilient people have become in finding their own path through it all. Generation Doom just felt like the right way to capture that tension between uncertainty and hope.
When you were putting the album together, did you feel like Generation Doom became a statement about the world around you, the band’s own headspace, or the energy you wanted listeners to walk into?
I think it’s definitely a combination of all of that. We’ve always written our songs from a place of observation and our own personal perspective on certain ideas, experiences, and events happening around us. With Generation Doom, a lot of the themes came naturally from just looking at the world people are trying to navigate right now and how that affects us personally as writers and musicians.At the same time, we didn’t want the album to feel hopeless or overly heavy in a negative way. There’s a lot of emotion on the record, but there’s also energy, honesty, and a sense of pushing through difficult things rather than giving in to them. I think that balance became a big part of the album’s identity. We want listeners to feel understood when they hear these songs, but also energized by them. That emotional mix of frustration, reflection, and resilience is really what defines Generation Doom for us
What can fans expect from the new music in terms of sound, mood, and lyrical themes, especially for anyone discovering Suicide Star for the first time through this album?
I think they can expect a much rawer and heavier sound from this record compared to our last release. We really pushed ourselves musically to make the songs feel bigger, more emotional, and more intense without losing the melodic side that’s always been part of Suicide Star. There’s a darker atmosphere throughout the album, but it still has a lot of energy and hooks to it. We wanted the music to feel honest and unfiltered, almost like you’re hearing exactly where we were mentally and creatively while making it.
Canada has such a huge musical identity, but the original music scene can still be brutal for bands trying to be heard. What has your experience been like trying to build momentum with original material?
It’s definitely been a hard road. The industry in Canada today, especially for heavier rock bands, isn’t the same as it was twenty or thirty years ago when all those bigger rock bands came out. Just trying to get a single live show nowadays is extremely difficult unless you’re opening for a well known act or you buy your own show and sell tickets. It’s definitely a lot of ‘who you know.’ We’ve been fortunate in that our industry connections have allowed us to play some pretty cool shows, including opening for Gene Simmons at the OLG Stage in Niagara Falls in front of five thousand people. We taped that show and fans can check that out on our Youtube page.
Do you feel Canadian bands making heavier, darker, or more alternative music have to fight harder for space than artists working in more mainstream lanes?
Absolutely. It definitely feels like heavier or more alternative bands have to fight a little harder for attention right now, especially in Canada. At the moment, genres like country and more mainstream pop seem to dominate a lot of the spotlight, and honestly, I think the same thing is happening in the U.S. as well. Rock music just isn’t sitting in the same cultural space it did during its peak in the ‘80s and ‘90s when rock bands were everywhere in mainstream media. That said, I don’t think rock is dead at all — it’s just changed. A lot of the scene has moved into more independent spaces where bands really have to build things from the ground up through live shows, social media, and connecting directly with fans. In a weird way, that can make the community feel more genuine because the people supporting heavy music are usually really passionate about it. For bands like Suicide Star, it means you have to work harder and wear a lot more hats than artists in bigger mainstream genres, but it also pushes you to be more creative and authentic. At the end of the day, people still connect with honest music that has energy and emotion behind it, and I think there will always be a place for rock music because of that.
Your style of music still has a strong following, especially across Europe and parts of Asia. What do you think those audiences understand about this sound that keeps it feeling alive and relevant?
That’s a great question! We think Europe and Asia have held onto a much stronger culture around rock music, especially when it comes to live shows and fan loyalty. In a lot of those countries, rock bands are still treated like major events, and fans really invest themselves in the music long term. There’s a deep respect for musicianship, live performance, and the identity that comes with being part of a rock scene. In North America, musical trends seem to move a lot faster, and the industry has shifted heavily toward genres that perform well on streaming platforms and social media. A lot of the culture around music has been lost here. We love that that culture is still alive and well, especially in the U.K. We want to try and tap into that energy!
Have you noticed different reactions from fans in Canada compared with listeners overseas, particularly when it comes to the heavier atmosphere and attitude behind Suicide Star?
Definitely, yes. I think it ties into what we were talking about before with how different parts of the world still have a really strong culture surrounding rock and alternative music. In places overseas, fans seem more willing to embrace heavier bands and really dive into the atmosphere and emotion behind the music. There’s a real openness there to discovering new rock bands and giving them a chance. In Canada, I think audiences can sometimes take a little longer to warm up to something heavier, especially when you’re an independent band trying to break through in a music landscape that leans more toward mainstream genres. But honestly, one of the most rewarding things for us has been seeing how genuine the reaction can be once people connect with what we’re doing. A lot of the bigger shows we play are in front of crowds that came to see the headliner and probably have no idea who Suicide Star is when we walk on stage. That’s always a challenge, but it’s also exciting because you really have to win people over in real time. And usually by the end of the set, you can feel that shift happen. People who may not have expected to connect with the band are suddenly engaged and reacting to the energy. When we walk off stage and see people coming up to talk to us or checking out the merch table, that’s when we know we got through to them. Those moments honestly mean a lot to us because they feel earned.
What do you want this album to say about who Suicide Star is right now? And where is the band heading next?
I think more than anything, we want people to know that nothing we do is fake. Everything about Suicide Star comes from a place of raw honesty, emotion, and passion. We’ve never been interested in chasing trends or trying to sound like what’s popular at the moment. The music has always been an outlet for us to express the things we genuinely feel and observe, and I think Generation Doom captures that better than anything we’ve done before. This album feels like a big step forward from Isolation, our first record. That album was much more inward and personal, whereas Generation Doom expands outward and reflects more on the world around us and how people are trying to navigate it. The songwriting feels more mature, more confident, and more focused in terms of what we want to say as a band. We’re still writing from personal experience, but now those experiences are connecting more with larger themes that a lot of people can relate to. As for where the band is heading next, I think this record really sets the tone for the future of Suicide Star. We want to keep pushing ourselves creatively, making heavier and more emotionally impactful music, and reaching bigger audiences both here and internationally. More than anything, we just want to continue building something real that people can connect with in whatever way feels good to them.
Discover Suicide Star on Spotify.
Interview by Amelia Vandergast
