The Sky's The Limit's Return On Facebook, Plus Some New Acoustic Performances!!

Let's end another work week with our 54th straight daily post at the SMS, which is again devoted to videos, including a pair of acoustic renditions and the virtual return of a recent annual concert! Here's what you should know!

As you have probably gathered by now, the fifth annual Sky's The Limit fundraiser concert for Children's Mental Health Week did not take place yesterday as planned due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, but Algoma Family Services made due with an online installment on their Facebook page! The Sky's The Limit V would have been held at Korah Collegiate last night, but it's a great idea to migrate the event to a Facebook video so that they can continue promoting mental health awareness with the help of talented young local musicians! The 1 hour+ video starts with an introduction by Algoma Family Services CEO Ali Juma where he talks about their mission, what they offer the community even with offices closed, and what music offers to people, and he even plays a bit of Led Zeppelin's "Stairway To Heaven" to start! A.F.S. counsellor and Dell Bros. bassist Marc Williamson returns as the event's MC to introduce acts.

Musicians were not credited in the description, but who all performs in The Sky's The Limit V? The opening act is singer/guitarist Tianna Legacy, who nicely covers Alicia Keys' "Underdog" and Bill Withers' "Lean On Me". Next up is the surprise reunion of Electric Church frontman Spencer Pine & bassist Elijah Nelson, in the first time I've seen them perform together since this event in 2018! Beau has moved out of town, for what it's worth. The guys cover Thrice's "Hurricane" with a nice injection of soul and emotion, followed by the old Electric Church original "Take Me Away". Given how Marc introduced them, I will stop short of moving Electric Church back to our active band links for now, but it's great to see Spencer & Elijah still playing music! L!me frontwoman Madi Schomogyi follows with covers of Miley Cyrus' "The Climb" and Hedley's "Old School" on vocals & keyboard, and she has a good voice on these renditions too!

Next is former Din frontman Mike Haggith, returning to The Sky's The Limit for the first time in three years (recorded from Thompson, of course), and while not in the exact location of his #LockdownLive sets, the performance quality is as high as on those! Mike performs "MorningStar" from his new album "If Ever Comes The Day" (buy it next week!) and "Everything Not Saved Will Be Lost" from his next album after that, "Bridges". Rapper Tristan "Bold Noize" Goslow performs his original songs "Life I Live" and "Glow" from his new album "Noize.", and his rhymes are smooth and effective as usual! The final performer is singer/guitarist Joely Gough, who debuted in this event last year, and she covers Harry Styles' "Watermelon Sugar" and Lana Del Ray's "Happiness Is A Butterfly" with a nice authenticity! Ali returns with closing remarks at the end, and all of the musicians offer thoughts about mental health and their experiences during their segments.

While not ideal compared to the last four years, this Facebook concert helped make lemons out of lemonade, and it's great to see a who's who of top-line performers from past installments back virtually here! Of past Sky's The Limit headline acts, only The Pixo Control were not represented. There's a nice variety of music to check out from these six acts, and lots of honest remarks about mental health as well, so give The Sky's The Limit V a watch!



 We'll close today with a couple of new Facebook videos from Redundant frontman Justin Langlois, as posted to the local punk trio's Facebook page yesterday! These are acoustic renditions of their original songs "That December" and, as embedded below, "Miles Apart", and they sound good in this form factor! Both songs still retain that punk energy, and "Miles Apart" is particularly effective like this, so give both videos a watch above & below!



That's all for today, but stay tuned for more news and notes on the site tomorrow! Thanks everyone!

Eclipse/Hazytones Concert Preview, Jack Spades' New Bassist, And Much More!!

Here's another new post for your Friday morning, so what's on tap? Some assorted recent news and notes, new video footage from a concert this past weekend, and a newly confirmed lineup change in a prominent local band, but first, here's our promised preview of a special concert on Sunday that's nearly an encore of a concert from 8 months back!

Local hard rock quartet Eclipse will return to the stage THIS SUNDAY NIGHT, when they and funk/hard rock jam quintet Gianni Gagoots open for Montreal stoner rock trio The Hazytones at The New American Pub! After nearly 5 months away from the stage, plus a teased April 1st return show that never happened, Eclipse will finally be resurrected after a tumultuous break-up last fall, but how will Curt, Dan, Fred, and Chris fare in their return? Find out on Sunday night! Note that hashtags used in recent Facebook page promotion of the show reference Jimi Hendrix and Rush songs... are they dipping a little older for cover choices? Gianni Gagoots will continue their recent momentum with another set that will surely make some more fan of their creative improvised instrumentals, so keep them in mind as well on Sunday! And yes, the headlining Hazytones will make their second local concert appearance on Sunday, following a well received late notice gig in August at the same venue that Eclipse also opened, though K.I.C.K. were the second openers.

