LOCAL CONCERT ALERT (IDNS), The Endast Concert Preview, And More!!

As August's last week presses on, let's get to some news today, including new videos (and a related apology), a local punk project's return, and a preview of a special Wednesday night show, but first, here's a cool LOCAL CONCERT ALERT for next weekend!

Heavy North Entertainment will not be ending their concert promoting days, as they're bringing a new ALL AGES concert to The Oddfellows Hall on Saturday, September 6th that will be headlined by Toronto crust punk quartet IDNS! Short for "I Don't Need Society", IDNS have a brutal death metal/punk hybrid sound, many short originals, and an aggressive stage show that should fit in very well next weekend, so be sure not to miss their set! Two more out of town bands will be making their way to The Oddfellows Hall that night, including the return of veteran Sudbury blackened death metal quartet Catharcyst to our neck of the woods (nice to see Paul and company finally get a new local booking!), as well as a set by the explosive Winnipeg hardcore punk quintet Bring The Fight (not to be confused with Bring The Fallen), so be sure to check out both of them A.S.A.P.! Local support will include Blood Shed Productions goregrind acts Crucify The Whore & Rotopsy, as well as local doom/punk trio The Revolution (formerly the second Brutaly Fatal) in their first set at a Blood Shed-affiliated concert since their split from the label, so it's nice to see that things are being patched up!

The local openers will be rounded out by new local rap metal duo The Apocalypse Afterparty (in their public concert debut) and local grunge/punk solo act Telephone & Address' first known public set of 2014, so be there early for their sets too! This concert (which was briefly linked with J.D. Pearce before handing it over to H.N.E.) will have a $10 admission fee and an announced early start time of 6:00 PM. For more details, visit the official Facebook event page! This should be another solid show from H.N.E., and I'm glad to see that Tyler's not stopping his concert promoting just yet! Stay tuned for updates on this show over the next couple of weeks!

Next up, here's a preview of a special mid-week concert going down THIS WEDNESDAY, as Montreal thrashcore quintet Endast will make their long awaited return to Sault Ontario for a headlining show at The Rednecks Saloon! Last seen locally 4 years ago at the former Foggy Notions, it's been way too long to see Big James and the guys back in the Soo, and their technical and very intense originals should be welcomed back with open arms at this concert, so be sure not to miss out on the return of Endast! Local support will come from two PaperClip Productions artists making their debuts at the former Nicolet Tavern, including local grunge/alternative quartet Haggith (making just their third live appearance since their reunion, and second with new bassist James White) and the aforementioned Revolution, who will be playing their first live set since opening for Anciients in June. Interesting choices, especially given the brutal thrash and death metal to follow, but the locals should make a solid impression! This show is being promoted by Bear Hunters guitarist Mitch Sirie, marking his return to booking out of town headliners after (I think) a 2 year break, which is cool to see again!

This 19+ concert goes down this Wednesday at 10:30 PM, and admission is FREE, so why miss out on all of the action? For more details, visit the official Facebook event page! It's been far too long to see Endast back on a local stage, so kudos to Mitch for getting them back here, and I hope to see you guys there for all of the brutality at The Rednecks Saloon THIS WEDNESDAY! For a preview, here's Endast's music video for their song "Soiled Hands"!



Also today, remember the pop punk/screamo band For July that we rolled into our coverage on the site last month as part of our features on defunct and inactive punk bands? Well, they appear to be back as an active project! Frontman Dave Hunter has recently launched a new For July SoundCloud page and posted some audio tracks there, and while three of the songs ("Change Is", "Fable", and "Don't Hold Your Breath") are re-posts from their MySpace page, two new "work in progress" songs ("I Let Go" and "The Emo Song") have also been uploaded there. Dave notes on SoundCloud that he recorded all the instruments and wrote, recorded, and mixed all of the songs by himself, which currently points to For July becoming a solo project without ex-members Jordan Latour & Ryan McLaughlin, but whether Dave plans to build a new live band down the road or not isn't publicized yet. If you liked older For July songs, you'll probably like the new "work in progress" songs, with "The Emo Song" having an explicit fast pop punk sound, and "I Let Go" being more emotional and slow paced.

It's nice to see Dave bring For July back, and hopefully things pick up and succeed in their current incarnation, so follow the band above for new and old media, and For July are now in our active Sault Ontario band links!

Lastly for today, here's some more new videos from local grunge/hardcore duo Bad Back! Uploaded to drummer Nathan Sauve's new YouTube channel over the past few days, one of the videos is of Nathan playing a drum solo (a'la his old "Nathan Sucks" videos) from a top down angle, interspersed with him imitating a ringing phone, I think. Short, but a solid performance, so click here to check it out! The other video comes with an attached apology on our part, as this comes from the private concert last week that Bad Back played where they opened for out of town punk duo Bardos, but when we plugged Nathan's earlier cover videos from this show, we erroneously said that the show in question was Das Bunkerfest. Blame the dark lighting, I couldn't make out too much, but our sincere apologies for the screw-up, and all 3 of Nathan's newest concert videos were from the private Bardos show! This video features the full set that Bad Back played that night, so what songs made their setlist on this night?

The video includes their originals "Breeding Weak", "Lung Bucket", "Drum My Way Home", "Party Bus", "#1 Hit Single", a cover of The Foo Fighters' "I'll Stick Around", originals "Shirt Tucker" & "Oh!", and the previously uploaded covers of Tom Petty's "American Girl" and NOFX's "Linoleum". Strong 37 minute video for fans of Bad Back, though the covers can be messy, and while the lighting was brightened a bit this time, the colours are a bit more washed out this time. Nice and intense, if from a far camera angle, so see Bad Back's set at the Bardos private gig below!



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

A New Addition To Our Band Links, Frapperteterhead's Cassette, And More!!

Before we get into the meat of this post, we'll send our best wishes out to the guys in Beaumont Avenue (the former Suicide Kings) as they rock out in Spanish at this year's Rock 'N Roar Festival there, where they're opening for Randy Bachman and Honeymoon Suite! Show them what the Soo can do! Now, today's post features a new archive album upload, some assorted recent notes, and first, an overdue addition to our links and coverage, so here's what you need to know!

