Our Newest Metal Morpheus Episode Recap!!

Single topic post today, as another new episode of local metal radio show Metal Morpheus debuted on The Borderline on Sunday night, so what should you know about it? Following last week's heavily (and divisively) topical episode, host Josh Amendola brought back his planned series of alphabetical spotlights of the metal scenes of countries from around the world for this week, and after previously jumping ahead six countries to look at Austria for differing topical reasons, he headed back to the regular order yesterday to look at metal bands from Andorra, an extremely small (but highly developed) principality on the French/Spanish border. For context, Andorra is only barely more populated than Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario! I am surprised that Josh didn't lump Andorra in with the next A countries in line, which also have small metal scenes, but he made Andorra alone work by playing local bands for almost half of the episode's runtime.

The slightly shorter 55 minute episode begins with Josh noting that you can now hear The Borderline on FM radio locally at 107.5 FM, which is news to me! In checking around for details, they launched an FM transmitter downtown on or by January 22nd, and it is low power with an estimated distance of 5-7 km from the originating source, presumably their 527 Queen Street East home base. From my checks of the CRTC's website, there has been no public application for a new FM station at 107.5 FM, so the short range may indicate that their transmitter is the biggest they can get without needing a federal license. For the record, I did try to pick up The Borderline at 107.5 FM from about 2.5 km away, and the signal did not come in (disclosure, I didn't test it downtown), but if 5-7 km is just the furthest reported signal, the range could be comparable to the transmitters used at drive-in theaters. Your mileage may vary!

In any event, you can hear The Borderline 24/7 online at this link, but FM availability is great for anyone in range, and who knows what this could lead to! Back to the Metal Morpheus episode proper, Josh next gives some statistics about Andorra & its native music, before moving into the country's very small roster of prominent metal bands, so much so that the first FOUR songs come from the same band, namely melodic death metal sextet Persefone, including their songs "In Lak'ech" (3:00), "Underworld: The Fallen & The Butterfly - Act I: Clash of the Titans" (10:35), "Mind As Universe" (17:00), and "The Demise of Oblivion" (21:50). Josh finishes the Andorran half of the episode with a song from ambient black metal solo project De Veneficas Inferi, namely "Daemonic I, Stone Witches" (30:05). The final 21 minutes of this episode belong to local metal acts, so who got played in the back half?

In order, Josh plays defunct hardcore punk band The Harsh Heads' song "Carolly" (35:15) from their kinda-released album "First Hated Then Forgotten", three songs from mysterious mid-2000s extreme metal solo project Recognition (their self-titled track [39:05], "Flying Ashes" [43:00], and "First" [45:05]), late 1990s hardcore punk band Proposition 86's song "Another Lost Cause" from their EP (47:15), and defunct Sault Michigan groove metal band Lower S.E.S.' song "Bold" (51:00) from their EP. Before playing the final song, Josh did hint that he wants to do more themed episodes apart from the alphabetical country series once he finishes with the As, and for reference, 6 countries that start with A come after Andorra (obviously excluding the already-covered Austria), with Angola next in line if Josh stays in alphabetical order. Solid episode overall that takes Metal Morpheus back to its 2021 form with quality music all around!

Some of Josh's pronunciation of Catalan terms wasn't great (points for trying, of course), and for variety's sake, maybe he should have stretched out to include more than two Andorran bands, but Persefone are a strong and heavy group in their own right, and the locals on offer were fun to hear again! Hear this and other back episodes of Metal Morpheus at the above links, and tune in for the next episode (Angola or otherwise) on Sunday night at 9:00 PM and/or on-demand after the fact! That's all for today, but stay tuned for more news and notes on the site soon! Thanks everyone!

Another Episode Recap Of Metal Morpheus On The Borderline!!

As you may have gathered following the reversion to Stage 2 of re-opening in Ontario and the usual January hangover following the holidays for the local scene (even pre-pandemic), news has definitely slowed down to start 2022, so let's use today's post to further catch up on Metal Morpheus episodes on local internet radio station The Borderline! While there hasn't been a public statement that I've seen, it looks like host Josh Amendola has at least went on a holiday break from the show, as every episode since the heavily revised Soo Metal episode on December 5th has been a rerun. The fact that it's still airing Sunday nights at 9:00 PM is a good sign that it will return, perhaps as soon as this coming Sunday, but we'll let you know if anything is clarified about it's current/future status. Due to the December reruns, we're only behind on three new-to-us episodes of Metal Morpheus, so let's continue on by looking at the November 21st installment!