Though not a full "hard rock" band, The Hazytones' psychedelic and retro-styled originals left a solid impression on fans last summer, and they should be up to similar tricks at The New A in a couple of nights, so don't miss them either! Promoted by Six, Two, Oh. associate and punk rock bingo caller Brenton Ellis, this 19+ event has a 19+ age limit, and while there is no listed cover charge, note that last August's Hazytones concert had a $5 cover. Visit the official Facebook event page for more details, and here's Eclipse live!

Next up, local punk/metal quintet Jack Spades have announced the addition of Talk Shit guitarist Steve Shaw to their lineup as their new bassist, replacing Justin Lam, as per their Facebook page on Wednesday. A reason for Justin's departure hasn't been publically announced, but when ex-drummer (and Bear Hunters bandmate) Johnny Belanger confirmed his own departure from the band in February, he didn't know at the time if Justin was leaving too or not, hence why we didn't call that on the site at the time. Justin has been a skilled component on bass since Jack Spades' 2013 debut, but don't miss him with The Bear Hunters when they return to the stage at Oddzfest in June! As for Steve, he has proven to be a solid addition to the reunited Talk Shit as a guitarist, but how will he do as a bassist with Jack Spades' new lineup? You can find out at the CKY concert in June, so don't miss that show, and stay tuned for the reveal of Jack Spades' new drummer!

Also today, here's some new videos from the aforementioned Gianni Gagoots' headlining concert at LopLops Lounge on Saturday, courtesy of YouTube user Alex Moore's channel! Previously known from posting Stiffler's Mom's demo there, "Mr. Evil Gobi" has struck again with almost 12 minutes of footage from the Gagoots' latest concert, with the longer 9 minute clip featured below (click here for the first shorter video.) Of note, their earlier teasers of having two drummers are even more true on these clips, as "Bergio the IceBurg" has not just the congas, but his own full drum kit beside Frank, so if you've ever wondered what a band with two drummers at once sounded like, here's a sampling! The loose informality is clearly on display here though, as mid-way through the longer video, guitarist Matt Sibilo randomly comes back after not playing in the first portion, and then an uncredited guest shows up to play the congas.

Alex noted that his camera's memory card filled up before this song wrapped up due to it's "intensity & epic-ness", so if an announcement was made regarding the guest conga player's name, it's not recorded. You never know what you'll get with Gianni Gagoots, and they showcase their fun jam/improv style here, so check out their new videos above & below, and don't miss them with The Hazytones & Eclipse on Sunday!



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

• Autumn Roots guitarist Chase Wigmore is looking for musicians to form an industrial band, part of a long-term ambition of his as a musician. He doesn't even mind if he only finds one singer willing to sign on (remember This Is Your Band On Drugs?), but additional musicians would be a bonus. Industrial metal isn't a genre we see a lot of locally, with Riverin one of the few recent examples of note, so message Chase at this link or via his Musicians Wanted Facebook group post from Tuesday if you're interested!
• According to personal Facebook postings, local alternative/hard rock quartet Id Iota featured ex-RedD Monkey cellist Pete Mozarowski as a guest performer during their set opening for Windigo at The New American Pub on Monday. That would have been cool to see, and Pete has been missed on local stages in recent months, so hopefully some video footage turns up!
• We have changed the name of the Facebook group for Jack Spades frontman J.D. Pearce's concert promotion agency back to Johnny Pints Presents in our "Other Local Metal Links", as the group's name had been switched back from Tidal Records Presents last month. J.D. is still on positive terms with Tidal Records, but maybe the name was causing confusion between events that Tidal management themselves were putting on? Either way, the link is updated now!

That's all for today, but stay tuned for more news and updates over the weekend! Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (Highway 63), New Video Finds, And More!!

After a two day run of weekend concert previews and battle of the bands updates, let's take a look at other stories from recent days before we dive back into the battle pool, and believe me, there's big news on both to mention shortly! For now, we have some neat video finds, assorted recent notes, and leading off, LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS for over the holidays, so here's what you need to know!

Newer Sault Michigan classic/hard rock quartet Highway 63 will play their last gigs of the year (barring a New Year's Eve show) when they return to The Rapids Lounge at the Sault Michigan Kewadin Casino on Friday, December 26th and Saturday, December 27th! Coming just three weeks after the Sir Charge successors' most recent Soo Kewadin dates, I will note that these shows are not among those listed on Kewadin Casino's entertainment page, but they may be waiting to list the 2015 schedule there before updating it. The Switzers and company should be in good form after a successful late 2014 string of concerts, so if you're up for some post Christmas hard rock action, you know where to be! Our source is the band's Facebook page, which also revealed yesterday that the guys are getting ready to record "our demo for the Petoskey casino", presumably meaning that they're auditioning to play gigs at the Odawa Casino & Resort there.

