When the Royal Navy's HMS Dreadnought set
sail in 1906, her all-big-gun arsenal and steam-turbine propulsion made her the
fastest, most powerful warship to hit the high seas.
Dreadnaut is a similar dominant force.
Formed in the remote mining community of Thompson, Manitoba, since arriving in
Winnipeg in 2003, the band has proven to be one of the most potent hard rock acts
to call the ‘Peg home.
In 2004, Dreadnaut released its debut
recording, a six-song self-titled EP that finished among the top three local
albums of the year in Uptown Magazine’s ‘Best of Winnipeg’ edition. Sold-out
shows soon followed with Dreadnaut performing several high profile gigs,
including JunoFest 2005 and Manitoba Rocks, an outdoor festival held by local
radio station Freq 107.
Quick to capitalize on this initial exposure,
in 2005 Dreadnaut released its first full-length, A New Design. A hook-laden hard rock effort, the album received plenty of regional
airplay, in fact, its title track remains one of the top requested songs on Freq
107.
Despite no official distribution, Dreadnaut
succeeded in selling 3000+ copies of A New Design, solely on the strength of its dynamic, dynamite live show. This
devotion to Dreadnaut is also evident online. To date, the band’s Myspace page (www.myspace.com/dreadnaut) has
received over 276,000 plays, with an average of over 200 plays per day.
In 2008, Dreadnaut released its second
full-length album, A Taste of What’s to Come. Partnering with C12 Records, the new
Dreadnaut disc is being distributed by EMI Music Canada, and has sold close to 5000
copies so far, further affirming their fan’s faithfulness.
Sensing real progress and a chance for
cross-promotion, in November of 2008, Jagermeister named Dreadnaut one of its
Jager Music Canada bands (a little fuel for the fire). Dreadnaut’s success continued
in 2009, with its new album named one of best of the year in Uptown Magazine, a
second for the band. Also, Dreadnaut won Power 97’s ‘Rockin’ the 204’ contest,
a prize which includes airplay on the rock radio station.
Capping off 2009 in fine style, Dreadnaut
played to an audience of 6000 hard rock fans at Winnipeg’s MTS Centre, opening
for multi-platinum recording artists Three Days Grace. A taste of what’s to
come? Possibly. 2010 promises to be a big year for the band, with plans to tour
Canada and the United States. Currently, Dreadnaut is working on new material, which
the band promises to be as heavy and hooky as past projects while exploring
themes of perseverance, politics and positivity. A release date is still unknown, but with the development
Dreadnaut’s made in recent years, one thing is certain - you can't sink this
battleship.