That episode was the third in Josh's planned series of spotlight features on the extreme metal scenes of various countries from around the world in alphabetical order, and for non-disputed regions, third up was indeed Algeria, a large country in northwestern Africa. Clearly, there wasn't a ton of metal bands from Algeria to source bands from, so this episode only addresses them for just over half of it, and the episode proper runs for just 57 minutes. Starting things off with some information about Algeria and its native music, the first band played on air is progressive metal quartet RiverGate's song "Tears of the Machine" (4:30), followed by black metal band Orcus' song "Death Is Everywhere" (11:15). Active Algerian death metal group Lelahell are up next with their 2018 track "Insiraf/Martyr" (16:10), followed by the more technical death metal band Devast with "Chaotic Proliferation" (22:10)

The fifth and final Algerian band played on November 21st was the black metal project Berzek with their very long original track "Mourning In Oblivion" (25:30). After wrapping up the trip to Algeria, Josh flies back home to look at songs from four inactive local metal bands, starting with classic hardcore punk band The Harsh Heads' song "You're Pawning Your Mind, Asshole" (37:00) from their kinda-unreleased album "First Hated Then Forgotten", followed by the more contemporary grindcore trio Shit Liver's song "Liverated" (42:55) from their 2017 album "Hitting The Fan". We next get a live cut from 2010-2011 local metal band Sativa Rose (who never released an album), specifically their original "Fall From Grace" (47:15), and the episode closes with early 1990s metal band Amethyst's song "You've Been Caught" (53:00), which opened their 1992 CD "Innocent As Hell".

This was another solid episode of Metal Morpheus, and those Algerian bands were definitely intense and brutal in both expected & unexpected ways! As was the case with the Albanian episode from earlier that month, Josh was clearly struggling to give information on these bands, but giving them some exposure like this can't hurt their cause, even if some are not active anymore. Nice to see lots of local acts getting the spotlight too, and I never expected Sativa Rose to turn up, though the audio quality from the source video was definitely rough by comparison. We now have just two episodes of Metal Morpheus from 2021 to recap on the SMS, namely the revised Soo Metal episode and the next country spotlight one, but Josh curiously skipped six countries in alphabetical order to instead look at Austria.

While some of the six in between would seem hard to get enough bands from (especially the tiny Andorra and Antigua & Barbuda), I would have thought Australia at least would have had ample bands to pull from, and Argentina, Armenia, and Angola are not lacking themselves. Josh did also tease at episode's end that he wants to do episodes themed around international metal subgenres (methinks Japan would lend itself well to that). Tune in to The Borderline this Sunday at 9:00 PM to see if Metal Morpheus is back from their winter break(?), and we'll have more episode recaps soon, I hope, plus more news and notes in general! Thanks everyone!

The Harsh Heads - "First Hated Then Forgotten" Review!!

It's time for our 36th monthly local metal/hard rock CD review at The Sault Metal Scene, and it's of defunct local hardcore band The Harsh Heads' posthumous CD "First Hated Then Forgotten"! We were originally gonna tie this review in with The Billy Bastards' planned concert tonight with Maximum RNR (as they share two common members), but despite their withdrawl from said show, the review will go on as planned, as this album deserves a look no matter what! The recordings on this album were originally made in two different demo sessions with G. Ingram in late 1994 at Dysentery Studios, but the songs were not formally released at the time, with The Harsh Heads disbanding the next year. However, band members decided to formally release the material via a free CD distribution in 2005 (though it was properly packaged), meaning that this is the third posthumously released album we've reviewed on the SMS in the past 4 months. The Harsh Heads' lineup consisted of singer/bassist John Conway (now of The Billy Bastards & Destroilet), guitarists Bob Bromley Jr. (now in the London punk band Gatgas) and Hugh Merz, and John's current Billy Bastards bandmate Aaron Gibbs on drums.

This album is now out of print, but personal inquiries should be able to help score the mp3s of the songs, especially knowing it's initial free distribution. However, I have uploaded the whole album onto our YouTube channel for free streaming, so click here to check it out, or click each song name throughout the review, as I've linked each song individually here too. (Note also that four songs are streamable on the band's MySpace page.) With 13 songs coming in at just over 37 minutes in length, this may be shorter than you'd expect, but let's begin this review with the first song, "Violence"!

"Violence" starts with a slow ominous guitar intro before unloading into a blisteringly fast hardcore fury with aggressive yelling from John Conway and equally speedy backing music! The song more or less stays on the same wavelength of hardcore fury, only breaking from the same sort of sound and lyrics for some quieter and slower instrumental interludes, including an alright guitar solo midway through, but the choruses are full blast and extremely moshable! Knowing the age of the guys when they recorded this album, it's well done, and while the fast paced hardcore assaults are repetitive, the song's short & entertaining enough that you don't really notice. Very solid opener to "First Hated Then Forgotten", and old school hardcore fans should get a kick out of it! Next is "We Stand Alone", which begins with 16 seconds of feedback before unloading into a fast paced hardcore song that has clearer singing and a less repetitive structure. Catchier sound overall too, and I like Aaron's drumming a lot here! The guitar work here in the verses and main riffing is more varied, but the end of the song isn't fantastic. The slower section sounds like a different track altogether, and the spoken lyric tradeoff doesn't jive to me. Still, the bulk of this song is an improvement on "Violence" and well worth checking out! Maybe not as fast as "Violence", but the catchiness and rhythm puts it mostly over the top!

