A Newly Discovered Mike Haggith Performance Video, ASDP Updates, And More!!

Before we begin this post, I wanted to apologize for a missed concert in our weekend concert previews, as local classic/hard rock singer/guitarist Tym Morrison played at the Fraternal Order of Eagles Club's summer barbecue party/open house yesterday. Click here for details on the all ages festivities. It's been a while since Tym has played a regular nighttime show at Aerie #3991, and while he didn't plug his involvement on his solo project's Facebook group, I do apologize for missing what looked like a fun event! I'd have covered it had I known! Now, here's some new videos and related updates from three acts who played at a major concert festival this weekend!

While we await the teased full-set video from his Northern Vibe Festival return yesterday, local/Barrie alt-hard rock musician Mike Haggith has a new long-form video to check out, but not from his own channels. When I was getting the link for his 2024 Northern Vibe video for our festival preview post last week, I stumbled across a 30+ minute acoustic set that he recorded for Underscored Sound, a acoustic performance-based webseries that records VH1 Storytellers-style sets from artists at the Canadian Musicians Co-operative headquarters in Barrie, in association with LiveBarrie and Alex Ciprian Media. Artists pay to appear and receive high quality copies of their sets in multiple formats. Mike was the 10th performer in season 1 of this series back in August 2024, with all five songs later being uploaded as separate videos (plus some vertical "Shorts") to the Underscored YouTube channel if you're so inclined.

I don't recall Mike mentioning his Underscored appearance at all, possibly because it was aimed towards Barrie and Southern Ontario at a time when we were focused on Northern Vibe and summer concerts here, but better late than never! The performance begins with Mike introducing himself and setting up his backstory, before introducing his first song "MorningStar" from 2020's "If Ever Comes The Day". He follows that up by tackling "Of Cars & Criminals" from 2015's "The Warinside", which is mildly surprising as it A. predates his modern Thompson/Barrie output, and B. was cut from The Din's live album "Technically Live" two+ years prior. Mike then reflects on his personal life and how it influenced his next song, "Back Away Slowly" (also from "If Ever Comes The Day"), followed by the title track of his 2021 album "Bridges". This acoustic showcase ends with "Brand New Day" from his not-yet-released 2025 album "Frequent Flyer".

The reason why there's only five songs is also why I compared it to VH1 Storytellers and not MTV Unplugged, as Mike outlines the personal inspiration and stories behind each song performed here, and Mike is candid about his life and the events that informed his music! The Soo does come up for the first few introductions. There's no interviewer or host, just Mike talking to the viewer, and the audio and video quality is excellent, including three different stationary camera angles. Really good stuff, even two years late, so fans of Mike's acoustic work will want to check out his Underscored set below!

Next up, we do have a public video to share from the Northern Vibe Festival in nearby Ophir this weekend! I'm expecting more in due course, especially with many musicians only coming back on the grid from the Poplardale Road bush today, but the festival went off without any weather-related glitches, and thank goodness for that! A festival representative filmed this video of Timmins pop punk band Saving Bambi covering Joan Jett & The Blackhearts' "Bad Reputation" on the rebuilt Forest Stage for their Facebook page. Alas, it's 39 seconds long and vertical (why accentuate the lawn like this when you can flip the phone sideways?), and this cover may be a slightly obvious pick for an all-female punk band, but what we do hear is lively and well performed, and it's great to see the Forest Stage looking refurbished and strong after the 2025 storm. Give Saving Bambi's video a watch below, and stay tuned for more from the festival when it goes live!

Finally, here's some updates from the subject of this month's album review from this morning (and another Northern Vibe act), local ska punk quartet ASDP! Apologies for only mentioning these after the fact (out of town or not), but checking Instagram is still not second nature for me, and the band still doesn't have Facebook. Last week, Mikhal, Tucker, William, and Ralph took their first ever road trip for shows out west, when they headlined at Shooters Bar in Kenora on August 21st, before heading to Winnipeg to play at the Sargent Skate Jam at the Sargent Skatepark the next day. Click here for more info and the posters of both concerts. As far as I can tell, an AI-generated skateboarding amplifier did not headline the Skate Jam, but it did feature Winnipeg punk quartet Shit Happens, who you may recall from headlining at the still-closed Distraction in March 2024. I do apologize again for not mentioning these at the time, but I hope the gigs went well, especially given the 12+ hour drive to Kenora alone!

A public video from their westward trip has surfaced though, but not from the band proper. 90 minutes east of Kenora, the guys stopped in Dryden, where they met the Christian musician Mr. World Peace at a 7-Eleven there (the idea of Northern Ontario having 7-Elevens still surprises me). The short & vertical video sees him and ASDP members doing a "World! Peace!" call & response in the parking lot. Kudos to both Mr. World Peace and ASDP for giving each other some exposure, so check this clip out below, and stay tuned for more from ASDP on the SMS likely next month!

That's all for now, but will we have one more post before August is done? Stay tuned either way, and thanks everyone!

New Videos From Mike Haggith, Molly Escherich, And The Floor Between Us!!

