New Karstens Videos, A New Solo Cover Video, And Much More!!

Today's news post continues our recent increase in Sault Michigan-area coverage, so make that 6 posts in 10 to touch on at least 50% E.U.P. stories! Along with lots of assorted news stories and a new cover video, we have lots of new videos from a recent band discovery, so here's what you should know!

Though still lacking a formal band page, newer Sault Michigan alt-metal group The Karstens have launched their own YouTube channel! Already five videos strong and including our first public glance at original material, it's great to get so much new material so soon, but what's here? The channel includes a cover of The Animals' "We Gotta Get Out Of This Place" live at Pickles Bar & Grill in Brimley (from the same filmer of their earlier Flipper cover), a guitar-less audio recording of their original "Indian Money", and this amusing clip showcasing The Karstens working "behind the scenes" of music video shoots. Yes, I meant music videos, as they have two posted there, namely "Indian Money" in full, and as embedded below, "Dissatisfaction". The former contrasts the slower & more deliberate song with a light, tongue-in-cheek video featuring the band happily playing instruments in & outdoors, and even tracking a song with a joystick?!

As for "Dissatisfaction", it's more of a lo-fi original (the band jokingly noted that it was "recorded with a potato") and features the core three members playing outside in various locales, even if not always seemingly to the track in question, though this video's filming was the source of the "behind the scenes" clip. The Karstens' originals (as presented here, at least) lack the spontaniety and aggression of their live covers, but they're a nice change of pace and a welcome addition to the Sault Michigan-area scene, so give their new YouTube videos a look above & below!



Next up, here's the newest solo guitar cover video from Stegadeth guitarist Tiffany Stocco's YouTube channel! A cover of "Fate" by SNFU (who she has opened for with Jack Spades), the cover is visibly well performed, but the audio quality isn't great, with her playing sounding tinny through this camera. Check out Tiffany's newest cover below, and don't miss Stegadeth TOMORROW NIGHT at Live705's January Jam at The Canadian!



Finally for today, here's six assorted shorter news items from the last while, half from Sault Ontario and half from Sault Michigan! As usual, these are in alphabetical order by artist, event, or company name:

• Local doom metal trio AlgomA acknowledged on their Facebook page on New Year's Day that their upcoming split vinyl EP with Hooded Menace has been delayed, and while they didn't elaborate on why, they did note that "2017 is going to be savage." The status also plugged an article by the metal website No Clean Singing that same day where contributor "Islander" praised the cover art and the teased songs so far, and it's worth a look in the meantime!
• Inactive Strongs, Michigan metal solo project East Branch is back in our band links! Their Facebook page was quietly de-activated in late 2014, but it was restored and made public again earlier this month, complete with a new post linking to a song posted on YouTube in January of that year. As a result, that's not truly a "new" update, so they'll stay in our inactive band links for now, but might J.R. have some new music up his sleeves? Stay tuned!
• In a minor update to our links section, we have changed the link for local music instruments/lessons store Grooves Music from their website (whose domain name has expired) to their Facebook page. Grooves is the only music instruments store in Sault Michigan, and one of few places there that carry local musicians' CDs, so don't miss it at 540 Ashmun Street! Also, note that Tantrym Tyme's Jacob Hotlen is teaching guitar there again.
• Local classic/hard rock cover quartet Highway 63 clarified their break from the stage this month on their Facebook page last week, with frontman Henry Switzer (I believe) noting that the break is to allow him to heal up from a heart infarction that he had a few weeks ago. This is the first we've heard about it, but his health comes first, so hopefully he rests up and comes back even stronger next month!
• Gates of Winter bassist Steve Furgiuele is featured in this new SooToday article by Darren Taylor about his growing culinary career and current work in Edmonton as owner of his own cured meat company Fuge Fine Meat. The article also briefly mentions his Gates of Winter work, noting that he and his wife Mariana first met because she was a Gates fan. Great read, and it's awesome to see that Steve has found so much personal success! For what it's worth, he's quoted there noting that he was in Gates of Winter. Does the past tense mean anything?
• A third annual chili cook-off in support of the Ride For Sight blindness charity motorcycle rally will be held at The Garden River Community Centre on February 25th, but this year, Stiffler's Mom will not be the evening's musical performers for the first time. Instead, singer/drummer Greg Simpson's country cover band Bone Yard will step in, but at least Greg is still playing, and hopefully Bone Yard keep things hot like the chili next month! For reference, Redundant frontman Justin Langlois & his wife Monique are back this year among the competitors.

That's all for today, but in case there's not a new post tomorrow, we'll see you guys at The Canadian for The January Jam! Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (Mourning Wood) & Sault Ontario Weekend Concert Previews!!

For our first of two weekend concert preview posts this weekend (segmented by each half of the Twin Saults), we're taking a look at this weekend's currently announced hard rock and punk shows in Sault Ontario, including SHORT NOTICE LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS for this weekend, so here's what you should know!

Local classic/hard rock trio Mourning Wood will return to the stage this weekend for two shows THIS SATURDAY NIGHT at different venues! Apologies for the short notice, the guys only announced these shows earlier today via their Facebook event page. After taking the holiday weekend off, the guys will return to The New American Pub for the first time in over two months to start their busy Saturday at 6:00 PM, which does seem very early, but this has been the standard start time for their New A appearances, so it's not odd if you've seen them there. After that show wraps up, the guys will head west to The Rednecks Saloon to kick off an abbreviated nighttime set that will start there at 11:00 PM, so if you want to see Mourning Wood, you have two options on Saturday! That said, no word on why they're not playing either venue tomorrow night. Neither has an announced cover charge, and you must be 19 to attend.

For more details, visit the above links! This is a unique situation to see Mourning Wood play two concerts in one night, but I did assume this could happen given how early their New A shows have always been. Hopefully they deliver solid hard rock action at both venues THIS SATURDAY, so keep them in mind, and here's the guys at Toystock last fall!