Third on this CD is "Seal Bashing", and while I won't judge the song on it's subject matter, it bursts into some more fast paced hardcore fury after a soft instrumental intro and it shows their speedy old school hardcore sound well! The two main stretches with vocals are reminiscent of "Violence" in intensity, but I'd have liked to have seen it shaken up a bit, as it's broken up into four distinct parts and it could have been a bit more creative in structure. I really enjoy the music in the fast hardcore parts, but the soft intro and the slower interlude later in the track do drag it down a bit, but it'll satiate any old school hardcore need! That's followed by "Carolly", which has sort of a messy opening before moving into hardcore territory, and this one has more variance and different paces and sounds than some of the earlier tracks! John's singing is clearer, there's different speeds and tempos in play, and the bass lines are a bit easier to hear at times, along with some solid guitar solo work at the end of the song! Though not the most consistently fast song on the album, I like the different stuff they did on "Carolly" to make it stand out, and it's an early favourite of mine on The Harsh Heads' album!

The fifth track is "Insane", which is the album's shortest track (just over 90 seconds) and the first of three straight songs under 2 minutes on the CD. Immediately starting with a heavy full band assault, the vocals don't actually kick in until over halfway through the song, but the second half is full of blistering hardcore intensity (and a tiny bass solo!) Given it's length, there isn't a lot to say, but the first half has some solid instrumental work, and the second half stacks up with many of the earlier tracks in aggression, so it's an entertaining little track! Sixth is "Chantelize", which launches right into a fast hardcore sound like many of its predecessors, but with more scattered singing throughout this also short original. The guitar riffing from Bob & Hugh has lots of different flourishes going on throughout, and Aaron's drumming stands out well, but it's not as consistently fast & heavy as some of the earlier songs. Still solid though! Then we have "Wasted Life", which doesn't relent from the start with heavy riffs, nice & clear shouting vocals, and some nice guitar rhythms from start to finish, though the fade out at the end is a bit abrupt, and I was curious to see where this song would go if it lasted 2 or more minutes. It's definitely one of the most consistent songs for it's sound despite it's length, and pound for pound, "Wasted Life" is definitely one of my favourite songs on this CD!

Eighth on "First Hated Then Forgotten" is "S.K.U.D.D." , a 4 minute+ instrumental that may appeal the most to straight punk fans based on it's pacing and style, while still having lots of heavy moshable parts! If anything, this song is the best showcase on the album for The Harsh Heads' musical skills in the mid-1990s, and they do make the most of it with some nice guitar solos, audible bass lines, and fast paced drumming, but there are definitely parts of the song that sound like vocals were intended to be there. I don't know what "S.K.U.D.D." stands for, but this is a nice instrumental glimpse into how talented these guys were way back when! Vocals return on track number nine, "Sk8ter H8ter", which is definitely the fastest song on the album so far! The vocals sound distorted, it's so fast, and I doubt this song would ever go without a moshpit live! It's just a fast relentless (and short) hardcore song, and it's hard to judge compared to some of it's earlier counterparts given the speed and length, but I was entertained by it! My only major gripe is that the end sounds like the song crashed and burned, which is abrupt and dragged out too far, but the bulk of it works very well!

Tenth on this CD is "Social Disease", a more downbeat sounding hardcore sound that even has a bit of a grind essence here and there! The song picks up into familiar faster and energetic territory in the second half, and it flows together well, though the spoken word portion didn't flow with the song's style too well. It's not the most memorable to me of the songs on this album, but it's got some heavy touches and nice late aggression, so it's definitely worth a listen! Then comes "You're Pawning Your Mind, Asshole", which is the longest song on the album at 5:30 in length. After a slow minute long intro, this song kicks into familiar aggression from earlier albums, but the tradeoff between yelling and spoken parts seems to work better here than on earlier tracks, and the choruses have a nice brutal ring to them! 3 minutes in, things get very slow and soft, though well played, before building to a return of the old school hardcore fury of the first half. Honestly, this song is stretched out too far to me, and I'd have slashed the softer parts at least in half or combined them, as this doesn't feel like a song that's best suited to a 5 minute length, but other than that, it works well and has a catchy heaviness that I can appreciate!

The album's penultimate song is "Sunday Morning Fag Fund", and while I again won't judge the song on its title, it opens with a nice bass intro before getting to fast paced hardcore business, with solid fast drumming and aggressive singing, though the vocals do sound strained at times. Honestly, by this point on the album, you've heard stuff like this before, and nothing about it really stands as original compared to earlier tracks (especially given its under 2 minute length), but if it's intense and fast hardcore you crave, this song does deliver, and it's not bad at all! The album closes with "D.M.F.", which opens creatively with some guitar distortion and backing shouts before fading into a drum intro and some familiarly fast and brutal hardcore stylings, including some slightly distorted singing, and it definitely has some more original touches than some earlier tracks, especially with it's scream filled ending that sounds almost like the band's being set on fire! This is a nice end to the album and will suit any lust for The Harsh Heads' brand of music, while showing more variance than some earlier tracks!

