Malacoda are about to unleash chaos — more specifically, Crawling Chaos, the Toronto metal crew’s latest EP. It’s the reconfigured band’s first new release since 2018’s Restless Dreams, blending the cinematic and gothic heaviness heard on 2016’s Ritualis Aeterna with the melodic vocal hooks of their self-titled 2014 debut. You’ll have to wait until April 2 to hear the whole thing, but you can meet guitarist Wes MacDonald right now, since he was foolish enough to play 20 Questions with me. Let the chaos begin:
Introduce yourself: Name, age (feel free to lie), home base and any other details you’d care to share — height / weight / identifying marks / astrology sign / your choice.
Wes MacDonald, 35, Toronto Ontario, Enjoys long walks on the beach and Chicken Nuggets!
What is your musical origin story?
I guess for me it started at a flea market when I was 12 and found the very first Korn CD in a 2$ bin. Things kinda went crazy from there when Napster came about!
What’s your latest project? Tell us everything we need to know.
Malacoda is my latest project, and we have three EPs coming out over the course of the next 12ish months!
https://youtu.be/zq7n71msTbk
What truly sets you apart from other artists?
We try to combine elements from multiple genres and swing them in a way that is unique and interesting.
Tell us about the first song you wrote and / or the first gig you played.
First gig I personally played was with my first band Psychotic Pulse back in 2010 in Toronto.
What is the best / worst / strangest / most memorable performance you have given?
Oh man — well, we played in the back of a sushi house here in Toronto and during the performance we told our vocalist at the time to throw out a single shirt into the audience just to get some hype going. Instead, after 15 beers he heard, “Throw the entire bag of merch we brought to sell into the crowd for free.” And about $200 worth of merch was tossed … it was a good time.
What is the best / worst / strangest / most memorable performance you’ve seen?
Seeing Black Sabbath for the first time was an absolutely moving experience.
What living or dead artists would you collaborate with if you could?
Living – 100% Mikael Åkerfeldt.
Dead – Honestly, it sucks to even write it but Alexi Laiho.
What artist or style of music do you love that would surprise people?
I adore vocal female Euro Trance music lol.
Tell us a joke.
Nickleback is the best band out of Canada.
What useful (or useless) skills do you have outside of music?
I paint, and can cook a damn mean steak!
https://youtu.be/ZGsPou0ZP_g
What do you collect?
Anything Nintendo. Retro video games are my thing!
What would you like to be reincarnated as?
Bear. I like the idea of being able to really do some damage and sleeping for months on end.
What’s your idea of perfect happiness / total misery?
Happiness – A happy and healthy family.
Misery – The total opposite.
What’s your greatest regret?
My first marriage! LOL. Nah, honestly, I do not have regrets, just lessons.
What are you afraid of?
Sharks, terrifying.
What would be the title of your autobiography?
Wes, The Man That Procrastinates.
Who should play you in the movie of your life?
Matt Damon or Kevin Smith.
What’s your motto?
“It is what it is.”
What’s always in your refrigerator?
Bacon and eggs. As someone who is on the keto diet a good portion of the year, it’s basically a staple.
If you could change one thing about yourself, what would it be?
I would stop procrastinating!
What’s the silliest thing you believed as a child?
I genuinely thought when you got fired from a job … you got lit on fire. Yeah, I know.
What world record would you like to break?
Strong man record would be cool, heaviest weight lifted or something like that!
What’s the best and/or worst advice you’ve been given?
Learn everything you can. No one can take your knowledge from you.
Watch the videos for Crawling Chaos and Deadlights above, hear more from Malacoda below, and keep up with the band via their website, Facebook and Instagram.
