History & Biography Ottawa-born Ron Chenier formed the Canadian Fist in 1979. The singer/guitarist recruited a band and began playing small clubs in and around Toronto, as well as Eastern Canada. The group issued the Round One vinyl independently in 1979 which was produced by Chenier’s brother Norman. After shows in Canada and USA the group was picked up by A&M which sent the group into Toronto’s Amber Studio to record Hot Spikes. Fleet Street (called Thunder In Rock outside Canada) was followed by shows with major bands like Scorpions and Heart. The group was fronted by David McDonald briefly at this juncture. Danger Zone ended up on the local independent label Cobra Records as the band’s brand of heavy metal had failed to catch on. With growth not there the band withdrew its fist in 1986 and called it a day.
As often happens the group reunited in 1991 and played shows locally. The line-up issued Reign Of Terror in 1993. The band again went on hiatus from 1995 to 2005 until reemerging with the independent Bolted Door on Ronch Music Canada. Chenier was producing country music in the interim.
Drummer Mike Wetmore and bass player Bob Moffatt were organizing a reunion show for Ottawa in April of 2008 which would feature all the band’s previous band members.
The group was known as Myofist mostly outside Canada in order to distinguish it from UK’s Fist. Gord Kirchin, later of Piledriver was the band’s bassist for a while in the '80s.
Reviews FIST - BOLTED DOOR - RONCH
Whether called Fist (Canada) or Myofist (Europe) the band is not a new name to Canadian and many international fans, especially should they be older and remember a thing or two about the '80s scene. Ron Chenier has kept the faith all these years and through Ronch (get it?) Music is still at it making noise and being generally loud. Now, albums like these can be one of two things. They either serve to keep the faith and produce new music for the love of it or are simply tools to get the band on the road, on stage and active without much expectation of gaining industry support. If the music could speak and the biography was meaningful then Bolted Door might mean to do both. The twelve-track CD begins impressively enough. Pressure, Right In It and especially It Ain’t Easy are catchy and powerful hard rock tuneage be it 1987 or 2007. Unfortunately, the album does not keep up the pace, momentum or quality and the songs in the middle of the disc not up to the same standards. While the band’s biography makes much of the group’s heavy metal credentials - which is always good to see - Bolted Door often comes across as more Cheap Trick than Iron Maiden. The album, with Hammond organs a bit too present, chugs along with riffs that could have been Judas Priest’s, but are not played with the same attitude or vigour. Several songs could have belonged to Priest or Saxon circa 1982, but end up sounding like Loverboy instead. Also on the downside, is inspiration by a gang of thugs based in Kuwait as well as mention of the retail evil empire Walmart in the 'thanks list.' Nevertheless, Fist is both a nostalgia trip and a decent AOR/rock/had rock outfit sitting in Canada’s own desert just in need of a little boost and some more speed. - Ali “The Metallian”
Interviews
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