Today's post is designed to get ourselves caught up on two distinct local solo projects featuring guitarists from past metal bands flexing their solo muscle on original studio material, so here's what you should know from them over the past so many months!
Let's take a long overdue look at recent news & updates from local industrial metal project Molten Imp! Be advised that many of Molten Imp's posts on their Facebook page are vague or cryptic by design, often hinting at general upcoming work moreso than something finite about new material or concert dates or whatnot. Back in November, they teased a "one man electric jam" that has since been deleted from their Soundcloud page, alas, but it would have been interesting to hear! In December, project leader/AlgomA alum Boyd Rendell teased having "a great video call with an old friend about new stuff coming up", and while it may have been for the since released "Pyrolytic Punishment" split with goregrind project Crucify The Whore, I can't 100% confirm that. On January 4th, Boyd did hint that the initial plan for the split was a three-way release also featuring Chase Wigmore, but that obviously didn't pan out.
On January 29th, Boyd revealed that the movie Awakenings inspired AlgomA's old original song "Extinct Volcanoes", and if you know what that movie was about, you'll understand the symbolism! As we alluded to when Mike Haggith launched MorningStar Records in the spring, Molten Imp signed on as one of the first non-Mike acts from the Soo, and on March 8th, they announced plans to release a "double EP" through this imprint in the fall. That season is arguably less than a month away, so we'll have to see if that planned release is indeed still in the cards! Also in the spring, Molten Imp launched an official store (via MySpreadShop, a manufacture-on-demand deal like Redbubble) so you can buy various official fabric items with their new logo. That is pictured here on the cover for their fourth digital single, fittingly named "IV", which came out on their Bandcamp page on April 25th!
Yes, it came out on that day, but it has already been taken down. Why? Because Boyd bundled the songs from all four of their virtual singles onto one compilation album named "Bloom Closing: Singles ('23-'20)" that was released on Bandcamp on May 13th! Yes, this means that "IV" as a standalone digital single was only on the market for a maximum of 18 days, but at least you can still buy it (and more). Mike Haggith equalized the songs for this compilation, and it was hinted that the Bandcamp paid download-exclusive bonus songs are similarly included here. You can buy "Bloom Closing" for $16.75, and if you find that price to be steep, the whole thing can be streamed for free there as well, albeit sans any bonus songs. Boyd also hopes to release "Bloom Closing" on CDs, and he has since confirmed that this will be handled via MorningStar (I don't know if this is the previously teased "double EP" or if plans changed).
Two new electronica songs have been posted to Soundcloud in the last two months, namely the sample-heavy "UVW 'And Another One'" and the more industrial "Bessemer Process", but again, many posts from Molten Imp are cryptic, personal, or vague by design, and often show off Boyd's gear and equipment more than finished products. In a rare Facebook video, however, Molten Imp did sample a newer original song on May 10th with a video pointed at a speaker grill, and it's a fun, in-your-face techno number with a good drum-and-bass element! That is embedded below, but get much more from Boyd's creative blend of industrial metal at the above links, and hopefully we don't fall this behind on Molten Imp again!
Finally, here's the latest from ex-Winkstinger guitarist Jason Ladouceur's solo rap/metal project In The Sun (née Less Than Zero), who we haven't talked about on the SMS in five months, so what have they been up to? Well, in April, they changed their name again, first toying with Broken By Design before settling on Failure To Remain, as per updates to their Bandlab page. Unlike the switch to In The Sun last year, a reason for the name change(s) was not announced, but I do think that Failure To Remain suits Jason's genre better than In The Sun did. New and reworked material has been steadily shared to both the Bandlab page and their YouTube channel in recent months, and on July 21st, Jason compiled 19 original songs as an "album" named "Quantum Affiliation", representing the project's evolution and as "a mix of everything meaningful".
