A New Local Hard Rock Project, A New Album Release, And Marianas Trench/Trews Concert Fallout!!

After a weekend trip out of town, I'm back home to play catch-up with recent news and notes as we enter September's final week! Today's post is half devoted to fallout from a major recent concert, but we're leading off with a new band and a new album release you guys should hear about, so let's get things rolling before the day drags on any longer!

We have a new local hard rock solo project (for now) to add to our band links, entitled Less Than Zero! This is the new project from former Winkstinger rhythm guitarist Jason Ladouceur, who has moved back home and has been working on Less Than Zero since at least July via their page on Bandlab (no sign of a Facebook page yet). Surprisingly, Less Than Zero are a rap rock project, which might seem like an odd concept in 2022, but it's not unheard of nowadays. Remember, The Apocalypse Afterparty already fly that flag, and the now-inactive Stoned To Deaf favoured the sub-genre also. Jason has been very enthusiastic about Less Than Zero as of late, as Facebook friends will attest, and he does hope for this to expand beyond a solo studio project, with a Musicians Wanted Facebook group post on September 3rd looking for band members so they can play live in town.

Over a dozen original song demos are on Less Than Zero's Bandlab page, plus an off-subgenre cover of Megadeth's "Sweating Bullets", so head there to check those out. Jason handles vocals for the project, and he uses sampled drums at the moment. The songs on offer vary in heaviness, with some having a mild techno beat and others being straight up hard rock, and while there is definitely promise here, I do think Jason needs to dial in how his vocals sound, which often come across like overly processed spoken word than the more aggressive rapping that some of these sounds would seemingly call for. Interesting ideas though, and a change of pace in many respects, so give Less Than Zero a listen above!

Next up, here's a surprise new album release, as local alt/blues hard rock veterans Sykotyk Rampage surprisingly released their 67th canon studio album (and third of 2022) on Friday to their Bandcamp page! No sign of a matching Reverbnation upload yet, but their prior album "Scott's Pub & Crash Music" (also from this month) hasn't gotten one yet either, Entitled "Love Muffin", the album has a dark cover image reminiscent of some of their earlier releases in layout, if without their usual irreverence (for that, listen to the songs!) The album is another long one (if not as long as "WYRD Radio 2") with 20 songs that would require two CDs if released physically. Three of the songs are labelled as "Live22" at the end, implying that they are live re-recordings at The Cave, and with new songs on offer like "Doodahoopaloo" and "Circus of Konfusion" on offer, you know their usual blue Chinese metal crash punk stylings will be on full display!

As I said when I mentioned the release of "Scott's Pub & Crash Music", an SMS review of a new Sykotyk Rampage album is not imminent, as we only just reviewed "WYRD Radio 2" in July, but one or the other is tentatively pencilled in for January 2023. In the interim, "Love Muffin" runs for $7 on Bandcamp , and can be streamed for free there as well, so fans of the Beckers, Shane, and Tony won't wanna miss out above!

We'll close with news coverage & media from a major recent concert, namely the Marianas Trench/Trews show at GFL Memorial Gardens on Thursday night! I don't believe SooToday were on hand to cover the show, but the Sault Star's Jeffrey Ougler and SaultOnline's Mike Chikoski were present to get pictures for their respective publications, For SaultOnline's article (otherwise written by Craig Huckerby), Mike snapped 26 pictures, with thirteen being of Marianas Trench, seven of The Trews, three of local openers The Northwest, and three of front row fans during the headliners' set. The Sault Star's article has a little more said about the show itself, but less pictures (23), and not in the exact performance order, but there are nine of Marianas Trench, seven of The Trews, five of The Northwest, and two of fans. Solid pictures on both fronts with some really good angles!

In terms of videos, there is surprisingly only one public YouTube video that I've found at press time, and it's from The Northwest's set! This was filmed by the ever-prolific Christopher Paci for his YouTube channel, and while it was uploaded on Friday, further videos have not followed from the touring bands. He has staggered uploads before, so if more surface, we'll let you know. Chris filmed the local indie/punk quintet playing what appears to be either a new original song or a cover (if the latter, I couldn't make out the lyrics). Regardless, it features guitarist Greg Callaghan on vocals for the verses with Wayne Watkins on choruses, which is reminiscent of "Lights" from "All In", but not a match. The audio isn't overly crisp through the camera, which can be a hazard of shows at the Gardens, but Chris had a strong angle, and I'm curious to hear this song in studio form! Check it out below!

That's all for today, but stay tuned for more news and notes this week, plus this month's YouTube Channel Profile! Thanks everyone!