Diemonds

Biography

Diemonds is a Juno Award nominated Canadian hard rock/heavy metal band formed in 2006 in Toronto and fronted by Priya Panda. Their second full length album and latest effort Never Wanna Die was released on August 14, 2015 accompanied by multiple Juno award-winner Eric Ratz (Monster Truck, Arkells, Billy Talent) in the producer chair. Remaining true to their sound, Diemonds takes lyrics that speak to the outcasts, wild childs, and misfits, and combines them with a hard-hitting live show, taking c...

Diemonds is a Juno Award nominated Canadian hard rock/heavy metal band formed in 2006 in Toronto and fronted by Priya Panda. Their second full length album and latest effort Never Wanna Die was released on August 14, 2015 accompanied by multiple Juno award-winner Eric Ratz (Monster Truck, Arkells, Billy Talent) in the producer chair. Remaining true to their sound, Diemonds takes lyrics that speak to the outcasts, wild childs, and misfits, and combines them with a hard-hitting live show, taking cues from the greats they look up to.

'In The Rough'
Diemonds independently released their debut EP "In the Rough" in October 2008. Released independently, Diemonds toured Canada & the United States heavily and played with bands like L.A. Guns, Faster Pussycat, John Corabi, Teenage Head (band), Rough Trade (band), and New York’s Semi Precious Weapons. "In The Rough" was later re-released on limited edition cassette.

'The Bad Pack'
On August 10, 2012 it was announced that Diemonds had signed with Toronto based independent punk rock record label, Underground Operations. The announcement also came with the news that the long awaited full length debut from Diemonds, "The Bad Pack", would be released via Underground Operations with distribution through Universal Music Canada on October 2, 2012. "The Bad Pack" was recorded with Jon Drew (Fucked Up, Tokyo Police Club). Underground Operations president and founder Mark Spicoluk commented on the signing of Diemonds saying "Authenticity. Most bands try to fake it and look stupid in the process but Diemonds are as authentic as it gets. I’m honored for UO to have the opportunity to play a pivotal role at this stage in Diemonds journey."

Diemonds toured consistently through North America in support of "The Bad Pack" including a direct support to Santa Cruz, California glam metal band Dirty Penny. The relentless touring included multiple appearances at the Rocklahoma festival as well as appearances at Seattle Hempfest, Heavy MTL, & SXSW. The band has also had the opportunity to play support slots to Guns N' Roses guitarist Slash, The Darkness, Megadeth, Steel Panther, Sebastian Bach, & most recently KISS on the annual KISS Kruise.

eOne Signing & 'Never Wanna Die'
On May 1, 2015, it was announced that Diemonds would release their second full length album, Never Wanna Die, via eOne Music/Underground Operations. 'Never Wanna Die' was produced by multiple Juno Award winning producer Eric Ratz (Billy Talent, Monster Truck, Cancer Bats) and is set to be released August 14, 2015. This record would be the first time the band sat down and worked with a producer and it's evident on the album how much effort was put into the final product. This is what the band had to say about working with Eric, "We were in the studio every fucking day for like three months. That was a learning experience. You get to immerse yourself in the project and we’d never had the opportunity to spend that much time working on our music. We’d never worked with a producer before. The whole thing was a big learning experience and we think that as a band, we’ve grown exponentially with our style, our chops, and our songwriting."

Vocalist Priya Panda also discussed some of the lyrical content and the messages throughout this album "The whole album kind of has a similar theme: Kind of stepping away from things that can bring you down and grow stronger from them, and learning lessons from them, and sticking true to who you are.” Following the release of Never Wanna Die, the band embarked on a Fall headlining tour across Canada in support of the new record as well as an appearance at Japanese Assault Festival 2015 in November marking the band's first performance in Japan.

In July of 2016, Diemonds supported Steel Panther on their Canadian tour.

Accolades
Classic Rock Magazine ranked #4 for Best Music Videos of 2013 with "Get the F*&k Outta Here"
High Times Magazine 'Doobie Award' for Best Underground Artist 2013
JUNO Awards nominated for 2016 Heavy Metal album of the year.

Current members
Priya Panda - Vocals
C.C. Diemond - Guitar
Daniel Dekay - Lead Guitar
Tyrone Buccione - Bass
Aiden Tranquada - Drums

Former members
Al Biddle - Drums 2009-2010 (Also of Toxic Holocaust, Rammer, Cauldron, Hassler)
Alan 'Yeti' Riches - Drums - 2007-2009 & Guitar - 2010-2011 (Also of Before the Curtain, No Warning (band)) Deceased
Paul 'Cuzo' Mancuso - Bass - 2008-2011 (Also of The Mahones, Diablo Red) Deceased
Vassil 'Vaggy' Mester - Drums - 2006-2008 (Also of City Sweethearts, Zex) Deceased
Tommy Cee - Bass - 2012-2014

Discography
Extended Plays
In The Rough (2008)

Studio Albums
The Bad Pack (2012)
Never Wanna Die (2015)
Diemonds (2018)

Videography
"Highway" 2009 Matthew Chrones Scott- In The Rough
"Take On The Night" 2012 Matthew Chrones Scott - The Bad Pack
"Livin' Tonight" 2012 Matthew Chrones Scott- The Bad Pack
"Get The F&$k Outta Here" 2012 Matthew Chrones Scott - The Bad Pack
"Ain't That Kinda Girl"2015 Matthew Chrones Scott & C.C. Diemond - Never Wanna Die Read more on Last.fm. User-contributed text is available under the Creative Commons By-SA License; additional terms may apply.