We're pleased to finally add local classic hard rock cover band Havadder to our full coverage at The Sault Metal Scene! I know this seems very overdue given their relative longevity in the area, but we held for so long due to prior concert indications not having a lot of heavier covers, though a recent show  that we'll touch on in a bit locked them in! Active off and on since at least April 2009 (and most recently reuniting last fall), Havadder's only constant member has been singer/guitarist Jason "Jugga" Roy, with their current lineup being rounded out by guitarist Jamie July, bassist Lucas Bugyra (who was Havadder's drummer early on), and Asylum Country drummer T.J. Case. Among other past members that I may be missing, Havadder's early lineups included the likes of guitarist Jason "Nez" Nisbet, bassists Daniel Horton (Haggith), and Lori Reinholtz (Mid Life Crysis), and drummer Dean Candido, while their 2011-2012 lineup featured the two Jasons alongside guitarist Robert Brown, bassist Travis Sharpe, and drummer Scott McLurg, during a stretch when all but Jason Nisbet were also members of Turner Up.

Best known from numerous weekend gigs at local bars (including a frequent stretch of shows at the former Foggy Notions in 2010 & 2011), Havadder have also played some larger multi-band events in the Soo, and notably played at two of the Rock N' Roar Battles of the Bands in Spanish (placing in 2012), though you're most likely to catch the band at The Rednecks Saloon (formerly The Nicolet Tavern), where the vast majority of their recent gigs have taken place. The band's newest concert videos come from that venue last weekend, where they played with two guest musicians (former bassist Travis Sharpe and Flat Stanley's Glen Thomas on drums) due to Lucas & T.J. being out of town. Glen shot a pile of drum cam videos from the shows and uploaded them to his YouTube channel this past week, including renditions of Sublime's "Santeria", Blake Shelton's "Boys Right Here", The Beastie Boys' "Fight For Your Right (To Party)", Ugly Kid Joe's "Everything About You", Beck's "Loser", Alice In Chains' "Man In The Box", and Temple of the Dog's "Hunger Strike", plus this 10 minute clip video!

Featuring 9 compiled clips of songs from the show, the covers (in order) include The Foo Fighters' "My Hero", Poison's "Every Rose Has It's Thorn", Alice In Chains' "No Excuses", The Tragically Hip's "Blow at High Dough", Poison's "Talk Dirty To Me", Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers' "Last Dance of Mary Jane", an instrumental clip that I can't place the name of, The Kenny Wayne Shepherd Band's "Blue On Black", and Green Day's "Brain Stew", so click each link to go to a specific song! Solidly performed, and Glen improvises well on songs he doesn't have a firm grasp of, so fans should give these a look, as Jason and crew have a solid sound that's fun to party along with, and they cover a wide and often heavy array of tunes! Give Havadder a look above and below, and stay tuned for more!



Next up, does anyone out there remember the defunct (and interestingly named) local metal band Frapperteterhead? Well, their self titled demo cassette was recently uploaded in full on YouTube! Posted by AlgomA bassist Kevin Campbell on his YouTube channel last week, it's a 25 song mixture of original songs and abbreviated covers of everyone from AC/DC & White Zombie to The Ramones and The Misfits, as originally recorded and released at some point in the mid-1990s. The band's lineup for most of the cassette includes singer Jason Anderson (who sadly passed away in 2003), relocated local guitarist Paul Melanson (now of the Alberta-based Metallica tribute Damage Inc.), a bassist nicknamed "Swartz", and a drummer named "Mr. Phibinger" (one of which is Jack Spades frontman J.D. Pearce's older brother Tom.) On the last 8 songs, Jason's the listed guitarist instead, with Frightlight guitarist Kevin Powe's younger brother Rick singing lead on them. How does Frapperteterhead's cassette hold up almost 20 years later? Not too bad, they have a solid aggression, and both Jay and Rick had strong vocals with punk tinges, but the covers can be rough around the edges. Thanks to Kevin for the upload, and check out Frapperteterhead below!



Finally, here's three assorted shorter news items from the last little while, and as usual, these are in alphabetical order by band or event name:

• Is Beaumont Avenue drummer Ben Boudreau leaving the band shortly? A Musicians Wanted Facebook group post by bassist Mitch Sirie on Thursday indicates that he's planning to move from the area for school, though the post is targeted towards replacing him in the former Suicide Kings' ongoing Urawk live karaoke series at The Rednecks Saloon, not the actual band. Time will tell what this means for Beaumont Avenue, but we'll have to see what happens, so message above if you're interested in at least joining Urawk, and best of luck today in Spanish!
• Though only quietly announced on it's Facebook event page and not visibly elsewhere, the second annual "Grinded Live In Your Ears" public house party show on Monday was cancelled due to weather and fatigue from that weekend's Das Bunkerfest in Garden River. The show will be rescheduled for "late this summer", so keep an eye out if you were hoping to attend and rock out with Blood Shed Productions artists!
• The aforementioned Mitch Sirie has confirmed that PaperClip Productions hard rock bands Haggith & The Revolution (formerly the second Brutaly Fatal) will be the openers for the Endast concert (also at The Rednecks Saloon) on August 27th! This will be both bands' debut at the old Nic, Haggith's 3rd show since reuniting, and The Revolution's first show since opening for Anciients in June. Nice diverse lineup, so don't miss this concert near the end of the month! Our source is the concert's Facebook event page.

That's all for now, but stay tuned for another punk band feature and much more in the coming days! Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (Gob, Endast, And K'Man & The 45s), And More!!

In our second post of this Thursday, we have THREE LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS, all revolving around notable out of town bands coming back to our area to rock the Soo to it's core, and whether you love metal or punk, at least one of these shows should appeal to you! We also have some assorted other notes to cap this post (including a band name change), so read on below for what you need to know, with the shows outlined in chronological order! Also, check out this weekend's Sault Ontario concert previews in the post below this one!

