Defunct Local Band Profile: Stone Smyth

After a slight delay to cover an interview with the artist in question that I really should have noticed last year, let's get this month's Defunct Local Band Profile up before we focus on weekend concert previews! This monthly feature again looks at a defunct or inactive local band (as randomly selected from our band links) in order to spotlight them and their content for current readers, and this month's selection is bittersweet timing given that their founder and only permanent member passed away just two months ago. Here's what you should know on them! 

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Stone Smyth (previously known as StrykerGC and StonesmithGC)

Hometown: Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario

Genre: Hard/Classic Rock

Lineup:

Troy Isaac (Angel Dust), all instruments

Audio/Video: A studio only project that had aspirations of playing live concerts and going on tour, Stone Smyth posted over three dozen original songs to major streaming services (one being a re-recording of Troy's "Local Steel" song "Cold Rain"), and while a formal album was never put on sale featuring their material, there's lots to hear, especially on their Reverbnation page and their YouTube channel. Songs on YouTube are generally accompanied by stock footage videos loosely themed around their lyrics (and often featuring attractive women), though later videos did feature some newly shot video. Note that the channel's later focus was shared by Troy's outdoor webseries Maverick Fish Hunter, reflecting his love of fishing and boating in particular. Here's one of their better late-era tracks, "My Blue Jeans"!

Info/Analysis: The final active music project from veteran local rock guitarist Troy Isaac (who passed away from cancer in September at the age of 63), Stone Smyth publically debuted in 2014 and began regularly posting new music to various platforms into the early 2020s. Originally known as StrykerGC, the project was named for his home studio & planned guitar company (hence the "GC"), with the Stone Smyth name inspired by blacksmithing, but with altered spelling and a space to distinguish them from Aerosmith. Aiming for uplifting and relatable lyrical content in their songs, Stone Smyth had planned to evolve into a live band with additional members, a full stage setup, and tour plans, but the pandemic curtailed their 2020 work, and despite teasing a future tour and live setlist as recently as the fall of last year, Troy's death came before things could fall into place as hoped, let alone before they could release an proper album.

Troy was a talented guitarist who made the most of his years of experience from B.C. to Germany with a good ear for catchy classic rock-inspired songwriting, and if you like the style of local musicians like Tym Morrison and SweetKenny, you'll be right at home with Stone Smyth's range of material! Not the rangiest singer, but he made the most of what he had vocally, and songs like "Psychonaut" and "Southern Steel" showed his wide range of influences. Stone Smyth even had tentative setlists for live shows planned out, so it's a shame that things didn't work out as hoped, but check out their music and Troy's Borderline radio interview to learn more! R.I.P. Troy!

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I hope you guys liked this month's Defunct Local Band Profile! This series will return on or around December 10th for its final installment of the year, but as the first band that I randomly selected has minimal information to utilize to fill out a post, I've added a randomly chosen band in a similar state to round things out. With that in mind, we'll be looking at 2019 Volbeat tribute band The Guitar Gangsters and 2024 hardcore punk solo project Choking On Appendages! Look for these next month and for weekend concert previews on the site next! Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERT (Three Days Grace) & Exit 808 Updates!!

No, I didn't forget the big LOCAL CONCERT ALERT from yesterday morning, so here's what you should know about that, as well as some updates from a local band's recent Halloween gig!

Norwood, Ontario hard rock quintet Three Days Grace will make their long awaited return to Sault Ste. Marie on Tuesday, April 28th at GFL Memorial Gardens! Announced yesterday morning as part of the band's world tour in support of their new album "Alienation", this will be Three Days Grace's first appearance in the Soo since headlining at what was then the Essar Centre in December 2009, and third total after debuting at the downtown arena in January 2008. Of course, in that sixteen year gap since we last saw them, singer Adam Gontier left the band and was replaced by bassist Brad Walst's brother Matt, only for Adam to return full time last year with Matt sticking around, giving 3DG two frontmen. We never saw Three Days Grace with Matt Walst as the sole singer here, but they kept on racking up rock radio hits with him like "Painkiller", "The Mountain", and "So Called Life", so how will they sound with Adam singing too?

This won't be Matt's first time performing in the area though, as he fronted his old band My Darkest Days (of "Porn Star Dancing" fame) at the Sault Michigan Kewadin Casino in April 2012, while Adam fronted his own band Saint Asonia at The Dreammakers Theatre in February of last year, shortly before he rejoined Three Days Grace. No matter which singer/era of the band you prefer, it's awesome to see Three Days Grace coming back to the Gardens, especially with current hits like "Mayday" and "Apologies" in their back pocket, so don't miss out in five months' time! Joining them for most of the Canadian leg of the tour is Burlington alt-hard rock quintet Finger Eleven, in their first local concert appearance since opening for I Mother Earth at The Machine Shop back in April 2018, and their (at least) fifth total here, each one at a different venue. Since we last saw them, they just released their new album "Last Night On Earth".

Fans can expect a set full of classics like "Paralyzer", "One Thing", and "Good Times" in Finger Eleven's return to the Soo after eight years, so don't bypass them either! Edmonton hard rock quartet Royal Tusk will make their local debut as the opening act in April, and they have been building decent momentum with their radio-friendly brand of metal originals like "Aftermath" and "First Time" (no relation to the Finger Eleven song of the same name), and they should set things off on the right foot in the spring! No word on whether Rock 101 or 104.3 The Fox will be the presenting radio sponsor for this Live Nation concert, but both local rock stations have announced ticket giveaway contests. Public on-sale tickets go live at the in-person box office or online at this link on Friday at 10:00 AM, and tickets will start at $55 with VIP packages also being available. This will absolutely be an all ages concert, and a 7:00 PM start time is advertised.

