DIAMOND WEAPON - Post-Hardcore’s Fresh, Nostalgic Breath ! (Canada - Post HardCore - Interview with Louis Tentsos).

Hello ! Can you introduce yourself and tell us how it all began for you - your encounter with this musical universe, what appealed to you, what fascinated you and what made you want to get into music? 
I'm Louis Tentsos of Diamond Weapon.  For me, I just started getting into music right at the tail end of the grunge era discovering bands like Nirvana, Pearl Jam, Silverchair and Local H - who all espoused the DIY ethos and just joining a band and making music for yourself.  I started out as a bass player, and had my first band practice on my 14th birthday.  I played my first live show at 15 years old, and haven't looked back since!

Tell me about the band... How you met - the current line-up - past experiences - and above all - WHY the need to form THIS band?
The current lineup consists of myself, Stephen Maclean (guitars, vocals), Donald Bachinski (bass) and Jason Bradfield (drums).  Jason found the band through a Kijiji ad when we first started the band in 2016, and he brought his high school friend Stephen into the fold.  Donald joined the band just this year, after the departure of our longtime bassist Marco, but has fit in very nicely and become a very quick friend!  All of us have had experience in other bands prior to Diamond Weapon, but we all came together with the desire to make post-hardcore music that was unconventional, and authentically *us.* 
 
Describe your sound and explain why I should listen to YOUR band at all cost ?
We're a throwback post-hardcore band to the early 2000s era - bands like Refused, At the Drive-In, Glassjaw, alexisonfire, Thrice, Thursday, etc.  That's basically what we all grew up listening to, and what we wanted to do musically.  Dynamic shifts, dissonance, high energy, and spoken word storytelling lyrics.  I don't know about at all cost - if someone doesn't listen to us, I think they'll survive!  That said, we're different and incredibly unconventional.  And in a world where even in the post-hardcore genre, a lot of what is coming out these days is cookie cutter and over-produced, I think we're a bit of a breath of fresh air.  We're the table of nerdy kids at the cafeteria - not everyone is into what we're into, but we're happy with that.

 
 
Lyrical and musical inspirations/influences ? How important are the lyrics for you ? Are there any specific messages or thoughts you try to develop and share through your lyrics ? 
As much as I love the lyrical stylings of Cedric Bixler-Zavala and Geoff Rickley, with their beautiful metaphors and imagery, I'm just not capable of that.  I'm much more of a straightforward storyteller.  I get the comparisons to Jordan Dreyer from La Dispute and Jeremy Bolm of Touché Amoré quite a bit, but an underrated one is Gord Downie of the Tragically Hip.  I really loved his ability to tell a straightforward story, but with a lot of his songs, being able to tie it to the national Canadian consciousness.  I think that's why he was able to connect to so many people.  But yeah - on my end, I'm basically trying affirmations through storytelling - stories about heartbreak, politics, death, depression and loss.  Being able to connect to our listener and letting them know that someone else feels the same way they feel.


 
About the band's discography... Imagine someone who doesn't know your band at all and wants to get interested in.. Which release would you recommend to start with, and why?
Probably our latest release - "Letters from the Flood" (City Set on a Hill Records, 2026).  Stylistically, it's the best representation of where we are right now.  A friend of mine described it as Jimmy Eat World trying to make the Relationship of Command, and I thought that was an incredibly apt description, and one I didn't think of!
 
About your latest release ? 
Our E.P. "Letters from the Flood" - recorded at both Lynx Music and Primal Note Studios here in Toronto in 2025 (with a bit of a sabbatical in the middle of recording when my son arrived!)  The cover art was done by Connor Scott McManus, and it is available for streaming on all platforms, digital download via Bandcamp and iTunes, and also available on cassette through our merch store! 


 
Future plans ? 
We'll probably do another short run of shows across Canada in the Fall, and then it's back to the studio for LP#3!
 
Your most insane dream with the band would be ?
A European tour would be my dream.  Part of me especially wants to play my "motherland" of Greece, but a European tour as a whole would be amazing.  And of course, a US tour would be wonderful - I'm just not sure if we'd be welcome with open arms right now.

 
 
Your BEST & WORST concert - as a band - and why ? 
Best concert was probably NXNE 2022.  We were a last minute addition to the festival and were on at 1:00 a.m. - we didn't think anyone would be there.  Lo and behold, it was a sold out show and everybody went hard during our set (it did help that Napoleon went on right before us and "really" got the crowd going!).
Worst show?  I don't even remember when/where it was, and I don't even think it was a bad show, but all I remember is the opening band (who shall remain unnamed) being absolutely unprofessional and it bothered me so much.  Bands were told there would be backlined cabs and they had to bring their own heads, or their own amps if using combos.  The one guitarist didn't bring anything, and had to borrow my head, and "still" complained about it.  They brought one person, and snuck them in so they didn't pay cover, and then left immediately after they played their set.  It didn't end up being a very well attended show, so at the end of the night, us and the other local band decided to give all the door proceeds to the band that came from out of town.  They weren't there, so in my world they didn't get a say in the matter, but the next day they messaged me and asked for their cut from the door.  I told them we gave all the door proceeds to the touring band, and they got mad.  And I was, like, if you were there at the end, you could have had a say - but you weren't.
That's probably more words than they're worth, but as you can tell, it still bothers me to this day!
 
Next live-appearance(s) ?
Speaking of NXNE, we're playing the festival again this year (Friday, June 12th).  We then have a short run of shows across Ontario (Oshawa - June 19th, Newmarket - June 20th) before we're off for the summer, but should be back for another run of shows in the Fall!


 
Some words on your local scene - bands you're friends with and you'd like to name ? 
The post-hardcore scene in Ontario is so good right now - Conversation, Dammit Goldie, Junko Daydream, Napoleon, Jenafur, Pioneer Anomaly, Poste, Gilgamesh, dogwhistle, Ancient Greece, etc.  And then we played with so many amazing bands on our current tour - too many to name, but definitely worth looking up!
 
What’s the question you’ve always dreamed of answering but have never been asked? Just a heads-up: I’m also waiting for the answer that goes with it...
I don't think there's a specific question I've wanted to be asked.  I would love to split a music interview with some of my other passions - hockey, food or Dungeons and Dragons. But I also don't want to bore your readers, as I could go on "forever".  That may be more of a podcast thing!
 
Last word is yours.. 
Boogers.