Heavy Lies The Crown Updates From January-February 2026!!

It's time to dive back into the world of St. Ignace metalcore band Heavy Lies The Crown in today's post, so what have they been up to since we left off with them? On January 27th, frontman Brandon West starred in this vertical update video where he remarked on how good their streaming numbers have beenc, and promoted the then-impending release of their new EP "Notions" on Friday, January 30th. He also further elaborated on why guitarist/drummer Kaycee Mason and bassist Christian Cook left the band, primarily citing their distance (both currently live in the Lower Peninsula) as impairing their availability for gigs and rehearsals, let alone upgrading their concert setup and staging with a full band reliably present to practice, though creative differences were also cited. The video ends with Brandon teasing their March tour run in Southeast Michigan and plans to put out new band merchandise.

Bookending that update video were two rehearsal clips featuring guitarist Jaxon Massaway and drummer Blaze Beairl in a lighting-overpowered room, but the first video runs for just six seconds and the second, while 5x the length, feels like filler between songs (regardless, both are vertical). I assume Brandon filmed those, and he starred in another update video from his vehicle on January 28th, where he optimistically talked about the band's progress as of late, including their planned online store, their higher streaming hits, their shift in goals, and the EP release two days from then. Brandon also addresses H.L.T.C.'s bassist position, where he notes that while the plan at the time was still to have Rob Vandewiele from Detroit's Nothing After This to fill in for concerts, he noted that there was a local bassist that they were going to try out that weekend. Good updates across the board, so give these videos a watch above & below!

As promised, Heavy Lies The Crown released their new EP "Notions" to major streaming services on January 30th, so what should you know there? Featuring artwork designed by Christian before his departure, the EP is credited to the North Shore Audio imprint, and while full performer credits aren't given, Brandon produced and Jaxon mixed/engineered the material. The five-song EP compiles most of the band's one-off singles released since mid-2024, with the exception of "These Walls". I haven't seen a reason as to why the song was omitted, but the band had begun work on "These Walls" in 2020 or 2021, and it was co-written by ex-guitarist Nathan Switzer, who finished his parts before he left the band in August 2024, so his involvement and/or the band's sonic evolution may explain things. All of the usual mainstream streaming sites host "Notions", but can you actually buy the EP anywhere?

Yes, you can buy it on mp3 format via iTunes for $4.95, so consider doing so to support the guys extra! "Notions" is absolutely up for a review on the SMS, but we are in a massive backlog for new album releases, and as Handsome Sandwich, The Realignment Project, Pillory, Viscera, Mike Haggith, and A.S.D.P. all put out albums for sale prior, Heavy Lies The Crown are currently slotted in for September. It's coming, but we were blessed with a lot of local metal, hard rock, and punk albums in mid-late 2025! Give the opening/title track a listen below, and hear more from "Notions" above!

Entering a new month, Brandon starred in another vertical update video on February 7th where he teased "sharing some news here soon about an upcoming change for (the band) that's pretty big (and) pretty awesome", while also promising "new photos, new merch, new everything". The "upcoming change" appears to be the teased bassist that they were trying out shortly after the EP release, and he was unveiled in photos posted to their Facebook page on February 16th. His name on Facebook is given as Bubba Hillz, but I haven't seen the band credit him by name in any posts or tags yet. Regardless, before he moved up here, Bubba played bass in the South Florida deathcore band Tracheotomy in the early 2020s, and if he is accurately credited, he performed as "Jay Jealousy" on their debut singles in 2021. Hopefully we get clarification for his name/credits from the band soon!

There is media online featuring Bubba/Jay, not to mention his songs with Tracheotomy, and he has the skill set to fit in with Brandon, Christian, and Blaze, so we'll look at their first videos with him when we next look at Heavy Lies The Crown on the SMS later this month! Thanks everyone!

YouTube Channel Profile Series: TheLateandLoud's Channel

It's now time for our last monthly feature post on the SMS for July 2025, namely this month's YouTube Channel Profile! This monthly feature looks at a randomly selected YouTube channel whose content is at least half devoted to local metal, hard rock, or punk artists/concerts, and this month, we're heading back 13-14 years in the time machine for a prominent local metal band's early YouTube content, so here's what you should know!

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TheLateandLoud's Channel (http://youtube.com/@TheLateandLoud)

Owner: A member of 2010-2014 local classic metal quartet Late & Loud, exact identity unclear (my best guess is guitarist Jonathan Tiberi based on who largely filmed their webseries episodes)

Channel Timeline: Launched on October 26th, 2010; Videos uploaded from that day until May 2012

Channel Summary: The official YouTube channel for Late & Loud, it features nine videos from their their first year & a half together, including the three episodes of their webseries, three live performance videos, and a clip of them during recording sessions for their EP.

