Mike Haggith's New Album, Project 906 Updates, And Much More!!

For our first news post of this month, we're bringing back the postponed shorter stories from this past Friday with even more to spare! That said, leading off are stories from each side of the border, including a recent concert video and some major details on an upcoming album, so here's what you should know on this Tuesday morning!

Prolific local hard/alt-rock musician Mike Haggith unveiled lots of details regarding his 50th official solo album on his Facebook page yesterday, so what should you know about it? As previously hinted on his Bandcamp page, the album will be named "Bridges", and this is the album cover, taken from a Din photo shoot last year by local photographer Josh Pace. The album and same-named song derive their title from how bridges are both built to unite each other, even if they can be burned to divide people in other cases, as influenced by the relative isolation, social, and wellness issues Mike encounters in his current Thompson, Manitoba home base. "Bridges" will be engineered, mixed, and co-produced by Justin Sobey (frontman of the Thompson metal band Lionheart), who will also feature as a guest musician. Songs on the album will have a common personal theme, including one newly confirmed track, entitled "Everything Not Saved Will Be Lost".

Mike says that "Bridges" is already fully recorded and will next enter the editing/mixing phase, while CD and digital releases are planned, plus a music video (or two), and some distribution to mental health organizations, though it's too soon for a release date to be confirmed. Finally, Mike shared the video below on Facebook on Friday featuring a 35 second studio sample of a raw studio track, which is a nice teaser for what's ahead! Though Mike never firmly publicized recording sessions until last week, he's maintaining his usual professional and well-planned recording process for his first solo album in three years! Be sure to follow the above links for all current details!



Next up, here's a new video of Sault Michigan hard/blues rock cover quartet Project 906 covering Foreigner's "Hot Blooded" at at The Back Bay Grill & Games at Bay Mills Resort & Casino in Brimley on Saturday! Filmed by attendee Cindi Jenkins and shared to their Facebook page on Sunday, This is a solid and well-filmed rendition of this rock radio classic, though Billy struggles a bit on the higher chorus notes. The big difference on this cover is that Paradise Excuse bassist Jason Haske (also of Oddfellow and Chump Change fame) filled in for an absent Dustin Paras on Saturday, which I apologize for missing on the site when originally announced. Jason's a talented musician with lots of regional experience, and he sounds good on this clip, so hopefully the rest of the set was similarly solid in that regard! Give Project 906's new video a look below, and stay tuned for more on Project 906 when it comes in!



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

• Former Griphook/Gsis Murphy drummer Anthony Fabiano is looking for "young bands" to play at "an upcoming event" in Sault Ontario designed to help showcase their material. Only two spots are open, though he didn't give details on the location, format, further criteria, or  potential stakes. If you're interested in trying out, message Tony at this link or via his Musicians Wanted Facebook group post from last week! As best as I can tell, this is not related to The Tech's ongoing "The Soo's Got Talent" auditions.
• Former Bring the Fallen guitarist Dan Souliere is looking for a singer, guitarist, bassist, and drummer for his next planned musical project, as per his Musicians Wanted Facebook group post on Sunday. Dan linked his most recent band project Exploring Detritus (f.k.a. Kaepora Gaebora) in the comments, but it's not clear if he intends to revive that band or is just citing it as a recent example of his music. It'd be great to see Dan back in an active metal band, and there's already lots of interest, but if you want more details on this project, message Dan at this link or above!
• Local "no genre" trio Handsome Sandwich did not open for A Dire Setback at Room 21 late last month, and as far as I can tell, were not replaced on the bill. Bassist James White noted in a comment on the Facebook event page that he and guitarist Jesse Cook were going to be attending the Northern Vibe Festival in Ophir that same weekend, hence the scheduling conflict. While not advertised on official schedules, Jesse's acoustic band The Wyld Stallyns actually performed at the festival as the hosts of the campfire jam session, though a time and date was never publicized online. Hopefully everything went well! 
• As outlined in Sunday's "Where Are The New Albums?" post, local solo metal musician Mike Vincent has begun work on his third studio album "For Dear Life", with it's first song "Nocturnal" posted in demo instrumental form to his Bandcamp page. Mike has indicated on his personal Facebook page that he is planning to include vocals on all but one track for the new album, but further public details are forthcoming. Nice to see Mike staying busy, so keep tabs above for more on his next solo album, and stream "Nocturnal" above!
• Mik & Steve singer/guitarist & former Pixo Control bassist Steve Edwards is looking for a drummer towards a new band project that he's working on. He's seeking a drummer between 18 and 30, he already has guitar, bass, and vocals covered, original material is planned, and candidates must "be committed to practicing." For what it's worth, the lack of a drummer impaired his recent band Vol.'s final months, but I don't know whether or not the new band will have any direct relation to that group. There was some interest, but if you want more information, message Steve at this link or via his Musicians Wanted group post from Sunday!
• Remember how Tym Morrison's Canada Day show at Room 21 saw him open for Australian musician Steve Lane, despite Tym not advertising the headline act and the venue not advertising Tym on the shows' respective Facebook event pages? Well, it happened again this past Saturday, as Tym didn't mention in his own advertising that he opened for Toronto soul/R&B artist Mattie Leon that night, and vice versa for the venue not mentioning Tym. Apologies again for missing that, but hopefully the concert went well! Also, Friday's Tym Morrison concert there was indeed a Fishbowl Friday-themed event.

