It's now time for this month's Defunct Local Band Profile! After a slight delay for our first monthly feature post of the fall of 2025, it's now live, and we're again taking a look at the current release whereabouts and latest public updates from local metal, hard rock, and punk bands who have signalled the beginning of recording sessions for new albums. No new additions or removals this month, but two entries have updates, as noted with their titles in italics. So, where are the new albums? Read on below to hopefully find out!
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Bone Yard 225's debut album
Rumoured Songs: "F.A.F.O.", "Gypsy Spell", "Fuck!"
Background: After months of teasers
that they were planning to record original music (as previewed in their
live concerts prior), local southern hard rock cover trio Bone Yard 225
began releasing their own songs on major streaming services in July
2024, a whopping fifteen years after the pre-225 band debuted as a
country cover quartet. Their first three singles (all recorded at their
home studio) were posted online by January, though it took until May 2025 for the band to confirm on their Facebook page
that they were indeed working on a proper album. It's not immediately
clear if their existing three singles will be included, but it's not a
given, as Jonesy Land fans saw with "Zoom-Out". As of August 11th, it was reportedly "album tracking time", while this video from three days later purports to show bandmates Alex D'Ettore and Warren Reville recording backing vocals (which may or may not be for a cover of Mike Posner's "I Took A Pill In Ibiza".)
Current Release Status: In
that Facebook post from May 30th, your local 225 said that "the album
is coming along nicely", and they hoped to release it "by the end of
2025". Assuming no delay, that's a six month window, and while
singer/drummer Greg Simpson did release an EP with his old band
Stiffler's Mom, it's hard to compare the release methods and schedule
given that "The Demo" came out in 2004. It is neat to see that Greg, Alex, and Warren are going all in on a studio album, and stay tuned for updates as they roll in!
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Bullet Train's upcoming EPs
Rumoured Songs: "Atmosphere", "Illusions", "Profit", "Wayside"
Background: The current hard rock
band from former Sense of Truth/Skeyes of Seven frontman Cory Murchsion
and ex-Fort Creek bandmates Robin "Bones" Lee and Anthony Fabiano,
Bullet Train have existed solely as a studio band so far, releasing four original songs recorded at their own home studio to their YouTube channel in 2024, all very much influenced by their take on current
events. After a quiet summer due to "life's trials", Bullet Train
resurfaced on their Facebook page last September to reveal that they were working on two
demo EPs, with the first one entering post-production as of the 9th,
though it's not clear if their 2024 singles will be on them.
Current Release Status:
No idea yet, especially as this band has no prior track record for
releasing albums, though all three band members have experience writing
and recording studio material to varying degrees. Bullet Train claimed
on September 9th that a release date for EP #1 would be announced "in
the upcoming weeks", a timeline not realized as of this writing. It'll
be interesting
to see how fast things come along for Bullet Train, so keep tabs on
their Facebook page for further updates!
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Chase James Wigmore - The Chaotic Rite
Rumoured Songs: "The Cities Alive & It's Angry"
Background: Ever
the prolific artist & songwriter, local folk punk/extreme metal
musician Chase Wigmore has been working on an extensive rock opera for years (once claimed to be a 33 part work),
originally named
"A Story
About A Kid Named Todd". Worked on in between his other unrelated solo
albums, released for sale or otherwise, Chase posted a lengthy
elaboration of the rock opera in 2022, now titled "The Chaotic
Rite", outlining its concept, recording plans, and long-term release
timeline. Clips of songs have surfaced on his Facebook page,
as have full songs not explicitly tied to the album, as well as the final artwork. In more recent promotion, Chase has
hinted that "The Chaotic Rite" might be his final solo album as part of aims to focus on his personal life more
than his prolific original material.
Regardless, the final product has been pared down to 25-30 minutes.
Current Release Status:
Chase elaborated on Facebook last summer that the album was 95% done
earlier that year when the files "got trapped on my desktop's hard
drive", and he had been unable to procure a backup of the material or
recover the files as of that post. In any event, three of the full songs
uploaded to Facebook in the previous year were clarified as not being
planned for "The Chaotic Rite", but they could surface on a separate EP.
