Pop Evil Concert Updates, New Brutally Fatal Material, And Much More!!

(Updated at 5:25 PM) Before we begin today's post, I wanted to send our deepest condolences to the family and friends of Kittie bassist Trish Doan, who suddenly passed away earlier this week at the age of 31. Further details on this sad news can be found on Kittie and metal websites. Local fans will recognize Trish best from her appearances with Kittie at both of April 2012's tribute concerts in memory of late Woods of Ypres frontman David Gold, including the Ypres Metal Fest at The Canadian Nightclub, as well as the "Woods V: Grey Skies & Electric Light" release party in Toronto, both shortly after she rejoined the band. Kittie fans in general will recognize her from her two stints with the all-female London metal quartet since 2005, including appearances on two of their studio albums. Trish was a key member of Kittie for the better part of a decade, and fit in nicely during their local show five years back (as the packed crowd will attest), and I'm sure fans won't forget her any time soon. R.I.P. Trish!

Now, today's post covers some other recent news updates, including a new "album" posting and more updates, but to lead off, we have some big news on a major upcoming concert in the E.U.P.. Here's what you need to know!

Though we are less than two weeks away from showtime, there has been a surprising lineup change for the Pop Evil-headlined concert at The Dreammaker's Theater at the Sault Michigan Kewadin Casino on February 26th, as Ohio hard rock quintet Red Sun Rising have dropped out of the remainder of the Rock 'n Roll Now Tour. The reason for their exit is somewhat vague, yet varies depending on the source. Red Sun Rising say they were removed from the remaining dates and it was out of their control, local promoters Allstar Promotions say that they removed themselves but were unsure of the circumstances, and Pop Evil haven't acknowledged R.S.R. at all since, though you can delve into fan-posted rumours there if you want. All I know is that it's definitely disappointing to see Red Sun Rising drop out, especially with their rising profile and two #1 rock radio hits, but hopefully they come back to the Soo at some point in the future! Replacing them for the rest of the tour & on the 26th are female-fronted Detroit hard rock quintet Kaleido, while Los Angeles hard rock quartet Badflower have been promoted to the middle slot.

Kaleido have a fun, pop-influenced modern rock sound that should be a nice addition to this show, so make sure to be there early for their set! Also regarding this huge concert, Kewadin Casino posted this 90 second commercial promoting the show onto their Facebook concerts page last month, which clips together portions of music videos for each band alongside concert-related graphics, including an Allstar Promotions logo that I've never seen elsewhere. Obviously, this is outdated now, given the presence of Red Sun Rising, but it's well done, so give it a look below, and click here to get tickets for just $23.50, which are still available from the seventh row and back on the outside sections!

Also today, Sault Ontario death metal duo Brutally Fatal have finally posted what they're calling their new EP onto the Blood Shed Weekly YouTube channel yesterday! "Blood of the Devil" had been in the works since March but various delays forced it to be cut down to a 15 minute release with 9 songs. As you'd expect from a Blood Shed Productions metal act, these songs tend to be very short, and most of the titles have names I won't repeat here, but it's worth noting that vocals are seemingly used more sparingly than we've seen on past Brutally Fatal recordings, and when we do hear them, they're shouted, not growled. That might appeal to fans of Austin McCrae's old band The Revolution, so keep that in mind! Oddly, the description notes that they "can't remember" who played bass on the tracks, though whether they said that in jest or not is up for debate. Also, keep an ear out for train whistling on the song "Chugga Choo Choo".

No word on when/if this will see a paid and/or physical release, but fans of Brutally Fatal's minimalist metal should be happy, so listen to "Blood of the Devil" if you want below, but keep in mind the provocative song titles!



Finally for today, here's three assorted shorter news items from the last while, and as usual, these are in alphabetical order by artist name:

• In news unrelated to this month's Pop Evil show, Allstar Promotions noted on their Facebook page that they confirmed a new show on Friday, which is apparently "one of the biggest shows (they) have done", and Rock 101 will announce the show on Tuesday, with tickets going on sale at Kewadin next Friday. Intriguing, and we'll let you know when it's announced! Also, they are gauging support on Facebook toward potentially bringing British post-grunge quartet Bush (of "Glycerine" & "Machine Head" fame) to Sault Michigan, so if you'd like to see that show, voice up there!
• Novelty/clothing retail store chain Spencer's Gifts is coming to The Station Mall, as per their website! Though not directly linked to what we cover at the SMS, I mention it here for two reasons: They sell a large amount of music and band merchandise (metal & punk among them), and there is some speculation on social media that they are taking over HMV's location after they close for good by the end of April. In any event, it's great to have Spencer's opening in Sault Ste. Marie, as it's a fun store full of odd and creative novelty items, so keep watch for it at The Station Mall in the coming months! Also, HMV's liquidation sales are now up to 40% off.
• Sault Michigan classical metal project Theatre of Night has posted a new instrumental song to their Reverbnation page entitled "The Drowning", and this is a fuller original with a dark & ethereal ambiance, strong guitar work from Steve Giles, and an orchestral bite that long time fans should easily take to! Give it a listen at the above links, and stay tuned for more from Theatre of Night!

That's all for today, but stay tuned for weekend concert previews next! Thanks everyone!