A New Punk Band Discovery, New Local Concert Videos, And Much More!!

Let's dive back into some general and more varied news and notes for this third post of the month, so what's in store? Assorted recent notes, a milestone video of ours from our early months at the SMS, and some spring concert footage, but first, here's a new addition to our inactive band links!

We have a "new" local band to add to our band links, and they are F.F.B., a defunct punk trio who have quietly re-emerged in the past year with posthumous plans! We've acknowledged F.F.B. (acronym meaning unclear) on the site before, but only now do they have enough public information to make it fit on the site. Active for a 4 month span in 1999 and 2000, F.F.B. were distant predecessors to the inactive punk/grunge duo The Red & Black, with singer/guitarist Chris Shoust (Telephone & Address) and drummer Damjan "Spider Fingerz" Binda joined by Kyle Grawbarger (instrument unclear, possibly bass?), who isn't familiar from recent local bands. The band reportedly only played 4 shows during their brief run, with at least one being in Sault Michigan before the border tightened up, and they apparently recorded 16 songs, including originals and covers from bands like The Misfits, The Exploited, and Minor Threat.

Chris has teased releasing F.F.B.'s surviving material as far back as 2011 via their posthumous Facebook page, and the guys apparently agreed to release a film about this band last November, but  nothing has stated since. It's hard to comment on F.F.B.'s run personally, as their songs aren't known to be available yet, and I was 10 years old during their heyday, but stay tuned in case some archive material and/or that teased film make their way online!

Next up, here's some recent concert videos from prolific local concert filmer Chris Paci's YouTube channel, and yes, we'll touch on his last Hedley video later this week! Chris was in attendance for the Motherfuckers-headlined concert at The Oddfellows Hall on April 30th, but for one reason or another, the three videos that he shot that night weren't posted online for two months. Better late than never! His videos (all of the headlining Calgary hardcore punk band) include this short song, and this similarly quick number, but embedded below are multiple songs from The Motherfuckers' set. I admittedly am having trouble titling these (especially as they sound so similar to multiple tracks), but blame that partly on the muffled audio through the camera. Chris got solid footage though, and from a pair of angles, so give his videos from this all ages punk concert a look above & below!

 
Also today, here's three assorted shorter news items from the last while, and as usual, these are in alphabetical order by artist name: 

• Oshawa "death punk" quartet Black Cat Attack have been forced to drop out of THIS FRIDAY'S concert at The Rockstar Bar due to unspecified van troubles, as per promoter J.D. Pearce on the Facebook event page on Friday. Disappointing to be sure, but the show must go on, as B.C.A frontwoman Valerie Knox's other band, Toronto grunge/punk quartet The Anti-Queens (who were already opening) are now the headline act, while classic metal quintet Project 421 have been added as a late opening band in their place (not punk, but their talent speaks for itself), and admission has been halved to $5! See above for more details!
• In a minor update stemming from their recent studio track postings on their Bandcamp page, the album cover for the apparently self-titled debut EP from local hard rock quartet Long Shot is featured on Bandcamp too! It's simple (pictures of the guys on a white background with their logo), but it'll get the job done if it is indeed final, so check out their EP's current content above!
• We missed this when we originally covered the apparent upcoming cassette album from Telephone & Address, but when BGP Tapes owner, musician, and Gore Street Cafe co-owner Sam Decter revealed the plans for "Are You Or Have You Ever Been?" on his blog The Tinderbox, he suggested that it would be a split, with side B focusing on his new experimental rap duo The Leash Kids. Again, Telephone & Address haven't acknowledged these (or any other) album plans lately, but this would be an interesting release, so keep watch for updates!

Finally for today, I wanted to share an archive video find that has never been featured on the SMS before, despite being the earliest surviving concert video that I have ever shot. This comes from the Skid Row Battle of the Bands/skatepark fundraiser at The Speak Easy on April 27th, 2008, during the first year of The Sault Metal Scene's run, and it's of defunct hard rockers Sense of Truth playing their early original "Anything At All" during their battle winning set! Represented by singer/guitarist Cory Murchison (Skeyes of Seven), guitarist Steve Myers (The Wild Iris), bassist Patric Belanger (who left the band by year's end), and drummer Ryan "Kev Riain" Haryett, the guys definitely delivered their A-game in what was their live concert debut! At this point, I was using a low quality cell phone camera (certainly not an iPhone), hence why the video quality is hideous and it's only 15 seconds long, but hey, for better or worse, it's a milestone for us.

