Mike Haggith - "All The Best In All You Do: Rose Edition" Album Review!!

It's now time for our 174th monthly CD review at The Sault Metal Scene, as we're finally taking a look at local/Barrie alternative hard rock musician Mike Haggith's 52nd canon solo album "All The Best In All You Do"! Released through his own MorningStar Records imprint on July 13th in conjunction with his dislocated knee-abbreviated set at Rotaryfest, this is Mike's first album released after moving from Thompson, Manitoba to Barrie in late 2022, though work on the album began beforehand. Like his last two albums since he resumed primary work as a solo artist, this is a concept album with Mike on all instruments except for a guest guitar solo on one track. You can stream "A.T.B.I.A.Y.D" on major streaming services like Spotify, while you can also buy it for $10 on Bandcamp, and physical copies are on sale for $10 on CD and $40 on vinyl at this link. Albums are also available when Mike plays concerts in town, though no word on if The Rad Zone or other retail stores carry copies.

Five bonus songs (four originals and a cover) are also included in the limited-run "Rose Edition" of this album, sold in a DVD case with a pressed rose inside each. If you were unable to buy one of those for $20, fans who buy "All The Best In All You Do" on Bandcamp will also get the bonus songs, but Mike does not plan on posting them for sale with the album on other platforms, so they are not freely streamable at press time. This review will look at the complete "Rose Edition", as bought on Bandcamp. With 15 songs running for 53 minutes (10 songs for 37 minutes if you just have the normal album), let's begin our last album review of 2023!

Conceptually, the 10 base songs of this album outline a personal story of Mike moving from a toxic relationship into happiness and fulfillment in his current one, and in that respect, it feels like a sequel to 2020's "If Ever Comes The Day" even moreso. Bookending the 10 songs are split title tracks in reverse, starting with "All You Do", which leads off the story by outlining relationship issues and trying to make sense of one's partner's increasingly hostile and unfriendly behaviour. A darker and ominous instrumental track here is contrasted with Mike singing in full voice, and he makes good use of duplicated vocal tracks to make it sound like four or five Mikes are singing at once! That said, I do think that the singing and instruments don't mesh terribly well, and I'd have either made this much heavier or had Mike sing in a more reserved tone. Not a bad song to start the story all the same!

"All You Do" directly leads into track #2, "Twist Of Fate", basically serving as its extended introduction. In this song, the tables have seemingly turned as the toxic partner going on the town and engaging in embarrasing behaviour, with the final straw seemingly nearing. This is among the heaviest songs that Mike has released since the end of The Din in 2017, with a steady driving rhythm and good melodic vocals that are on level with the opener but far more suited to this style of song. The symphonic bits at the end of choruses felt thrown in, and the percussion should have been let up a bit on the bridge, but this is a fun track that will definitely be to the liking of Din fans who missed his in-your-face power pop!

The continuing structure of the album maintains by leading directly into the next song, "Hot & Cold". The longest song on any version of this album, it is basically an extended breakup song where Mike explains why he is dumping the woman in question, and like "Twist Of Fate", it has gotten good mileage in concert this year. Very 1980s feel to the verses with the synth influence and programmed drums, and between that and the twinkling keys on the choruses, this song sounds very different to what you may have seen out of Mike & crew live. Structurally, this song is still a rock number, if not as heavy as "Twist of Fate", but it has a directness and edge to it that I think is somewhat lost with the synths and keys. What does help things are the guest guitar solos by Southern Ontario-based metal guitarist Hetriani, who adds a strong added feature here without feeling too far out of place with the song as is!

Ultimately, I think "Hot & Cold" works better live than it does in studio, as it seems a little overproduced in studio to make a grand epic, and to a point, I think Mike's local-era symphonic material balanced that line a little better. As a composition, its certainly well thought out though! Fourth is "If Only You Could Hear Me", one of Mike's older tracks to finally make a studio album appearance here. Lyrically a reflection about being alone and hoping that his now ex would return in spite of everything, this is basically an acoustic folk rock song, if a little optimistic and upbeat given the lyrics, and with some synth backing coming into focus late. The musical positivity and the prominent drum track present another contrast in styles that I wouldn't have made given the introspective lyrics, but Mike's clean singing gets a good showcase, and this song is easily stripped down to a one-man unplugged setting, as longtime fans know!

The first half (third if you have the Rose Edition) of the album ends with "Carousel", and if you subscribe to the five stages of grief, this would be "acceptance", with the carousel in the title being referenced as both getting off of it (the relationship) and being given the run-around in the first place. Of the opening five tracks, this feels the most like something that could have been on Mike's Thompson-era CDs, with his expressive yet deep vocals carrying the song overtop of soaring yet rock tinged music. While it'd be easily downscaled to acoustic, the music and lyrics click well to better match the storyline compared to some of the earlier cuts, so this is an early highlight for me! Song #6 is "I've Seen It Before", which basically flips things from where "If Only You Could Hear Me" was, now with Mike refusing to take his ex back, no matter what she says, as he has literally seen it all before and doesn't want to go through this again.

This album's second and final 5+ minute track, it again contrasts the lyrical message with the music, this time with another upbeat, optimsitic nature which sounds like a happy indie rock song without the edge of the lyrics. Mike gets good mileage out of the chorus vocal effect again on the choruses, and the symphonics are well layered with the music (if at the expense of the guitar), so it succeeds musically despite the lyrical dissonance! We start the turn towards the brighter, optimistic future next with "Love Will Light The Way", which is the shortest song on any version of this album. Lyrically about depression and sadness always having a light (and love) at the end of the tunnel, this 99 second track just features Mike at a piano with some backing vocals, and feels kinda churchy.

