Garden Of Bedlam Updates, Shaw TV News, And Much More!!

Let's get some more news going on the site today, and it's a mix of things from changes to band links and profiles on the SMS to a new video from a local project to two very cool Garden of Bedlam-releated stories from the last little while, so let's get this post going!

If you're still anxiously awaiting the release of Garden of Bedlam's full length album "Everything Will Die", maybe this image will build some more anticipation! It was posted onto their Facebook page last night, and though not a lot is said, it seems self-explanatory. I'd assume that the image either is the album's cover or contains elements of it, and the date of December 26th seems to imply what you're probably thinking it implies. That said, if "Everything Will Die" does indeed come out on Boxing Day, what are the specifics? That, I don't know. I'd assume that the album will come out on CD format with a likely mp3 release on iTunes or similar stores around the same time, and it should have at least 9 songs. The Rad Zone would be a likely local retail outlet to sell it, and a CD release show tied in would make sense, but all we have publically available is this image and the date upon it as of right now. I'm definitely excited to finally have Garden of Bedlam's first full length album in my possession after over a year of waiting, but there's still details to come, so stay tuned for the SMS as soon as more official word on it's release comes out, but circle Boxing Day on your calendars!

Also in Garden of Bedlam related news, the band (save for Josh Belleau) are featured in a new Shaw TV interview piece by Christian Lemay (who previously did pieces on As It Stands & Dismembertainment), and this time, it focuses on local music/collectibles store The Rad Zone in the Wellington Square Mall! The bulk of the interview focuses on Rad Zone owner Paul Muncaster, who talked in detail about The Rad Zone's beginnings, it's connections with the local community, and yes, their support of local music and what they do and offer to local bands, and it's great to see him show this much support so well over the years! He seemed friendly and humble, and the Shaw TV crew got some great interior shots of The Rad Zone, along with comments from local photographer Rob Majury (who's done photography work for them) and members of Garden of Bedlam (including bassist & Rad Zone employee Evan Belleau.) They outlined their support and praise of Paul and The Rad Zone for what they've done for the band and the local music scene, along with some news relating to what Garden of Bedlam merchandise you can buy in-store. It's a very nice and complementary interview with all parties, so definitely check it out wherever you can!

So when can you see this interview? As of today, it's running about once every 24 minutes, so it's not rigidly placed enough to give a real time to see it. For reference, it comes on after a piece on a local 102 year old woman and a Shaw TV commercial, and it's about 5 minutes long. Apparently, it's been running on channel 10 (Shaw cable users only) since Monday, but I only just heard about the interview the other day, and I sincerely apologize for being late to get the word out on the SMS. It's a great video on an awesome store that gives 110% to the local music community, and definitely check it out while it's still on rotation! I believe it will be off air by Monday, but it should be posted on Shaw TV's website early next week for about a week, and hopefully for the Christmas season, I'll have a copy to post on YouTube for a present! Stay tuned, and check out the Rad Zone/Garden of Bedlam interview video on channel 10 A.S.A.P., and kudos to Christian for another quality piece!

Next up, ApocalyptiCDistroyeR frontman Jesse Middaugh uploaded another solo performance video onto the band's YouTube channel yesterday, and it's basically a more refined version of his acoustic song "You Mean The World To Me" that he posted last month. The lyrics are still a bit repetitive, and Jesse's tone is grittier than the song probably needs, but it's not a bad softer track, if atypical from much of ApocalyptiCDistroyeR's past output. Give it a look below, along with much more solo and band material at the above links!



And finally for today, here's three assorted shorter stories related to site changes and band link adjustments, and as usual, these are in alphabetical order by band name:

• I've removed the defunct Sault Ontario hardcore band BeeFMoutH from our Inactive Local Band Links because the page I linked them with (a YouTube channel under the BeeFMoutH name) isn't really a "band page", so to speak. They were entertaining with a unique edge though, so check out some of their posted videos at the above link!
• I'll likely be moving Sault Michigan solo metal project BlisteringBane to our Inactive Local Band Links tomorrow due to a year's inactivity. Bandleader Jordon Jones hasn't updated the project's MySpace page since a year ago tomorrow, when he implied a hiatus for the project anyway due to losing "the stuff" to make more music. Disappointing, but hopefully Jordon reemerges musically down the road!
• I've edited our Defunct Local Band Profile on local hardcore quartet Detroit to reflect the fact that guitarist Curtis Faux has since joined frontman Brenton Ellis in the active Toronto hardcore punk band Maximum RNR, a fact I alluded to on the site last month as well. Not a huge change, but I thought I'd mention it, and check out Maximum RNR at the above links for an extension of the Detroit sound!

That's all for now, but stay tuned for our next Defunct Local Band Profiles on Garage Inc. & Savage Roar tomorrow, and more news this weekend hopefully! Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERT (Palms To The Sky), Plus Additions & Removals To Our Band Links

Happy Saturday, metalheads! We have another big post today, including three three bands removed from our band listings and three brand new additions, but kicking things off, a LOCAL CONCERT ALERT!! Here's what you need to know!

