Orange Spotlight: The Death Wheelers
Who are The Death Wheelers?
Max ‘the axe’ Tremblay: The Death Wheelers are a Canadian instrumental band who met under the sign of evil on a cold and musty November night ten years ago. I guess our mutual interest for all things smut and perverse is what led us to get together and decompose songs for the last decade or so. Over the years we have fine-tuned –and down-tuned– our sound into what we like to call sleaze ‘n roll, an unhealthy mix of proto-metal, hard rock and surf guitar with a dash of aggression thrown into the mix for good measure. Acid biker doom rock is also a term we have heard thrown around over years to describe what we do.
What inspires The Death Wheelers?
Max ‘the axe’ Tremblay: The band name is taken directly from the 1973 British biker supernatural horror film directed by Don Sharp, a cult Bikesploitation flick. For those who don’t know, Bikesploitation was a short-lived movie genre of the 60s and 70s that was part of the larger exploitation movement. These types of movies drew on the popularity of biker clubs and the counterculture movement of the time, echoing themes of freedom, anti-authoritarianism and rebellion. They also typically had a low-budget, grindhouse style that relied on abundant violence and nudity. Our music is a direct homage to this obscure cinematographic period. Just like the movies, our sound is raw and gritty, each album devised to serve as a soundtrack to a fictional Bikesploitation movie. Each album is set in a different era/setting, which is what our usual starting point is when we write material.
We are also inspired by other musical acts such as Sir Lord Baltimore, The Ghastly Ones, Funkadelic, Link Wray, Motörhead, MC5, The Cramps, Count Five, Celtic Frost, Sabbath, Tank, Entombed, Witchfinder General, Rush, Iron Claw and Canadian slutch lords Dopethrone, just to name a few. In essence, we are just building on what’s been done before, the foundations of heavy rock. We’re not into trying to reinvent the wheel, we’re just trying to make it spin faster.
What Orange gear is important to The Death Wheelers?
Max ‘the axe’ Tremblay: Most of our albums have been recorded using Orange gear actually. I bought an Orange Terror Bass 500 (AKA Burger ONE) thirteen years ago and I have never looked back. I have used this very amplifier on all of our recordings so far. It’s built like a tank and is extremely powerful for its small size. After hundreds of gigs and four albums in, it is still standing strong. It has never been serviced once and has never let me down. What I like about this amp, aside from the fact that it is very reliable, is that it is a great platform for effects. Most bass amplifiers just don’t cut it or don’t have enough headroom when it comes to overdriving an already dirty signal, but I’ve never had this problem with my Orange Terror Bass 500. You see, I have a tendency of stacking multiple overdrives and fuzzes to achieve my obscenely nasty tone, and sometimes most overloaded signals do not bide well with other popular brands. I’ve blown countless fuses using other amps over the years, and this is not something you want to have on your mind when you’re gigging or recording. With my Orange Terror Bass 500 I can just stack as many effects as I want without having to worry about my amplifier being a fire hazard.
Over the years, our guitarists have also used the CR120 and the Orange Rocker 30 Combo extensively to record and gig. Actually, our debut album was recorded solely using ORANGE amplifiers. One of the guitarists plugged right into his CR120 at the time, no pedals, nothing. So to say that Orange has been an integral part of our sound over the last decade is an understatement.
Future Orange amps?
Max ‘the axe’ Tremblay: When we were invited at the UK ORANGE HQ last year, we got to try out a bunch of different amplifiers and pedals, some of which were not even out at the time, such as the new Orange AD200. Once again, lots of headroom and natural crunch. I just plugged straight into the amp, no pedals or anything, and it blew my mind. The Orange Distortion pedal is also something I’d love to add to my pedalboard. I love the vintage/old school large enclosures. It’s a simple and efficient design too, with two knobs. We also got to test out an Orange Custom Shop 50 which was quite the treat seeing as these are as rare as hen’s teeth in Canada.
I‘d like to see Orange reissue the Orange 2×15 Reflector Cabinets just because they sound so damn good and they are extremely hard to find on the used/vintage market. Also, you should seriously consider making coiled cables because nothing looks more badass than someone on stage who is plugged right into an amp with a coiled cable dangling precariously.
What does Orange mean to you?
Max ‘the axe’ Tremblay: Orange has been my go-to weapon of choice ever since I started gigging. As I said previously, my Orange Terror Bass 500 (BURGER ONE) is the most reliable piece of equipment I have ever owned, hands down. Also, not gonna lie, seeing those videos from the German TV Show Beat-Club where bands like Alice Cooper, MC5, and most famously Sabbath, played in front of a wall of Orange amps definitely had a hand in influencing me over the years.
What’s the most memorable The Death Wheelers moment?
Max ‘the axe’ Tremblay: I once played through the now discontinued 1000-watt version of the Orange Terror Bass at a gig in Montreal and the cops called the venue/bar to say they we’re going to shut down the concert mid-way through our set because they had received several noise complaints. Of course we ignored this grievance and carried on with our set to completion. To this day, I firmly believe the Orange Terror Bass 1000 was the culprit. Has me wondering why this model has been discontinued!
What’s on the horizon for The Death Wheelers?
Max ‘the axe’ Tremblay: This year marks the tenth anniversary of the band, which is a milestone considering most bands don’t even make it past the demo stage. 2025 is going to be a busy year for us. We will be releasing our fourth album via Riding Easy Records, who have been behind us since day one. By the way, this slab of sonic atrocities is coming out in February, so keep your earholes open.
We are also going to be doing a collab with an independent pedal maker called Instruments Laites, which is run by Gueze, the mastermind who recorded and mixed albums one and two!
We are going to be touring Canada to promote the release of our newest offering, dates should be announced shortly. We’d like to tour Europe and the U.S. of A as well in the near future. Bookers get in touch with us, if you dare…
Finally, I am currently converting the shed in my backyard into a studio. Let’s just say my neighbours are thrilled!
Any final words?
LONG LIVE THE LÖUD and stay out of jail
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Photo Credits – Jay Kearney, Jacques Boivin, Dylan Allen and Argume Argrume
