Realignment Project Updates, Including Their First Full Length Album's Release!!

Here's the latest from local industrial metal solo outfit The Realignment Project, so what have they been up to in recent months? With lyric video uploads from their fourth EP "Let You Fall" concluding by early February, project leader Matt Hicks announced in this vertical Facebook video on February 10th that his fifth T.R.P. release would be a full-length album with nine songs, rather than a six song EP like with their first four releases, confirming Matt's teaser that he was "working on something that's... a little bigger". He noted that he didn't have much of a strategy for what he was putting out at first, but was encouraged by his label East London Recordings to work on a longer album. While some music was heard in the background of that clip, we hear a little more in the vertical video embedded below from February 19th, which revealed the title of the album ("Long Cold Winter", which is not a hint towards the release timeframe, as you'll see later in this post.)

The video just lets us see a song in progress on a tracking computer, and my guess is that this is the opening of one of the songs based on the slow build. No point commenting on the fragment yet, but the Lego Mario figurines (misplaced heads and all) seem into it, so check out this early clip below!

The following week, Matt was interviewed by Jay Kelly of the British alt-rock band The New Serpents for an episode of his YouTube interview series The Snakepit Dialogues! It's called a "podcast" but I haven't found audio-only versions on podcasting services. Interestingly, we never see Jay throughout the interview, with most of the video featuring the show logo and text links, with Matt seen in black and white in a vertical strip on the left for the duration. After discussing the wintry weather still in the Soo at this point, Jay asks Matt about his styles of music, his recording methods and processes as a solo artist, what it's like coming up with lyrics, his then-newest EP "Let You Fall", the personal inspirations behind its songs, his quick EP recording pace to start, why he took such a long break from music after 2010 (Dirty Virgin and Riverin are briefly brought up here) and what led him back to music, ...

...its affect on his health and well-being, his hopes and dreams for his son, and where you can hear The Realignment Project online. This is a good interview that lets Matt dip into personal territory to explain his music and his background in a casual manner with thoughtful remarks, and Jay has a good presence as an interviewer, even if you can't see him! Not much talk of the full-length album ahead, but it covers some solid ground for Matt, let alone the music he's working on, so give his interview a watch below!

After showing a sample video of him playing a Realignment Project EP on vinyl, Matt uploaded this video on March 12th of him observing a new song on his computer, namely "An Ounce Of Your Cure", which was later confirmed to be the first single off of "Long Cold Winter". The following week, Matt revealed the cover artwork for the new album, and on April 7th, Matt confirmed that recording sessions had wrapped up. Remember, he moves quick to record and release new material! The full track listing was also unveiled then, and before he could even announce a release date, he announced on April 18th that he was already working on demos for T.R.P.'s next studio album! To hype "Long Cold Winter", Matt posted three videos (linked here, here, and here) featuring electronic beats from the album (I'd assume) along with imagery that he will likely use for each song's lyric video.

On May 29th, Matt announced that "Long Cold Winter" would be released on June 5th (this past Friday!) on "all streaming platforms", which definitely isn't true, as it's not even on Boomplay yet. You can actually stream it in full on Apple Music, Amazon Music, YouTube, Spotify, Bandcamp, and KKBox, and buy it on CD through East London Recordings. At press time, the vinyl copies of the album are not on sale yet, but CDs cost $17.90 via ElasticStage's print-on-demand setup. Digital mp3 copies are on sale on Amazon for $8.35, on iTunes for $9.99, and on a "name your price" model on Bandcamp. To further hype The Realignment Project's full-length debut, Matt filmed his first ever music video for the aforementioned "An Ounce Of Your Cure", which was uploaded to T.R.P.'s YouTube channel on Wednesday! This is a performance video in black and white with a grainy filter added in post-production.

The video features Matt singing and playing guitar, bass, drums, and keyboard across four different camera angles at his home studio. Maybe not ideal to visualize the lyrical themes, but it does show off Matt's multi-instrumental talents very nicely! I'll hold comment on the song pending our review of this album, and given our immense backlog and the glut of albums released in the past six months, I'm likely going to review it in February, shelving our planned review of "Let You Fall" (which was scheduled for October) for now so we can move later reviews up a month and try to ease back into a timely schedule. Stay tuned for all that and more on the SMS soon! Thanks everyone, and here's The Realignment Project's music video!

The Realignment Project - "War Songs" EP Review!!

It's time for our 202nd monthly CD review at The Sault Metal Scene, and with our extensive backlog of new local album releases now stretching into 2027, let's continue our slow clear-out with a look at local industrial metal solo act The Realignment Project's third EP "War Songs"! Released to major streaming services on October 8th (their third EP in 2025 alone), this is again a one-man effort led by former Dirty Virgin drummer and Riverin frontman Matt Hicks, who sings and plays all credited instruments. Recorded locally & released through British indie label East London Recordings, you can stream "War Songs" on Apple Music, Amazon Music, Bandcamp, YouTube, Spotify, Boomplay, and KKBox (perhaps among others), and you can buy it on iTunes for $5.94, Amazon Music for $7.74, and Bandcamp on a "name your price" model. Via their label deal, you can also buy "War Songs" on CD and vinyl!

Print-on-demand copies are available in either format from ElasticStage at this link, with CDs costing $17.90 and vinyl records going for $43.90 (this does not include EP #4 "Let You Fall" as the B-side like what The Realignment Project did with their first two). Featuring six songs running for about 25 minutes, let's begin with the opening song!