This was originally featured on my personal Facebook page, where it attracted virtually no attention, but I have given it some extra life eight years down the road, namely by having the video fade in & out, and by replacing the extremely scratchy original audio with synced audio from Cory's own footage of Sense of Truth playing this song at the battle (all credit to him & that video's original filmer!) It's just 15 seconds of low quality cell phone footage, but it's our first toe in the water in terms of filming concerts, so check it out below, and of course, check out Cory's video above for the best view of this performance!



That's all for today, but stay tuned for more news and updates as the week progresses! Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERT (Black Cat Attack), New Videos, And More Assorted Notes!!

As we continue to clear our our cache of recent news items, here's a packed news post for your Tuesday, and it includes some assorted recent updates, new concert videos from each side of the border (coincidentally, both including Led Zeppelin covers), and leading things off, a LOCAL CONCERT ALERT for this summer, so here's what you need to know!

Oshawa "death punk" quartet Black Cat Attack will return to Sault Ontario for a headlining concert on Friday, July 8th at The Rockstar Bar! Almost three years removed from their local debut at the former Roosevelt Hotel in 2013 (ironically at a show relocated from The Algonquin Pub), this explosive genre-melding punk outfit should deliver strongly in their long awaited return to the Soo, and it never hurts that Sum 41 guitarist Dave "Brownsound" Baksh is a B.C.A. member as well! Frontwoman Valerie Knox's other band, Toronto grunge/punk quartet The Anti-Queens, will open in their local concert debut on July 8th, and their strong, to-the-point punk sound should get fans going as well at The Rockstar Bar this summer! Local support will come via punk/metal quintet Jack Spades (whose frontman J.D. Pearce is promoting this show), while at least one additional local band is to be announced, so message promoters at the official Facebook event page for more details just in case!

This 19+ concert has a 10:00 PM start time, and while admission will be $10, there will be some level of advance ticket sales, so stay tuned for updates on that front. It's great to see Black Cat Attack back in Sault Ste. Marie after such a long wait (I know the rumours of them playing Jack Spades' 2014 EP release show had some fans excited), so keep posted at the above links for full updates on what should be a big concert this summer!

Next up, here's some new videos, starting with lots of new concert videos from Sault Michigan classic/hard rock cover quartet Highway 63's show this past Friday at The Rapids Lounge at the Soo's Kewadin Casino branch! All shared to the band's Facebook page over the past few days via personal Facebook accounts, one comes from attendee Brian Boswood, who filmed 17 seconds of Highway 63 covering Billy Squier's "Everybody Wants You" that night, and while it's on the vertical cell phone camera angle, it's solid for what we get! The rest come from frontman Henry Switzer's own personal Facebook page, though the videos vary in length and camera orientation. Included are covers of Kiss' "Love Gun", part of Survivor's "Eye of the Tiger", AC/DC's "Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap", Journey's "Don't Stop Believin'", The Outfield's "Your Love", the end of Led Zeppelin's "Rock & Roll", and as embedded below, Led Zeppelin's "Whole Lotta Love", so click each link to watch each video to see what went down on Friday!

It's great to see a wide variety of new videos of this talented quartet, as both a sign that they are still playing announced gigs despite their caesura on Facebook promotion of them, and to give fans a fresh look at their recent shows! The videos are well filmed, and the guys sound good, especially on the heavier tunes, so give Highway 63's new Facebook videos a look!



Also today, here's a couple more hard rock covers from new local blues/classic rock cover quartet Red & The Muscle! Uploaded to frontwoman Marisa Valois' YouTube channel last week, one is a short audio cover of Heart's "Alone", joining a pair of Aretha Franklin renditions, but embedded below is a part of a cover of Led Zeppelin's "Ramble On" from their debut concert at The Water Tower Inn earlier this month. It's a much better showcase of Marisa's strong vocal range compared to their earlier "Sweet Emotion" cover, and while the instruments are a little quiet, it's well done overall, so give it a look below, and see more from Red & The Muscle above!