Now, this isn't a pure "album" release, as it is a free download and you can only even get that if you have a Bandlab account, but it is the most convenient place to hear Jason's solo music in one place in the form he currently intends (he has reworked and altered a lot of his songs over these months). Failure To Remain's songs continue mixing rock and rap styles with lots of experimentation and post-production, giving them a unique sound that other local bands really aren't trying (The Apocalypse Afterparty would share the most musical DNA), but Jason's vocals can still lack in force and confidence. Check out Failure To Remain's material above, and here's a solid newer cut, "Occupied Affiliation Creation"!
That's all for today, but stay tuned for more news and notes on the site in the coming days! Thanks everyone!
Apologies for the day's delay, but here's this month's Defunct Local Band Profiles, our first of 2016! Once again, we're looking at 1-2 (two in this case) randomly selected local bands that are either defunct or inactive, in order to spotlight and profile them for current readers! This month's random choices resulted from the first band not having enough info to fill a whole post, so we're doubling up with looks at a rising recent band that never quite got off the ground & a familiar older quartet whose members should be very familiar from their successor band! Read on below for what you should know on each! ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Lift The Broken
Genre:Modern/Hard Rock
Hometown:Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan
Members:
Carol Grover, vocals
Nathan Webber, guitar
Audio/Video: Lift The Broken never posted any public media or concert videos during their active run, and as their members aren't known commodities from other local bands that we've covered, it's hard to gauge how they would have sounded. For reference, Lift The Broken hadn't filled out their lineup with a bassist or drummer at last update, and they cited Skillet, Evanescence, Shinedown, Nickelback, and Three Days Grace as influences.
Info/Analysis: Only briefly active in early-mid 2014, Lift The Broken made their live debut at an open mic night at Biggby Coffee in Sault Michigan on February 24th of that year, but no media followed, and updates occasionally followed until their last post on their Facebook page that July, where they ironically said that they were "back to work". L.T.B. likely fell inactive by year's end, and Carol apparently started college out of town this year. It's hard to know what kind of promise Lift The Broken had, but Facebook posts sounded positive from both them and fans, so hopefully Carol & Nathan stay active musically in some form! ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- OBCD
Audio/Video: Despite playing multiple concerts during their run, OBCD do not have any known surviving videos or other online media. Though 3/4ths of OBCD later regrouped as the goregrind outfit Shit Liver (along with their St. Catherine's folk side project Dirtfight), neither are full punk acts but both do have noted punk influences, and Shit Liver even covered OBCD's original "You Speak Of Weak (And We Don't Care)" often in early concerts. However, Mike & Kristan's prior band Mayadevi were likely the closest match in overall sound to OBCD.
Info/Analysis: Active from August 2007 through at least the fall of 2008, OBCD (short for "obesity") were a young punk quartet who may be most familiar from sets at various Oddfellows Hall concerts of that period, opening for the likes of The Rebel Spell, The UK Subs, and The Flatliners. Last playing at the Farrell Brothers concert in July 2008, the guys (save for Kristan) regrouped more successfully as Shit Liver in 2010, with Matt moving to the drums. OBCD obviously had promise, and hopefully some media of theirs turns up down the road, but as we've seen, goregrind has served the guys well since! Be sure to follow Matt, Josh, and Mike's current bands! ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- I hope you guys liked this month's Defunct Local Band Profiles! Next month in this series, we'll return to one band profiles with what should be a big installment, as our latest random selection has gifted us with Lion Ride, the 2007-2012 punk/metal band featuring a host of familiar faces from the local punk scene! Look for this profile on or around February 10th, and stay tuned for more news and notes in the coming week & beyond! Thanks everyone!
