At the historic Darke Hall in Regina, members of Flash Back brought their alternative attire and heavy music to the main stage as they received their second Saskatchewan Music Award.

“We were all trying to keep straight faces and trying to keep the aesthetic, but I knew that all of us were freaking out, it was pretty unreal.” said lead vocalist Nathan Daschuk, discussing the ceremony awarding Flash Back the Metal/Loud Artist of the Year.

Their first EP, Sound Asleep, which was released in 2019 fused an abrasive and technical mixture of electronic, hardcore, elements of hip/hop and metal- a recall to a sub-genre that originated in the mid to late 90’s known as nu-metal.

Shortly thereafter, Flash Back quickly collected a strong and devoted following.

Their newfound admiration from a broad group of listeners has amazed them in ways they did not expect,

“It’s definitely surprising to know how many have checked it out and that they really enjoy it.” said Riley McLennan, guitarist of Flash Back and enthusiast of the heavy music scene in Saskatchewan.

More than ever, heavier bands are gaining attraction across the prairies, this was proven when Flash Back received their second Sask. Music award this past December.

“It’s pretty surreal,’’ said Daschuk. “We won it last year during covid so it was all held remotely. But this year, being able to go to the award show and give an acceptance speech definitely hit different.”

“It felt way more real and hearing the audience’s reaction, even when we were announced as a nominee people were going off, people were screaming and then when we went up it was unreal.”

Beyond the prairies, the band has gained recognition from groups outside the province, and even the country for their recent achievement,

 “We’re a nu-metal band. A bunch of people from US hardcore are like ‘what hell are you guys doing?’ There are not many hardcore bands from the states winning awards. It was a wild experience.” Said McLennan

As surreal as their progression has been during their short time together, they recognize that a devoted community and fanbase are to thank.

 “it’s always been a cohesive mesh sort of thing, I think that is a testament to Regina, for as long as I can remember Regina has always had a very wide variety of bands,” said Daschuk,

“When flash back came out, it was something that really no one in this area of North America was doing, and people accepted it and it was an immediate community. With Stepping Stone, because I played guitar with Stepping Stone and booked most…all…I’ll take full credit, every single show we played, and that band couldn’t and wouldn’t ever get credit from an organization such as Sask. music. That’s not a dig at Sask. music, that’s just the way it is with hardcore, it’s just not really a palatable genre.”

Interim Executive Director for Sask. Music, Lorena Kelly, along with a diverse and respected team, oversee the inner workings of Saskatchewan’s music scene. With that being said, they’ve always recognized that the heavier side of music is a growing community in the prairies,

“We started the awards basically 5 years ago, and we’ve had one [Heavy music category] since the beginning of the Sask music awards,” said Kelly.

“We have a small but robust music community in Saskatchewan for metal… I think often times the market in Canada is just kind of small because of our population base, but the fans that do exist are absolutely rabid for it.”