Living Heck (EP)

Euthanasia was an Edmonton punk and post-punk trio built around brothers Cameron and Chris Boddy and drummer Marty ‘Merv’ Chatrin. Cameron handled lead vocals and bass, Chris played guitar and keyboards and added vocals, while Chatrin supplied drums and backing vocals. Earlier versions of the group also included members remembered in the band’s own credits as Jamie ‘Sloth’ and Richard H.

The band emerged during the early 1980s as Edmonton developed an active independent scene centred around small clubs, community halls, roller rinks, university radio and self-produced concerts. Euthanasia occupied the darker side of that scene, combining punk energy with post-punk atmosphere, keyboards, heavy rhythms and Cameron Boddy’s dramatic vocal delivery.

Euthanasia were active on the Edmonton circuit by 1984. In August they appeared with Nomeansno, The Not and Zaza at the Spartans Men’s Club. On December 26, they joined Black Flag, Saint Vitus and Tom Troccoli’s Dog at the Sports World roller-skating rink, placing the young group alongside some of the leading Canadian and American underground bands then passing through Alberta.

Chris Boddy’s guitar and keyboard work gave the trio a broader sound than its small lineup suggested. Their songs moved between direct punk, grinding rhythms, melodic dissonance and slower gothic passages, with lyrics addressing religion, politics, domestic roles, conformity, death and social alienation.

The band’s first major release was the six-song 12-inch EP Living Heck, issued by Rubber Records in 1986. The record contained ‘Mama’s on Bass,’ ‘You Took Me,’ ‘Bring Out Your Dead,’ ‘Understand,’ ‘Posterity’ and ‘Ya Ya.’ Cameron and Chris Boddy wrote the music and lyrics.

Living Heck was produced by Rick Arboit and Euthanasia, except for ‘Mama’s on Bass,’ which was produced by Arboit and Greg Reely. Dave Mockford engineered the sessions, and the record received a digital mixdown at Mushroom Studios in Vancouver in May 1986. Jane Pawson created the cover illustration, Spyder supplied the sleeve drawings and Ken Hansen handled the cover execution.

The EP received attention beyond Edmonton through the international punk press. A review in Maximum Rocknroll noted the contrast between the band’s forceful rhythms, unpredictable melodies and darker vocal passages.

Euthanasia also performed outside Alberta. Documented appearances include a show with Nomeansno at Vancouver’s New York Theatre in August 1986 and a later performance at the Rats Nest in Victoria.

In 1987, Rubber Records issued the cassette Above Reproach Beneath Contempt. Subtitled The Early Years, the fourteen-song collection gathered ‘Macho Hell,’ ‘Will,’ ‘Count the Rings,’ ‘Pray,’ ‘To the Glory of God,’ ‘Agony,’ ‘Normal Bias,’ ‘Necronincompoop,’ ‘Pro Life???’, ‘Gladly Pay You Tuesday,’ ‘Reservations,’ ‘Bimbo’ and ‘Spooky E,’ along with a version of the Rolling Stones’ ‘Paint It Black.’

The cassette was produced by Euthanasia and Barry Peters and engineered by Ellis Dee at The Dump during the summer solstice of 1987. The Phlegmtones—Leanne, Kelly, Martin, Jeff, Earl and Marria—provided additional background sounds, while Jane Pawson again supplied the cover artwork.

The material on Above Reproach Beneath Contempt documented a wider range than the six songs chosen for Living Heck. Some tracks were compact and aggressive, while others used slower tempos, keyboards and a more pronounced gothic atmosphere.

Euthanasia also contributed ‘Grub’ to the 1987 Rubber Records compilation Writing on Stone: The Alberta Compilation. A further tape of live or demo material circulated through the underground network and was reviewed in the January 1988 issue of Maximum Rocknroll, where the band was described as powerful, angry and driven by grinding punk rhythms of varying speeds.

By the end of the decade, Cameron Boddy, Chris Boddy and Marty Chatrin continued together under the name Wickerman. The renamed trio remained active on Edmonton bills into 1989. Chris Boddy later continued in the city’s post-punk scene with The Loved One, whose later work included the song and video ‘God Is a Word.’

-Robert Williston