We're back for a surprise second post today, as we have SHORT NOTICE LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS to take note of, but be sure to check out this morning's Emergency Festival preview post (with notes on the Downtown Association surviving) in the post below this one! Today's second post also has new Rockstar Bar-related videos, and a bunch of notes regarding bands moved to our inactive band links, so here's what you should know! (Updated on Saturday at 12:19 AM)
Sault Michigan classic/hard rock quartet Highway 63 will return to The Satisfied Frog for concerts TONIGHT & TOMORROW NIGHT! Apologies for the very short notice, the band only announced the shows on their Facebook page yesterday, and The Satisfied Frog doesn't have their own Facebook page (that I know of) to plug concerts. After taking almost a month off, these will be Highway 63's first local concerts outside of the Kewadin Casino umbrella since their Frog debuts in early April, and hopefully they can keep the good will going with another entertaining weekend of hard rock classics! There's no announced cover charges this weekend, you must be 21 to attend, and 9:00 PM start times are likely. Check the above links for more details, and for a preview, we have a new Facebook video to share of the Monkey's Uncle/Sir Charge successors in action, so what should you know about it?
Filmed by attendee Wendi Clement and shared by the band on their Facebook page, it's of the Switzers and company covering Boston's "Peace of Mind" as their closing song at The Rapids Lounge at the Sault Michigan Kewadin Casino on July 18th. Sadly, it's not of the full song, but you get the unique visual of the band getting closer and closer in view as Wendi approached the stage early on, and it's a solid cover of this classic rock standard! Give it a look below, and don't miss Highway 63 at The Frog TONIGHT & TOMORROW NIGHT!
Next up, the newest episode of Local2's music webseries Tuned with Donna Hopper is now online, as she was there for the mayhem at last month's SNFU concert at The Rockstar Bar! Bookended and interspersed with video footage of SNFU's set during this Gonqshow event, Donna interviews SNFU founder & frontman Ken Chinn (a.k.a. Mr. Chi Pig), who reveals that he's actually watched Tuned episodes in the past! The interview itself features discussion about how he feels about seeing himself on video, and his thoughts of the documentary "Open Your Mouth and Say... Mr. Chi Pig", but it's less of an interview and more of a candid conversation that, while polite and fun to listen to, does contain some adult language. Of course, there's bloopers during the credits, and it's a fun watch, so give it a look at the above links! Remember, I can't embed the episode here, as Local2's video host doesn't allow external embedding.
Note that three other recent Tuned episodes are from the Northern Lights Festival Boreal in Sudbury and don't contain local bands, a point that Donna asks the organizer about in this episode, so give that and others a look also, but note that this festival isn't known for being a metal or punk hotbed.
Also today, here's a new Facebook video from newer local pop punk quartet Stereo North! As uploaded to their Facebook page, this is of the guys playing their original "Fall Before Me" at The Rockstar Bar, on August 8th, though there was some initial confusion regarding the filming date, as their Facebook page says it was posted at noon that same day, hours before the show took place. Well, it turns out that the video was filmed at last week's concert, and was posted on Wednesday, but the band gave it a retroactive date of the 8th for one reason or another. Thanks to Blair Burch of Project 421 (who also played that night) for clearing up the confusion! As for the video itself, it's got solid quality and the band sounds good, but it was filmed on a very high stationary camera that didn't have the stage at a center angle, so it's not the optimal viewpoint for the performance (and the black & white backdrop is a remnant of the previous night's Rockstar Republic event.) Still, give this new Stereo North video a look below, and stay tuned for more from them!
Finally for today, here's three assorted shorter news items, all related to Sault Michigan-area bands that we've moved to our inactive band links due to a year's inactivity (there's more to come too.) As usual, these are in alphabetical order by band name:
We've moved Sault Michigan alternative hard rock trio Division of Sanity to our inactive band links, as they have not posted a public update on any of their pages since plugging their Sault Summer Arts Festival set on August 5th of last year. Active since 2012, Division of Sanity released some demos and played frequently at special outdoor events, and though I'm not sure what happened to them, they had a unique sound that was a nice change of pace! Hopefully the guys turn up again soon, and best of luck to Caine, Myke, Gabe, and other former members!
Also moved to our inactive band links is Drayton Fever, the Soo/Paradise-based thrash solo project from Half A Man alum Doug Reed, as they haven't been the subject of any new postings or media since label Werehold Records' Friday the 13th postings last June. Active off & on since 2008, Doug had good ideas and talent to take Drayton Fever far, with brutal demos to boot, and hopefully he revisits the project down the road!
