New Eastern U.P. Concert Videos, Upcoming Album Notes, And More!!

After a few days of concert reviews, we're back to some news and notes today, including new concert videos from recent Eastern U.P. shows, some upcoming album notes, and some recent feature profile updates, so read on below for what you need to know!

No less than nine videos from Munising, Michigan metal quartet Infathom's set at The Nick Cam Jam at Bay Mills Resort & Casino on Saturday night are now on YouTube for you to check out! Uploaded by attendee Michael Cole onto his YouTube channel this weekend, the videos are of Infathom covering Godsmack's "Whatever" & "Straight Out Of Line", part of P.O.D.'s "Boom", Candlebox's "Far Behind", Drowning Pool's "Bodies", Avenged Sevenfold's "Afterlife", Buckcherry's "Crazy Bitch", Fall Out Boy's "Sugar, We're Going Down", and (as embedded below) Pop Evil's "100 in a 55", so click each link to see each video! Filmed at good angles (if occasionally jittery and blurry), Infathom handle each cover well and with nice energy, with Sault-area native Dillion Semasky impressing vocally, but the Fall Out Boy cover (already a clear outlier) featues bassist Keegan Nebel singing lead. Kudos to Michael for filming all of these, so check them all out above, watch their "100 in a 55" cover below, and hopefully the benefit helped Nick Cameron and his family a lot in this time of need!



Next up, here's a new video from Kinross classic/hard rockers Banned! Presumably coming from one of their dates this past weekend at The Rapids Lounge at the Sault Michigan Kewadin Casino, this is of the guys covering Imagine Dragons' "Radioactive", albeit with a smaller lineup than we've seen in quite a while, with singer Tara Starr and guitarist Denny Smith absent. No word on Denny's status with the band, but I believe Tara (who replaced Mike Straw in the band earlier this year) is definitely out, as videos of songs she sang lead for Banned with (both country covers) have quietly been deleted from their YouTube channel in recent days, and though Banned haven't listed a full lineup on their Facebook page in months, she hasn't been present in public postings since the spring. A reason for her departure hasn't been announced, but hopefully things were amicable, and best of luck to Tara in the future! I would like to have seen Banned leave the videos up, as even if the country covers were an adjustment, that was a talented lineup. With that addressed, how does the new video sound?

If Denny is indeed out of Banned too (I'll let you know if I can confirm that), this marks a reunion of their late 2012 trio lineup, and Alex, Don, and Jim handle this cover well! However, like their earlier cover of "Lonely Boy" (their only remaining video with Tara), it's a cover of a very overplayed recent rock song, and I'd have liked to have seen Banned change it up a bit like Late Shift did this past weekend. Still, it's well performed and Alex Traynor's vocals work pretty good, so check out Banned's cover of "Radioactive" below!



Also for this post, here's some news on upcoming albums from two regional solo artists! First (and keeping with the Sault Michigan-area theme), Dafter solo artist Ken "SweetKenny" Sutton is already prepping his 8th solo album for early next year for a tentative March 2014 release date! To be titled "Ink!", 4 songs are already written for it, and some will be posted online as they're completed, but further details on titles, themes, sounds, and album length are forthcoming. Click here for current details, and if all goes well, it or "Cracks In The Wall" could be reviewed as soon as May! The other album notes relates to Strange Coyotes drummer Mike Haggith's next solo album "A Place Of Our Own" (still tentatively lined up for a February release), as Mike released a tentative track listing for the album (pictured) to his solo project's Facebook page yesterday! Six songs are listed with some creative titles relating to it's central concept, though Mike emphasized that like with his past solo albums, this is subject to likely changes. Stay tuned for updates as they roll in for both Mike and Ken's next albums!