Remember how local concert promoter J.D. Pearce has been teasing a concert on Wednesday, August 27th to be headlined by Montreal thrashcore quintet Endast? Well, it's now confirmed, though he's not visibly the show's promoter anymore, with Bear Hunters guitarist Mitch Sirie launching this Facebook event page for it yesterday, so what do we know now? Well, the concert will take place at The Rednecks Saloon, who recently hosted a Bear Hunters-headlined metal show, and have a good relationship with Mitch through his recent work with Beaumont Avenue and Urawk, so the old Nicolet Tavern is a better fit than you may think! Of course, Endast's brutal technical metal originals have been missed since they last played in the Soo (way back in 2010 at the former Foggy Notions), and it will be awesome to see them back on the local stage again after so long during their 10th anniversary tour! There will also be two local opening bands to be announced, and we'll let you know when they're confirmed. Note as well that I think this will be the first local metal show with an out of town headliner that Mitch has put on since the end of his regular promotion run in mid-2012, so it's great to see him back promoting shows like this again!

Also, note that Endast's own Facebook page hypes their show on the 27th as taking place at The Townehouse in Sudbury, but that venue's own website lists a different band that day, so I assume there was a scheduling mixup. Admission is FREE for this 19+ show, and there's an announced 10:30 PM start time. For more details, check the above links! We await the full lineup announcement, but Endast were fan favourites from their last local stops, and hopefully they're in fine heavy form on August 27th at The Rednecks Saloon! Stay tuned for updates!

Next up, remember how we noted on the site the other day that the aforementioned J.D. Pearce was planning to host an after-party at The Rockstar Bar for after the now-postponed Misfits concert on Tuesday, September 18th? Well, the after-party is still on as it's own standalone concert now, and like before, it will be headlined by Montreal ska punk quintet K'Man & The 45s! Last seen at the former Roosevelt Hotel in October, this energetic and fun band are well known for the ska renditions of The Ramones, and for their array of original material too, and you'll definitely want to check out their well-traveled and liked sound at The Rockstar Bar next month! Like in October, their opening band next month will be local all-female hard rock quartet The Danger Cats in their first announced show since opening for Late & Loud at the same venue, and if their entertaining live attack got them this high profile slot last fall when they were brand new, imagine how they'll perform this time around! Also like at last year's show, there will be a $7 door charge and 19+ age limit, while everything will start at around 9:30 PM.

For more details, visit the official Facebook event page! Ska punk isn't something we've had a ton of locally in recent months, so if you're up for some reggae infused high energy rock (with Ramones covers!), you won't want to miss this show on September 18th, and if you're still bummed about The Misfits' show, this might help fill in the gap! Keep an eye out for more!

Lastly for the new show announcements, but certainly not least, Juno nominated Langley, B.C. punk quartet Gob will make their long awaited return to Sault Ontario themselves on Wednesday, October 29th when they themselves headline at The Rockstar Bar! Last seen at the former Outback at Sault College way back in January 2009, fans will surely remember Gob for classic songs like "I Hear You Calling", "Give Up The Grudge", and "Soda", and their own high spirited pop punk sound has earned them a very strong following of their own over the past 20 years, so it's well overdue for them to play the Soo again (also, note that frontman Tom Thacker is Sum 41's guitarist, in case you're a fan of theirs too!) Joining Gob on tour and at this show will be Oakville pop punk band Seaway, whose own energetic & melodic sound should add well to the proceedings as well, so check them out to see what you think! The local openers will include local punk/metal quintet Jack Spades (fresh off of opening for The Ripcordz in early October) and local punk trio Redundant (in their first announced gig since last month's Bear Hunters show), so come early for them also!

Promoted again by Jack Spades frontman J.D. Pearce, this show is a 19+ affair, will start at 9:00 PM, and has a ticket cost of $20 ($25 if you want a copy of Gob's new CD "Apt. 13" with admission.) Online tickets go on sale at http://www.brownpapertickets.com starting at midnight, and there's only 150 available, so act A.S.A.P. to ensure you have your ticket! No word yet though concerning local in-person ticket availability. For more details, visit the official Facebook event page! It's been over 5 years, but it's great to see Gob coming back to town, and hopefully there's a great turnout for this show, right in the thick of the Halloween season! Stay tuned for updates on this show as well, and get your tickets before they're gone!

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

• In advance of their second return home to play at the private Das Bunkerfest event in Garden River on Sunday (which we'll mention on the site tomorrow), local/St. Catharine's grindcore trio Shit Liver will be among the performers at TONIGHT'S Endast concert in North Bay, which will also feature recent local metal performers Buried Out Back. Pretty cool, so give it a look if you're in that area, and hopefully the guys make some new fans!
• The Sault Michigan alternative hard rock trio formerly known as Plastic have settled on a new name, as they've quietly announced The Spendthrifts as their new moniker. A reason for the change still hasn't been announced, but with a recent bassist change and the common simplicity of the Plastic name, this might have been a good fresh start. Other than the name change, there's been no public band updates in over a month, so we'll let you know when more comes out from The Spendthrifts!
• The newest episode of Local2's music spotlight video series Tuned with Donna Hopper went up on Monday, and while it mostly focuses on non-metal/punk events like the recent Strumbellas show and the Northern Lights Festival Boreal in Sudbury, it does plug the upcoming Random Killing "Hardcore Homecoming" show on September 13th at The Rockstar Bar in the concert calendar segment, while a 5 second clip of Beaumont Avenue's set (their last as The Suicide Kings) at Musicfest XXI can be seen at the end of their segment. Solid episode, give it a look if you want above!

That's all for today, but stay tuned for Sault Michigan concert previews and some notes on Das Bunkerfest tomorrow! Thanks everyone!

Great Sabatini Concert Updates And Much More Recent News!!

Keeping the recent spread of news going, we have a lot of assorted news and notes from recent days to touch on, and it's mostly Sault Ontario news for the first time since Friday! Along with a new preview video from a talented quartet, but first, we have some short notice changes and promotion for an all ages concert tomorrow night that we first previews yesterday, so read on below to get caught up!

We'll start today with some late stuff to address concerning TOMORROW'S Great Sabatini concert at The Moose Lodge, including the identity of the new opening band, as local all female hard rock quartet The Danger Cats will fill in for the departed Habitat Shuffle tomorrow night, as per the Facebook event page this morning! This will mark the girls' Moose Lodge debut, their first public concert since Dank Fest in April, and their first with a full lineup since March (though they did play a private outdoor event on Saturday, as per their Facebook page.) Solid addition, and a closer genre fit to the other bands than Habitat Shuffle likely would have been, so don't miss The Danger Cats opening tomorrow's show at 7:00 PM or later! Also new to plug this event is a new preview video from fellow openers AlgomA, as uploaded to frontman Boyd Rendell's film production company 62nd Chamber Productions' YouTube channel yesterday, so what should you know from this?