Fingers crossed that Chase is able to save this album and put it out
when able, especially given the years that he's put into the making of
it!
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Convergence - In Bloom
Rumoured Songs: "Gemini", "In Bloom", "Breaking News", "It Ate The F&$%ing Moon", "Kraken Mara", "You Are Not Flesh"
Background: Just over a month after releasing their sophomore EP "Dead And Dreaming",
local progressive metal band Convergence announced in February 2024 that EP #3 would be named "Gemini", with its cover artwork
being released at the same time. Teaser clips of most songs from the EP were posted on their Facebook page and their YouTube channel throughout
much of 2024, but most prior media was wiped as they retooled as a full
band, now including singer Stephen Gagnon-Ruscio and drummer David
Peredun. Convergence have been working in studio recently with
producer Dustin Goodall at Unsalted Audio, documenting the sessions in
Facebook "Reels", and while they did get cagey about the endgame for the
studio sessions, they have confirmed in concert that the EP (now named
"In Bloom") is still in progress. Live versions of early instrumentals
(now with vocals) have also been played in their early sets.
Current Release Status:
No clue, and given the complexity of their music yet their independent
studio trappings so far, that could bode a quick or lengthy timeline for
"In Bloom" to come out, depending on what angle you take. Since their
modern studio cycle commenced in 2023, things have been relatively
steady for Brendan and Jake as a recording act, and here's hoping that
Convergence keep that up for their third offering!
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Fort Creek's debut album
Rumoured Songs: "One For The Road", "Sweet Rosie"
Background: Background: Local
southern/hard rock band Fort Creek have sporadically teased plans to
record an EP since February 2020, but they wouldn't release any samples
until almost two years later when they shared (now-deleted) clips of
their original song "Hammer Down" on their Facebook page.
The guys would play it regularly at concerts from 2022-2023, with
studio sessions taking place in early-mid 2023 as well. After the
departure of bassist Robin "Bones" Lee and drummer
Anthony Fabiano (both now of Bullet Train) in the fall of 2023, Fort
Creek opted
to abandon material recorded with them "as a show of good faith", and
have been working on new material and rebuilding their studio over the
past two years. Now featuring Phil Greco on drums, their first single
(the acoustic "One For The Road")
was posted online in January, with the band confirming plans to now
record a 10 song album at Jettison Studios prior to returning to live
concerts. Their new single "Sweet Rosie" was said to be coming next, and they teased being back in studio to record that very song as of August 31st.
Current Release Status:
Prior release timelines for their debut EP reflected their early 2020s
lineup's material, and Justin, Shane, Bill, and Phil have largely kept things
somewhat close to the vest prior to putting out "One For The Road".
There are a lot of
unknowns,
especially given the 5+ years of production time and their decision to
basically start over in 2023, and that this is a band
that was primarily known for their work on the weekend cover circuit
before their rhythm section left. It
will be interesting to see how things develop, so stay tuned for
updates!
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Handsome Sandwich's first EP
Rumoured Songs: "Without You", "Partyfuel", "Change A Bit", "No Idea", "All Done Now"
Background: Before even releasing
their full-length debut album "Deconstructed" in May 2023, local
alternative/hard rock band Handsome Sandwich revealed that not all of
their existing originals would be on that album, with plans to instead
release them and some brand new songs on a forthcoming EP. In September
of that year, they began recording this EP (which will reportedly have
seven
songs) at the Algoma Conservatory of Music,
with bass & drum tracks completed that month, and then-guitarist Mitch
Sirie was finishing his parts as of that December, with vocals still
to go. At least five of the seven songs have had their names revealed in
concert setlists. After only
contributing to the packaging on "Deconstructed", bassist Rafael Medina
will perform on this EP, and a "Reel" of him recording an unidentified song in studio was posted to the band's Facebook page.