Finally for today, here's the last of our recent updates to our Battle of the Bands Rewind Profiles, mostly related to last week's Viva La Battle! On our Skid Row Battle profile, I edited references to third placers Free Beer's 2013 reunion under the name Sarah's Valley, as I've heard from a few sources (including guitarist Dustin Goodall in person) that they broke up earlier this year after only a few concerts. On our Humane Society Battle profile, I replaced Giwakwa (who no longer feature battle alumni in their active lineup) with new local hard rock quartet Punch (featuring then-Wishbone bassist Steven Flint) in the section on current bands featuring battle performers. Then in our profile of the Battle For The Blood, I added a trivia note to reference Viva La Battle, as even though they shared no common performers, both battles had the same promoter, judging method, and guaranteed opening slot at a major concert. Finally, I'll just add that while I could add things to 4 of our past battle profiles to note withdrawn competitors Keep It Lit, I'll wait until they reveal their identities publically, as they had planned to keep that secret until their debut.

Stay tuned for more updates to our monthly feature series soon (including a pile of Saultites In Out Of Town Bands Profile updates later this month), and of course, keep an eye out for more news and notes! Thanks everyone!

Nick Cam Jam & Biipiigwan Concert Previews, Plus New Sault Michigan Concert Videos!!

At last, here's our last weekend concert preview posts on this very busy weekend in the region for metal/hard rock concerts! Today, we're previewing a second cancer benefit concert featuring local hard rock acts, as well as an anticipated ALL AGES concert in Sault Ontario, but to fill things out, I've also included two new video discoveries from a pair of linked Sault Michigan bands, so read on below for what you need to know!

A very special event is going down at Bay Mills Resort & Casino in Brimley, Michigan (a rare metal-featured concert there) TONIGHT, as Munising metal quartet Infathom and young local metal standouts Tantrym Tyme will be among the bands playing at The Nick Cam Jam! The event (which will be held in the casino's Horizons Conference Center) is in honour of Bay Mills resident Nick Cameron, who's currently battling cancer, so a number of performers are gathering together on Saturday to raise funds and support for his fight, which is awesome of them! Performers will include the aforementioned Infathom (featuring former local metal frontman Dillion Semasky) and Tantrym Tyme alongside local cover rock quartet Chump Change and duo performers Adrian & Taylor Hatfield and Candy & Larry Fultz (unsure of how they sound), while Phoenix Sounds Entertainment (a regional live sound/DJ company) are credited alongside the bands. Admission will be $10, with 50/50 draws and other raffles on hand to raise funds, there is an 8:00 PM start time, and this event has a special younger age limit of 18+.

For more details, visit the official Facebook event page! I don't know Nick, but hopefully the Nick Cam Jam helps him and his family out a lot at this time of need, and there's a solid entertainment lineup in store for what should be an interesting event at a venue we don't cover a lot! I wonder if this will help jump start hard rock shows there? It's awesome to see Infathom back in the area for a second show this year too, so hopefully everything goes well on Saturday, and for a preview, here's Infathom covering Alter Bridge!



Finally for this weekend, a rare public metal concert will hit The Moose Lodge at 543 Trunk Road TOMORROW NIGHT, where Ottawa sludge metal quartet Biipiigwan will finally rock the Soo! Last seen in the district as headliners of a F.A.T.I.L. event in Thessalon in 2011, Biipiigwan (Ojibway for "flute") have a strong local following thanks to their hard hitting extreme metal sound and proud Ojibway heritage, so you know they'll devastate the local stage on Sunday night! The local openers have completely changed since originally announced, but there's solid stuff to go around even still, including local death metal quartet The Bear Hunters (replacing Giwakwa) in their first concert since winning Viva La Battle, and they're definitely riding a wave of momentum right now, so be sure not to miss their brutal set! The opening band will be local grunge duo Bad Back (replacing promoter/frontman Jamie Vincent's sludge trio AlgomA) in their first show in 3 months, and their unique (yet minimal) attack should be a solid fit tomorrow, so come early to see Jamie & Nathan rock out!