So, how do I grade The Harsh Heads' only album? Well, aside from the thanks to the band for finally releasing these recordings after a decade or collecting dust, it's definitely an entertaining album of old school hardcore originals! John Conway's singing was aggressive and suited the material, as did his bass work, while Bob Bromley & Hugh Merz' guitar riffs and occasional solos helped drive each track pretty well! And though better known now for his country/punk singing & guitar work, Aaron Gibbs' drumming was often blistering and he proves his multi-instrumental skills here well! Songs like "Wasted Life", "Violence", and "Carolly" showed them at their aggressively creative best, while "S.K.U.D.D." is a fun showcase at their collective talents as 16 year olds, but this definitely isn't a perfect album (which the band acknowledged in the liner notes.) My main complaint is that, after 13 songs, the overall sound of the album just got very repetitive and many songs tended to sound the same as ones earlier and later. The songs didn't tend to drag, but you really have to appreciate and enjoy hardcore punk to stay into the whole disc without feeling that some songs are the same thing repeated. Luckily, I enjoy this style of music, so I enjoyed the album, but I have a feeling that this material may have played better live, where you could get the full experience of it all.

Also, the spoken word parts didn't work well for me, I'd have liked to have heard more guitar solos, and there were some abrupt stops and occasional mid-song flubs, but for what this album is, it works very well as an old school hardcore punk album from four talented local musicians in their youth! Destroilet fans in particular might enjoy this material, but if this genre is A-OK with you, you'll definitely wanna check The Harsh Heads' only album out, which you can do at the above links, and who knows, maybe we'll get a reunion at some point in the future? That's all for now, but stay tuned for my Hallows Die concert review hopefully tonight, and I'll see you guys at The Rockstar Bar TONIGHT for Maximum RNR & openers to be determined for more hardcore punk mayhem! Oh, and remember that next month's CD review (saying it comes out next month as scheduled) will be of Sault Michigan classical metal band Theatre of Night's new album "The Dawn's Early Light", so be on the lookout for it! Thanks everyone!

Defunct Local Band Profile Series: The Harsh Heads

Our post marathon continues today, and leading from this afternoon's Destroilet EP review, this month's latest Defunct Local Band Profile actually features a Destroilet member from one of his old bands! Is it fitting for Friday the 13th, or just a coincidence? As always, this band was randomly chosen from our extensive local metal and hard rock band links, with NO biases towards success, genre, membership, talent, or personal preferences. So before we hop to Sault Michigan for a profile next month, here's this month's defunct profile! (Edited on July 29th, 2012)
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The Harsh Heads

Genre: Hardcore Punk

Hometown: Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario

Members: (If there are any errors or omissions to the band's lineup, let me know!)

John Conway (Destroilet, The Billy Bastards), vocals/bass
Bob Bromley Jr. (Gatgas, A-Null Seepage), lead guitar
Hugh Merz, rhythm guitar
Aaron Gibbs (The Billy Bastards), drums
Audio/Video: The Harsh Heads may have broken up 16 years ago, but there is still some media to share! The band recorded two unreleased demos in the mid-1990s, but the band members sat on the recordings until around 2005, when John Conway & Aaron Gibbs packaged the demos into the posthumous CD "First Hated, Then Forgotten", which was then given a free physical distribution. Personal inquiries can probably score you at least the mp3s from this now out-of-print CD, but if you want to check out the songs now, visit the SMS' YouTube channel, where I have uploaded the whole album! Just search for "Harsh Heads" and you'll find the tracks! For video footage, all I've found is this clip from an early 1990s local public-access TV show, which features an interview with Hugh Merz & Bob Bromley Jr. & concert footage from a Club Princess show! I uploaded it to the SMS, but here's the original video, straight from The Billy Bastards' Photobucket page, so give it a look below!



Info/Analysis: The Harsh Heads were active in the local scene from 1991 to 1995, playing numerous concerts in Sault Ontario during that time in venues ranging from The Canadian Nightclub to The Windsor Hotel. Sharing the stage with many well respected bands from that time, the band had some notable successes during their run, including some TV exposure & a victory at a major local battle of the bands in 1995 not long before their breakup. Aside from the posthumous distribution of their 1994-1995 demos in 2005, The Harsh Heads have long since ended, though John & Aaron still play together in the country punk outfit The Billy Bastards. I was way too young to have enjoyed The Harsh Heads in their heyday, but from what I've heard, they had a ton of energy and aggression, playing a fast paced and balls to the wall style of hardcore punk not unlike John's later Destroilet work! John's rapid fire yelling suits the material, and the band, though not playing to impeccable standards, put forth a lot of attitude and heavy moshable material that should entertain punk & metal fans! If you don't wanna read my review of their album, note that The Harsh Heads played this stuff the way they wanted to, and it clearly shows! Definitely check out their material at the above links to enjoy a blast from the old school hardcore past!
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There we go, I hope you all liked this month's profile! Makes me wish I was my age now in 1991, not 2011, so I could enjoy bands like The Harsh Heads in their prime! Next month, we'll return to Sault Michigan for our next Defunct Local Band Profile, but which band is up for a profiling? After a completely random selection, we've picked a huge band for next month, as we'll profile defunct local classic hard rock band Bad Side! How's that for a quality random choice for the series? Watch out for our Bad Side profile between June 6th & 12th! Now, stay tuned for a new news post later today, along with our Gravity Crash profile, the March Mayhem winner, our Going Underground review, and much more this weekend! Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (Crued & Orange October), Rotaryfest Info, And More!

