R.I.P. Justin Fratpietro, 1983-2013

The Sault Metal Scene sends it's deepest condolences to the family & friends of local musician Justin Fratpietro, who suddenly passed away on Thursday at just 29 years old. His obituary has been posted at this location, and there it confirms that his services will take place tomorrow in Justin's hometown of Thunder Bay, so check the link for more information. Justin had been living in Sault Ontario in recent years while attending Sault College, and though he wasn't well known in the local music scene yet, he was a singer and guitarist who had recently joined a local metal band (more on them in a second) that had their own levels of promise despite their low profile so far. I didn't know Justin at all, but everything I've read so far points to him as a devoted father, talented singer, and good guy who was taken far too soon. I especially feel for his son, as no one should have to lose a parent this soon, so keep him and the entire Fratpietro family in your thoughts. R.I.P. Justin!

While we're on this subject, I just wanted to briefly touch on the new metal band he was fronting locally. I don't know a whole lot on them yet, but their name is Unbound, and they featured Justin alongside State of Misery alumni Ray Cowan, Kevin D'Orazio, and Nick Kainula on guitar, bass, and drums respectively. They formed in November or earlier, and one Facebook video has been uploaded to preview their sound from a jam session last year, which was filmed by attendee Amy Roach in the same location from State of Misery's early videos. The video isn't of the highest quality, but Unbound seem to be a more straightforward metal band with cleaner vocals, and this song (possibly titled "Deep Waters") has a slower & darker feel. It's too soon to judge how Unbound would have sounded with Justin singing (or to debate their future), but from what I can make out, they seem to have real promise, and hopefully Ray, Kevin, and Nick keep going musically (or at least release more media with Justin on vocals.)

I won't go too in depth otherwise (especially as Unbound hadn't really been publically launched yet), but I thought the band deserves the press after what happened, so check out the video above, and all credit for the above information goes to Nick and Amy! That's all for this post, but we'll have a full news post either tonight or tomorrow, and keep the Fratpietro family in your thoughts at these tough times. Thanks everyone!