Sault area cover bands playing in the Lower Peninsula aren't unheard of (Highway 63 bassist Chris Leask has played down there with Power Slug), and it'd be great exposure, so hopefully things work out for the guys on that front! As for their Boxing Day weekend shows in the Soo, there's no announced cover charges, 21+ age limits, and 9:00 PM start times in effect, so check the above links for more details, and stay tuned for more from Highway 63 as we hear it!

Next up, here's some older performance videos that we just recently came across on YouTube, starting with defunct Sault Ontario hard rock cover quartet Sneaky Pete live at The Rockstar Bar! Uploaded to lead guitarist Mario Carlucci's YouTube channel in October, the video itself is undated, but it was likely filmed in 2011 (it's not the same show as the one we filmed at in January 2012, and they didn't play live in other years.) The almost 9 minute long video features Sneaky Pete covering Guns N' Roses' "Mr. Brownstone" before transitioning to Ozzy Osbourne's "Crazy Train" to close what was filmed, and the guys sound good here! Mike Oakley's vocal range does come up short at times, but Sneaky Pete had chemistry and a good thing going, and it's s shame that they only played live concerts for less then a year after such a long stretch of preparation. The colours are also badly washed out after post-correction, but kudos to Mario for posting this after 3 years! Give it a look below!, and hopefully the guys turn up in bands again!

Also today, remember how Mourning Wood drummer T.J. Case frequently takes over lead vocals for renditions of AC/DC's "Highway To Hell" during their shows? Well, it turns out that he's been singing AC/DC live long before Mourning Wood were ever a thought, as evidenced by a video posted on YouTube over 4 years ago! Uploaded by user TheLilspirit, this appears to come from his brief run with the veteran local rock band Wishbone, specifically their show at The Roosevelt Hotel (now Reggie's West) on November 20th, 2010. While the Dennis Duguay-fronted band is best known for their original material, they do play the occasional cover, and TheLilspirit filmed 2 at this show, including The Surfaris' instrumental "Wipe Out" and the aforementioned AC/DC cover, though in this case, T.J. and Wishbone did AC/DC's classic "TNT". Both are well performed, and while "TNT" benefits from having two guitarists, the backing vocals are barely audible & aren't as effective.

I'll also note that both videos are definitely centered on T.J. over Wishbone (the songs are credited to T.J. only in the title, and the other Wishbone members aren't in frame), but a reason for the single member focus isn't stated. Maybe the filmer has a personal connection, and/or the videos are intended as a solo showcase? Give Wishbone's "TNT" cover a look below, see more above, and don't miss Mourning Wood at Rednecks TONIGHT!



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

•  Local funk/hard rock quartet The Elements have quietly been added to the lineup for the second annual X-Mess acoustic punk show at The Algonquin Pub next week, as per the Facebook event page a few days ago. No word on how their set will adapt to an unplugged setting (especially concerning drums), but it's great to see the guys on board for this seasonal event! Stay tuned for more updates, and the first 11 people in the door on Saturday will get a gift!
• Redundant frontman/Thrill Junkies bassist Justin Langlois is looking to join another band on bass, saying "I need to play more bass" via a post on the Musicians Wanted Facebook group this past Friday. Justin's talent and resume speaks for itself, but if you're interested in jamming with him, message him above or at this link!
• Speaking of bassist searches, a new local modern rock/punk band named Stereo North are also looking for a bassist, as per a post on the Musicians Wanted group yesterday by drummer Brett Norton. The band is comprised of experienced members, have a setlist ready with new and old songs, and plan to begin playing live once a bassist is found. If you want to try out for Stereo North, message Brett A.S.A.P. at this link or at the Musicians Wanted group!

That's all for now, but stay tuned for more updates over the weekend, especially concerning both of next year's battles of the bands and the acts playing them! Thanks everyone!

Local Metal Video Showcase, Including A Thursday Concert Preview!!

Such a busy week on our hands for news and posts, so in this last post before TONIGHT'S last Rockstar Bar Battle of the Bands Semifinal (the finals are next week!), we have a local metal video showcase, including a new bass cover, new material from a local band, and a new video from a recent concert, but we'll start with a concert preview and related material, and check out our review of Woods of Ypres' 2009 compilation CD from this morning in the post below this one!

Caveman Morrison frontman Tym Morrison will return to The Road House Bar & Grill on Trunk Road TOMORROW for yet another solo acoustic concert, though different from his usual ones, as this is a Thursday evening show as part of a Road House customer appreciation night. Tym played a similar event last month (also on a Thursday), and like that previous gig, there will be a 5:00 PM start time and free food offers of some kind (though specifics aren't known on that front.) Other than those differences, this is largely similar to Tym's many recent gigs at The Road House, so if you like his unplugged metal & hard rock covers swing on to the East End tomorrow for/after supper for another Tym Morrison solo gig! There's no announced cover charge, and there's no announced age limits. For more details, visit the official Facebook event page! This should be another entertaining show from Tym Morrison, so head on down to The Road House tomorrow if you wanna wind down with some acoustic metal hits! For a preview, we have two new original songs of his to share on here!