Moving to previously announced concerts, we'll head to The Rockstar Bar next for the first of two multi-band shows at the venue this weekend, as three Tidal Records-affiliated bands will take the stage for a night of punk and alternative intensity! TOMORROW NIGHT's show will be headlined by newer local punk(?) quartet The Cover Up (featuring Rising Tide, Lion Ride, Bankshot, and Room 206 alumni) in their second announced public concert, and while I can't confirm anything regarding their sound, they have a very promising and talented lineup that fans should take to! They'll be joined by Cover Up member Clint Wilson's former indie/punk band Northwest (in their first show of the year) and rising young alternative/grunge trio The Pixo Control (in their first ever Rockstar Bar appearance), and both should be quality compliments for a very promising concert! This 19+ concert has a likely 10:00 PM start time, and while there's no announced cover, bring at least $5 just in case.

For more details, visit the above links! This sounds like an entertaining concert for punk fans to check out, and there's plenty of established and upcoming talent to take in from all three bands, so be sure to keep this concert in mind in your weekend concert plans! In lieu of a Cover Up video (hopefully they get more of an online presence soon), here's footage of Northwest live last year!



In a brief detour from The Rockstar Bar, we'll head central to The Harp Bar & Grill, as local hard rock solo artist Tym Morrison is scheduled to return to the former Madison's Pub for solo acoustic concerts TOMORROW & SATURDAY NIGHT! Though yet to be announced on Facebook, his website's calendar does list shows for this weekend, so we'll treat them as on unless there's an announcement to the contrary. Returning to his usual double set of concerts after only playing once last weekend due to a outside booking, you can take in Tym's entertaining and varied acoustic covers via tomorrow's jam night that he hosts and Saturday night's regular solo concert, with both taking place at 10:00 PM with 19+ age limits and no announced cover charges. For more details, visit the above links, don't miss Tym's newest Harp shows this weekend, and here he is at Mill Square!



Finally for our Sault Ontario previews, we'll head back to The Rockstar Bar for one more show THIS SATURDAY NIGHT, as local funk/hard rock quartets The Elements and Late Shift will join forces! Making their first public concert appearances of the year, this will also be one of our first chances to see the bands' new original songs (The Elements have teased debuting 2 on Saturday), and if you're a fan of the band members' work from bands like Winkstinger, Redundant, Redefined, and Northwest, you'll probably have a great time with The Elements & Late Shift's covers and originals on Saturday! Like with tomorrow's Cover-Up headlined show, there is a 19+ age limit in effect, no announced cover charge (but have cash on hand just in case), and an announced 10:00 PM start time. For more details, visit the official Facebook event page! This sounds like a fun concert in it's own right, and it's great to see original hard rock and punk bands all weekend at The Rockstar Bar, so don't forget about either show, and here's The Elements live at Rock For Dimes!



That's all for today, but stay tuned for Sault Michigan and any potential late notice concert previews TOMORROW! Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERT (The Cover Up), Telephone & Address Updates, And Much More!!

With a new week upon us, let's keep the news rolling, so what's in store today? Upcoming album updates, some unique new videos from bands on each side of the border, and leading off, a LOCAL CONCERT ALERT, so here's what you should know!

Three local punk/alternative bands will share the stage THIS FRIDAY at The Rockstar Bar, with newer local punk(?) quartet The Cover Up headlining! In case you don't know, they are the new band from Rising Tide frontman Dustin Jones, ex-Lion Ride guitarist Marco Pedalino, Late Shift bassist Clint Wilson, and Room 206 alum Mike Yorke, and while I don't think they have an online page yet, you may remember them from December's Tidal Records Christmas concert, and I believe they more or less replaced the similar Wing-Its. Strong lineup, and it will be interesting to hear how they do in their second public show! Clint's old indie/punk band Northwest will also return to The Rockstar Bar on Friday for their first show of the year, and they should put in an entertaining set of their own! This concert will be opened by rising young grunge/alternative trio The Pixo Control in their first ever Rockstar Bar appearance, and fresh off of opening for Treble Charger, you know they'll be riding high on Friday night!

Announced on The Pixo Control's Facebook page yesterday after earlier personal Facebook posts by performers, this show has a likely 10:00 PM start time, no announced cover charge, and a 19+ age limit. For more details, visit the above links! This sounds like a quality concert for punk and Tidal Records fans, so keep it in mind for THIS FRIDAY, and remember, The Elements & Late Shift rock The Rockstar Bar themselves on Saturday night!

Next up, here's the latest from local grunge/lo-fi punk solo project Telephone & Address, who have revealed more on their next studio album! Yesterday on their Facebook page, project mainman Chris Shoust revealed the physical album cover (pictured) and track listing for their next CD "Rust Orchid" via new photos, so what do we know? The artwork doesn't reinvent the wheel from his last few albums (cardboard packaging, silkscreened art), though this likely won't be the exact artwork for digital copies on Bandcamp. Physical CDs are only available in a limited print run of 50 copies like usual, but what songs are featured? In listed order (and yes, half of them are titled by a number), the included tracks are "One", "Abstract Poem", "Factory Song", "Slow Timed No Time", "Five", "Looking Glass", "Seven", "Eight", "Nine", "Traffic", "Eleven", "Twelve", "Thirteen", "Plumbers", "Sunrise", and "Sunset", three of which have been previewed on Soundcloud.

Planned to be an experimental rock album (and possibly all instrumental), a release date is yet unannounced for "Rust Orchid", but for reference, last year's "Need Not Apply" was launched at a Telephone & Address concert, so might we be on wait for his next one? We'll keep you posted, but find out more on "Rust Orchid" at the above links!

Also today, here's a new Facebook video from Sault Michigan classical metal trio Theatre of Night, as shared from keyboardist Craig Harrison's personal Facebook page yesterday! The 33 second video is of Craig writing new drum parts for an new original song using a computer program (remember, original drummer Greg Giles left last year), and while it's not representative of how the full song will sound, it's a nice preview and sounds well written! Give it a look below, and hopefully we hear more soon!