Promoting "show VII" (the first six being the Soul Killing Female, Golers, and Skynet shows, plus Dank Fest, The Big Loonie Bus Show, and the private Tacofest), the video features cryptic live concert audio, spoken recitations, and intentionally blurred concert photos from Dank Fest. It keeps the mystique about them and definitely leaves you wanting more, so give it a look below, and don't miss these local standouts with The Great Sabatini TOMORROW NIGHT for just $8! ALL AGES!



Next up, here's another new preview video from local punk/death metal quartet Chronic Demonic! Posted to the band's YouTube channel on Friday, this video (which has no colour filters like last time) surprisingly features the band covering Sepultura's "Chaos A.D.", and what little we hear of it in the 30 second segment sounds very promising! Of course, that could just be the surprise of seeing a local Sepultura cover, but these guys have the talent, so give it a look below!



Finally for today, here's six assorted shorter stories from the last while, and as usual, these are in alphabetical order by artist or series name:

• Add one more local band to the lineup for this year's Touch of Death Metal & Punk Fest in Cochrane, as local death metal standouts The Bear Hunters will also be taking the trip to play there on Saturday, June 28th! Awesome news, hopefully the guys make some new fans and connections along with AlgomA, Bad Back, Crucify The Whore, and Shit Liver! Note as well that London's own D3athcharg3r (featuring two Saultites) appear to have dropped out. Click here for full schedule details!
• Prolific local bassist Nathan Bouliane (most recently of Like Father Like Son) has recently moved back to the Soo and is working with Shaw TV Sault Ste. Marie on a new weekly feature segment called "The Boardwalk Sessions", where he would interview bands who actively play live in the area, with the feature later airing on channel 10 on Shaw Cable. If you're interested or want more details, message Nathan at this link!
• Though not publically confirmed elsewhere yet, local concert promoter J.D. Pearce's promotional Facebook group currently lists tentative dates for a return of both Montreal ska-punk band K-Man & The 45s and, most notably for metalheads, a show on August 8th to be headlined by Montreal thrash/extreme metal quintet Endast, who haven't been seen locally since September 2010. Awesome news if confirmed, so stay tuned for updates!
• According to the official press release for the show (as seen on SooToday), the Jackyl/Winger concert at the Sault Michigan Kewadin Casino on August 21st will have ticket prices of $38.50 and $48.50, which is definitely lower than at Jackyl's Essar Center show in 2008, so take note if you're thinking about attending! Tickets go on sale on Saturday morning at the in-person box office, at this link, or at 1-800-KEWADIN!
• Dafter, Michigan solo artist Ken "SweetKenny" Sutton has completed recording sessions for his upcoming solo album "This End Up!" and has already began writing for his 10th solo album "Amazonian", as per this link, even revealing the "Amazonian" cover art on his Facebook page last week! Great news, and it's nice to see Kenny staying busy! Stay tuned for more on both albums, and hear the newest songs from "This End Up!" (including his new song "Time To Let Go!")
• Local grunge/lo-fi solo project Telephone & Address have posted three new songs onto their Soundcloud page in the past couple of months, those being songs named "Anthem To The Queen", "Perfect Circle", and "Army of Losers". It's unknown yet if these will make it to a new CD, but they keep with Chris Shoust's past musical themes, coming across as songs heavier than the style they're played in, if that makes sense. Check them out above!

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

Endast/Blood Drunk/As It Stands Concert Review!!

Hey there metalheads, I'm back from last night's Endast show at Foggy Notions, and this post is solely a review of it, with videos and photos! Hope you guys were there, so here's what you need to know! I should note that this concert had a different feel from what I'm used to out of Foggy Notions shows. The early time of it to accommodate the karaoke afterwards is part of the reason, but things seemed very condensed in the concert area. Tables were moved for the merchandise tables, and it seemed like there was less room to maneuver around. Good attendance, all things considered! Now, to the bands!

The first band up were local hardcore band As It Stands, in their first show together since January of last year, not counting February's Out Of The Mouth Of Babes show. This was a long time coming, and you know what? It's good to see them back, and I think they felt the same way! They had a relatively short set, but it was completely made up of new songs that they wrote, sans a Holly Springs Disaster cover at the end. You could see lyric sheets that Justin Pregent was using, but remember, these are NEW songs played live for the first time! Hardcore or metalcore isn't everyone's cup of tea, but they shown off some nice pounding songs with some cool breakdowns, and they sounded about on par with how they sounded at their peak! Hey, at least they're not playing emo like they did in the mid-2000s, right? Justin's vocals were heavy and relentless, while Angelo Huckson was in constant motion throughout the set on bass! Solid guitar from Garrett and Albert too, though I'd have thrown more solos in, and John Mignacca was great on drums and had a smile throughout the set, so you know he was having fun!

I was a bit surprised that they didn't break out any classic songs, like "Three Cheers For Brock Lesnar" or "Angles Of A Casket", which would get the attention of older fans and add some familiarity to their set, but the new stuff all sounded pretty good! I'd like to see more varied guitar solos, and I think they could pull off different heavier styles if they gave it a shot, but they have a good sound that works for them! They seemed genuinely happy to be back, and here's hoping for more from As It Stands very soon!

After them were Kamloops, British Columbia death/grind quintet Blood Drunk, and I have to say, these are one of the more unique bands I've seen in quite some time locally! A lot of that is thanks to frontwoman Marisa Etchart, who has an awesome death growl going for her! Plus, she had a strange, yet weirdly engaging on-stage presence, incorporating some weird trance-like hand movements and dancing, and singing in some odd positions as well, like on the wooden railing! I think she was favouring one leg though, judging by how she moved and stayed in one area. It's hard to explain, you'd have to have been there! The whole band played a very brutal and fast paced form of death metal utilizing some cool time signatures and some very cool riffs and solos! Another element of theirs that stood out was the heavy use of samples and effects by band member Cablz, and though I'm sure some would be tempted to criticize that, I thought it added to the environment and feel that Blood Drunk had! There were people around me saying that the band scared them, and whether it was in jest or not, Blood Drunk left their mark! I think they were damn close to stealing the show myself, here's hoping they come back down the road!