Entitled "Key To Reality" & "The Evil In Disguise", these were uploaded to Tym's YouTube channel earlier this week, though no word on if either will be a part of Tym's long-gestating second solo album. The former is an adaptation of a high school poem to music with a darker classic metal feel, while the latter song is more upbeat and technical, but both will give a familiar heavy metal attack that fans should enjoy! Check out "The Evil In Disguise" below, and don't miss his next solo show tomorrow!



Next up, here's a brand new video from this past Saturday's Ripcordz concert at The Algonquin Pub! Uploaded by YouTube user/Facedown cassette uploader Richard Dryfist the day after the show, this is of the Montreal hardcore punk legends playing their song "Anarchy", and it's great to see another video from the show! That said, it is of mixed quality, as Richard was behind much of the crowd, and the audio is muffled to a point where singer Paul Gott is almost inaudible, but it does capture the crowd's energy nicely! Check out this latest Ripcordz video below, and stay tuned for more from the show in our next full news post!



Also in new videos, Bear Hunters bassist Justin Lam uploaded two new bass cover videos onto his new YouTube channel in the past week, and they're covers of Amon Amarth's "Destroyer of the Universe" and (as embedded below) Lamb of God's "Desolation"! Largely similar in quality to his earlier Machine Head audition videos, they still continue to show his individual bass skill really well, so give his cover of "Desolation" a look below, and don't miss The Bear Hunters TONIGHT at the Rockstar Bar Battle of the Bands Semifinals!

Finally for today, Rockstar Bar Battle of the Bands competitors Haggith have posted a few news videos of their own onto their YouTube channel! One is a re-post of my video of their cover of drummer Mike Haggith's solo song "Leon The Janitor" from the battle's first night (no credit, but I'm not complaining, I'm glad they like it!) The other new videos are postings of two new studio originals for their upcoming third studio album "Deuce", and they include the previously announced "Safe On The Outside" and a newly unveiled track (not previously on posted track listings) named "As Time Comes To Pass", though no word on if it's completely new or a titled version of the CD's previously listed untitled song. Featuring Curtis McKenzie on vocals only, and with Mike or guitarist Daniel Horton handling bass in place of Caleb Cachagee again, I won't fully assess the new songs yet given that I want to review the full album, but both have their trademark alternative hard rock sound!

As it's heavier and faster, I've embedded "Safe On The Outside" below, but check out more recent Haggith songs at the above links, and be sure to be at The Rockstar Bar TONIGHT to find out if Haggith won the wild card slot at next week's battle of the bands finals!



That's all for today, but I'll see you guys TONIGHT at the last night of Rockstar Bar for the Battle of the Bands Semifinals action! Will The Bear Hunters, Giwakwa, or Sykotyk Rampage win tonight and move on to next week's finals, and can one of them earn the wild card finals slot? Come down to The Rockstar Bar at 10:30 PM to find out, and stay tuned TOMORROW for my recap, plus last month's poll results and this month's new poll on the site! Thanks everyone!

Local Metal Video Showcase!!

While I'm at The Rockstar Bar judging tonight's first night of the battle of the bands, I do have a special auto-post for you guys to check out, and it's a local metal video showcase! Mostly, this is devoted to solo videos from a trio of local metal/hard rock artists, but first, we have a new live recording from a recent concert, that being from local grunge quartet Haggith! Like their two most recent videos, this audio-only recording (and accompanying slideshow) comes from their Relay For Life set at Sault College last month, though this time, it's their unplugged cover of Pink Floyd's "Wish You Were Here"! Featuring just Curtis McKenzie and Daniel Horton, this was posted onto the band's YouTube channel yesterday, and the slideshow photos (which still include band members not on the track) have all been put through some type of effects filter. I'm not high on 1970s Pink Floyd material (I much prefer their heavier and more psychedelic 1960s stuff), but Curtis & Daniel do justice to this softer classic, and Curt's vocals fit the mood of the track, so check out Haggith's new cover below, and stay tuned to the SMS tomorrow to find out how Haggith did in tonight's first third of the battle of the bands semifinals!



Next up, here's some long awaited new videos from veteran local solo musician & Audiofumes podcast owner Mike Cliffe! Though he's steadily posted new material on his Reverbnation page (which often passes me by, apologies for that!), he ended a 6 month hiatus of new original music video postings on his YouTube channel yesterday, so I thought it was about time to plug Mike's prolific work again on here! The new videos include original instrumental songs named "Exodus", "Jaz-I-Lux", "Waltz of the Slush Bauchan", and "Dead Jig", so of course, click each link to check them out! Each is accompanied by trippy visualizations, save for "Exodus", which has them overlayed with footage of drummer Bill Ray, one of many out of town musicians that Mike has collaborated with on original material. The first two songs are jazzy progressive rock numbers, while "Waltz of the Slush Bauchan" has more of an atmospheric & intricate sound, and all are good for their styles! Embedded below though is "Dead Jig", which has a dramatic and almost orchestral intensity, and hopefully Mike finishes this sketch, so give it a look below, and hear more of Mike's recent solo work at the above links!