It's news time! I've missed a lot over the past week, but now we can work towards getting you all caught up once again, and kicking things off today are some LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS!!! And if you notice something missing, no worries, that's coming in an upcoming post too!

Firstly, this should interest fans of a major band that's been here before! Crued, The World's Number One Tribute To Motley Crue are coming here in a couple weeks! Based out of Toronto, Crued have a really cool stage setup and costumes identical to most eras of Motley Crue's storied history (They'll be rocking 2006 "Saints of Los Angeles"-era gear for this show), and they have the sound to back it up! So if you wanna rock out to some live Crue hits, you'll wanna be where? The Canadian Nightclub! When? May 1st, and I apologize for the short notice of the show, it's not well advertised locally. A start time of 10:30 PM is listed, and bring cash too for a cover, cause I doubt it's free! And yes, it's 19+. For more details, visit this location to confirm your attendance! They definitely have the goods, I'll sadly be out of town when they're playing this show, but hopefully there's a good turnout! For more information on Crued, and to check out some of their versions of Motley Crue classics, check out their official MySpace page!

The other new shows I have are courtesy of a Michigan band that are finally coming back up here for shows! Muskegon hard rockers Orange October are finally back in Sault Michigan for a pair of weekend shows next month! I don't think they've been here since, at the latest, early last year, so it's been a long time coming! They'll be playing at The Satisfied Frog on the last weekend of the month, playing there on Friday, May 28th and Saturday, May 29th! Start times of 10:00 PM are given on their MySpace page, and knowing shows at The Frog, there shouldn't be a cover. These should be fun shows, especially for those of you that miss Orange October! Solid accessible hard rock, really catchy too, I like Brian Swisher's vocals! Click on the above links for more info on Orange October, hopefully some of you can make it out!

On a personal note, that weekend with the Orange October shows is the last weekend where I'll be under American drinking age. So close and yet so far!

Now for a handful more news stories (And don't you worry, there's more later this weekend!) Starting things off is more info on Sault Ontario's longest running music festival, Rotaryfest! No word on metal bands on the main stage, but here's something that could apply to the metalheads of the area! For a sixth straight year, Rotaryfest is putting on The Tenaris Second Stage as part of this year's music festivities, where Square 1 of Queen Street East will once again be shut down, and local acts will hit the stage there to rock downtown! This year, the Second Stage will be on July 1st from 1:00 PM until midnight, and who's playing? We don't know, and that's where you guys come in! As always, the open call's out for bands of any genre to send in entries to possibly be added to this year's Rotaryfest lineup, and maybe YOU will be on the Second Stage this year!

If you'd like to play in this year's Rotaryfest, here's what you need: You need a professionally released CD (or mp3 files of it if you're submitting online), with at least three good quality original songs that you own the copyright for. You also need a press packet with a band biography, a good quality photograph of the band, links to internet websites/pages/videos, and optional press clippings. Preference will be given to bands with released or planned pro-quality material. If you are interested in compiling all this to submit to Rotaryfest for consideration for a spot on the Second Stage, you can submit it two ways: Online by clicking here (might be easier, if you want my advice), or by mailing it all to this address:

Tenaris Second Stage selection committee
c/o The Rotary Club of Sault Ste. Marie
364 Queen Street East
Sault Ste. Marie, ON
P6A 1Z1

Keep in mind that any CDs, photos, press clippings, or papers that you send to Rotaryfest will NOT be returned to you, for whatever reason, so keep that in mind. The deadline to submit your entries is MAY 7TH, so get on that if you want to play at Rotaryfest! More info can be found at SooToday's article on the Second Stage, and if you have questions, e-mail ken.desaulnier@shaw.ca with them! Hopefully this year's Rotaryfest is a blast, though I was curious as to the lack of metal last year. Rotaryfest has hosted prominent metal bands in the past, like Gates of Winter and Stillbroke (you can see pics of them on the Second Stage front page) yet last year we were completely dry for it. So come on metalheads, send entries in! And even if there's no metal, it should be a fun festival, it always is, bring the family out and enjoy yourselves!