As our slow clear-out of the backlog continues, here's a new news post on this Saturday afternoon that takes us from the EUP to Southern Ontario before finally coming home to Sault Ste. Marie, but we'll start in Michigan with another recent full set video, so here's what you should know!

In a follow-up from our coverage of last month's Superior Whitefish Festival battle of the bands in Brimley, Michigan, you may recall that there was a separate Music In The Park concert before the battle featuring acoustic-leaning performers. One was 8th Fire frontwoman Molly Escherich just hours before she led her new band to a second place finish, and like with the main band, her solo matinee set was shot in full for her YouTube channel! I have been more selective with acoustic singer/guitarists in our band links in recent years, as for metal, hard rock, and punk, it doesn't play in as well for song choices, and anyone with a guitar can play a set live and call it a day, but what does a 56 minute set of Molly's entail in 2026? In performance order, the 14 year old Dafter native covered Bob Seger & The Silver Bullet Band's "Still The Same", The Eagles' "Take It Easy", Tom Petty's "I Won't Back Down", ...

...The Doobie Brothers' "Listen To The Music" (which The 8th Fire covered in their battle set), Carole King's "It's Too Late", Creedence Clearwater Revival's "Proud Mary" (briefly), and "Have You Ever Seen The Rain", before playing the original song about the perfect boat day with her dad that led off The 8th Fire's battle set. Covers resume with Noah Kahan's "The Great Divide", The 4 Non Blondes' "What's Up", Bon Jovi's "Wanted Dead Or Alive" (also covered by The 8th Fire that night), another attempt at "Proud Mary" that was more successful than previously, Zach Bryan's "Something In The Orange", Coldplay's "Yellow", and Little Big Town's "Boondocks", before Molly ended her set with two more original songs named "Cheap Cologne" and "Always Known". Molly definitely has some other hard rock covers in her back pocket from past solo gigs that I want to look at in the future, but her solo set is definitely more varied.

Regardless, she is a very talented singer and guitarist who is still rapidly improving (being at Interlochen will help in that!), and for her age, she has an ease about her on stage and a good audience rapport already! If you saw her battle set with The 8th Fire, the three common songs from Molly's solo set (one being an acoustic solo performance too) will either be an interesting contrast or feel redundant, but remember that a lot of early festival attendees didn't stay for the battle, or vice versa. Good stuff, and with a dash of the hard rock to come that night, so give Molly's Music In The Park set in Brimley a watch below, and we'll have more from her soon!

Next up, let's head north of the border (and yet still south) to Barrie, Ontario, where local/Barrie alt-hard rock musician Mike Haggith returned to Athletic Kulture Stadium there on July 4th to sing "O Canada" at a Barrie Baycats baseball game! Now competing in the renamed Canadian Baseball League, the Baycats welcomed Mike to sing the anthem at games in each of the past two seasons, though rain delays got in the road of his original 2024 bookings. For Mike's game this season, he sang before Barrie's clash with the Hamilton Cardinals on the Fourth of July, and regrettably for the home team and fans, the Baycats lost 8-1. As always though, the game was live-streamed on Barrie's YouTube channel, and if you want to just check out Mike's performance, he is introduced by the PA announcer at the 7:42 mark. Mike sings well, as you'd expect given his talents and pedigree!

I just wish the game went better for the Baycats, but they are in fourth place in the nine-team league, which would guarantee them a playoff spot if the season ended today, so best of luck for a strong run over the rest of the CBL season. Give Mike's performance (and the game) a watch below!

Finally for today, I wanted to mention the local comedy/art rock band The Floor Between Us, who have came up sparingly in our coverage in recent years. If you're not familiar with them, their lineup features one-time Soo's Got Talent finalist Colin Gasparelli on vocals & guitar alongside singer Ivy-Rose Morrison, Stones & Crows bassist Nicholas Gingras, and Spaceship Opening/ASDP drummer Ralph Barber (an "Andrew M." played keyboards for them once too). Their music is very eclectic, experimental, and has more in common with a lot of 1960s pop rock and bands like They Might Be Giants than heavier styles, but there's a joie de vivre and clear sense of humour across their original music, so I do recommend checking out their material on maior streaming platforms to see what you think! However, they do occasionally cover some songs that cross the SMS' radar in concert.

The Floor Between Us are fans of the English anarcho-punk band Chumbawamba, best known for their one mainstream hit "Tubthumping", which they have covered live (here they are playing it unplugged at a Korah talent show featuring Ralph's ASDP bandmate Mikhal Muto on cajon). However, they haven't just gotten up again after being knocked down, as they covered their 1994 b-side "The Day The Nazi Died") at one of their Sault Theatre Workshop fundraiser concerts in November. More of a politically charged folk song that would definitely fit an English pub (complete with Nicholas on added percussion), this is well performed with sharp lyrics, so give it a watch for yourselves below!

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

Mike Haggith - "Under A Moonlit Sky" Album Review!!

