In this week’s 10 Questions we get to know Cannon Strong, an indie music artist from Bellingham, Washington, USA.
Their song ‘Slave to the Screen‘ is currently featured on the NAS Spotify playlists
You can follow Cannon Strong on Patreon and Linktree
1. Tell us a little about where you are from.
I’m originally from Massapequa Park, New York, but I’ve spent about half my life in the Pacific Northwest, living in both Oregon and Washington. Today, I call Bellingham, Washington, home, although I split my time between there and Koh Samui, Thailand. In January 2026, I launched Cannon Strong, a solo modern thrash metal project where I write, arrange, and produce every song, using AI to perform the instrumentation and vocals. The project blends my love of classic thrash metal with modern technology, creating original music, videos, podcasts, and behind-the-scenes content for fans who want to follow the journey.
2. What inspired Cannon Strong to start playing and making music?
Music has always been part of my life. I come from a family of harmonica players—my uncle, my brother, and me—and I started playing at age 10 before joining bands around New York by 13. Over the years, I played at blues jams throughout Portland, Seattle, and Bellingham, and after moving to Thailand, I began singing because local musicians often needed someone to handle the English lyrics. That led to becoming the vocalist for the thrash metal band Sonic Wall, followed by forming my own band, Samui Rock Revival, where I still sing and play harmonica. I’ve always been passionate about hard rock, heavy metal, and thrash, so when AI technology reached a level where it could bring my musical ideas to life, launching Cannon Strong as a solo modern thrash project felt like the perfect next step.
Over the years, I played at blues jams throughout Portland, Seattle, and Bellingham, and after moving to Thailand, I began singing because local musicians often needed someone to handle the English lyrics.
3. Who are Cannon Strong’s biggest musical influences?
My musical influences span the entire history of rock, beginning with the blues. It all starts with Robert Johnson, whose music laid the foundation for everything that followed, while Muddy Waters and the Chicago electric blues tradition sparked my love of powerful, amplified music. The Beatles defined what a great rock band could be, and I consider the Rolling Stones the greatest rock band of all time, with Mick Jagger as the ultimate frontman. Black Sabbath remains my favorite metal band and a major influence on my passion for heavy music. With Cannon Strong, I draw heavily from the Big Four—Metallica, Slayer, Megadeth, and Anthrax—along with Testament, Exodus, Cro-Mags, and Rage Against the Machine. The result is a modern thrash metal sound with progressive elements, featuring intricate songwriting that blends classic intensity with a contemporary, AI-powered approach.
4. What are your goals in the music industry or as an artist?
My goal? To take over the world! Just kidding. But seriously, many of the legends who built thrash metal are reaching the later stages of their careers. Metallica won’t be touring forever, and Megadeth has released its final studio album. I believe the genre will need a new generation of artists to carry the torch. My vision for Cannon Strong is to build a deep catalog of original thrash metal songs and then recruit professional musicians to bring them to life on stage, transforming an AI-powered studio project into a real, touring band. It’s a bit of reverse engineering—creating the music first, then building the band around it. I’ll likely recruit musicians from the Seattle-to-Bellingham metal scene, starting with a drummer, since that’s often one of the hardest positions to fill. While I may perform a few songs myself for fun, my primary focus is on writing great music and finding the right vocalist to bring Cannon Strong to life on stage.
5. Tell us about your creative process.
When it comes to songwriting, our project sound engineer, Sebastian, says there are two kinds of inspiration: things you love and things that annoy you. For thrash metal, I find it’s usually the things that annoy me that spark the best ideas. My latest song, “Slave to the Screen,” is a perfect example. It’s about the growing impact of technology and excessive screen time—something almost everyone can relate to today. I enjoy pairing an old-school 1980s thrash sound with modern themes that simply didn’t exist back then, giving the music a progressive edge while staying true to the genre. My goal is to write songs that are fast, loud, aggressive, and thought-provoking. If one of them happens to cross over into the hard rock audience, that’s great, but my heart will always be in thrash metal.
I enjoy pairing an old-school 1980s thrash sound with modern themes that simply didn’t exist back then, giving the music a progressive edge while staying true to the genre.
6. What is your all-time favorite song by another artist and why?
My favorite thrash metal song is “Holy Wars… The Punishment Due” by Megadeth. It has everything I love about the genre—lightning-fast riffs, technical precision, constantly changing song structures, and thought-provoking lyrics. The song never stands still; it takes the listener on a journey while maintaining an incredible level of intensity from beginning to end. To me, it’s one of the greatest examples of what thrash metal can achieve when musicianship, songwriting, and raw energy all come together. Megadeth’s Rust in Peace is my favorite thrash metal album.
7. What is the best advice you have either given or received in terms of music?
The quote that inspires me most came from my best friend, Rob “Bobby Beats” Vitale, frontman of the New York hardcore bands Black Train Jack and Nine Lives. About a year or two before he passed away from COVID, he told me, “Music can be a hobby or a career. What you put into it is what you get out of it.” That simple statement has stayed with me ever since because it’s true in music—and in life. Rob lived those words, touring the U.S., Europe, and Japan with Black Train Jack and sharing the stage with bands like The Offspring and Sick of It All. I think about his advice as I build Cannon Strong, and I hope I’m honoring his legacy by giving this project everything I’ve got. Rest in peace, my best friend and brother, Rob V.
8. What is your proudest accomplishment?
Outside of music, I recently authored a 500-page high school Earth and Space Science curriculum aligned with the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS). The program includes a comprehensive textbook, teacher guide, lab activities, reading assignments, and assessments, creating a complete classroom resource. It’s incredibly rewarding to know that the curriculum is already being used by tens of thousands of students around the world, helping the next generation develop a deeper understanding of science.
The program includes a comprehensive textbook, teacher guide, lab activities, reading assignments, and assessments, creating a complete classroom resource.
9. What’s been your most embarrassing moment so far?
One of my most embarrassing moments happened while hiking in Alaska with my girlfriend. We were in grizzly country, so every 30 seconds we’d call out, “Hey, bear!” to avoid surprising one on the trail. About an hour into the hike, I spotted something moving on a distant hillside and immediately froze. Convinced it was a grizzly, I had us slowly change course to stay out of its path while trying to remain calm. As it got closer, I realized my terrifying bear was actually…a marmot. We both had a good laugh, and despite all the excitement, we never saw a single bear that day.
10. Tell us about your lowest and highest points in music so far.
The biggest challenge has been the backlash over my use of AI to create the vocals and instrumentation. I understand that AI in music is a controversial topic, but my perspective is that millions of people are already using AI in creative work. Rather than resist the technology, I’d rather use it to create something genuinely exciting. I also believe AI can introduce new listeners to rock and metal at a time when the genre has been losing mainstream popularity. If AI-generated music inspires more young people to discover metal, pick up a guitar, sit behind a drum kit, or start their own bands, then that’s a positive outcome for the future of the genre.
The biggest highlight has been launching Cannon Strong. In just six months, I’ve released six original songs, built an audience of approximately 1,600 monthly Spotify listeners and nearly 2,800 YouTube subscribers, produced official music and lyric videos, and had one video surpass 13,000 views. Seeing the project gain momentum has been incredibly rewarding. My goal is simple: keep writing the best music I can and do my part to bring metal back—one song at a time.
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