Lastly today, we were going to share a new video from Kinross, Michigan hard rockers Banned on here that they shared on their Facebook page from a personal account, but for me at least, it's not viewable (it might have privacy settings so non-friends can't see it.) In it's place, here's a brief new video from the aforementioned Pixo Control's Instagram page, which the guys have teased will include more teasers into their debut CD's recording process. This video is extremely brief, but it captures some of the goings-on backstage at the Treble Charger concert last weekend, giving us a unique look at a different aspect of a local concert (including a cameo by The Lake Effect's Jay Case, a British accent, and shots of the food.) Give it a look below, and stay tuned for much more from The Pixo Control in the coming weeks, including their Bare episode!

Backstage...

A video posted by The Pixo Control (@thepixocontrol) on Feb 6, 2015 at 4:32pm PST

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

Boxing Day Weekend Concert Previews!!

Merry Christmas to all of our readers, or Happy Holidays if you prefer! In our first of two posts on this Christmas day (auto-posted due to spending time with the family, of course!), we have the first of the Boxing Day weekend concert previews, and for the curious, we'll touch on the Highway 63 shows and the recent major Bon Soo concert announcement later today. Also, if you're curious, Tym Morrison is not playing at The Harp this weekend (at least, not according to his website), presumably for a holiday break, but we'll touch on his January shows soon! Now, here's what you should know regarding three different Boxing Day events TOMORROW NIGHT in Sault Ontario!

We'll begin our previews at The Rockstar Bar, who will host local/Toronto Celtic punk quartet Dustin Jones & The Rising Tide for one last time in 2014 TOMORROW NIGHT! Making their third local stop of the month (after sets at The Rankin Arena and at last week's Tidal Records Christmas show), this popular union of Inner City Surfers and Boot Hill Crooners alumni should be in fine form to deliver some post-Christmas original entertainment on Boxing Day, and perhaps some select covers? Speaking of which, Dustin's new local band The Cover-Up (featuring Lion Ride, Room 206, and Northwest alumni) have been named as late openers after numerous fan requests following their debut last weekend, so come early to take in their set! Also, I will note that a Rockstar Bar Facebook group post from Thin Ice frontman Nathan Albidone implies that the popular country cover band will be playing there on Friday, though it remains to be seen if that is incorrect, a matinee, or if both shows will occur simultaneously with one downstairs at The Algonquin Pub.

We'll let you guys know if we hear anything! In any event, this show will take place on Friday night at around 10:00 PM, you must be 19 to attend, and a $5 cover charge is likely. For more details, visit the above links! Dustin and the Tide's nicely blended mix of Celtic and folk rock with modern punk should be a holiday treat once again for punk fans, so be there TOMORROW, and here are the guys live a few years back!



Next up, we'll head to The Rednecks Saloon, where local hard rock quartet Beaumont Avenue will make their long awaited return to the stage TOMORROW NIGHT! The first of two shows over the holidays for the former Suicide Kings, we haven't seen Beaumont Avenue in concert since August due to drummer Ben Boudreau's out of town school commitments, and while fans could have seen the rest of the guys in the interim with Urawk, I know many miss their full original concert experience, so look for their own songs from their forthcoming debut CD and a solid cover base TOMORROW (and remember, they'll be at The Rockstar Bar next weekend too!) Their Boxing Day show tomorrow should start at around 10:00 PM, there is no cover charge, and you must be 19 to attend. For more details, visit the official Facebook event page! It's great to see Mike, Steven, Mitch, and Ben back in the saddle together (and Ben back home in general), so don't miss the return of Beaumont Avenue, and here they are at Rotaryfest!

Finally for today's preview post is the "Bloody Boxing Day Basement Jam" from Blood Shed Productions, which will be the local goregrind label's last concert of the year, and though it is located at a house, the address is public, so feel free to come down! Partly planned to make up for a shortened private Boxing Day event last year, there have been lineup adjustments since we last plugged this show, including a band replacement, so who all is playing now? The headliner is local experimental singer/guitarist Chase Wigmore in his first set since leaving The Strange Coyotes (he'll be on at 11:00 PM), while Blood Shed death metal acts Brutally Fatal and Rotopsy will take the stage at 10:15 & 9:30 PM each. The 9:00 PM-ish slot was originally slated for the local return of The Apocalypse Afterparty, but they were quietly replaced on the lineup by the newer local metal trio Them last week for unannounced reasons. Disappointing for A.A. fans, but hopefully we see them back soon!

Remember, Them (who currently lack an online page) feature Bring The Misery, Infamous, and Revolution alumni, and are also among the bands at next year's Tidal Records Battle, so don't bypass them tomorrow night! Rotopsy bassist Tyler Gibson's grind solo project Crucify The Whore will take the stage at 8:00 PM, following a trio of Blood Shed rappers (Mikey Thomas, Rotopsy's Dylan "Legitly Logic" Taylor, and Tomgrindy's J.P. "Phat Boii" Archambault) at 7:30, 7:00, and 6:30 PM respectively. A rap set from Miracle Man was once originally scheduled for the show, and while it was also removed from the lineup for unannounced reasons, his alter-ego (Brutally Fatal frontman Austin McCrae) will open the basement jam with an acoustic set at 6:00 PM, perhaps channeling his Re-Born work? To be held in the basement of a home at 11 Hearst Street (near Trelawne and Grosvenor), this ALL AGES event has no announced age limits. For more details, visit the official Facebook event page!

This should be an entertaining show for Blood Shed, goregrind, and rap fans, and hopefully things go off without a hitch tomorrow night! Stay tuned for potential fallout as it comes in, particularly concerning how Them sound, and as a preview, here's a new Brutally Fatal video uploaded to the Blood Shed YouTube channel on Saturday! A rehearsal video shot that day featuring some text plugs for the Boxing Day show, it's simplistic and doesn't tell us much about the new song, but it gets the job done to promote the jam, so give it a look below, and see above for more info!



That's all for today, but stay tuned for the rest of our weekend previews, the big news regarding a show at Bon Soo in February, and much more to end the year! Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (The Suicide Kings), Glitch Concert Preview, And More!!

