Defunct Local Band Profile Series: The Valentine's Day Massacre

On this Sunday morning, let's post this month's Defunct Local Band Profile! Yes, our monthly look at a defunct or inactive local metal, hard rock, or punk band returns for another go around, as we have another randomly selected band to spotlight, profile, and look back on! This group didn't last too long on the local stage, but they have a bunch of familiar faces and made a lot of fans, so read on below for this month's Defunct Profile!
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The Valentine's Day Massacre

Genre: Death Metal/Hardcore

Hometown: Sault Ste. Marie/London, Ontario

Members: 

Steve Rhodes (D3athcharg3r, State of Misery, Saints & Serpents), vocals
Andrew Angelic (Rattlesnake Hotel, D3athcharg3r, Sativa Rose), guitar
Adam Veale (Sativa Rose, Saints & Serpents), bass
Kyle Umgeher (Chillum), electric drums
 
Audio/Video: Though not active for an especially long time, there are a fair number of surviving videos on YouTube to check out from The Valentine's Day Massacre's run. Plans for a debut EP were never fully realized before the band dissolved, but frontman Steve Rhodes did share one demo named "Lovecraft Cthulhu" on his YouTube channel, while two cover videos can be seen from The V.D.M.'s debut show on bassist Adam Veale's dad John's YouTube channel, and a handful of others can be seen on our YouTube channel as well. Here's The Valentine's Day Massacre playing their song "Make Death Wait" at April 2012's Humane Society Battle of the Bands!



Info/Analysis: Formerly known as View To A Kill, The Valentine's Day Massacre were a deathcore band that basically succeeded members Andrew Angelic & Adam Veale's earlier classic metal outfit Sativa Rose. Debuting at what's now Coch's Corner (then called Feedback) in December 2011, The Valentine's Day Massacre became a steady sight at local metal concerts through the next summer, which saw them kick off the Ypres Metal Fest in April 2012, play at the last original Roosevelt Hotel metal night that July, and finish in the top four of both of that year's battles of the bands. Following a house show in Laird that August, The Valentine's Day Massacre moved en masse to London for college, though only a homecoming show that December and a cancer fundraiser in London in April 2013 followed before the band (sans Kyle Umgeher) was succeeded by Saints & Serpents that fall, who only played one London show themselves before dissolving in 2014.

The V.D.M. weren't even active for a year before moving & slowly descending to inactivity, but they burned bright when they were together, with Steve's brutal growling serving as a nice compliment to the others' pre-made chemistry and more diverse metal background!  They were live fan favourites, and have been missed, but be sure to check out Steve & Andrew's later London band work in D3athcharg3r & Rattlesnake Hotel to see what they've been up to since! However, note that The Valentine's Day Massacre's Facebook page was taken down after their breakup.
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I hope you guys liked this month's Defunct Local Band Profile! After three months of single band profiles in this series, our random selections have given us two bands for May in this series, as the first random choice doesn't have enough material or activity to fill a single post, so we've added a second band with minimal surviving info. With that said, we're looking at inactive Sault Ontario industrial metal duo Riverin (featuring Dirty Virgin alumni) and death metal quartet Skull After Betrayl (featuring Troubled Mind and Borderline Divine members), so look for that on or around May 10th, and stay tuned for more news soon! Thanks everyone!