A New Album Release, New Videos, And More!!

As our backlogged news is slowly chipped away, we'll touch on a few more assorted items, new videos from two separate Sault Ontario acts, and leading off, the release of the first new hard rock album of the year, so here's what you need to know!

Dafter, Michigan hard rock artist Sweetkenny (Kenneth Sutton) released his 11th solo album "Slobber" on Sunday via his Bandcamp page! Coming in advance of a planned CDBaby release on January 15th, "Slobber" will likely be the first of three 2015 albums if his recent recording frequency is maintained for the coming year. Recorded last year at Waterfall Records, this is self-described as a "heavy rock, vocal, instrumental, high energy, fun album" which mixes instrumentals and full songs with vocals, "Slobber" has songs based around a "let me help you" feeling, though the intent of the "Slobber" name and pirate motif are somewhat vague. The album features 10 songs (all recorded solely by Ken), and it can be bought at the Bandcamp link above for $12, though physical copies will likely be $9.99 on CDBaby when released. If you're a fan of SweetKenny's prolific hard rock output, you'll want to check this out, but is a review of "Slobber" on the horizon?

We do plan to review a new SweetKenny album soon (very likely later this month), but we're actually going to take a look at his last 2014 CD "Amazonian" instead, as it's slightly heavier, but "Slobber" remains very possible for a review as soon as the summer once the 6 month buffer period (to avoid showing a bias) is cleared, though we may have to pick between that and a future SweetKenny release if his recording schedule remains busy. In any event, pick up "Slobber" and more albums at the above links!

Next up, here's the first new video from Ashes To Dust guitarist Alex Hemy's YouTube channel in six months, as posted yesterday! A cover of Def Leppard's instrumental "Switch 625" (itself Alex's first hard rock cover in over a year), this will be of extra note to A.T.D. fans via drum tracks provided by drummer David Peredun, though he isn't drumming live in the video (and I have no clue if this collaboration is a sign of life for Ashes To Dust.) More similar to Alex's earliest covers due to the lack of vocals, it's a strong rendition with nice energy, and it's great to see Alex posting videos again, so give it a look below!



Also, here's a new teaser video from local doom/punk band The Revolution, as posted on their Facebook page on Christmas! The video features Austin McCrae & Brandan Glew (no new bassist yet) playing a new original song that is planned for their forthcoming debut EP, though it suddenly cuts off 86 second in, and was uploaded sideways for some reason. It's a little cymbal heavy, and Austin's hard to hear, but I imagine this will hold up with other tracks when they have a full lineup and work out the kinks! Check out The Revolution's new video below!



Finally for today, here's three shorter news items from the last little while, and these are in alphabetical order by band or event name:

• Barring a sudden sign of life, we'll be moving local modern hard rock band Acention to our inactive band links by Saturday due to a year's inactivity, last posting on their Facebook page on January 10th, 2014. Featuring alumni of Haggith, Skeyes of Seven, and These Sins Of Time in their various lineups since 2012, Acention showed some promise and ambition, but they never played live during their run. I was hoping that Acention would have finally gotten off of the ground, but best of luck to Dalton, Josh, Cayne, and other former members in the future!
• A new review of AlgomA's "Reclaimed By The Forest" was posted on Boxing Day on the Italian metal site Metalhead.it on Boxing Day, albeit in Italian. Reviewer Matteo Piotto gave the CD an 8.5/10, calling it (according to Google Translate) "pitch black, claustrophobic, and oppressive" but also "a monument to the heavy sound", comparing the vocals to that of Godflesh. Good review, so give it a look at this link and with a translator!
• A new individual award has been announced for the Tidal Records Battle of the Bands at The Canadian Nightclub in March, as Bomb Energy Drink will be providing the "highest energy act" with a case of cans of Bomb and large t-shirts for each band member. Interesting, and I'm curious to hear what other awards are announced for what should be a huge event! Our source is promoter J.D. Pearce on the Facebook event page yesterday.

That's all for today, but stay tuned for more news and weekend concert previews in the coming days! Thanks everyone!

A New Local Metal Band, The Exiled Concert Previews, And More!!

