LOCAL CONCERT ALERT (Powerslug), New Videos, And More!!

It's time for some more news for this Saturday afternoon, and remember, we're one week out from NAPALM DEATH at The Riuniti Hall! Get your tickets A.S.A.P. for $20 at The Rad Zone, Northland Music, or through members of Shit Liver & The Bear Hunters! Remember, this show is ALL AGES, and you won't wanna miss it next Saturday! Today though, we've got some newly discovered videos, some assorted news stories from the last little while, and leading things off, a LOCAL CONCERT ALERT, so here's what you need to know!

Another Halloween weekend concert is now official for the Sault area, and it will feature Sault Michigan hard rockers Powerslug headlining at The Merchant's Bar! The band formerly known as River Witch will headline the "Halloween Bash at The Merch" on October 29th (exactly three weeks from today) in what should be another quality addition to the usually stacked Halloween concert lineup in the twin Saults! Aside from Powerslug's hard rocking set, there will also be drink special and a costume contest for $100, so make note of those special elements for this Halloween concert! The Facebook event page lists a 7:00 PM start time (which is very early, I expect the music won't start until 10:00 PM), there's no cover charge listed, and you must be 21 to attend. Check the above links for more details! Nice to hear about this show in advance for a change, as The Merch doesn't usually announce live bands more than a few days out, so we have lots of advance word for Powerslug at the end of the month! Of course, they haven't updated their Facebook page in months, but Powerslug are frequent sights at The Merchant's Bar, and they'll rock on the 29th, so keep them in mind for your Halloween weekend plans, and stay tuned for more as I hear it!

Next up, here's some new videos from young Sault Michigan hard rockers Abstract, courtesy of frontman Jacob Hotlen's YouTube channel! These are new finds for me, despite the fact that Jacob's had a channel since May 2009, but thanks to the band's new Google Sites page, I now know about them! Two Abstract videos are posted on his channel, both uploaded on April 26th of this year, though they both are from older shows. The first one is of Abstract playing on the main stage at last August's Kewadin Casino 25th Anniversary Summer Festival on July 24th, 2010 (opening for Meat Loaf, Clownsack, and others.) I thought they were on the second stage only? No matter, this is even better for them! The video features Abstract covering The White Stripes' "Seven Nation Army", Weezer's "Beverly Hills", and the beginning of Wolfmother's "Woman" before the video cuts out, and they do a good job on all three! It's odd seeing Ethan Twardy using Clownsack's drumkit for their set, but overall, they did great on the big stage! Click here to see Abstract from last year's Kewadin Festival, but the one I'm embedding here is even longer and heavier!

The second video is from Abstract's 1st place winning performance at the Sault Area Middle School talent show on March 25th of this year, which is surely another highlight for this talented young band! In the video, they covered Metallica's "Enter Sandman", AC/DC's "Back In Black", and "Woman" again, though it was caught in full this time. The video's further away and a bit darker, but the audio quality's good and the songs are longer and heavier, so I definitely recommend this video as well! Check the above links for more, and here's (part of?) Abstract's talent show winning set below! (For the record, Jacob's YouTube channel & Abstract's Google Site don't have much else for new band relevant stuff yet.)



Also new for videos are two new solo jam videos from former Bring The Fallen and AtrophiA guitarist Dan Souliere, who posted these onto his YouTube channel yesterday. Roughly two minutes each, they're basically rhythm guitar riffs by themselves, and his skill is clear in them, but it would definitely be interesting to hear these with more instruments accompanying them. Good quality though! Check out the second jam video by clicking here, but I've embedded the first one below, so give it a look!



And finally, here's three assorted shorter news stories from the last little while. As usual, these are in alphabetical order by band or venue name:

• If you've been wondering where Lion Ride have been over the past few months, they've been forced into a break, as guitarist Marky Lion broke a knuckle on his left hand in August. As a result, he's been unable to play guitar since, which has stalled band activity. He posted the update onto the band's Facebook page last Saturday. Get well soon Marky, hopefully your knuckle heals up soon!
• Following their closure last month, The Vibe Lounge on Goulais Avenue closed their Facebook page. I saw it coming, but no worries, as I've replaced their link on the SMS's "Other Local Metal Links" with their still-online Facebook group. It hasn't been updated in a month, but a less-used link is better than nothing!
• A review of Woods of Ypres' "Home" vinyl single by Ryan Grant was posted onto the metal website Here To DESTROY last month, where he briefly (but glowingly) reviewed it and shared his love for "Woods IV" as well. Good read, and it has some purchasing links too, so check it out at the above links!

