Life is a stormy sea of circumstance and chance filled with twists and turns, highs and lows and peaks and valleys- everyday is an adventure because you never know what's going to happen next; you never know what tomorrow's going to bring and the day after is always a mystery. Take the career of Canadian metal band Slaves On Dope for example. They rode a fast wave towards success and then wiped out off the swell before having a chance to peak. But, like any determined people, they got back up, shook the sand from their hair and went back out to temp fate once again.

Slaves On Dope [Jason Rockman-Vocal; Frank Salvaggio-Bass; Rob Urbani-Drums & Kevin Jardine-Guitar] formed ten years ago in Montreal, Canada where they earned their bones as a solid live band. They soon headed for LA where they shopped their 6-song EP in hopes of landing a recording contract. They played the LA circuit and soon got the attention of Sharon Osbourne who approached the band in early 2000 and offered them a deal with Divine Records as well as a spot on coveted Ozzfest 2000 tour. It was a dream come true and for Slaves on Dope the decision was a no brainer.

By the summer of 2000 Slaves On Dope were suddenly living their dream, they were the first act signed to Divine Records and were garnering a huge buzz while playing Ozzfest's 2nd stage. Although they never had a 'radio hit' the virtually unknown band emerged from that tour as one of the most exciting and talked about new bands of the summer.

Riding the buzz from Ozzfest the band released their Divine Records debut, "Inches From Mainline" and it was expected to be huge, but their wave came crashing down and the good turned bad just 4 months later. Priority Records, which was Divine's parent company, folded causing the Divine label to go down with it leaving Slaves On Dope hanging in the breeze. "That's business, that what happens," modestly states Slaves frontman Jason Rockman who could only watch helplessly as his label fell into the dark waters of circumstance. "We only had about 4 months of solid support on the record and then all of a sudden the label folded so we were kinda stuck. When you don't have someone on the other end supporting you it gets kinda tough."

Slaves On Dope would still tour in support of their album that year, but with no label to back them their buzz would slowly dissolve into the background and the band would fade with it. Rockman and the boys would have no choice but to start all over again; they would have to go back to the drawing board and search for a new label to sign them. Instead of dwelling on their misfortune they viewed their situation as challenge that would ultimately make them stronger and force them to be better than before. "A lot of times when you're going through painful stuff good stuff will come out of it," Rockman said. "We definitely grew in the last year and a half, we had a lot of ups and downs and it made for a lot of good music."

The band never stopped writing and recording music as they shopped around and showcased for new labels. Rockman poured his frustrated feeling into his lyrics and his music served as a therapeutic outlet for his emotions. He soon penned songs such as "Go" and "Drain Me" which were recorded on their demo. The demo, recorded in L.A. was produced and mixed by Troy Van Leeuwen (A Perfect Circle) and Jason Slater (Snake River Conspiracy) and on the strength of those recordings Slaves On Dope would ink a deal with Beiler Brothers Records, an affiliate of MCA in 2002. "It's a small label, but that cool cus' we feel like the big fish in the small pond," gleams Rockman, "we feel like we're being taken care of. There a great bunch of guys over there and it's a nice place to be."

Slaves On Dope are finally ready to hit us with their follow up to, "Inches From Mainline" in Spring 2003 and Rockman and his mates are extremely stoked to get back into the swing of things. "The whole record is done and in the can.. It's being mixed right now," says Rockman who also admitted that he is feeling the pressure of the sophomore jinx. "This record is really important to us, I mean every second record is important for every band and we just want to have a good go with this second album. The whole theme of this record is about finding yourself again and getting back on that horse and that's just what we're doing."

Rockman promises that this still untitled record will feature plenty of balls-out hard edged metal but will also show some growth and diversity as some tracks are more melodic and radio friendly. "This record has a lot more melodic stuff on it, but because of the subject matter it brings more of a dark tone to it," explains Rockman, "We're definitely gonna reach a lot more people with this record than we did on the last one."

Songs on the album include: "Go," "Pattern," "So Clear," "Drain Me," "The Plan," "Casualty Of Me," "Poster Boy," "September," "Only Hero," "Caffeine Love Affair," "Colombian Ascot," "Drag Down," "Quitters Inc." and "Glass Friend." "We have so many sides to us," Says Rockman of the bands dynamics, "we can go into so many directions. Songs like 'Caffeine Love Affair' and 'Colombian Ascot' are just brutally heavy and I know our core fans will love those."

"So Clear" will possibly be the first single off the new album and also stands as a very personal track written by Rockman during a rough time in his life. "That song is about being in a relationship and you just have to get out of it," he explains. "As much as you think you can make it work it just isn't gonna work and that whole realization when you know that it just isn't gonna happen becomes really clear. That's what that's songs about and it's a real personal one for me."

So, now with a new label, new management and a new album Slaves On Dope are beginning a new chapter in their unique career proving that you can loose it all and with hard word work and determination you can get it all back again. But, be careful, because you never know how the tide's going to rise tomorrow.

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