Royal Tusk

Royal Tusk is a Canadian rock band from Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, consisting of Daniel Carriere (vocals), Quinn Cyrankiewicz (guitar) and Sandy MacKinnon (bass).

Royal Tusk
Origin	Edmonton, Alberta, Canada[1]
Genres	Heavy metal, hard rock
Years active	2013–present
Labels	eOne, MapleMusic, Hidden Pony
Members	Daniel Carriere Sandy MacKinnon Quinn Cyrankiewicz
Past members	Mike James Calen Stuckel

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.^[2] 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.^[3] 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.^[4] The music video for Aftermath was directed by Evan Owen Dennis,^[5] and was released on October 4, 2018. The album's third single, Die Knowing's music video was directed by Keenan Kirk^[6] and was released on January 20, 2019.

2021–Present: Covid-19 Impacts

On August 26, 2021 the band announced via Instagram that due to illness they would be canceling their upcoming tour. It was revealed on April 5, 2022 that the cancelation was due to Daniel Carriere developing severe Long COVID symptoms. The Band set up a GoFundMe to help support Daniel during his recovery.

The band released new singles "All My Life" and "Head Up" on July 7 and August 25, 2023 respectively.^[7][8] The music video for "Head Up" was directed by Travis Nesbitt, and was released on the same day as the single itself.^[9]

In 2025, Stony Plain-based artist Keenan Gregory won a Juno Award for his design for Royal Tusk's 2024 album Altruistic.^[10]

Members

Present

• Daniel Carriere – vocals, rhythm guitar (2013–present)
• Quinn Cyrankiewicz – lead guitar, backing vocals (2013–present)
• Sandy MacKinnon – bass, backing vocals (2013–present)

Past

• Mike James – keyboards, guitars^[3] (2013–2016)
• Calen Stuckel – drums (2013–2020)

^[11]

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) ^[12]
• "Head Up" (2023) ^[13]

Charting singles

Title	Year	Peak chart positions		Album
		US Main. Rock [14]	CAN. Rock [15]
"Shadow of Love"	2014	—	37	Mountain
"Aftermath"	2018	32	24	Tusk II
"First Time"	2019	—	13
"Die Knowing"	2020	—	30

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