Two weeks ago, I first alerted you guys to a potential upcoming hardcore concert featuring Saskatoon metalcore band Palms To The Sky and Ottawa breakcore rockers The Breathing Apparatus. They needed a booking then for this show, part of their "WinTour Sucks" tour, and now they have it! On December 17th (one week from Friday), both of these talented hardcore bands will make their way to Foggy Notions for this hard hitting concert! A 10:00 PM start time is listed on the Facebook event page, there's no announced cover charge, and you must be 19 to attend this show. It's also interesting to note that Mike Gaetano, a former concert booker from The Other Place (now GLOW) is putting this show on! Nice to see him booking again, I remember him bringing some great bands to town a few years back! It's great to see these bands get a finalized concert in town, their hardcore sound will be sure to attract many fans to Foggy's on the 17th! Check out both bands and more concert details at the above links, and thanks to Mike for alerting me to this confirmed concert! Also note that on the event page, Mike alludes to a Garden of Bedlam concert at Foggy's on December 18th. I won't report this as confirmed until either the band or the venue do, but let me just say that there is something to that statement. I'll keep you posted!

Now, we'll discuss three newly found local bands! All are from Sault Michigan, two are older, one is new, and the new one links with an older one! Here's what you should know!

Firstly, it's the new solo project from Sault Michigan metal guitarist Nathan Switzer! You may recognize him from his work in the local metal bands Analog Deficiency, Traces, and Deprecor (more on them in a second), along with the fact that he's the son of Monkey's Uncle frontman Henry Switzer. Well, with updates on his bands slowing in recent months, it's nice to know he's still active in the local scene, thanks to this very new project of his! Nathan's playing instrumental progressive metal in his solo work, and is apparently hoping to release a solo album entitled "Life" in the future. He's currently writing original material towards that goal, with current song titles including "The Beginning", "First Breath", and "The End". Might this be a concept album detailing the progression of a person's life? Time will tell! We haven't heard much on the project since mid-November, but Nathan has uploaded two solo originals onto his official SoundCloud page! I have to say, I'm impressed so far! He's got a firm grasp of his instruments, he's playing at a very proficient level, and the production is surprisingly good! "The End" is especially heavy and technical, while "The Beginning" shows a nice melody and it's own heaviness! I can't wait to hear more, Nathan's solo work is very promising! Check out the above links for more!

While we're on the subject of Nathan Switzer, I came across another old band of his on MySpace! Entitled Deprecor, they only appeared to be active in February 2008, but played a style of industrial death metal. Nathan covered guitars while "T.J." played bass and drums. I'm not entirely sure who T.J. is, so if you can fill me in, e-mail me! Apparently, Deprecor formed out of boredom, and the band hoped to write heavy and melodic metal from varying influences. Honestly, their profile is pretty sparse (can't say if it's their fault or the new MySpace layout's), but one thing makes it worth posting on the SMS: A song! Entitled "Break", you can stream it on their MySpace page, and it has promise itself! It's slightly repetitive, but the riffing's solid and if expanded on, it could be a great base for a metal song! Quality's good too, Nathan has a good ear for home recording quality! Check the above links for more on Deprecor, who are now in our SMS band links as well!

The final new band that we have to share today is BlisteringBane, a solo death metal project out of nearby Kincheloe, Michigan! Active since August, the sole member of BlisteringBane is local musician Jordon Jones, who supplies all instruments on his original material. He's influenced by everyone from Slipknot to The Smashing Pumpkins, and has 10 original songs uploaded on this project's MySpace page! The recording quality isn't sparkling, but Jordon has talent! He has some good riffing talent, and the addition of keyboards on some songs is interesting, but a lot of the BlisteringBane songs sound very similar, and have a few too many sections where it feels very empty except for the guitar playing. His singing, what little of it we get, needs work too, though I think on songs like "Look Into My Eyes", he does succeed at a more experimental sound! I think Jordon does have promise, and it'd be interesting to hear these songs with better production and a fuller more fleshed out sound! Check out BlisteringBane at the above links!

And finally for today, I have deleted a handful of bands from our band links. Do you remember late last month when I mentioned that MySpace had converted all profiles on the site to the new layout, regardless of existing themes or preference for the old style? Well, for the most part, this didn't affect band specific materials beyond custom themes, but some bands have seen their profile hit harder than others. In the past, I've only added bands to our links that had were currently active, had audio/video material, sufficient bio information, and/or professional-looking page design elements. That being said, after looking at older MySpace pages of defunct local bands recently, I've found a few defunct/inactive band profiles that are just too bare and lacking compared to the vast majority of other bands we list on the SMS. This is partly because of their old profiles being crippled by the new MySpace layout, but their sound descriptions and lack of qualitative information were major too. With that said, I have removed these three defunct local bands from our listings: the local hardcore bands 9MM of Hate and Bloodshed At Dawn, and local metal trio Eyes Set Fire. No offense is meant to the members or fans of these three bands, there just isn't enough information or material there for them to be worth keeping on the SMS. There might be more coming, so keep an eye out!

That's all for tonight, but I will have more news and notes very soon, and yes, our next CD review will be over the coming week at some point! Stay tuned for more!