And finally for today, I can scratch a local metal CD off of my wish list, as I am now in the possession of The Harsh Heads' lone disc, "First Hated Then Forgotten"! Recorded as cassette demos way back in 1994, the songs never found an actual release until 2005 when copies were made into CDs and distributed locally! Prominently featuring Destroilet/Billy Bastards mainman John Conway and his Billys bandmate Aaron Gibbs on drums, they were a prominent fixture in the local punk/metal scene in the early-mid 1990s as teenagers, and their album is pretty good stuff, nice punk/thrash sound, fast and unrelentless! And I give HUGE thanks to John's Destroilet bandmate Christian Foisy for helping hook me up with the mp3s from the album, and I was able to get the liner notes from The Harsh Heads' MySpace page, so all is well on that front! Thanks Chris!

So now that I have the album, I'll tell you guys this much: There WILL be a review of "First Hated But Forgotten" in the coming months, and I have uploaded the whole album to YouTube! All 13 songs are now streamable on The Sault Metal Scene's YouTube channel, along with a little bonus: The early '90s public access TV interview with guitarists Hugh Merz & Bob Bromley Jr. that was only previously available on Photobucket! NO COPYRIGHT INFRINGEMENT OR ILL WILL IS MEANT IN UPLOADING THE ALBUM OR THE INTERVIEW ONTO YOUTUBE! This is great stuff that the world should see, because the more exposure it gets, the better! I'll link you guys to the first track on "First Hated Then Forgotten", entitled "Violence", but click here to check out the rest of this album that shouldn't be forgotten!



That's all for now, but here's what's coming up on The Sault Metal Scene! Tomorrow, there will be my profiles of two more out of town bands with local members (Levitate and Necramyth), while Sunday will have both my review of the Garden of Bedlam fundraiser tomorrow night (I AM GOING!) and all kinds of stuff pertaining to the SMS poll! And yes, somewhere in there, there will be a news post with some more exciting news! Stay tuned everyone, there's much more coming!

(P.S. Does ANYONE have the As It Stands, Foothill Road, or Infrastrate albums?! How hard is it to find them? I am willing to reasonably pay for copies, and will take mp3s and album scans if need be!!!)

LOCAL CONCERT ALERT (Tesla), Another New Band, Woods of Ypres Updates, And Two Old Sault Star Articles!

Good evening! Time to get everyone caught up on some more stuff I've found recently, and some new Woods of Ypres updates, but first, a MAJOR LOCAL CONCERT ALERT!!!

According to Kewadin Casino's ticketing page, Sacramento heavy metal band Tesla are returning to Sault Michigan! Last seen locally in February of 2007, the multi-platinum band responsible for hits like "Signs", "Love Song", and "Mama's Fool" will be back at The Dreammaker's Theater at Kewadin Casino on June 26th! This is the first metal/hard rock concert of 2010 confirmed by Kewadin Casino, hopefully it won't be the last! This concert has not been confirmed by Tesla themselves as of tonight, but seeing as Kewadin are listing it, it can't be too fake! So I'll keep you posted on band confirmation, times, and any possible openers as I hear more! Tickets aren't on sale yet either, but Kewadin's ticket site says they will go on sale on January 19th (one week from Tuesday) at 4:00 PM, so be on the lookout for that!

I'm sure some of you 1980s metal fans will be glad to know they're coming back to these parts! Same lineup from last time and everything! Tesla are a solid band, I have no doubts that this time around, it will be a good show as well! In fact, there's video online of their 2007 show! Check out this clip of Tesla covering the ZZ Top song "Beer Drinkers and Hellraisers" from that night three years ago (Thanks to YouTube user LetItRoar for the upload!)



Next up, I have came across another SMS-worthy band in my online searching! And yes, like 20 Pack of Marshmallows and Mike Libertoski, I've bypassed them unknowingly in the past (I've got to stop doing that!) This time, it comes from a band that will be quite familiar to those of you who were active in the local scene in the early-mid 1990s! Remember The Harsh Heads? They were a local hardcore/punk band that is brutal and heavy enough for metalheads like me to appreciate! You'll recognize singer/bassist John Conway and drummer Aaron Gibbs from local country/punk outfit The Billy Bastards, and (for us punk/metal fans) John's involvement in Destroilet! They also featured Bob Bromley Jr. on lead guitar and Hugh Merz on rhythm guitar! The Harsh Heads were active in Sault Ste. Marie from 1991 to 1995, winning a major battle of the bands in 1995, and playing at now-inactive concert venues like Club Princess, The Eastgate, and the Elks Hall!

