The Din & Theatre Of Night Updates, Plus Lots Of Assorted News & Notes!!

Before we get our review of Saturday night's Rednecks Saloon relaunch party goes up on the site, here's a new news post to keep things rolling on that end for this new week! Today, we have lots of assorted recent notes, but first, here's some updates and new videos from bands on each side of the border!

Local hard rock/alternative trio The Din have stayed busy in the past week, so what should you know from them? Well, the band released their first paid CD at the aforementioned Rednecks concert on Saturday, as "The Din Does Laundry" finally went on sale! Though sold in a paper sleeve, it actually has a proper label & cover art insert, so it would actually be eligible for a review on the site (and it all fits just fine in a jewel case!) The 15 song disc was on sale for $3, and by post-show accounts, it was a good seller, so keep it in mind for when The Din play live next! As for a review of it on the SMS, I want to hold off in lieu of The Din's previously hinted official studio debut CD, which has been teased a fair amount in the past few days. On Friday, the band shared a teaser video where frontman Mike Haggith teased plans to release the cover art and title, while riding an exercise bike, on their Facebook page, but in a video four hours later, Mike & guitarist Tammy Hill revealed that this was an April Fools joke of sorts.

The cover art, title, and first single are apparently coming later this month, but the reveal (fittingly in front of laundry machines) was actually for "The Din Does Laundry", despite it already being revealed in older photos. Hey, they technically weren't lying! No word on if it'll be available online in some form, but check out the teasers above and below, stay tuned for The Din's next Cover of the Month video in short order, and stay tuned for our review of their Rednecks set in our next post!



Next up, here's a new video from Sault Michigan classical metal project Theatre of Night, as uploaded to their YouTube channel yesterday, and it's of a new instrumental track named "Fraxical Dream" that guitarist Steve Giles composed using effects programs on his iPad (which he has made good use of for many prior tracks.) Complete with many psychedelic images, the song has a dark, ethereal essence, albeit not heavy, but fans should check it out below, and hopefully we hear more from Theatre of Night in short order!



Finally for this post, here's six assorted shorter news items from the last while! As usual, these are in alphabetical order by artist or event name:

• In their latest Facebook page update on March 21st, local death metal quintet The Bear Hunters revealed that bass recording sessions for their upcoming second CD "The Dead Testament" were ongoing at Mission Control Studios, and that sessions were still on track for a release this year. Sounds like things are on track, so keep posted as more comes in!
• Are/were defunct local hard rock band Borderline Divine planning a comeback? The former Stillbroke posted a cryptic status saying "Download is complete. Installation is ready to begin." on their Facebook page in October, their first status there since the band went on hiatus in mid-2012, with frontman Jesse Frigault moving to Alberta later that year (he's no longer a listed band member on their page either.) Given that there hasn't been any follow-up since, we'll have to wait and see if Borderline Divine do indeed re-emerge, but it'd be cool to see Sam, Mitch, and Justin on stage again!
• We don't often have news items from Twitter on here, but Redundant frontman Justin Langlois revealed on his Twitter page on Thursday that the local punk trio has "a couple of out of town gigs booked." The band hasn't elaborated on this yet, or when they'll return to the local stage, but we'll let you know when we hear more!
• According to a Rolling Stone article for the 40th anniversary of their classic album "2112" last week, Rush guitarist Alex Lifeson revealed that the Canadian prog-hard rock legends wrote the riff for their song "Temples of Syrinx" during their June 1975 stop in Sault Ste. Marie when they played at the former Sault Memorial Gardens! SooToday's Kenneth Armstrong followed with their own article about the reveal, with reminiscences from Rad Zone owner Paul Muncaster on Rush's three local shows from 1975-1977, and Rush's impact even at that early stage. Both are well worth the read for Rush fans, so give each a look above!
• Local hard rock quartet Skeyes of Seven have quietly posted four photos on their Facebook page since February which seem to indicate the titles of (at least) four songs for their upcoming debut EP. If I'm reading these right, the tracks will be "Cognitive Dissonance", "Fallen Faith", "Enough", and "Pretend", complete with quotes relating to each title, though it's not established if "Fallen Faith" & "Enough" are re-recordings of their earlier studio tracks or not. Stay tuned for more from Skeyes of Seven!
• The Tuned with Donna Hopper episode on last month's VM Radio Battle of the Bands finally went online on Local2 yesterday, where Donna interviewed winners K.I.C.K. on their victory last month, how new bassist Kevin D'Orazio has fit in, and their songwriting process & recording plans. Sadly, there's no footage of the other finalists (or from any of the semifinals), but it's a solid (if brief) interview, and there's some live footage from their set during the credits! Give it a look at the above links!

That's all for now, but stay tuned for our review of Saturday night's Rednecks Saloon relaunch party next! Thanks everyone!