It's now time for this month's "Where Are The New Albums? post, as we continue our monthly look at the current release statuses and whereabouts of upcoming albums from Sault Ontario metal, hard rock, and punk artists! This month's installment has one removed CD (
A Dire Setback's successfully released debut album), and the only entry with substantial updates has it's title in
italics. Of course, with the ongoing coronavirus pandemic and stay-at-home order, that can very easily affect album recording sessions, so things may have been collectively slowed down in that regard, hence why there isn't a lot to add this month. Here's what you should know for this month!
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The Bear Hunters - The Dead Testament
Rumoured Songs: "The
Void", "The Omen", "Neckbreaker", "I Fear No God", "Servitude",
"Transcend Judgement", "For Glory", "The Wrath Of Angmar", "The Dying
Den", "The Dead Testament", "Deception" (bonus re-recording),
"The Forest of Forests" (bonus track)
Background: In tentative planning
since 2014 under this title, local death metal quintet The Bear
Hunters have been playing songs intended for their second full length CD
for a few years now, but only fully began recording sessions for "The
Dead Testament" on October 2nd, 2015. Following a brief fundraising campaign
and the gradual unveiling of song titles, the band has been working
with producer Dustin Jones at
Mission Control Studios, and have shared
sporadic updates on
their Instagram page. Like on 2014's "Eternal
Hibernation", rhythm guitarist Josh Stephney has recorded parts
for the album despite living in Southern Ontario. The music video for
"I Fear No God" was posted on YouTube in December 2018, marking the first public release of a song from the CD, while
the final cover artwork and full track listing order were posted on
their Facebook page in February 2019.
Current Release Status: The Bear
Hunters haven't given any firm timetables for when to expect "The Dead
Testament"
in stores, and they have not publically referenced the album on social
media in over a year, but recording sessions are reportedly complete,
and they have played live since then.
The band is
aiming for a more professional sound and release for
their sophomore effort, and to go along with that, artwork and physical
distribution plans are ongoing, as are "a ton of cool ideas for stepping
our media game up." Keep an eye out for updates on "The Dead Testament"
when
and if they come in!
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Dustin Jones & The Rising Tide's fourth album
Rumoured Songs: "Lost & Found", "All Broke Down"
Background: After a lengthy hiatus
dating back to the summer of 2016, local Celtic punk veterans Dustin
Jones & The Rising Tide resumed public activity in early 2018, later
beginning recording sessions by that October at Dustin's own Mission Control
Studios, as per
their Facebook page.
The band confirmed that they were indeed recording a fourth studio
album (and first in 7 years) in January 2019, which will presumably be
released through
Tidal Records, and will also be their first album with second guitarist Liam Seymour and drummer Chris Johns.
A 22 second teaser
of the first single
"Lost & Found"
was posted on Facebook,
and it's official music video was released in March, while "All Broke
Down" was initially cited as the first single in December 2018
(source here.)
Current Release Status: When The
Tide shared the above teaser clip, they mentioned that the album was
"coming soon", which doesn't tell us much. With recording sessions a few
months in, and it's intended song now out via the music video, it's
likely that Dustin and company aren't early in the process,
but we'll let you know when more comes out on their highly anticipated
fourth album as we proceed in the new year!
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The Elements'
debut EP
Rumoured Songs: "Liar", "G20", "Triple H", "The Rut", "I Need A Friend", "Riptide"
Background: Arguably better known
for their funk, ska, and hard rock covers, local quartet The Elements
have been adding original material to their sets since 2015, and
have since publically confirmed earlier teases that they are working on a
debut EP. Frontman Rob Speers has confirmed in personal conversations
in early 2016 that they have been working in studio on the release,
which will have at
least 5 tracks, and I believe it's being self-recorded, but further
public updates are minimal at best. A studio recording of
"I Need A Friend" was quietly posted onto
their Facebook page in February, following personal Facebook postings that revealed that EP
sessions were further along than public statements indicated, though
they have not elaborated since.
Current Release Status: At this
stage, I have no idea, but Rob sounded like things were going well in
studio. That said, these were largely personal conversations over a year
ago,
and it's anyone's guess when The Elements will provide a public
statement corroborating the private teasers. I won't go into detail on
that front unless the band does or gives permission, so we'll have to
see if updates come out on it soon!