Promoted by Jamie and Oh! Right Arm! Promotions, this ALL AGES concert will begin at 8:00 PM tomorrow night at The Moose Lodge (just seconds from The Wellington Square Mall), and admission costs just $5. For more details, visit the official Facebook event page! It's great to finally have Biipiigwan in the Soo tomorrow night, and hopefully there's a solid attendance despite falling right before the work week! Note as well that The Bear Hunters opened for Biipiigwan at the aforementioned Thessalon show, so this could be seen as a partial make-up date if you missed that event! Check the above links for more details, I'll see you guys there, and for a preview, here's Biipiigwan live in Halifax last year!

We'll close today with some new Sault Michigan video finds, starting with a few new Power Slug video discoveries (nice to finally have a few more in good quality!) Courtesy of YouTube user Ernesto Marquez's YouTube channel, these are from one of the pageless hard rock trio's concerts in July at Golanka's Bar (a.k.a. The Bird), and they're of Power Slug covering Puddle of Mudd's "She Hates Me" and (as embedded below) Thin Lizzy's "Jailbreak". Very solid audio quality on these videos, and the band sounds good on each, with Chris Leask making nice use of his vocal range, and he, Bob Helsten, and Chris Gurnoe know the songs well, but the lighting isn't fantastic, and it's hard to make out faces or details of the members (especially Bob.) I can't to be too critical though, as it's been so hard to track down Power Slug footage in general, so I'm just glad to see any! Check out Power Slug covering Thin Lizzy below, and catch them at the St. Ignace Kewadin Casino TONIGHT!



And to close this post, here's a new hard rock cover video from Power Slug drummer Bob Helsten's other recent band project Toast, courtesy of singer Melissa Strand's YouTube channel! Though Toast haven't played live since the summer (with Melissa moving to Ishpeming), a handful of live videos from an acoustic show at (I believe) The Corner Pub Bar & Grill were posted onto her channel in early August, including covers of R.E.M.'s "The One I Love", The White Stripes' "Seven Nation Army", and (as embedded below) Seether's "Gasoline"! Note that as these were acoustic shows, Bob isn't featured, with Melissa joined by guitarist Mike Libertoski & bassist Tony Rogers only. The Seether cover's an interesting adaptation, but they handle it well, and Melissa still has a nice singing voice! Again, the video quality's the problem, as it's from a far dark angle with no attempts to zoom or move, so keep that in mind. Check out Toast's latest videos above and below, and keep an eye out for Mike & Tony's new acoustic band with Tony's former Shift bandmate Amy Beairl on vocals!



That's probably all for today, but I'll hopefully see you guys at The Canadian TONIGHT for the Amy Ellis benefit show featuring The Suicide Kings, the returning Havadder, and the debuting Late Shift! Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERT (Infathom), Haggith Updates, And New Concert Videos!!

As we slowly clear out our news cache, we have another full post to touch on today, including new videos from two big metal shows this fall in the Sault Ontario region, and some updates on a band breakup and members' next plans, but first, here's a LOCAL CONCERT ALERT for later this month!

Munising, Michigan metal quartet Infathom will play their second Soo-area concert of the year when they headline a special benefit event on Saturday, November 23rd at Bay Mills Resort & Casino in nearby Brimley! A rare metal-featured concert at this regional casino, the event (entitled "Nick Cam Jam") is to help raise funds for Nick Cameron, a Bay Mills resident who is currently battling cancer. To help the cause, there will be a 50/50 draw and maybe a raffle, and admission will be $10 at the door, so it's nice to see promoters and the featured artists helping Nick and his family out! Infathom (featuring ex-Half A Man singer Dillion Semasky) will be joined on the lineup by local cover rock quartet Chump Change, young local hard rockers Tantrym Tyme, and duo acts Adrian & Taylor Hatfield and Candy & Larry Fultz, neither of which I'm overly familiar with. The Nick Cam Jam has a special 18+ age limit, and a 9:00 PM start time is advertised. For more details, visit the official Facebook event page!