Tuesday nighter or not, this will be a huge concert for local hard rock fans, and even if Three Days Grace were coming solo, the sixteen+ year wait alone (and all of the hits they've released since) will ensure a strong reception in twenty-four weeks' time! Visit the above links for much more on Three Days Grace and Finger Eleven's show at the Gardens next year, and get your tickets A.S.A.P., as they are guaranteed to move quick!

Let's close today with some new updates from Sault Michigan hard rock band Exit 808, starting with the clarification on their Facebook page that bassist Blaze Beairl was definitely at their Halloween weekend "Fright Night On The Bay" concert at The Back Bay Grill & Games at Bay Mills Resort & Casino in Brimley on November 1st. While not seen in videos from the event, they did share pictures featuring him in costume as a rapper, and as it turns out, he was trading off with new band member Brad Pringle throughout the night. Whether the two will juggle/alternate bass indefinitely or if Blaze will hop on other instruments in the future, I don't know, but as the band said, "(we) love our teenagers on stage!". Of note, singer Dillion Semasky appeared to have a mad scientist costume for part of the night but he did not have the coat on in the videos. Speaking of which, we have a new video to share with Blaze on bass, so what should you know there?

Uploaded to their Facebook page on Friday, this Brad and Amy-less cover of AC/DC's "T.N.T." also features guest singer Molly Escherich (as the other two videos did), and has her and Dillion trading verses. Filmed from a strong horizontal angle (if only for 39 seconds), this cover is well handled with the two singers adapting well without cloning Bon's vocal style! No word on how bar patrons were reacting to game 7 of the World Series, but if any Sault Ontarians were in attendance, I feel your pain! Check out Exit 808's AC/DC cover below, and stay tuned for more from them soon!

That's all for now, but stay tuned for more news and notes on the site in the coming days! Thanks everyone!

Our Recap Of Troy Isaac's 2024 Across The Tracks Interview On The Borderline!!

Today's post was supposed to be this month's Defunct Local Band Profile, with the former local hard rock solo project Stone Smyth randomly selected for the honours last month. However, I am going to slightly delay it so we can belatedly take a look at frontman Troy Isaac's interview with Adrian Vilaca on his series Across The Tracks on local internet radio station The Borderline! This interview premiered on May 29th of last year, fifteen months before Troy lost his battle with cancer, and alas, I didn't knew he did an interview with The Borderline until shortly after his passing. Better late than never, and this will help with additional context and information for when the Defunct Profile on Stone Smyth goes live! Before this interview, Adrian hadn't met Troy before, but he first came to know who he was via his presence on the 1998 compilation CD "Local Steel", where he played "A Long Cold Rain Comin' Down".

Troy starts the discussion by elaborating on how he first got into playing music as a kid in British Columbia, what instruments he played early on, and his early run in the band Angel Dust. In his youth, he lived in West Germany as a time while his stepfather served in the military overseas, and he played in a band named Machine Head (no relation) while living there. He began songwriting at about 15 years old in the late 1970s, and followed a normal career path as opposed to chasing the musician dream, but eventually started recording his own music, and was taking advantage of at-home recording software now that it was much more affordable and accessible than it was. Aside from guest female singers, all of Stone Smyth's music was purely a solo operation. Troy next discusses the recording experience for "A Long Cold Rain Comin' Down", which led to the "Local Steel" release concert at the former Peachy's.

The re-recording of that song by Stone Smyth (now titled simply "Cold Rain") is played in full at the 9:45 mark, with the interview picking back up at around 14:50. After discussing why he re-recorded the track, Troy discusses the sounds and styles he liked incorporating in his music, Troy talks about some of the favourite concerts of his as an attendee, and his far flung times living all over Canada, before setting up the second full song played in the interview, Stone Smyth's "Hanging Onto Fire", which comes on 19:20 into the episode. The second half of the interview begins at 23:20, with Adrian asking about Troy's one-man operation and recording process, with Troy aiming to take Stone Smyth to live concert stages (it is sad that he never got to realize that goal), while addressing how the COVID-19 pandemic and lockdowns affected his music plans back in 2020.

At this stage of his life, Troy was focusing on doing what he loved artistically rather than money, and this leads into the third song played during the episode, "Last Chance Mountain" (27:15). Adrian picks things back up at 30:40 by talking about how much he likes Troy's new song "Summertime", and asking about what kinds of messages Troy wanted to convey in his original music. He did note that he wanted to have uplifting messages in his music more than political or divisive content. "Summertime" is played on air at 34:15, with the interview resuming at 37:40. When asked about his then-future plans, Troy noted that he had a stage setup built for eventual live gigs, and eight more songs (as of May 2024) ready to release, while also acknowledging the rings that he wore to the interview. After setting up the final song to be played on air ("Hari Cari"), we hear that at the 40:40 mark, and the last segment of the interview beginsat 44:05.

To close, Adrian asks where we can hear Troy online, and he finally addresses where the Stone Smyth name comes from here, specifically a play on "blacksmith" without using the same spelling as Aerosmith, and he used the name for his own studio and planned guitar line as well. Troy was also hoping to begin shooting live videos in the fall of 2024, Nice casual interview that helps explain a bit about who Troy was and what he was aiming for with his music, and it is a shame that he passed at just 63 before some of his bigger future plans could be fully realized. Hearing this finally will be good to fill in some blanks for our Defunct Local Band Profile, but give the full Borderline interview a listen at this link or above, and R.I.P. Troy!

Heavy Lies The Crown Updates From Early-Mid October 2025!!