Also in new videos, Bear Hunters bassist Justin Lam has launched a brand new YouTube channel featuring his own audition videos for the vacant Machine Head bassist position! Oddly not uploaded to his prior YouTube channel (which I take it is now inactive), he posted 4 videos there yesterday, including an introduction relating to Machine Head's open auditions, and three Machine Head covers ("This Is The End", "Halo", and "Beautiful Mourning"), so click each link to check them out! I imagine the search to replace Adam Duce will be long and jam packed with capable bassists, but Justin's skills are far better than the audio quality of the video allows, and hopefully his videos pick up some steam and popularity no matter what! Check out Justin's awesome cover of "Halo" below, and don't miss The Bear Hunters at the last Rockstar Bar Battle of the Bands semifinal in two weeks!



Finally for tonight, here's a couple of new video discoveries from AlgomA frontman Boyd "Darby Wigwaus" Rendell! Granted, these are old, but I only just came across them now, so why not share them? Apart from his past/present work as a singer & guitarist, Boyd does have drumming talent, and two videos give proof of that on his YouTube channel. One of the videos from 2010 features him (I assume) dressed up as Drumfoot (rather than Bigfoot), complete with Frightlight-esque body part props, while the other compiles two of Boyd's drum solo videos from 2008 & 2009. Both are fairly straightforward musically, but Boyd shows some solid drumming ability and some nice fills, and hopefully he'll post some more solo videos like this in the future, perhaps on guitar? Check out his first of the drumming videos below, and stay tuned for more from AlgomA as I hear of it!



That's all for tonight, but stay tuned for our recap of tonight's first night of the Rockstar Bar Battle Of The Bands! Did Late & Loud move one step closer to their second straight battle win, or did Haggith or Sarah's Valley make a larger impression in their first battles? We'll find out tomorrow! Thanks everyone!

R.I.P. Justin Fratpietro, 1983-2013

The Sault Metal Scene sends it's deepest condolences to the family & friends of local musician Justin Fratpietro, who suddenly passed away on Thursday at just 29 years old. His obituary has been posted at this location, and there it confirms that his services will take place tomorrow in Justin's hometown of Thunder Bay, so check the link for more information. Justin had been living in Sault Ontario in recent years while attending Sault College, and though he wasn't well known in the local music scene yet, he was a singer and guitarist who had recently joined a local metal band (more on them in a second) that had their own levels of promise despite their low profile so far. I didn't know Justin at all, but everything I've read so far points to him as a devoted father, talented singer, and good guy who was taken far too soon. I especially feel for his son, as no one should have to lose a parent this soon, so keep him and the entire Fratpietro family in your thoughts. R.I.P. Justin!

While we're on this subject, I just wanted to briefly touch on the new metal band he was fronting locally. I don't know a whole lot on them yet, but their name is Unbound, and they featured Justin alongside State of Misery alumni Ray Cowan, Kevin D'Orazio, and Nick Kainula on guitar, bass, and drums respectively. They formed in November or earlier, and one Facebook video has been uploaded to preview their sound from a jam session last year, which was filmed by attendee Amy Roach in the same location from State of Misery's early videos. The video isn't of the highest quality, but Unbound seem to be a more straightforward metal band with cleaner vocals, and this song (possibly titled "Deep Waters") has a slower & darker feel. It's too soon to judge how Unbound would have sounded with Justin singing (or to debate their future), but from what I can make out, they seem to have real promise, and hopefully Ray, Kevin, and Nick keep going musically (or at least release more media with Justin on vocals.)

I won't go too in depth otherwise (especially as Unbound hadn't really been publically launched yet), but I thought the band deserves the press after what happened, so check out the video above, and all credit for the above information goes to Nick and Amy! That's all for this post, but we'll have a full news post either tonight or tomorrow, and keep the Fratpietro family in your thoughts at these tough times. Thanks everyone!

Two New Local Metal Bands, New Tym Morrison Material, And More!!

It's time for a new news post at the SMS, including lots of notable updates, but first, just letting you guys know that I don't think there's a Rooosevelt Hotel metal night tonight, despite today being next on the recent bi-weekly schedule. Nothing official has came out about the 48th and next installment of the Thursday metal concert series, so I doubt there's anything imminent, but I've heard rumblings about a show on August 2nd, so stay tuned for updates! Now, today's post features updates to one of our monthly series, new material from a prominent musician, and leading things off, two new local metal bands, so here's what you need to know!