It's not a very substantial track on its own, though it is pretty enough for fans of Mike's more reserved side. Still, it serves a purpose to bridge the album from it's darker lyrical places to the brighter final three songs, which seem to very clearly reflect his relationship with his now-wife Tianna (whose hand is lighting the rose on fire on the album cover). Eighth on the album is "The Start Of Something Real", which seems to be about meeting her and realizing that this is truly the beginning of a positive relationship with long-term prospects. Another very 1980s-inspired song here, especially thanks to its drum intro and plonky keyboard backing that reminded me a bit of Bruce Hornsby's "The Way It Is" (I hope that's a fair comparison)! As such, this song is very laid back and relaxed, if oddly not as happy overall as some of the earlier songs came off (lyrics aside), but it works well enough for what it is!

The "whoas" in the choruses are overdone, but this song does feel sufficiently different from what came before, so keep that in mind! After all, this has a flute solo, how many local musicians can say that? Ninth is "To Be With You", which is an original song and not a Mr. Big cover! It's lyrically about appreciating his new love and their future, and wanting to be with her, and continuing the vibe of the album changing its themes as the lyrical mood changed, this has more of a electronic/synth rock vibe to it that calls to mind a band like Imagine Dragons or Awolnation, and honestly, that's not a good thing for me. However, the song doesn't vocally sound like those type of bands, and still feels very Mike Haggithy, with his direct and passionate clean singing still firmly in the foreground, so fans won't be too far removed from his old material! Still not a favourite track of mine, especially thanks to the repetitive chorus.

We come full circle for the main album with song #10, "All The Best", which is basically about trust in this new relationship as they head into the future together while Mike gives his best and his all. Of the final four songs in this phase of the album, this feels the most traditional for Mike's post-2017 solo material, with a more subtle but still '80s-influenced synthy backing track, soaring vocal melodies (Mike's range is at its height here), and a tighter structure, if still with repetitive chorus vocals. Of the final four "current relationship" songs, this is the best and its a good way to end the album... unless you bought the Rose Edition! Just as a heads up, the four bonus originals don't have lyrics (at least not via Bandcamp), and curiously, their runtime steadily decreases as the track order progresses. First of the bonuses is "Unforgotten", which opens with plonky synths that remind me of Star Light Zone in Sonic the Hedgehog 1!

More of a reserved ballad backed with the '80s sound of multiple tracks on offer, it's not a bad song and has a relatively tight dreamy essence to it without coming off as too repetitive, but if you like Mike's more rocking songs, this may leave you wanting a bit. Next is "Requiem", which is another softer track, reminiscent of "Love Will Light The Way" but longer and without percussion, though sound effects of water are added to bookend the song. I'd have dialed the singing back a bit to better match the mood, and I do prefer more rock-based songs, but Mike sings with passion regardless, and it has the maturity you expect out of his ballad-leaning material! Third of the bonus tracks is Mike's cover of Bruce Springsteen's "Atlantic City", which he has performed live and you can hear thusly at this link even without owning the Rose Edition proper. Shorter than the original, the song is about a couple moving to Atlantic City, albeit with the man joining the Mafia to repay his unspecified debts. 

I'm not a massive fan of Springsteen, but if you've been wanting something more rock-based out of the bonus tracks, this will fill the gap, and while Mike doesn't differ greatly from the original's structure (length aside), it is a good change to hear him sing in a relatively lower register for the bulk of it. Also, Mike didn't add in the synths and keyboard parts to this cover, which are a different kind of '80s than a Bruce Springsteen cover really needs! The penultimate song is "I'd Do It All For You", which immediately begins with Mike singing and has no lead-in. This song feels like it would work well as a campfire jam if stripped down, but it still has some atmospheric backing and a percussion track. Relatively light and sunny track with good melodic vocals, it works for what it is, but it ends way too soon and it fades out too abruptly. The Rose Edition ends with "Horizons", which is the album's only instrumental.

A soft folk/indie rock song with atmospheric elements, it's basically a coda to the preceding album that perhaps was intended as Mike's flight into the future, and given his day job, I can totally picture that being intentional music to fly to. Not much of a standalone track for rock fans, but it serves a clear purpose to cap off the complete album!

So, after 5½ months, what are my final thoughts on "All The Best In All You Do"? Overall, while it's not the heaviest album in Mike's back catalog, it continues his storytelling and personal slant very well, and it succeeds as an artistic statement with quality songs to match! As his last album "Bridges" was postponed to make way for the more recently recorded "If Ever Comes The Day", that album (largely about a failing relationship) definitely feels like the spiritual predecessor to "All The Best...", but with the key addition of the symphonic and keyboard backing that was heard on "Bridges" and his late-era local material in the mid-2010s. That gave much of the album a very 1980s feel, which was neat to hear at times! On the reverse, this won't be the cup of tea for fans who got into Mike based on his local band work, as aside from "Twist Of Fate" and "Hot & Cold", the songs on offer wouldn't overtly fit in Din setlists.