On this snowy Sunday afternoon, let's dive into recent updates from St. Ignace deathcore band Heavy Lies The Crown, so what's been going on in their camp in the past month+? On September 30th, frontman Brandon West starred in this new update video on their Facebook page, where he hyped their newly announced concert on October 11th at The Sanctuary in Hamtramck (outside of Detroit), where they were among the openers for Detroit death metal band Living Dissection. If the name is familiar, it's because they're the current band from prolific local metal guitarist Mike Libertoski (formerly of The Slackjawed Rats, Galactic Alignment, et al.), marking a rare time where two metal bands with Yooper members joined forces downstate! Surprisingly, Brandon doesn't mention this at all in the video, but he does note that he's wanted to play at The Sanctuary with H.L.T.C. for years, and they have more shows lined up there.

Brandon next references their upcoming single, multiple new music videos, and hinted that the release date for the single was hidden in clues on their social media posts that you can figure out if you want to. We also get a brief interruption from Brandon's kid asking him to play hockey, which has to be a first for these vertical update videos! He closes things by teasing that three brand new songs that have never been played live before would be unveiled at the Sanctuary gig. Effective updates that say a lot without giving much away, so give this video a watch below!

Entering the month of October, Heavy Lies The Crown's social media updates were primarily teasers towards an apparent music video shoot featuring three band members in creepy clown costumes, and on October 3rd, they confirmed that the video was for a new song named "Happy Fun Fun", which was to be released on "all platforms" on October 17th. I somehow doubt it was released on Tidal, Napster, Bandcamp, or dozens of other platforms, but never mind. In advance of it being uploaded to major streaming services, the full video was posted to their YouTube channel on October 10th. I'll hold comment on the song pending our 2026 review of Heavy's new album, but the video features Brandon, Jaxon, Christian, and Kaycee performing in costume around a bonfire at nighttime (one assumes Brandon wasn't in the teaser photos because he took them), interspersed with an investigation of abandoned property full of cryptic messages, ominous threats, and a lot of balloons.

How much of this video shoot and concept was inspired by the late lamented local hard rock band Clownsack (who were wearing clown costumes on stage almost two decades ago) is up to you to decide, but they certainly weren't as aggressive and horror-influenced as what Brandon and crew got up to here! Effectively shot and presented, and certainly brutal while it lasts, so give the "Happy Fun Fun" video a watch below!

On October 13th, Brandon starred in another solo vertical update video, this time a 6+ minutes-long one where he first thanked everyone for coming out to the Living Dissection show in Hamtramck two days previously, which had a good turnout that stuck around from bell to bell. Heavy Lies The Crown got asked for an encore, even, but they ran out of time, and he noted their recent lineup shuffling (particularly Kaycee moving to drums) as a factor in their recent live preparation. After noting the commute to Metro Detroit and back, he thanked original H.L.T.C. guitarist Ted Olson for letting them borrow a pedal that was essential to play "Happy Fun Fun" effectively on stage (Brandon actually hopped on rhythm guitar for that song). After thanking that night's other bands, he eventually noted that they'll be restocking their merchandise for future concerts, and asked fans what they'd want to see sold.

At the end, he noted their next scheduled shows (this weekend, in fact), which will see them rock The Sanctuary in Hamtramck again on Wednesday before rocking Battle Creek on Thursday. Neither are local, obviously, but good luck on the 4+ hour road trip ahead! "Happy Fun Fun" was successfully released on October 17th to Spotify, Apple Music, YouTube Music, Amazon Music, iHeartRadio, Deezer, Boomplay, Qobuz, Anghami, and Assis Feijo. Certainly not "all platforms", but more than most local acts bother with! Embedded below is one more 6+ minutes-long update video from "Heavy here", where Brandon immediately addresses their lineup instability in recent years, and how the guys frequently swap instruments live, with all four current members having multi-instrumental talent (Jaxon has even sang a bit live). but regardless, they're there to have fun and make the most of things.

After teasing an upcoming show that they may take on, Brandon confirmed that they're planning to bring back Exit 808 bassist Blaze Beairl on drums, who hasn't been present in new band materials since the spring for unannounced reasons. If things lined up, it would be cool to see Blaze back! For this show, Colorado-based DJ Tyler "Dirty6" Chambers was supposed to join them as guest performer during a return home to Michigan. Tyler and Brandon went to high school together, and H.L.T.C. have long teased wanting to incorporate a DJ/turntables into their music more, so this might be a fun diversion! Kaycee Mason (who left guitar to take over for Blaze on drums) wasn't acknowledged by name in the lineup plans but he was counted when Brandon named off where members currently live. With all of that said, what is the mystery show that Brandon was teasing?

It would appear to be one that just took place on Friday night, as they opened for Chicago progressive metalcore band Born Of Osiris at at The Crofoot Ballroom (presumably in The Vernors Room again) in Pontiac, basically an encore of when they opened for Born Of Osiris there in May of last year. That was actually Blaze's debut with Heavy Lies The Crown (albeit as a one-off DJ), so you can see why the occasion and scope would call for a fuller lineup. Did Blaze and Tyler make the trip for Friday's concert? We'll know more when we next catch up on H.L.T.C.'s updates, but give the October 17th update video a watch for yourselves below!

That's all for now, but stay tuned for this month's Defunct Local Band Profile next! Thanks everyone!

Spades GT Updates From September-October 2025!!

