BANFF — Vinyls fresh off the press, a multi-year project finally in their hands, all Banff’s Gerry Roy can say is it’s a proud moment for the punk rockers of Banff band Regal Foul.
“We really feel like it’s the best thing we’ve done so far,” said band member Roy, who is also behind the monthly concert series Banff Punk Night.
The 10-track album This Inferno is So Mesmerizing is the group’s second record following Monster in Disguise (2020) but this time ‘round the three-man band, consisting of Roy (vocals, guitar), Brian MacEachern (vocals, bass) and Mitch McCallum (drums), took a different approach.
“ We really wanted to make it a cohesive album, start to finish, that people would want to listen to the whole story,” said McCallum.
Organizing the songs in chronological order as they were written, the tracks are all tied together with a theme of personal struggle, self-realization and overcoming adversity running through the record — in the mix is one outlier that Roy says is an ode to Banff and the mountains the three guys have called home for a collective of about 40 years.
“It’s sort of starting with self-defeat, coming to a point of realization that you have the power to change your surroundings, your world and then finding redemption in the end,” Roy says of the record’s theme.
The sound follows suit: ebbing and flowing with the lyrics and leaning into the band’s early 2000s skate punk influences.
“This album, it’s hard-hitting, but also there’s songs like Scorched Earth where it actually kind of slows down so it’s more of a mature sound from our older songs,” said McCallum.
“There might be negative aspects in the lyrics, but overall, the music we think still sounds fun and energetic,” added Roy.
Album release show at Banff Punk Night
The three-year-long project comes just in time for the final heater of Banff Punk Night’s winter concert series on Tuesday (April 7) at Banff’s Pump & Tap Tavern.
Regal Foul will play most tracks from their new album live for the first time alongside a lineup of Edmonton bands Lushclot and Reckloose and Calgary’s 2 Litre Superpunk.
“We’re really excited to have Lushclot here,” said Roy. “They’re evoking this weird sort of like ’80s D.C. hardcore, but with one of the most electrified front persons you can ever see in Western Canada and the combination is just unruly.”
With similar influences to Regal Foul, 2 Litre Superpunk delivers a skate punk sound and high-energy on stage.
”They almost have a metal core technicality to them,” Roy said, adding that Reckloose brings a “rougher edge” to their sound.
“You don’t even need to be much of a fan of the genre to show up and see like on the three, four, five bands that we’ll have in a night just how different each of them are.”
It just so happens that the music stars have aligned, and the concert also doubles as a triple release show with Lushclot and 2 Litre Superpunk also on the verge of putting out new tunes.
“Coincidentally … [Lushclot] is literally releasing their EP on the same day as us,” said Roy, noting their debut EP Lice will drop April 7 as well.
“I don’t think we’ve ever had a show where a band has actually toured or [is] playing on a recent release,” Roy added.
On April 10, 2 Litre Superpunk will also drop their newest single Nightmare Before the Inquisition.
Keeping the punk scene alive in the Bow Valley, Banff Punk Night returns in May for a summer concert series that runs (almost) monthly until July.
Meanwhile, Roy hopes to stir up more opportunities and spaces for emerging youth bands in the valley with an all-ages show.
“I see a lot of youth play music with no outlet right now,” he said. “It’s like [youth] don’t have the same opportunities as we do. They don’t have this space that they can just go to the town hall and say, ‘here’s $200.’”
He hopes to give young musicians the tools to eventually run shows on their own out of the Banff Legion.
“I just think it’s really important to create that space. They shouldn’t have to go to Calgary to play shows. They should be able to do it right here in their own community,” he added.
Following Banff Punk Night’s 15th show and final concert of their 2026 winter series on April 7, Regal Foul is set to headline Riot Vs. Rave at Banff’s Rose and Crown on April 19 — a night combining the punk and rave music scene.
The Local Journalism Initiative is funded by the Government of Canada. This position covers Îyârhe (Stoney) Nakoda First Nation and Kananaskis Country.
By Leah Pelletier, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter
Original Published on Apr 07, 2026 at 13:28
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