For today's post, we're concluding this weekend's known heavier concert previews, elaborating on some recent local metal album updates, and sharing a new video previewing some new material, but first, here's some LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS for next month!

Rockstar Bar Battle winners The Suicide Kings will return to the site of their live concert debut on Friday, May 16th and Saturday, May 17th for solo headlining dates at The Rednecks Saloon! Fresh off of their second place finish at the Rock N' Roar Battle of the Bands in Spanish, these will mark this talented hard rock quartet's first shows at the former Nicolet Tavern since March of last year, and despite the name change and transition to a country theme last fall, I don't expect Mike, Steven, Mitch, and Ben to alter their established sound and setlist for these concerts, as the Rednecks Saloon still welcomes rock bands (like Griphook this weekend.) The Suicide Kings last played a double weekend set at the former Roosevelt Hotel in January, so the convenience of two nights will be a plus for fans of their modern rock originals and covers, so be at this popular Albert Street West venue next month! Admission is likely free both nights, you must be 19 to attend, and there are 10:00 PM start times in effect. Visit the official Facebook event page for more info, and stay tuned for updates!

Next up, here's the last of our known heavier concert previews for this weekend, as newer Sault Ontario party/hard rock cover quartet Glitch will make their first ever appearance at an unfamiliar venue TOMORROW NIGHT, as they'll be rocking The OLG Casino at 30 Bay Street West! We've never covered the Sault Ontario casino on here for a concert, so I'm unfamiliar with it's setup, but I do know that they have both the Northern Gateway Restaurant and Bivouac Bar on site that could serve as logical host areas for a live band, so keep both in mind if you attend tomorrow. I'm unsure whether this is an early venture into more frequent band bookings, or a one-off agreement, but with a talented lineup featuring Sneaky Pete, Tripod the Dog, and Downfall alumni, the good tunes will be a constant, especially as they continue diversifying their live venue range! No idea on a potential cover charge, but you must be 19 to attend, and everything starts at 10:00 PM. Check the Facebook event page for more details, and here they are at The Rockstar Bar last year!



Moving to some well anticipated album news, local doom/sludge metal trio AlgomA have unveiled some new items relating to their forthcoming debut album "Reclaimed By The Forest", including the complete finished artwork by Adam Geyer! It had previously been leaked online, but it wasn't band-acknowledged, and that copy didn't feature the band's name & album title, so I waited until now. Very detailed in it's imagery, it calls to mind a more graphic interpretation of a song like Woods of Ypres' "Keeper of the Ledger" (look up the lyrics to see what I mean.) While a release date and formats for this album aren't out yet, AlgomA's brand new Bandcamp page features a download copy of their song "Fell Down The Well" from it, and you can buy it before the release for just $1! They even thought to include lyrics, but as is usual protocol for us, we'll hold full thoughts until the full album review. I'll confirm that the production is great though, so stream "Fell Down A Well" above, and stay tuned for news on the CD release!

Finally for today, Theatre of Night keyboardist Craig Harrison posted another preview video onto his YouTube channel on Wednesday to document new music for his Sault Michigan classical metal band! This time, it's of a studio piano piece (presumably for an original song to be completed), as included with assorted GoPro clips of him and bandmates Steve & Greg Giles playing in their jam room, though all fade in and out and use different camera angles, lighting, and post filters. The end of the video promises that new music is coming soon, and while this isn't a finished look, Craig's playing is as solid as ever, so check it out below!



That's all for today, but stay tuned for this month's Saultites In Out Of Town Bands Profile on The Merves TOMORROW! Thanks everyone!

Another Local Metal Video Showcase!!

I'm still trying to clear out a lot of news from my pile that I've let build up too much, so here's our ninth post in the last 5 days, all about new videos! Today, we've got new videos from the David Gold memorial concerts, a local band's new instrumental demo, a heavier cover from a local indie band, and this week's classic video, so here's what you need to know, and check out our latest news post below this one for local album updates, news on a concert venue's move, lineup updates for the Humane Society Battle of the Bands, and details on Reverbnation's new look!

Let's start with some new David Gold tribute concert videos from YouTube user Laura Lee Louise, who posted five new videos related to the local & Toronto events on her YouTube channel on Thursday! Two are from the Toronto memorial show/"Woods V" CD release party, including London metal quartet Kittie covering Woods of Ypres' "Evertything I Touch Turns To Gold (Then To Coal)" and part of David's mom Esther's speech to the Toronto crowd, so click the above links to check them out! The staticy audio issues on Laura's camera are evident on the Kittie video, but the video of Esther came out well, and it's good to get another view of her thanks to David's fans and friends! The other new videos all relate to the local show, Windsor stoner metal band Gypsy Chief Goliath in particular, with the first two dealing with the night before the Ypres Metal Fest. One is right after the band arrived at The Canadian Nightclub the night before with remarks from frontman Alex Petrovich about the ride and some initial plans, and the other shows Gypsy Chief Goliath locked out of their hotel room at The Canadian Motor Hotel, and what happened when they got in. Interesting to see videos of a band's pre-concert happenings like this, so click the above links to see them!

However, the other new video of Laura's is of Gypsy Chief Goliath covering Woods of Ypres' "Suicide Cargoload (Drag That Weight)" at the Ypres Metal Fest last week, and though the staticy audio remains an issue, it's nice to get a close and clear alternate angle of Gypsy Chief Goliath in their local debut, so check out this newest video from the local David Gold tribute concert below, and stay tuned for more David Gold tribute show fallout!



Next up, Brimley metal quartet Half A Man may not be playing at the end of the month with Fifth Way anymore, but they're staying busy with the recording of their first EP, and a taste of one of it's tracks has been posted onto YouTube! Drummer Mikey Bishop uploaded this instrumental demo of their new original song "Release Me" onto his YouTube channel last month, which I apologize for missing for so long, but how does it sound? Pretty good, but I'll hold full thoughts until the full version (hopefully with the full album) comes out. Check it out below, and stay tuned for more updates from this hard hitting Sault Michigan-area quartet!