With a quiet weekend for hard rock/punk concerts in the twin Saults and area, let's shift tonight's gaze to the subject of this month's album review on the SMS, namely local/Barrie crossover thrash quintet Spades GT, so what have they been up to in the past month+? On September 24th, they announced on their Facebook page that they will be back for the fourth annual Walterstock fundraiser concert at The Rockpile in Toronto on January 3rd, an event that they have not missed yet. To my knowledge, only one other band (out of 23!) on the bill of next year's Walter Froebrich memorial concert has played in Sault Ste. Marie, namely Barrie blackened death metal trio Out Of Spite, who opened for Selias (then featuring Spades drummer Tyler Reiner) at Soo Blaster in September of last year, though Spades have shared the stage with multiple other bands there. Always good to see Walterstock back, so keep it in mind if you'll be in the G.T.A. at the start of the new year!

After announcing their Orillia concert debut at the Headbang For Paws matinee concert on October 25th (a benefit for a local cat shelter there), drummer Tyler "T" Reiner starred in this new Facebook video on September 28th where he plugged their Quebec debut, when they opened for The Exploited at The Piranha Bar in Montreal on October 26th. That must have been a huge opportunity, and we'll definitely talk about it when we get there in Spades GT's timeline! Even if the show hadn't already happened, I can't embed this video here because Facebook content matched the backing song ("Wrecked" from the new album), but Tyler also plugs then-upcoming concerts of theirs in Southern Ontario, including the rest of their upcoming dates for 2025, Walterstock, and teased new merchandise and 2026 dates ahead. Good stuff that isn't entirely outdated at this point, so give it a look above! Now, let's talk about their actual concerts last month!

The former Jack Spades played six shows in October 2025, with the first coming on October 3rd when they and their friends in G.F.U. opened for Misfits tribute band The Shitfits at Camp Cataract in Niagara Falls. The Shitfits are Danzig-centric morseo than Graves, but I'm sure frontman J.D. Pearce approved regardless! This was a show put on by Sofa City Sounds, whose owner Amanda Schilz has interviewed the entire band (sans Fang) across three different remote video interviews that are linked here. As such, this was Spades GT's Niagara debut, and their usual vertical recap video from this concert was posted to Facebook five days later. Again mostly filmed by guitarist Daniel Horton, we get mingling outside and inside of the venue (did you know that G.F.U.'s frontman is running for mayor?!) before checking out raw video clips of that night's three opening bands, with Spades getting the spotlight at 2:49 for a snippet of them playing "Rise".

Alas, it's just for 24 seconds and remains a vertical video. Better this than nothing, but I'd love to see more full song uploads, let alone in landscape! We do not get footage of The Shitfits for unannounced reasons, but we do see the guys testing out a "Love Meter" before giving final thoughts on the show as a whole, plugging their gig in Windsor the following night, and checking out some of the Niagara Falls waterfront attractions, including some nighttime mini-golf and the falls proper. Fun recap that takes advantage of their first time in Niagara, so give it a watch below! 

On October 4th, the guys returned to Windsor for a show at The Cherry Rock Lounge that also featured the aforementioned G.F.U. and Windsor hardcore punk band Avoid The Comment Section, featuring veteran local metal/punk guitarist Ash Richtig. Really cool to see two bands with Soo expats converge on a bill like this, even from 5+ hours away! I wish Ash would bring one of his bands home for a concert here. Despite teasing the recap video being posted the following week, it wasn't uploaded until Wednesday (as in, November 5th), well after recap videos from later concerts were posted. Why the delay, I have no idea, especially as it's much shorter than the Niagara one, but better late than never! This one starts with the guys driving to Windsor and getting A&W (does Dan prefer the chicken there?) before arriving at the venue, where bassist Sean MacNab faced off against guitarist Matthew Voros at a Street Fighter 2: Champion Edition cabinet.

I'll let you find out who won, but happy belated birthday to Sean, who celebrated at the Niagara show! We only get raw footage of Spades here (3:05 in), and while well shot, it's again vertical and only for 23 seconds this time. Matthew takes the lead when summing things up and giving shoutouts and plugs, with an Easter egg at the end with Daniel expressing his big wish for somewhere not to stop on the way back. Effective for what we get, and good to see this finally posted after over a month, so check it out at this link! I can't embed it here due to Facebook content matching the backing music added in post ("Strong" from the new album). We'll pick things up with Spades opening for The Exploited in Toronto next! Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (The Sky Pilots), Bone Yard 225 Concert Previews, And New Videos!!

Today's post takes us to a quiet batch of hard rock concert previews (at least as far as publically announced shows), so rounding things out are some full set videos from bands on both sides of the border. Let's lead off with SHORT NOTICE LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS!

Munising classic/hard rock cover quintet The Sky Pilots will return to the E.U.P. for concerts at The Northern Pines Lounge at the St. Ignace Kewadin Casino TOMORROW & SATURDAY NIGHT! Apologies for the short notice, we just learned of these gigs via Kewadin's entertainment page when gathering together yesterday's all-Sault Michigan post, but the band quietly first announced these shows via the concert calendar on their Facebook page back in April. This weekend's shows follow The Sky Pilots' late notice turn as headliners at The Shamrock Show at Three One Three On Ashmun in March,  but regrettably, I completely missed their debuts at The Rapids Lounge at the Sault Kewadin on July 25th & 26th for coverage on here. I profusely apologize, the slowdown in heavier Kewadin bookings is no excuse on my end, but I hope The Sky Pilots had a great turnout here in July!

While The Sky Pilots themselves hadn't played in our area before March, some readers may recognize singer Melissa Strand, who sang for local hard rock bands like Swayze Train, Electric Motor Fish, and Toast in the early 2010s before moving west. It's cool to see Mel back in a live band, let alone a talented one that is starting to come our way more often! TOMORROW & SATURDAY'S St. Ignace Kewadin gigs are at 9:00 PM with 21+ age limits and no cover charges. See above for more details, and here's The Sky Pilots live!