My big issue with this album is that, given the arc of the songs from a relationship at its end stages to a happier new one, the songs didn't really fit musically as much as they did lyrically. Many of the songs where Mike is outlining how bad things are are sung at a contrastingly happy and upbeat tone, and while the album does shift for the last few songs, it's mostly towards experimental styles. Some songs played live also get more of a synth/key backing than fans may be used to from Mike's local gigs last year, and given how I'm not a fan of Imagine Dragons-type bands, the backing on "To Be With You" wasn't my thing. Still, this album delivers for fans of Mike's wide ranging music abilities, with "Carousel", "Twist Of Fate", and "All You Do" being my favouites! The Rose Edition tracks are welcome inclusions, if not 100% essential for casual fans, with my favourite being the "Atlantic City" cover.

"All The Best In All You Do" is a strong album where Mike pours his heart out for good and for bad, but it ends on the right note to go along with his happy marriage, and fans of his should find multiple songs to like on this album! Be sure to give it a listen (or buy it on Bandcamp for all 15 tracks) at the above links, and I hope you guys liked our last CD review of the year! To start 2024, we'll continue our now 15 month string of new album reviews by looking at local rapper Tristan "Bold Noize" Goslow's debut punk album "God Save Me", which was released back in August! Look for that next month, and for our 2023 year-in-review post next! Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERT (The Ripcordz) & Details On Mike Haggith's New Studio Album!!

Breaking again from our Rotaryfest fallout today for a post devoted to two big topics: a recent album release, and a LOCAL CONCERT ALERT at the tail end of the summer season, so here's what you should know!

Montreal hardcore punk legends The Ripcordz will return to Sault Ste. Marie when they headline at The Loft at The Algoma Conservatory of Music on Friday, September 1st! Local punk fans will recall seeing the Paul Gott-fronted group in city limits seven times between 2013 and 2019 (and multiple times prior), most recently rocking The Rockstar Bar in November 2019, with the pandemic and their usual local promoter J.D. Pearce's move to Barrie helping delay a return engagement. Hopefully the anticipation after a nearly 4 year wait proves advantageous for The Ripcordz' blistering and fast paced brand of hardcore punk as they help kick off the Labour Day long weekend! Fresh off of their sets at the Northern Vibe Festival the previous weekend, alt-punk trio A Dire Setback (who opened for The Ripcordz here in 2019) and newer local punk/hard rock quartet Far From Fine will open this show, and hopefully they deliver the goods in their Loft debuts!

Picking up the promotional duties for this show is former Destroilet drummer Matt Waples, who opened for The Ripcordz with that band in the early-mid 2010s (both bands were on 2015's "Fed Up!" split too), and kudos to him for taking a swing on promoting a big show like this, let alone at a very fancy and unique venue like The Loft! Unfortunately, this is a 19+ event, while doors open at 8:00 PM on September 1st, and tickets will run for $25 (up from a $15 door charge in 2019), but have not yet went on sale (check here for the link when it goes live). Given all of the changes since the last local Ripcordz date, it will be interesting to see how this goes over, but visit the Facebook event page for full details!

Next up, let's finally talk about local/Barrie alt-hard rock musician Mike Haggith's new album "All The Best In All You Do", which was released on Thursday as scheduled in advance of his dislocated knee-abbreviated set at Rotaryfest! Not an ideal way to promote a new album, but certainly unique! You can now buy/stream the album on major streaming services like Spotify, and it is on sale digitally for $10 on Bandcamp, and physical copies are on sale through his label MorningStar Records at this link for the same price on CD and $40 on vinyl. They were also available at Rotaryfest, no word on if copies were brought to sell at The Rad Zone when he was up. As previously teased, Bandcamp sale copies do indeed have bonus songs that, if you believe the e-mail sent to Bandcamp followers, "Spotify and iTunes will never hear", so if you want the complete experience, you have to pay $10 there!

The only physical copies of the album with these songs are the "rose edition" copies sold in DVD cases at Rotaryfest, so if you bought one of those, you're good to go! In order, the extra five tracks are "Unforgotten", "Requiem", a cover of Bruce Springsteen's "Atlantic City", "I'd Do It For You", and "Horizons", and yes, all five will be reviewed when we look at the album on the site later this year. Mike went into detail on the album and its inspiration in this lengthy article from the Morningstar website, which doesn't cover any new ground aside from hyping up the themes, but it does lay the groundwork. Adding to the recent promotion, Mike launched his own mailing list (distinct from what Bandcamp fans get) where subscribers are named "Frequent Flyers", jokingly referencing his day job there. Exclusive offers and freebies are promised, which get better the longer you're signed up!

Mike posted one more lyric video for an "All The Best In All You Do" song onto his YouTube channel on July 8th, this time for "To Be With You", though the aesthetic choices (flower petals, hand-written lyrics, VCR filter) are identical to his prior "Carousel" lyric video. There is a reason for that though, as every (non-Bandcamp bonus) song got the lyric video treatment likewise, but where are the other eight lyric videos? As it turns out, they're all featured in Mike's "album release celebration" video that went live as a scheduled post on YouTube on Thursday! I wasn't sure what this would entail, but the 77 minute video features all of the 10 primary songs with corresponding lyric video in chronological order, plus 40 minutes of album-related banter and context from Mike. Everything is time-stamped in the video description, but note that Mike outlines all the ways to buy "A.T.B.I.A.Y.D." in the introduction, including where to save some cash.

