SAM ROBERTS BAND CELEBRATES 20 YEARS OF CHEMICAL CITY WITH A 2 LP ANNIVERSARY EDITION OUT APRIL 10
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CHEMICAL CITY LIVE SHOW TO HIT FIVE CITIES ACROSS CANADA BEGINNING APRIL 4 - DATES HERE
20 March 2026 (Toronto, ON) – Today, Sam Roberts Band announced the 20th Anniversary reissue of Chemical City, celebrating the landmark 2006 album. The 20th Anniversary Edition is being pressed as a 2 LP on 180-gram black vinyl for the first time and includes the four additional tracks previously only found on the limited-edition Chemical City Redux (2015).
Chemical City (20th Anniversary Edition) will be available April 10 via Universal Music Canada, marking the album’s third pressing since its original release.
Whether you’re rediscovering this album or experiencing it for the first time, this is how it was meant to be heard - in its entirety.
The record opens with “The Gate,” its haunting organ, driving bassline, and chasing guitar riffs building tension before thunderous drums land beneath Sam’s unmistakable vocal. From the first moments, the album announces itself with undeniable force. It’s a commanding introduction that sets the stage for a record widely celebrated as a triumphant return to form for the band.
Featuring standout singles “The Gate” and “Bridge to Nowhere,” alongside the mesmerizing, dreamlike “Mind Flood,” the album delivers both power and atmosphere. “Bridge To Nowhere” earned the 2007 JUNO Award for Video of the Year, further cementing the band’s resurgence. The songs from this collection continue to resonate as some of the most compelling and enduring work of their career.
Sam Roberts added:
“The truth is that there is a fourth side, one with songs and characters that complete the story. These songs, “Major Minor,” “Fall Before You Finish,” “The Cathedral,” and “Step Inside,” round out the album in a way that feels essential.
Chemical City was released 20 years ago, but on the original vinyl pressing, side four was left blank, a chapter missing. We recorded the album with producer Mark Howard in Newrybar, Australia in 2005, at a place called The Old Church, which is exactly what it was: an old church. Three months later, we returned home to Montreal and resumed working on the songs, this time with childhood friend and producer Joseph Donovan.
Armed with a finished album, we knocked on the door of our label head to tell him that our now-overdue sophomore release was a concept record populated by astral voyagers, deadbeat superheroes, apocalyptic love, nefarious gangland henchmen, and a ragtag resistance. Somewhere in the chaos that followed, a few songs were left behind, either unmixed, unfinished, or simply lost.
After playing this record for so many years, it’s difficult not to think of it as set in stone, the way it was meant to be. But the truth is, there has always been a fourth side, with songs and characters that complete the story.”
TRACK LISTING
Side A:
1. The Gate (2021 Remaster)
2. Bridge To Nowhere (2021 Remaster)
3. With A Bullet (2021 Remaster)
Side B:
4. Mind Flood (2021 Remaster)
5. Uprising Down Under (2021 Remaster)
6. Mystified Heavy (2021 Remaster)
Side C:
7. An American Draft Dodger In Thunder Bay (2021 Remaster)
8. The Bootleg Saint (2021 Remaster)
9. The Resistance (2021 Remaster)
10. A Stone Would Cry Out (2021 Remaster)
Side D:
11. Fall Before You Finish (2021 Remaster)
12. Major Minor (2021 Remaster)
13. The Cathedral (2021 Remaster)
14. Step Inside (2021 Remaster)
Photo Credit: Dave Gillespie
Left to Right: James Hall, Sam Roberts, Eric Fares, Dave Nugent, Josh Trager
Sam Roberts Band will hit the road with the Chemical City Live featuring five nights, in five cities, bringing the iconic album to life across the country.
SAM ROBERTS BAND - CHEMICAL CITY LIVE DATES - HERE
• April 4, 2026 – Night 1 – Lighthouse Art Centre, Halifax, NS
• April 11, 2026 – Night 2 – Massey Hall, Toronto, ON
• April 16, 2026 – Night 3 – Commodore Ballroom, Vancouver, BC
• Aprill. 18, 2026 – Night 4 – Northern Alberta Jubilee Auditorium, Edmonton, AB
• April 24, 2026 – Night 5 – L’Olympia, Montreal, QC
ABOUT SAM ROBERTS BAND
Sam Roberts Band burst onto the music scene with We Were Born In A Flame which debuted at #2 on Soundscan and was certified double platinum in Canada. Sam Roberts Band went on to win three Juno Awards for the album including the prestigious award for Album of The Year. Since the release of their debut record the band has been creating and experimenting with music, resulting in six full length studio albums.
The acclaimed Montreal based five-piece band includes Sam Roberts (lead vocals, guitar), Dave Nugent (guitar), Eric Fares (keyboard, guitar), Josh Trager (drums), and James Hall (bass). Since their inception in 2002, Sam Roberts Band have dominated the airwaves, selling out shows, and sharing the stage with legendary bands like AC/DC, The Rolling Stones, and The Tragically Hip. The Juno Award winning band’s catalogue includes; The Inhuman Condition (2002), We Were Born In A Flame (2003), Chemical City (2006), Love At The End Of The World (2008), Collider (2011), Lo-Fantasy (2014), Counting The Days EP (2015), TerraForm (2016), All Of Us (2020), The Adventures Of Ben Blank (2023).
Sam Roberts Band’s Chemical City CD, previously unavailable for some time, has been re-activated and is available to order online now through Universal Music Canada.
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