Some old-school heavy metal bands tend to reign supreme 40 years later. Some tend to fall under the radar unless you’re a true-blue hesher. And some metal bands stay in the weird, in-between “oh, yeah I know them, sure. It’s great they’re still going. Good for them!” status. No band fits that particular class of metal bands none other than Toronto’s own Anvil.
And much like Anvil, this promising up-and-coming group of sad sacks known as Leadfoot are at the helm of the modern-day “I’m trying my best, so cut me some slack” brand of metal bands. And by “up-and-coming,” Leadfoot is a decade old. And by “promising,” Leadfoot and their front man, Johnny “Shredmaster General” Owens, promises to keep the flame of underdog-metal burning while appearing pouty at each gig until enough people tell them “nice set.”
“I think it’s pretty badass to be compared to a mediocre band like Anvil, dude,” The Shredmaster General Said. “The way Lips and co. have chugged along for decades, releasing record after record only to be recognized millions of years later from a documentary about how bad the viewer should feel for them is admirable.”
Leadfoot’s manager and longtime enabler Richard Bosco believes the band he represents is on the right track to becoming the next “big thing” as far as pity-fueled metal bands go. “And as long as their 17 GoFundMes and ‘woe is me’ social media presence keeps going,” Bosco explained, “the entire metal scene will flock to support Leadfoot because they think the good karma will benefit them later on.”
Leadfoot’s other founding member and bassist Bud Walker believes the only true way to propel their career is to take advantage of the sorrow of the masses through a viral video or documentary of some sort. “People aren’t going to really see how big of losers we truly are without a documentary or viral Tiktok video of some sort, and that’s when I think our brand of metal will truly explode.”
At press time, Leadfoot frontman Owens was seen practicing his silly, sex-themed balloon animal shtick for their between-song banter.