Thirdly, longtime readers of the SMS may know that I'll share videos from non-metal local bands on here occasionally if they cover a metal or hard rock song live. Well, when I was researching info for our Downtown Showdown profile the other day, I came across this video from June of last year of local indie rock quintet The Tenagens covering Queen's "Bohemian Rhapsody", so I thought I might as well share it here! Uploaded by YouTube user jacksonnite, this appears to be from a function at Superior Heights Collegiate & Vocational School last year. This is one of the hardest Queen songs to do justice to, and as such, the quality is extremely uneven, with the intro & opera section ("Scaramouche, Scaramouche", etc.) noticeably suffering in listenability and timing, but the rest of it is admirably played, especially the early ballad stretch. I applaud their effort here, but I'd much rather hear their originals, even if indie rock isn't something I listen to much of. What I would like to find is their cover of The Beastie Boys' "Sabotage" that they played at the Smeltzer reunion show, that turned our surprisingly well! If you wanna hear The Tenagens tackle Queen, then check out the full video below, and hopefully they return to activity this summer!



And finally, here's this week's classic video! Late, I know, but we've had a lot of news this week that helped push this back. With Caveman Morrison's gigs this weekend at The Roosevelt Hotel, I decided to revisit them for a new video upload, and like our last three uploads of theirs, this video is from a late 2009 concert at The Rockstar Bar. The last video from this concert that was posted in .swf format on Caveman Morrison's website, this is of their cover of The Tragically Hip's "Blow At High Dough", and it's notable partly for featuring then-drummer Jeff "Shrek Ogre" Richards on lead vocals! During his 2009-2010 run with the band before moving to Barrie, Jeff frequently sang and drummed on Tragically Hip covers at their concerts, and though you don't hear them cover The Hip as much nowadays, these were fun to hear when they occured! Also featuring frontman Tym Morrison on guitar and former bassist Rick White (Jeff's Frightlight bandmate in 2010), this video was ripped from http://tymmorrison.com/cavemanmorrison/video2.html, and apologies for the video quality. The lighting's hard to correct, fans got in the way of the attendee's camera, and the green watermark from the original conversion program late in the video was already on the original file.

NO COPYRIGHT INFRINGEMENT IS INTENDED!! All credit for this video goes to Caveman Morrison and the original filmer, I'm just trying to share this performance with a deserving wider audience! It's a solid performance as one would expect (though not especially heavy), and Jeff has a decent singing voice, so if you can look past the video quality issues, give this 2009 Caveman Morrison video a look below!



That's all for today, but stay tuned for a special all-video post dedicated to a local recording studio's recent original song blitz, so if you're interested in new Sault Michigan metal and hard rock material, definitely stay tuned tomorrow! Thanks everyone!

Merry Christmas From The Sault Metal Scene!!

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!! Consider today's post our big Christmas present to all of you, including some seasonal videos from some local bands, our last Christmas surprise uploads of the season, and our final weekly classic video of 2011, so let's "open the presents" so to speak in today's Christmas post!

Let's start with our final Christmas surprise of the season, and it relates to defunct local hard rock quintet Sense of Truth's unreleased self-titled debut EP! It's already almost 2 years since this talented band hit Stereo Soul Studios to record the material towards their first CD release, but with Sense of Truth's breakup this fall after months of slowed band activity, a formal release for their only EP seems unlikely at best. That said, after such a long wait to hear the EP, I know I'm not alone in saying that fans would like to hear at least some of the material from it, so in that spirit (and as a Christmas surprise), I've posted the tracks I have from the February 2010 recording sessions onto our YouTube channel! Two of the songs I have ("Push & Pull" and "Vicious Cycle") were downloaded from Stereo Soul Studios' website (where you can still stream them), I received "Crawling" in an e-mail from drummer Ryan Haryett earlier this year as an EP preview, and I downloaded a 51 second sample of "Land of Greed" from the band's MySpace page, where it was among three samples from the EP that fans could check out. So I essentially have 3⅓ of the 5 songs planned for the EP, only missing the full copy of "Land of Greed" and the 5th track that band sources never revealed (possibly "Pieces of a Mirror"?)

NO COPYRIGHT INFRINGEMENT IS INTENDED WITH THESE UPLOADS!!! All credit for these songs goes to the former members of Sense of Truth, as they put in all the hard work trying to record and release this EP, I just want to share what I have of the intended CD with a wider audience! The songs I have are very entertaining slices of modern hard rock from one of Sault Ontario's biggest and most promising local bands of the late 2000s, and even if these songs never see a formal release, there's definitely an audience to enjoy this material! Click the song names above to check out each of the Sense of Truth songs I uploaded (I'll add what's missing in the future if I get the tracks), and here's "Push & Pull" from their unreleased self-titled EP!



Also today, here's our final weekly classic video of 2011, purposely early as a Christmas surprise, and conveniently, it's of local metal quartet Garden of Bedlam, who of course will rock The Canadian Nightclub tomorrow night for their "Everything Will Die" CD release show! While most of their videos are on YouTube, some are still floating around on external websites, including this one of the band covering Tool's "46 & 2" at The Other Place (last known as GLOW Nightclub) on April 19th, 2008! One of Garden of Bedlam's earliest shows, they opened for defunct local Red Hot Chili Peppers cover band Sikamikanico at this concert, and though a few videos exist from their 2008 shows at this former Gore Street concert venue, this is easily the best quality of them. The band sound really good here even in their early days, though the audio quality on the filmer's camera has a muddy quality on softer stretches of the song. The video quality isn't bad, but the clarity depends on the lighting, which changes frequently during the performance. Solid stuff all around, and it shows how talented they were and continue to be now as they approach the release of their second CD!

This video was uploaded by bassist Evan Belleau to Garden of Bedlam's Facebook group a month after this show, and you can view the original video at http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v=20579770931. NO COPYRIGHT INFRINGEMENT IS INTENDED!!! All credit for this video goes to Garden of Bedlam and the original filmer for the hard work they put in almost 4 years ago, I'm just sharing this quality early performance with a wider audience for the holidays! Check out Garden of Bedlam's 2008 cover of Tool's "46 & 2" below!