Hopefully the bands can raise lots of money for Nick and his family, and it'll be nice to have Infathom back in the area again! Them and Tantrym Tyme should give this event a nice heavy kick, so keep it in mind in three weeks, and if updates come in, we'll have them here!

Next up, here's the latest updates relating to the impending (and still surprising) breakup of Sault Ontario grunge/alternative quartet Haggith, courtesy of their Facebook page on Friday! Though a public reason for their coming end still hasn't been made, most of the band's external plans are becoming clearer, and in their most recent Facebook post, they did note that they hope to release their fourth & final studio album on December 7th at their last show at The Algonquin Pub! Entitled "Apocalypse II", it's likely the sequel to their zombie-themed second album from last fall, and it's likely being/already was recorded at PaperClip Productions under the same non-mainline technique, but the only public indication of it prior to Friday was the album cover's reveal in May (it's on your left), so I don't know if sessions are done or still ongoing. The other new news relates to drummer Mike Haggith's next plans, which include preliminary work on his 48th solo album "The Tower", and that he may be drumming with James Watterworth & Chase Wigmore full time going forward, though it's not clear yet whether this is with Project Legion and/or James' solo project.

The post also noted the launch of new local quartet Punch (featuring 2 members of Haggith & The Suicide Kings respectively), though nothing new was stated there beyond what was already public. It's nice to see most of the band staying busy (no word on Caleb Cachagee's next music projects), and Haggith do seem to be going out with a bang on December 7th (similarly to how Bring The Fallen released their EP for their farewell show), but I have to imagine fans still have a lot of questions as to why Haggith are disbanding. Hopefully things are working out how they're intended to, and that the band are doing what's right for them going forward, so stay tuned for updates, and don't miss their second-last gig at The New A on the 22nd!

We'll close today's post with new videos, starting with new footage from last month's Big Loonie Bus Show at La Cucina in Echo Bay, and it's another clip from headliners AlgomA's set! Uploaded to their YouTube channel yesterday, this one actually has two of the sludge/doom trio's songs from that set ("Go On, Git!!!" and "Fell Down A Well"), capped off with a thank you note to the bands who played with them that night, along with a tease that they hope to put on a second Big Loonie Bus Show in Echo Bay in the first quarter of 2014 (i.e. between January & March.) This video shares the same recording quality and angle as most of the other videos from this show, albeit with less intercut photos like in the "Tertiary Syphillis" clip, but the guys sound very brutal and sludgy as we've come to expect this year, so check out AlgomA's newest live video below!



Finally, here's some new videos from Wednesday night's all ages Blood Shed Productions-promoted concert at The Oddfellows Hall! Uploaded to the label's YouTube channel on Friday, these videos (both under 2 minutes long) come from porngrind duo Rotopsy's set, as filmed by an attendee on a cell phone camera, though sadly on the tall vertical angle. These capture their expanded, heavier, and freer flowing live set well, though the lighting can often be dark, so if you missed the show (or prefer Rotopsy live to in studio), check these out! The first (and longer) video is below, the second can be seen at this link, and stay tuned soon for some Facebook exclusive videos!



That's probably all for today, but stay tuned for more news and notes on the site this week! Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERT (Garden Of Bedlam), Their Newest Video, And Lots More!!

In what will likely be our last non-poll/preview/review post for a few days (I'm clean out of back news stories right now), we have some assorted topics and randomness for you guys on this Wednesday morning, including more updates to our monthly CD reviews, some shorter news & notes, a new video from a local metal band, and leading off, a LOCAL CONCERT ALERT for said band's next concert, so read on below for all that you need to know!