Next up, here's this weekend's only other currently verified heavier concerts (alas, there is usually a post-Halloween lull), as Sault Ontario southern hard rock trio Bone Yard 225 will set up shop at The Esquire Club TOMORROW & SATURDAY NIGHT! Barring a schedule change or a hypothetical booking on the Boxing Day weekend, this will be your local 225's final concert weekend at the Second Line West nightclub for 2025, as per the venue's fall concert calendar, "The dirty three" don't play here all that often compared to other venues, but if you want the full plugged-in Bone Yard experience, don't miss out on this weekend's action, and expect merchandise and original music as well! Their "high-energy classic rock party" begins at 9:30 PM tomorrow and Saturday night with 19+ age limits and no cover charges as usual. Visit the above links for more details, and for a preview, here's a brand new video!

Filmed at Bone Yard 225's Roberta Bondar Pavilion matinee set at the Queen Street Cruise in June, this (sadly) vertical video features 22 seconds of the guys during an instrumental solo section of a song that I wasn't immediately able to identify. While a fun performance from what we hear, it wasn't uploaded to highlight the song, but rather to honour last month's passing of Queen Street Cruise founder Gary Trembinski Sr., who was standing on stage while Bone Yard were performing. Gary was also a former city councillor, the owner of Metallo's Mini-Mart, and was involved in many other community events, and our deepest condolences go out to his family and friends at this time. Gary sounds like he was a great guy. Check out the video below!

Let's close today with some new full concert videos, starting with local death/thrash metal trio's most recent video on drummer Bret Shuttleworth's YouTube channel! This comes from their set opening for Kaonashi at Jay's Piston Broke Pub on October 29th of last week (Halloween costumes were encouraged but the band did not partake), where they played a half hour set that old Rosie metal night fans definitely enjoyed! In performance order, Robert, Devon, and Bret tackled their usual intro cover of "End of Small Sanctuary" from Silent Hill 3, before playing "Specimen of Egotism", "Abhorred Apprehension", "The Curse of Eternal Sickness", "The Angst of Existence", "Wasting", "The Passing", and as recently usual, their set-ending cover of Sepultura's "Territory". Of the originals from their new album "Old Soul", six of the nine songs were played here, omitting "Sculptor of Cadavers" and the final two songs. 

Bret did note in the description that there are flashing strobe lights on stage (mind that if you have epileptic seizures), and he apologized for being stuck behind the infamous support beam on stage, reasoning the camera location as the best spot without getting in the way of fans. Nice and brutal performance across the board that existing Pillory fans and new ones alike should take to, so give it a watch below, and if you want CD copies of "Old Soul", they are now at The Rad Zone!

We'll wrap this post up by coming full circle to the E.U.P. for a look at Sault Michigan punk trio The Sole Aggressors' final(?) concert set, as filmed in full for their YouTube channel! On August 18th, the guys gathered at singer/guitarist Brett Siesel's place for their final gig before members moved out of the area for college, though initial finality teasers were dialed back to an "indefinite hiatus", along with plans to record an album of their original songs at some point. This garage concert saw Brett, Calvin, and Isaac play (in order) "Kill A Celebrity", "Ventilation", "The Same Individualist" "Tale Of An American Hero", "State Of The World", "Teenage Guide", "False Hope", "Hypocrite", "Heil Artificiality", "Humans Aren't Ordinary Monkeys", "Kill Thy Neighbour", and "Fool", before a brief jam of Black Sabbath's "Iron Man". Originals resume with "Time To Commercialize!", "Reject", "Burning Down", "Fast Punk For Fast Food", "Melted Plastic", and "Down By The Bay".

This set includes all of The Sole Aggressors' publically performed originals from their other full set videos, though aside from the "Iron Man" snippet, there are no covers here. Definitely a warm day here (you can tell based on how shirts vanished early), but it's a blistering punk set that genre fans will easily take to, and it's good too see the guys in more natural lighting! Many of their concert videos were impaired by heavy colour tints from the lighting setups at the venue. Hopefully we will hear more from The Sole Aggressors when able, but give their last(?) concert a watch below!

That's all for now, but stay tuned for more news and notes on the site in the coming days! Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (Oz, Scarkazm, And Exit 808), Plus More From Sault Michigan!!

Today on the SMS, we're focusing entirely on Sault Michigan and the Eastern Upper Peninsula via some LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS and new videos & related updates from a band in question, so here's what you should know!

Traverse City metal trio Scarkazm will return to both the Sault Ste. Marie and St. Ignace Kewadin Casino branches for one more weekend each in 2025, as they'll rock The Rapids Lounge in the Soo over Thanksgiving weekend (Friday, November 28th & Saturday, November 29th) before closing out their E.U.P. calendar for the year on December 19th & 20th at The Northern Pines Lounge in St. Ignace! Both weekends were confirmed on both Kewadin locations' entertainment pages linked above, which have been updated to reflect concerts through the end of the year. Always good to see Adam, Dave, and Jeff bring their hard hitting original and cover attack to our neck of the woods, and hopefully these concerts go well across the board! While we're on the subject, Scarkazm themselves have confirmed shows through April via their Facebook page's event pages, so will they be back here in 2026?

Yes! The Peril sister band will be back at The Rapids Lounge in the Soo on January 30th & 31st, and then again on March 20th & 21st, before rocking The Northern Pines Lounge in St. Ignace once again on April 24th & 25th, so keep all of these upcoming dates in mind for your Scarkazm fix over the next six months! As usual for Scarkazm's Kewadin bookings, all ten dates have 9:00 PM start times, 21+ age limits, and no cover charges. Visit the above links for more details on Scarkazm's next E.U.P. trips!