The first "war song" is "Digital Sacrilege", which seems to be about calling out someone for betrayal and/or selling out. This has more of a techno base to its instrumentation, and really gives off Nine Inch Nails vibes with how Matt is singing here, though his vocals are the only real lean to hard rock or metal here. There is real emotion and frustration in the lyrics, especially in the chorus and pre-chorus, but this song honestly feels unfinished, like the electronic elements should be layered over guitar work, and the percussion is a little overdone as such. It sets a good tone to start though! The title track "War Songs" is next, and this restores the rock stylings in full while still having a distorted electronic undercurrent. Lyrically about hiding from and ignoring incoming oppression, this features ominous spoken word verses and screamed choruses, though Matt's vocals there are largely buried in the mix.

Why he made that call, I don't know, as it really breaks up the momentum of the verses, but aside from the over-processed quiet vocals there, this is an improvement in all other facets, especially if you want some metal from T.R.P.! Third is the EP's shortest song "Look In The Mirror", which is a motivational "pick yourself up and don't give up" type of song, but still intense and heavy. The distortion when Matt yells the title is a little overdone, and the structure is a tad repetitive for the song's length, but it balances hard rock and industrial well with clear passion! I'd still have varied the structure a little more. Next up is "Acid Rain", an anti-war composition that shares a lot musically with "Digital Sacrilege", in that it's primarily an industrial song which only dips into rock territory via Matt's singing. Verses are approached in a bitter yet eerie tone that slowly build into the choruses.

Not a bad composition that goes along with the themes of the EP so far, but I do prefer Matt's heavier songs in this project, which better balance the musical styles without an emptier feeling without obvious guitars. Track #5 is "Bones And Dust", which is the longest song on offer, and its lyrics are basically resigning to one's fate when things seem hopeless. Proper rock instrumentation returns here, but this is more of a deliberately paced track that milks its length and only really gets into metal territory on the choruses. If Matt ever took The Realignment Project to live concerts, the choruses would play well with audiences, but the song moves along a little too slowly for my liking despite good intensity at its peaks. "War Songs" closes with "Claim Your Dead", which is about the after-effects of the war and what the survivors have to deal with even after the fighting has stopped.

This resolves the EP's anti-war concept well, and while it doesn't dip into rock stylings at all, its effectively a coda for what came before it, with a reserved and reflective (if dystopian) bent, including heavy use of symphonics and keyboard. I do prefer the heavier and livelier songs here, but this serves its purpose in the framework of the story! That all said, how does "War Songs" compare to The Realignment Project's first two EPs? While not far removed tonally, this being a concept EP does give it a distinct vibe and message, even if only half of the songs could be called "industrial metal". Lyrics weren't repetitive, Matt is definitely using his vocals in more varied ways, and there was a little more musical freedom here, especially on "Claim Your Dead", but if you like their heavier songs (music, not lyrics), this may be somewhat lacking. Even with the overly processed chorus vocals, my favourite song on offer here is definitely the title track.

For drawbacks, I did find the first two industrial-dominant songs to be emptier without guitar work,  "Bones & Dust" was too deliberately drawn out, and there can be some uneven intensity in the vocals compared to the music. As far as The Realignment Project's discography to this point, I think my favourite is "The Frustration Sessions", but all have positive qualities and are very original in a local context, so see what you think at the above links, and I hope you guys liked this month's CD review!m We'll continue clearing out our backlog when we look at local death metal band Pillory's new album "Old Soul" next month, so stay tuned for that in May! Thanks everyone!

The Realignment Project Updates, Plus Their Interview On The Borderline!!

It's high time that we play catch-up on what local industrial metal solo act The Realignment Project have been up to in early 2026, especially as my next EP review of theirs is coming up by month's end! In early January, "Bones & Dust" from their third EP "War Songs" was included in an episode of The Autopsy Report Rock & Metal Radio Show, a British-based podcast where host Hellwyck plays and spotlights independent & unsigned rock artists. Kudos to him for giving some attention to artists from across the pond, and click here to directly hear the episode with T.R.P.! On January 5th, project leader Matt Hicks confirmed that their fourth and newest EP "Let You Fall" would be released on vinyl via his indie label East London Recordings and ElasticStage, also confirming that both it and "War Songs" would get standalone vinyl releases with each having its songs split across two sides.

As you may recall, The Realignment Project's first two EPs were combined on one vinyl release, but as "The Frustration Sessions" exceeded 23 minutes in length, most songs were edited down to fit the limitations. Both "War Songs" & "Let You Fall" would have to have been similarly cut down to do the same, so Matt clearly decided to give each their own unedited spotlight on vinyl. CD copies of both of the latter EPs are also now on sale via ElasticStage, but at press time, you can't buy the first two EPs on compact disc. Work on T.R.P. EP #5 was ongoing in early January, with Matt teasing on the 10th that he was "working on something that's... a little bigger". Is he referencing a full length album, the scope of the music, or something else? As teased in this vertical video, Matt was interviewed about The Realignment Project on local internet radio station The Borderline, so what should you know there?

