Royal Tusk is a Canadian rock band from Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, consisting of Daniel Carriere (vocals), Quinn Cyrankiewicz (guitar) and Sandy MacKinnon (bass).
History 2011–2014: Origins and Mountain The band formed in 2011 in Edmonton, in the shadow of Carriere and MacKinnon's previous band, Ten Second Epic. They started writing songs for their debut EP, Mountain. The EP was recorded in Edmonton in 2014, and released by Canadian independent record label Hidden Pony Records. The single Shadow of Love from the EP received airplay in local radio stations.
2015–2017: DealBreaker After minimal touring off of the success of their EP, the band started to record their first album. DealBreaker was released on May 26, 2016. The album spawned two singles, 'Fever' and 'Curse the Weather.' Fever received music video treatment, but Curse the Weather did not.
2018–2021: Tusk II and breakthrough In 2018, the band released their sophomore album with their new label, Entertainment One Music. Tusk II was released on October 25, 2018. The first single from the album, Aftermath, was released earlier in the month, peaked at #36 on the Billboard Mainstream Rock Charts. The music video for Aftermath was directed by Evan Owen Dennis, and was released on October 4, 2018. The album's third single, Die Knowing's music video was directed by Keenan Kirk and was released on January 20, 2019.
2021–Present
The band released new singles "All My Life" and "Head Up" on July 7 and August 25, 2023 respectively./ The music video for "Head Up" was directed by Travis Nesbitt, and was released on the same day as the single itself./
In 2025, Stony Plain-based artist Keenan Gregory won a Juno Award for his design for Royal Tusk's 2024 album Altruistic.
Band members Current Daniel Carriere – vocals, rhythm guitar (2013–present) Quinn Cyrankiewicz – lead guitar, backing vocals (2013–present) Sandy MacKinnon – bass, backing vocals (2013–present)
Former Mike James – keyboards, guitars (2013–2016) Calen Stuckel – drums (2013–2020)
Timeline
Discography
Albums Mountain (2014) DealBreaker (2016) Tusk II (2018) Altruistic (2024)
Singles "Shadow of Love" (2014) "Smoke Rings" (2014) "Fever" (2016) "Curse the Weather" (2016) "Aftermath" (2018) "Reflection" (2019) "First Time" (2019) "Die Knowing" (2020) "All My Life" (2023) https://www.royaltuskband.com/ retrieved 6/19/2023 "Head Up" (2023) https://www.royaltuskband.com/ retrieved 9/5/2023
Charting singles Title Year Peak chart positions AlbumUSMain.Rock CAN. Rock "Shadow of Love"2014 — 37 Mountain "Aftermath" 2018 32 24Tusk II "First Time" 2019 — 13 "Die Knowing" 2020 — 30"Head Up"20244Altruistic"Hated"202512Altruistic
Music videos Year Video Director 2014 "Shadow of Love" Royal Tusk "Smoke Rings" harv 2016 "Fever" Travis Nesbitt 2018 "Aftermath" Evan Owen Dennis 2019 "Reflection" Keenan Kirk 2020 "Die Knowing" Keenan Kirk 2023 "Head Up" Travis Nesbitt 2024 "Hated" Travis Nesbitt
References
External links