Let's cap off this Christmas post with two very seasonal videos relating to the local scene, starting with this slideshow video from Sault Michigan classical metal trio Theatre of Night! Featuring 3/5ths of End of Existence, this talented outfit has made a definite splash in the local scene in the last year on the heels of their "Christmas Night" album of seasonal orchestral metal instrumentals, and remember that you can buy it for $6.99 on mp3 format or $9.99 on CD through their Reverbnation store! You can also buy it for slightly higher prices on iTunes and Amazon. I highly recommend "Christmas Night" as a seasonal album for fans of local music and heavy metal, and it definitely has a Trans-Siberian Orchestra vibe (if they had three members), though some songs could stand to be heavier or include more drumming. Last month, the band uploaded their cover of "Carol of the Bells" with an accompanying photo slideshow to their YouTube channel, and despite the largely monochrome hues of the used pictures, it does put you in a holiday state of mind. Check it out below, and pick up "Christmas Night" today!



And finally, here's a classic video from 5 years ago of a notable local band giving some love to a TSO/Savatage classic from a holiday season concert of their own. A fitting and hopefully unharmful way to end this Christmas Day post on the SMS, so I wish you all a Merry Christmas, a continued Happy Hanukkah, and a Happy Holidays all around from The Sault Metal Scene! Stay tuned for more news and updates very soon, including (fingers crossed) our next Saultites In Out Of Town Bands Profile on Repetitions tomorrow for Boxing Day! Thanks everyone!

Two New Local Bands And More From Local High School Hard Rock Bands!

It's not often where we base an entire post around bands from and around a local high school, but hey, this post kinda just fell into place like that! Today, we have no less than TWO new local bands (one brand new, one newly found), plus videos of the latter and another recent video from a high school performance of a hard rock cover. So let's get back to school with this post, and check out this morning's post (below this one) for news on a LOCAL CONCERT ALERT for THIS MONDAY, Sykotyk Rampage's next albums, and news from Sativa Rose, The Sugar Island Festival and Sneaky Pete guitarist Mario Carlucci!

We have a new local band to announce today, and their name is Social Suicide! They're a new local "death punk" trio who just launched their Facebook page this morning. The band members include Unleash The Blackened Sky/ex-Fountain of Betrayal bassist Tyler St. Amour on vocals & bass, Anthony Boudreau on guitar, and Keeghan Rosso on drums. Should be interesting to see Tyler fronting a band for a change! I'm not familiar with either Anthony or Keeghan's musical work, but from what I understand, they both attend Superior Heights Collegiate with Tyler. According to their Facebook page, their influences include bands from The Misfits & NOFX to Pantera and Amon Amarth, all good signs for their sound! Social Suicide apparently have at least 4 originals already in the works, along with covers. Now, when can we see this new young band in action? Apparently, Social Suicide want to jam and rehearse this summer, play at Superior Heights functions over the 2011-12 school year, then debut for actual concerts in the summer of 2012. Sounds like a good plan, that way they get lots of experience and practice in before their debut! I'll be interested to hear Social Suicide when samples or video are posted, and as soon as any band updates roll in, I'll have them here! Become a fan at the above links!

And in case you're wondering what this could mean for the future of Unleash The Blackened Sky, well... I don't know either. What I do know is that the band has not issued an official Facebook page update in over a month (not since the name change from Bring The Misery), the lineup posted there is now 2/5ths outdated (Steve Rhodes is still listed, Daeson Lesage still isn't), and I heard that drummer Travis St. Amour (Tyler's brother) is planning to move out of town for college later this month. Put together, it doesn't sound too good, but who knows what could happen. If I hear more, I'll let you guys know!

Next up, how's about another older local band with a local high school connection? If you went to the former Sir James Dunn Collegiate in the 2007-08 school year, you may remember seeing a Kiss tribute band made up of Grade 11 students at the old Dunnplugged concerts that they had! Yes, even high school students can pay homage to the hottest band in the world! Named Creatures of the Night, the band featured then-SJD students Andrew Addante on lead vocals/guitar (as Paul Stanley), Mike Gualtieri on bass (as Gene Simmons), and former Sindicate bandmates Nick Rhodes on lead guitar & Keith Gagnon on drums (as Ace Frehley & Peter Criss.) Active from the fall of 2007 through the fall of 2008, the band mostly played at Dunnplugged events during that school year, though they did play a 2007 Christmas concert there as well. We have a bunch of video glimpses of Creatures of the Night in action thanks to YouTube users soundguyjoe and Adam Gualtieri (Mike's brother?), who've uploaded six videos of the band from varying shows at their respective YouTube channels, so check their channels linked above to give the videos a look!

What do I think of them? Well, I'll say that for a high school production, the Kiss ambiance and lighting are good on the later videos! The costumes are hit and miss, with the occasional lack of costuming or wigs being really visible. Soundwise, it's an big contrast: The music is really good, especially from Keith Gagnon, but the vocals are not on that same level. Andrew doesn't have the volume or range to pull off songs like "Detroit Rock City", though he does do noticeably better on songs like "Strutter". Talented guys though, I wonder if they're still active in any musical projects? Nice to see some Kiss love like this from locals, so they're definitely worth a look! Here's soundguyjoe's video of Creatures of the Night playing "Strutter", but check the above links for much more from this former local Kiss tribute band!



Finally, while we're on the topic of bands with students at Sir James Dunn, you may know that the Sault's newest high school Superior Heights was formed out of a merger between the old Sir James Dunn and Bawating schools. Sir James Dunn was well known for it's Dunnplugged series of concerts (even producing CDs of the student's original music), and it looks the like Dunnplugged continued with Superior Heights last year! Well, it's now renamed "Hawkplugged" (referencing the school's team name, the Steelhawks), but last year, it was apparently called "Funnplugged" (fun + unplugged.) I prefer the current name, but no matter what name it was under, Dunn/Funn/Hawkplugged has given us some talented young musicians, and here's a newer example! This comes from an outdoor Funnplugged performance circa October 2010 outside the Sir James Dunn building (which was Superior Heights last year), and it's of an unnamed and uncredited student band covering Rush's "YYZ"! Interesting choice given it's complexity, but the band do an admirable job tackling a Rush classic! Sounds a bit empty, but the three guys have clear talent!