Premiering on January 21st, this was for an episode of Across The Tracks, the local musicians interview show hosted by Adrian Vilaca that last crossed SMS territory when he talked with the late Troy Isaac in 2024. The 51 minutes-long episode starts with Adrian asking Matt about the inspiration behind the Realignment Project name (he had the name in mind since 2003), his musical subgenres, his prolific EP release schedule, what brought him back to original songwriting, and the process behind writing the title track from "Let You Fall", which is played on air at 9:15. The interview resumes with Adrian asking Matt about the personal lyrical themes of his songs and his own frustrations, leading into the song "Where Did You Go?" (also from "Let You Fall") at 16:35. Afterwards, Matt discusses the background behind "Scatterbrain", which is played at 25:10 to start the second half of the episode.

Next, Adrian asks about Matt's usage of "they" as an ominous force being spoken up against in T.R.P.'s songs, and his views about original music acceptance in Sault Ste. Marie and trying to break a stigma that only cover acts can get regular attention. The next two songs played on air (at 32:45 and 38:20) are also cuts from "Let You Fall", namely "By Myself" and "The Last Time You See Me", with Adrian asking directly about the latter in between. In the last pre-song stretch, Adrian asks Matt about his vocal style and emotions in his songs, especially in regards to Matt being a father and what he's hoping for in the future. The last song heard in the episode is the last unheard song from "Let You Fall", namely "Find My Way Out" at the 46:25 mark, and this installment of "Across The Tracks" wraps up with the possibility of inviting Matt back to talk about their fifth EP in the future.

This was an entertaining interview and a personal one with Matt going into good detail about the background of his Realignment Project material! Note that, despite the description on The Borderline's website mentioning Matt's local band work in the the 2000s and early 2010s, Adrian does not ask about Dirty Virgin or Riverin in the interview proper, which is by and large about "Let You Fall". Of course, we'll be reviewing the preceding T.R.P.'s EP "War Songs" on the SMS this month, but fans of industrial rock and metal should definitely give Matt's solo music a spin and/or hear this interview at this link or at the above links! Thanks everyone!

The Latest Updates & Album News From The Realignment Project!!

Let's talk about local industrial metal solo project The Realignment Project in this single-topic post today, so what have they been up to since we last left off with them in November? Well, on the 7th of that month, project leader Matt Hicks revealed that their fourth EP would be called "Let You Fall", which he had already finished recording at that point (remember, T.R.P. released three EPs last year alone). On November 10th, Matt confirmed both the final album cover and the release date of January 2nd (this past Friday!), with the track listing following on the 16th, notably specifying that "Scatterbrain" was retitled from "Nitwit" for one reason or another. You can see "Scatterbrain", "Where Did You Go?", and "By Myself" from that album being tracked in vertical videos linked here, here, and here from their Facebook page that same month. In a surprise announcement on November 24th, Matt announced that The Realignment Project had signed a label deal!

As teased in this video, he is working with East London Recordings, a British indie label that help independent artists release physical albums, and they have released T.R.P.'s first two 2025 EPs "Afterthought" & "The Frustration Sessions" together on vinyl, one EP on each side! East London uses a print-on-demand method from ElasticStage for making albums, which is also what Mike Haggith's MorningStar Records utilizes for physical album pressings, but I have no idea if Matt was aware of that prior. It does appear that ElasticStage's 12'' vinyl records have a 23 minute limit per side, which affects "The Frustration Sessions". Rather than drop a song, Matt opted to edit down four of its songs to fit ("Minor Outburst" alone is chopped down by 50 seconds). Keep that in mind before buying, but if you want some local industrial rock on vinyl, it costs $43.90 at this link!

This would imply that their third EP ("War Songs") & "Let You Fall" will be similarly combined for a vinyl release, but if East London does release them thusly, note that both EPs exceed 23 minutes, so expect edits on both sides. "Let You Fall" was successfully released on Friday, and if you believe promotional postings, it is "available everywhere". Definitely not true, as it isn't even on Amazon Music at press time, among other services, but you can currently stream it on YouTube (with lyric video postings ongoing), Apple Music, Spotify, Boomplay, and KKBox, and it is buyable on Bandcamp (name your price) and iTunes ($5.94). Given our ongoing album review backlog, The Realignment Project are currently pencilled in for April, as No Arrow, Sykotyk Rampage, and Handsome Sandwich all had albums that beat the yet-to-be-reviewed "War Songs" to market.

In the event that "War Songs" and "Let You Fall" get a joint vinyl release by April 30th, I would review both at once, as that would be a singular local album release, but if this was a one-and-done, we'd just review "War Songs". Either way, I'll be looking at new music from The Realignment Project in the spring, and Matt never stops, as he was already working on his fifth EP as of December 13th! Also last month, Matt was interviewed about The Realignment Project by David Oman of the British blog PlayedByDavid, where David interviews various indie musicians, seemingly all being posed the same questions. In Matt's interview, he outlines his musical background, favourite original songs, his songwriting and recording process, favourite musicians, future plans, and more, and he gives some good detailed thoughts on the topics at hand! In terms of scoops, the biggest one is that he's planning to release T.R.P. CDs.

This would be through ElasticStage (no word on if he'd be combining them like on vinyl), and while Matt is not planning on playing live in this project, he hasn't ruled it out either. It's great to see The Realignment Project staying exceedingly productive, and hopefully 2026 sees more quality music from them, so stay tuned for more from Matt soon, and here's the lyric video for the opening/title track from "Let You Fall"! Thanks everyone!

Where Are The New Albums? December 2025 Update

For one last time (well, this year), here's our newest "Where Are The New Albums? post, as we're again looking at the current release whereabouts and public updates on albums in the works from Sault Ontario hard rock acts! No changes in entries from last month, but half of the six this time have updated information, as noted with their title in italics. So, where are the new albums? Read on below to hopefully find out!