Finally for today, here's three assorted shorter news items from the last while, and as usual, these are in alphabetical order by artist name:

• In some clarification on new local band Gianni Gagoots (who are opening for Cocaine Moustache at July 12th's's punk rock bingo event at The New A), we can confirm that their lineup features Late Shift's Matt Sibilo on guitar, his former Redefined bandmate Josh St. Amour on bass, and veteran local punk drummer Frank McCormick on drums. Frank confirmed on the show's Facebook event page that they are a jam band inspired by numerous genres (including metal & punk) that make up songs on the spot. No word yet on their name's inspiration, who (if anyone) sings lead vocals, or if they'll launch an online page, but kudos to Frank for the info!
• Troubled Mind drummer Mike Vincent's third original song since relaunching his solo project can now be heard at his Bandcamp page! Entitled "Six, Six, Six", it's a fast and heavy instrumental that has some thrash and groove metal elements, but the production is uneven. Give it a listen above, as well as newly mastered versions of Mike's first two 2016 songs!
• We have moved Strongs, Michigan "backwoods metal" trio Swampghas to our inactive band links due to a year's inactivity. The Werehold Records-signed band hasn't posted an online update since their participation in March 2015's Friday the 13th music event, and we waited for this year's before making any calls on their status. Relaunched in 2012 after previously forming in 2001, Swampghas are a gritty & entertaining metal band whose album "The Raco Tower Incident" seemed to be coming along well, so hopefully we see Swampghas back soon, and best of luck to Jason, J.R., and Doug in the interim!

That's all for today, but stay tuned for last month's poll results on the site tomorrow, and for more news and previews as well! Thanks everyone!

The Locals Attack Concert Review!!

It's time for my review of last night's Locals Attack concert! With 6 local bands (including 4 relatively new bands to most in attendance), there was a lot of new young talent and experienced artists gathered on this snowy Monday at The Canadian (in it's second straight multi-band concert event in two days), so how was each band? Read on below to find out!

The first band last night was local/North Shore metal band Crimson Crusade in their Canadian Nightclub debut, and being that this was the first time I've seen them live, there were some unknowns. Yes, their new second guitarist is Pillory frontman Robert Sartini (as I had surmised), but their earlier sound indications hinted at mostly covers, so is that what we saw? Nope, as they blasted through a set of original songs that definitely seem inspired by the band Death, particularly from frontman Devon Lucier's vocals, whose high toned growling was definitely Chuck Schuldiner-esque! Good timing too, and compared to their original version of  "Left For Dead", the improvements vocally are clear. The band shown solid talents on their songs (including "Vanquish the Tyrant" and "Lost Memories"), and though a couple of their songs are simpler in structure, there's promise here, and the Death-connections set them apart from many other local death metal bands! If they can loosen up their stage presences and work on some more technical material, they can go far!

Second was the first of two debuting bands, that being new local quintet Lazer Queen, so what can we say about them? Well, their set was all covers, and though they don't quite cross the hard rock line, they did play a wide variety of stuff, ranging from Franz Ferdinand, Jet, and White Stripes to Deep Purple, Queens of the Stone Age, and Hole material! The members were talented enough, and Kate Drew's singing suited the songs well for the most part, so hopefully we'll see her on stage again sooner or later! Some of the covers did sound a bit messy in parts, and I found that Benn Garside's keyboard work, though very good, didn't fit on songs that didn't originally have a keyboard component. He also didn't seem real happy on stage yesterday, I wonder what was up? Jonathan Tiberi & Josh Hatherley seemed to be in good spirits though on guitar and bass, and they had some fun chemistry at times! I'm curious to see Lazer Queen move forward locally, and even if they aren't the heaviest band, they hopefully can work out some of the kinks!

Tomorrow's other debuting band (also featuring Lazer Queen's Jon Tiberi & Bret Shuttleworth) was new local thrash quartet Pillory, so what'd we get out of their first ever show? Wall to wall thrash, including some long and technical stretches, some blistering riffs, and lots of headbanging! For a first set, they seemed to get a great crowd response on originals like "Cringe at the Cross" and "Shattered War", and their bookending covers of Slayer and Megadeth were also really good! Their biggest issue during their set was with guitar audibility, as I could barely hear Andres Duchesne for much of their set, and some of the solos blended and sounded a bit muddy, which is something that's hopefully amended for their next show. As well, we finally heard Robert Sartini on vocals for Pillory's originals last night, and he wasn't bad for the thrash genre, but the volume could have been louder overall. Very good first set, and it's nice to see a thrash band without death growling locally, but I hope their next set corrects some of the audio issues!

