The Nils

The Nils were formed in the suburbs of Montreal in 1978 by Carlos Soria and his younger brother Alex. They performed for the first time on stage in 1980 as Alex was only 14 years old. Their first release was a 5 track demo tape simply called Now in 1982. It most certainly got the attention of Los Angeles punk/hardcore label BYO Records who sended them the money to record the now legendary "Scratches and Needles" to be the first track on the line up of their LP compilation called "Something to Believe In" realeased in 1984. It was at the time really significant to be featured on pole position of the tracks lining, right ahead of famous groups like D.O.A., Youth Brigade and 7 Seconds Many people can’t understand why no one signed them up with a nice contract right then. It should have happened right there since "Scratches and Needles" is such an amazing song with its violent yet melodious vocals, full of rage and emotions. That same year The Nils recorded "Call of The Wild" for the compilation "Primitive Air Raid" from Psyche Industry Records which featured Montreal local bands like the Asexuals, Fair Warning and Genetic Control. In 1985, on the same label was released the 4 track 12" EP "Sell Out Young" followed in 1986 by another 4 track 12" EP with Siegfried Records that is now know as "The Paisley Album". This album is now a real collector’s item since there is only around 500 copy of it with the original pocket sleeve. Finally in 1987 the New-York Label Rock Hotel/Profile Records proposed them to record an album simply called "The Nils" which is less abrasive then what they have done before but remains a very good album. Carlos then left for California and Alex put together a band called Los Patos that didn’t have very much success and The Nils were together again as soon as Carlos was back in Montral and recorded 14 demos and made a few concerts before spliting up again in 1994. Alex formed a band called Chino in 1998 and recorded the CD EP "Mala Leche" on Mag Wheel Records that lasted until 2002. The Nils made a few concerts in Canada again during the spring of 2003 but split up again so that Alex could concentrate on a solo accoustic project. Alex tragicly died in Montreal the 12th of December 2004, hit by a train. MPG Records released the accoustic material that Alex and Carlos had recorded previously and came out "Next of Kin" a very deep,inspired album containing unplugged material as well as a few live tracks. To this day there are still around 20 still unreleased tracks from The Nils.