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Bone Yard 225's debut album

Rumoured Songs: "F.A.F.O.", "Gypsy Spell", "Fuck!", "I Took A Pill In Ibiza" (Mike Posner cover)

Background: After months of teasers that they were planning to record original music (as previewed in their live concerts prior), local southern hard rock cover trio Bone Yard 225 began releasing their own songs on major streaming services in July 2024, a whopping fifteen years after the pre-225 band debuted as a country cover quartet. Their first three singles (all recorded at their home studio) were posted online by January, though it took until May 2025 for the band to confirm on their Facebook page that they were indeed working on a proper album. It's not immediately clear if their existing three singles will be included, but it's not a given, as Jonesy Land fans saw with "Zoom-Out". As of August 11th, it was reportedly "album tracking time", while this video from three days later shows bandmates Alex D'Ettore and Warren Reville recording backing vocals for their cover of Mike Posner's "I Took A Pill In Ibiza". That will be one of "a couple of covers" for the album, as confirmed by frontman Greg Simpson during recent concerts. "Fuck!" was renamed "The F Word" on streaming services last month, but it's not clear if the less explicit name will stick on the album.

Current Release Status: In that Facebook post from May 30th, your local 225 said that "the album is coming along nicely", and they hoped to release it "by the end of 2025", but Greg has since adjusted the timeframe to "early 2026" when mentioning it during live shows. While singer/drummer Greg Simpson did release an EP with his old band Stiffler's Mom, it's hard to compare the release methods and schedule given that "The Demo" came out in 2004.  It is neat to see that Greg, Alex, and Warren are going all in on a studio album, and stay tuned for updates as they roll in!

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Bullet Train's upcoming EPs

Rumoured Songs: "Atmosphere", "Illusions", "Profit", "Wayside"

Background: The current hard rock band from former Sense of Truth/Skeyes of Seven frontman Cory Murchsion and ex-Fort Creek bandmates Robin "Bones" Lee and Anthony Fabiano, Bullet Train have existed solely as a studio band so far, releasing four original songs recorded at their own home studio to their YouTube channel in 2024, all very much influenced by their take on current events. After a quiet summer due to "life's trials", Bullet Train resurfaced on their Facebook page last September to reveal that they were working on two demo EPs, with the first one entering post-production as of the 9th, though it's not clear if their 2024 singles will be on them.

Current Release Status: No idea yet, especially as this band has no prior track record for releasing albums, though all three band members have experience writing and recording studio material to varying degrees. Bullet Train claimed in September of last year that a release date for EP #1 would be announced "in the upcoming weeks", but he band will hit a year without a public update on band activity on Christmas Eve. It'll be interesting to see if Bullet Train have more updates in store, so keep tabs for further updates!

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Chase James Wigmore - The Chaotic Rite

Rumoured Songs: "The Cities Alive & It's Angry"

Background: Ever the prolific artist & songwriter, local folk punk/extreme metal musician Chase Wigmore has been working on an extensive rock opera for years (once claimed to be a 33 part work), originally named "A Story About A Kid Named Todd". Worked on in between his other unrelated solo albums, released for sale or otherwise, Chase posted a lengthy elaboration of the rock opera in 2022, now titled "The Chaotic Rite", outlining its concept, recording plans, and long-term release timeline. Clips of songs have surfaced on his Facebook page, as have full songs not explicitly tied to the album, as well as the final artwork. In more recent promotion, Chase has hinted that "The Chaotic Rite" might be his final solo album as part of aims to focus on his personal life more than his prolific original material. Regardless, the final product has been pared down to 25-30 minutes.

Current Release Status: Chase elaborated on Facebook last summer that the album was 95% done earlier that year when the files "got trapped on my desktop's hard drive", and he had been unable to procure a backup of the material or recover the files as of that post. In any event, three of the full songs uploaded to Facebook in the previous year were clarified as not being planned for "The Chaotic Rite", but they could surface on a separate EP. Fingers crossed that Chase is able to save this album and put it out when able, especially given the years that he's put into the making of it!

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Convergence - In Bloom

Rumoured Songs: "Gemini", "In Bloom", "Breaking News", "It Ate The F&$%ing Moon", "Kraken Mara", "You Are Not Flesh", "The Ebb"

Background: Just over a month after releasing their sophomore EP "Dead And Dreaming", local progressive metal band Convergence announced in February 2024 that EP #3 would be named "Gemini", with its cover artwork being released at the same time. Teaser clips of most songs from the EP were posted on their Facebook page and their YouTube channel throughout much of 2024, but most prior media was wiped as they retooled as a full band, now including singer Stephen Gagnon-Ruscio and drummer David Peredun. Convergence have been working in studio recently with producer Dustin Goodall at Unsalted Audio, documenting the sessions in Facebook "Reels", and while they did get cagey about the endgame for the studio sessions, they have confirmed in concert that the EP (now named "In Bloom") is still in progress. Live versions of early instrumentals (now with vocals) have also been played in their early sets. A new version of "The Ebb" (first seen on their 2023 EP "One") with vocals will reportedly be released to streaming services on Christmas.

Current Release Status: No clue, and given the complexity of their music yet their independent studio trappings so far, that could bode a quick or lengthy timeline for "In Bloom" to come out, depending on what angle you take. Since their modern studio cycle commenced in 2023, things have been relatively steady for Brendan and Jake as a recording act, and here's hoping that Convergence keep that up for their third offering! 