It's now time for our 205th monthly CD review at The Sault Metal Scene, and as we continue slowly mowing through our new album release backlog, we'll head back to Sault Ontario this month to look at prolific local/Barrie alternative/hard rock musician Mike Haggith's new live album "Under A Moonlit Sky"! In a brief detour from his studio album catalogue, this is his first solo live album since 2018's acoustic "From The Nickel Stage" and his first full-band live album since The Din's "Technically Live" in 2021. This was recorded during Mike's headlining concert with his Big Finish Band at The Downtown Plaza on September 25th, 2025, which was originally planned as a battle of the bands before being cancelled due to "unforeseen circumstances". Now a rare Mike Haggith headlining concert in the Soo, it was recorded for posterity from the soundboard, with Mike Blair's 705Live Sound Co. running things.

Mike Haggith produced and enhanced the raw audio for the album proper, which was released by his own MorningStar Records on November 30th. Mike is on lead vocals and rhythm guitar here, and The Big Finish Band (in their album debut) were represented by their current lineup, including A Dire Setback/With Gunfire guitarist Chris Nielsen, ex-Gnaeus bassist Matt Fronzi, Mike's old Din bandmate Brandan Glew on drums, and Drifters/ex-Re:Born frontwoman Elly McWatters on backing vocals and tambourine (she didn't play rhythm guitar here due to her then-recovery from rotator cuff surgery). You can stream "Under A Moonlit Sky" on Bandcamp, Spotify, Apple Music, Amazon Music, YouTube Music, Tidal, Deezer, Anghami, and (of course) Boomplay, while you can buy the album in mp3 download format on Bandcamp and iTunes for $10, give or take a cent. You can also watch the whole unedited concert from multiple pro-shot camera angles at this link!

CD copies were teased for "early 2026", but have not arrived at press time. Just to clarify how this review will be formatted... as this is a live album primarily comprised of re-recordings, I will only formally "review" tracks that were never previously included on a (Mike) Haggith or Din album that I have previously looked at. As was the case when I reviewed The Din's three live albums on the SMS, I will compare the performances of established songs to their studio version where possible, but if you want to read my thoughts of the songs in their original form, my reviews of those albums will be linked below. Also note that the full video of this concert is about 6 minutes longer than the album, thanks to closing credits and some minor clean-up of between-song breaks. Unlike on "Technically Live" (which omitted "Of Cars & Criminals"), no full songs from the proper concert were cut from the album.

With 19 tracks running for about 69 minutes, let's begin this review! The opening song for the album and concert was its shortest proper song "Brand New Day", which led off Mike's 2025 mailing list subscriber-exclusive album "Frequent Flyer". Aside from a slightly extended drum intro by Brandan and an adlibbed remark about the nice weather that evening, this is pretty faithful to the original song, retaining its upbeat power pop nature, but I do prefer the backing vocals on the live version, which feel more naturally included. This bleeds right into "Missing", which Mike and Brandan originally recorded for The Din's second and final studio album, 2017's "Suburban Dream". The live concert energy and Mike's improved vocal range give this some some more life and energy while still harbouring a melancholy mid-tempo vibe.

Structurally, some notes are held extra for effect, but the song is basically the same as what The Din recorded originally. I prefer more fully upbeat hard rock-leaning compositions, but it's still a good track! Third up is (technically) the shortest track here, namely "Guitar Adlib", which is literally just 40 seconds of Mike improvising on his acoustic guitar while offering some sung filler vocals and banter with his bandmates. Amusing for what it is, but this really could (and should) have been tacked on to the next proper song, "MorningStar", which was first heard on 2020's "If Ever Comes The Day". I did find that this song felt a little empty as originally presented, so filling it out with a live band,and more electric instrumentation does help it! Otherwise, the song is structured the same, aside from being played a little faster, and it's still a pleasant reflection on a lost love that fans of the original will still enjoy!

After plugging his merchandise table, Mike next plays "Carousel" (from his most recent proper "mainline" studio album, 2023's "All The Best In All You Do"), but here, the addition of a live backing band actually doesn't lead to complimentary backing vocals, which fit prior songs better here. Chris' lead guitar work has more flourish than the studio version had, but this live take is otherwise structurally similar, and it still has a soaring emotional quality that suits Mike's modern catalogue! Mike next introduces Matt on bass, crediting him for helping write their next song, "You Are The Sun" (from "Frequent Flyer"). The live version drastically shortens Matt's opening bass intro, but for the bulk of it, the composition is similar, but with extra jangly percussion. While not Mike's most "rocking" song, the live atmosphere does give it an energy boost, and it remains one of his more upbeat, casual recent songs!

The next two songs are Mike's newest originals (as of 2025), and have yet to make a studio album of any kind, so consider these full reviews. The first is "I Really Hope This Gets To You", which is basically a message to an ex-romantic partner explaining why one had to leave the relationship. A driving rocker with direct yet melodic lyrics, this will definitely appeal to fans of Mike's hard rock-leaning material, and Elly's backing vocals are a nice compliment in this setting! Brandan's drumming is a strong compliment, and while not short, it blows by at a good pace right into the other new song, "No Love", which feels like a sequel to the prior track in which Mike/the narrator gets a letter back from their ex, and stands firm about not having feelings for them anymore despite their implied remorse. Of the two, I prefer "I Really Hope This Gets To You" for its melody and edge, as the main riff on "No Love" is too relentlessly pulsating, and I think they over-harmonized the choruses.