That's all for today, but stay tuned for more news soon and our Defunct Local Band Profile on Detroit on Monday! Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (Breaking The Fourth Wall & Marky Lion) & Woods Of Ypres Updates!!!

Hey guys, here's a big update before tonight's Crash Karma/Desperate Union show! Today, we have updates from Woods of Ypres, Garden of Bedlam, and more, but first, here's a pair of LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS!!! (Updated Monday at 12:41 AM)

Firstly, it's metal night at The Rosie, as four of hard hitting metal bands hit The Roosevelt Hotel on THURSDAY NIGHT! Sorry about the short notice, this only just recently came to my attention, and the full details didn't come until the other day. Your headliners are Montreal experimental/Christian metal band Breaking The Fourth Wall, over three months after their last planned show here in July! This time, they should actually be here, so if you like their brand of extreme hardcore music, then you know where to be on Thursday night! There are now three local opening bands, one of which is local hardcore quintet As It Stands! We haven't heard a lot from them since September, but they're back at The Rosie for this show, where they'll unleash some more of their newest originals! And fresh off of their headlining set at the Coch's Corner Halloween party, local extreme metal band WinkStinger will also be opening! Great to see them back as well, especially with the volume of recent bookings! They're a band to watch out for, trust me! And also, promoter Rich Moreland confirmed early on Monday that local death metal band Bring The Fallen will be on the bill, in their first live concert appearance in six months, and first with bassist Nolan Rainville in nine months! Expect some hard hitting death metal from these guys, and it's great to see them back!

Doors open at 10:00 PM on Thursday night, there is no listed cover charge, and you must be 19 to enter. This should be one heavy night at The Rosie, and it's part of their continuing effort to shake the image of being "just a country bar", so make note of that going forward! These are four high quality metal bands that promise to deliver a moshworthy good time, so try and make it out on Thursday if you can! For more details, visit the Facebook event page or The Rosie's brand new Facebook page! Oh, and yes, Andrew Chiarello appears to have rejoined Bring The Fallen, as the band deleted the postings about wanting a new guitarist from their Facebook page. Great news!

Now, to the second new show! Remember in September when I profiled Lion Ride guitarist Mark Rand (a.k.a. Marky Lion) in our Saultites In Out Of Town Bands Profile? Well, I had said in my initial post that the solo nature of the project may restrict activity beyond the studio. How wrong I was. In a Facebook note posted earlier today, Mark announced that he's formed a new band featuring his local friends that will bring his new solo recordings to the live stage next month! This new band is entitled Marky & The Motherfuckers, and will feature members of local bands like Lion Ride, Detroit, Renderware, The Inner City Surfers, Nebraska Arms, The Hangdowns, Bondar, and Talk Shit! A clear list of who "The Motherfuckers" are is not provided, but he did tag six people in the note: Mikey Hawdon, Marco Pedalino, Guy Thiffault, Dave Prendergast, Marc Lafrance, and "Brown" Dave Brunton, who are all in one or more of the above bands. Could they be The Motherfuckers, or are they just friends he tagged for them to read it? Time will tell! Either way, Marky and his friends will assemble for a concert next month, which will take place on December 29th at Coch's Corner! There will be an opening band to be announced, there's no listed cover charge, it'll likely be 19+, and it all starts at 10:00 PM that night. Get more details at the above links, including his official MySpace page, which has it's own event page as well!

This will be your first chance to see Marky play his very solid hardcore solo material in a live setting, and it'll be cool to see what could essentially be a local punk/metal supergroup of sorts taking the stage! Hopefully I can make this show, and as I hear more on it, I'll absolutely have it here!

Finally today, here's the latest news from local doom/black metal rockers Woods of Ypres! Firstly, here's the most exciting news: David Gold's coming home a lot sooner than we expected! As revealed in a posting on the band's official Facebook page, his journey there is coming to an end, and his personal Facebook page confirmed that he had just 40 days & 40 nights left there as of yesterday, leaning towards a return to Canada in mid-December. He thanked the band's new label Earache Records for that, but didn't specify what they did to help expedite the process. Either way, he's coming home sooner, and the band can get going again sooner, so all will be well! He also said that upon his return, he will be moving back to Toronto, so Woods of Ypres will likely be based out of there again upon his return. And before anyone asks, that does NOT mean we'll stop covering them, as they were based out of the Sault for almost three years, so they're still considered a local band regardless of their current locale. He closed the update by saying that we should see Woods of Ypres back on tour by May 2011. I can't wait, hopefully they come to the Soo again! Before we finish, here's three more quick Woods of Ypres notes