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Fort Creek's debut album

Rumoured Songs: "One For The Road", "Sweet Rosie"

Background: Background: Local southern/hard rock band Fort Creek have sporadically teased plans to record an EP since February 2020, but they wouldn't release any samples until almost two years later when they shared (now-deleted) clips of their original song "Hammer Down" on their Facebook page. The guys would play it regularly at concerts from 2022-2023, with studio sessions taking place in early-mid 2023 as well. After the departure of bassist Robin "Bones" Lee and drummer Anthony Fabiano (both now of Bullet Train) in the fall of 2023, Fort Creek opted to abandon material recorded with them "as a show of good faith", and have been working on new material and rebuilding their studio over the past two years. Now featuring Phil Greco on drums, their first single (the acoustic "One For The Road") was posted online in January, with the band confirming plans to now record a 10 song album at Jettison Studios prior to returning to live concerts. Their new single "Sweet Rosie" was said to be coming next, and they teased being back in studio to record that very song as of August 31st.

Current Release Status: Prior release timelines for their debut EP reflected their early 2020s lineup's material, and Justin, Shane, Bill, and Phil have largely kept things somewhat close to the vest prior to putting out "One For The Road". There are a lot of unknowns, especially given the 5+ years of production time and their decision to basically start over in 2023, and that this is a band that was primarily known for their work on the weekend cover circuit before their rhythm section left. It will be interesting to see how things develop, so stay tuned for updates!

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The Realignment Project - Let You Fall

Rumoured Songs: "Let You Fall", "Where Did You Go?", "Scatterbrain", "By Myself", "The Last Time You See Me", "Find My Way Out"

Background: The solo industrial hard rock project led by former Riverin frontman and Dirty Virgin drummer Matt Hicks, The Realignment Project got off to a fast start as a recording act, independently putting out three EPs in 2025 alone (January's "Afterthought", April's "The Frustration Sessions", and October's "War Songs"), Fans of T.R.P. will have noticed that Matt has begun songwriting and recording for future EPs before his next ones were even released, and that remains true for their next effort, as Matt confirmed on their Facebook page on October 15th that he was already tracking vocals for their fourth EP, and had began the demos for EP number 5.  Matt confirmed last month that EP #4 would be named "Let You Fall", and confirmed the final track listing on November 18th, which notably omits "What Have We Done", an instrumental released at the beginning of the November (unless he changed its name). Teaser videos of the sessions were posted on Facebook throughout the past month.

Current Release Status: Matt has confirmed that this EP will be released on major streaming services on January 2nd, surely making it the first local hard rock album release of 2026, and we may see a physical release on vinyl too (perhaps in combination with "War Songs"), as Mike is now working with East London Recordings to release the album in print-on-demand vinyl.  Follow The Realignment Project on social media for continuing updates, and we'll have more on "Let You Fall" in a regular post soon!

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I hope you guys liked this month's "Where Are The New Albums?" post! This series will return on or around January 2nd (incidentally, the release date of "Let You Fall"), while our next monthly feature post will likely be this month's Defunct Local Band Profile next week. That's all for now, but stay tuned for weekend concert previews on the site next! Thanks everyone!

A New Local Band & A New EP Release!!

Today's post has two extended single topics to look at, including a brand new EP release and leading off, a new addition to our coverage and band links, so here's what you should know on both fronts!

We have a new local classic/hard rock cover trio to add to our Sault Ontario band links, and they are The Guilty Party! Effectively, this group is a side-project of Separate Wayz, as the two bands share guitarist Terry Eaton and bassist Jim Michaud, who were notably late-era bandmates in Soundcheck from 2023 until they broke up at the beginning of this year. I haven't rolled Separate Wayz into our coverage yet because I'm still not sure what they play or how similar they are to Terry and Jim's past bands, but The Guilty Party have videos online and they do cross our coverage line as such! In lieu of Separate Wayz singer Nicole Thibodeau and drummer Steven Flint, both duties are taken on in The Guilty Party by Brent Royer, a veteran local rock musician who has had stints with Settle For Silver, Turner Up, and Bourbon Blue over the years, and had joined Terry & Jim in the short-term & online page-less "The Band" this summer alongside their old Soundcheck bandmate Cameron Oliver.

The Guilty Party played their first gig at a private event at Harmony Beach on September 20th, with their public debut gigs coming at Jay's Piston Broke Pub the following weekend. They also rocked The Water Tower Pub on October 17th, followed by a return to Jay's over the 24th weekend, shows that reportedly had an early Halloween theme. Interestingly, this video from October 14th shows The Guilty Party (and Cameron as a guest singer) playing at Reggie's Place, despite their teased closure (or end of concert bookings) last month. Is Reggie's doing the Rockstar Bar thing by only booking private/special events now, or were the finality hints exaggerated and the show just didn't get public advertising? We'll let you know if we hear confirmation! No word on upcoming dates from The Guilty Party, but they have been playing live more regularly than Separate Wayz this fall. What can you see in the videos uploaded to their Facebook page so far?