It's not a bad song, and it compliments the preceding cut well for lyrical content and overall tone, but it doesn't feel as loose yet direct all at once. The last song of the first half of the album/concert is "Hot & Cold", as first heard on "All The Best In All You Do". This live version cuts 2 minutes from the studio copy's 6+ minute runtime, primarily extended instrumental sections, while Mike and The Big Finish Band do play it faster. As I noted in the "All The Best..." album review, I was familiar with live versions of this song before that review was written, and at the time, I preferred this song live, as the studio copy felt overproduced with added synths and keys that took away from the rocking edge. Three years later, I still feel the same way, as this live take is one of the highlights of the album, and Mike's knee held up throughout!  Next is the album's title track "Under A Moonlit Sky", which is one of three filler spoken word tracks here.

This just serves as the extended intro to the next two songs, both from "If Ever Comes The Day". Personally, I'd have just rolled this intro into the start of "Back Away Slowly" (whose lyrics contain the album name), but this is hardly the first time that Mike has included spoken word banter or setups as their own track on a live album. "Back Away Slowly" comes across as shorter and tighter than the studio version, with the full band input livening up what was already a solid song (note Chris having extra room to show off on lead guitar). Still an upbeat power pop song with personal lyrics that is complimentary of a full band, keys/synths-devoid setup! That's followed by "The Best You Never Had", which actually opened "If Ever Comes The Day". The live version here is similarly paced and structured to the studio version, but without the piano parts, it does come off more like a rock song, which is to its benefit again.

I prefer songs where Mike uses his voice moreso than the low, affecting, and almost-spoken word verses here, but it's a good song with weighty lyrics in any format! The live version is a little longer thanks to post-song banter to promote their merchandise on sale. Next up is the second of three filler spoken word banter tracks, namely "Moving West", where Mike addresses the ongoing recording of the live album from the 705Live soundboard, and then talks about his move from the Soo to Thompson, Manitoba to further his ambitions of becoming a commercial pilot, and what awaited him when he lived there and to continue striving for his ultimate goal. Again, I'd have just rolled this into the opening of the next song ("An Act Of Strength" from his 2021 studio album "Bridges"), especially as the live track is a minute shorter thanks to the intro being absorbed into "Moving West".

"Bridges" was the most synth-heavy of Mike's post-pandemic solo albums, so stripping that away for the live concert version does give it a more direct focus, but I did find the percussion to be too constant. Not my favourite of the live staples here, as it's more along one or two tracks throughout without ever kicking into a high gear, but it's well performed! The final spoken word track is next, and on "The Power Of Community", Mike explains how this show came together on relatively short notice (Mike does not directly address the planned battle of the bands), and how the community came together to make this special headlining concert come together. Mike also introduces The Big Finish Band here, with Elly doing the honours to introduce Mike (who flew in from Barrie the previous night!). They play another "Bridges" cut next, namely its first single "The Nature Of The Times", which is actually longer than the studio version is.

Despite the intro being absorbed by the prior spoken word intro, The Big Finish Band add an extended outro rather than the fade-out on the studio album. This song comes out similarly otherwise to the original, but with more of the full band oomph and less harmonic elements, but it will still appeal to fans of Mike's more indie rock-inspired material, and the band gets room to show off! Matt's bass is particularly solid here. The last two songs from Mike's solo catalogue on the setlist are played next, both courtesy of "All The Best In All You Do". Of those, first is "All The Best", which is similarly composed but longer thanks to an extended outro to replace the fade-out, and there's no synth here, so the full rock potential of the song is met. I'd still have more varied chorus vocals, but it's a solid track that capped off regular versions of the original CD in style, and it suits a full band approach!

The penultimate song here was "Twist Of Fate", which is played very similarly to the studio version aside from crowd banter & having a definite ending. The backing vocals could be somewhat overdone on the choruses, but as one of Mike's heaviest and fastest original songs of his post-move era, this is a definite highlight that largely translates well to the stage! Mike & crew return for an encore of "75", which began life when his old grunge band Haggith recorded it for "Deuce" in 2013, but The Din's cover on 2016's "Give In To The Din" shares more in common with the 2025 live take. In any form, this is a very punk-inspired track with a power pop influence, and its chorus remains as catchy as ever! The backing vocals are implemented better than they were in 2013, but it's the same song and that's not a bad thing. It's a perfect capper to the set that fans of Mike at his heaviest will enjoy, and Chris shines on the solos!

How do I grade Mike's first solo live album with a full backing band? Overall, it's a strong window into Mike Haggith's modern local concerts with The Big Finish Band, and given as high quality of a recording and post-production as they can muster, and it shows! The soundboard recording (while muting fan levels somewhat) is crystal clear, and while the presence of a backing vocalist and two guitarists does pump up the sound, things do come off bigger and better for recording quality here than on The Din's live albums. Yes, the idea of Mike and the gang playing a headlining concert rather than a short battle of the bands set was short notice, but they made the most of the challenge and opportunity, and I did find that many of the songs (for what I go for in rock) were improved via the immediacy, crowd engagement, and lack of synth backing, so Din fans will like those aspects.

