Interview: Toronto’s Keegan Powell Channels Raw Instinct into Fierce Rock Momentum on “Long Way Through Doom”

Canadian musician Keegan Powell returns with “Long Way Through Doom,” a fierce and energetic indie anthem built on instinct, grit, and momentum. Blending massive guitars with shaman-like vocal hooks and a sweetened vocal edge, the track evokes a world driven less by logic and more by raw animal impulse. It surges forward with swagger and urgency, pulling listeners into a sonic current that feels impossible to escape.

At its core, “Long Way Through Doom” is both primal and poetic: a collision of chaos and melody where instinct takes over and meaning emerges in fragments rather than structure.

Written initially without any intention of vocals, the track began as a self-imposed creative experiment. “I purposely assigned myself to write a ‘nuclear rock song’,” Keegan explains. “Once I gave myself that M.O, the main riff just came out of my hands.”

With the instrumental complete, Keegan turned to older written material for lyrical inspiration. “I scoured through some old poetry and found a piece called ‘World Debut’,” he says. “It just fits. I started melodizing the words and it all clicked into place.”

The result feels like a moment of fate rather than construction. It’s a song that arrived fully formed through creative alignment rather than careful planning.

“Long Way Through Doom” sits within Keegan’s broader creative universe but marks a continuation of his refusal to remain stylistically fixed. It follows a career defined by constant reinvention, from lo-fi experimental beginnings to expansive rock explorations, now converging into a sound that feels both unhinged and precise.

1.What did you enjoy most about the creation of this new release?

In between takes we ordered a pizza from Dominos. It was delicious and the price was good. We had a discount code.

2. Share a nugget of advice that has resonated with you most over the years.

If the sun and moon would doubt/they’d immediately go out.

3. Who would be your dream artist/band to co-headline a tour with?

Robert Frost speaking his poems while Pantera play Concrete Metal Sludge over and over again.

4. What sets your music apart from others in your genre?

I can’t tell you that. 

5. Tell us what your favourite song is at the moment and why.

Undone by Failure because the end of that song is what heaven sounds like.