AlgomA/Shit Liver Concert Review!!

Hey guys, it's finally time for our review of Monday night's Shit Liver split release tour finale at The New American Pub, so what should you know about this one? Surprisingly, this was my first ever concert at The New A, so I should start with some thoughts on the venue as a whole. Overall, it's cozy (especially before organizers moved tables out of the way), and the bar's placement in the middle of the building took some adjustments, but it looks like it's fairly inviting and would be of good use for downtown patrons, complete with a few modern flourishes! Also, how many other bars have a popcorn machine? In terms of the "Trading Faces" cassette tapes, I got mine upon entry to the Bay Street venue, and this is a high-res recreation of the album cover in it's physical layout (I haven't found one via official sources.) Aside from dedications in the liner notes, there's no missing information that isn't already given on Bandcamp, but there is something satisfying about holding a newly released cassette tape in 2017! I just wish that the tape itself wasn't green, and perhaps had a track listing on each side.

Before getting to the bands, I did listen to the tape on a Sharp surround sound system from the 1990s, which seemed appropriate given the retro format, and it sounded great, though AlgomA's half seemed a little quieter than Shit Liver's. As the synthesized woman's voice said at the end of side A, "All I know is that it's good!"

The concert started with a set by local death metal favourites The Bear Hunters, who were up to their usual tricks with a brutal set of old and recent originals alike! Playing originals like "The Omen", "I Fear No God", and "The Dying Den" (though curiously not ending 'er with "Render This Void"), everyone sounded great, even frontman Nik Deubel, who noted being under the weather and having a rough voice to the crowd. Luckily, it didn't show, and he delivered another ferocious performance, with Mitch Sirie's solid lead guitar and Justin Lam's skilled bass work complimenting everything to a T! The only real surprise of the set was their Amon Amarth cover, trading "Guardians of Asgaard" for "Free Will Sacrifice", as a teaser for their upcoming tribute band turn at The Halloween Party under the name Mount Doom on Friday the 27th. Nik told us that they'll be playing the Amon Amarth album "Twilight of the Thunder God" front to back during their Halloween tribute set.

The other new public announcement is that The Bear Hunters have enlisted Jack Spades & Eclipse guitarist Daniel Horton to play rhythm guitar in "Mount Doom", marking a very rare instance where they've enlisted a guest guitarist rather than play as a quartet with Josh out of town. This will all  be very interesting to witness in a few weeks, but as Amon Amarth have two guitarists, this makes their set more true to the original band. Watch for Mount Doom on October 27th at The Algonquin Pub, and Monday night's tune up show was a good one for The Bear Hunters!

Next up were local extreme metal quartet Winkstinger, in the first time I've seen them since their latest reunion this summer, so what's different? Well, they've had more change than just the vocalist position, as it looks like former bassist Ryan Sherman is back in their lineup, replacing Andrew MacDonald. A reason for Andrew's apparent departure hasn't been publically announced, but keep in mind that the band's Facebook page is barely updated. Hopefully nothing bad happened, but it's great seeing Ryan back in the fold, assuming I have him identified correctly! This was also the first time that I've seen Winkstinger with Twistory's Josh Amendola on lead vocals, giving the band their most death metal-influenced vocals yet. Josh's vocal style suits the material, but it could be a little more distinct. That said, his stage presence was enjoyably chaotic & hard to photograph, and Josh was more at ease on stage than Keith was last spring, so he's off to a good start!

Of course, band mainstays Jesse Cook and Jonas Gasperas were on form, and while Jesse laid down some great solos as usual, he seemed a little restrained compared to some recent sets of his. One visible difference from Winkstinger's run of spring 2016 shows is that they seemed to play more originals than they did last year, with covers put on the back burner, so fans of Alan-era Winkstinger will appreciate the setlist. There's more polish to put on the wheels, but it's great to see Winkstinger back (again), and hopefully we hear more new stuff from them soon!

In a mild surprise, local/St. Catharine's grindcore trio Shit Liver hit the stage next rather than the headlining slot for their first local show in a year & a half, and they delivered a brutal assault of originals and covers that got the most packed crowd and mosh pit of the night! Alongside originals like "Sir-Osis", "It's Not My Problem", and "Matt Got Beat Up By Cops" (complete with sampled intro tracks for over half the set), they also played a handful of selections from their side of "Trading Faces" like "Blame It On God", though I was surprised that they didn't play more of it. No one seemed to mind too much, with a punishing onslaught capped off by Josh Penno, Mike Kyle, and Matt Baic' three-pronged vocals, while their punk-tinged death metal originals were as fast paced as ever, often flowing into each other nicely. It's not for everyone, but if you love brutal grindcore, Shit Liver gave you exactly what you wanted on Monday night, and hopefully we see them again soon!

Finally, your headliners were local doom metal trio AlgomA in their sole appearance of the "Trading Faces" tour due to doctor's recommendations following guitarist Boyd Rendell's recent health concerns. As a result, I wasn't sure if he'd appear to be 100%, but he was none the worse for wear during their set, playing his suitably heavy and down-trodden riffs with intensity, and even singing (well, screaming) to his usual standard on a couple of songs! Alongside older originals like "Fell Down A Well" and selections from older splits, AlgomA played their entire side of "Trading Faces" to end their set, which was a nice way to wrap the tour. Kevin Campbell was just fine with his pounding bass and gritty vocals for most songs, and Jamie Vincent's drumming kept the rhythm going at a slow pace, until their faster covers came in, and he transitioned just fine! It was great to see AlgomA back in full force, and who knows what their next album will be! Perhaps another split on a retro format? Maybe get your 8 track players ready?!