Of course, I go for Mike's hard rock and power pop-tinged stuff like "Twist Of Fate", "Hot & Cold", and "75" the most from what was played live at the Downtown Plaza here, but he picked a good cross-section of his recent solo catalogue, and The Big Finish Band were collectively up to the task (see most of them in the country rock cover band Elly McWatters & The Drifters when Mike isn't in town!). I wouldn't have bothered segmenting the spoken word intros and the guitar adlib into their own individual tracks, backing vocals were inconsistently applied, and there are songs of Mike's that I'd be interested to see played live, here or in general (like "If Ever Comes The Day", "Over Indecision", and "Miles & Memories"). This is an ideal way to experience the Mike Haggith live concert experience in the mid-2020s, and don't miss him and The Big Finish Band next month at the next Downtown Street Party and the Northern Vibe Festival!

Buy or stream "Under A Moonlit Sky" at the above links, and I hope you guys liked this month's CD review! Next month, we'll stay in Sault Ontario for a look at local ska punk band ASDP's debut album "Atom Bombs & Lemonade" from December, as we continue hollowing out our new album backlog. Look for that by month's end, and stay tuned for the rest of this weekend's hard rock concert previews next! Thanks everyone!

Spades GT Videos That We Never Shared Here Before!!

To break things up a tad before following up on yesterday's all-video post, I wanted to discuss dormant local/Barrie crossover thrash group Spades GT today, as I realized that there may be more public media of theirs online that they never promoted on social media, either because it fell through the cracks or because they decided not to share it from the filmer's account. As it turns out, there are some public videos of them live that never found their way to the band's Facebook page before what happened internally in December, so let's work our way through these in descending order by length. First, remember how ZigSeven's Dave Galante occasionally filmed lengthy videos featuring most of the musical performances at multi-band events that Spades GT played at? Well, we missed one that the guys never plugged on social media, as Dave was on hand for a "ZigView" at their all-ages headlining concert at See-Scape in Toronto on June 27th.

The 90 minute video starts with Dave setting up the show ahead and arriving at the venue, complete with his very stylish sunglasses, while he and his partner (wife?) scout a pre-concert meal. He did film all three openers, so you can get a glimpse of the whole night, but if you want to jump straight to Spades' set, that begins at the 56:18 mark. In order, the guys played "Hands", "Cenobites", "Final Girl", and "Sewer City Radio" (which was introduced reflecting its local inspiration), before the show abruptly paused while they dealt with technical difficulties. Guitarist Daniel Horton's amplifier appeared to disconnect or stop working mid-guitar solo, so they dealt with fixing that for a few minutes after the song ended, but J.D. and gang filled time as best they could. I wonder if this was why they never shared the video on Facebook? The set resumed for four more songs: "Red", "United", "They Live", and "Rise".

Note that the "United" album release party was the following week, so the former Jack Spades opted to save that album's songs (save the title track) until that show. Amp replacement aside, this is a quality set from all involved, and J.D. was particularly loose and animated throughout, so kudos to Dave for shooting so much footage, and give this a watch for yourselves below!

Next up, this Facebook video of Tyler Reiner's drum solo when they opened for Anvil (his dad Robb's band, of course) at The Rockpile in Toronto on November 17th, 2023 was uploaded by the Facebook page Reviving The Rock, and while the band did comment on it, we never mentioned it on the SMS at the time, so I don't think they shared it on their own. This 35 seconds-long square video solely focuses on Tyler, and it's a solid drum solo while it lasts, so give it a watch for yourselves below!

Lastly, the most recent of the new-ish Spades GT videos comes from their October 26th concert opening for The Exploited at The Piranha Bar in Montreal, where Caro Thibault filmed them playing "United" for the YouTube channel ChicksRockMedia. If the band was aware of this video, I assume it was never shared because it's a 30 seconds-long sidestage clip with very dark stage lighting late, so even when Dan (in the foreground) is playing his solo, you don't see much after the first 18 seconds. What we hear does sound good, so give this one a watch below, and click here to check out more videos from the other bands at The Piranha Bar that night!

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

Spades GT Updates From The Past Month!!

Let's dive into another single-band post on this snowy Tuesday afternoon, courtesy of local/Barrie crossover thrash quintet Spades GT's activity from last month, so what's new to report from the G.T.A.? We'll actually flash back to October to start for some all-too-rare concert videos of theirs that are A. raw live footage, B. the full songs, and C. horizontally shot! These were filmed at their set opening for The Exploited at The Rockpile in Toronto on October 19th, and are courtesy of attendee Jake Disman, who has filmed them at multiple gigs over the years, most recently at the Steve Edwin McLeod tribute concert at the same venue in March. Only uploaded to his YouTube channel last month, these were curiously uploaded intermixed with other concert videos from different events over the course of a week. Jake uploaded eight songs from this night in four 2 song chunks (all but their closer "Hands"), so what can you see here?

The videos include their usual set openers "They Live" and "Rise", plus "Sewer City Radio" and "Demons", "Cenobites" and "Wrecked" (featuring The Fast Life's Andrew Moorehouse on guest vocals), and as embedded below, their third and fourth songs "Red" and "United". Jake had a good high vantage point to capture the full band in action, if with occasionally too-deep stage lighting, and it looks like everyone had a blast with the ripping originals during Spades' set! We'll have more from this show in an upcoming post, but give Jake's really solid videos from October a watch above and below!

