The Black Maria was a Canadian rock band from Toronto, named after the notorious vans used by police to transport prisoners in the early 20th century (most often referred to as a paddywagon).
[1] At the time, band members included vocalist Chris Gray, guitarists Alan Nacinovic and Kyle Bishop, keyboardist and bassist Mike De Eyre, and drummer Derek Petrella.
Lead Us to Reason was released on January 25, 2005 and did well, selling upwards of 50,000 copies and opening the door to tours with several successful bands, including Aiden, Alexisonfire and Eighteen Visions.
In September 2006, The Black Maria released the album A Shared History of Tragedy, which was written and produced by Swain and McKibbon.
[11][12] The band also played with Queens of the Stone Age, MxPx, The Distillers, Goldfinger,[13] Paramore, Rise Against, Silverstein, Alkaline Trio,[14] The Lawrence Arms, Chevelle, Taproot,[15] and Ted Leo and the Pharmacists.