• Carl Begai of Brave Words & Bloody Knuckles posted a blurb about Woods of Ypres' recent label deal and fake breakup in this month's "Only In Canada, Eh?" post on his personal blog. Nothing we haven't heard before, but it's nice to see the extra exposure!
• The heavy metal blog Hook In Mouth included Woods of Ypres' "By The Time You Read This (I Will Already Be Dead)" and "Northern October" by David's side project The Northern Ontario Black Metal Preservation Society in a post last week detailing their Halloween soundtrack! Nice fitting comments for both songs, check out the post at this location!
• On the topic of their albums, there are still independent Woods of Ypres albums for sale, get full details at this location! Also, note the newest post, where David asks about our thoughts towards a double green vinyl release of "Woods IV". Wanna see it? Then comment!

That's all for today, but stay tuned tomorrow for my review of tonight's Crash Karma/Desperate Union show! I have more assorted news stories to get to as well, so watch out for those as well! Thanks everyone!

Saultites In Out Of Town Bands Profile: Fifth Way & Mark Rand

As promised, it's time for our ninth monthly installment of our Saultites In Out Of Town Bands Profile series! This month, we focus on two more heavier acts from outside of the Soo that just happen to feature a member who lived in the Sault Ste. Marie area in the past! One's a new solo project, while the other is a prominent band that you may recognize from some larger shows in the area in recent months! This should be another good one, but remember, if there's something incorrect, missing, or lacking info/details, please tell me! That being said, let's kick off this month's profile, and check out previews of this weekend's concerts in the post below! (UPDATED: November 26th, 2014)
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Fifth Way (Detroit, Michigan)

Lineup: (Saultites in RED; ex-members in italics)

Tim Gossman (vocals)
Zak Stelmaszek (guitar)
Adam Trahan (guitar)
Anthony Palsgrove (bass)
Chris Castro (drums)

Terry Freers (bass)
Nicholas Cole-Klaes (bass)
Mike McMann (bass)
Victor Wooten (bass)
Dave Reingardt (drums)

Official website: http://www.fifth-way.com
Official MySpace page: http://www.myspace.com/fifthway
Official Reverbnation page: http://www.reverbnation.com/fifthway
Official YouTube channel: http://www.youtube.com/fifthwayofficial
Official Facebook page (1): http://facebook.com/pages/fifth-way/14603256274
Official Facebook page (2): http://www.facebook.com/fifthway

Local Info: Fifth Way features just one member who claimed a local residence, that being lead guitarist Zak Stelmaszek. Originally from nearby Rudyard, Zak graduated from Rudyard High School in 1995, and would then enroll at Lake Superior State University in the electrical engineering program, living on campus in Sault Michigan in the process. Zak gratuated from LSSU in 2000, and later moved to the Detroit area (and later still to Milwaukee.) Aside from his ongoing work with Fifth Way, Zak has also stayed busy in cover bands, including current work in Milwaukee's King Kong, and prior stints with bands like Detroit's Cruizin' Jupiter & Milwaukee's Superfly.

Band Bio: Fifth Way launched in late 2007, and found a solid footing in the Detroit rock scene through frequent gigging in the area through 2008 and 2009, backing up acts like Saliva, Pop Evil, Alter Bridge, and 10 Years. Save for their numerous bassist switches, their lineup appears has generally been stable since their inception. In January 2010, Fifth Way released their debut album "No Boundaries", and have toured frequently ever since. Their name growing ever quicker, Fifth Way have slowly begun playing shows outside of the Detroit area, notably coming up to Sault Michigan numerous high profile shows since 2010, mainly at Kewadin Casino, where they've backed up such bands as Tesla, Three Doors Down, and The Gin Blossoms. Still frequently playing shows all over Michigan, Fifth Way's profile continues to grow with each passing day, so check them out and pick up their debut album at the above links!

Fifth Way employ a very catchy radio hard rock sound that'd be right at home on Rock 101, and it's a wonder we don't hear them more on the radio locally, especially with Zak's local connection! Their music doesn't have much surprises in terms of song structure, but what they do, they do well, with a gritty aggressive sensibility that does help set them apart from other bands! Tim Grossman's vocals are melodic, yet have a rough edge to them, and the guitar work from Zak and Adam is both catchy and heavy, making the most of their riffs! Honestly, Fifth Way are the kind of band I can picture driving down a highway to, it has that hard riding essence, while still being melodic and fun to listen to! I find they have a few too many softer songs, and the guitar solos need work, but Fifth Way are a very good hard rock band, and I'm sure we'd welcome them back to the Sault area with open arms!

