LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (Korpiklaani & Generations), Plus Convergence's New EP!!

Here's a second post late on this Thursday night, which is half devoted to LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS for later this fall, plus a surprise new album release and related videos, so here's what you should know!

Local classic/hard rock cover quartet Generations have announced three concerts for next month, as per this concert calendar on their Facebook group! The first of the shows will be a one-nighter at The Water Tower Pub on Saturday, October 2nd, marking their first show of any kind since a private event last week, and their first at this central venue since early August. They're not scheduled anywhere over the Thanksgiving weekend, but Generations will return to Reggie's Place for a full weekend on Friday-Saturday, October 15th and 16th as well, after playing there late last month. No word yet on if we will see Valerie, Joe, Pierre, and Tony anywhere over Halloween weekend, but keep all three shows in mind for their talented mix of classic and hard rock covers next month! These are all 19+ with no cover, with the Water Tower Pub show at 8:00 PM and the Reggie's gigs at 9:30 PM. See above for more details!

Next up, here's the big new show announcement that caught many extreme metal fans by surprise, as Finnish folk metal sextet Korpiklaani will make their local concert debut on Saturday, November 7th at Blaster Powerhouse! A veteran staple of metal in Finland for over two decades, Korpiklaani (which means "The Backwoods Clan") deliver an effectively folk-inspired sound that often sounds like a medieval party, complete with a violin and accordion(!) in their live repertoire, but they are decidedly a metal band with harsh vocals, and certainly not something we see often in this part of Ontario, so welcome them to the Soo in six weeks' time! Opening on their Canadian tour in November are Toronto melodic death metal quintet Crimson Shadows in their own local debut, and their power metal-influenced brutality should get the pits going in their own right, so definitely give them a listen as well!

Local support will come by way of local death metal quartet Eden Plague (the former Bear Hunters) and debuting local "midwest screamo" band Free Drugs. I have no intel on who they are, but assuming they're not a surprise band that night, we'll let you know when anything goes public! Promoted by Underground Events SSM, this all ages show at 7:30 PM has tickets running for $25 (no word on a hike at the door or if local openers will have any), which you can buy online at this link. Legit Scandinavian metal legends coming here is rare, so do not bypass what will be a major highlight of the fall calendar for local metalheads! Visit the above links for more details!

Also today, here's a surprise new EP release, as local progressive metal quartet Convergence quietly dropped their long awaited first studio effort with their current lineup on major streaming services on September 7th! After previously teasing that it'd be self-titled or named "In Bloom", the EP has reverted to the "Gemini" name that they were planning to use in 2024 before Stephen and David came on board, despite "Gemini" being their third release. "The Ebb", the title track, "You Are Not Flesh", and "In Bloom" are the four included songs, with "The Ebb" being a holdover from their de-listed all-instrumental 2024 EP "Dead & Dreaming" (now with a full band) and the other three songs all originated in the planning for album #3 in any form. Convergence have been very quiet this year, partly due to drummer David Peredun now living in Southern Ontario, so hopefully the abrupt release of "Gemini" isn't a bad sign re: their future!

In any event, you can actually buy this EP for $5.99 on Bandcamp, or hear it for free there and on the usual streaming haunts. Our review backlog remains quite large, so "Gemini" is currently pencilled in for April, so look for that then, and hopefully we hear more new songs and re-recordings alike from Convergence when able, as they were teasing a full album as recently as the spring! To promote the release, new videos have been posted to the band's YouTube channel in recent months, including guitar playthroughs from Brendan and Jake of both the title track and "You Are Not Flesh" in amusingly suburban locales, complete with on-screen tabs if you want to try and play along or learn how the songs were constructed. Watch for Rocky the dog in the latter video! Completing the set with prior lyric video uploads, Convergence also uploaded lyric videos to their channel for both "You Are Not Flesh" and "In Bloom".

The whole EP was also uploaded as one single YouTube video (as opposed to the auto-generated songs on YouTube Music), but embedded below is the playthrough video for "You Are Not Flesh" starring David, as it's the only one of the three where the band member in question is fully seen on camera (Brendan and Jake's heads are continually out of frame on theirs). Despite his move down south, it is encouraging to see David still working with Convergence, and while I'll hold comment on the song pending our full review next year, his drum abilities are certainly not in doubt. Give these new videos (and the "Gemini" EP) a look above & below!

That's all for now, but stay tuned for more news and notes on the SMS soon! Thanks everyone!

New Videos From Convergence & 5 Dollar Bribe!!