Also in the intro, Mike pre-emptively hypes up how great his Rotaryfest set was, including teasing a planned official live-stream (little did any of us know!), and he shows off the "rose edition" copies for those who didn't attend Rotaryfest. Mike's cat Viking cameos in the introduction for tracks 6-7, while Mike explains what the cover artwork represents & how he became involved with his wife Tianna in the introduction for tracks 8-10. The closing thoughts are just plugs and summative remarks, but note that the "rose edition" copies have fancier lyric booklets and a whole pressed rose! Fun watch to help commemorate a highly anticipated album release, so give it a look below, and look for our review in December!

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

Recent News & Updates From Spades GT & Mike Haggith!

Today's post is designed to cover some recent notes and content from two different local acts that eventually moved to Barrie, Ontario, as both have new albums, videos, and other news to touch on that have fell by the wayside in recent weeks. Here's what you should know!

We're definitely behind on recent updates from local/Barrie crossover thrash quintet Spades GT, so what's new to report from their camp? Firstly, we do have more Josey Scott's Saliva videos coming, but there's stuff before and since that we haven't even hinted at from the former Jack Spades yet! One year to the day after playing Spiderfest in Meyersburg on the same weekend as Random Killing, the two bands (both fronted by Saultite vocalists) joined forces at The Atria in Oshawa last night, so how's that for another hardcore homecoming from afar? Following their already announced gigs in Cambridge and Toronto, the band (minus Jay) made their way home to the Soo for the Josey Scott's Saliva concert on June 24th, and while that was the de facto release party for us, the actual release party will take place tonight at The Queens Nightclub in Barrie, over a month after "Sewer City Radio" came out!

No idea why they didn't time a release party with the actual on-sale date of June 2nd, but better late than never! Spades GT, guitarist Daniel Horton's other band The Fast Life, and fellow Barrie punk band Kill/Death Radio are playing this event, which also coincides with the release of their "Final Girl" music video, details forthcoming. Good luck tonight, of course! In another new GTA concert announcement, Spades GT will open for No Signal at Inside Skatepark in St. Catharines on Saturday, July 22nd (details here), while they & The Fast Life will both be opening for Hamilton death metal band Death Perception on Saturday, July 29th at The Killroom in Hamilton. Should be good shows if you're in the area! All other updates since have been in the form of *sigh* "Reels", including two teaser clips of the "Final Girl" music video (linked here and here), with the latter edited more like a horror movie trailer, which is very fitting.

The letterboxing of the widescreen music video is not ideal whatsoever in the vertical "Reels" format, but the wait is almost over! As of this writing, the video is not live yet but we'll give that its own feature in an upcoming post. The last "Reel" was to promote yesterday's Random Killing show, featuring drummer Tyler Reiner and singer J.D. Pearce plugging it from a pool, if you can believe it. Can't embed them externally, so give them a watch above, and stay tuned for more from Spades GT in the near future!

Next up, here's some recent updates from local/Barrie alt-hard rock musician Mike Haggith, starting with a video interview with him that I've put off for way too long! On June 8th, Mike was one of the remote guests on the first episode of The S.W.A. Happy Hour (S.W.A. stands for Songwriters Anonymous), an interview series hosted out of New York by musicians Dominick Torregrossa and Chris Lane Sr. that you can see episodes of at this link. Mike is not the only guest, but he is an S.W.A. member, so there was familiarity with him & his music from the hosts. Mike's segment begins about 26 minutes into the 2+ hour livestream, and includes a full airing of his "Carousel" lyric video, which more or less premiered here before it went public. At 31 minutes or so, Mike pops in for a 45 minute interview, where he discusses the lyric video & song, his involvement with Songwriters Anonymous, his own songwriting process, ...

... the lyrical choices & thematic sensibilities in "Carousel" and other songs, his upcoming album "All The Best In All You Do", guest guitarist Hetriani's appearance on it, Mike's musical journey from Windsor to the Soo to Thompson, his musical influences, whether he listens to stuff like he actually plays, and his recording process, before playing "Carousel" again so they can re-analyze the song again with the benefit of what Mike has said. The interview ends with some summative and fan-submitted questions, plus plugs for Mike's current and upcoming music links. Not a bad interview at all, and the ultra-focus on songwriting will be appealing to some, especially compared to some of his other interview/guest appearances on similar webshows! That interview is embedded below, but just to get some other recent notes covered on here, this image is in fact the "All The Best In All You Do" album cover, despite the lack of any credits.

This is something that wasn't immediately clear when it first popped up on Mike's social media channels, but this means it will be his first album since he moved from Windsor to not have his name or the album name on the front. You can now pre-order "A.T.B.I.A.Y.D." for $10 on Bandcamp (no sign yet of the teased bonus songs for Bandcamp buyers only), but if you'd rather wait for the official on-sale date, that is Thursday, coinciding with his opening set at Rotaryfest Stage 1! Stay tuned for more from Mike soon, and here's his S.W.A. Happy Hour interview!

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

Mike Haggith & Spades GT Updates, Plus More Recent Notes!!

New news post for you guys on this late Tuesday night, as we continue clearing out our news backlog, if slowly! Assorted shorter topics round things out, but let's first look at some recent updates from two local acts who coincidentally both relocated to Barrie!

