Exit Strategy started obliterating the sound systems of venues across Alberta back in the fall or 2006 when guitarist Joe Sikorski and drummer Casey Rogers were playing in the technically astounding progressive metal act Caveat.

“Casey and Joe decided to go down to our jam pad/studio and jam out on some death metal/grind sounding songs that wouldn’t really fit into the style that we had going on with Caveat and ended up putting a couple of demos together,” bassist Greg Musgrave chronicled of Exit Strategy’s early beginnings.

“They then showed the demos to ex-Thorazine and Section VIII vocalist Shane Hawco, who came down to Calgary from Edmonton to lay some vocal tracks on the demos. After some troubles with the original bass player, I was asked to join the band as bassist and second vocalist to create the first official line up of Exit Strategy.”

Those early demos evolved into “The Duality Of Man” and “War Torn Gaze,” two of the hardest hitting tunes on the death-infused grindcore band’s 2008 debut album “United State of Amnesia.” The quartet laid waste to eardrums everywhere when they followed that up with a live DVD in early 2009; but the biggest news of the year so far was the replacement of original frontman Shane Hawco with Thérèse Lanz, best known for her involvement with Calgary-based hardcore punk trio Kilbourne.

“Due to growing demands with Shane’s current job as the lead character artist at BioWare [a Canadian-based electronic entertainment company], he decided to step down as the vocalist for ES,” Musgrave explained. “We wish him all the best in his future endeavors.”

When did you start looking for a new vocalist?

We started basically about six months ago when Shane first let us know that he would be leaving the band. We had our eye on a few local talents to fill Shane’s shoes, one being Thérèse, who obviously ended up being the one who got the spot.

How did Thérèse fall in with you madmen?

She fits in surprising well, being she also has a twisted sense of humor and a remarkable view on many interesting issues. She is one hell of a screamer and works well with within the ES formula. So basically, so far so good.

Shane’s a pretty tough act to follow. When did you realize Thérèse was the right vocalist for the job?

One thing that was great was that, like the rest of the people in the band, Thérèse has a ton of experience in both performing and touring, so it wasn’t like bringing a newbie in that we had to show the proverbial ropes to, but more a veteran who had to add her own style into the  mechanics of the band.

How much practice has gone into getting prepped: building chemistry with a new member, writing new material, etc.?

We’ve been rehearsing with Thérèse for the past few months since she was asked to join and, although we’ve been primarily concentrating on writing the new ES album, we’ve also been continuing to rehearse a lot of the old material to make sure that we have a strong cross-section of both older and newer material.

How much of the early ES material is going to stay in your live sets?

I think the stronger songs, and ones that have gone over well in the past, will continue to be played live here and there, but it will be nice to have more material to choose from for shows, as we’ve been playing the same set of songs from “United State of Amnesia” for the last two years and are looking forward to playing the new stuff live.

Are the lyrics going to have the same socio-political concept as before?

They are, but Thérèse has a much broader scope of concepts and views that are very interesting and refreshing. We kind of beat the whole anti-war thing into the dirt with the first album, so this time there will a variety of different issues and topics that will be explored; but, yes, this band is still our weapon to vent about issues that piss us off.

How much freedom is Thérèse going to have when it comes to writing lyrics and the vocals in general?

Thérèse will certainly have freedom express herself lyrically and vocally. I will still be doing some vocals very much like on the first album, but Thérèse will most likely be taking care of the lyrics, where myself and the other guys will certainly be involved in the arranging of the songs both musically and vocally.

How would you say the band’s sound has evolved since adding Thérèse to the fold?

The band on a musical stand point has been evolving quite a bit since the first album was recorded, and we certainly believe the new material to be the most musically-involved and vicious material to date.

How do you expect fans of the original ES will react to the new material and lineup?

I think most of them will dig the new stuff, but we have already had a lot of skeptical fans and friends alike who I think, for the most part, can’t imagine ES without Shane, since he has been such an integral part of the band and the ideology behind the band since its inception. All I can say is come and check out the new line-up live playing the new material and make that judgment for yourself.

Do you know when you’re going to record a follow up to “United State of Amnesia?”

The plan is to hopefully record this summer, as over half the record is already written.

What goes into planning material for Exit Strategy?

Joe basically comes in with a skeleton version of the song, at which point Casey and I will learn the parts and then we all arrange and tweak the song until we are happy with it.

Where did you record “United State of Amnesia,” and will you go that same path again?

We recorded at our own studio called CMSS Studio and will almost certainly be recording the same way again for ES:II.

What are some of the pros and cons of being an independent band in Western Canada?

Pros are basically that you have no restrictions, as far as what you do or what is expected of you beyond your band mates and your fans. That being said, the band itself is completely responsible for everything that happens to the band, both good and bad. Those who work hard at it will most likely reap the rewards for their efforts, and those who don’t will more than likely stay in neutral, rather than continuing to move forward.

As for cons – it is always nice when you have others to help with the “business” side of things like promotions and PR in general, which leaves the band more time and freedom to concentrate of the music. Realistically, to be in a death metal band and continue to move forward, you really have to do it for the love of playing music and not because you want to “make it.” We’ve even seen that even when you “make it,” so to speak, that opens up a whole other set of problems and obstacles that you get put in front of you, which can sometimes make or break a band’s future.

What are the best and worst gigs in the province that you have played?

Best gig would have to be when Casey, Joe and I got to open up for Gwar in our former band Caveat and got to play the big Mac Hall, which was incredible. Worst gig I would say was when ES played the Devil’s Gap in Banff and literally drove everyone out of the bar. Good times.

Who are some of the local bands you like to go check out when you’re not doing a show yourselves?

Some favorites of ours are Kilyakai, Kataplexis, We Found the Body, Sacred Ally, Divinity, Ost Est Ima, Nusquam Esse and many others.

In your opinion, how underrated are Alberta bands and what can bands and fans do to change this?

There has and always will be limited amount of people who will actually look beyond their own backyard and see that there are some exceptionally talented bands in almost every subgenre of metal that people can enjoy on almost any given weekend.