Next up, Iron Mountain classic/hard rock cover quintet Oz will return to The Rapids Lounge at the Soo Kewadin on Friday, December 12th & Saturday, December 13th, but they too will also be back in the E.U.P. in 2026! Like with Scarkazm, Kewadin isn't going into next year yet, but Oz confirmed on their Facebook page that they will be back at the same venue on February 20th & 21st and then again on September 18th & 19th! Really far out booking there, bands that we cover don't usually announce dates 11 months prior like this, but they also confirmed a December weekend in Baraga in the same post. Local fans last saw Oz at The Rapids Lounge in April, so it will be neat to see their talented blend of classic and hard rock covers back in town for one more weekend before the year is up! Like with Scarkazm above, all of Oz's Kewadin dates ahead are 21+ affairs with no cover charges and 9:00 PM start times. See above for more details on these shows!

Also taking place on December 12th & 13th (albeit at The Northern Pines Lounge in St. Ignace) is the return there of local hard rock band Exit 808! Kewadin's entertainment page credits the band playing there as Double Jack, but that is (of course) their old name that they changed from in early 2024 due to the existence of a separate band named Double Jack downstate. So these shows has been scheduled with the casino for at least 21 months without someone catching the old name? Exit 808 have yet to confirm these dates on their own Facebook page, but these will be their first shows in St. Ignace since the beginning of August. Hopefully these winter-time concerts go well across the board with their dual vocalist-led array of hard rock covers! Like with Oz and Scarkazm above, these are 21+ events once again at 9:00 PM with no cover charge. Visit the above links for more details, but we're not done with Exit 808 for this post yet!

As you may recall, Exit 808 most recently headlined at The Back Bay Grill & Games at Bay Mills Resort & Casino for their belated Halloween party on Saturday, November 1st, a concert that had multiple guest musicians, one being a mystery bassist named Brad. When acknowledging who performed on Saturday, they said "we were joined by 13-year-old Molly Escherich and new bass player, Brad Pringle, along with our typical 6". Note the lack of a pronoun, so is he a new bassist or their new bassist? Brad has played bass (and saxophone!) in bands downstate, and in both of the new videos from "Fright Night On The Bay" on the band's Facebook page, he is on bass with no sign of Blaze Beairl. The "typical 6" would include Blaze, so he must have been there, and he has played at Back Bay gigs in the past despite being underage, but he is not visibly performing any instrument in the two videos. We'll let you know if things get clarified on Brad and Blaze's statuses either way!

Both videos feature Molly on guest vocals and Brad on bass, but teased guest guitarist Joe Jenkins is not in either clip. The videos include a cover of Volbeat's newer single "By A Monster's Hand" with Dillon and Molly splitting vocals (no Amy), but as it's shorter and bafflingly uploaded in vertical "Reel" dimensions with heavy pillarboxing despite being a horizontal landscape video, it's not embedded here. Instead, here's the longer and fully framed (but still vertical) video of Exit 808 covering Journey's "Separate Ways (Worlds Apart)" with Amy and Molly sharing vocals. This alone is unusual as Molly usually subs in for Amy, but they sound good together! Both covers are solidly done, so give them a watch above & below!

That's all for now, but stay tuned for weekend concert previews on the site next! Thanks everyone!

A New Local Band & A New EP Release!!

Today's post has two extended single topics to look at, including a brand new EP release and leading off, a new addition to our coverage and band links, so here's what you should know on both fronts!

We have a new local classic/hard rock cover trio to add to our Sault Ontario band links, and they are The Guilty Party! Effectively, this group is a side-project of Separate Wayz, as the two bands share guitarist Terry Eaton and bassist Jim Michaud, who were notably late-era bandmates in Soundcheck from 2023 until they broke up at the beginning of this year. I haven't rolled Separate Wayz into our coverage yet because I'm still not sure what they play or how similar they are to Terry and Jim's past bands, but The Guilty Party have videos online and they do cross our coverage line as such! In lieu of Separate Wayz singer Nicole Thibodeau and drummer Steven Flint, both duties are taken on in The Guilty Party by Brent Royer, a veteran local rock musician who has had stints with Settle For Silver, Turner Up, and Bourbon Blue over the years, and had joined Terry & Jim in the short-term & online page-less "The Band" this summer alongside their old Soundcheck bandmate Cameron Oliver.

The Guilty Party played their first gig at a private event at Harmony Beach on September 20th, with their public debut gigs coming at Jay's Piston Broke Pub the following weekend. They also rocked The Water Tower Pub on October 17th, followed by a return to Jay's over the 24th weekend, shows that reportedly had an early Halloween theme. Interestingly, this video from October 14th shows The Guilty Party (and Cameron as a guest singer) playing at Reggie's Place, despite their teased closure (or end of concert bookings) last month. Is Reggie's doing the Rockstar Bar thing by only booking private/special events now, or were the finality hints exaggerated and the show just didn't get public advertising? We'll let you know if we hear confirmation! No word on upcoming dates from The Guilty Party, but they have been playing live more regularly than Separate Wayz this fall. What can you see in the videos uploaded to their Facebook page so far?

They were filmed covering Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers' "Running Down A Dream" at Harmony, five songs at Jay's (The Black Crowes' version of Otis Redding's "Hard To Handle", David Wilcox's "My Eyes Keep Me In Trouble", INXS's "New Sensation", Whiskey Myers' "Bar, Guitar, and A Honky Tonk Crowd", and Buckcherry's "Lit Up"), Def Leppard's "Animal" at Reggie's, and Lynyrd Skynyrd's "Simple Man" at The Water Tower Pub. All have Brent on vocals except the Tom Petty and David Wilcox covers (Terry) and the Whiskey Myers and Def Leppard covers (Cameron), who also guested on acoustic guitar for "New Sensation". Did the teasers of Cameron moving to Nashville not get as far or was he just in the Soo visiting? In any event, if you like late-era Soundcheck, you'll like The Guilty Party, and even in their regular trio formation, they deliver a solid classic/hard rock mix, and Brent adds well with a decent vocal range!