Overall, this concert was a crushing good time for fans of death metal, and as a relocated homage to old Rosie metal nights, you have to appreciate this lineup, as you don't see even three of these bands on stage together very much anymore! You can check out our photos from Sunday night at this link or via our Facebook page, and as for our videos, here's The Bear Hunters (or Mount Doom) covering Amon Amarth's "Free Will Sacrifice", Winkstinger playing their original song "From Bullshit To Buzz (Lies = Weed)", Shit Liver covering Dystopia's "Socialized Death Sentence" & Macabre's "Hitch-Hiker", and Algoma covering Kittens' "Great Dane"!









That's all for today, but stay tuned for this weekend's concert previews next! Thanks everyone!

Winkstinger's Bassist Search, New Videos, And Info On Our Next CD Review!!

As the last week of February winds down, we have more news and notes to get to at the SMS, and in today's post, we have new videos from a pair of recently prolific bands, the identity of our next CD review at the site, and leading off, a local metal group's new member search! Here's what you need to know!

We have a surprising lineup change from a prominent local band to announce, as Sault Ontario extreme metal standouts Winkstinger have apparently parted ways with bassist Ryan Sherman. The news was revealed on their Facebook page last night, and while the band stated that "it's time to do a shuffle, unfortunately", a direct reason for Ryan's departure hasn't been announced. Ryan joined the Battle for the Blood winners in 2010 to replace another Ryan (Disano) as their bassist, and had played at every Winkstinger show through their most recent live appearances last summer, along with the recording sessions towards their yet-released EP. This is disappointing news, but hopefully the split was amicable, and best of luck to Ryan in the future, as he's a talented bassist that would be an asset down the road! With that in mind, Winkstinger are looking for a new bassist, and have a lot of new songs to unload, so message the band on Facebook at this location if you're interested in trying out.

This could be a huge opportunity for any aspiring local metal bassists, so I encourage you guys to give Winkstinger a shout! I have no idea why they've been so quiet in recent months, but maybe a new bassist will spark the guys back onto the stage sooner rather than later, so keep this in mind, and stay tuned for updates!

Next up, here's our first glimpse of Kinross, Michigan quintet Banned's new lineup, and potentially, a sign of their current/future sound?  Uploaded to the band's brand new YouTube channel on Friday (no word if they're now formally abandoning Ashley Traynor's channel for new videos as a result), this is of Banned covering the Carrie Underwood song "Blown Away" at Todd's Tavern in Moran (presumably on February 16th), but how does the new lineup sound? I expected some female-sung covers now that Tara Starr's in the fold, and while Carrie Underwood seems like a jump from their classic/hard rock base, she does have a good voice that seems adaptable for varying material! New rhythm guitarist Denny Smith fits well too, but I'd like to see them play some more challenging covers. Plus, Tara needs to loosen up her stage presence a bit (though she's more active than Mike Straw was in their older videos), and the angle of the camera barely shows bassist Jim Pentland behind the one speaker.

It remains to be seen if they're going a lighter and more accessible path (a'la the original Turner Up becoming Full Circle in 2011), or if this is just some diversification given their new singer, but Banned still have a lot of visible talent and chemistry, so give their cover of "Blown Away" a look below, and no matter where they're uploaded, stay tuned for more Banned videos when they roll in!



Also in new videos, Sault Ontario grunge rockers Haggith have uploaded a pair of new studio versions of their song "75" onto their YouTube channel! Posted yesterday, the files are of the normal version (as embedded below) for their third album "Deuce", and a radio edit with muted explicit lyrics. A composition by drummer Mike Haggith & featuring backing vocals by guest performer Kristi-Lee Marshall, it's a medium rocker that fans of Haggith should gravitate to, so check out the links above and the embedded file below to hear "75"! I won't fully review it yet, as I'm still waiting for our next Haggith album review in the spring.



And finally for today, I wanted to announce the identity of this month's CD review at The Sault Metal Scene! With no new local metal/hard rock album releases that I know of (free online postings don't count), I've decided to dip into the archives for the first time since September, and for this next review, we'll be looking at defunct local hard/alternative rock quartet Aftersight's 2003 debut (and only) album "Waiting For Lightning"! As I generally like to link archive reviews in with recent concerts featuring band members, this is tied in with frontman Ed Vowels' recent gigs with his current band Lucky 13, who share a similar (albeit covers-centric) sound with Aftersight. Recent local metal/hard rock fans may not be entirely familiar with Aftersight, but they remained scatteredly active through the late 2000s with occasional concert appearances (including at the Sick Jams For Sick Kids benefit in late 2008), and their sound will be familiar to many. Watch out for this review by Thursday, and to bone up on "Waiting For Lightning", check it out online at this location!

That's all for today, but stay tuned for more news this week, including a brand new local metal act, as well as this month's Saultites In Out Of Town Bands Profile on The Line Drawn tomorrow! Thanks everyone!