When we last left off with J.D., Daniel, Matthew, Sean, and Tyler, they were gearing up for their return to The Bovine Sex Club (that is still its real name!) in Toronto on November 7th, where they and guitarist Daniel Horton's other punk band The Fast Life opened for their their buddies in G.F.U.. The three bands had joined forces for a Barrie gig in October, among multiple other bookings, but this was reportedly Spades' last Toronto show of the year. The recap video (vertical as ever) went live on their Facebook page four days later, and it is externally embeddable without an audio content match! The first minute of the 4+ minute video sees drummer Tyler Reiner plugging the concert, their next gig in Delhi, and their eventful past year in general.The first half is all outside of the venue mingling, where we get a good look at Fang's dapper kilt, and it's encouraging to see that Sean hasn't been kicked out of Spades GT yet!

Once we move inside The Bovine, clips are shown from most bands (no Loaded Dice though), with Spades pictured playing "Wrecked" at the 2:55 mark, albeit for less than 10 seconds total and from a distant spot with fans' blocking much of the view. After seeing a G.F.U. clip, we hear more of their frontman Jeremy "Jayboe" Cibirka's platform for his Toronto mayoral campaign, before performers from that night gather at video's end, with Daniel saying that they "crushed it". I'll take his word on that, but check out the entertaining recap video for yourselves below!

One week after that gig, the former Jack Spades made their first ever trip to Delhi (pronounced "dell-high"), which is outside of Simcoe and a half hour southwest of Brantford. The November 14th concert at Capitol 33 saw them open for Toronto metal legends Anvil (featuring Tyler's dad Robb Reiner on drums), in the first time that Spades have opened for Anvil since February of last year. While the band was highly complimentary of the concert and venue on Facebook afterwards, and promised to return to Delhi next year, they did not post a recap video from this concert, at least not yet. A couple days later, Spades GT announced their second 2026 show, which will see them head to Guelph for a concert at Jimmy Jazz on January 16th alongside Stand Against Fear and Prior Convictions. If those names are familiar, it's because ex-Spades GT bassist James Roy Daley is an alumnus of those bands too, so how's that for degrees of separation between them?

Promotion says that this is Spades GT's Guelph debut, which didn't seem right, but in researching, they had a Guelph cancellation in July when Brazil's Kaos Attack dropped out of an Ontario tour run, and they had been promoting a planned set at Jimmy Jazz in March 2023 alongside Stand Against Fear (here's proof), but they quietly dropped out and were replaced by Knifehammer in the preceding weeks. Good to see the guys trying a Guelph concert again, and hopefully this one sticks! They hope to play more cities and markets for the first time in 2026, so keep that in mind, especially if you're in Southern Ontario. On November 18th, Spades announced their final show of 2025, a headlining date in their Barrie homebase on December 13th (yes, this Saturday) at C.W. Coop's on a doom metal-laden bill that will also feature Hamilton notables Pale Horse Ritual. The band also claims that this will be their "last one (in Barrie) for a while".

How long is "a while"? That's to be determined, but this isn't the first time they've hyped a year-ending Barrie show thusly, and they're teasing a big year ahead with "lots of new things coming your way", so we'll have to see what's next from the guys after Saturday's Barrie concert! We'll let you know when more comes out re: that show, the potential Delhi recap video, and their 2026 plans in due course, so raise 'em up, cause a scene, and visit the above links for more from Spades GT! Thanks everyone!

Spades GT Updates & Concert Recap Videos From Last Month!!

Let's tackle some more fall happenings from local/Barrie crossover thrash quintet Spades GT on the site today, so what's new to report since we last left off with their timeline in early October? Their next concert took place on Sunday, October 19th when they opened for British hardcore punk legends The Exploited, as they did previously in September 2024, though this time, they invaded The Rockpile rather than Lee's Palace. Very cool to see them tabbed to open for The Exploited once again, and J.D. & Dan's old local bandmate Blair Burch (Broken, Project 421, et al.) was in attendance for this concert, snapping some great quality photos that you can check out at this link! Attendee Miles George got a pile of quality photos himself that you can check out here, but his are all in black & white. Note that The Fast Life's Andrew Moorehouse is seen in some photos here, implying that he guested on "XS" and/or "Wrecked". The band's requisite vertical recap video went live on their Facebook page three days later, so what can you see in this one?

Primarily filmed by guitarist Daniel Horton once again, this features the band leaving for and arriving at the concert, the rainy tailgate party, the guys giving a fan autographs on a unique body part, bassist Sean MacNab's late arrival after an appointment, cameos by Blair and his son Cory, as well as former Spades guitarist Jay Sarrazin, and soundcheck and setup for their set. We do see the guys playing the start of "Red" at the 3:45 mark, but alas, only for about 30 seconds. Things end with post-set mingling outside and at their merch table, with some very brief footage of The Exploited's set. Dan said that they "crushed it", and from what little we see, I can't argue, so give this entertaining recap video a watch below!