The second half of the night (after a bit of a delay) began with the original crash band themselves, Sykotyk Rampage, in their first Canadian appearance since the Kiss Battle of the Bands three years ago! Their set last night, which seemed somewhat longer than most of their recent shows, was different from it's inclusion of more songs we don't hear much live, while condensing most of their set-ending drinking songs into a medley to start their set. I wonder why they did that, especially as those songs are generally among their most popular? As a result, recently infrequent songs like "Sweet Young Thing" and "Never Ever Life" made it into their set, and by the end, more fans were into their more aggressive material, including Dirk Becker dropping the guitar to go into a fury during "Lowest of the Low"! The members were on form from their more recent concerts, and it was good seeing Dirk sing more, so for what it was, their alternative blues/hard rock stylings went over nicely! It would be nice to see the traditional drinking songs back next time out though.

Second last on the bill was new local punk trio The Northern Tragedy, and while I missed their debut last month, how did they do last night? Their set largely reminded me of drummer Terrence Gomes' earlier work in Good Morning Gorilla, with an energetic and catchy punk sensibility that seemed to go over well, even if fans didn't crowd the floor for much of their set. I'm impressed with the amount of originals they already have in their arsenal (such as "Dragondrums" and "Excuse My Choices"), and while I wasn't overly familiar with their skills going in, guitarist Mike Ivany and bassist Corry Rideout have talent on these songs! They could work on their stage presences though, they were fairly stiff for much of the set. Terrence and Mike both are capable punk singers too (though I think Mike's voice is slightly more aggressive), and while The Northern Tragedy are a far cry from Changing Waves musically (where've they been lately?), this new band should continue to leave an impact locally if they keep at it!

Headlining last night's show was Central Algoma death metal standouts For All That Is Lost, who were back after a three month break from the stage! Not only were they back, but their white masks also returned after not having been used since the spring, which is cool to see and helps set them apart! Luckily, they didn't have much stage rust after the break, and they even had a couple newer originals to go along with established favourites like "Viscosity of Blood" and "The Return of Dionysus", and even a surprise cover or two! You know a set is brutal for moshing and fan activity when you get roughed up by even a small crowd (someone basically clotheslined by shoulder blades at one point), and with F.A.T.I.L.'s skills, I can see why fans would react so well! Tyler Sperry's growling was as good as ever, and all of the guys showed good chemistry, with the double-faced Ben Deslauriers showing particularly good talents! It's great to see F.A.T.I.L. back, and hopefully they'll pop up on stage again before 2012 ends!

Overall, this was a fun concert that could potentially give us a glimpse into the local metal scene's active original bands in 2013 and beyond! I remember that late 2010 was also really big for new band formations and debuts, so could this be the start of a new cycle? It'd have been nice to have seen a larger crowd though, but I know the weather wasn't particularly calm. I did get a bunch of photos, so click here to check them out (or visit our Facebook page), and here's my videos of metal performances last night! Those include Crimson Crusade's original "Left For Dead", Lazer Queen's cover of Deep Purple's "Black Night", Pillory's song "Fatal Woods", Sykotyk Rampage's "Never Ever Life", and F.A.T.I.L.'s newer song "Segregate" (at least, I think that's it's name!)










That's all for today, but stay tuned for a new news post tomorrow! Thanks everyone!

The Locals Attack Concert Preview & More Assorted News!!

Hey guys, I'm sorry that I couldn't make Bushplane Musical Madness last night, but my cat fell ill yesterday and I was watching him and keeping him comfortable and all that last night. Barring any downturns, I will try and be there for at least some of Toystock, so I hope to see you there! That said, we have another news-ish post today, and we have another extended concert preview for a show going down tomorrow night! It's longer because there's a lot of new, returning, and debuting bands and lineups among the 6 bands, so we need to touch on everything adequately! We also have three assorted shorter news stories at the end, so read on below for what you need to know!

Tomorrow night, six local metal and punk bands will descend upon The Canadian Nightclub for The Locals Attack, the second such concert under this branding from local concert promoter/singer J.D. Pearce, following March's "Dead In The Van" event! Unlike that concert however, tomorrow's is full of newer bands, with two making their live debuts, and only two who've played live with any recent regularity, so this could be a big moment to see some of the local metal/punk scene's future! The headliners tomorrow will be Central Algoma death metal notables For All That Is Lost in their first concert in three months, and it's great to see them back after a while off the stage! The only returning band from Dead In The Van, this brutal and hard hitting quartet have been hyping their return well, and I'm hearing big things about their set, so don't miss it tomorrow night! In descending order for the opening bands, we also have new local punk trio The Northern Tragedy (featuring Changing Waves bassist Terrence Gomes on drums) in their second local concert and Canadian Nightclub debut, and they should have a solid set of punk rock originals tomorrow as well!