Singing and drumming simultaneously isn't easy, so kudos to Brent for pulling it off on most of the Cameron-less covers! I do wish that most of these videos weren't shot vertically, but you know me by now. Stay tuned for more from The Guilty Party (and Separate Wayz?) soon, and here's Brent, Terry, and Jim covering "Hard To Handle"!

Finally, as first mentioned yesterday in our newest "Where Are The New Albums?" post, here's the latest from local industrial hard rock solo project The Realignment Project, so what have they been up to since we left off from them in late July? Well, their teased third EP "War Songs" was successfully released on October 8th! Amidst various teaser video postings about demo recording sessions for EP #4 (Matt never stops!), he confirmed that the six-song EP is available "everywhere", but if that was true, wouldn't it be on Tidal or Napster, among dozens of other services? By "everywhere", Matt means Apple Music, Amazon Music, Bandcamp, YouTube, Spotify, and yes, even Boomplay and KKBox. If you want to actually buy "War Songs" in mp3 format, it's on iTunes for $5.94, Amazon Music for $7.74, and Bandcamp on a "name your price" model. At press time, the EP isn't technically on YouTube Music yet like their first two EPs are.

"War Songs" is available on regular YouTube via lyric videos on the project's proper YouTube channel, as grouped in this playlist. As usual, I'll hold comment on "War Songs" pending our review of the full EP, which is currently slotted in for February 2026. Spades GT, No Arrow, and Sykotyk Rampage all had albums beat it to market that I have scheduled over the next few months, and Pillory's "Old Soul" (released later in October) is currently slated for March. However, given Matt's fast and prolific recording schedule, the possibility does exist that I could instead review The Realignment Project's fourth EP next, which would move it to March with Pillory in February to maintain a release order chronology, but it would have to come out by then for me to decide. Don't put it past Matt though, as his second and third T.R.P. EPs came out 3 and 6 months apart, and as of October 15th, he was already tracking vocals for the fourth EP!

Plus, he was also already working on demos for their fifth EP then too! We'll have more from The Realignment Project soon, but it's great to see Matt staying busy with new original material, so give their first three EPs a listen everywhere at the streaming services linked above, and here's the opening song from "War Times", titled "Digital Sacrilege"!

That's all for now, but stay tuned for more news and notes on the site soon! Thanks everyone!

Where Are The New Albums? (November 2025 Update)

It's now time for this month's Defunct Local Band Profile, our monthly resumption of the current release whereabouts of upcoming local metal, hard rock, or punk albums from Sault Ontario bands who have publically confirmed that recording sessions have begun for them! This month sees one removal due to its successful release last month (Pillory's "Old Soul"), but a new album and artist replaces them, and as that's the only entry here with real updates or new content, its title is in italics. So, where are the new albums? Read on below to hopefully find out!

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Bone Yard 225's debut album

Rumoured Songs: "F.A.F.O.", "Gypsy Spell", "Fuck!", "I Took A Pill In Ibiza" (Mike Posner cover)

Background: After months of teasers that they were planning to record original music (as previewed in their live concerts prior), local southern hard rock cover trio Bone Yard 225 began releasing their own songs on major streaming services in July 2024, a whopping fifteen years after the pre-225 band debuted as a country cover quartet. Their first three singles (all recorded at their home studio) were posted online by January, though it took until May 2025 for the band to confirm on their Facebook page that they were indeed working on a proper album. It's not immediately clear if their existing three singles will be included, but it's not a given, as Jonesy Land fans saw with "Zoom-Out". As of August 11th, it was reportedly "album tracking time", while this video from three days later shows bandmates Alex D'Ettore and Warren Reville recording backing vocals for their cover of Mike Posner's "I Took A Pill In Ibiza". That will be one of "a couple of covers" for the album, as confirmed by frontman Greg Simpson during recent concerts.

Current Release Status: In that Facebook post from May 30th, your local 225 said that "the album is coming along nicely", and they hoped to release it "by the end of 2025", but Greg has since adjusted the timeframe to "early 2026" when mentioning it during live shows. While singer/drummer Greg Simpson did release an EP with his old band Stiffler's Mom, it's hard to compare the release methods and schedule given that "The Demo" came out in 2004.  It is neat to see that Greg, Alex, and Warren are going all in on a studio album, and stay tuned for updates as they roll in!

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Bullet Train's upcoming EPs

Rumoured Songs: "Atmosphere", "Illusions", "Profit", "Wayside"

Background: The current hard rock band from former Sense of Truth/Skeyes of Seven frontman Cory Murchsion and ex-Fort Creek bandmates Robin "Bones" Lee and Anthony Fabiano, Bullet Train have existed solely as a studio band so far, releasing four original songs recorded at their own home studio to their YouTube channel in 2024, all very much influenced by their take on current events. After a quiet summer due to "life's trials", Bullet Train resurfaced on their Facebook page last September to reveal that they were working on two demo EPs, with the first one entering post-production as of the 9th, though it's not clear if their 2024 singles will be on them.

Current Release Status: No idea yet, especially as this band has no prior track record for releasing albums, though all three band members have experience writing and recording studio material to varying degrees. Bullet Train claimed in September of last year that a release date for EP #1 would be announced "in the upcoming weeks", but he band will hit a year without a public update on band activity in late December. It'll be interesting to see how fast things come along for Bullet Train, so keep tabs for further updates!