Local/Barrie alt-hard rock musician Mike Haggith is definitely staying busy as of late, and while we do have both his Face To Face concert live-stream and a recent video interview to look at (hopefully) soon, let's lead off with the big news, as Mike's new studio album "All The Best In All You Do" has an official release date of Thursday, July 13th! You can pre-save it on Spotify at this link, though remember that he plans to include Bandcamp-exclusive bonus tracks for the paid release there. An offical lyric video for "Carousel" from the new album went up as a scheduled upload earlier today on Mike's YouTube channel, which features Mike (one assumes) writing out the song lyrics with a Sharpie on pieces of paper, with late input from rose petals. Is the destruction of flowers an intentional visual motif for the album? Note the film grain and the VCR graphics too, albeit in widescreen.

No word on the album cover, but note the release date of July 13th coincides with his Rotaryfest Stage 1 set that same day, so we get the de facto release concert! Mike should have physical copies in tow that weekend. While the lyric video is embedded below, Mike also uploaded this "Shorts" video to YouTube as well to hype the album, which includes an audio sample and recommendations to fans of Tears For Fears, Louis Tomlinson, U2, Coldplay, and Train. In other words, don't expect The Din III here, but the jury's out on the full product yet! Assuming this date holds, and nothing new from metal or hard rock acts beats it to market beforehand, "All The Best In All You Do" is currently slated for an SMS review in... November, alas. We have quite a backlog of new albums to look at, and I don't want to usurp anyone in line from release date, but Mike is absolutely in line, and I know that fans are highly anticipating this one!

Of course, I will hold comment on "Carousel" pending our eventual review of the album, but you know that Mike is moving up in the world when he's putting out a proper lyric video with production values like this for one of his singles! Visit his official website for much more on "All The Best In All You Do", stay tuned for more from him soon, and here's "Carousel"!

Next up, here's some recent non-"Reel" updates from local/Barrie crossover thrash quintet Spades GT's Facebook page! In terms of concerts, their Toronto gigs at Beer Bash VI on June 3rd and Indie Night In Canada last week (allegedly their last Toronto show "for some time") both went really well according to the band, and you can see lots of photos (and, yes, "Reels") from them on Facebook! Apparently, live clips from their Indie Night In Canada set were played on Wallygator's Rock & Roll Swamp on CGCM Rock Radio this past Saturday, continuing their positive relationship with that internet station, so consider giving them a listen, as you never know if you'll hear some "Sewer City Radio" there! Spades GT's next show will see them and guitarist Daniel Horton's other band The Fast Life join forces at Rhythm & Brews (no relation) in Cambridge on Friday, so click here for details!

Note that none of these shows were branded as a release party for "Sewer City Radio", though I guess Beer Bash VI was the de facto one, as it was a day after the album came out. There are some new "Reels" too, but rather than nitpick the enterprise again, let's hold those for a future post and feature a Spades GT video that I can embed on the SMS! This was filmed by attendee Amanda Schilz and publically shared to the former Jack Spades' Facebook page on June 3rd as part of a batch post of Beer Bash photos. It runs for just 17 seconds, it is sadly vertical, and it mostly focuses on fans before slowly panning to the stage, but it sounds good while it lasts, so Spades GT fans can check it out below!

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

• Local hard rock quartet Half Past announced the addition of guitarist Al Fletcher's old Skeyes of Seven bandmate Johnny Amendola to their lineup on their Facebook page on Saturday, replacing Jamie Labreche. A reason for Jamie's departure was not announced, but they have yet to play a live concert since their fall 2021 reunion despite him coming on board at the time. Hopefully nothing bad happened with Jamie, but it's good to see Johnny (also of Cherry Crush and Tripod The Dog fame) back out there, and hopefully we hear more from Half Past soon!
• New and online page-less local classic metal/hard rock trio Nostalgia have slightly amended their name to Nostalgic, as per this Facebook event page for their Reggie's shows this past weekend. A reason for the name change wasn't announced, but it's one letter (the last letter, at that), so I can see it blowing right by some fans. Stay tuned for more from Nostalgic when it comes in!
• SaultOnline's Heidi Ivany covered the Queen: It's A Kinda Magic concert at The Sault Community Theatre Centre last month for this article, where she highly praised the band, stage show, and overall attention to detail for recreating Queen's 1986 world tour. 23 pictures from the concert were also featured, as well as a note that the band promises to return to the Soo on their Canadian tour next year. Good read, so give it a look above! As best as I can tell, there were no Facebook videos on SaultOnline's end here.
   

 

That's all for today, but stay tuned for much more on the site in the coming days! Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (Hells Bells, Original Song Contest, And Halloween Party), And More Concert Previews!!

Before we begin today's post, one of this weekend's concerts was quietly cancelled, namely tomorrow's Deathsticks-headlined show at The New American Pub. Promoters confirmed on the Facebook event page last week that the Whitby garage punk duo can't make the trip due to work obligations, which is disappointing, but hopefully Deathsticks can come here in the future, and that we see the debuts of local openers Dark Garfunkel and Sleeping Together elsewhere! Now, here's three LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (one for TOMORROW) and the rest of the weekend's concert previews!

Tidal Records' previously announced songwriters competition goes down TOMORROW NIGHT at LopLops Lounge, and yes, some hard rock and punk artists are performing! Apologies for the short notice, the lineup was first publically announced last week, though it has since been updated. Though this isn't considered a "battle of the bands", 10 local musicians (largely singer/guitarists) will convene at LopLops TOMORROW to compete to have an original song recorded with Tidal Records head Dustin Jones, Lake Effect frontman Frank Deresti, and Case's Music owner Jay Case at Dustin's own Mission Control Studios, including a digital release package, and the option to have studio musicians back them up if so desired. Performers will include hard rock and punk band alumni Justin Langlois (Redundant), Ed Vowels (Lucky 13), Cory Murchison (Skeyes of Seven), Andrew Pucci (Stereo North), and Jim O'Leary (ex-Griphook), alongside Nathan Albidone (Thin Ice), Jacob Quarrell (Shit Creek Survivor), and solo artists Tyler Moreau, Jenna Bannister, and Amanda Ridley, while Greg Callaghan (Northwest) is no longer listed as competing for unannounced reasons.