Finally, we had your headliners, Montreal's own Endast, and just when you thought things couldn't get heavier and faster, they did! These guys were brutal in a different way, and they finally got some decent mosh pits going! Frontman Big James Arsenian has a brutal metal voice, sounding like if a death growl and a hardcore scream were blended together, and he had a surprisingly high energy to boot! Also, his old school microphone was a nice touch! While heavy as hell, they also had some melodic touches without resorting to any clean singing sections to kill the mood! James' brother Chris nailed some great solos and riffs, as did Pepe Poliquin, even while getting mid-song beer from promoter Rich Moreland (kudos to him for booking this!) While not as technical as Blood Drunk, and with a sound that is familiar to some other bands I've heard, they tore it down last night, and after over 1,000 shows, it's great to see them in Sault Ontario! It took a while for me to get going, but I was headbanging away to Endast last night, and my neck's still sore. That's a sign that I had a great time, and Endast sure capped this concert on a very heavy note!

Overall, this is easily one of the best shows I've seen in 2010, and it's easily the heaviest package of bands I've seen this year as well! Fingers crossed that we get more very soon, be it these bands or others! The early time did throw things off a bit though, and no, I didn't stay for the karaoke. I thought about it, but it was too slow to get going. Oh, and my photos and video from the show are now online, so check them out! The photos are at our Facebook page, or at this location, and the videos (as uploaded onto our YouTube channel) are immediately below! So here's As It Stands' "Eeny Meeny Miny Ho", Blood Drunk's "King Abomination", and what I think is a new Endast song (I assume it is, I couldn't find it on their albums.)







That's all for now, my next post will be of local metal news and updates, including a LOCAL CONCERT ALERT, a couple of notable returns, and more, so be on the lookout for that! Also, stay tuned in the next few days for our review of Sykotyk Rampage's new album, "Bella Disgusta"! Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (Monkey's Uncle, Peril, And River Witch), A New Local Band, And The Endast Concert Preview!!

And so ends our second busiest month in SMS history! We had a surprisingly high total of 69 posts in July and August, here's hoping for more in September! And today, we have a bunch of LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS and a preview of a big concert tomorrow, so here's what you need to know, and check out my review of SBD's new CD in the post below!

Kewadin Casino has updated their entertainment page to show all the scheduled bands at The Rapids Lounge through December, and yes, there will be metal! There's some shows scheduled from area bands like The Hixx, Paul Perry, and Electric Motor Fish (who aren't metal), plus a couple groups with no known internet pages, so I can't confirm if they're metal or not, like Rainbow and Stone Soup. Hell, there's even two listed weekends that have NO scheduled band, and that's odd in and of itself! But yes, there are confirmed metal bands, including the previously confirmed Driven shows on the September 17th weekend, but here's what you should know that's new!

We'll go in chronological order by band, and we'll start with... Blind Baby? Didn't Tadd Gravelle leave them in July? Well, here's the story. Blind Baby are listed for weekend sets on September 3rd-4th, November 5th-6th, and December 10th-11th. When I did some research to see if these were on in some way or another, I came across a new local hard rock band named River Witch. This band just happens to feature Blind Baby guitarists Darian Causley & Chris Leask, and drummer Ivan Shliska, along with new singer Aaron Fasel and bassist Chris Gurnoe. So it looks like Tadd and Bill Ogston both left Blind Baby, and the remaining members have regrouped with new members and a new name. Not a lot is said about River Witch yet, they play classic/modern rock, have played at least once live (in St. Ignace), and have confirmed that they are playing THIS WEEKEND at The Rapids Lounge! Like previous shows there, both the Friday and Saturday shows are 9:00 PM deals with no cover and a 21+ age limit. Chances are, River Witch are playing all of the scheduled Blind Baby dates, so they're listed as such in the SMS concert listings on your right! Stay tuned for more from River Witch, who sound promising, if Blind Baby were any indication! Click here for more!

Next up for new metal/hard rock shows at The Rapids Lounge are two weekend sets from Monkey's Uncle! The local hard rock trio will return to Kewadin Casino's bar in October for four shows, on the weekends of October 8th-9th and 22nd-23rd! Odd that they're playing there twice in the same month, you don't see that often. As has been the case with most of the Monkey's Uncle shows I've covered in the past year, their MySpace page does NOT list these shows, none have been listed since they were known as Jager, my only source for these is the Kewadin Casino entertainment page linked above. Like the River Witch shows, these will have 9:00 PM start times with no cover charge, and you must be 21 to enter. Should be fun, Monkey's Uncle are a solid hard rock band with a nice classic twist, and they have some pretty good originals too! Check the above links for more, and if I hear of any more Monkey's Uncle shows, I'll let you all know!

The other new shows come courtesy of Northern Michigan classic metal trio Peril, who have scheduled at least one weekend at The Rapids Lounge this weekend, possibly two! How do I mean? Well, both Kewadin and a photo on their Facebook page have confirmed that they will be rocking Sault Michigan on October 15th and 16th (their MySpace page incorrectly lists those shows as being in St. Ignace), so make note of that! However, Kewadin Casino also lists Peril as playing there on the weekend of November 19th and 20th. It should be noted that their MySpace page doesn't list dates for that weekend at all, and the photo linked above says they're in St. Ignace that weekend, but if Kewadin list the shows, there must be some truth to them. All of the above shows have the same ground rules as the other new Kewadin concerts, with 21+ age limits, no cover, and a 9:00 PM start time. Peril are a great band, here's hoping these shows are awesome! I have both of these weekend sets listed on the SMS just in case, but if either is moved or called off, I will definitely let you guys know!