Why You Should Watch: If you were a fan of this talented (yet too short-lived) 1980s metal throwback group, then you should get a kick out of their channel, especially as it captures things when they were on the local upswing and still had lots of big plans laid out! This channel was not used during their final two years as an active band and their posthumous activity, including their battle of the bands successes, their 2019 reunion gig, and their kinda-sorta revival via the Late & Legends podcast, but more videos from later projects are lurking online, including on their Facebook page.

 Our Recommended Videos To Check Out:

 

Late and Loud ep. 1: Upon their debut, Late & Loud launched a webseries on their channel featuring three episodes (though the third episode was broken up into three chunks) featuring the guys hanging out away from concerts. The first episode from October 2010 starts with guitarists Brendan Christie (now of Convergence) and Jonathan Tiberi (now of Hamilton's Astral Witch) picking up drummer Josh Hatherley so they can drive to St. Joseph Island to jam at bassist Benn Garside's place, but not before enjoying a bonfire and having some fun (and a few drinks) that night. Almost four minutes of this 10+ minute video is blacked out in a dark room, but this is some loose casual entertainment that fans and friends will get a kick out of! The following episodes feature more rural and largely outdoor antics, and while performances are not the focus, episode 3 part 1 does feature the guys covering a White Whizzard song, albeit instrumentally. 

 

Chylde of Fire - Cover: The most popular video on Late & Loud's channel sees them covering Witchcraft's "Chylde Of Fire" at Foggy Notions (now Coch's Corner) circa March 2011. Featuring Jon on lead vocals, this unexpected cover of the Swedish metal veterans comes off well, and while vocal abilities was always Late & Loud's Achilles heel, Jonathan handles this one as well as you can expect! For more cover action, the guys can be seen covering two Judas Priest songs in their last video from their set at the Dead In The Van fundraiser at The Canadian in March 2012, and it ends with two originals.

Recording session at the Tiberi Villa: The only video here that isn't a live concert recording or a webseries episode is this May 2012 video of Late & Loud relaxing at "the Tiberi Villa" in Gros Cap during recording sessions for their demo EP "Heavy Rockin' Hard Metal". Here, Brendan is behind the camera, with Jon attempting to make a boom mic handle out of objects at hand, while the rhythm section relax after a long night. Casual look at their DIY recording process, and if you're curious to hear that EP, click here for the extended 2013 "Still Hard" reissue!

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I hope you guys liked this month's YouTube Channel Profile! Next month, our latest randomly selected channel will be the YouTube Music channel for local "blue Chinese metal crash punk" quartet Sykotyk Rampage, featuring two of their studio albums, so look for that on or around August 26th, and for more news and notes on the site soon! Thanks everyone!

YouTube Channel Profile Series: Rik DVD

To wrap up another month at the SMS, here's this month's YouTube Channel Profile, our monthly spotlight feature on 1-3 YouTube channels whose content is half or more comprised of videos relevant to local metal, hard rock, and/or punk artists and/or concerts! I only realized when I got to work on this post that I did not pick our next featured channel last month, as usual for the series, so until I started writing this intro, I had no idea what channel I'd randomly select. I did randomly pick a channel now though, as well as the channel(s) for next month, so we're back on track, and let's take a dive into a channel with some interesting footage from two very different local periods!

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Rik DVD (http://www.youtube.com/rikdvd) 

Owner: Dell Bros. drummer Rick Dellavedova, also known as "Rick Widow", frontman of the defunct local glam metal band Amethyst

Channel Timeline: Launched on October 23rd, 2010; Videos uploaded from that day until April 2014

Channel Summary: Rick noted in the channel's description that it had "live performance music videos", which is largely correct. Five of his seven videos of local bands in action on stage, all filmed by himself for CML Productions, including one of original rock veterans Wishbone in 2014. The other two include a music video for an old band of his, and a 14 second clip of Crank Sound Distribution setting up their equipment before a 2010 concert that Rick filmed for his channel. While ostensibly for personal use, Rick did advertise his services for professional event filmography there.
 
Why You Should Watch: This channel will primarily interest fans of Garden of Bedlam, who are the focus of four of the videos and cameo on the Crank Sound Distribution clip, but fans of Amethyst and Wishbone will find something to like as well! Note that this channel has not been visibly updated in almost eight years, and it does not feature any videos of Rick with The Dell Bros. (f.k.a. The Paul Dellavedova Trio).

 Our Recommended Videos To Check Out:

 

Amethyst - Snakeye Strut: Rick's first video is a posthumous music video/slideshow for Amethyst's song "Snakeye Strut" from their 1994 studio album "Innocent As Hell", and features a rare extant source of actual Amethyst video footage, especially with their "Waste of Time" music video being taken down from YouTube years back. Featuring Rick alongside guitarists Jose "Wales" Temperao & Mike Haas, bassist Gordon "Chipp" Robb, and drummer Phil Temperao, this video is well edited and gives solid highlights of Amethyst's heyday, and being set to a catchy old school hard rock number never hurts! This is the channel's most popular video aside from the Crank clip, and the entire "Innocent As Hell" album is on Reverbnation.

