Chron Goblin gets the opportunity of a lifetime
“Brothers unite, let’s stand up and fight. Fulfilling our fate, we are heeding the call.”
The lyric from Swedish metal band HammerFall could be a Facebook status update for the Calgary-based heavy music group Chron Goblin.
Out of thousands of applicants, Chron Goblin won an opportunity to play at DesertFest 2013, the second annual underground rock festival in Camden, a historical rock and roll suburb of London, England.
The festival takes place in late April. “We never expected we would actually 
Bandmates (from left) Brett Whittingham, Josh Sandulak, Devin “Darty” Purty and Richard Hepp will soon play at DesertFest 2013.
Photo courtesy of Brett Whittinghamwin,” says drummer Brett Whittingham. “We are still in shock we were selected and are extremely excited about this opportunity to play our first show in the U.K.”
The start of Chron Goblin
The band mates met in 2009 at Rundle Hall, a student residence at the University of Calgary.
A couple years later, during a night of beer drinking and a casual jam session, Whittingham, guitarist Devin “Darty” Purdy and vocalist Josh Sandulak joined forces to create Chron Goblin.
Shortly after, long-time friend Richard Hepp was recruited to play bass. The band began writing lyrics, rehearsing and playing shows. Their gritty, guitar-heavy sound is influenced by acts like Black Sabbath, Kyuss and Queens of the Stone Age.
Taking it to the next level
Whittington said they saw the positive reaction from fans while touring western Canada last year. That inspired them to enter the competition.
The band is thrilled to give Europe a taste of heavy metal music born here in Alberta.
“We submitted songs, photos and our latest video for Bring Your Idols,” Whittingham says. “This is definitely a big deal for us. To be selected out of bands from around the world and to have the opportunity to play with artists we respect is a dream come true.”
Whittingham says forming a unique sound doesn’t come easy. The pressure to stand out among so many talented musicians is difficult.
“Songwriting can be very challenging. We take it very seriously and try to never write the same song twice,” Whittingham says. “There’s a plethora of bands and artists that we look up to, and we are motivated by their music to create our own addition to rock and roll.”
Reviews from the critics
The band is excited to give Europe a taste of their heavy metal music during DesertFest 2013.
Photo courtesy of Brett WhittinghamThe band’s reviews in Calgary have been mixed. In the independent musicians review evor.com, Jimmy Dee Catarine writes, “You can feel the passion and my guess is they perform well in front of an audience. But there is definitely some wood shedding that needs to be done to further hone their craft.”
Writing in Calgary music magazine BeatRoute, Lori Meyers has called Chron Goblin “a force to be reckoned with. Each song crescendos into screaming fits, blasting out of once-slow jams.
“Chron Goblin is a great recipe for madness: a bunch of rock, a pinch of hardcore and one fat doobie. Vocalist Josh Sandulak ran from side to side possessed, eating his microphone and spewing out lyrics at mach ten.”
Whether the critics like them or not, the band’s ability to be recognized is undeniable. They continue to grow as artists and credit their ability to collaborate successfully to their mutual love and passion for writing, rehearsing and performing.
Whittingham says, “Our style has evolved so much in the last four years and we’ve all grown as musicians that continuously makes being in a band exciting, especially when we play a great show.”
Correction: An earlier version of this article misspelled Jimmy Dee Catarine’s name and didn’t state that his quote was taken from an online review.