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Mike Haggith - If Ever Comes The Day & Bridges
Rumoured Songs (A): "The Best You Never Had", "Communique", "If Only You
Could Hear Me", "MorningStar, "2145"
Rumoured Songs (B): "From The 55th Parallel", "Over Indecision", "The Nature of The Times","An
Act of Strength","The Catalyst", "Dangerous
Town", "Come on Home", "Blue Highway", "Everything Not Saved Will Be Lost", "Bridges"
Background: After moving to
Thompson, Manitoba in November 2017 for work reasons, prolific
local/Windsor hard/alternative rock musician Mike Haggith relaunched his
dormant solo project, and soon commenced songwriting for a new CD named
"Bridges", with updates taking place across 2018 and into early 2019.
His Facebook page
documented songwriting sessions and acoustic "home demo" videos of new
original songs, plus solo concerts in Thompson largely
featuring new tracks. Despite the unveiling of the cover artwork, three
singles, and even a music video for "The Nature of The Times", Mike
indefinitely postponed the release of "Bridges" late last year due to mixing
delays, personal life concerns, and the quick development of a new
album named "If Ever Comes The Day", which he now plans to release
first. With that, he unveiled it's first single
"Communique" on September 24th, with
"The Best You Never Had"
following afterward, and other hints towards songs also showing up on
social media. Mike confirmed on Facebook last month that this album is
finished recording.
Current Release Status: "If Ever Comes The Day" is slated to be released on May 15th on digital platforms, and pending the COVID-19 shutdowns,
a CD release party at LopLops Lounge is planned for that night. Whether the show goes on or not, Mike has made it clear that the album will be released that day, so circle May 15th on your calendars! He previously confirmed that "Bridges" will
still be released, and for an album with completed recording sessions,
artwork, and single releases, you'd hope so, but it's clear that he is
prioritizing the new CD at this time. With Mike's candor & honesty, you know he
won't hide anything
regarding these albums, so keep tabs for updates!
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Pillory's second CD
Rumoured Songs: "Angst of Existence", "Sculptor of Cadavers", "Wasting", "Abhorred Apprehension", "The Passing",
"Exhaustive Incarnation"
Background: After previously
breaking up in mid-2014, local metal band Pillory returned as a trio in
the fall of 2015, trading their thrash metal roots for a heavier death
metal sound, complete with a completely overhauled setlist with no
carried-over originals from their 2013 debut EP. In
March 2017, Id Iota guitarist Dustin Goodall's recording studio
Unsalted Audio
revealed that they were in pre-production for Pillory's second album,
with the band confirming that sessions were underway that summer. As of
July 2017, drum tracks were complete, though it took until November 2018
for the band to confirm that guitar tracking was underway, with vocals
& mixing to follow. It's not clear who will provide bass tracks on
the final
product, between ex-bassist Jordan Leach, his replacement Blair St.
John, frontman Robert Sartini (who played bass on their first EP), or a
combination therein.
Current Release Status: I have no
idea, and it doesn't help that Pillory have only posted once on Facebook
in the past 2½ years, though their new lineup returned from year-long
hiatuses twice in that span for opening sets at Live705 death metal
shows at The Rockstar Bar. That said, with their increasingly
brutal and
technical sound, hopefully they can get this album complete down the
line!
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The Sorrow Fields' debut album
Rumoured Songs: Unknown
Background: After a two year hiatus
for his solo project (previously known as Animas, April Eyes, and By
The Gods), local guitarist Mitch Sirie's solo project The Sorrow Fields
resumed public activity in February 2018 via recording sessions at Mission
Control Studios with producer Dustin Jones, where his band The Bear
Hunters also recorded their new CD. An actively maintained social media
page for The Sorrow Fields has not followed suit, but Dustin did say
that he was "stoked" by the guide tracks, and tracking was reportedly
underway last January. Posts on Mitch's personal Facebook page have
implied that the project's current form will be much softer than his
death metal band work.