Our first new band is a local progressive hardcore outfit named With Blood Builds Character, and you may recognize their lineup as featuring four members of March Into Regression! This new band features Like Father Like Son frontman/sometimes concert promoter Jeremy Hannah on vocals, guitarists Ray Cowan (ex-State of Misery) and Christopher Neveau, and Social Suicide bassist Tyler St. Amour (no drummer has been announced yet), and they will play their first show under this band name as the last confirmed band at the F.A.T.I.L. Requiem in Laird on August 4th! They'll take the 6:00 PM slot, but they forgot the "With" in their name on the Facebook event page. This all said, what does this new band's formation mean in terms of the status of March Into Regression? M.I.R. drummer Travis St. Amour (who, along with Josh Stephney, is not visibly in this new band) commented on the event page above that the two bands "have no affiliation", and he has been looking on the Musicians Wanted Facebook group this month for singers & guitarists to work with, so it sounds like the four members of W.B.B.C. broke off and started a more formal new band for some reason or another. That said, M.I.R.'s Facebook page hasn't been updated since July 9th, so I can't say for certain if they are completely gone, or what M.I.R.'s next steps are, but I'll keep you posted!

With Blood Builds Character do have promise judging by the Jeremy-sung songs that they did when I saw March Into Regression, and hopefully they can last locally and inject some creative heavy metal into some upcoming concerts! Stay tuned for updates on both With Blood Builds Character and March Into Regression as it all rolls in, as well as the Laird show next month!

Today's other new band to add to the SMS listings is the Sault Michigan metal project Denaturant! Currently, the band only has one member, that being former Hammerspace guitarist Justin Smith, but he's currently on the hunt for additional musicians to complete a full lineup that would "take a specific journey through music." Denaturant was actually launched last July, but Justin has only recently returned to actively updating the band's Facebook & Reverbnation pages towards a proper launch. Plans are for Denaturant to play all original music and to bring back "the raw energy and skill that it deserves", but more musicians are needed to further those goals, so message Justin at this location if you wanna try out! Aside from a video of a brief original sample from last fall, there's no previews yet of Denaturant's sound, but that video has promise, and I liked Justin's work with Hammerspace, so hopefully he can get this new band even further off the ground and bring some more active original metal to Sault Michigan! Check them out at the above links, and both Denaturant and With Blood Builds Character are now in our active band links on the SMS!

Next up, here's some news from local metal musician Tym Morrison! Though best known recently for his solo acoustic cover gigs and his sets with his band Caveman Morrison, long time fans are bound to remember his original music as well, which led to the release of his debut album "Solo Project" in the mid-2000s. Samples of 9 songs for a planned "next album" have been streamable on his official website for some time now, but in recent months, all we've heard from Tym in terms of solo material has been newer compositions, mostly of a softer or comedic nature. However, he's been posting a bunch of new solo original recordings onto his YouTube channel over the last couple of days, including new versions of the planned album tracks "Dungeons & Dragons" & "Lay It On The Line", new takes of his songs "Someday", "The After Life", and the 9/11 tribute song from his website, and two newly posted originals entitled "His Sacrifice" and "Termination of Exystance", so click each link to check them out! Apparently, Tym is working again on his second CD according to recent posts on his personal Facebook page, and if these new songs are any indication of what to expect, I think things are in good hands!

Under the premise that these will be on an album coming out, I'll hold detailed thoughts for a future review, but these songs do cover a wide range of topics and sounds, and if you like heavy metal, most of these will fill that void! I'll share "Dungeons & Dragons" below (featuring some very good singing on Tym's part), but check the above links for more, and stay tuned for updates on Tym's second CD and future original compositions!



And finally for today, here's the rest of the recent updates to our Battle of the Bands Rewind Mini-Series posts to make them more current and accurate! On the Algoma University Battle profile, I added a trivia note on Creedon & The Animal Detectives drummer Terrence Gomes' future battle appearance as Changing Waves' bassist at the Battle For The Blood last month, while the Sault College/Scotties Tournament Battle's profile saw updates to reflect first place winners Blackwater's inactive status, third place act Sykotyk Rampage's current album count, and the current solo projects for Blackwater frontman Cody McMillan & Sykotyk Rampage bassist Brian Cattapan. Finally for this batch of updates, the Downtown Showdown profile now refers to third place winners The Tenagens' recent reemergence in the local scene and guest Bring The Fallen bassist Mike Kyle's almost-return to a battle when his current band Shit Liver were listed to play at the Battle For The Blood at one point. Things aren't completely up to date with these profiles though, as these were part of edits I made so long ago that there's stuff I missed (i.e. With Blood Builds Character's formation), so stay tuned in the near future for more updates and fact changes to this and our other monthly feature series at the SMS!

That's all for now, but stay tuned for previews of this weekend's Rotaryfest Second Stage TONIGHT! Thanks everyone!

Posted Around Preview, New Videos, And The Return Of State Of Misery?!