Before we begin today's post, I wanted to offer our deepest condolences to the family & friends of veteran local guitarist, luthier, and guitar tech Gregory David Wilson, who passed away on Monday at the age of 69, following a lengthy battle with cancer. Read his obituary on SooToday at this link. Greg is survived by his sister Greta, brother Jay, and nephew Wade, and he was a proud pet parent who frequently shared photos of his orange tabby cats Chloe and Buddy on social media over the years. While Greg's credits as a performer in bands and in concerts are not in easily accessible supply in 2026, he was a very talented guitarist who made his mark with numerous local musicians over the years via his work in Gregory David Wilson Guitarworks, where he fixed, restored, customized, and sold guitars and basses of many kinds, and also helped local musicians on their concert setups and other musical inquiries.

Cremation has taken place already at the O'Sullivan Funeral Home, and a celebration of life will be held at a later date. The family requests that memorial donations be sent to the Sault Ste. Marie Humane Society or the Sault Area Hospital Foundation's Cancer Care Fund. While not a musician myself, I admired Greg's work with guitars, I always looked forward to his cat photos, and I actually sold him some guitar strings and related gear that I had won in a contest many moons ago. The reach and influence he had with so many local musicians from multiple generations is extremely evident, and our best thoughts are with the Wilson family at this time. R.I.P. Greg!

Today's post otherwise looks at some recent videos from Sault Ontario bands, and we'll start with progressive metalcore quartet Convergence, and after posting some amusing (if vertical) Facebook videos re-contextualizing clips from their new song "Gemini" with unrelated viral videos, they uploaded a behind-the-scenes "Inside The Chaos" video to their YouTube channel on Monday, featuring a look at the work that the guys are putting into the album, which has officially been renamed "Gemini" (as their planned third instrumental EP would have been) rather than its prior teased name "In Bloom". The video is helpfully broken into chapters and features hard-coded subtitles added in post-production. In order, you see singer Stephen Gagnon-Ruscio tracking vocals, guitarist Brendan Christie mixing songs at their own Woodward Avenue Studios and tracking his own guitar parts, a look at their studio gear, ...

...fellow guitarist Jake Valois going into the writing process for the album (with some amusing imagery), and drummer David Peredun discussing the songwriting process in voice-over while he drums on screen. Of note, David actually moved to Southern Ontario in recent months to further his own career and make new connections, but he is still in Convergence, is still working on the album, and he explained that they are making gigs work when he can return home. While a little piecemeal in its layout, this is an informative video that shows a lot while also not giving much away, and I really liked the tracking clips at the start, so give this a watch below!

Finally for tonight, let's wrap up our look at the videos publically shared to new local hard rock quartet 5 Dollar Bribe's Facebook page from their matinee debut at Beck's Bar on April 4th! For our coverage of the band's two own videos and what three other attendees shot, check yesterday's post. The venue's own Facebook page posted a (sadly) vertical video from that night featuring 3 minutes of highlights from the day's sets, though the cuts are very quick, and some snippets only run for around 10 seconds. In order, you will see the guys covering Weezer's "Say It Ain't So", The Presidents Of The United States Of America's "Lump", Temple Of The Dog's "Hunger Strike", Ozzy Osbourne's "No More Tears", Bon Jovi's "I'll Be There For You", Alice In Chains' "No Excuses" (with bassist Randy Lundigran on lead vocals), and Pink Floyd's "Money". Only the first two songs are unique here, and were not among what other uploaders shot.

I do wish that these clips were all longer (if not separate videos outright), but Becky(?) got some good close angles despite the orientation! The Ozzy cover got the most time among the highlights here, and you can see how impressed the attendees to the side of the stage were with the band/guitarist Tyler Greely's solo, and the pan shot of the audience gives a good interior view if you haven't been to Beck's since it opened last year (next weekend is their one year anniversary, even). Give their 5.D.B. video a watch below!

The other three videos were uploaded by Randy's dad Chad Lundigran for his personal Facebook page before the band shared them to their Facebook page. Unfortunately also shot vertically and all running for under a minute each, Chad filmed Five Dollar Bribe covering "Money", the Atlanta Rhythm Section's "So Into You" (what a pull for a band this young!), and as embedded below, "No Excuses". Randy sings lead on "So Into You", for the record. It's good to get a longer look at the A.I.C. cover, and their talents are on good display here for a successful first go at the public stage, so check out Jayce, Tyler, Randy, and Chase's other new Beck's videos above & below!

That's all for now, but stay tuned for weekend concert previews on the SMS next! Thanks everyone!