Slaves on Dope

by MacKenzie Wilson
Montreal's Slaves on Dope takes great pride in escaping the grunge mainstream during the '90s to evolve into one of Canada's harshest heavy metal acts, as well as Ozzy Osbourne's first act signed to his Divine Recordings. But before Slaves on Dope reached that level, the band, which is composed of Jason Rockman (vocals), Kevin Jardine (guitar), Frank Salvaggio (bass), and Rob Urbani (percussion), was merely a hard rock gang of D.I.Y. successors looking for a career in music. They formed in 1994, but opted for a move to Los Angeles five years later in scope of making their goals in music a reality. The year prior, Slaves on Dope independently issued the demo Klepto and the hype surrounding it led to gigs and support from bands such as Papa Roach and System of a Down. The new millennium marked the band's contractual union with Ozzy and the debut album Inches From the Mainline, which was released in October 2000. After an slight break, the band returned in 2003 with Metafour.