To close today's post, here's a concert preview for a notable concert taking place tomorrow evening! Death metal fans take note, as Jagermeister presents the Metal Made Me Deaf Tour, as it makes it's way to Foggy Notions! Your headliners are Montreal death metal band Endast, who are fucking brutal, you have my word, so let the moshing commence! Relentless extreme death metal, click here to check them out! Joining them are Kamploops grindcore band Blood Drunk, who immediately stand out with their female lead singer and intense musical style! Definitely check them out on MySpace as well! Opening this show are the returning As It Stands, in their first show under that name since January 2009! After a year's absence while members played in Out Of The Mouth Of Babes, they're back to rock the Sault once again with their own brand of metalcore that will be sure to get some mosh pits going! This promises to be one of the heaviest concerts of 2010, do check out all of the above bands! Now, this concert has a $5 cover charge, you must be 19 to enter, and it will be taking place at 6:30 PM tomorrow evening rather than the typical 10:00 PM start time at most bars. This is because the scheduled karaoke night with Jeff July and Silverfox Entertainment is not being moved or postponed, so the metal will just be early to accomodate that! But think about sticking around for the karaoke, cause with metalheads lurking, you could hear some good stuff! For more details and to confirm your attendance, visit the official Facebook event page!

This will be one hell of a concert, and you can guarantee I will be there! I will have a review with photos and videos on Friday, and I hope to see you guys at Foggy's tomorrow at 6:30 PM! Check all of the above links for more, you will not want to miss this show! For a preview, here's Endast's music video for their song "The Craving"!



That's all for now, but I have news about the Kiss show, Stillbroke, a new local music forum, and the rest of the weekend concert previews, and more very soon! But first, stay tuned at midnight sharp for our September update to our "Where Are The New Albums?" post! Thanks everyone!

Sykotyk Rampage's New Album Is Out!! Plus, More News & Notes!

Well guys, the 2010 Sault Ontario metal album season has officially kicked off with the first of a bunch of album releases, and that is today's top story, along with the latest news from two Sault Michigan bands and an upcoming concert, and a brand new local concert video! But first, it's time to go over what you should know about this new album!

The original crash band, Sykotyk Rampage, released their 23rd album, "Bella Disgusta" to their internet pages this morning! After an almost three month delay from the original announced release date, the latest collection of blue Chinese metal crash punk is out for fans to purchase and stream! Featuring 11 tracks, I won't go into detail on what to expect, but let me just say that fans of their last few albums won't be disappointed! It still has the same unique sound and style that got them where they are today! The album's available for $9.99 at the band's official SoundClick page by mp3 download only, or you can purchase individual songs for 75¢ each. Buying each song individually is actually $1.74 cheaper than buying the album as whole, but believe me, the whole album purchase is faster and more worth it. But before you download, you can stream the whole album absolutely free there, as well as on their Facebook page, so you can hear the album free before you buy it! So if you want to hear some crash music and get your Sykotyk Rampage fix, "Bella Disgusta" should work! Click here to buy it today, and use the above links to stream it beforehand!

And as you noticed at the top of the page, our banner has been modified in honour of "Bella Disgusta", as well as our official logo on our Facebook page! Check them out, they will be up through Friday! And finally, yes, I do have a review of "Bella Disgusta" planned for the next little while, but will it be the August album review? No, but here's why. I just reviewed their last album, "22", in March, and I try not to review two albums by the same band in a six month span, so I'll wait until next week to review "Bella Disgusta". My August review, which will likely be on Monday or Tuesday, will either be the CD SBD have been selling at their shows (if they have any tonight), or an album from WAY back in the local scene's past. I'll leave it that, and I'll have more soon!

Secondly today, here's a brand new video from July's Kewadin Casino 25th Anniversary Summer Festival! This comes from the second day of the festival, July 23rd, and it's of Detroit hard rockers Fifth Way (featuring Lake Superior State University graduate Zak Stelmaszek) from their set that day as one of the supporting bands for Three Doors Down! The video, which was uploaded onto the band's official YouTube channel, features Fifth Way playing their song "Lose Control", and though the video doesn't capture the song in full, it's probably the best quality I've seen of any hard rock/metal performance clips from the festival! Catchy hard driving song, you should like this one, check it out below! And remember to stay tuned to The Sault Metal Scene next month when Fifth Way will be profiled in our next Saultites In Out Of Town Bands Profile!



Thirdly today is something we haven't done on here in a while: Quick notes on a few notable topics. These are stories that I don't have enough for a full note on that would be locally relevant, and coincidentally, all of the bands we're gonna touch on have a name starting with the letter E! So here we go, in alphabetical order, some quick news and notes:

• Sault Michigan hard rockers Elipzis are keeping busy with some more out of town dates as they continue to make their mark on the Lower Peninsula! Their blog on MySpace has news on some upcoming TV appearances they'll be making on some Grand Rapids-area stations, along with their latest gigs in Grand Haven and Battle Creek next weekend! Click the above links for more!
• If you were wondering why I didn't cover the announced release date of Sault Michigan/Grand Rapids metal band End of Existence's EP "Sun Is Gone" on August 15th, there's a good reason why I didn't. They actually pushed the release back to September 1st, as confirmed on a new ticker on their official website, as well as on the news section. No reason was given for the delay. I'll keep you posted as I hear more!
• As we've been plugging on the SMS, Endast, Blood Drunk, and the returning As It Stands will be bringing the metal to Foggy Notions on Thursday night. But why is it taking place at 6:30 PM, 3 ½ hours earlier than usual? Simple, because Thursday is karaoke night at Foggy's! That will be on as scheduled at 10:00 PM on Thursday, and expect this to be more metal than your typical karaoke night! Get more details at this location!

And finally for today, just some SMS housekeeping notes. Firstly, I've edited The Sault Metal Scene's official MySpace page to give it the new layout that MySpace is introducing for their profiles. It's a work in progress and admittedly not my primary focus for SMS things, but it does look cleaner and less like an HTML mess than it did. There's more to do, but of course, add us as a friend on MySpace today if you haven't already! Also, I wanted to clear up a little note on what cities, towns, and areas count as "local" in terms of what we cover on the SMS. My unwritten rule has been that bands and shows that we cover on here should be roughly within a 45 minute drive of Sault Ontario or Michigan, but what areas does that include? Well, here's what falls in that area for what counts as "local" for SMS purposes:

Outside of Sault Ontario: Laird, Garden River, Goulais River, Rankin Reserve, Prince Township, Gros Cap, Echo Bay, Bar River, Sylvan Valley, Aweres, Searchmont, and areas in between.

Outside of Sault Michigan: Kincheloe, Kinross, Barbeau, Kelden, Pickford, Stirlingville, Brimley, Raco, Rudyard, Dafter, Bay Mills, Sugar Island, Eckerman, Strongs, and areas in between.