Also tomorrow are local alternative hard rock/blues quartet Sykotyk Rampage in their second show in a 3 day span (following yesterday's Bushplane Musical Madness gig), and look for the Beckers and company to deliver a unique and thoroughly sykotyk set of improvised hard rock madness! Also, guitarist Dirk Becker will be providing sound tomorrow through the "Sykotyk Sound Company", similiarly to J.D.'s other recent shows. Prior to them, we also have the debuting Pillory, the new local thrash metal band featuring frontman Robert Sartini (ex-Roadkill), guitarist Andres Duchesne (ex-Bear Hunters), bassist Jonathan Tiberi (Late & Loud), and drummer Bret Shuttleworth, and it's about time we had a straight thrash metal band around here again! Their videos are very promising, and hopefully they can channel that into a successful concert debut tomorrow as well! Second on the bill are local/North Shore metal quartet Crimson Crusade, in what may be their first public concert in Sault Ontario since last year (though they played at a F.A.T.I.L. event in Laird this summer.)

Though not a consistently visible sight in recent months, Crimson Crusade have promise, so look out for some explosive covers (and maybe originals?) from them tomorrow! Also, this should be their first gig with their new guitarist "Rob #2" following the departure of Brock Pinder earlier this year, but the new guitarist's full identity has not been revealed yet (possibly Robert Sartini from Pillory?) The opening band will be new local hard rock band Lazer Queen (formerly Nite Ruin), who don't have an online page yet, but I can tell you a bit about them! Their lineup features singer/guitarist Kate Drew (ex-Apocrytha), the aforementioned Jonathan Tiberi on guitar, and his Late & Loud bandmate Benn Garside on keyboard (similarly to his old Glass Statues work), alongside new additions Josh Hatherley (also of Late & Loud) on bass, I presume, and Jon's Pillory bandmate Bret Shuttleworth on drums. My source for the updated lineup is Jon's personal Facebook page, and Josh & Bret replace the previously announced Harley Syrette & Anthony D'Agostini in Lazer Queen's lineup for unannounced reasons (though Harley indicated to me that he never fully joined this band.)

Lazer Queen sound promising in their own right, and it will be nice to see a female singer and a keyboardist in a heavier band again locally, which should set them apart if they last for the long term! Note as well that Hamilton hardcore/groove metal band Skynet were briefly advertised as headliners for this show, but they can't make it in time, but if you want to help this brutal djent-influenced band play here soon, contact them at this location! Admission for this ALL AGES concert will be $6 ($1 a band), and a 6:00 PM start time is advertised. For more details, visit the official Facebook event page! This should be a very interesting concert for both the established and newer bands alike, and I encourage everyone to come down to rally the new bands and mosh out to them all, and being all ages, don't let that stop you from rocking out! For a preview, here's F.A.T.I.L. playing "Hades, Lord of the White House" at The Canadian in May!



Finally for now, here's three assorted shorter news stories from the last little while! As usual, these are in alphabetical order by band or event name:

• Local death metal bands The Bear Hunters & Shit Liver will return to the concert stage next month! ....just not in the Soo. Both will make their first concert appearances outside of the Algoma District on December 21st in Sudbury for the "Doomsday Massacre", where they will join Quebec's Cryptik Howling & 7 other Northern Ontario bands, including Thekillingfield & many others. Click here for details, and hopefully we'll see them on the local stage before then as well!
• The Sault Music Scene's old forum was taken down last month. It was a casualty of the recent migration of all of host Forumer's IPB-based forums to their upgraded Yuku format. Administrators have the option of relaunching it, but it's been replaced twice over since the mid-2000s (now as the 705 Video Magazine forums), so I wouldn't bet on the full archives coming back. This is disappointing for people who liked browsing the old posts, but follow the 705VM above for it's current form!
• If you're wondering why we didn't post any videos from the Theory of a Deadman/Adelitas Way show on here, it's because none of the heavier opening bands got a public YouTube video that I've found. That said, Theory of a Deadman were subject to videos that you can watch at the links here and here, so if you like their rock sounds or missed the show, give them a look!