 

 

Garden Of Bedlam "Shallow" Live @ Foggy's: All but two of Rick's videos have something to do with 2007-2015 hard rock quartet Garden of Bedlam, who he had a working relationship with in 2010 to film their performances, though his videos of them weren't uploaded until 2011. One video on Rick's own channel features Buzz, the Belleaus, and Derek playing "Shallow" during their headlining set at Rotaryfest's Second Stage in July 2010, but the better quality videos are of them at Foggy Notions (now Coch's Corner) playing "New Rain" and (as featured here) "Shallow" again. These appear to be soundchecks before the show proper based on the sparse crowd, unloaded equipment, and dialogue with Crank Sound. In spite of that, these have solid recording quality with strong performances as you'd expect!

 

 

Garden Of Bedlam "New Rain" Live @ Essar Centre: After winning the Kiss Battle of the Bands in December 2009, Garden of Bedlam were tapped as the local openers for the long-delayed Kiss concert at The Essar Centre (now GFL Memorial Gardens) in August 2010, with Rick filming them from a side-stage angle. Note that this was originally uploaded in colour before being taken down to be converted to black & white. Still, this captures Garden of Bedlam performing to their fullest in their biggest ever concert set, and early fans were definitely into it! You can see more of Rick & CML's videos of the band on their own YouTube channel, including proper music videos.

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I hope you guys liked this month's YouTube Channel Profile! This series will return on or around March 26th, and unlike this month, I did remember to randomly select a channel (two in this case) ahead as normal! I first randomly picked Concert Channel, which features videos for 2019's Offspring/Sum 41 show at GFL Memorial Gardens, but there's not a lot of diversity there beyond just a few videos of both bands, so I chose an extra channel with only has one video to fill things out, namely Old Man Wyrn's channel, which has one song from inactive local black metal project Abhorrent Forest. Look for these next month, and for more news and notes on the site soon! Thanks everyone!

New Quarantunes From Mikey & His Uke, Plus Lots Of SMS Link Updates!!

For this 84th straight daily post at the SMS, we're continuing our link cleanup that populated our post on Saturday, but let's start with the latest quarantune cover videos from Mikey (Hawdon) & his uke! Since we last looked at the local punk music veteran's daily ukelele covers on his YouTube channel, Mikey has posted seven new ones in the past week. Unusually for this current stage of the quarantune series, only two of these videos feature guests beyond Mikey and editor/sometime percussionist Dean Glover, but Dean did spice up the solo videos in varying ways! The new solo videos feature Mikey & his uke covering Madonna's "Material Girl", 2 Unlimited's "No Limit", The Dead Milkmen's "Punk Rock Girl", Willie Nelson's "On The Road Again" (featuring many familiar faces in the included photos), and Stompin' Tom Connors' "Algoma Central 69", which should please Inner City Surfers fans in particular. That said, what about the videos featuring special guests?

One is a cover of The Spice Girls' "Stop" featuring four female musicians who have guested in prior quarantunes (I'll let you figure out which spice is which), but embedded below is video #83 from Friday, where Mikey is joined by his Surfers bandmates Dustin Jones, Dave Bahun, and Brad Example for a special rendition of "Booze N' Doobs"! Mikey is even included a second time in the top right on "drums", which is a nice touch. Fun and loose cover, as all of these are in their own way, so give all of Mikey's 85 quarantunes to date a watch above and below, and stay tuned for more tomorrow!



Finally for today, here's nine assorted shorter updates, all via recent changes and deletions to our link sections on the SMS, relating to bands, concert venues, and more. As usual, these are in alphabetical order by band, venue, event, or business name:

• I have changed the link in our inactive concert venue listings for local natural foods restaurant and occasional concert venue Cafe Natura from their now-closed website to their Facebook page. However, Cafe Natura abruptly closed in June of last year, and has since been replaced at 75 Elgin Street by Georgie's Shawarma, which I don't believe has hosted live concerts. Kelly seemed to have a good thing going with Cafe Natura, and hopefully she and the former staff are in good spirits nowadays!
• I have removed Foggy Notions from our inactive concert venue listings as well due to the deletion of their Facebook (and last known surviving) online page. Of course, 708 Queen Street East has hosted Coch's Corner since it's move from the Days Inn in 2012, albeit with a much softer range of live music, and hopefully more concerts will occur there in time when things settle down!
• I have removed local music store Grooves Music from our "Other Sault Michigan Metal Links" section due to the deletion of it's Facebook page within the past year. The long-time 540 Ashmun Street business was sold to new owners in 2017 and re-opened as Crooked Music, before moving across the road to 539 Ashmun last year. Head to Crooked Music for all of your instrument, lesson, and vinyl needs, though use common sense given the pandemic!
• I have deleted Hempfest from our listing of local concert festivals due to the closure of their Facebook page in recent years, which was the annual marijuana culture/concert festival's last known online page. Readers may recall this annual event at the current Northern Vibe Festival site in Ophir, Ontario from 1999-2013 (save 2010) before organizers held it's last three installments in Moonbeam. Hopefully Robert, Willy-Jack, and everyone who made Hempfest possible are still doing well nowadays!
• I have changed the link for defunct local band management & promotion company New Era Design & Development in our "Other Sault Ontario Metal Links" section from their now-closed website to their Facebook page. Derek had solid ambition with New Era, including a working relationship with local hard rock band Stillbroke circa 2010, but their later activity was centered on digital media before New Era fell inactive by 2013.
• I have removed 2005 all-female alternative/punk trio Nowhere Fast from our defunct band links due to the quiet deletion of their Tripod (and only surviving) online page at some point in the past year. It would have been interesting to see Nowhere Fast make more of a local presence during their brief run, but hopefully their members are still musically active!
• I have removed mid-2000s punk band Oceania from our defunct band links due to the closure of BandSpace, which hosted their last surviving band page until that website quietly shut down three years ago. Oceania were a promising act, and hopefully LaR, Dilbert, and Chris re-emerge with new music down the road!
• I have replaced early 2010s punk/classical trio RedD Monkey's (sadly) deleted Facebook page in our band links with their Bandcamp page, which still hosts copies of their three studio albums. Steve, Pete, Kevin, and Joe have been missed locally in the last few years, and hopefully we hear of new music from them in the future!
• I have changed the link for defunct local nightclub/concert venue Smack Daddy's Bar & Grill (a.k.a. Bossy's Pub N' Grub) in our inactive venue listings from their now deleted Facebook group to their Smack Daddy's-era Facebook page. Sporadically active as a concert venue through 2011, Smack Daddy's closed in 2014, as the building was bought by new owners, torn down, and replaced by what's now Pim Street Dental. Hopefully they're doing strong business there, it's a good location!

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

YouTube Channel Profile Series: Small Town Rivals & Chitamo

It's now time for our first YouTube Channel Profile of 2020, as we continue our monthly spotlighting of YouTube channels whose uploads are at least half devoted to local metal, hard rock, and/or punk artists and concerts! As usual, channels are randomly selected from our YouTube subscriptions, and we're looking at two this month due to the first channel only having one upload, necessitating a second channel selection. This month's choices will kick 2020 off in the punk realm via some high profile and familiar faces, so here's what you should know!
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Small Town Rivals (http://youtube.com/channel/UCpLBDb7tSBomAdeY4MR6QqA)

Owner: Northwest singer/guitarist and ex-Nebraska Arms/Renderware alum Wayne Watkins, launched during his tenure as frontman of the 2010-2013 local/Whistler, B.C. pop punk band The Small Town Rivals

Channel Timeline: Launched on November 9th, 2012; Only video posted on "Stir Friday", April 19th, 2013

Channel Summary: The official YouTube channel for The Small Town Rivals only saw one video posting, late in the band's life span, where Wayne plays a solo acoustic rendition of their unreleased original song "Algoma Steel." Subtitled as the "late night stir fry edition" (complete with Wayne stirring said dish in his kitchen), this performance is lively and has all the hallmarks of his wider scale work to come with Northwest, with a unique setting to add some flavour, and lyrics are even in the description! However, the video is mirrored, and the channel does not include any other Small Town Rivals content, but click here to see a full band music video of theirs.


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Chitamo (http://youtube.com/chitamo)

Owner: A YouTube user and likely local resident with the last name Chitamo (I am uncertain of their identity otherwise.)

Channel Timeline: Launched on September 3rd, 2006; Videos posted that day and on March 21st, 2009

Channel Summary: Nine of the ten videos come from local punk quartet The Inner City Surfers' headlining concert at Foggy Notions (now Coch's Corner) on September 1st, 2006. The only other video is of an unidentified beatboxer delivering an impromptu performance at a local bar in 2009.

Why You Should Watch: This channel is definitely worth a watch for fans of The Inner City Surfers' mid-late 2000s heyday, though the dark lighting and generally short video run-time will not be to everyone's liking (the nine Surfers videos only run for about 6 minutes total, but there are much more available elsewhere.) As for the beatboxing clip, it is impressive, though Mr. Chitamo's efforts to learn the artist's identity appears to have went cold, and the channel hasn't been visibly used in the 2010s.

Our Recommended Videos To Check Out:

Inner City Surfers cover Beastie Boys: Three of this channel's videos have exceeded 500 views, but this 42 second clip of The Inner City Surfers covering The Beastie Boys' "(You Gotta) Fight for Your Right (To Party!)" edged out the others. The dark and largely out-of-focus video isn't much to look at, but Dustin, Dave, Brad, and Mikey have a solid and entertaining handle on the last verse of this rap rock classic! The guys also covered The Rolling Stones' "(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction" here, with Dustin and Mikey trading vocal & drum duties, though the video is uploaded sideways.