And we've also moved local hard rock duo Lift The Broken to our inactive links, as they haven't posted on their Facebook (and only online) page since last July, ironically in a status that said they were "back to work." A young band that was only around for a few months, they played at least one open mic set at Biggby's Coffee in Sault Michigan, but nothing major followed. Hopefully Carol & Nathan stay active in music, their postings seemed encouraging!
That's all for today, but stay tuned for more news and notes soon, and remember not to miss The Emergency Festival! Thanks everyone!
Before we begin this post, I wanted to apologize for two short notice hard rock cover shows last night that we didn't have time to plug on the site proper, as Mourning WoodandHavadder played at The Rockstar Bar (in their debut at that venue) and The Rednecks Saloon respectively. Both shows were only announced on their Facebook pages yesterday afternoon/evening, and while we plugged both on our Facebook page, we couldn't rush a post to plug them both on here last night. I apologize again, but hopefully they were hits, and if we had advance notice of either, we'd have mentioned them on the site, 100%! Now, today's post features a recent interview, concert videos, and a new local band, so here's what you need to know!
We have a new Sault Michigan hard rock band to add to our band links (great to see), and they are a young duo named Lift The Broken! I don't know a ton about them, but their lineup includes singer Carol Grover and guitarist Nathan Webber, neither of whom I'm familiar with from past local bands. Launched by at least February of last year, Lift The Broken debuted with a set (likely at an open mic night) at Biggby Coffee in the Soo on the 24th of that month, but updates to their Facebook page were slow after that, and the band hasn't posted since July 24th when they promised that they were "back to work." It's entirely possible that L.T.B. have broken up since, but we're not at a year's inactivity yet, so we'll treat them as active for now. There's no media samples of Lift The Broken online that I've found, but they draw influence from bands like Evanescence, Shinedown, Three Days Grace, and Skillet, so they likely have a modern hard rock sound.
From what I've read, Lift The Broken sound promising, but given their recent break and the lack of a bassist & drummer, there's work to be done if they're still an active project. If we hear more from this band, we'll let you know, but they are now in our active Sault Michigan band links!
Next up, here's a pair of videos from Blood Shed Productions' Boxing Day house party that are finally on the site! Just for the sake of mentioning it on here first though, Brutally Fatal did not play that show (as per their Facebook page), and while they didn't state why, note that drummer Tyler Gibson played with his other live bands that night, including with the goregrind duo Rotopsy, who were filmed by an attendee playing their song "Cops 'N Moms"! This was uploaded to the Blood Shed YouTube channel the next day. Though the lighting is dim, this video does capture the raucous atmosphere well during this newer original, and it's a fun performance of one of Rotopsy's more accessible (and amusing) originals, so give it a look below!
The other new video from the Boxing Day house party show is of Tyler's Crucify The Whore solo project playing one of their originals, but we won't give it's name here due to it being potentially offensive. Despite being from the same show, it was filmed on a stationary camera at a distance, and with poor lighting (save for Christmas lights), there's basically nothing to see unless a mosher has a white shirt on. The audio is reliable enough for goregrind fans, so give the video a listen below!
Finally for today, we have a new interview with local sludge/doom metal trio AlgomA to check out, this time from Robex Lundgren's Musik Blogg out of Sweden (though you won't need a translator, the interview is in English!) Conducted specifically with frontman Kevin Campbell at some point late last year, the lengthy interview features him answering questions relating to AlgomA's formation, ambitions, sound, influences, favourite shows & concerts, future plans, and more, and while it's light in tone, it's in-depth and will be very informative for AlgomA fans! In terms of scoops for future plans, Kevin didn't spill much, but he did indicate that they're focusing on songwriting and recording over the winter, but they plan on playing and touring again in the spring. Solid promotion and press for the guys, and hopefully we hear lots more from AlgomA in the new year, so give the full interview a look at this link or above!
That's all for today, but stay tuned for more news and updates very soon! Thanks everyone!