Hey guys, I wanted to first apologize for the delays in getting our YouTube Channel Profile up, but it completely slipped my mind while trying to get the Humane Society battle recap up and other related stuff, but I promise it's coming TONIGHT! Until then, here's a new news post featuring a preview of a cool art exhibition this week, a local band's possible return, and some new videos, so here's what you need to know!

Firstly for today, I wanted to preview an art exhibition that you guys should definitely be interested in attending! In cooperation with National Youth Arts Week next week, some of the organizers are hosting an art exhibition named "Posted Around" starting today and until Friday that will showcase local concert posters from the 1980s through last year! Metal concert posters are among those being displayed at the event (including the poster from the 11-band Sewer Swampstravaganja show at The Oddfellows Hall last year), and prints of said posters will be on sale for as little as $5, so if you like any or fondly remember a specific concert, you can own the poster for yourself! I'm not sure of how wide or large of a selection there'll be, but I bet it'll be a great exhibition with lots of memories and talents on display, both in the posters and the bands that played them! The event will be hosted at the Circle of Creative Arts building across from The Grand Theater on Queen Street East, with the grand opening taking place TONIGHT at 7:00 PM, though if you miss it, the exhibition runs until Friday. Admission is free and all ages (to my knowledge), but proceeds from sales of the prints will go to arts programming in Attawapiskat. For more details, visit the official Facebook event page!

I will 100% be there this week to check out "Posted Around", and I will definitely have photos and a recap for you guys this week as well! I wanted to make the grand opening, but my exam schedule doesn't gel well with it, so I hope to be there Tuesday evening, and I wanna buy at least one print to help the cause and support local art and music! I hope to see some of you guys there this week, and hopefully this jogs some memories of the scene as it once was, while introducing old school posters and bands to a new audience! Go check it out if you can, and stay tuned for my coverage of it!

Next up, remember last August when local death metal quintet State of Misery returned to activity after a three month breakup, only to quietly dissolve and delete their Facebook page by the end of last year? Well, it may be deja vu all over again, as recent postings on their Facebook group are hinting that State of Misery may have reunited for a second time. Nothing officially indicating a reunion has been announced, but drummer Nick Kainula posted a status there yesterday that says "big news regarding May 4th!", followed by posting a link a live video from a January 2011 concert. I'm not sure what the allusion to May 4th would indicate, but for reference sake, May 4th is one week from Friday. If they're reuniting, I'm not sure what their lineup will look like (given Steve Rhodes & Ray Cowan's current work in The Valentine's Day Massacre & Social Suicide), but the fact that Facebook is hyping up a date in May must mean something. If I hear anything positive or negative towards a potential State of Misery return, I'll have it here, but keep posted for updates, as their hard hitting death metal originals would surely be welcomed back to the stage if this is indeed another band reunion!

We'll close today's post with some new videos, starting with a new solo performance video from Bear Hunters bassist (and "Best Bassist" winner at the Sault Humane Society Battle of the Bands) Justin Lam! The first solo video he's uploaded to his YouTube channel of him on bass in almost four years, it's a cover of Trivium's "A Grey So Dark", and I like that he plays in the video like he does on stage in terms of presence! He seems to know the song very well, and compared to some other musicians, he doesn't have the backing track at an overpowering volume level. Solid work as expected, so check out Justin's new Trivium cover below, and fingers crossed it isn't another four years before he posts a new bass cover!



Finally, here's another archive audio upload from Flat Stanley/Wishbone drummer Glen Thomas' YouTube channel! Posted last week, this is of one of Glen's early 1990s hard rock bands named J.A.B. (short for "Just Another Band") covering "Rock Candy" by Montrose at an unknown local bar (it was in the Jamestown area), and while this is newly posted, it's one of three J.A.B. videos that Glen has put on YouTube. He originally uploaded tracks of J.A.B. playing an untitled original and a song named "Solar Angel" onto YouTube in November 2009, and all 5 feature Glen on drums alongside vocalist Gigi Micelli, guitarists Gerald McKinnon & Jean Paul, and bassist Dan Jones. The three songs are pretty interesting, and they sound like they had talent way back when! Gigi's singing has that retro melodic feel that flows with the material, Glen's drumming is as great as ever, and the band seems to have good chemistry! I like when Glen posts old audio recordings from his bands, they're a nice glimpse back at the local scene's past, and I can see myself rocking out to J.A.B. 20 years ago if I was of age to!

Check out the songs above, and their Montrose cover below, but note that the audio fades in and out here and there on these recordings. Also, click here for an interesting story relating to what happened after the concert that the song below came from!



That's all for now, but stay tuned for more news and notes very soon, including our overdue next YouTube Channel Profile! Thanks everyone!

Lots Of Assorted News And Notes!!

Let's kick off August in a positive way with a bunch of assorted news and notes from the last little while, including new members of a new local band, a local musician's entry in a major contest, a newly revamped Facebook group for area musicians, and some Woods of Ypres related updates, so without any further adieu, let's get this post going!

