Last Month's Poll Results, This Month's Poll, And New Gates Of Winter/Frightlight Videos!!

As promised, it's now time to go over the results of last month's SMS poll and to officially go over this month's new poll! That's the bulk of this post, but stay tuned afterwards for a couple new local videos that should get a pretty positive reaction! Remember, for news on three upcoming concerts, The Barking Eye, and that "secret show" on Wednesday night, check the post from earlier today immediately below this one!

So last month, as you may remember, the question I posed to you guys was "Do you like attending or competing in Sault-area battles of the bands?" 24 people voted, which is somewhat small, but still big enough to give a good indication of what you guys think! Let's go over the results in ascending order, as usual. Tied for last place with a single vote each were "Only if ticket prices/entry fees are reasonable" and "Other". I can't comment on "Other" without knowing what that person had in mind, but the other choice actually surprised me with it's low count. I figured more people would be choosy over fees and admission prices, nice to see people not factoring that in! In a three way tie for third place with two votes each are "Only if the bands are good", "Only if the prizes are good", and "There's too many of them". I'm once again surprised that these choices didn't get more votes (except for the prizes choice, few people I know use that as a gauge.) I would have thought more people would be picky over bands or possible oversaturation of battles of the bands! And in second place with three votes is "No, I don't see the point of them", which is exactly where I figured it'd place, only I thought it'd get more votes. There are a number of people out there who don't particularly like battles of the bands, but hey, it all depends on who votes!

So that means in first place, with 13 votes, a whopping 54% of the final count, is "Yes, I love going to/playing in them!" I'm very glad to see this win the poll, and I figured all along it would win, but I am surprised by how much of a landslide it was! It shows that battles of the bands are definitely worth putting on, but when you simplify the results, just a little more than half voted for the choice that essentially means "Yes unconditionally", with the remaining half having some sort of preference or reservation to a battle of the bands. Interesting results once again, though I am glad to say that most of you guys like battles of the bands, at least according to the results. Myself, I hope there's more in the near future!

So for the June 18th-July 17th poll, I came up with a question that has lots of relevance to some upcoming big events in the local scene, notably album releases! This is shaping up to be one of the best summers ever for upcoming new CDs from local metal bands, with at least four announced, planned, and partially recorded that we're on the lookout for! It seemed fitting to make this the topic of this month's poll, so I pose this question to you guys: "Which upcoming Sault Ontario metal album release are you anticipating the most?" Here are your choices!

Garden of Bedlam's first full length album: The band are currently in Stereo Soul Studios with Miguel Gauthier recording their follow-up to last year's debut self-titled E.P., with drums and bass completed as we speak, and guitars and vocals to come! Garden of Bedlam have skyrocketed to the top of the local scene since their 2008 debut, and with new originals like "New Rain", "Against The Grain", and "Torment" wowing live audiences, many are really looking forward to the band's new CD! Is this the album you're anticipating the most this year?

Lion Ride's first full length album: Recorded at BWC Studios in Toronto with Greg Dawson, Lion Ride's as-yet-untitled full length debut album will be their first featuring Iron Mike Bison on drums, and will also feature guitarist Marky Lion on bass too for the studio recordings. Also among the most prominent local metal bands since their debut in 2007, we've already heard two new songs ("Stick It In" & "Snail Trail") live, and the studio version of "Stick It In" was unveiled by the band on their MySpace page as well! Will the punk/metal attack of Lion Ride's new CD be your top upcoming local metal album in 2010?

Sense of Truth's debut EP: Two years and a couple of lineup changes since their 2008 debut, Sense of Truth will release their first EP this summer! Featuring songs like "Land of Greed", "Crawling", and "Push & Pull", you can hear songs from the EP NOW in the rotation on Energy Rock Radio, some previews on their MySpace page, and you'll be sure to hear new songs at their live concerts as well! Also recorded at Stereo Soul Studios this spring with Miguel Gauthier, it's sure to sound awesome, but is it the announced album you most want to hear?

Sykotyk Rampage - Bella Disgusta: Sault Ste. Marie's resident "blue Chinese metal crash punk" band will release their 23rd album, "Bella Disgusta", to their wide array of internet sites in the coming months! Expect the same unique crash music you've came to enjoy over the past decade on this new album, recorded earlier this year at Riverfront Recreation Studios! Featuring 11 new songs, including the live favourite "Bag On Your Face", might this be your most anticipated album of 2010?

All of the above: Do you want to hear each of the above four albums equally? Pick this choice if you do!

None of the above: Alright, so you don't like any of the four above bands, or aren't particularly awaiting any of their releases? This would be your choice!

Other: Got another album in mind? Maybe it's one from a band who have plans for an album that hasn't had a tentative release announced yet, like Gates of Winter, Silver Dream, or No Arrow. Maybe a band that just has plans to enter the studio at some point? How about the possibility of another Sykotyk Rampage album in 2010? Maybe something from Sault Michigan, or even a non-metal band? Hell, if it's not above, it's likely coming out this year, and you want it the most, vote for it here!

VOTE TODAY!!! The poll went up earlier, so you guys have a head start from before this post even got made. I'm interested to see what you guys want to hear the most, maybe we'll be surprised! You guys have one month, and as for July's poll? Well, what was the poll in July of 2009? I'll leave it at that.

Closing today's post are two videos I'm sure you guys are going to be interested in! Well, the last one is one of a pair, but I don't wanna overload this post. And first, we have a brand new video of local horror themed punk/metal band Frightlight! Guitarist Rick White uploaded a video of Frightlight performing at Wednesday's "secret show" at Coch's Corner onto his inactive band Fitswitch's YouTube channel! Before someone objects to something being posted online from it, this is a publicly viewable upload onto YouTube, Rick and the guys in the band obviously WANT us to see it! That being said, it's a 65 second clip of the band playing a new original song called "Fright Night", and it sounds really cool! It has a definite Misfits vibe to it, which is totally appropriate! Good quality sound and video, though I think it was filmed too close to the band, so close that I can't even see Jeff behind the kit! But I must say, they sound good, it's like a darker version of Fitswitch in some ways, and I love how Mike Gingras got totally into the spirit of the songs and tone with his stage outfit! Check the video out below, and I guarantee there's more from Frightlight to come in the near future!



Finally for today, what better way to end this post then with NEW GATES OF WINTER DEMO CLIPS?! Frontman Lee Maines uploaded two brand new preview clips of songs to be included on their forthcoming second full length album onto his YouTube channel, and I can sum them up in two words: Holy shit. I'm very impressed with what I'm hearing! One is a 46 second clip of a track named "Edin Na Zu", is very fast and has lots of dynamics, I'm really impressed! It also has a sort of Middle Eastern vibe with the keyboards, if that makes sense. The drumming, though programmed, is amazing, and if they ever get a real drummer again, they need one who can pull off the stuff they've programmed in the new songs! The second one is longer (75 seconds) and it features vocals, so I'm embedding it here. Entitled "Dimensions", it diverges more and more into death metal than anything on "Lux Aeterna"! Lee sounds more brutal than ever, and the riffing and timing is excellent! I can't wait to hear more, and though I know Steve moved out of town, we need to see Gates of Winter live again, and I'm far from alone in that sentiment! Check out the clip of "Dimensions" below and more in the links above! Also, note the captions on the screen in the videos. Possible portions of the lyrics to each song?



That's all for today, hopefully the two posts were spread out enough to avoid anything getting overlooked! I have more to come very soon, including my review of Tym Morrison's debut album in the next four days and much more news, so keep your browsers pointed here!