One of the best-selling Canadian bands of all time, multi-platinum band FINGER ELEVEN (@finger_eleven) have always amalgamated their musical influences into their rock mix. They acknowledge that Phil Collins and Genesis were a big melodic influence on LAST NIGHT ON EARTH, which is out today (November 7) via Better Noise Music, their first with the label and seventh album overall. It’s available HERE. Today also marks the release of the album’s fourth single, “The Mountain.”
FINGER ELEVEN is propelled by a fresh musical vigor. “As we were making LAST NIGHT ON EARTH, there was this feeling that we were making a big Rock record,” guitarist Rick Jackett recalls. “We had done that early in our career, and then we veered away from it. But it was time to go back and embrace that bigness of the sound. Even the soft songs sound big.”
Although FINGER ELEVEN excel at writing four-minute songs, guitarist James Black feels that the majestic “The Mountain” feels like a 7-minute epic squeezed into that time, with music as epic as the lyrics are. “The setting is a fantastical one. At its core, it’s a song about trying to find the music,” explains frontman Scott Anderson. “The ultimate search is you’re finally at the end of it. When I step back it’s talking about our own journey, but it’s dressed up in a different way. It’s the idea of just trying to find one more cool idea, and hoping it’s not the last one.”
Previously, three singles/videos have been released from LAST NIGHT ON EARTH. The title track came out September 19 (listen to “Last Night On Earth” HERE and watch the video HERE that has over 320k views), preceded by the thunderous “Blue Sky Mystery” featuring Richard Patrick from Filter on August 1. It landed the band their 11th Billboard Top 10 radio hit in Canada (listen to the song HERE and view the video HERE that has over 428k views). The high-octane “Adrenaline” (which reached the Top 20 on the Mediabase Active Rock chart) was released last year along with a video that’s logged nearly 200k views on YouTube. The song also vaulted to #2 on the Active Rock chart in Canada, where the song held strong in the Top 5 for over four months.
These new tunes explore time-honored FINGER ELEVEN concepts with fresh twists. “Adrenaline” is a rousing, intense anthem about pushing forward against adversity. “Blue Sky Mystery” is another hard-hitting rocker about being beguiled by something just out of reach. “The Mountain” rides musical peaks and valleys in its quest to chase the song, about the creative process expressed in a fantasy setting. Then there is the acoustic number “Last Night On Earth,” which tackles relationship turmoil.
Credit: Myles Erfurth
Left to right: Sean Anderson (bass), James Black (lead guitar/backing vocals), Scott Anderson (vocals), Steve Molella (drums), Rick Jackett (rhythm guitar)
Originally from Burlington, Ontario and now based mostly out of Toronto, FINGER ELEVEN have released a series of consecutive hit albums and become among the greatest live bands to ever emerge from the great White North. Their self-titled debut album broke the band into the international mainstream, achieving Gold status in the United States and Platinum in Canada, and smashing the first single, “One Thing,” across the radio and Billboard charts. Their 2007 album, THEM VS. YOU VS. ME, launched the single “Paralyzer,” setting radio records in the U.S., peaking at #1 internationally and going 5x Platinum, the band’s second million-plus seller. They won the Juno Award for Rock Album the following year and set an incredible run at rock radio, with an unbeaten 14 weeks at the top spot. LIFE TURNS ELECTRIC, was nominated for a Juno Award for Best Rock Album of the Year. 2015’s FIVE CROOKED LINES continued to electrify audiences the world over and their 2023 GREATEST HITS includes their biggest smash hit in a decade, “Together Right,” which topped the radio charts for an amazing five-week run at #1.
FINGER ELEVEN will soon be launching a national Canadian tour with fellow native sons Headstones and The Tea Party, while concerts are being planned for the new year. Tickets are available now on the band’s official website.
Here are the FINGER ELEVEN tour dates:
11/25 Penticton, BC – South Okanagan Event Centre
11/26 Abbotsford, BC – Abbotsford Arts Centre
11/28 Edmonton, AB – Rogers Place
11/29 Calgary, AB – Grey Eagle Casino Event Centre
12/1 Winnipeg, MB – Canada Life Centre
12/3 Montreal, QC – MTELUS
12/5 Toronto, ON – The Theatre at Great Canadian Resort
12/6 Ottawa, ON – The Arena at TD Place
12/7 Peterborough, ON – Memorial Centre
12/18 Kitchener, ON – Elements
12/10 Windsor, ON – The Colosseum at Caesars Windsor
12/12 Moncton, NB – Casino New Brunswick
12/13 Halifax, NS – Scotiabank Centre
