2012: A Preview And What To Watch Out For

Happy New Year, everyone! 2011 has left us and now, we have a full new year to prepare for in the local metal scene, one that shouldn't be impacted by any pesky Mayan doomsday prophecies! Like last year, this post is designed to preview the year at large, including the concerts & events we know about, the shows and albums that could see local releases, and more, so let's see what's on the horizon!

For concerts, unlike last year, no major Kewadin Casino or Essar Center hard rock dates have been announced as of today, but I'd expect at least a few shows to be booked at The Dreammaker's Theater this year featuring some big name acts, including maybe the return of shows booked by Allstar Promotions? In Sault Ontario, the only absolutely confirmed metal show of 2012 so far involves Frightlight's Canadian Nightclub debut on January 14th, where they'll open up for Lion Ride frontman Mikey Hawdon's Toronto-based Ramones tribute band The Merves in their own local debut! Punk and metal fans alike should enjoy this concert, so click here for more details! In Sault Michigan, aside from a NoXcape concert weekend in February at The Satisfied Frog that I'm not sure is still on or not (are they still together?), the only shows I can 100% confirm are taking place at The Rapids Lounge at Kewadin Casino, where local bands Swayze Train, Trail's End, and Monkey's Uncle, and Charlevoix metal trio Peril, will all rock out at concerts through August. Click here for complete Rapids Lounge dates as of today, and stay tuned for more on the newly announced shows there this spring & summer in a future news post!

As for other concerts that we could see in 2012, there's a bunch of notable ones to watch out for announcements on! In Sault Ontario, fans can expect some metal or hard rock bands to pop up on local festivals like Hempfest, Rotaryfest, and (if they come back) The Searchmont Music Festival & Art In The Parking Lot. I'd also keep an eye on The Roosevelt Hotel for the (hopeful) return of Thursday metal nights this month, and also stay tuned to metal-friendly venues like Feedback and frequently seen local bands like Turner Up, That's Chester, and Tym Morrison's projects throughout 2012! In Sault Michigan, stay tuned for updates on possible metal bands on The Sugar Island Music Festival and LemmaFest this summer, along with a likely steady stream of metal and hard rock shows from local and U.P. bands alike from Sault Michigan itself to outskirt towns like Pickford and Rudyard. Sault Michigan shows are admittedly harder to source, but there's lots o the horizon, possibly including battles of the bands, Guitar Studio rock camp gigs, and more, so don't lose sight of the action across the river in 2012!

As for local metal CD releases, there's a lot of potential local metal CDs, EPs, and albums in the works that could come out in 2012! Things were a bit more active in 2011 for CD releases than in 2010, but there's still a lot of albums in the works that fans surely wanna check out. Bands & artists like April Eyes, As It Stands, The Bear Hunters, Gates of Winter, Half A Man, Late & Loud, Lion Ride, Mike Haggith, Riverin, Sykotyk Rampage, Tym Morrison, and Woods of Ypres have all begun recording sessions towards album releases of some kind, and we could see them in 2012 if we're lucky! Note that that doesn't include bands who've merely announced plans to make an album, but artists like End of Existence, Life's Eclipse, Sativa Rose, Shit Liver, View To A Kill, Winkstinger, and more have unreleased original material of their own, so you never know what could be in the cards! This year should be interesting when it comes to new CD releases, so stay tuned to the SMS or your favourite band's online pages for updates as the year progresses!

There, I hope you guys enjoyed this brief look at the year ahead, and though we don't know a whole lot about 2012 so far, I hope it's as successful (if not more) for the local scene than 2011 was! Thanks everyone, and stay tuned for more news hopefully later today and our next "Where Are The New Albums?" post tomorrow!