It's not clear if ex-rhythm guitarist Brandon Ruch will be in some fashion or not, but BookcluB saxophonist Josh Norling may
appear again, as he guested with them to play "Partyfuel" at August 2024's Northern Vibe Festival. The studio version of "All Done Now" was sampled in this Vintage Games & Junque livestream
with drummer Johnny Belanger in April, while "Collage" was cited as a
possible album name at their Soo Blaster concert in May.
Current Release Status:
To be determined, and while they're not recording this EP at the same
place as "Deconstructed", note that the sessions for that album at
Unsalted Audio wrapped up four months before the album release. An article about the band
from The Sault Star in June 2024 noted that the seven new songs "will
likely be released as singles", but whether this points to a change of
release plans or is just an acknowledgement that they have seven
individual singles to put out, I don't know. It will be interesting to
see how things progress
in the coming months!
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Pillory's first full length album
Rumoured Songs: "End
Of Small Sanctuary", "Specimen Of Egotism", "Sculptor Of Cadavers",
"The Angst Of Existence", "The Passing", "Abhorred Apprehension", "The
Curse Of Eternal Sickness", "A Drop Of Shame In An Ocean Of Guilt"
Background: After a five year
hiatus dotted with occasional reunion teasers from band members on
social media, local death/thrash metal trio Pillory fully reunited last
summer, picking up where they left off in their 2015-2019 run. During
that time, they fully moved to death metal with harsh/growled vocals,
completely abandoning their originals from their 2013 debut EP "Cringe
At The Cross" in the process. While established mid-late 2010s songs and
new material have been played in concert in the past year, Pillory only
confirmed in this Facebook post
on band t-shirts from May 19th that they were working on a full-length
album, which they intend on "finishing and releasing", implying that
sessions have commenced in some form. It's not yet clear if Blair St.
John or his replacement Devon Lucier will handle bass.
Current Release Status:
Given how little Pillory has publically said about the album on social
media, it's anyone's guess, but the technicality and brutality seen on
the band's death metal-era material (and increasingly so) bodes well
towards wanting this music not to stall out in live performances. Keep
tabs on what Robert, Bret, and Devon are up to on Facebook, and
hopefully the album is on its way reasonably soon!
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I hope you guys liked this month's "Where Are The New Albums?" post! This series will return on or around October 2nd, while our next monthly feature post will likely be our latest Defunct Local Band Profile, which is currently scheduled to go live on Wednesday. That's all for now, but stay tuned for weekend concert previews on the site next! Thanks everyone!
Next up, I have reluctantly moved local alternative/hard rock band Handsome Sandwich
to our inactive band links. While not at our one year inactivity
threshold, I'm now inclined to believe that they quietly disbanded in
late 2025, thanks in part to their "Collage" EP's abrupt release in
September, their lack of any public updates since, and most members
currently focusing on new projects. After a year's hiatus during the
pandemic, guitarist Jesse Cook & drummer Johnny Belanger brought
Handsome Sandwich back in the summer of 2021, but not as the genre-less
cover trio that fans had known since 2017. Now with singer Taylor Emlaw in
their ranks, they became favourites at local concerts for the next four
years, including two Rotaryfest Stage 2 sets, tour runs in Southeastern
Ontario, and their 2023 release party for "Deconstructed" at The Loft.
We'll close today with a new/old video of local classic/hard rock cover quartet Soundcheck that made its way to YouTube in September of last year! This was uploaded to former drummer Glen Thomas' personal YouTube channel shortly before the band reunited without him, and it comes from Soundcheck's set at Toystock at the Grand Gardens in November 2022. In their fourth of five consecutive Toystock sets, Soundcheck were represented here by Glen alongside founding guitarist Terry Eaton, singer Cameron Oliver (who is not playing guitar here at all), and guest bassist Rob Gilmar, who frequently sat in for Paul Belair in the early 2020s (Jim Michaud would join the band permanently a few months after this gig). Soundcheck were filmed here by an uncredited attendee covering The Black Keys' "Lonely Boy" and Big & Rich's "Save A Horse (Ride a Cowboy)" to close their set.