Fifth Way's debut album "No Boundaries" has been available for purchase at Grooves Music in Sault Michigan, and songs from the album are streamable at the band's MySpace page! You can also purchase the album online for $12 through the band's website. Other sites presumably have the album for free download, but really, support the band and buy it. Fifth Way are also very prominently featured on YouTube via numerous live videos, along with their 2010 music video for their song "Stomping Ground" that you can check out below!


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Mark Rand (Toronto, Ontario)

Lineup: (Saultites in RED)

Mark "Marky Lion" Rand (all instruments)

Official MySpace page: http://www.myspace.com/markrand
Official YouTube channel: http://www.youtube.com/themarkylion

Local Info: If you've been around the local scene in the past few years, then Mark Rand should be very familiar to you! An established musician on varying instruments, Mark's arguably best known under his stage name Marky Lion as guitarist and studio bassist for the local punk/metal band Lion Ride, who've made some major noise in the local scene since their 2007 inception! But that's just the surface of his musical background, as Mark's been in numerous bands in both the Sault and Toronto areas, including Detroit, Bin Hawdon & The Taliband, The Merves, Fuller, hackthemodem, Pumpkinseed, Kidshit, The Lumbermen, Bondar, DDPBB, and his current role in the Peterborough hardcore punk trio Cross Dog, among others. Now living in Peterborough, Mark's never forgotten his local roots, and comes back home for concerts occasionally, including a Detroit reunion next month!

Band Bio: Though the most recent form of Mark's solo project didn't begin until 2010, he has dabbled into solo work in the past. In 2006, Mark launched an indie/electronic solo project under his own name after his move to Southern Ontario, which is decidedly unlike his typical punk and metal fare, though it is well played. In August 2010, Mark took another dive into solo work, initially under his Lion Ride stage name (thought later alternately referred to as M.R.B.), and playing music much closer to the majority of his past bands. Drawing influences from bands like Motorhead, Venom, Slayer, Black Flag, SNFU, and Propagandhi (among many others), Mark's recorded a number of original hardcore/punk songs that could eventually be a part of an album release, which he's alluded to on his pages in the past. He formed a local band made up of his Saultite friends to back him up at a December 29th, 2010 show at the old Coch's Corner, where "The Mark Rand Band" played his solo songs live. Though this solo project quietly went defunct the following year, Mark played similar material in his newer partly-local project Kidshit alongside former Fuller bandmate Jamie Vincent.

Of Mark's long list of local bands, one of the closest comparison bands to the Mark Rand projectwas Detroit. Safe comparison, because Mark's material is generally comprised of short relentless hardcore numbers, and they sound very cool for the most part! Mark shows off more of his aggressive vocals that we typically only heard in backing roles in his other bands, and his guitar work is similarly heavy and suitable for the material! Compared to some other solo projects I've heard, this project sounds very cohesive like a real band, even on the drums! This material straddles the punk and metal border, so diehard fans of both genres will find something to like here, and it all fits very well! None of the songs disappoint, and thankfully, Mark doesn't fall into the trap that Detroit had where the longer songs weren't as heavy or relentless, and I hope he keeps up with the same style we've seen so far, cause it works very well! Mark and his new local backing band had a successful debut in December 2011, but here's hoping he revisits this material down the road!

Mark has seven songs on his MySpace page to check out, which amount to a nice 10 minutes or so of hardcore mayhem! If you're interested in any of Mark's work with his other bands, there's plenty of pages for them online on MySpace, Facebook, YouTube, and other sites, so look for those too! One of Mark's best solo songs (and his shortest) is on YouTube to check out, and here it is, his song "Question"!


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Hope you guys enjoyed this month's profile! As for next month, I've decided on two bands to profile once again, as we'll take a look at L'Anguisette, the progressive metal band from Philadelphia featuring Woods of Ypres' frontman David Gold on drums, and Ninth Day Sin, the Nashville death metal band featuring Lower S.E.S./Bludgeoned drummer Mikey Bishop! Stay tuned for that next month, between October 16th and 22nd! That's all for now, but be on the lookout for more local metal news and notes in the coming days! Thanks everyone!