Surfers-Won't Belong: Stones cover aside, the channel's only Surfers upload to exceed 1 minute in length is of the guys playing "Won't Belong" from their second album "Laughing On The Outside" and their later self-titled CD. This video has solid sound, and better lighting & clarity overall, albeit at the expense of a jitterier angle, and it's a nice showcase of Brad's singing while it lasts! Other song fragments filmed by Mr. Chitamo include "Perfect Moment", "Commandments", "Booze N' Doobs" in three chunks, and this untitled instrumental fragment.

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I hope you guys liked this month's YouTube Channel Profiles! This series will return on or around February 26th when we look at another randomly selected YouTube channel, and we'll be staying in punk mode then by looking at biznasty316's channel, featuring six Treble Charger song uploads from their last three albums. Look for that then, and for more news and this month's CD review this week! Thanks everyone! 

YouTube Channel Profile Series: Chris Thompson

It's now time for this month's YouTube Channel Profile, as we continue our monthly look at 1-3 YouTube channels whose content is at least half devoted to local metal, hard rock, or punk musicians and/or concerts! After a three month run of profiling multiple channels due to the luck of our random selection, we have a single channel to look at today, and it's a nice cross-section of the work of a popular but too-short-lived hard rock band from almost a decade ago, so here's what you should know on it!
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Chris Thompson (http://www.youtube.com/drumminggiant30)  

Owner: Local metal/hard rock drummer Chris Thompson, previously known from bands like Eclipse, Fitswitch, Frightlight, Giwakwa, Half Past, Jack Spades, and Project 421, among other groups

Channel Timeline: Launched on June 8th, 2009; Videos posted from the following month through September 2011

Channel Summary: Despite his extensive resume in recent local bands, Chris' YouTube channel is solely devoted to his 2008-2012 hard rock band Half Past, who are featured in no less than 23 videos here. These were originally filmed at three of their concerts (including two songs at a June 2010 event at The Canadian Nightclub), plus early jam sessions.

Why You Should Watch: As the de facto official YouTube channel for Half Past, this channel will be of heavy interest to fans of theirs from their very promising (but abbreviated) run at the turn of the 2010s, and with lots of covers and all three of their known original songs, fans will get their fill! However, there are no videos here from their 2008 beginnings under their original name Fingerbone.

Our Recommended Videos To Check Out

DEAD AGIAN:my band HALF PAST'S first original! people getting naked: Chris' first uploads were five jam session videos shot between July & October 2009, early in their public run as Half Past, with Chris joined by Skeyes of Seven guitarist Alain Fletcher, Arthur Lacasse on bass, and the late Luke LeBlanc as their then-new frontman. Half Past are seen here covering Drowning Pool's "Tear Away", Incubus' "Circles", Rage Against The Machine's "Killing In The Name", and (in one video) both Tool's "Stinkfist" & Helmet's "Unsung", but featured here is their first original "Dead Again". Inconsistent lighting and somewhat muffled audio don't help on these videos, and Luke isn't in optimal view on the covers, but these are strong early renditions, and "Dead Again" was a promising number that showed Luke's vocal range nicely! Ignore the facetious end of the video title, everyone remains clothed here.



SICK PUPPIES COVER: ISSUES: 10 of Chris' videos come from Half Past's headlining concert at Foggy Notions (now Coch's Corner) on February 5th, 2010. Here, you can see play their original "War Inside My Head", reprise their "Stinkfist"/"Unsung" double-run, and cover System of a Down's "Aerials", Godsmack's "Keep Away", Shinedown's "Sound of Madness", Breaking Benjamin's "Wish I May", Staind's "Mudshovel", 10 Years' "Wasteland", and Seether's "Remedy". Featured below is the channel's most popular video, a rendition of Sick Puppies' "Issues" with over 1,100 views. The video quality is a little fuzzy (not helped by the filmer not getting close to the stage), but the audio holds up well on these clips, and it's nice to see some electric live rock at Foggy's again, even if almost 9 years ago! Hear a later June 2010 take of "War Inside My Head" from this channel at this link.



Half past Covering I Stand Alone-Hempfest 2011.flv: After Luke's sudden departure in early 2011, Half Past recruited NAClamation alum Jordan Rains as their new singer for their final two concerts, the first of which being at that August's Hempfest in nearby Ophir, in it's local return after a one year stint in Moonbeam. Notably also their final gig with Arthur on bass, Half Past can be seen here covering "Killing In The Name" again, Silverchair's instrumental "Madman", Disturbed's "Down With The Sickness", Drowning Pool's "Bodies", and as featured here, Godsmack's "I Stand Alone". Some of these videos are a little overdone with post-effects, but the guys performed well, and Jordan's higher singing voice is effective on their more melodic covers! Check out Half Past covering Alice In Chains at their last concert by clicking here.


