YouTube Channel Profile Series: A Dire Setback - Topic & Hollow Sky - Topic

It's now time for this month's YouTube Channel Profiles, as we again look at YouTube channels whose content is at least half devoted to local metal, hard rock, and/or punk artists/concerts! As usual, we randomly select channels profiled in this series, but as our first pick just had one album uploaded, I limited things to two songs from it and added a second channel with minimal current content to round things out. Both are actually YouTube Music channels from bands who have released studio material on streaming platforms, so here's what you should know from them!

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A Dire Setback - Topic (http://youtube.com/channel/UCN8MFZB-GJolSUXz9q5PDKw)

Owner: If anyone, a member of local alt-punk trio A Dire Setback, though this is an auto-generated channel to facilitate their material being hosted on YouTube Music

Channel Timeline: Launched on March 28th, 2020; All videos posted on that date

Channel Summary: A Dire Setback arrived on the YouTube Music platform (and on other major streaming services) with their self-titled album in March 2020, and these nine songs remain their only finished and released examples of studio material.

Why You Should Watch: If you're a fan of A Dire Setback, especially from their late 2010s peak as a live act, then you should appreciate this album and its energetic modern punk rock attack! Of course, the guys had massive misfortune in timing when this came out, as the long-planned release date was just two weeks after the first pandemic lockdown began. As such, the album release party at LopLops was cancelled, the rollout of CD copies was slowed down, and they have only played occasional live dates since the restrictions eased up. If the album got lost in the real world shuffle at the time, why not stream it now? For actual and official videos of theirs, check out A Dire Setback's own YouTube channel.

 Our Recommended Videos To Check Out:

 

A Dire Setback: The first and most popular song/video on this album/channel is A.D.S.' self-titled song, and as on the rest of the album, they're represented here by Chris Nielsen (from Mike Haggith's Big Finish Band) on vocals & guitar, Matt Quinn on bass, and Nick Kainula (ex-State Of Misery) on drums. A highlight on the album for me, this song benefits from a familiar riff, clear production, and well contrasted melodic yet rough edged vocals from Chris and Matt, but I do find that the ending stretch is way too drawn out.

 

 

Faded: Of my favourite songs from "A Dire Setback", I wanted to highlight "Faded" as it is among the least streamed songs from this album on YouTube Music, and it deserves more love than that. While short and lacking a real bridge, it is among Chris' best showcases of his improving vocal range, and it has a fast and proficiently played pace, so it understandably goes over well in concert! Hopefully we see the guys back at it in 2026!

 

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Hollow Sky - Topic (http://youtube.com/channel/UCaypkpPL23ShoNIOdKUsHSw)

Owner: If anyone, a member of local metal duo Hollow Sky, but this channel is also auto-generated to facilitate the band's music being available on YouTube Music

Channel Timeline: Launched on December 2nd, 2023; Videos uploaded from that day through May of last year

Channel Summary: The current extreme metal project from Uncanny Valley alum Adam Fahrer alongside singer Liam Tallon, Hollow Sky (no relation) have released three singles to major streaming platforms to date, including YouTube Music, where you can hear them playing "The Spiral", "To Die For", and most popularly of all, "Burn Away". This technically sound metal track with some nu metal-inspired vocals is a strong showcase of what this young group brings to the table, but you'll get promising djent-influenced metal across all three of their studio songs so far, and hopefully 2026 is a big year for them! Be advised that YouTube Music attributes eleven white noise/sleep aid tracks by an artist named "Fluffy Duffy" as featuring Hollow Sky, and they were uploaded to the band's channel despite being completely unrelated.

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I hope you guys liked this month's YouTube Channel Profiles! This series will return on or around March 26th, but stay tuned next for this month's album review! Thanks everyone!