Before we head to The Delta TONIGHT for the Rock For Dimes charity concert, here's a new news post for this Friday morning, and it includes a new concert video, assorted updates, and the last of this weekend's concert previews, but first, here's a new local band to check out!

We have a new local metal band to add to our links, and they are Das Skalpell Kampf, a new noise/grind duo that's already signed on with Blood Shed Productions! Originally named Scalpel Fight before discovering that the name was already in use (and taking on a Das Bunkerfest/German inspired alteration of the name instead), the band joins the growing ranks of two-man acts in Sault Ontario, and is the newest project from AlgomA guitarist Boyd Rendell, though like his "Darby Wigwaas" stage name there, both members of Das Skalpell Kampf take on stage names. Specifically, the singer/drummer is "Fonzy Grozny" and the guitarist is "Chachi Grozny", with the first names playing off of characters from the sitcom Happy Days. I'm not 100% sure on which one Boyd is, but for what it's worth, Fonzy's vocals on their first demo track don't match Boyd's high screams from AlgomA and BeeFMoutH. A live debut date hasn't been announced, but where can you hear D.S.K.?

The band was already announced as contributing to Blood Shed Productions' upcoming 11 way split demo (details here), but you can hear Das Skalpell Kampf's first song "Never The Same" at their new Bandcamp page, and while the recording quality isn't great, it fits the Blood Shed mold for minimalistic grindcore, and we'll have to see where things go for this new band! Stay tuned for updates, and like them on Facebook to stay in the loop!

Next up, here's our last of this weekend's concert previews (barring any late notice announcements), as Rudyard, Michigan hard rock quintet Exiled will rock out at Dan's Place in their hometown TONIGHT & TOMORROW NIGHT! I will note that Exiled haven't plugged these shows in the past month, but unless there's something explicit stated about these shows' status, we'll count them as still on. Last seen at the Highland Clan Motorcycle Club last weekend, these will be Exiled's first shows at Dan's Place since the summer, and if you've enjoyed their modern and classic hard rock covers since their debut (or just want some regional live rock), come out to see Exiled in Rudyard this weekend! 9:00 PM start times are in effect for both nights, you must be 21 to attend, and there's no announced cover charges. For more details, click here & here, don't miss Exiled TONIGHT OR TOMORROW, and we'll let you know when sharable videos turn up!

Also today, here's a unique (if short) new video from local grunge/hard rock quartet Haggith, more specifically, a drummer's-eye-view clip from their Devil's Night set at The Oddfellows Hall last month! It was shot during Curtis McKenzie's crowd warm-up before "Public Enemy", with camera work by drummer Mike Haggith, but it doesn't capture the full song, with Mike only manning the camera until he got ready to actually play the song. This video would have had more impact if the crowd was bigger, but give it a look below, and don't miss Haggith at Rock For Dimes at The Delta TONIGHT!



Finally for today, here's three assorted shorter stories from the last while, and as usual, these are in alphabetical order by artist name:

• As you may remember, local doom/punk trio The Revolution teased on their Facebook page earlier this month that they'd be opening at AlgomA's CD release party for their new album "Reclaimed By The Forest" TONIGHT at The Moose Lodge, but there has been no follow-up on that from AlgomA since. As it looks now, that appears to have been either a premature announcement, incorrectly dated, or very private, but if we hear anything concerning a local release concert from AlgomA, we'll let you know!
• Local all female hard rock quartet The Danger Cats will end a 2½ month break from the stage when they head to Toronto for their first ever out of town gig as a special non-competing band at this year's Govfest Battle of the Bands at The Velvet Underground this coming Thursday! Big opportunity for sure, hopefully it goes well, and that we see them on a local stage again soon! Click here for more info!
• Dafter, Michigan solo hard rock artist Kenneth "SweetKenny" Sutton revealed the cover artwork for his 11th solo album "Slobber" on his Facebook page on Wednesday, which features an oddly pirate themed motif. Looks good, and keep an eye out for the album, which is scheduled to be released on January 15th, and an SMS review of that or "Amazonian" is likely then too!

That's all for today, but I'll see you guys TONIGHT at The Delta Waterfront Hotel for Rock For Dimes! Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERT (Lucky 13), A New Album Release, And Much More!!