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I hope you guys liked this month's YouTube Channel Profile! Next month in this series, our random selection has conveniently gave us a channel featuring some of Chris' old 421/Eclipse bandmates, as we'll be looking at defunct local hard rock quartet Haggith's old HAGGITHTunes channel, featuring over five dozen videos from their early-mid 2010s heyday! Look for that on or around Boxing Day, and stay tuned for more news and updates on the SMS soon! Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERT (Gnaeus), A New Local Metal Band, And Much More!!

With the first full week of June now in progress, let's clear out most of our backlogged news stories, along with two lead items: A LOCAL CONCERT ALERT for later this month, and first, a new addition to our Sault Ontario band links, so here's what you should know!

We have a new local metal band to add to our band links, and they are Kraken Mara, a new progressive metal band from Sault Ontario featuring a pair of familiar faces! Kraken Mara marks the return of former Late & Loud guitarist Brendan Christie & bassist Benn Garside after a two year public absence from local music, with the guys being joined by guitarist Jacob Valois, who's new to the Soo's scene, but used to play in the Wawa bands The Palm Trees and Exiled Earth. No sign yet of a lead singer or permanent drummer, and while Brendan sang lead for many Late & Loud songs and for the short lived Hydra's Teeth, it's not clear if they immediately intend on adding a singer. Kraken Mara have been active since at least April (apologies for the delay), and the band is apparently already recording their debut EP, as per their Reverbnation page, with bands like August Burns Red, Animals As Leaders, and Dream Theater cited as influences.

Harbouring the closest similarities with Brendan's inactive solo project, Kraken Mara eschews his and Benn's recent classic/speed metal influences in favour of progressive & djent metal, and there's a lot of promise so far on the three songs posted on Reverbnation ("Chimera" and a two parter named "Grand Machinations"), with strong, crushing, and technical guitar work, but live drums would be an asset, and the production could be beefier on the earlier songs. Very promising band to start, so hopefully we hear much more from Kraken Mara soon, and see above for more on them!

Next up, here's that LOCAL CONCERT ALERT, as local post punk quartet Gnaeus will return to the stage on Saturday, June 18th when they open for Whitehorse, Yukon folk project Old Cabin at LopLops Lounge! After a couple of months off, Gnaeus should have a strong set in store as they near the release of their debut CD "Meditations" (more on that soon, hopefully), so prepare yourselves for their garage punk originals in two weeks! Touring in support of their 7'' vinyl disc, Old Cabin (fronted by Saultite Jona Barr) should get a great reception in their long awaited return to our neck of the woods, so if you want some well written and performed folk rock, don't miss Old Cabin later this month! The other opening bands include local/Ottawa indie rock project Great Chamberlain and The Dirty Princes, a power pop quartet from Sudbury who I don't recall from past local shows. Nice diverse lineup, so keep everything in mind for June 18th at LopLops!

Promoted by Ears & Eyes Online's Jackson Reed (the brother of Old Cabin's Jona Barr), this 19+ show has a $10 cover charge, and doors will open at 8:00 PM. For more details, visit the above links, and hopefully this is a strong show for fans of folk, indie, and alternative rock, with Gnaeus bringing a dash of punk to the proceedings as well!

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

• Gabriel Pesek of the metal website The Burning Beard reviewed local doom trio AlgomA's recent vinyl split EP with Saskatchewan's Chronobot yesterday at this link. He didn't give a score, but he positively praised both band's halves of the split as "a solid introduction" to newcomers, especially compared to the tech/death metal that he's tended to see come out of Canada. Not a bad review, so give it a look above!
• Local hardcore punk quintet Destroilet's cover of The Rebel Spell's "Murderers" (originally seen on last year's "Fed Up!" split CD) is going to be included on an upcoming Rebel Spell tribute album called "Rebels Sing"! In memory of late frontman Todd "Serious" Jenkins & with proceeds going to his family, the massive 30 song compilation will include songs from such locally familiar bands as Propagandhi and The Royal Red Brigade, among many others. This is great to see, so pre-order your copies of "Rebel Sings" above!
• In a surprising find, the message board for defunct local bar/concert venue Foggy Notions (now Coch's Corner) is still online and available to check out! The forum was lightly used for about 6 months between 2003 & 2004, and features some discussions relating to local metal & punk bands and concerts at both Foggy's and beyond. It's an interesting read for local music fans who were around the scene 12 or so years ago, so check it out above, and it's now in our message board links on the SMS!
• The original crash band, Sykotyk Rampage, have released two more free "albums" to their Reverbnation page! One is entitled "Alarm Alarm" and was posted in April (apologies for the delay), while the other is "Kock Block Rock", which went up this past Wednesday. Featuring 11 & 12 songs each, these are full of Sykotyk Rampage's irreverent & improvised "blue Chinese metal crash punk", so give them and much more a listen above!
• In a new posting on local musician/Gore Street Cafe co-owner Sam Decter's blog The Tinderbox, he revealed that local punk/grunge solo project Telephone & Address will be putting out an album called "Are You or Have You Ever Been?" through his new local label BGP Tapes, which strongly hints at putting out new material from local artists on cassette tapes. It's unclear what this means for Chris' yet-released albums "Monster" & "The Early Tapes", but remember that Sam & Chris briefly planned to collaborate as a band under the similar name Are You Now? or Have You Ever?. We'll let you know when more is elaborated on!
• Vancouver "apocalypse rock" trio War Baby have been added to the lineup of Six, Two, Oh.'s punk rock bingo event at The New American Pub on July 12th! Despite being an out of town band (the show is late in their summer tour of Canada), they are currently listed as the opening act, behind the debuting local band Gianni Gagoots. War Baby's punk-influenced, fast paced aggression should be a nice addition to this concert/bingo night next month, so keep their local debut in mind for then!