Hopefully that helps clear up any confusion! I'm a bit more lenient for specific concerts (Hempfest, notably), but I try to stick to the 45 minute drive time area around the city for what I'd say is "local". No offense meant to any bands and promoters not in the above areas! That's all for today, I'll see you guys at Foggy's tonight for SBD, and I'll have a review, photos, and video tomorrow, and I'll try and post some live updates from outside Muio's as the night rolls on! I'll see you all downtown!

As It Stands' Return & Nixxon Dixxon's End, Plus 7/47 And AtrophiA News!!

It's assorted news time at The Sault Metal Scene, with the latest Woods of Ypres news, some needed updating I made to one of our recent profile posts, and a local band's reemergence, but first we welcome back (and say farewell) to two prominent local bands! Here's what you need to know on this Monday afternoon!

As It Stands are BACK! The local hardcore band last seen in January 2009 have reunited with their classic lineup intact, and have been announced as the local openers for September 2nd's Endast/Blood Drunk concert at Foggy Notions! Their involvement in this show is confirmed at both a brand new Facebook event page and at As It Stands' MySpace page. The event page also confirms that the concert will have a $5 cover charge and an unnaturally early start time for a show at Foggy's, that being 6:30 PM, running through 11:00 PM. Despite the start time, nothing I've read indicates any difference to the age limits, so it's probably still 19+. Check the above links for more, I can't wait for this concert! Great to see As It Stands back, they were one of the more prominent local hardcore bands of recent years, even releasing an EP at their peak! This will be their first show that I know of in almost 20 months, after which the band broke up and reformed as Out Of The Mouth Of Babes, with Josh McNally & Matt Maccarone singing at varying points. We only got to see OOTMOB live once, in February at Nite-Life Dance Club's portion of Algoma Hope4Haiti, and though I can't confirm whether OOTMOB are still active or not, As It Stands are definitely back in action! I'll keep you posted with updates on their return show with Endast and more, and IF ANYONE HAS A COPY OF THEIR EP, LET ME KNOW!!!

Next up, I can confirm what I'm sure many of you were fearing: Nixxon Dixxon are breaking up. This past weekend's shows at The Bird were their last. As far as I can tell, the breakup is mostly due to Jake LaLonde's relocation to California to attend The Musicians Institute (no, I don't have word on if he made the finals yet), and though it's a shame that they're not staying together with at least a temporary drummer, I appreciate that they don't want to replace their friend and bandmate that easily! No statements have been made concerning their end on their MySpace page, but frontman Brandon Carr worded his thoughts very well on his personal Facebook page. Here's what he had to say:

"All those years in Jacob Lalonde's basement and Chris Hubbard's garage come full circle. And thanks to Kyle Beaumont, we sure had some good laughs. All that goofing around never felt we were trying to get better, just doing something that made sense to us. Through thick and thin we always have each other, and making music with ya guys sure helped push away a lot of those empty feelings. Nixxon Dixxon's last gig"

It's clear to me that Nixxon Dixxon loved playing together, and they've came a long way in the process. Once just a young local cover band, they've rapidly grown in recognition and success, and they are literally going out on top. Not many teenagers can say they opened for Bret Michaels, let alone twice, and they definitely had the talent to back it up! When I said they were one the most talented bands in Sault Michigan, I meant it! Age restrictions and my lack of a vehicle precluded me from seeing a full show of theirs, but I always enjoyed the YouTube videos I saw and the songs I heard on MySpace (frankly, they should repost them.) Sault Ontario music fans got a chance to see Nixxon Dixxon at December's Kiss Battle of the Bands, and the fact that a Sault Michigan band few had heard of made it to the finals surprised many, but not me. I had them as a dark horse to win, and deservingly so! I don't know what the future holds for them, but I wish Jake the best of luck in California, and I hope the rest of the guys get back in a new band soon, cause there's too much talent there to not use in music somehow! And if they do re-emerge in the local scene, we'll be watching!

Thirdly, remember 7/47, the young local hard rock quartet featuring Free Refill drummer Mike Pascoe on guitar? Well, we hadn't heard much from them since last August (their MySpace page is very outdated), but they never broke up, and recently played a set in Mackinac City with a new lineup! I have no idea what the occasion was for this show, but it appears to be recent, and you can see the banner on stage for The Guitar Studio Rock Camp, who 7/47 were formed through. I can't 100% verify who's in the current lineup, except for bassist Jack Slater, who uploaded three videos from said show onto his YouTube channel! I'm assuming that Mike Pascoe and drummer Joe North are still in 7/47, but going by photo evidence, it looks like Tyler Wall (Mike's former Free Refill bandmate) is not in 7/47 anymore. Of course, if I'm wrong, let me know! Most striking to me is 7/47's new female singer, who actually has a pretty good voice, though it got wavery at points on heavier rangier stuff. Jack uploaded videos in the past week of 7/47 covering Sublime's "Santeria", Seether's "Broken", and the video I'm embedding below, their rendition of Halestorm's "It's Not You"! Good stuff, check it out below, and hopefully we hear some updated information and local dates from 7/47 soon!



It's odd, this post is taking a roller coaster effect. A band returning, a band ending, a band returning, and now, a band that's already ended! As you know, I've been trying in recent months to include monthly feature posts, generally for band profiles and such. Well, I want to try and update old ones as new information about certain bands comes out, and that scenario recently came up for AtrophiA, the first band I profiled in our Defunct Local Band Profile Series. I went back and made some edits to my SMS profile on them, and because it's not a front page story, I'll tell you what I changed to bring it up to date! I added former bassist Ryan Gray to the lineup (you'll recognize him from bands like Sindicate and Batteries Not Included), I added that they used to be called Metal Militia, and biggest of all, I posted a video! I thought that the AtrophiA profile looked too bare without a video of some kind, so I ripped the videos that guitarist Andrew Chiarello posted on Facebook, combined them together into one video (as none were full songs), and posted it to our YouTube channel WITH COMPLETELY GOOD INTENT to give the profile an embeddable video to check out!