The band recorded two cassette demos worth of music, though the results weren't released on CD until 10 years after their demise, when the disc "First Hated, Then Forgotten" was distributed to fans in 2005! I'm hopefully getting a copy soon from John Conway, but until that happens, there's songs on their MySpace page to check out, all of which are a relentless assault of hardcore that will get a mosh pit going any day of the week! There's even some guitar solos, which is always welcome! Also head to their MySpace to see some awesome old school show posters (you don't see posters like those anymore), album scans, and lots more! If only I was born 15 years earlier, I could have seen these guys live, it'd have been something else! Normally when it comes to profiling new bands I find, if there's a video with band material, I post it to give you guys a preview (and there is some Harsh Heads songs on YouTube user schwazemoto's channel), but I have something even cooler! Here's a clip from a 1990s local public access television show featuring an interview with Hugh and Bob about The Harsh Heads! Hugh seems really nervous, but this is a cool interview, featuring a tiny bit of live footage!



And now, we come to the latest updates from Woods of Ypres! In a recent post on the band's official message board, frontman David Gold wishes to have people recognize the band's newest release, "Woods IV: The Green Album" (now in stores) as a "2010 album", in that, the CD came out too late in 2009 for most of the potential listeners to get a chance to check it out, even though it officially came out last year. David's goal is to spread the word of "The Green Album" as far as possible this year to get exposure up, sales up, and interest up, and all of it is extremely well deserved! Hopefully the new disc hits the unknowing in a big way! He also mentions that he sees "Woods IV" as the "+1" following the band's initial "trilogy" of albums (Woods I, II, and III), and he says that their upcoming fifth studio album will be "the dawn of the new beginning, the new decade, the new and better way of doing things...almost everything." Here's hoping "Woods V" is awesome, I'll be there to pick it up when it's released! Read David's full post at this location!

And finally, when I was scanning The Sault Star's online archives for old news I may have missed, I came across a pair of articles that, though not current, are both interesting! One comes from early last month, and I'm surprised I missed this! The Sault Star's own Jeffery Ougler conducted an interview with none other than...Kiss guitarist Tommy Thayer! Yes, I know he's not Ace, but he's still in Kiss! This was obviously done in advance of Kiss' postponed concert at The Essar Center, now tentatively booked for this summer. The interview features Thayer discussing being "the new guy" in Kiss, the fan routed tour, replacing Ace Frehley, the band's new album, and more! Not a lot of discussion geared towards here specifically, but no matter, it's great to see The Sault Star get such an interview! Check it out at this location! The other article comes from way back in January 2008, when Gates of Winter got profiled by The Sault Star after the release of their lone full length album, "Lux Aeterna"! It features excerpts from an interview with bassist Steve Furgiuele, and includes a lot of discussion about the album and it's sounds and themes! It also talks about the band's new drummer who had yet to be unveiled (David Gold, if you weren't sure.) Nice article, if short, it's too bad they didn't last much longer. I really miss them and I'm not alone! Check out this full article at this location!

That's all for now, more news is coming real soon, including my preview of Tuesday's Ultraviolence/Sense of Truth concert and much more! Thanks everyone!

Anvil Movie Recap, A Newly Discovered Local Metal Act, And More!

Happy Saturday to you all! Today, we have a bunch of stuff to get to, and kicking things off, my recap of seeing Anvil! The Story of Anvil at The Grand Theater!

Typically I wouldn't mention a metal-based movie here, but seeing as this was being screened at a local concert venue, it seemed only fair to mention, especially with the lack of metal shows at The Grand since last spring! After all, when's the last time a heavy metal band played at Galaxy Cinema? Looks about the same as it did from the previous concerts I've seen there, just with the fancy tables back out on the floor to accommodate moviegoers. No popcorn for sale, but they did have pop, alcohol, and chips, so we weren't emptyhanded! I chose the balcony to see the movie, it seemed more "normal" compared to looking up at the screen from the floor. What surprised me was when we were waiting for the movie start, a nice lady from the staff came around and gave everyone there a free bowl of pretzels! And, cause the movie was on a Blu-Ray disc, there wasn't 20 minutes of trailers! Don't see either of those at Galaxy, do you? However, the crowd was very small, if there was a dozen paid moviegoers there, I'd be surprised.

As for Anvil itself, what a good movie! It was, as you may know, a documentary about Toronto metal legends Anvil, who influenced numerous metal bands in the early 1980s, yet never became mega-stars. It primarily focused on founding members Steve "Lips" Kudlow and Robb Reiner, who, through it all, still love to play their music and continue striving to achieve their dreams of making it big, even while entering their early 50s. Now working normal day jobs, they still play to diehard, but small, crowds as often as possible. The movie details how they went on an extensive European tour that turned into a comedy of errors, later exploring Steve and Robb's daily lives, what went wrong in their careers, and their efforts to make a new studio album with star producer Chris Tsangarides, finance it on limited income, and shop it to mostly uninterested record labels. While the movie has a lot of humour and great music, it also has a lot of sad moments. You can tell that the members of Anvil love their music, and would do whatever it takes to get back to their old glories. From the faults of their tour, to the smaller than hoped crowds, to the band's internal struggles, you feel it when they pour their heart out or get into a spat over their music and career. Though I'm not the best person to say this, it really does show the effort and drive it takes to make it in music, even when no doors appear to open in your favour.

