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 (Canadian Grammys) 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 330,000 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 was re-released in 2009 when distribution began with 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.