Nice roster of performers, including some unfamiliar faces, and it will be interesting to see who all plays what! Maybe some artists will break out new originals for their current bands, or resurrect songs we haven't heard in a long while? Each artist will apparently play two original songs and a cover song TOMORROW, with a $5 cover charge in effect for attendees of this 19+ event, which presumably has a 9:00 PM-ish start time, though I'm not sure about who all is judging or if there are runner-up prizes. Given the competitive nature, we won't feature a preview video here, but best of luck to all performers TOMORROW, and don't miss out for some diverse acoustic original music at LopLops!

Next up, and also in the realm of Tidal Records, promoter J.D. Pearce is hosting his 12th annual Halloween Party concert at The Algonquin Pub on Saturday, October 29th! Returning to The Algonquin Hotel's downstairs bar for the fourth time in five years, this year's Halloween bash will see an all-local lineup for just the second time since the Halloween Party left Coch's Corner in 2012, while the event is taking on a tribute band theme for a second straight year. The announced headliners are Hey, What About Us?!, a one-off tribute to Me First & The Gimme Gimmes, the punk band best known for covers of decidedly un-punk songs. Though their lineup isn't publically listed, promoter J.D. Pearce is their apparent frontman, marking his return as an official performer after not fully fronting a band last year. We'll let you know if their full lineup is announced! Local hard rock quartet Eclipse will join in as well on the 29th as "SSM of a Down", obviously covering System of a Down songs.

The advertised openers are funk/hard rock quartet The Elements, who will trade last year's Sublime tribute set for a general 1990s rock tribute this year under the moniker "The Plaid Martens". Solid lineup once again, and you've got to love the concept of Hey, What About Us?! doing a covers-only set of a covers-only band! A $5 cover charge is in effect for this year's 19+ concert, which will start at around 10:00 PM, and of course, bring your costumes, and expect a costume contest of some description! This should be another fun night of Halloween punk and hard rock action, so keep it in mind for in two weeks time, and visit the official Facebook event page for updates!

Lastly in new concert announcements, The Rockstar Bar will welcome back Barrie-based AC/DC tribute band Hells Bells for a headlining concert on Saturday, November 12th! Last seen at the same venue almost one year ago, this concert is basically a make-up date for Hells Bells' cancelled local date in May (Project 421 replaced them on late notice), and while I'm still not 100% sure what happened in the spring, it's great to see Hells Bells back with their brand of high voltage rock n' roll next month! AC/DC fans are sure to appreciate their faithful sounding and looking tribute to the hard rock legends, so circle this one on your calendars! Possibly because of the cancellation and delay, advance tickets are now $10 rather than $12 in May, though the admission fee will jump to $15 at the door, so get your tickets at The Algonquin Hotel's front desk to save $5! This is a 19+ event, and while an oddly early 7:00 PM start time is listed, expect it to be more like 10:00 PM. Visit the official Facebook event page for more details!

We'll close today with the weekend's remaining hard rock concert preview, including the local debuts of two Sudbury hard rock bands at The Rockstar Bar TOMORROW NIGHT, including headlining rock quartet The Blackwood Sinners and alternative rock quartet Vintage Slang! Fans of bluesy hard rock should take to The Blackwood Sinners, who have had a steadily rising profile in the Sudbury area since debuting, and their effective originals should draw a solid response in their local debut tomorrow, so be sure to check them out! Vintage Slang (replacing fellow Sudbury rockers The Fortunate Losers) will provide a nice compliment to kick off this concert, having established themselves in the Sudbury rock scene in recent months by winning this year's Q92 Rock Rumble, and their diverse influences should carry them to a quality set as well tomorrow! A local band is announced on the Facebook event page, but they have not been publically confirmed, if even still planned to play. This 19+ concert has a 9:00 PM door opening time and $7 cover charge.

It's great to see more Sudbury bands playing in Sault Ste. Marie (we don't see enough bands from there making the trip west), and both bands should deliver a solid dose of hard rock for fans at The Rockstar Bar, so check the above links for more details, and here's The Blackwood Sinners live!



That's all for today, but stay tuned for more news and updates in the coming days! Thanks everyone!

Woods Of Ypres' Juno Award Win, Plus Other New Local Metal Videos!!

With a major news story last night in the local metal scene, we have to address it A.S.A.P., so that's the main topic of today's post, but hopefully some people caught the late notice Tym Morrison show on Friday night that we couldn't rush into a full post on here, and hopefully he'll be back with new solo gigs soon! Today's post also features some new recent videos, but first, here's last night's huge top story, so here's what you need to know!