That's all for today, but stay tuned for more news and notes this week! Thanks everyone!

Rotopsy Updates, Northwest's Searchlight Run, And Much More!!

Before we kick off this post, I wanted to offer our deepest condolences to the family and friends of former Foggy Notions owner & bartender Patrick Casey, who suddenly passed away this weekend, as per numerous personal Facebook postings yesterday. Details on services are likely forthcoming, so keep an eye out for more info where appropriate. Though arguably better known from his steady and friendly presence slinging smashlovs at many local concerts, Patrick (alongside Alec Colyer and John Doucette) bought Foggy's from Jon Ferguson in early 2007, maintaining it for the next year before it's first closure in March 2008, though it would re-open in late 2009 under a succession of new owners and names, currently as Coch's Corner. I admittedly can't comment on the original 11 year run of Foggy Notions, as it closed before I turned 19, but I did recognize Pat from his bartending work, and he was always a liked and welcome presence for concert-goers and bar regulars alike!

Just a week after losing Mike Case, it's a shame that another local music scene fixture has passed so soon, but with all of the good memories of Patrick as a friend, fan, or deliverer of shots to the stage, I'm sure he'll be in many people's thoughts for a long time to come. R.I.P. Pat!

Now, today's post will mostly help clear out some recent backlogged news items, including a local band's contest run and some assorted updates, but first, here's the latest from local independent goregrind duo Rotopsy's first full length demo "Sexual Assault Rifle" (they titled it, not me!) on Saturday, which was actually two days ahead of schedule, but it may have been intended for a Dank Fest II release before that show's cancellation. The album (whose cover art isn't embedded here due to potentially offensive content) costs $5 through band members, Blood Shed Productions, or at future concerts, while t-shirts with the cover are also now on sale for $10, so keep them in mind! Remember, two songs from it are now on their Bandcamp page, while a third ("Live at Oddfellows Hall 3") is new to their label's YouTube channel, though no word on when/if we'll see the rest of the songs in a digital format.

A Sudbury concert to be announced has also been hinted at for Rotopsy, and while I won't embed the new YouTube song here due to the cover art, fans of Rotopsy's bass-heavy grind action should enjoy every second, so give everything a look above, and message Tyler or Dylan A.S.A.P. if you want this disc before their next show!

Also today, local indie/punk quintet Northwest have made the semifinals of a national music contest, so what should you know? While a handful of local bands (like Jack Spades, Machines Dream, and Mannapool) entered, only Northwest have made it to the regional semifinals of CBC's Searchlight competition, which is looking for the best new Canadian music act. This fan-voted stage ends tomorrow at 3:00 PM, with Northwest among 25 bands in the Northern Ontario region at this stage, and among 545 national bands remaining in the competition. Finalists will be announced on Tuesday, so VOTE A.S.A.P. at their official CBC Music page to help them make the finals, as the top voted bands will get judged by a panel of Canadian music professionals for the top prize! If they win, Northwest will win $20,000 towards new Yamaha equipment, an opening slot at an upcoming CBC event, and a recording session with CBC.

Note as well that Gates of Winter guitarist Bryan Belleau plays & records with his new wife, Vancouver region semifinalist Melinda Belleau, so throw her some votes as well if you can, as she's a great singer in her own right! Hopefully Northwest can make the top 10 for Northern Ontario and keep the local cause going in CBC Searchlight, so vote for them A.S.A.P., and click here for the recent SooToday article on their run in this competition!