They were filmed covering Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers' "Running Down A Dream" at Harmony, five songs at Jay's (The Black Crowes' version of Otis Redding's "Hard To Handle", David Wilcox's "My Eyes Keep Me In Trouble", INXS's "New Sensation", Whiskey Myers' "Bar, Guitar, and A Honky Tonk Crowd", and Buckcherry's "Lit Up"), Def Leppard's "Animal" at Reggie's, and Lynyrd Skynyrd's "Simple Man" at The Water Tower Pub. All have Brent on vocals except the Tom Petty and David Wilcox covers (Terry) and the Whiskey Myers and Def Leppard covers (Cameron), who also guested on acoustic guitar for "New Sensation". Did the teasers of Cameron moving to Nashville not get as far or was he just in the Soo visiting? In any event, if you like late-era Soundcheck, you'll like The Guilty Party, and even in their regular trio formation, they deliver a solid classic/hard rock mix, and Brent adds well with a decent vocal range!

Singing and drumming simultaneously isn't easy, so kudos to Brent for pulling it off on most of the Cameron-less covers! I do wish that most of these videos weren't shot vertically, but you know me by now. Stay tuned for more from The Guilty Party (and Separate Wayz?) soon, and here's Brent, Terry, and Jim covering "Hard To Handle"!

Finally, as first mentioned yesterday in our newest "Where Are The New Albums?" post, here's the latest from local industrial hard rock solo project The Realignment Project, so what have they been up to since we left off from them in late July? Well, their teased third EP "War Songs" was successfully released on October 8th! Amidst various teaser video postings about demo recording sessions for EP #4 (Matt never stops!), he confirmed that the six-song EP is available "everywhere", but if that was true, wouldn't it be on Tidal or Napster, among dozens of other services? By "everywhere", Matt means Apple Music, Amazon Music, Bandcamp, YouTube, Spotify, and yes, even Boomplay and KKBox. If you want to actually buy "War Songs" in mp3 format, it's on iTunes for $5.94, Amazon Music for $7.74, and Bandcamp on a "name your price" model. At press time, the EP isn't technically on YouTube Music yet like their first two EPs are.

"War Songs" is available on regular YouTube via lyric videos on the project's proper YouTube channel, as grouped in this playlist. As usual, I'll hold comment on "War Songs" pending our review of the full EP, which is currently slotted in for February 2026. Spades GT, No Arrow, and Sykotyk Rampage all had albums beat it to market that I have scheduled over the next few months, and Pillory's "Old Soul" (released later in October) is currently slated for March. However, given Matt's fast and prolific recording schedule, the possibility does exist that I could instead review The Realignment Project's fourth EP next, which would move it to March with Pillory in February to maintain a release order chronology, but it would have to come out by then for me to decide. Don't put it past Matt though, as his second and third T.R.P. EPs came out 3 and 6 months apart, and as of October 15th, he was already tracking vocals for the fourth EP!

Plus, he was also already working on demos for their fifth EP then too! We'll have more from The Realignment Project soon, but it's great to see Matt staying busy with new original material, so give their first three EPs a listen everywhere at the streaming services linked above, and here's the opening song from "War Times", titled "Digital Sacrilege"!

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

Where Are The New Albums? (November 2025 Update)

It's now time for this month's Defunct Local Band Profile, our monthly resumption of the current release whereabouts of upcoming local metal, hard rock, or punk albums from Sault Ontario bands who have publically confirmed that recording sessions have begun for them! This month sees one removal due to its successful release last month (Pillory's "Old Soul"), but a new album and artist replaces them, and as that's the only entry here with real updates or new content, its title is in italics. So, where are the new albums? Read on below to hopefully find out!

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Bone Yard 225's debut album

Rumoured Songs: "F.A.F.O.", "Gypsy Spell", "Fuck!", "I Took A Pill In Ibiza" (Mike Posner cover)

Background: After months of teasers that they were planning to record original music (as previewed in their live concerts prior), local southern hard rock cover trio Bone Yard 225 began releasing their own songs on major streaming services in July 2024, a whopping fifteen years after the pre-225 band debuted as a country cover quartet. Their first three singles (all recorded at their home studio) were posted online by January, though it took until May 2025 for the band to confirm on their Facebook page that they were indeed working on a proper album. It's not immediately clear if their existing three singles will be included, but it's not a given, as Jonesy Land fans saw with "Zoom-Out". As of August 11th, it was reportedly "album tracking time", while this video from three days later shows bandmates Alex D'Ettore and Warren Reville recording backing vocals for their cover of Mike Posner's "I Took A Pill In Ibiza". That will be one of "a couple of covers" for the album, as confirmed by frontman Greg Simpson during recent concerts.

Current Release Status: In that Facebook post from May 30th, your local 225 said that "the album is coming along nicely", and they hoped to release it "by the end of 2025", but Greg has since adjusted the timeframe to "early 2026" when mentioning it during live shows. While singer/drummer Greg Simpson did release an EP with his old band Stiffler's Mom, it's hard to compare the release methods and schedule given that "The Demo" came out in 2004.  It is neat to see that Greg, Alex, and Warren are going all in on a studio album, and stay tuned for updates as they roll in!

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Bullet Train's upcoming EPs

Rumoured Songs: "Atmosphere", "Illusions", "Profit", "Wayside"

Background: The current hard rock band from former Sense of Truth/Skeyes of Seven frontman Cory Murchsion and ex-Fort Creek bandmates Robin "Bones" Lee and Anthony Fabiano, Bullet Train have existed solely as a studio band so far, releasing four original songs recorded at their own home studio to their YouTube channel in 2024, all very much influenced by their take on current events. After a quiet summer due to "life's trials", Bullet Train resurfaced on their Facebook page last September to reveal that they were working on two demo EPs, with the first one entering post-production as of the 9th, though it's not clear if their 2024 singles will be on them.