Anyone know who's in this band, or if they were named? It would be interesting to find out, cause I can't place the members offhand. Still, give this Funnplugged cover of "YYZ" a look below, and thanks to the Superior Heights YouTube channel for the upload!



That's all for now, but we'll definitely have a wider expanse of topics in our next post! Stay tuned, and enjoy today's post, Eagles and Steelhawks!

A New Local Band, Abstract News, Review Updates, And This Week's Classic Video!!

Hey guys, I apologize for the lack of posts since Sunday. I've been going though a lot of major computer grief (I think it's overheating too much), and I may have to take it to the shop soon for (at least) a look-over. That, and Blogger had more issues over the past day that prevented me from logging in to make any posts, and you may have seen similar issues when trying to log into your own accounts, comment on posts, or watch embedded videos. Luckily, those problems appear to be fixed, and hopefully we're done with Blogger outages already for this month! I wanna get at least three posts in by Friday, and we'll start today with a new news post, including this week's classic video, a bunch of updates to some of our feature posts, and news from a young local band, but first, here's a brand new band to check out!

If you're still bummed over the breakups of Bring The Fallen and State Of Misery, then I have good news, as members of both bands have united into a new local death metal band named Bring The Blood! This new band features State of Misery members Steve Rhodes & Ray Cowan, Bring The Fallen's own Dan Souliere & Travis St. Amour, and new bassist Kory Derasp rounding out their five-piece lineup. Drawing influences from bands like The Black Dahlia Murder, Lamb Of God, and Children Of Bodom, Bring The Blood launched their Facebook page yesterday. Aside from plans to post a band logo later today, there isn't much to say yet on their page, although postings on Steve's personal Facebook page pointed to demos being posted "sooner rather than later", originals and covers in their setlists, and a planned live debut next month. I was thinking it'd be cool to see members of these broken up bands uniting into a new band, and they should be impressive when they debut this summer! Their talents speak for themselves, though I'm curious to see how Kory Derasp does on bass, as I'm unfamiliar with his work. I do have one question though: Why aren't they called Bring The Misery? That would have fit perfectly! No worries though, I'll keep you posted as updates on Bring The Blood come in!

As for the other members of both of the above bands, we know Josh Stephney joined The Bear Hunters, and I've heard talk of Nick Kainula already working with a new band, but the rest of the old BTF/SoM band members haven't said much publically as to their next musical plans, if any. When I hear anything, I'll have it here!

Next up, here's some news from Sault Michigan hard rockers Abstract, who are really making a big name for themselves right now, especially considering their young ages! For one, the band were interviewed live on Rock 101 on May 13th during "Scott & Brian In The Morning", which is awesome news for them! It's great to see them giving some local exposure, and these kids could use it! A complete recording of the interview isn't posted on their Facebook page, but a video of the band during the later portions of the interview (and photos from the Rock 101 studios) are all available to check out at this location! I wish I'd have known about this beforehand, I'd love to have listened in! Also, a number of videos from their recent gigs are posted there, and before anyone asks, I didn't advertise them here because information was extremely lacking, if even posted, on them. That said, all their recent gigs have been outdoor daytime sets, usually at benefits, special events, and at stores, but I've heard good things! The newest unembeddable videos have the band covering songs from bands like Velvet Revolver, The White Stripes, and Blue October, and they show their talents well!

It's great to see kids rocking this young, I see bright things for them quickly if they keep this up! Check the above links for all current details on Abstract, and if you wanna see them live, they'll be at the IGA grocery store on Osborn Boulevard across the river at some point tomorrow!

Now, I wanted to update you guys to some edits I made to one of our special monthly feature series, that being our monthly CD reviews! I didn't edit the review content, as I want the reviews to reflect my original thoughts without going back and revising everything, which wouldn't be fair. I stuck to the album information and photos, so here's what's changed! Our review of Gates of Winter's debut EP now lists the band's complete lineup, which I didn't have originally. The review of Lion Ride's "Awesome" now has details on where it was recorded and mastered, who produced it, and who provided backing vocals, along with a replaced photo due to a dead link. The review of Fitswitch's EP has more current information on the lineup, including some more Frightlight references, a clearer and larger version of the album artwork, and completely replaced photos. The Stillbroke EP review was edited to reflect the fact that the album isn't brand new anymore, and one dead photo was replaced. The review of "Woods IV: The Green Album" now reflects that the band's then-lineup's current status, it's re-release through Earache Records, and a bunch of new purchasing links for the reissue. The Clownsack review for "Rotten Candy" is updated to reflect future lineup changes, a restored photo, and details on where the album was recorded.

Also, the Detroit & I.S.O.M. CD reviews have both had minor adjustments to reflect their respective inactive statuses, the Frightlight review was slightly adjusted to reflect the new year and other time notes, and the Lower S.E.S. review now includes references to drummer Mikey Bishop's work in Half A Man. Check out the above links for the newly updated information and photos concerning each review! All CD & EP reviews with no changes above are still basically accurate, though I have my eyes peeled!

And finally, here is this week's classic video! With a quiet weekend in the metal/hard rock scene, and it being too soon for another As It Stands video upload, I picked another higher profile video not yet on YouTube, and it's from Gates of Winter! This comes from their very last local concert before their 2 ½ year+ live hiatus, which took place on November 2nd, 2008 at The Grand Theater when they opened for Fuck The Facts! This is one of the few songs Gates of Winter covered after 2006, and conveniently, it's of Woods of Ypres' "Your Ontario Town Is A Burial Ground"! This was played often during the three month stint where Woods frontman David Gold drummed live for Gates of Winter. The video is nice quality and, oddly enough, the filmer travels around the floor to different points and views, which offers a cool perspective! The audio's great too, you hear everything perfectly! Brian Holmes' keyboard playing seems too light for the song, and Lee Maines does miss a few words here and there, but it's a very solid version of the Woods of Ypres standard, and as far as I know, it's the only publically viewable footage of Gates of Winter covering this song.

