Gutter King's "Mirror" Tells A Story Of Reinventing Yourself

When did I become a loyal subject of the band Gutter King?  It was late last year when I heard their song “Killswitch” and saw the music video.  I was intrigued. There was something different about this band.  Though they are a metalcore band, their sound is so unique and combines elements of other genres, as well.  I was drawn to it like a moth to a flame. 

After “Killswitch”, Gutter Kind released “Limbo”, with a music video to go along with that, and, most recently, “Mirror”. When I heard the latest track, I decided:  I needed to learn more about Gutter King and write about them.  They quickly agreed when I asked, and we got things moving. 

I must say, I was very impressed with how timely and organized this band was when getting me information for this story. They had a press release, band bio, photos, logos – everything ready to send out in one shot, and they also graciously answered additional questions that I had within a few hours of me sending them.  What a pleasure it was to work with them on this!

Gutter King is from Calgary, Alberta, Canada.  Band members include:  :  Bertie Heatlie (Vocals); Seth Shimp (Guitar/Vocals/Production); Alan Bremner (Guitar/Visuals); and Glenn Thomson (Drums).

The band was formed in 2018 by Alan, Seth, and Bertie.  The project was born from the idea that the only things standing between them and their goals were hard work, patience, and, of course, writing great songs.

Bert and Seth met in grade school. They met Alan in high school.  Alan knew of Glenn through his photography page on Instagram, and they later came to find out he is also a drummer. He joined the band in 2024.

Here’s a quick timeline of Gutter King’s music.  In 2018, the year the band was formed, they released the EP Beyond Grief. They followed that up with several singles -- “The Bed We Made” in 2019, and “Feather”, “Make Believe”, and “Sleeping Trees”, all in 2020.  In 2023, Gutter King dropped the Chemical Messages EP. A deluxe version of that  EP was released in 2024. 

Since last October, the band has released three singles – “Killswitch” October 18th, 2024; “Limbo” April 2nd of this year; and, most recently, “Mirror” August 6th.

If you think there was a gap in the new music between 2020 and 2023, you’re correct.  Of course it was primarily due to the lockdown during the COVID-19 pandemic.  The band admits they spent most of their time playing Call Of Duty for the first few months, which I’m sure a lot of people can relate to because we all just needed to occupy ourselves while social-distancing.  It took them a while to regroup and start the process of writing and recording Chemical Messages.  They wanted to make sure everything was perfect.

When it comes to the songwriting process for Gutter King, generally either Seth will have an instrumental idea, or Seth and Bert will sit down and collaborate on the lyrics and instrumentals together.  Usually everything sort of comes at the same time.  They like to start with a basic instrumental idea and then freestyle some melodies on top until they get something interesting.  After that they start adding lyrics to the melodies.

As I mentioned previously, I’m so impressed with how this band does things. They are very professional, and are a do-it-yourself, hands-on band. Seth produces and records the music, and Alan and Glenn shoot and edit their videos, take their photos, and make most of their merch designs. In the case of the most-recently released song, “Mirror”, the band self-recorded and self-produced the track, and brought on George Lever (Loathe, Sleep Token, Thornhill) to mix and master. They have actually worked with George on most of their music since the pandemic.

The band members of Gutter King have a goal to bring more recognition to the growing rock and metal scene in Canada, primarily in the metalcore genre. If their last three singles are any indication, they are doing just that. 

I did a deep dive into the band’s catalog while doing research for this story, and it seems that Gutter’s King’s music is evolving and maturing. They are not afraid to think outside of the box and experiment musically and vocally.  This is what makes their sound so unique and makes me want to keep listening. The dual vocals of Bertie and Seth, the sick guitar riffs  and thunderous drums, all combine perfectly to give listeners an experience that will transport them to another dimension. That’s the best kind of music. The kind you can just get lost in. Quite frankly, it's addictive.

Vocalist Bertie Heatlie shared, “The last song we released, ‘Limbo’, definitely embraced the lighter and electronic elements of our sound. ‘Mirror’ is the perfect follow-up and expands what people can come to expect from us. This song is a ripper and kicks ass right out of the gate!”

Drummer Glenn Thomson added, “ ‘Mirror’ is Gutter King at our very best. We paid so much attention to detail on this song.”

With “Killswitch” and “Limbo”, the two singles released just before “Mirror”, Gutter King threw everything into the melting pot. “It feels like a culmination of everything we’ve learned about our own sound, what works and what doesn’t, and how we can keep pushing the envelope to keep ourselves and our fans excited about what we do next,” guitarist Alan Bremner said. “Mirror” is no different.  It’s very intriguing and complex, and I myself am definitely super stoked in what this band will be putting out there in the future.

The band said that this new batch of songs -- “Killswitch”, “Limbo”, “Mirror” -- are centered around the theme of destruction and reinvention. The band wrote the songs during a pretty tough time, and the songs represent their transformation into a new version of themselves as artists. 

Regarding “Mirror” specifically, the band shared, “ ‘Mirror’ is a cathartic song to us. It was written during a tumultuous time in our lives, when we had to reinvent ourselves as artists. That’s why the song is centered on destruction, because in order to step into our future, we had to destroy the parts of ourselves that were holding us back.”

Even though Gutter King didn’t do a music video for “Mirror”, I did want to mention this aspect of the band’s never-ending creativity. As mentioned above, Alan directs the band’s videos, and Glenn is involved behind the scenes as well.

The whole band comes up with the video concepts, but Alan takes the lead in turning their crazy ideas into something tangible that they can actually do DIY. I’m going to drop the videos for “Killswitch” and “Limbo” at the bottom of this story so you can see how innovative Gutter King is in this area, too.

There will be new music and shows coming up for Gutter King, so make sure to stay tuned to their socials to keep up with what’s happening. This band has a strong social media presence and I’ve especially been enjoying their content on Instagram, TikTok, and Facebook. I’m including the Instagram link to a recent Reel that shows some of Seth Shimp’s process of piecing together the chorus of "Mirror".  It’s interesting and fun and it immediately got a great reaction from fans. The band says we can look forward to more content like this coming from them.

You can follow Gutter King on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, and the band’s Linktree.

Written by: Annie Schlottman Photo credits: Jayme Javier @hispanicpanic28