That's all for now, but I hope to see you guys at Toystock! Thanks everyone!

The Locals Attack Updates (Including A Debuting Band) & New Videos!!

It's time for another news post at the SMS, and it's neatly divided in two subjects: new videos and concert updates, but first, I wanted to note that the Saigon Hookers show at The Rockstar Bar next week likely will not be featuring Garden of Bedlam as openers due to scheduling conflicts, but as of this writing, the official Facebook event page hasn't been updated to reflect any lineup changes. Thanks to drummer Derek Turner for letting me know, and I'll keep you guys posted! Now, to the bulk of this post, including new videos from two local bands and updates for an upcoming all ages event, so here's what you need to know!

First, let's start with the latest updates for the Locals Attack concert at The Canadian Nightclub on November 26th, as the final band lineup and remaining details have been announced! There will be 6 bands total, and of the two final added bands, one is making their live debut, that being a new local band named Lazer Queen! Yes, they were briefly called Nite Ruin before this current name was finalized. From what I was told, their lineup features singer/guitarists Kate Drew (The Freshwater Sirens, ex-Apocrytha) & Jonathan Tiberi (Pillory, The Daybreak Johnnies) alongside Jon's old Late & Loud bandmate Benn Garside on keyboard (as he played in The Glass Statues) and ex-Skull After Betrayl drummer Anthony D'Agostini. Jon also told me that the band's bassist was No Arrow/Half Past alum Harley Syrette, but after chatting with Harley the other day, his confirmation as a band member might have been premature, so if I hear anything confirming their bass situation for the 26th, I'll let you guys know! Jon also told me that their genre is "heavy rock" and will be covers-centric for their debut, but originals are possible for the future.

Promising lineup for Lazer Queen so far, and it'll be nice seeing a female fronted heavier band again locally, and one with keyboards! I might be wrong, but I think the last Sault Ontario metal/hard rock band to play live with a permanent keyboardist (not a guest) was Woods of Ypres with Brιan Holmes in late 2008, so that alone has been a while coming! Stay tuned for updates on them as they roll in, including hopefully an online page or something similar! The other new band for this show is local/Central Algoma death metal quartet For All That Is Lost, who will be making their first public concert appearance since the F.A.T.I.L. Requiem in Laird in August! The only returning band from Dead In The Van in March, it's great to see F.A.T.I.L. back on the local stage, as it's been far too long to see their brutal death metal originals live! They & Lazer Queen will join Sykotyk Rampage, Crimson Crusade, Pillory, and The Northern Tragedy for this show full of newer local bands & young talent, and keeping with the theme of 6 bands, the cover charge will be $6 for this ALL AGES show, and everything starts at 6:00 PM on November 26th. Click here for more details, and stay tuned for more updates on the next Locals Attack concert as it all comes in!

We'll close this post with new videos, starting with a new song from local grunge band Haggith! The last of their recent influx of new videos on their YouTube channel, this is a studio recording of their original song "75" from their planned second album "Deuce" (which is projected for a 2013 release.) A composition by drummer Mike Haggith that he sings lead on, this is also the first publically released Haggith studio track to feature bassist Caleb Cachagee, and it is sort of an upbeat rock number! I won't go too in depth until our formal review of the album, but check out "75" below, and stay tuned for more Haggith updates at they come in!



And finally for today, here's the newest video from ApocalyptiCDistroyeR frontman Jesse Middaugh! After a five month drought for new videos or updates from the band or his solo videos, Jesse uploaded this new take on the Tom Petty song "Learning To Fly" onto his YouTube channel on Halloween, which is a redo of an earlier video he posted in April. His vocals are somewhat scratchy, but the guitar work matches what I know of this song, which is admittedly minimal. I prefer Jesse's heavier and original material, but he does good here, so check out his new solo video below!



That's all for today, but stay tuned for our review of "Yooper Bars" and more news next week! Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (The Saigon Hookers & The Locals Attack) And Powerslug Concert Previews!!

Happy November everyone! With the Halloween season sadly behind us, we're beginning a new (and hopefully busier) month with this post featuring previews of the only two hard rock concerts I know of this weekend, and leading off, TWO LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS! These new Sault Ontario gigs are pretty notable in their own respective rights, and they'll add well to what I hope is a busier local concert month, so read on below for what you need to know!