That's all for today, but stay tuned for this weekend's concert previews on the site next, in all likelihood! Thanks everyone!

Chronic Demonic Updates, New Videos, And Much More!!

For our second post of the month, we're dipping into our recent cache of news stories for the most part, but we also have new videos from two local bands, and first, big lineup updates from a somewhat newer local metal band, so here's what you need to know!

We'll start with some big news out of the Chronic Demonic camp, courtesy of their Facebook page yesterday, as the local punk/metal band has announced the addition of ex-Gates of Winter drummer Jonathan Harvey to their current lineup, replacing Mike Vincent. All the band said regarding Mike's departure is "just that sometimes things weren't meant to be", though they guaranteed there was no bad blood. Disappointing to see Mike out, as he is a talented musician that hasn't been on stage in far too long, but hopefully he turns up in a new band soon! Jon's addition is very surprising, though not bad news at all, as Gates of Winter fans will surely remember his excellent drum skill from the "Lux Aeterna" album and preceding shows! The move also reunites Jon with his former Faithless Sin bandmate Ryan Gratton, as the two played together during that band's brief 2010 comeback. In case some readers see this as an April Fools joke, this should fan those flames, as Chronic Demonic also posted this jam session video on their Facebook page!

Our first video glimpse at Chronic Demonic since their one song preview at The Rosie last summer (back when Sabrina Strange & Rick White were still members), it's just 35 seconds long, and at least on a first listen, this reminds me of a Frightlight-esque band with death growling. Of course, it's too early to know whether Chronic Demonic will vary their sound or stray close to this preview video, but fans should be excited, so check it out below, and get more updates at the above links!



Next up, we have new live video footage of local/St. Catharines death metal trio Shit Liver in concert! (Recent page updates indicate that they're now based out of St. Catharines rather than Toronto.) Filmed at a  hardcore show there on March 20th (likely by attendee Hayley Smash again), this is of the guys playing their originals "Pennotration" and "Shift Liver", and it was just uploaded to their YouTube channel on Sunday, marking their first concert video upload there in 3 years. Their brutality and usual mayhem are on display here from a solid close camera angle, but the audio is somewhat scratchy. Definitely worth checking out though, so give it a look below, and stay tuned for updates as we approach their album release on the 20th!