Current Release Status: With
tracking reportedly underway, last year had to have been targeted once, but
given that Mitch has kept all of his own promotion for this album on
personal accounts, it's anyone's guess how fast this will come out
(also, remember how Mitch's prior attempts at solo albums never saw
their intended completion.) It'd be great to see both The Sorrow Fields'
debut and "The Dead Testament" on sale this year, and hopefully things
progress the right way for both in the coming months!
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Treble Charger's sixth album
Rumoured Songs: Unknown
Background: While recording a brand
new album was a common teaser in Treble Charger's post-reunion concerts
in the mid-late 2010s, the local/Toronto indie punk icons only gave a
firm public confirmation that they were indeed working on their sixth CD
in
this Sault Star
article in September. The recording sessions reportedly began last
spring, and as of the interview, four or five demos were recorded,
though things were on hold at the time while they waited for studio at
the Algoma Conservatory of Music
(that frontman Greig Nori is managing) to finish construction before
final recordings take place there. Guitarist Bill Priddle's Pointless
bandmate Dustin Goodall will record bass tracks for the album, though
it's not clear who will handle drums.
Current Release Status: I am not
sure, but when the announcement is made regarding completion of the
Algoma Conservatory studio, that may give a hint as to a timeline. Also,
remember that Treble Charger do not have a regularly maintained social
media account, so things may progress faster than public statements come
out. In any event, Treble Charger will want to ensure that everything
goes perfect for the album, so stay tuned!
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I hope you guys liked this month's "Where Are The New Albums?" post, and hopefully the next installment on May 2nd will have more new information to share! Our next monthly feature post will likely be this month's Defunct Local Band Profile one week from tomorrow, but stay tuned for more news and notes on the site in the near future! Thanks everyone!
The last domino has finally fallen for this month's local hard rock/punk concert calendar, as the First Jason-headlined show at The Canadian Nightclub has been postponed from Sunday, April 26th to Sunday, September 27th. The announcement was made on Vintage Games 'N Junque's Facebook page last night, due to their owners' promotional involvement via Steel City Events, who were to have also put on the cancelled Steel City Nostalgia Fair at month's end, where First Jason frontman Ari Lehman would have been the guest of honour. You can probably guess why it was postponed, alas. It is not immediately clear if a rescheduled Nostalgia Fair will take place that weekend too, but organizers had previously hinted on Facebook that they were "working on a little something different for September". In any event, the big change aside from the new concert date is that there will now be a pre-concert meet & greet at 6:00 PM, so if you want to meet the first Jason (Voorhees) without a VIP package, there you go!
Next up, here's a new live-streamed Facebook concert video from local/Thompson, Manitoba alt-hard rock musician Mike Haggith! Entitled "#LockdownLive", he first teased it on Saturday with this short video plugging it (citing boredom from being locked down & off work for why he's doing one of his own), and the main event streamed on his Facebook page yesterday evening. Running for just over an hour, Mike's songs in order include "The Nature of the Times", "Communique", the new-to-Facebook "Back Away Slowly", The Din's "Missing", "MorningStar" (which may be his next formal single), "This Potato May Be Used As A Flotation Device", a cover of The Foo Fighters' "Times Like These", "The Best You Never Had", and "Out Of My League". The video also features some updates, including that Mike's planned CD release concert at LopLops on May 15th is "probably not going to happen at this point", and a rescheduled date would be sought, but the album proper will still be released on schedule next month.
Also, here's another recent Facebook live-stream concert, this time from Rising Tide/Barn Board Trio guitarist Liam Seymour, who performed this live on his personal Facebook page yesterday afternoon, with his label Tidal Records publically sharing it on their Facebook page after the fact. Compared to many of the covers-heavy live-streams to pop up as of late, this one is full of covers you wouldn't expect, and even a few Barn Board Trio tunes, so what does Liam have to offer in this hour+ video? In performance order, he tackles Ace's "How Long", David Wilcox's "Downtown Came Uptown", The Barn Board
Trio's own "Broken Footed Brewer", Dada's "If Tears Were Balloons" &
"The Ballad of Earl Grey and Chamomile", Waylon Jennings' "Are You Sure
Hank Done It This Way?", and Lynyrd Skynyrd's "Call Me The Breeze",
before changing guitars for his covers of The Black Crowes' "Hard To
Handle" (or by Otis Redding if you prefer), Sixpence None The Richer's "Kiss Me", ...