Woods of Ypres have won the Juno Award for Best Metal/Hard Music Album!! As covered on SooToday last night, amongst numerous media and metal websites and Twitter accounts, the defunct local blackened doom metal band's last CD "Woods V: Grey Skies & Electric Light" posthumously won in the Junos' second-year metal category at last night's private gala dinner (hosted by CBC's Jian Ghomeshi) at The Credit Union Eventplex in Regina, Saskatchewan, winning out over other nominees The Cancer Bats, Castle, The Devin Townsend Project, and Ex Deo. Though video has not yet came out from either the dinner or any pre-/post-gala press events, the award presentation was among the first last night, and the band was represented yesterday by guitarist Joel Violette and late frontman David Gold's family, with David's mother Esther accepting the Juno on their behalf. Among her emotional remarks, she said “I’m speaking to you as a mother with a broken heart”, “Everything that we think, say, feel and do runs parallel with our sorrow", and "He was a beautiful man (and) I miss him dearly” (source here), even getting the crowd to do the devil horns in David's honour!

The win was one of at least two for local musicians at the 2013 Junos, as country singer & Korah graduate Crystal Shawanda won the Aboriginal Album of the Year award last night as well. This is all absolutely huge news for the local metal scene, let alone the music scene, and to me, it's complete vindication of David Gold's work, dedication, talents, and efforts with Woods of Ypres and related ventures since their 2002 launch! It's also proof that more local bands can achieve heights like this, and hopefully this is just added incentive for the current generation of metal acts in the Soo area to keep plugging away and climb to similar heights! It's just a shame David couldn't be in Regina last night with his family and Joel to see the fruits of all of this labour, but I hope somehow, somewhere, he's smiling and showing his happiness and gratitude for this huge honour! That said, I do believe that Woods of Ypres will be acknowledged on air in some form during the live Juno Awards telecast on CTV TONIGHT at 8:00 PM, as the untelevised awards usually are, so keep an eye out just in case there's footage of Esther's acceptance speech!

For now though, click here, here, and here for the best photos I've found of Joel & the Gold family from last night's gala, and if I hear any more substantive fallout (i.e. major news articles, presentation/acceptance speech videos, local media coverage), I'll be sure to let you guys know! Congratulations to David, Joel, and everyone else associated with "Woods V", we're all extremely proud!

We'll close today's post with new videos, starting with a new talent show video from Sault Michigan metal quartet Tantrym Tyme! Uploaded to frontman Jacob Hotlen's YouTube channel last week, this is of the former Abstract playing at the Sault Area Middle School talent show (exact date unknown), and it features them covering Volbeat's "Heaven Nor Hell" and Rise Against's "Make It Stop (September's Children)". Their steady improvement is still very present, and it's cool to see more local bands covering Volbeat, but Jacob's vocals still need some development. His range has improved, but I'm curious to see how the tone of his singing voice sounds when he's a bit older. Solid stuff all around, and hopefully they have a lot more up their sleeves for future gigs and plans! Check out Tantrym Tyme's latest video below, and as a note to the school, good move not having the sound guy behind the band this year!



Finally for today, the full free demo from local/Peterborough hardcore punk project Kidshit has been posted onto YouTube (complete with lyrics) by local punk/metal album uploader Richard Dryfist, so there's another outlet to check out this material! Of course, this is the project featuring Cross Dog mainman/veteran local musician Mark Rᶏnd alongside AlgomA drummer Jamie Vincent, and though I can't confirm yet if Cross Dog are similar sounding (or locally based), this is still some quality furious hardcore that calls to mind Mark's earlier Detroit work! Check out the demo's first song "Heroes & Cops" below, and click here for the rest of the material!



That's likely all for today, but stay tuned for more news this week, including this month's YouTube Channel Profiles TOMORROW and our preview of the Rockstar Bar Battle of the Bands Finals on Tuesday! Thanks everyone!

Woods Of Ypres - "Independent Nature 2002-2007" Review!!

With this year's Juno Awards coming this weekend, and given this band's nomination for Best Metal/Hard Music Album, here's this month's CD review at The Sault Metal Scene, and it's of defunct local black/doom metal band Woods of Ypres' 2009 compilation album "Independent Nature 2002-2007"! The band's only "best-of" collection, "Independent Nature" was released in April 2009 through the band's original independent label Krankenhaus Records. It was their first album release following the band's (and late frontman David Gold's) relocation to Sault Ste. Marie the previous year, their last non-single release through Krankenhaus, and their last CD with a primary black metal influence. The compilation features 4 songs each from Woods of Ypres' first three CDs ("Against the Seasons: Cold Winter Songs from the Dead Summer Heat", "Pursuit of the Sun & Allure of the Earth", and "Woods III: The Deepest Roots & Darkest Blues"), all of which were recorded independently between 2002 & 2007, hence the album's title. Though physically out of print, "Independent Nature 2002-2007" can be purchased on iTunes for $9.99 (or 99¢ a song), while these songs are obviously all available as part of Woods of Ypres' first three albums.

Given that we've reviewed these songs & Woods of Ypres' first three studio albums on here already, I won't re-review them in depth, but I'll link to each song and our prior reviews as we sum up each third of "Independent Nature", so you can hear the songs or read my in-depth thoughts if you want. The first 8 songs on this compilation were recorded in 2002 & 2004 at Spectre Sound Studios in Tecumseh, Ontario, while the last 4 songs were recorded from 2006-2007 at Obsidian Sound & Chemical Sound Studios in Toronto. Only David Gold features on each track, recording drums on all 12, vocals & guitars on the last 8, and bass on the "Woods II" songs, while keyboardist Jessica Rose plays on the final 8. The rest only perform on one album's material, including founding members Brian McManus & Aaron Palmer on the first 4 songs, uncredited performers Connor Sharpe & Steve Jones on the middle 4, and bassist/backing vocalist Dan Hulse on the last 4. Now, let's begin with the songs from Woods of Ypres' first album!

