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The Black Halos are a Vancouver, British Columbia-based punk rock band. Their music also includes some glam rock.

History

The band was founded in 1993 by lead singer Billy Hopeless and guitarist Rich Jones, and at first, was called The Black Market Babies (not to be confused with the American band with the similar name). With the addition of Matt Camirand, Jay Millette and Rob Zgaljic, they released their first album, Black Halos in 1999. They then toured the USA, playing with Nikki Sudden, the Lazy Cowgirls, L7 and The Hellacopters, among others.

In 2001, they released the album The Violent Years, on Sub Pop Records. They toured around Canada with The Offspring and Millencolin, and played Edgefest and the Warped Tour. In 2009, the song "No Tomorrow Girls", from The Violent Years, was featured in the Xbox 360-exclusive racing video game Forza Motorsport 3.

The band then had some major line-up changes, when Camirand left to join Blood Meridian, and Jones left to join Amen. They were replaced by guitarist Adam Becvare and bassist Denyss McKnight.

In 2005, they signed with Liquor & Poker Music, released the album Alive Without Control and headed off for a 7-week, 40-show tour of Europe.

In 2007, The Black Halos signed with History Music and, in 2008, released their fourth album, We Are Not Alone. By this time, the band consisted of Hopeless, Zgaljic, Becvare, Johnny Stewart and Jahmeel "JR" Russell. They played Canadian Music Week and went on tour with Social Distortion. Later that year, while on tour, the band's van, gear and merchandise were stolen, and they decided to break up.

The band reformed in 2016, with Hopeless, Jones and some new members, and began playing sold-out shows, including a concert at Toronto's Bovine Sex Club during Canadian Music Week 2019. Some singles followed, including 2020's "Ain’t No Good Time to Say Goodbye", which was written upon the death of Hopeless' close friend, SNFU frontman and punk icon Ken Chinn (aka Mr. Chi Pig). The band is now original members Billy Hopeless, Jay Millette and Rich Jones in addition to new members Danni Action and John Kerns. In 2020, they independently released the 17-track album F.F.T.S. - Demos & Rarities, a collection of demos and rare tracks going back as far as 1996. In 2021, they released the EP Uncommonwealth. In November 2022, the band released their first full-length album since 2008, How the Darkness Doubled.

Discography

Albums

• The Black Halos (1999), Die Young Stay Pretty Records
• The Violent Years (2001), Sub-Pop Records
• Alive Without Control (2005), Liquor and Poker Music, People Like You Records
• The Violent Years (2007, compilation), People Like You Records
• We Are Not Alone (2008), History Music, People Like You Records
• F.F.T.S. - Demos & Rarities (2020), Independent
• How the Darkness Doubled (2022), Stomp Records

EPs

• XMas 2001 EP (2001, split with Bubble), Basement Boys Records
• Uncommonwealth (2021), Cursed Blessing Records

Singles

• "Retro World" / "1010" (1999), Devil Doll Records
• "Jane Doe" / "Russian Roulette" (2000), Sub-Pop Records
• "Sell Out Love" / "It's Over For You" (2000), Safety Pin Records
• "Homeless For Christmas" / "You Better Know By Now What I Want For Christmas" (2000), Sympathy for the Record Industry
• "Fossil Fuel" / "Geisterbahn II" (2016), Independent
• "Geisterbahn II" / "Tandem Drown" (2019), Yeah Right!
• "Ain't No Good Time To Say Goodbye" / "Rusty Rake" (2020), Yeah Right!

Members

Current members

• Billy Hopeless - vocals
• Rich Jones - guitars
• Jay Millette - guitar
• Danni Action - Drums
• John Kerns - Bass

Former members

• Adam Becvare - guitar
• Johnny Stewart - guitar
• Jahmeel "JR" Russell - bass
• Rob Zgaljic - drums
• Denyss McKnight - bass
• Matt Camirand - bass
• C.C. Voltage - bass
• Davey French - guitar
• Robbie Hunter - bass
• Make Up Mike aka M.U.M. - drums

References

1. " The Black Halos Black Halos Die Young Stay Pretty". AllMusic Review by Steve Huey
2. "The Black Halos's Concert History". concertarchives.org. Concert Archives. Retrieved 11 February 2022.
3. "The Black Halos: The Violent Years, March 2001". popmatters.com. Pop Matters. 19 March 2001. Retrieved 10 February 2022.
4. "Black Halos Tour With Supersuckers". Chart Attack - Aug 17, 2001
5. "The Black Halos The Violent Years". Pop Matters, Wilson Neate 19 March 2001
6. "The Black Halos's Concert History". concertarchives.org. Concert Archives. Retrieved 11 February 2022.
7. Forza Motorsport 3 soundtrack at RacingSoundtracks.com
8. "The Black Halos Alive Without Control, 2005". punknews.org. Punk News. Retrieved 11 February 2022.
9. White, Adam. "The Black Halos in Europe, 2005". punknews.org. Punk News. Retrieved 11 February 2022.
10. "The Black Halos We Are Not Alone". Exclaim!, By Keith Carman Mar 17, 2008
11. Fitzgerald, Nicole. "Black Halos, Mar 2007". piquenewsmagazine.com. Pique Newsmagazine. Retrieved 11 February 2022.
12. Paul, Aubin. "Social Distortion Tour". punknews.org. Punk News. Retrieved 11 February 2022.
13. "Vancouver's Black Halos Officially Throw in the Towel". Exclaim!, By Josiah Hughes Sep 24, 2009
14. "Black Halos Break Up". Archived from the original on 2010-08-25. Retrieved 2010-11-19.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link) "Black Halos Break Up"]. Chart Attack.
15. Valente, Angie (23 May 2019). "Throwback Thursday Live Music Edition, May 2019". weraddicted.com. Addicted. Retrieved 11 February 2022.
16. Farkas, Steven (2 October 2020). "Jay Millette Interview, Oct 2020". thepunksite.com. The Punk Site. Retrieved 10 February 2022.
17. Lawrence, Grant. "...The Black Halos, Jan 2020". vancouverisawesome.com. Vancouver is Awesome. Retrieved 2021-09-06.
18. MacInnis, Allan (5 February 2020). "A reunited Black Halos leave the bad blood behind, Feb 2020". straight.com. The Georgia Straight. Retrieved 2021-09-06.
19. "The Black Halos. F.F.T.S. - Demos & Rarities". discogs.com. Discogs. Retrieved 11 February 2022.
20. Sigler, Gabriel (20 July 2021). "Canadian punks The Black Halos...July 2021". badfeelingmag.com. Bad Feeling Magazine. Retrieved 11 February 2022.
21. Hudson, Alex. "The Black Halos Return with 'How the Darkness Doubled,' Share "Tenement Kids" Video". exclaim!. Retrieved 28 November 2022.

External links

• The Black Halos at Allmusic.com
• The Black Halos on Myspace

• Canadian punk rock groups
• Musical groups from Vancouver
• Musical groups established in 1993
• Musical groups disestablished in 2008
• Canadian musical quartets
• 1993 establishments in British Columbia
• 2008 disestablishments in British Columbia
• Sub Pop artists
• Liquor and Poker Music artists