Nice to have a steady stream of news and updates with October in progress, so what's in store for today? A new cover video, a disappointing concert & CD delay, and a brand new album release, but first, here's a SHORT NOTICE LOCAL CONCERT ALERT!!

After a three month hiatus, local alternative/hard rock cover quartet Lucky 13 will return to the stage for a headlining concert at The Rockstar Bar TONIGHT! Apologies for the short notice, the band just announced this event yesterday. Known for generally taking the summer months off since launching, this should be the first of a solid amount of concerts for this veteran band to end 2014 with, and if you like the members' old bands like Aftersight, Turner Up, Wishbone, and The Gully Yodellers, you'd be well served to keep Lucky 13's return in mind for TONIGHT! Note that I don't know why Lucky 13 weren't playing yesterday, though it's likely that a separate artist was playing at The Rockstar Bar last night. There will be NO COVER CHARGE tonight, you must be 19 to attend, and there's a 10:30 PM start time in effect. For more details, visit the official Facebook event page, and for a preview, here's Lucky 13 live at the first Toystock!

Next up, we have a brand new album release to take note of, as Dafter, Michigan solo hard rock artist Kenneth Sutton (a.k.a. SweetKenny) released his 10th solo studio album "Amazonian" on Halloween! Self-recorded and released through Waterfall Records, this is Ken's third album of 2014 (following "Ink!" and "This End Up"), and he describes it as "a heavy rock, vocal, instrumental, high energy, fun album" that mixes instrumentals and songs with vocals once again. Like on other recent releases, Ken plays or programs all instruments on the album's 11 songs. You can buy copies of "Amazonian" on Bandcamp for $12, while a CDBaby release (presumably for $9.99) is planned for the near future, and streaming copies of each song on "Amazonian" are also available via SweetKenny's website. The above links also indicate that Ken's still working on forming a live band, and he's already working on an 11th studio album to be named "Slobber", tentatively planned for January 2015 (if you know his prolific nature, that's not farfetched!)

With all of that said, when can you expect a review of "Amazonian" on the site? Given that we just reviewed "Ink!" in July, and that we don't review the same artist's albums within a six month span to avoid biases or favoritism, a new SweetKenny album won't be eligible until January, the same month as the aimed release for "Slobber", so one of the two is very likely then! I'll hold comment on "Amazonian" for the time being, but fans of his older studio recordings should be right at home, so buy or stream it and other older albums at the above links!

Also, here's some disappointing news for you Bear Hunters fans, as the local death metal band have announced that their planned CD release concert at The Algonquin Pub on October 18th will have to be postponed. Guitarist Mitch Sirie revealed the news on the Facebook event page on Wednesday citing "circumstances beyond our control", though singer Nik Deubel confirmed that it's due to his work commitments. Though their debut album "Eternal Hibernation" isn't behind schedule, the guys are holding it's release until the rescheduled date, likely over a weekend in late November, in order to give it the proper launch and attention. The rescheduling might force a change in venue, and it's unclear yet whether Brampton's Livid & The Bloodthirsty will be able to play the new date, but the band will accept refunds of previously bought tickets if need be. However, Mitch did indicate that a limited run single EP will be available for $2 this month that will feature a studio track to-be-announced and some live extras, and we'll keep you guys posted on that!

This is bound to be disappointing for many fans, especially ones who were counting on that weekend for their own schedules, but at least the guys were open and forthcoming concerning what happened, and hopefully there's a big crowd next month! Admittedly, the postponement is good news for myself, as I was going to be out of town over the weekend of the 18th, so I can likely go to the release party now! In any event, stay tuned for updates on any upcoming CDs and the rescheduled date for the party!

Finally for today, here's a brand new jam session video from local death metal/punk quartet Chronic Demonic! Though we still await their full concert debut, this video of them covering Lamb of God's "Omerta" is now on their Facebook page, and though we haven't seen a new clip of them in almost four months, this should keep fans more than interested! Complete with a loose variant of the spoken word intro by bassist Ryan Gratton (I think), it's a solid rendition, but the sound levels are inconsistent, with Nik Deubel's growling too muted. Give it a look below though!




That's all for today, but stay tuned for more news and notes over the weekend! Thanks everyone!