Current Release Status: No idea yet, especially as this band has no prior track record for releasing albums, though all three band members have experience writing and recording studio material to varying degrees. Bullet Train claimed in September of last year that a release date for EP #1 would be announced "in the upcoming weeks", but he band will hit a year without a public update on band activity in late December. It'll be interesting to see how fast things come along for Bullet Train, so keep tabs for further updates!

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Chase James Wigmore - The Chaotic Rite

Rumoured Songs: "The Cities Alive & It's Angry"

Background: Ever the prolific artist & songwriter, local folk punk/extreme metal musician Chase Wigmore has been working on an extensive rock opera for years (once claimed to be a 33 part work), originally named "A Story About A Kid Named Todd". Worked on in between his other unrelated solo albums, released for sale or otherwise, Chase posted a lengthy elaboration of the rock opera in 2022, now titled "The Chaotic Rite", outlining its concept, recording plans, and long-term release timeline. Clips of songs have surfaced on his Facebook page, as have full songs not explicitly tied to the album, as well as the final artwork. In more recent promotion, Chase has hinted that "The Chaotic Rite" might be his final solo album as part of aims to focus on his personal life more than his prolific original material. Regardless, the final product has been pared down to 25-30 minutes.

Current Release Status: Chase elaborated on Facebook last summer that the album was 95% done earlier that year when the files "got trapped on my desktop's hard drive", and he had been unable to procure a backup of the material or recover the files as of that post. In any event, three of the full songs uploaded to Facebook in the previous year were clarified as not being planned for "The Chaotic Rite", but they could surface on a separate EP. Fingers crossed that Chase is able to save this album and put it out when able, especially given the years that he's put into the making of it!

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Convergence - In Bloom

Rumoured Songs: "Gemini", "In Bloom", "Breaking News", "It Ate The F&$%ing Moon", "Kraken Mara", "You Are Not Flesh"

Background: Just over a month after releasing their sophomore EP "Dead And Dreaming", local progressive metal band Convergence announced in February 2024 that EP #3 would be named "Gemini", with its cover artwork being released at the same time. Teaser clips of most songs from the EP were posted on their Facebook page and their YouTube channel throughout much of 2024, but most prior media was wiped as they retooled as a full band, now including singer Stephen Gagnon-Ruscio and drummer David Peredun. Convergence have been working in studio recently with producer Dustin Goodall at Unsalted Audio, documenting the sessions in Facebook "Reels", and while they did get cagey about the endgame for the studio sessions, they have confirmed in concert that the EP (now named "In Bloom") is still in progress. Live versions of early instrumentals (now with vocals) have also been played in their early sets.

Current Release Status: No clue, and given the complexity of their music yet their independent studio trappings so far, that could bode a quick or lengthy timeline for "In Bloom" to come out, depending on what angle you take. Since their modern studio cycle commenced in 2023, things have been relatively steady for Brendan and Jake as a recording act, and here's hoping that Convergence keep that up for their third offering! 

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Fort Creek's debut album

Rumoured Songs: "One For The Road", "Sweet Rosie"

Background: Background: Local southern/hard rock band Fort Creek have sporadically teased plans to record an EP since February 2020, but they wouldn't release any samples until almost two years later when they shared (now-deleted) clips of their original song "Hammer Down" on their Facebook page. The guys would play it regularly at concerts from 2022-2023, with studio sessions taking place in early-mid 2023 as well. After the departure of bassist Robin "Bones" Lee and drummer Anthony Fabiano (both now of Bullet Train) in the fall of 2023, Fort Creek opted to abandon material recorded with them "as a show of good faith", and have been working on new material and rebuilding their studio over the past two years. Now featuring Phil Greco on drums, their first single (the acoustic "One For The Road") was posted online in January, with the band confirming plans to now record a 10 song album at Jettison Studios prior to returning to live concerts. Their new single "Sweet Rosie" was said to be coming next, and they teased being back in studio to record that very song as of August 31st.

Current Release Status: Prior release timelines for their debut EP reflected their early 2020s lineup's material, and Justin, Shane, Bill, and Phil have largely kept things somewhat close to the vest prior to putting out "One For The Road". There are a lot of unknowns, especially given the 5+ years of production time and their decision to basically start over in 2023, and that this is a band that was primarily known for their work on the weekend cover circuit before their rhythm section left. It will be interesting to see how things develop, so stay tuned for updates!

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The Realignment Project's fourth EP 

Rumoured Songs: "What Have We Done"

Background: The solo industrial hard rock project led by former Riverin frontman and Dirty Virgin drummer Matt Hicks, The Realignment Project got off to a fast start as a recording act, independently putting out three EPs in 2025 alone (January's "Afterthought", April's "The Frustration Sessions", and last month's "War Songs"), Fans of T.R.P. will have noticed that Matt has begun songwriting and recording for future EPs before his next ones were even released, and that remains true for their next effort, as Matt confirmed on their Facebook page on October 15th that he was already tracking vocals for their fourth EP, and had began the demos for EP number 5. While not explicitly tied to either planned EP (yet), a new instrumental song named "What Have We Done" was posted to the project's YouTube channel yesterday. Matt claimed it was "the first of many instrumentals", but we don't yet know if this means the next EP will have no vocals at all.

