Suicide Kings & Unbound Updates, Plus New Solo Performance Videos!!

It was February 25th when we last had a day without a post on the SMS, and I'm very glad to see things picking up and staying newsworthy in what's often a light time of year for news! In this latest post, we have some new solo videos from a pair of local hard rock artists, as well as news on a new local band's debut concerts (they're not where you think), but first, here's what's new from a recently prominent outfit, and what's on the horizon!

We'll start with the latest news from local hard rock quartet The Suicide Kings, who have a busy spring on the horizon (including with their Nicolet Tavern show on Friday), but before then, they'll be focusing on recording sessions for what their debut EP! According to their Facebook page, the sessions are taking place at The Smoke & Oak Room Studio with producer Dave Pihlaja, similarly to Late & Loud and Crimson Crusade's recent recording sessions. Dave's been doing some great work with a wide variety of local acts since starting The Smoke & Oak Room last year, and hopefully this continues to grow and fill more of the need for local recording studios, so become a fan at the above links, and the Smoke & Oak Room's now in our "Other Sault Ontario Metal Links" section! Drum tracks are now complete, with guitar tracking beginning today, and while I can't find the post I saw this off of, I could swear a Suicide Kings band member said on Facebook that they hoped that their EP would be finished by their set opening for 40 Sons at The Rockstar Bar on April 5th, with a free distribution planned there rather than selling the discs. Seeing as I can't find that post, plans might have changed (and/or it may have been a premature announcement.)

Finally for Suicide Kings' news, the guys have quietly cancelled their planned St. Patrick's Day gigs at Docks Riverfront Grill next weekend, as per the deletion of the shows' Facebook event page on Sunday. A reason wasn't announced, but bassist Mitch Sirie will be in Sudbury on the 16th for his other band The Bear Hunters' next out of town gig in Sudbury, so that's likely related. Disappointing, but the rest of the spring sounds very promising from their camp, so stay tuned for more Suicide Kings updates!

Next up, here's the latest news from new Sault Ontario hard rock outfit Unbound! The band featuring State of Misery & March Into Regression alumni will make their live concert debuts this month with concerts this Saturday & on March 29th... just not in Sault Ste. Marie. Instead, the guys will be taking a road trip to Thunder Bay to play at Pier 61 this weekend, followed by a suicide awareness fundraiser there named "Out Of The Darkness" at Crocks on the 29th alongside electronic acts. The almost-9 hour drive for their first shows may seem odd on the surface, but as you may remember, Unbound's late original frontman Justin Fratpietro was a Thunder Bay native, and their involvement in the latter show is especially significant given Justin's untimely passing in January. Details on Unbound's Sault Ste. Marie debut have yet to be publically unveiled, but hopefully we'll see the guys around town this spring! I fully understand the Thunder Bay debut & connections, and hopefully many Justin's family and friends will be able to see music he helped create in person this way! Keep an eye out for more Unbound updates in the near future!

We'll close today with a pair of new solo performance videos from local hard rock musicians, including this new cover from Ashes to Dust guitarist Alex Hemy! Though both his solo YouTube channel & the whole band have been fairly quiet so far in 2013, Alex did upload this cover of Green Day's "Nuclear Family" onto YouTube on Saturday! Using multiple camera angles and a nice quality camera, he does another good job on this cover, but if you're hoping for metal covers, he hasn't posted any since the fall. I have to ask though, where's the titles & logos like on his past clips? Still, give Alex's latest guitar cover a look below!



Finally for today, RedStone Riot bassist & ex-Riot! By Night frontman Ryan Harrison uploaded three more "pajama sessions" solo acoustic covers onto his YouTube channel yesterday! The covers are of The Counting Crows' "Right Here", Butch Walker's "ATL", and (as embedded below) Blue October's "Worry List", and all were filmed similarly to his last solo clips. These are very similar in sound to his last videos, and his talents are clear on all 3 (so I'd say how you'd rank them would depend on liking the original artists.) Check out his cover of "Worry List" below, and hopefully Ryan will revisit singing in a live band again in the future!



That's probably all for today, but stay tuned soon for more news & notes, plus this weekend's metal/hard rock concert previews! Thanks everyone!