A busy weekend for the former Jack Spades lie ahead, starting on Saturday, October 25th, when they were slated to play a rare matinee set at Headbang For Paws, a benefit concert for the Comfie Cat Shelter in Orillia, but the shelter revealed on their Facebook page on the 15th that it was cancelled "due to circumstances beyond our control". Very disappointing, especially given the cause behind it, but hopefully we see Spades in Orillia in due course! The band never confirmed the cancellation on Facebook themselves, but they did have a busy month, and now they didn't have to cram two shows into one day. The guys still rocked out that night, as they and their friends in G.F.U. joined Daniel's other band (Barrie punk quartet The Fast Life) at C.W. Coop's in their current homebase, which also served as a belated birthday bash for drummer Tyler Reiner. The recap video was uploaded 10 days later, so what's on offer here?

It features the continuation of G.F.U.'s singer's mayoral campaign, Sean's comically short leash in terms of his standing with the band (good thing he made it for this show!), previews of their new t-shirts and toques on sale, and Daniel setting up for his set with The Fast Life (it seems like Tyler filled in with them here) and later changing a broken guitar string. Two very brief clips of Spades' set can be seen at 3:21 (one shot from outside the venue behind a window, even), but quality and vertical framing aside, these only run for about 12 seconds. Dan called this "a good warm-up gig" for what was to come the next day, and you can see for yourselves at this link! Unfortunately, Facebook content matched the backing music added in post-production here ("Filthy Lie" from the new album "United"), so unlike the Rockpile recap video, I can't embed this one on the SMS. After rocking Barrie, the guys packed their gear for the 6 hour drive to Montreal!

Specifically, the guys rocked The Piranha Bar on Sunday the 26th, where they opened for The Exploited once again in their Quebec debut. Possibly because it was a bigger/more unique concert, the recap video for this one went up a day earlier than the Barrie one, though regardless, this too was hit with a Facebook content match (this time for using "Cenobites" from 2023's "Sewer City Radio" as backing music), so it is also unembeddable on external sites like this. The first 1:45 of the video focuses on the trip to the venue, including a stop at a Long & McQuade for strings. When the guys arrived in Montreal, we get some footage of the buildings near the venue, Tyler giving thanks and hype for the opportunity, and some setup clips inside The Piranha Bar, with another all-too-brief raw clip of Spades GT playing across multiple cameras at 2:45, running for just 20 seconds. Afterwards, we see the guys packing up for the drive back to Ontario.

Tyler thanked everyone again and promises to return to Montreal in 2026, and Daniel said that they "kicked ass". I can't disagree from what little we got of their set, but it looks like a great experience, so check everything out at this link or above! We are now caught up on Spades GT's October concerts and official content from last month, and when we next cover them, it'll start with their Toronto gig on November 7th. Stay tuned for that and more on the site soon! Thanks everyone, raise 'em up, and cause a scene!

Spades GT - "United" CD Review!!

It's now time for our 197th monthly CD review at The Sault Metal Scene, and as our new album release backlog continues being cleared out, we're taking a look at local/Barrie crossover thrash band Spades GT's new album "United"! Independently released via the Sewer City Records imprint on July 5th, "United" is the follow-up to their first GT-era album (2023's "Sewer City Radio"), and is their fourth album total when counting their two releases as Jack Spades before they relocated from the Soo in 2021. Like on the prior album, the guys recorded this one in February at Room 21 in Toronto with producer Kyle Marchant. "United" features Spades founder & lead singer J.D. "Johnny Pints" Pearce, guitarist Daniel Horton, and drummer Tyler "Jeeb" Reiner once again, and they are now joined by rhythm guitarist Matthew "Fang" Voros, who sings on a track here as well.

"United" was recorded in between bassist changes, as James Roy Daley left the band last summer, and Sean MacNab didn't join Spades until shortly after the sessions wrapped up (though he is pictured and thanked in the liner notes). Daniel was shown tracking bass in teaser videos from the sessions, but I have not seen a public reference as to if he played bass on all eight songs. Former Spades guitarist Jay Sarrazin and Daniel's Fast Life bandmate Andrew Moorehouse return as guest performers for a track each on "United", while rapper Julien "Mersinary" Dos Santos also guests on a song here. Physical copies of the album are on sale at concerts (alas, Spades haven't played a local date since June 2023), while "United" can be streamed on YouTube Music, Apple Music (it costs $7.92 on iTunes), Amazon Music, and Spotify. Song names below are linked to their YouTube copies. With eight songs running for about 27 minutes, let's begin this review!

The album opens with its shortest song "Anthem", which is a hard driving rocker with a really catchy lead guitar line, plus a solid guitar solo that lets Dan show off well! I was going to compliment the backing vocals, but the shouted chorus (which opens the song right off before the opening verse too) got really overdone after a little while. To me, it seems forced and monotone, and eats up too much time for a song that doesn't even crack 3 minutes. If you're going to commit to the "bashers, misfits, et al." thing, I'd have had J.D. actually sing it. Solid opener that Spades fans will enjoy musically, but I'd have rethought the choruses. Next up is the CD's title track (and the longest song on offer) "United", which was the lead advance single for the album as well. This song leans more into J.D.'s past punk music work with a more melodic rhythm and vocal style that calls to mind his Graves-era Misfits fandom, which will be nice to see for fans of his 100% local output!