Current Release Status: If the turnaround from their second and third EPs is anything to go by, the fourth EP should drop "everywhere" (well, on most major streaming services) by the spring, but as a one-man operation focusing on digital platforms, it could really pop up whenever Matt's done with it and happy with the results. Follow The Realignment Project on social media for continuing updates, and we'll have more on "War Songs" and the upcoming plans in a regular post soon! 

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I hope you guys liked this month's "Where Are The New Albums?" post! This series will return for one last time in 2025 on or around December 2nd, while our next monthly feature post will be next week's Defunct Local Band Profile. That's all for now, but stay tuned for more news and notes on the site this week! Thanks everyone!

 

Northern Vibe Festival Fallout, Realignment Project Updates, And A New Silent 9 Video!!

Today's post covers some recent ground from a major summer festival, a band whose album was just reviewed on here, and another summer festival performance, so here's what you should know!

Starting on Saturday afternoon, a slow trickle of updates starting coming in from attendees of the Northern Vibe Festival in Ophir that pointed to major changes to the Forest Stage schedule this past weekend, so what exactly happened? Organizers have not posted an official public statement on their Facebook page, so some of this comes from personal accounts, but props to Spun Out frontman Dean Duguay and Big Finish Band bassist Matt Fronzi for what they shared on social media. As you may recall, this was a rainy weekend, particularly late Friday night and into Saturday morning (granted, a lot of the doom & gloom forecasts on Sunday didn't pan out as badly as projected), but points east of the Soo got hit particularly hard. While the Roost River Stage for EDM performers survived the onslaught from what I am aware, the band-centric Forest Stage was reportedly decimated in that night's rainstorm and was unusable for the Saturday program.

The intense storm hit late in the Friday program and particularly impaired Sudbury-based Tool tribute band Avessel's headlining set, with the band referencing that the night had "an unfortunate end due to the extreme weather" but praised the venue, artists, and vendors. You can see in the video embedded below (of them covering Tool's "Sober" from their Instagram page) that stage equipment was covered in garbage bags, but kudos to them for powering through and still pulling off the Tool sound so well! Hopefully they get an encore in the Soo soon (or at Northern Vibe next year!). With the damage to the stage and sound equipment, folk/country quartet The Golden Scoundrels salvaged the Forest Stage by using their own gear and an impromptu plywood floor "stage" to perform for attendees, and they were joined by three other local acts scheduled on Saturday, including drummer Johnny Belanger's alt-hard rock band Handsome Sandwich, maintaining their five year streak.

Rob Speers' new "party band" The Barbarians (featuring half of Handsome Sandwich) and Mike Haggith & The Big Finish Band reportedly filled out the heavily curtailed bill, with the touring bands, Dark Side Of The Soo, Spun Out, the two rap groups, and Benny's Acoustic Thing all dropping out. Not ideal, especially for Crank Sound Distribution's gear, but thankfully no one was hurt, and props to the Golden Scoundrels for salvaging what they could for fans expecting to hear live bands on Saturday! Fingers crossed that organizers come back stronger than ever for Northern Vibe XI next year, but check out Avessel's Friday night video below, and see above for more on what went down on Poplardale Road this past weekend, good and bad!

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Next up, here's the latest from local industrial metal solo act The Realignment Project, who we haven't had talked about much in recent months beyond our "Frustration Sessions" EP review on Saturday, so what has Matt been up to since that came out in April? Unlike with their debut "Afterthought", every song from the new EP has finally gotten the lyric video treatment for the project's YouTube channel, with the last holdout ("Medicated (A Spade Is A Spade)") being embedded below. Matt was already writing new material as of May 17th, and after posting two promotional "Reels" for their first two EPs in the following days, he revealed on their Facebook page on June 2nd that their next EP will be called "War Songs". You can see him tracking some material on a computer from the sessions in this "Reel" posted two days later. On June 16th, Matt indicated that he was trying to write lyrics that day, and a June 18th "Reel" featured a song-in-progress named "Bones And Dust", but I'll hold comment until the full song is released.

Matt was tracking vocals for this EP on July 1st, and he revealed the track listing in the above image on July 7th. Mixing was underway as of July 10th (the day that he wrote the first song for T.R.P.'s fourth EP), and tracking 100% wrapped up on July 13th, but we await further details on the EP. Given the quick turnaround between EP releases (though we've been waiting longer for "War Times" than we had to for "The Frustration Sessions"), this could drop on major streaming services at any point, though due to our 6 month anti-bias buffer period, we won't be reviewing the new EP until February 2026 at the earliest. Stay tuned for updates from The Realignment Project, and here's the "Medicated" lyric video!

Finally, here's an overdue highlight video of local classic/hard rock cover quartet Silent 9's set at Rotaryfest Stage 1 on the Friday last month! Uploaded to their Facebook page, this video combines footage shot from multiple filmers (not all vertical but shoved into the vertical dimensions regardless) during their set, and you can see them covering clips of No Doubt's "Spiderwebs", Michael Jackson's "Beat It", Van Halen's "Panama", and Mark Ronson & Bruno Mars' "Uptown Funk". We don't see substantial footage of any one song here (especially not "Panama"), but Jess, Ryan, Paul, and Steve put in a lively and energetic performance in their Rotaryfest return, so check everything out below!

That's all for today, but stay tuned for this month's YouTube Channel Profile next! Thanks everyone!