New Sault Michigan metal band NoXcape (formerly MK-Ultra) have officially announced the additions of Krosswalk guitarist Joey Beairl and former Absolute drummer Justin Lawless to the band, rounding out their full five-piece lineup. The news was quietly broken on their Facebook page yesterday. Joey's a well known guitarist from his work in bands like Krosswalk, Shift, Wild Fate, and Kickback (plus the Guitar Studio rock camp), and it's great to see him back in a local hard rock band! Justin rejoins his former Absolute bandmates Ben Huyck and Bill Spence in NoXcape, as I had been speculating since they hinted on old MK-Ultra pages that their new drummer was named Justin. Nice to see them back together, they had very nice chemistry in Absolute! However, NoXcape are definitely a different animal than Absolute, with an arsenal of original material with a nu metal influence already raring to go for their debut show at Dan's Place in Rudyard this coming weekend! Should be interesting to see how NoXcape sound this weekend, and we'll have much more from them as we hear updates, so stay tuned for more!

Next up, have you been noticing a lot of posts, statuses, and replies on your Facebook walls relating to a Facebook group called "Musicians Wanted (Sault Ste. Marie, ON)"? This has actually been around since March 2009 when (I believe) Half Past guitarist Alain Fletcher started it, but just in the past day, former Wishbone guitarist Jeremy Salatuk has been spearheading a revival of the group, complete with an upgrade to the new Facebook group format & mass invites to new members, and it's sure gaining steam! The group's aim, as it was in 2009, is to help musicians either looking for bands or new band members to connect and help make connections to that end. Since the relaunch, I'm seeing a lot of good activity from local musicians of all genres looking to get back in the swing of the local scene (including some hard rock and metal artists), and if you're in a similar boat, you should definitely join and see what you can do! Musicians in town who want to gig and play live should have those opportunities, and hopefully this group's second wind will help that become a reality! Join (or request to join) at the above links!

(Also, the group gave me a bit of news relating to Caveman Morrison, as frontman Tym Morrison confirmed in a post there that the band are basically on hold until the winter due to Tym's lengthy solo acoustic schedule. I expected we'd see them sparingly or not at all until later this year due to all the Saturday bookings, but it's nice to see some public word on that! However, if you're craving electric gigs with Tym Morrison, go see the Hollow reunion this weekend!)

Now, here's a cool note on a local artist's entry in a new music contest! We just mentioned Half Past guitarist Alain Fletcher above, but he has a neat recent update to share, as he's entered a contest to be featured on a Staind song! In cooperation with Indaba Music, Staind are looking for guitarists to send in their own guitar solos for the solo section on the multi-platinum Massachussets hard rock band's new song "Not Again" from their upcoming self-titled album! One lucky (and talented) winner will have their solo featured on the iTunes deluxe version of their new album, and will also win a Mike Mushok signature guitar, a $1,000 Guitar Center gift card, an autographed copy of the new Staind album, and a one month Tab-Pro subscription to Ultimate-Guitar.com! 10 runners up from the 20 most viewed submissions will win an autographed CD as well. Alain's entered under the handle "Dude705" to try and win the contest, and you can hear his solo at this locaton! Sounds good, it fits with the song's pacing, and it'd be awesome to see him win! Now, the winner is picked by judges, not fan votes, but give his submission lots of listens so he can make the top 20! Unfortunately, we can't see a ranking of the top solos, so give him lots of views, cause you never know! Check his solo out (or register yourself?!) at the above links, and his solo starts about 25 seconds into the clip. Best of luck, Al!

And finally for today, here's the latest from local doom metal band Woods of Ypres! Firstly, the band has finally publically ackowledged the Madden brothers' departure, with both having been quietly removed from their Facebook page's lineup. No public statement has been made concerning their exit, but knowing from past trends, I didn't expect one, and we likely won't hear more until the band announces their replacements. Positive news now, as George Washburn from the website Rock Music Critic posted a review of "Woods IV: The Green Album" onto said website this past Wednesday! He calls it "epic in scope" with lush and thick music, but compares listening to the whole album with eating too much candy: It's very good, but it can be too much after a while. Very positive review though, click here to check it out! And finally, frontman David Gold has posted an interesting sample of a remix of the band's "Woods 4.5" song "You Were The Light" onto his YouTube channel, as done by guitarist Joel Violette! It's just a 79 second clip, but it shows a spacier techno vibe than on the original, and it's an interesting listen! David's also open to fan remixes, so if you're at all interested in making your own remix of the song, e-mail davidypres@gmail.com for the master files. This could be cool if it picks up steam, but check out the sample of Joel's "You Were The Light" remix below! Hopefully the full copy leaks soon!



That's all for now, but if I don't have a new news post later tonight, our next post will be this month's "Where Are The New Albums?" feature post, so definitely look for that tomorrow! Thanks everyone!