Local metal standouts Garden of Bedlam are returning to the stage near the end of the month! Three months since opening for Anvil, the guys will make their first Rockstar Bar appearance since May for a concert on Tuesday, October 30th, which will double as both a Halloween/Devil's Night concert and as an 18th birthday celebration for local music/skate shop The Rad Zone! Awesome to see them still thriving & rocking the Soo, and they're helping present this concert from their friends (and one employee) that should attract a sizeable crowd! Similarly to other Halloween-timeframe concerts in town, there will be a costume contest (and a door prize) with Rad Zone gift certificates at stake, so bring your best costume if you want in on some of the action! Like Garden of Bedlam's previous Rockstar Bar shows, there is no announced opening band, and there will be a 19+ age limit, a $5 cover charge, and a start time likely around 10:00 PM or later. For more details, visit the official Facebook event page!

It's great to see Garden of Bedlam finally back on the local stage, and this adds really nicely to a busy stretch of Halloween shows in town, which (for one weekend at least) will help alleviate the slow stretch of heavier concerts in Sault Ontario! Though it's odd that this isn't on Halloween weekend itself, hopefully Devil's Night is a blast, and I definitely hope to be at The Rockstar Bar on the 30th! Possibly to promote the new show, Garden of Bedlam posted this new drum-cam video onto their current YouTube channel yesterday, and it's of drummer Derek Turner playing "Everything Will Die" during a recent band rehearsal! Great quality, and you get some closer glimpses of Derek drumming than we ever tend to see, but part of me would like to see the full band's angle as well. We'll get our chance on Devil's Night, but before then, check out their new "Everything Will Die" drum-cam video below!



Also, here's three assorted shorter news stories from the last little while, and as always, these are in alphabetical order by band name:

• I've moved Bear Hunters guitarist Mitch Sirie's black metal solo project Eden Plague to our inactive band links due to his deletion of their Facebook page (and impending year's inactivity next week.) Mitch worked on this project for about a year from 2010-2011, and he had some heavy material, but he's focused more on his bands lately, including the yet-revealed Sorrow Fields, another solo project. I like his Eden Plague work, and hopefully Mitch revisits this stuff down the road!
• Eckerman, Michigan metal quartet Life's Eclipse posted another promising instrumental metal demo named "The Beaten, The Fallen, The Mercy" onto their mainman Jason Mills' SoundCloud page last week, so check it out at this location! Very heavy and technical, and it should add well to their newly planned "Dark Kingdom" album when finished, so give it a listen above!
• If you were curious on who the new local band/Dearly Beloved openers The Northern Tragedy were, they're a punk trio featuring Changing Waves bassist Terrence Gomes on drums & vocals alongside guitarist Mike Ivany & bassist Corry Rideout, and they're somewhat similar to Terrence's old Good Morning Gorilla work. Not metal, but their first video has catchy parts, so click here to check it out! Thanks to Terrence for the info! (Note that I don't know if The Northern Tragedy's existence means anything negative for Changing Waves' status.)

And finally for today, here's some more updates to the information and pictures used in our monthly CD reviews! Note that almost all of these include restored or replaced photos to make up for MySpace/Facebook link changes or photo deletions. On our review of Stillbroke's only EP "Never Enough", I edited references to their now-inactive status, the EP being out of print, their later name change to Borderline Divine, and indicating that the only song to survive into the Borderline Divine era was "No Reason". In our reviews of Woods of Ypres' 1st, 2nd, and 4th albums,  I've updated & detailed references to their then-lineups (including frontman David Gold's passing) along with the availability and release statuses of the albums, which are for the most part online-only at the moment. For our review of Detroit's "Brace For Impact" EP, I freshened up some references and reinforced their inactive status and this album's status as their last release, while on our review of Garden of Bedlam's first EP, I noted where you can hear it for free at present, as the band has posted it on some of their pages. Stay tuned for more updates to our monthly CD reviews at some point in the future!

That's all for today, but stay tuned for next month's new poll at the SMS and this month's poll results tomorrow! Thanks everyone!