It doesn't hurt either that I like Anvil as a band, but even if I didn't, I'd still like and appreciate Anvil! The Story of Anvil. Part of me did expect more humour, but what was presented was genuine, and you really felt like you knew the guys in the band at the end. Like how I don't grade CDs or concerts, I won't grade the movie, but to copy Siskel and Ebert, I will definitely give this movie a thumbs up! Buy this if you see it in stores!!! And if a movie comes back to The Grand that may interest you, check it out, they really are nice there, and you may get free pretzels too!

Now, back to local metal bands, or in this case, one musician! I have a new local act to add to the band listings on the SMS, and like 20 Pack of Marshmallows from yesterday, this act is one I've bypassed in previous months for not being sure of their metalness. Do you know of Sault Michigan death metal band Slackjawed Rats? Well, as you may know, their frontman Mike Libertoski has wrote and recorded solo material (you may remember him as part of the lineup on a Half Stupid concert last year!) And as it turns out, a lot more of it is metal than I'd figured! While his concerts tend to skew more towards acoustic prog rock, he has released no less than SIX SOLO ALBUMS that feature a high dose of heavy material! On his MySpace page, he mentioned that he aims to include songs of all genres on his solo material, which is good, diversity is always welcome! And you did hear that right, he has at least 6 albums, the most recent of which (I think) is "In The Arms Of The Condemned" from last year! His solo albums are primarily instrumental, though one, 2007's "The Great Movement", did feature vocals.

To put it mildly, Mike is a great guitarist, he can play almost anything, and he has a wide skillset! Accomplished guitarist, and he also plays numerous other instruments too! I'd like to see him play some more shows, possibly electric ones too! I'd love to get my hands on his albums, maybe Grooves Music or somewhere online carries them! Check out more from Mike at his official MySpace page and his YouTube channel, or head to his band Slackjawed Rats' page to hear some solid death metal too! Here's hoping one or both play some shows soon! I'll make sure to cover Mike's solo stuff from here on out! And to give you a preview, here's one of his heavier solo songs, "Glasgow Smile"!



Once I found out that Mike Libertoski had so many albums, it jogged my memory as to the local metal albums I'm still on the lookout for. So I figured I'd put out another open call for anyone to help me find these albums to help fill out my local band CD stockpile, or at least get the mp3s from them! IF YOU HAVE, OR KNOW SOMEONE WITH THESE CDS, LET ME KNOW! I'd love to have a copy or the mp3s for future SMS reviews, and possibly upload online to give the bands well deserved exposure! So here's what else I'm still on the lookout for:

As It Stands - Kill The Music, Save The Children: Contacting band members about getting their only EP release has been fruitless so far, so I'll put out the call again! Released in 2007, the EP featured 5 tracks, and is out of print. No sites online is actively selling it (The only site that I thought did isn't active), and only one song, "Bush Raids", was streamable online at last search. Any help finding this album would be much appreicated!

Foothill Road - Either of their albums: The locally based hard rock band from the 1990s released two albums: One was self-titled, the other was named "Seventy". And tracking down either has proven to be easier said than done! The songs on their MySpace page are very solid, makes me wish I was old enough to experience them way back when! Anyone know how I could get these albums?

Harsh Heads - First Hated, Then Forgotten: They were a local punk/hardcore band from the early-mid 1990s, though they didn't release their demos into CD form until 2005. I won't say too much about them yet (I haven't even profiled them properly on the SMS yet! That'll be in my next post!) But let me just say this: They're metal enough for the SMS, and I'd love to get this CD!

Infrastrate - Phase I: Commencement: Still have had no luck finding this, the only album release by the originally Sault-based hard rockers Infrastrate. They recorded and released this album after they moved to Ottawa in the mid-2000s, and only some of the album's songs are streamable online. It'd be great to find a copy of their CD, they were a good band!

If you guys can help me get these, or ANY local metal/hard rock CD/album releases, LET ME KNOW! There's likely others I'm not aware of, so if you know of a metal/hard rock/hardcore/grunge album that I don't, TELL ME!!!!!

Speaking of stuff from inactive bands, I've found a real gem of a local metal video to cap off tonight's post! This comes from the YouTube channel of local bassist Mike Mannarino (Tripod The Dog), from one of his old metal bands, Genghis Khan! This clip is of Genghis Khan covering the Racer X song "Scarified" from a show at The Eastgate presumably from the early 1990s! There is audio of these guys online, thanks to drummer Glen Thomas' YouTube account, but this is the first actual video I've seen! And I like what I'm seeing here, this is a hard song to play and they did awesome! You don't see stuff like this often! Check out the clip below, thanks to Mike for the upload!



I'll leave it at that for tonight, my next post will include info on Harsh Heads, a Woods of Ypres update, and hopefully much more! Stay tuned, thanks everyone!