NO COPYRIGHT INFRINGEMENT IS INTENDED!! Besides, people should see these clips more, and YouTube videos are definitely more widespread than videos on Facebook! Good quality too, check the clips out below, and check out the newly updated SMS profile on AtrophiA by clicking here!



That's all for now, but stay tuned for news from Gates of Winter and Woods of Ypres (including, maybe, the answers to all the questions?) And yes, tomorrow will bring our newest Saultites In Out Of Town Bands profile, so watch out for that as well! Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (Turner Up, Bring The Fallen, and Endast), And A New Local Band!!

Here's one final post to cap off our busiest month ever at The Sault Metal Scene! 35 posts in July, counting this one, easily shattering our previous record of 28! Thanks to all you guys for sticking around this month, it's been rough for backlogged news and updates, but it's been worth it! Today's packed with three LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (one of which is VERY short notice) and new video footage of a new local band, so here we go! And remember to check out my latest Saultites In Out Of Town Bands Profile immediately below this post, as we profile Jar. and Thrawsunblat!

I REALLY apologize for the short notice on this concert, but neither the venue or band announced it until today. Classic hard rock cover band Turner Up ARE playing a show tonight, at Foggy Notions! Various band members confirmed the show on Facebook, but the source I know everyone can see that verifies this show is Foggy Notions' Facebook page, so there's a reliable source! As best as I can tell, this show's no different from any of their past concerts, 10:00 PM start time, likely cover charge of $3, you must be 19 to get in. I think this is their first show at Foggy Notions with Brent Royer behind the microphone, so make note of that! Head on out for some great rock covers if you want to! Myself, I'll be at Coch's Corner for Ultraviolence, but hopefully a good crowd shows up despite the short notice! For more information on this show and Turner Up, check the above links, and seeing as this is essentially a preview for the show as well, here's a video for you guys of Turner Up covering Wild Cherry's "Play That Funky Music"!



Now to brand new shows, and remember on Tuesday when I plugged a planned fundraiser benefit concert for Pauline's Place Youth Shelter on August 14th? Well, the first official public information for it is now out, and yes, there will be metal! Three bands have been confirmed for the lineup, and if you were at the Downtown Showdown battle of the bands in May, then they should be quite familiar! Local death metal quintet Bring The Fallen, last seen winning Downtown Showdown, will be among the performers at this benefit concert! No word on whether Nolan Rainville or temporary replacement Mike Kyle will be on bass, but either way, it's great to see Bring The Fallen back out there! Local experimental hard rockers SBD (featuring Dann Pichette and Brad Griffith from No Arrow) will also return for their first show since Downtown Showdown at this benefit concert, which will also be just their third live appearance! Great seeing them back too, fans loved them back in May! And before I forget, SBD have a new Facebook group, click here to visit and join! Also confirmed are Downtown Showdown runners-up The Fury (featuring ex-DOTH drummer Joe Bumbacco), who'll deliver their bass-heavy brand of music to the stage once again! DJ Spruceau (who closed Bring The Fallen's Algoma Hope4Haiti show) will also be on hand to spin some tunes, and there may be more acts announced, so I will keep you guys posted!

Much more information on this special benefit concert has also been announced! It will be held at the skatepark outside of The John Rhodes Community Center on Elizabeth Street, and if you remember correctly, this is the very same skatepark that we all helped make a reality at August 2008's Rock 2 Roll fundraiser at The Canadian Nightclub! This appears to be a family event as well, with events like a barbeque, face painting, a dunk tank, "bouncy things" (probably those inflatable play areas), hula hoops, fire spinning, a skate competition ($10 to enter), and more! The event runs from 12:00-10:30 PM on August 14th, it's obviously outdoors, it's definitely all ages, and though I can't confirm a possible admission price, all proceeds will go towards Pauline's Place. For more details, visit the official Facebook event page, and if you or your band want to play at the benefit (cause there are openings still), e-mail lp_k_fa@hotmail.com for details! Sounds like a fun event, I will definitely try and make it to this, and I will definitely keep you all posted with updates!

Our final new show today REALLY has me excited! Montreal melodic death metal band Endast will be headlining at Foggy Notions on September 2nd on one of the stops on their Metal Made Me Deaf tour, presented by Jagermeister! After unsuccessfully searching for a local date last November, they've got one locked up for September, which is great to see! Joining them will be Kamloops grindcore band Blood Drunk for a night full of brutal headbanging! Note that Foggy Notions hasn't fully confirmed this concert, but I'm used to them not immediately announcing shows. Besides, if both bands list a Foggy's date their on their respective MySpace pages, there must be some truth to it! As is typical at Foggy's, I'd expect a $3 cover with a 10:00 PM start time and a 19+ age limit, but keep in mind that this would be a Thursday show. I'll keep you guys posted with details, check the above links for more! This sounds like an awesome concert, if you ask me! Endast are extremely brutal, and Blood Drunk are a very capable grindcore band in their own right! Hopefully this show is 100% final and hopefully I can make it out! You guys make note of it as well!

And finally, a new local band has just surfaced! I've honestly heard a bit about them for a bit now, but they've been intentionally keeping things secret while they got ready. They are The Bear Hunters, a local death metal quintet featuring a few notable veterans from recent young local bands! The band features former Dark Salvation guitarist Nik Deubel on vocals, guitarists Andres Duchesne & Mitch Sirie (you'll recognize him from Lorax, Eyes Set Fire, and April Eyes), and former Devastation of the Heavens members Justin Lam on bass & Johnny Lowrie/Belanger on drums! You may also recognize Justin from Operation: Killdozer & Dark Salvation, and Johnny from Death Rise. I'm friends with a couple members of The Bear Hunters already, so I knew of them for a while now, but they only just officially launched into the public consciousness the other day, courtesy of a new jam video! Justin Lam uploaded this video onto his YouTube channel, of The Bear Hunters (minus Nik Deubel, who was working at that moment) playing a new original named "Bloodthirst"! Very promising, nice and heavy, but it gets repetitive after a while. Not much of a solo either, but these guys sound good, and there's bound to be more coming from The Bear Hunters! Check out their first video footage below!



That's all for tonight, and July, really! I have much more news coming very soon, and remember, I'll be tweeting LIVE from the Ultraviolence concert TONIGHT at Coch's Corner! I hope to see you guys there, this'll be a fun one! Review coming tomorrow!