The first four songs on "Independent Nature" consist of an almost-complete reissue of Woods of Ypres' 2002 debut EP "Against the Seasons: Cold Winter Songs from the Dead Summer Heat" (a.k.a. "Woods I"), including the songs "Intro: The Shams of Optimism", "Crossing the 45th Parallel", "The Sea of Immeasurable Loss", and "A Meeting Place & Time", with only "Awaiting The Inevitable" not featured. Black metal purists often point to this as their favourite Woods of Ypres album, but while I do enjoy it, Woods of Ypres evolved and grew a ton in the 9 years that followed, and it has the least in common with their other 4 CDs. The natural and personal feelings of the EP came through really well, and though David wasn't singing yet, Brian McManus & Aaron Palmer handled harsh and clean vocals respectively well, and David's drumming was great! That said, Aaron's bass is sometimes buried, and there are repetitious stretches, especially on "Crossing The 45th Parallel". None of the 5 songs are bad, and they capture early Woods of Ypres well, but I'd personally have swapped "The Sea of Immesaurable Loss" for "Awaiting The Inevitable" on the compilation.

The 5th-8th songs on this CD come from Woods of Ypres' 2004 CD (and first full length album) "Pursuit of the Sun & Allure of the Earth" (a.k.a. "Woods II"), including the songs "The Will To Give", "The Sun Was In My Eyes (Part Doom)", "Allure of the Earth", and "Dragged Across A Forest Floor". I still find that the band sounded more mature, diverse, and better produced on this album (their first with David Gold fronting Woods) than they had on "Against The Seasons", with glimpses of future melodic material and a lot of intricate and heavy elements that added up to an improved sound, but there can be instrument muddling, the lack of guitar solos is still present, and I'd have liked to have heard more keyboard input from Jessica Rose than there is. As for the individual songs, I'd have liked to have seen the empty-sounding "Allure of the Earth" replaced on "Independent Nature" by the first "Sun Was In My Eyes" track (for completeness) or "Shedding The Deadwood" (a better ballad, I find), but these are a definite improvement overall from the "Against The Seasons" material, and fans of early Woods of Ypres should enjoy these four songs!

The last four songs on "Independent Nature" come from the band's last black metal album, 2008's "Woods III: The Deepest Roots & Darkest Blues", with the four selected songs being "The Northern Cold", "Your Ontario Town Is A Burial Ground", "Distractions of Living Alone", and "Thrill of the Struggle", which were (I think) the only songs from "Woods III" to be played at in future Woods of Ypres shows. As I stated when I reviewed the full CD, this is my favourite Woods of Ypres release, and it seems to bridge the gap between the best of their 2000s-era black metal work and their early 2010s doom metal sounds. The four songs on the compilation are all quality heavier choices from "W3", and David's lead vocals & guitar work really broke through here,  but there is some buried elements, and the lack of guitar solos is really noticeable. Songs like "Iron Grudge" or "Through Chaos & Solitude I Came..." would have been welcome selections for the compilation too, but with such a good album, some had to be left out. Ultimately, this transitory album was Woods of Ypres' peak to me, and it caps off a nice quality build on this best-of album!

Overall, "Independent Nature 2002-2007" probably won't be viewed with the same frequency as Woods of Ypres' very different 5 studio releases, but I find that as a compilation, it will continue to serve as a valuable first look into Woods of Ypres early-mid 2000s run as one of Southern Ontario's most promising black metal bands, long before the move north and the shift to doom metal influences. Though I'd have replaced a couple of tracks, there's a quality cross-section of songs from each of Woods of Ypres' first three CDs, and the evolution and maturity of their sound over the first half of their run really comes through as you hit the middle and latter sections of the disc. I almost wonder how it would have turned out if a late 2000s lineup of Woods of Ypres had re-recorded these tracks in a doom metal style (a'la 2008-2011 concerts), but for novices of Woods of Ypres or their black metal work, this is a great way to dip your toe in the water before buying full albums of theirs! Of course, this isn't the album that got Woods of Ypres' it's Juno nomination, but you can see the transition to the sounds and styles that got "Woods V: Grey Skies & Electric Light" to the awards this weekend, and hopefully David & company's hard work & dedication will pay off with a posthumous award on Saturday!

I hope you guys liked this month's CD review, but what's coming up in May? Hopefully a new album review, and though nothing concrete has been announced for a release between now and next month, there are many possibilities that you can read about in our most recent "Where Are The New Albums?" post! The exception to that would be Mike Haggith's newly released solo album "The Present Din", as we're not past our 6 month buffer from our last review of his, but I have that tentatively pencilled in for June. In terms of archive reviews, we will not be looking at a SweetKenny album or one of Woods of Ypres' vinyl singles, as it's too soon from our last reviews of either, but both are possibilities in the fall. Archive review options for next month include albums from Candle Hour, Detroit, Facedown, Foothill Road, and Sykotyk Rampage, plus hypothetical albums that I may get access to/copies of by then, such as As It Stands' first EPs, Infrastrate's CD, and any old cassette albums (like Amethyst's debut or David Gold's old band Proposition 86), but those are all dependent on me getting access to copies. No matter what's coming next, stay tuned for our next local metal/hard rock CD review in late May, and stay tuned for more news this week! Thanks everyone!