This video was uploaded to Facebook by David Gold not long after this concert, and can be seen at http://facebook.com/video/video.php?v=38221735671. As always, NO COPYRIGHT INFRINGEMENT IS INTENDED! I want people to see this video, it's a nice performance, and it deserves a wider audience! All credit to this video goes to Gates of Winter, David Gold, and the original filmer! With that said, check out Gates of Winter covering Woods of Ypres from their last show in our burial ground (to date) below!



That's all for now, but stay tuned for weekend concert previews (including a SHORT NOTICE LOCAL CONCERT ALERT) and another Woods of Ypres-centric post tomorrow! Thanks everyone!

Two Concert Previews, New Pages, And A Woods Of Ypres Note!!

Hey everyone, it's time for some more local metal news, as we get back into a normal groove following yesterday's Clownsack EP review! I decided to split the weekend concert previews up a bit to spread them out and not overload them into one post, so today, we'll only preview the concerts taking place tonight or tomorrow night, with shows on Friday or Saturday being previewed in a separate post tomorrow. So today's top stories are those concert previews, but stay tuned afterwards for news on two new pages and an interesting older note on Woods of Ypres! Let's get things going!

For concert previews, we'll begin TONIGHT at Coch's Corner, as a local horror punk/metal quintet returns to the stage as support for a major touring punk act! Yes, Frightlight are back to take the Coch's stage for their first non-secret show there since adding Kevin "St. Mayhem" Powe to the band, as they open up for Southern Ontario hardcore punk rockers The Endprogram tonight! The Endprogram are an energetic hard hitting punk band, and they'll be sure to rock the Sault much like they did two years ago when they opened for SNFU at The Grand Theater! Also opening tonight are local punk trio Motion Carried, giving Rick "Styles" White double duty as their drummer and as Frightlight's guitarist tonight. If you loved The Scary Uncles, or just punk in general, Motion Carried will be up your alley! This show is a 19+ affair, there is no cover charge, and it all starts at 10:00 PM TONIGHT! For more details, visit the official Facebook event page! Sounds like a fun night of punk with a metal and hardcore essence, especially with Frightlight, so definitely consider stopping at Coch's Corner tonight! Check the above links for more details, and for a preview, here's the band's current lineup playing "Fright Night" at The Sewer Swampstravaganja!



Also, the 13th Thursday metal night at The Roosevelt Hotel is TOMORROW NIGHT, but hopefully the fact that it's the 13th isn't a bad omen for it! Actually, if you're looking for some different bands than you've seen in recent weeks at The Rosie, this show should be up your alley, so here's who to look out for! Headlining tomorrow night is local metal quartet Sativa Rose, in their first Roosevelt Hotel concert appearance in over 4 months, and their first with new guitarist Anthony Orazietti! Nice to see them get a prime spot like this, they'll be sure to devastate with their new originals and well played covers! Also joining them tomorrow will be Changing Waves, themselves making their first Rosie appearance with new bassist Terrence Gomes. I was impressed with their increasing diversity with their sound, here's hoping they deliver a solid set tomorrow! Rounding out the lineup is local classic metal quartet Late & Loud, replacing State of Misery in their Dismemembertainment AND Rosie debut! This is their last show until the summer, so if you liked them in their past gigs, or wanna see some entertaining old school metal, don't miss them tomorrow! As always, this show has no cover charge, a 19+ age limit, and a 9:30 PM start time. Click here for more details!

This should be a fun concert and a change of pace if you crave more classic sounds, so definitely consider this show! For a preview, I was gonna embed one of their high quality videos from the Sewer Swampstravaganja, but they were made private, oddly enough, so here's my video from that night of the band playing their original "Fall From Grace"!



Speaking of Changing Waves-related topics, here's a pair of new pages I recently came across! One is their new Facebook page, which is formatted like a fan page rather than their sparsely-updated "personal account" style page. This is brand new, with only one posting so far (it's about the show tomorrow), but it does feature update bio information that the other page doesn't have! It also has a good photo selection, but they're all from Devan Lauzon's time with the band. Click here to get connected, let's expand on their current total of 4 fans! As well, Sault Michigan music store Grooves Music has launched a second Facebook page, which strikes me as odd given that their original Facebook page is still active. Hell, the last two posts on both are exactly the same! The only major differences I'm seeing are a slightly different logo, some "check-ins" from fans, and adjusted hours. I imagine this might become the store's primary site, so check the above links to get hooked up!

Finally for today, I have a note that I wanted to share from Woods of Ypres! I contemplated adding this to our next Woods-centric post, but considering it's age, I decided to separate it from more recent band news. When you think about Woods of Ypres' back catalog, you don't tend to think of covers, live or studio, but a number of sites have reported that the band recorded a cover of Bathory's "Lake Of Fire", for a 2006 tribute album named "A Tribute From The Hordes To Bathory". The song originally came from the pioneering Swedish black/viking metal band's 2001 CD "Destroyer of Worlds", and you can click here to listen to Bathory's original version. Sites like Blabbermouth promoted the planned track listing for this 2-disc 27 song package, but by the time it was released, 5 songs were removed, and 2 were added to the final product, with one of the removed songs being Woods of Ypres' contribution (source here.) What happened to the "Lake Of Fire" cover? I don't know, I can't find official band statements referring to it, but it must have at least been partly recorded given that it was on early track listings. I think Woods of Ypres could pull this song off really well, it has that doomy melodic quality that they do so well, hopefully the Bathory cover surfaces down the road! Check the above links for more, and if you have more background info on this rare Woods of Ypres cover song, let me know!

That's all for now, but stay tuned for more concert previews tomorrow, plus a Woods of Ypres-centric post and more very soon! Thanks everyone!