Niagara Falls, Canada’s Ivy Gardens is unveiling their lush-sounding, raw and live off the floor sludge rock storytelling album “Death of Don Valley” as they prepare to hit the road across Canada in support of its release on August 29th, 2025 via Paper Cut Recordings.
Before it officially drops, the trio has teamed up with Bravewords for its full stream premiere, which can be heard HERE.
The band comments on their sophomore album:
“Death of Don Valley is the record we had inside us, but couldn’t quite articulate for several years. Musically, it’s a huge leap in a more experimental direction. It’s about death, decay, and the ultimate destruction of the world around you. Everybody knows of some sort of small natural space that gets slowly encroached upon until only a shell remains. The pond beside the highway, the wetlands behind the factory. The Don Valley in Toronto is one such natural feature, slowly tainted by industrialization until it can’t support any of the life that it used to. After touring for several years, we grew a lot as musicians, and only after really honing all of this material live for about a year, we felt we were ready to get it tracked and send it into the world. We recorded everything live off the floor, and Frank, our engineer, had heard nothing beforehand and had no idea what we actually sounded like going into it. Eventually, he asked us, ‘How do you determine what becomes a 2-minute song, and what becomes a 9-minute song?’ Pure instinct, Frank. Here it is.”
Formed in the unlikely crucible of a Princess Auto parking lot, Ivy Gardens began with a simple desire to shred through Rush instrumentals and explore the outer reaches of heavy music. Now, following their acclaimed first full-length “Goon” released in 2024, the band takes a daring leap into more dour, experimental terrain. “Death of Don Valley” presents a concept album steeped in decay, lyrically and sonically portraying the slow death of natural spaces like Toronto’s Don River, drowned by industry and time.
Ivy Gardens’ influences are vast, ranging from progressive icons like Rush, Yes, and King Crimson to sludge pioneers like EYEHATEGOD and Iron Monkey. Their sound blends elements of stoner metal, sludge, math rock, and progressive rock, creating an unpredictable listening experience that takes the listener through a series of emotional and sonic landscapes.
Fans can expect a live experience unlike any other as Ivy Gardens is hitting the road for a cross-Canada tour in kicking off on August 29th in St. Catharines, ON, and will wrap up in Victoria, BC on October 25th (dates listed below).
“Death of Don Valley” (out August 29th) is available for pre-order at https://ivygardens.bandcamp.
Spotify – https://open.spotify.com/
Music Video – Burden – https://youtu.be/r4o-YPv-RcY
Music Video – Eye Witness – https://youtu.be/_RiZ8i7udjs
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Ivy Gardens – Live or Die Tour:
Aug 29 – St. Catharines, ON – Warehouse Concert Hall
Aug 30 – Toronto, ON – Monarch Tavern
Sept 5 – Kitchener, ON – The Golden Apple
Sept 12 – Windsor, ON – Phog Lounge
Sept 13 – Sarnia, ON – AJs Bar
Sept 14 – London, ON – Grogettes Living Room
Sept 18 – Halifax, NS – Radstorm
Sept 19 – Sydney, NS – Daniels Ale House
Sept 20 – Charlottetown, PEI – Babas Lounge
Sept 21 – Moncton, NB – Generator Show
Sept 25 – Woodstock, NB – Montieth Manor
Sept 26 – Montreal, QC – Turbo Haus
Sept 27 – Quebec City, QC – Sonum
Oct 9 – Barrie, ON – CW Coops
Oct 10 – Sudbury, ON – Townhouse Tavern
Oct 11 – Thunder Bay, ON – Black Pirates Pub
Oct 12 – Winnipeg, MB – Bulldog Event Center
Oct 16 – Regina, SK – The Cure Kitchen and Bar
Oct 17 – Saskatoon, SK – The Black Cat
Oct 18 – Calgary, AB – Palomino
Oct 19 – Edmonton, AB – Blak Bar
Oct 23 – Kelowna, BC – Dunnenzies
Oct 24 – Vancouver, BC – Black Alley
Oct 25 – Victoria, BC – Fernwood Community Center
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Track Listing:
1. Burn For Murder – 2:02
2. Eye Witness – 2:50
3. Burden – 3:08
4. Guiding Hand – 6:18
5. Frozen Limbs – 5:15
6. Gearth – 2:29
7. Astray – 4:56
8. Bliss – 8:59
9. Golden – 7:07
Album Length: 43:08
Album Credits:
All songs written and performed by Ivy Gardens
Produced by Ivy Gardens
Recorded and mixed by Frank Ditillio
Mastered by Cameron Lee
Album Artwork by Ivy Gardens
Death of Don Valley is Canadian Content (MAPL)
Recording and Live Lineup:
Joe Zandwyk: Drums, Vocals, Samples
Sebastian Hogg: Organ, Piano, Synth, Samples
Andrew Blackborow: Guitar, Vocals
More info: Facebook.com/ivygardensband | Instagram.com/
“Death Of Don Valley is a wonderfully eccentric, off-beat and demented slice of Sludge/Stoner Metal that demands your full and undivided attention.” – Outlaws of The Sun
“First of all, can we just give a lot of overdue appreciation to the fact that there are still hard-gigging bands out there that play with the kind of urgency as IVY GARDENS. You can damn AI music straight to fiery pits of hell; this is where the real sound and fury is at. Another thing I appreciate about Ivy Gardens is all the dark humor. You see it in their new music video, with its Red Fangish tongue-in-cheek adventure. This one features a vintage style videotaped car chase, which would play well off a viewing of V/H/S/94. …Fake blood ahead… We’re arrested right away by the powerful strumming of the guitar as “Eye Witness” opens. Drumming is crazy, a frenetic attack of Animal from The Muppets, chasing that beat all over the place… Of course, the classic organ-sound of the keyboards adds a certain kind of spookiness to it all, which can be at once cheeky, mysterious, and cool. I myself love this send-back to ‘60s rock, while respecting that Ivy Gardens brings us a sound that clearly feels “now.”” – Doom and Stoned
“With the premiere of the video for “Burden” below, Niagara Falls progressive sludge trio Ivy Gardens announce their second full-length, Death of Don Valley, will be out Aug. 29 through Paper Cut Recordings. The follow-up to the sans-bass three-piece’s well-received 2024 debut, Goon, is introduced with the lead single “Burden,” which you can find the band playing live in the video premiering below. This ethic would seem to be the crux of Death of Don Valley itself, hence “live off the floor sophomore album” in the headline below. “Burden” benefits from the lack of trickery behind it, from the visually-evidenced capacity on the part of guitarist/vocalist Andrew Blackborow, key-specialist/synthesist Sebastian Hogg and drummer/vocalist Joe Zandwyk, the latter two of whom are also responsible for samples on the record, and while one can hear a bit of Melvinsian do-rock-and-make-it-weird ethos underlying, “Burden” brings charge to coincide with its telltale rhythmic intricacy — not quite doing ‘math’ in the musical sense, but not far off. They say the album’s more complex than the last one, and even if it was tracked entirely live with no overdubs, “Burden” bears that out.” – The Obelisk
“Throughout the album Joe Zandwyk’s drums almost dance like swirls of sand through the desert. Sebastian Hogg’s keyboard adds a great layer on top of Andrew Blackborow’s guitar playing. While no one particular instrument claims the spotlight, the instruments all have the freedom to claim their own space in the gritty depth that is Ivy Gardens and Death of Don Valley.” – The Metal Pit
“Ivy Gardens bringing ‘sludge-soaked, high-decibel’ rock to Barrie” – Barrie Today
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