Unlike on "Anthem", the backing vocals aren't overdone on repeated shouting choruses, and while your mileage may vary on that, this one seems like a much better candidate to sing along with at concerts (just need to get a new local one already). Strong drumming from Tyler and another good (if shorter) solo helps make this an early highlight, especially if you were following Fitswitch and Frightlight prior! Third is "Demons", which has another punk influence to it but it a touch slower and darker, with J.D. singing in a slightly lower register without backing vocals. There's an intensity here from the lyrical content that would actually call for a heavier or thrashier sound, but the contrast isn't badly done, and there's a strong groove to the guitar and bass here, and Tyler beats the hell out of the kit even when the song is more measured around him. Not uniformly intense and dark but I do like it!

The first half of the album is capped off with "Filthy Lie", which uniquely has J.D. sharing vocal duties with a bandmate, as Matthew (who fronts the psychobilly band The House Of Haunt) sings the choruses and bridge here with J.D. handling verses. The bouncy and upbeat riff is well placed here, and Matt more than holds his own vocally on the choruses with a distinct but natural range, so if there was ever an emergency where J.D. couldn't sing live, he could easily fill in! Of the songs so far, this changes tempo and pace the most in its runtime, so there's a little for many tastes. Not the best overall song here, but a fun shake-up of formula! Song #5 is the last one without guests, namely "Game For Two", which isn't as in your face vocally but it has a really strong instrumental structure, and I wish the vocals were more upbeat and intense to match. Dan & Matt deliver some of their best co-op riffs here, and we get another quality solo too, so guitar fans won't be thrown off at all!

As a pure song, this is an album highlight with some of the heaviest music yet from Spades GT on this album, but the vocals are too low and reserved by comparison. The three songs with guest performers are backloaded on "United", with Fast Life frontman Andrew Moorehouse (who sang guest vocals on "XS" from the last album) doing so again here on the sixth song, "Wrecked".  This song has one of the best intros on the album for its galloping and freewheeling instrumental performance, which is cool to see! Andrew's role on this song is bigger than on "XS", as he and J.D. trade lines during verses and share vocals on the choruses. A fast moving song with a punk influence, this is a fun one with some bouncy lead guitar, and while I'm not sure that the vocals gel as well on the chorus, it's a welcome diversion for fans who like Spades' punkier side, and Andrew acquits himself well!

The penultimate track on offer is "Strong", which features Reel Wolf Productions rapper Mersinary on guest vocals, and who has done this song live with Spades at least once. This song has a full and intense riff and full-band performance that doesn't let up, including really good bass work, and J.D. sings in a more melodic full voice on the verses, so that lines up well with the music! Mersinary crops up at 2:24 to drop bars in the bridge, and while a solid rapper whose delivery wasn't out of line with the music, he's only there for about 20 seconds and he didn't feel integral to the existing structure. He certainly didn't hurt it though, and "Strong" one of the better full songs here! "United" ends with "Die On Our Feet", featuring the return of 2022-2023 rhythm guitarist (and Tyler's old Caym bandmate) Jay Sarrazin, who played on two songs on "Sewer City Radio" (namely "Final Girl" & "Red").

Fans of guitar solos will be rewarded early as well as before the last chorus, and while this song doesn't reinvent the wheel from what works from the Spades camp, it has a hard driving riff, strong melodic vocals from J.D., and a better use of backing gang vocals on the choruses. Anyone else get a "Hallowed Be Thy Name" vibe from the guitar line in the bridge? What really hurts "Die On Our Feet" is a fifteen seconds-long fade-out during the second guitar solo, and is that really how they wanted to end the album? The solo was really cooking, why not actually write a proper ending to a quality song?

So, how do I grade "United" overall? There are things that I would address, but it's a fun sophomore effort for the Spades GT era of the band! It feels like the guys were experimenting a little more musically, with songs leaning into punk moreso, having J.D. experiment more in terms of his vocal range, and having three songs were someone else hops on vocals too. No matter what, they were in strong form as a full band, and the fuller sound from having two guitarists on every track shouldn't be overlooked either! Their fast and freewheeling brand of crossover thrash will still appeal to Jack Spades-era fans while benefitting from the production and networking upgrades since they moved south, with everyone performing to their musical strengths, including steadily great drumming from Tyler! The title track was probably my favourite song front-to-back on the album, and nothing here was bad, but I did notice a lot of little things I'd have changed.

Specifically, the overdone shouted choruses on "Anthem", an uneven contrast of vocals and instrumentation on some songs, Mersinary's verse on "Wrecked" feeling dropped in, and the way-too-long fade-out ending of "Die On Our Feet" could all have been adjusted to tighten up this album. Regardless, this is a fun and hard hitting collection of new songs that any era of Spades fan will take to, so buy or stream "United" at the above links, and I hope you guys liked this month's CD review! We'll end 2025 by looking at defunct local grunge band No Arrow's belated CD "Souls For Sale", so watch for that next month! Thanks everyone, raise 'em up, and cause a scene!

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!