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

• Though announced on short notice, Kinross, Michigan hard rock trio Banned returned to The Northwoods Restaurant & Bar in Drummond Island (which is out of our coverage range) for a show on Friday night. Hopefully it went well, and don't miss them on the May 15th weekend in St. Ignace!
• Sault Ontario alternative/hard rock quartet Haggith will finally release their long anticipated fourth studio album "Apocalypse II" on May 10th (two weeks from today), as per new postings on their Facebook page. You can stream it beforehand on their YouTube channel, but no word yet on when we'll see their EP "XIV". Stay tuned for more as we approach the release date!
• The newest episode of Local2's music webseries Tuned with Donna Hopper went online on Thursday, but it entirely focuses on the recent God Made Me Funky concert at LopLops Lounge with no extra segments. G.M.M.F. have a fun sound and definitely have a solid local following, so give the new Tuned episode a look if you're a fan!

That's all for today, but stay tuned for much more as the week progresses! Thanks everyone!

Local Punk Video Showcase (Part 5)

It's been far too long since our last one of these, so let's finally get a new local punk video showcase up on the site, our fifth in total! Like before, this will take a look at four punk videos from local artists and concerts, and though we're sticking with similar bands from past installments to balance things out, there's some very solid videos to share today! Including live concert footage, studio material, and a jam session clip, read on below for this newest showcase!

We'll start with a trio of videos from veteran local punk musician Mikey Hawdon's YouTube channel, specifically of his very successful punk quartet The Inner City Surfers! Though two of them (both uploaded in August 2006) are credited to this band, they're just of Mikey jokingly singing along with The Fresh Prince of Bel Air's theme song and Paul Simon's "You Can Call Me Al", and they're a fun light view from this channel's early days! Featured below though is (surprisingly) the only Surfers concert video that I could find on Mikey's channel, which comes from their last headlining gig at Foggy Notions (now Coch's Corner) on March 15th, 2008. The show was notable as one of the last concerts held at Foggy's during it's original run (then-owner Patrick Casey closed shop at month's end), and though the venue returned the next year under it's first of three new owners, the Surfers never returned for a show there to my knowledge.

The video itself is of The Inner City Surfers playing their song "Never Ender Bender" as filmed on a tape camcorder from a high side-stage angle, and though the video quality isn't fantastic, it does capture a great crowd and a nice energetic rendition of one of their classic originals! The Surfers were a frequent band at Foggy's on both Bay & Queen Street through 2008, and though I was 2 months away from legal drinking age when the original era ended, you can feel the energy of the old run even here, and I bet fans miss those days! Give this video a look below!



Next for this all-video post, we'll take a look at Mikey and Surfers bandmate Dustin Jones' current band, the Celtic punk favourites Dustin Jones & The Rising Tide! Uploaded by YouTube user KelFable on November 3rd, 2011, these are presumably from the Maritimes leg of their tour dates that fall (if these were uploaded shortly after the show), though I can't verify the exact location. Her videos are mostly of covers, including The Tide putting their own spin on The White Stripes' "Seven Nation Army" & House of Pain's "Jump Around", plus a snippet of their own self-titled original "Rising Tide", though all of these videos are incomplete (the latter running at just 23 seconds.) Embedded below though is Kel's longest video, a cover of Ben E. King's "Stand By Me", and while these covers are all against type for their genres, they're well done and effectively converted to their existing sound without much issue!

Aside from being mostly incomplete, these videos suffer most visually, as the lighting is poor and honestly makes it hard to make out the guys at points, but it's definitely Dustin and The Tide. The audio's solid though, so give these D.J.R.T. videos a look above and below, and remember not to miss their local return next month!



Third for this video showcase is a jam session clip from YouTube user Jamie Penno's channel, and this will be of particular note for fans of the defunct local punk band Bankshot, as it features that band's guitarists Christian Pasiak & Lucas Schmiedendorf! Uploaded in January 2007 and apparently filmed in a church, this features the guys jamming an acoustic punk song that appears to be an original song about a girlfriend always on one's mind, but I can't place the name or original band. The lighting is awful, but the audio quality is good, if you can get past the background talking, so give this solid jam clip from Bankshot's guitarists a look below!



We'll close this post with local/Toronto indie punk favourites Treble Charger, and I knew when we started these punk showcases that we'd have to at least address YouTube copies of their studio albums. I won't ignite any debates about buying music here, but fans should know that all of Treble Charger's albums are easily available online, and pretty much all of their studio albums can be streamed on YouTube, so if you're on the free side of the issue, you're covered! If you actively stream songs there, the best channel for Treble Charger albums is that of Fletcher Holland, who has uploaded four of their five studio albums (1995's "Self Title", 1997's "Maybe It's Me", 2000's "Wide Awake Bored", and 2002's "Detox") there, though their 1994 debut "nc17" isn't featured, and none of the albums there are grouped into playlists. I highly encourage buying these albums to support Treble Charger's work, but give YouTube a whirl if you want a free stream, and here's the first song from "Self Title", that being "Morale"!



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