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Chase James Wigmore - The Chaotic Rite

Rumoured Songs: "The Cities Alive & It's Angry"

Background: Ever the prolific artist & songwriter, local folk punk/extreme metal musician Chase Wigmore has been working on an extensive rock opera for years (once claimed to be a 33 part work), originally named "A Story About A Kid Named Todd". Worked on in between his other unrelated solo albums, released for sale or otherwise, Chase posted a lengthy elaboration of the rock opera in 2022, now titled "The Chaotic Rite", outlining its concept, recording plans, and long-term release timeline. Clips of songs have surfaced on his Facebook page, as have full songs not explicitly tied to the album, as well as the final artwork. In more recent promotion, Chase has hinted that "The Chaotic Rite" might be his final solo album as part of aims to focus on his personal life more than his prolific original material. Regardless, the final product has been pared down to 25-30 minutes.

Current Release Status: Chase elaborated on Facebook last summer that the album was 95% done earlier that year when the files "got trapped on my desktop's hard drive", and he had been unable to procure a backup of the material or recover the files as of that post. In any event, three of the full songs uploaded to Facebook in the previous year were clarified as not being planned for "The Chaotic Rite", but they could surface on a separate EP. Fingers crossed that Chase is able to save this album and put it out when able, especially given the years that he's put into the making of it!

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Convergence - In Bloom

Rumoured Songs: "Gemini", "In Bloom", "Breaking News", "It Ate The F&$%ing Moon", "Kraken Mara", "You Are Not Flesh"

Background: Just over a month after releasing their sophomore EP "Dead And Dreaming", local progressive metal band Convergence announced in February 2024 that EP #3 would be named "Gemini", with its cover artwork being released at the same time. Teaser clips of most songs from the EP were posted on their Facebook page and their YouTube channel throughout much of 2024, but most prior media was wiped as they retooled as a full band, now including singer Stephen Gagnon-Ruscio and drummer David Peredun. Convergence have been working in studio recently with producer Dustin Goodall at Unsalted Audio, documenting the sessions in Facebook "Reels", and while they did get cagey about the endgame for the studio sessions, they have confirmed in concert that the EP (now named "In Bloom") is still in progress. Live versions of early instrumentals (now with vocals) have also been played in their early sets.

Current Release Status: No clue, and given the complexity of their music yet their independent studio trappings so far, that could bode a quick or lengthy timeline for "In Bloom" to come out, depending on what angle you take. Since their modern studio cycle commenced in 2023, things have been relatively steady for Brendan and Jake as a recording act, and here's hoping that Convergence keep that up for their third offering! 

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Fort Creek's debut album

Rumoured Songs: "One For The Road", "Sweet Rosie"

Background: Background: Local southern/hard rock band Fort Creek have sporadically teased plans to record an EP since February 2020, but they wouldn't release any samples until almost two years later when they shared (now-deleted) clips of their original song "Hammer Down" on their Facebook page. The guys would play it regularly at concerts from 2022-2023, with studio sessions taking place in early-mid 2023 as well. After the departure of bassist Robin "Bones" Lee and drummer Anthony Fabiano (both now of Bullet Train) in the fall of 2023, Fort Creek opted to abandon material recorded with them "as a show of good faith", and have been working on new material and rebuilding their studio over the past two years. Now featuring Phil Greco on drums, their first single (the acoustic "One For The Road") was posted online in January, with the band confirming plans to now record a 10 song album at Jettison Studios prior to returning to live concerts. Their new single "Sweet Rosie" was said to be coming next, and they teased being back in studio to record that very song as of August 31st.

Current Release Status: Prior release timelines for their debut EP reflected their early 2020s lineup's material, and Justin, Shane, Bill, and Phil have largely kept things somewhat close to the vest prior to putting out "One For The Road". There are a lot of unknowns, especially given the 5+ years of production time and their decision to basically start over in 2023, and that this is a band that was primarily known for their work on the weekend cover circuit before their rhythm section left. It will be interesting to see how things develop, so stay tuned for updates!

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The Realignment Project's fourth EP 

Rumoured Songs: "What Have We Done"

Background: The solo industrial hard rock project led by former Riverin frontman and Dirty Virgin drummer Matt Hicks, The Realignment Project got off to a fast start as a recording act, independently putting out three EPs in 2025 alone (January's "Afterthought", April's "The Frustration Sessions", and last month's "War Songs"), Fans of T.R.P. will have noticed that Matt has begun songwriting and recording for future EPs before his next ones were even released, and that remains true for their next effort, as Matt confirmed on their Facebook page on October 15th that he was already tracking vocals for their fourth EP, and had began the demos for EP number 5. While not explicitly tied to either planned EP (yet), a new instrumental song named "What Have We Done" was posted to the project's YouTube channel yesterday. Matt claimed it was "the first of many instrumentals", but we don't yet know if this means the next EP will have no vocals at all.

Current Release Status: If the turnaround from their second and third EPs is anything to go by, the fourth EP should drop "everywhere" (well, on most major streaming services) by the spring, but as a one-man operation focusing on digital platforms, it could really pop up whenever Matt's done with it and happy with the results. Follow The Realignment Project on social media for continuing updates, and we'll have more on "War Songs" and the upcoming plans in a regular post soon! 

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I hope you guys liked this month's "Where Are The New Albums?" post! This series will return for one last time in 2025 on or around December 2nd, while our next monthly feature post will be next week's Defunct Local Band Profile. That's all for now, but stay tuned for more news and notes on the site this week! Thanks everyone!