Friday, April 10, 2020

Defunct Local Band Profiles: Busted & Galactic Alignment

It's now time for this month's Defunct Local Band Profiles, where we look back at randomly selected metal, hard rock, and/or punk bands in our band links, in order to give them a modern day spotlight for current readers! This month, we're looking at two randomly chosen bands, as the first didn't have enough surviving material to warrant a solo profile. As such, we have an interesting split across the Twin Saults, so here's what you should know!
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Busted

Genre: Punk

Hometown: Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario

Members:

Ben Crackel (Run Away Angelo), vocals/guitar
Ryan Poluck, lead guitar
T.J. Case (Asylum Country, Havadder), drums

Audio/Video: No media from Busted's run is known to survive publically, but in the talent show they mention playing, they covered Blink-182's "Aliens Exist", and Ben also cited Millencolin & NOFX as influences. Their Tripod page also mentions that they were working on original songs, and they asked fans to submit lyrics for consideration for future material. For what it's worth, T.J.'s prolific later musical collaborations have largely strayed far from punk, and as of their last update, they had not found a full-time bassist.

Info/Analysis: A short-lived punk band formed by then-Bawating Collegiate students in the 2003-2004 school year, little information survives from Busted's run, and what is written on Tripod needs heavy proofreading. Their only documented concert was the aforementioned talent show, apparently with just a day's notice, and they did receive some positive notices despite technical hang-ups. I was in grade 9 at Bawating then, and was in many classes with Ryan, but I do not have strong memories of Busted. That said, it would be interesting to hear material of theirs surface!
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Galactic Alignment

Genre: Technical Death Metal

Hometown: Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan

Members:

Mike Libertoski (The Slackjawed Rats, The London Gentlemen), all instruments

Info/Analysis: Succeeding his eponymous solo project upon their 2011 debut, Galactic Alignment is Mike's most recent original metal outlet, though his early plans called for adding musicians to make a full band, which never visibly occurred. Updates were largely limited to new music postings, with the last known Galactic Alignment songs going public in the fall of 2013, and the project quietly fell inactive by 2014. Six original Galactic Alignment songs can be heard on their Reverbnation page, and they will fully satiate the appetites of anyone who appreciates jazz-influenced progressive death metal! Mike is an excellent guitarist and his complexity and songwriting were never higher than in this project, and it's a shame they never reached their full potential! More songs of theirs can be found on Mike's Soundcloud page, including a version of "Abort The Export" with former I.S.O.M. frontman Bob Helsten on guest vocals (the original version is embedded below.)


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I hope you guys liked this month's Defunct Local Band Profiles! This series will return on or around May 10th when we look at another randomly selected local act of the past, that being early-2010s Central Algoma death metal band For All That Is Lost! Look for that next month, and for more news and notes this weekend! Thanks everyone!

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