Did you miss the Garden of Bedlam-headlined Rad Zone birthday bash on Tuesday night? Well, pray the roads are better on November 10th, as the local metal standouts will be back at The Rockstar Bar that night as openers for The Saigon Hookers' return to Sault Ontario! The Kitchener hard rock quartet (and good friends with the former members of Lion Ride) will be back at The Rockstar Bar one week from Saturday for their third ever local concert (and first in over 16 months), and it'll be great to see them back in town! Their mix of classic rock, metal, and punk has attracted a solid local following and a few entertaining albums, and they should be welcomed back up north next weekend! However, rather than the inactive Brad Example & The Role Models, the openers will be the aforementioned Garden of Bedlam, and their metal fury will be welcomed on the 10th, in what might be the first time they've played with another band at The Rockstar Bar! A 9:00 PM start time is advertised for this show, you must be 19 to attend, and I imagine a cover charge of around $5 is in order. For more details, visit the official Facebook event page!

This should be quite an intense concert, and it's great to see both of these bands back upstairs at The Algonquin for differing (yet similar) reasons! I absolutely 110% plan to be there, so keep an eye out for any possible updates as they roll in, and just in a final Garden of Bedlam note, their album "Everything Will Die" is finally available on iTunes! You can pick it up there at this link for $16.90 or $1.69 a song, so if you want an official mp3 copy of it, head there to download it!

Also in new concerts, The Locals Attack once again on November 26th! Taking on the sub-branding of the Dead In The Van all ages concert on March 4th, this will be a very similar concert in many ways, as it's also a J.D. Pearce-promoted ALL AGES concert at The Canadian Nightclub with a wide array of local metal & punk bands, so who's currently confirmed? Four bands so far (none yet from Dead In The Van), including new local thrash band Pillory, local/North Shore death metal trio Crimson Crusade, new local punk band The Northern Tragedy (featuring Changing Waves bassist Terrence Gomes on drums), and "blue Chinese metal crash punk" quartet Sykotyk Rampage, which adds to a diverse lineup of bands so far! In terms of milestones, this is Pillory's first announced live concert, Crimson Crusade's first public concert since the departure of guitarist Brock Pinder, theirs & The Northern Tragedy's Canadian Nightclub debuts, and Sykotyk Rampage's first Canadian Nightclub appearance since the Kiss Battle of the Bands almost three years ago, and there's a lot of newer & established talent in these bands, so don't miss them all (and more) on the 26th!

More bands are being sought to fill out spots on this lineup, so if you're at all interested, message J.D. on Facebook at this location or via the Facebook event page to see if your band can get on! I know J.D.'s hoping for a few high school age bands (especially given it's all ages status), so if your band is, don't miss out on this opportunity! For reference sake, Dead In The Van: The Locals Attack in March featured Frightlight, As It Stands, Redundant, For All That Is Lost, Inhuman Methods, and "Evil" Greg Callaghan, alongside the former Late & Loud and the now-London based Valentine's Day Massacre, so there's a hint for what we could expect on November 26th. Start times, band order, and cover charges have yet to be announced, but stay tuned to the above links to stay in the loop! It's great to see another all ages multi-band concert like this on the horizon, and kudos to J.D. for getting another one in the works, which will add to an already promising November for local metal concerts! Stay tuned to the SMS for further updates as they come in, and get your bands on this!

And finally for today, here's a preview for a pair of heavier concerts on this quiet concert weekend, as Powerslug are back at The Rapids Lounge at the Sault Michigan Kewadin Casino TOMORROW NIGHT & SATURDAY NIGHT! Thanks to Kewadin Casino's entertainment page, their stops there are always welcome for advance coverage (given their lack of an online page to plug them), but regardless of the notice, the two Chris' & Bob should deliver a fun night of heavier covers for their fans at the Soo Kewadin branch this weekend! Admission should be free for tomorrow & Saturday's shows, with 21+ age limits and 10:00 PM-ish start times likely. For more details, check the above links! These should be some solid concerts to help kick off November, so don't miss them if you're craving some hard rock in the Eastern U.P. this weekend! For a preview, I was going to share their only public video here (from a show in Ludington earlier this year), but it was deleted from Facebook for unknown reasons in recent months, but hopefully media of theirs turns up again soon, and trust me, Powerslug have the talent and heaviness to rock Kewadin this weekend, so don't miss out!

That's probably all for today, but stay tuned tomorrow for this month's "Where Are The New Albums?" post, a video-heavy new post in the coming days, and more! Thanks everyone!