The Sault Metal Scene sends it's deepest condolences to the family and friends of former Chronic Demonic/Project Legion singer and Shadowthrone guitarist Sabrina Pelchat (a.k.a. Sabrina Strange, Ririe Lavoie, Isla Encanto, and Riina Rampage), who reportedly passed away yesterday, as per numerous personal Facebook postings. Details on services have yet to be publicized as of this writing, and we will let you know if we hear anything on that front, but you can offer condolences on this memorial Facebook page launched by her friend April Fogal. Sabrina had been a talented, albeit sporadic sight in local metal bands since 2013, and was a skilled singer & karaoke/open mic fan that was also very artistic, parlaying her metal fandom into a brief stint as a YouTube interviewer with 62nd Chamber Productions. In recent years, she had been more enigmatic in her online presence, most recently performing in Shadowthrone with her partner, Pillory frontman Robert Sartini, and she had been aiming to launch a new black metal band this summer.
We had our differences from how she viewed some of our coverage, but I always respected her work, and in recent months, she had e-mailed me private videos of her practicing black metal vocals towards future band projects so she could get input on them. Though she never fronted a band that made a prolonged live impression, those that know her definitely knew her talents. Sadly, most videos of her band work are either private or were deleted as she retreated from social media in the past year, but here's her interview with 4/5ths of The Bear Hunters from October 2013, which is a fun and loose interview, and it's a shame she didn't do more of these. R.I.P. Sabrina, you will be missed!
The Sault Metal Scene and local musicians were shocked to learn this evening that Pillory guitarist Andres Duchesne has passed away. Nothing official has been posted from band or local news sources, but his personal Facebook page is filling up with condolences from family and friends, which more or less confirms this sad story. Any other specifics have yet to be made public, but I'll try and keep you guys updated on future developments and arrangements as they come in. Andres was best known in the local music scene for his early 2010s guitar work in local metal bands, memorably being a founding member of local death metal quintet The Bear Hunters in 2010, as well as having a stint with Social Suicide from 2011 through earlier this year. He had recently re-emerged locally as a guitarist in the local thrash metal band Pillory, who debuted at The Locals Attack at The Canadian last month, in what proved to be his last local concert appearance. Numerous videos of his guitar work are online from both his band repetoire and his solo YouTube channel, and those who know him will attest to his musical abilities.
I won't pretend to have known Andres well, but whenever we talked, he struck me as a quiet but very friendly guy, and through mutual friends and coverage on the site, I was very familiar with his band work and abilities. He was a devoted metalhead with clear guitar skill, and it's a shame that he didn't gain more of a foothold into live gigging bands before his sudden passing. I hope Pillory continue on as a band despite what happened, as I'm sure Andres would want them to stay together and continue melting faces on the local stage! Though they're two completely different artists, I can't help but recall the passing of Woods of Ypres frontman David Gold a little more than a year ago, as it's just sad that we've lost two local guitarists in consecutive Decembers, let alone right before Christmas in both cases. No one should ever lose a loved one during the holidays, and I send my deepest condolences to Andres' family and friends at this time. I hope that, however possible, those who love and miss him can focus on the good aspects of his life and music over the holidays, rather than what came out today.
We'll have more on any future developments relating to the arrangements, Pillory, and more as it comes in, but for now, keep Andres' family & friends in your thoughts (especially over the holidays.) I wanted to share a video of his work hear to close this post, and I thought this video of Pillory playing their song "Fatal Woods" at their debut show last month would fit well. In hindsight, this was arguably from his biggest moment in the local scene, and his skills are on full display. R.I.P. Andres, you are missed!
