LOCAL CONCERT ALERT (Dead & Divine), Borderline Divine's Hiatus, And New Videos!!

In what may be our last news post before our 5th anniversary tomorrow, we've got lots of news to share, including a new local band's latest video, more LemmaFest footage, and a recently prominent local band's hiatus, but leading off, here's a LOCAL CONCERT ALERT for your last chance to see a popular touring band in the Soo!

Dead & Divine are coming back to Sault Ontario one last time next month! The Burlington hardcore band will headline a huge hardcore concert at The Canadian Nightclub on August 22nd as part of their Farewell Tour, which implies what you think it implies, as Dead & Divine are amicably disbanding after this tour. I know they have a solid local following and have made tons of well received albums since 2003, so hopefully a big crowd turns out for their last local show on August 22nd! Two more out of town bands will be joining them on this tour run, and they are Alabama hardcore metal quartet Mychildren Mybride and the Toronto straight edge hardcore quintet Liferuiner, who'll both deliver some moshing good times with their brutal sounds on August 22nd! Of the three bands, I enjoy elements of them all, and I'm really intrigued by Mychildren Mybride, so hopefully a good crowd is there to check them all out! Unlike Dead & Divine's last local show in April 2011, there will only be one local opening band, that being local hardcore notables As It Stands, who are no strangers to Dead & Divine concerts, having opened for them at least three times dating back to 2007. Perfect fit as an opening band, and kudos to drummer John Mignacca for bringing this package of bands to The Canadian next month!

Admission will be $15 in advance and $20 at the door for this concert, which may sound steep, but with the package of out of town bands we're getting (including the last Dead & Divine set in Sault Ste. Marie), it's worthy of the price. They go on sale on the 22nd, so start saving up! Doors open at 6:30 PM on August 22nd with a 7:00 PM start time, and though age limits have not been announced, note that most of the heavier multi-band shows at The Canadian this year have been all ages. Sounds like a solid concert to me for hardcore metal lovers, so stay tuned for updates on this show as they roll in, and hopefully we give Dead & Divine a fitting local sendoff!

Next up, local metal band Borderline Divine have announced that they're going on hiatus. Guitarist Mitch Sirie announced the news on their Facebook page this morning, and he cited a need to focus on other things as the reason for the break, which is essential for the band & their members right now. However, he did stress that the members will still be active in music, and Borderline Divine will return "if the time is right" for all 4 members, so this doesn't sound like a permanent breakup at this time. This news comes less than 2 weeks after their latest set, as part of the F.A.T.I.L. Gathering in Laird, and it's definitely surprising to hear! While it's not a full disbanding, I assumed that they were gonna rise to some big things this year after all the lineup changes and off stage stuff that kept the former Stillbroke away from concerts for over 2 years. I do wish the guys the best in whatever comes next for them until Borderline Divine return, and I sincerely hope they do! That said, does the hiatus mean we're gonna consider them inactive on our band links? No, not unless they formally disband, go a year without real band news, or mostly move on to new primary bands. The joy of an indefinite hiatus is that no one knows it's length or end, so it'd be unfair to relegate them. If they haven't thrown away the key, why should we think it's gone?

On a related note, frontman Jesse Frigault is apparently offering his services as a "vocalist for hire" to bands who might be interested in adding him! Jesse revealed the news on his personal Facebook page over the weekend. Jesse is definitely a talented singer that can handle softer and heavier ranges of the hard rock & metal spectrum, and if you're at all interested in Jesse's singing abilities for your band, give him a shout at the above links!

We'll close this post with new videos, starting with another new video from LemmaFest! YouTube user NickCoversMusic (a former guitarist in a short lived local Christian rock band named Side of the Highway) posted a video from the second Mike Lemma tribute festival on June 23rd onto his YouTube channel on Thursday, and it features an assortment of clips & photos from the event, including video footage of the first three bands! It starts with 55 seconds of photos from what looks like setup of the stage and event before flipping to about 90 seconds of Brimley metal trio Half A Man's LemmaFest-opening set, then to a minute or so of local indie rock quartet The London Gentlemen covering Radiohead's "The Bends", before ending with just under a minute of local cover rock band Chump Change covering Kid Rock's "So Hott" (note that footage of Caitlin LeBlanc's set between the latter two bands is not included.) The audio quality is really nice on these clips, and it's good to finally see some visual evidence of The London Gentlemen's set, though the big problem with the videos is that Nick shot these incredibly far from the stage. Was there no zoom on the camera? Still, it's great to get a look at new LemmaFest footage, so check it all out below!



And finally, new local grunge band Haggith have launched their official YouTube channel! The new band featuring alumni of Havadder, S.C.A.R., and 20 Pack of Marshmallows have posted two videos there so far (both of which were previously posted on Facebook), including their acoustic version of their song "Rage Train" and a new video we haven't shared on here before, Haggith's original song "The Married Massacre"! Recorded at a jam session, this is the first video we've gotten of the band's current lineup all together, and the video has interesting filters to give it a smokier trance quality, if that makes sense. Raspier vocals than we've previously heard, but the song had promise and an old school groove, and it adds to Haggith's promise as the continue to slowly build their local name! Check out their new video below, stay tuned for Haggith updates, and contact the band at the above links if you're interested in playing bass for them!



That's probably all for today, but stay tuned for our 5th anniversary surprises tomorrow! If you wanted to see us cover more than 45 minutes away from the twin Saults, you won't wanna miss what's in store, so stay tuned for all of the updates! Thanks everyone!