Today's post touches on some assorted recent stories, including a big loss for local news media, a new song from a local metal project, and a new album from a reunited local band of sorts, but we're leading off with LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS, so here's what you should know!
Local classic/hard rock cover quartet Generations have announced two upcoming dates for next month, both Saturday nighters, as they'll rock Shooters Downstairs Lounge on October 19th and then Gateway Casino on October 26th! Fresh off of their set at this past Friday's Band Together To Rock Cancer benefit (more on that on the site soon), these two dates will be Generations' first at either venue since last month. The shows will also presumably see guitarist Tony Kajnar back after he missed the benefit gig on Friday (Muckrakers frontman Mike McDonald filled in for the night, and if you want a teaser of our upcoming coverage, click here). No word yet on if the October 26th gig at the casino will be Halloween themed or not, but remember that Halloween is a Thursday this year, allowing venues the opportunity to host their party a day late on November 1st rather than five days early.
You can enjoy Generations' classic and hard rock cover array on these Saturdays next month with no announced cover charges and 19+ age limits, and while they'll take the stage at 9:30 PM at Shooters, the Gateway Casino concert is at 8:00 PM. No word on if we'll see Valerie, the Tonys, and Pierre anywhere else before mid-October, but keep this talented veteran group's next announced shows in mind, and see above for more details!
Next up, here's a mild surprise, as defunct local classic metal quartet Late & Loud kinda sorta reunited to release the second score/soundtrack album to their Dungeons & Dragons podcast Late & Legends last week! As you may recall, Late & Legends sees Jonathan Tiberi, Brendan Christie, and Benn Garside (with Josh Hatherley as game master and audio editor) play D&D with their own storylines and characters as they explore/save the city of Renlan, and they released their first score album of songs used in the podcast back in April 2021. It is still available to buy/stream at this link, but has brand new artwork and a slightly amended title. Now, Late & Legends began season 4 in May of last year and hasn't posted a new episode since that month, but "Season Two (Podcast Soundtrack)" reflects the episodes that aired in February-October 2021, and if you want to catch up on the action, click here or visit your favourite podcasting host service.
Unlike with "Late & Legends 1", it seems like Brendan Christie had a much stronger hand in recording this material, with Jon and Benn only getting limited credits, and Josh is not listed as writing or performing at all once again. You can buy the 12 song score album for $8.99 on Bandcamp or stream the whole thing for free there, and it may just get reviewed on the SMS in the coming week! Plans to review Sykotyk Rampage's new album may get delayed, as I was hoping to have the accompanying comic book for full context by now, so it may get bumped to October in lieu of "Late & Legends 2". Stay tuned, but give it a listen above! As this is three+ year old music, Late & Loud are not back in our active band links.
Speaking of projects featuring Brendan Christie, here's the latest from his active progressive/djent metal band Convergence, who posted the first full song from their upcoming EP "Gemini" onto their YouTube channel on Friday! The song in question is "You Are Not Flesh" (obviously a new/altered title from prior track listing reveals), and it was uploaded there in two copies: an instrumental version and, as embedded below, one with vocals (it's a lyric video, to boot!). You can also buy (for $1) or stream it on their Bandcamp page, complete with altered cover artwork. As best as I can tell, Brendan himself provided the harsh vocals here, as also heard on their non-EP original song "Cancer" from last year, something I surprisingly never clarified on here at the time. I got kind of a Phil Labonte vibe from his vocals, which is neat! I'll hold comment on the song otherwise pending our eventual "Gemini" review, but check out "You Are Not Flesh" below!
As SMS coverage goes, we always got more relevant material from SooToday and their offshoots than from the sites that Craig produced, but I always appreciated having different viewpoints for major concert events when Local2 or SaultOnline sent their own reporters to attend, and they had some good exclusive content that you can (partially) read about on the SMS where dead links allow. Truth be told, them starting completely anew as FirstLocal did them no favours, even if necessitated by the need to rebrand and launch a new website, but hopefully staff lands on their feet with new ventures, as local journalism is important! That's all for today, but stay tuned for more news on the site this week! Thanks everyone!
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