Finally for this post, here's six assorted shorter news stories from the last little while, and as usual, these are in alphabetical order by artist or station name:

• Former Bring The Fallen guitarist Dan Souliere is looking to play in a local death metal band again, as per his post on the Musicians Wanted Facebook group on Monday. No other details were specified, though there is already demand on the post, including a post from B.T.F. bandmate Travis St. Amour saying "May 20". Speculate away if you want on that date, but if you're interested in joining or jamming with Dan in a new project, message him at this link!
• If you've noticed a new Danger Cats video on their YouTube channel recently, that's not entirely new, as it's a re-post from footage I shot at the Late & Loud reunion show in February. Frontwoman Kate Kougar had asked if I could send her videos I took of their sets for their channel, and I was happy to oblige, so keep that in mind before wondering why we didn't plug the "new" videos. Look for more I shot of them there soon!
• Local cover rock veterans Havadder will join The Suicide Kings and the reunited Wishbone among the local contingent at this year's Rock N' Roar Battle of the Bands in Spanish on Saturday, as per their Facebook page last weekend! Havadder's 2012 lineup finished fifth in that year's battle, so can frontman Jason Roy and the new lineup find the same success, or greater? Click here for the full schedule & prize details, and best of luck to the local bands, as all 3 could open for Randy Bachman in August!
• Recent posts on their Facebook page indicate that local punk/metal quintet Jack Spades will indeed be hosting an EP release party for their debut disc in the coming weeks, possibly this month. One would assume it'd be tied to a concert, but further details (including the venue) are not out yet, while they've also hinted that they may be playing the upcoming Spiderfest concert event in Meyersburg, Ontario in July. Big news abounds as they continue to jack the planet, so stay tuned for more!
• Sault Michigan rock radio station Rock 101 is finally revamping their official website, according to the current page's title, and that it only links to online streams at present. Rock 101's website had the same look and layout since at least 2004, and it was honestly really showing it's age (especially in terms of updating it), but stay tuned for when the new Rock 101 website debuts, and listen in at 101.3 FM!
• I have again deleted Sabrina Strange Productions from our Other Sault Ontario Metal Links section due to it's removal from Facebook, though this time, it's not tied to her personal channel's deactiviation. Disappointing, but she has talent and ambition, and hopefully she keeps at her music goals!

That's all for now, but stay tuned for this month's "Where Are The New Albums?" post tonight! Thanks everyone!

Another Local Metal Video Showcase!!

(UPDATE, 8:02 PM) Before we get into this post, just letting you guys know that Victoria, B.C. sleaze rockers The Lust Boys (who were scheduled to headline at The Canadian TONIGHT) will not be playing, as their tour vehicle broke down in Marathon 5½ hours northwest of town. As a result, Late & Loud will now headline tonight's concert with Dirty Virgin & Pools of Booze opening, without a fourth replacement band. The new start time is 9:00 PM, and the cover charge has been halved to $5. Disappointing news for sure, but hopefully The Lust Boys can play here soon, as they have a good fan base here! Hopefully I'll see you guys there!

Now, let's squeeze in one more all-video post for March before the month ends, so below resides a bunch of newer videos relating to the local metal scene! For fairness, given these videos' types and lengths, we'll put these in alphabetical order by artist or channel name, including this week's classic video, a new music video/original song, and a new audio demo, but first, here's some new live videos from a young local band!

Remember last month when we covered new videos posted by a young local rock trio from Hawkplugged (formerly Dunnplugged) performances at Superior Heights Collegiate & Vocational School? Well, YouTube user (and likely band member) adamscovers posted 4 more videos from a recent Hawkplugged set onto his YouTube channel on Tuesday, including covers of Collective Soul's "December", Foghat's "Slow Ride", Boston's "Smokin'", and (as embedded below) Led Zeppelin's "The Ocean", so check them out! Each video also features some post-production transitions and zooms, though the Collective Soul cover is in black & white, presumably due to the song's slower nature. I still don't know anything definitive on this band, but despite the new videos mostly skewing towards classic rock, I'm more impressed with them! The guitarist has a surprisingly good vocal range, and these guys are definitely talented playing these covers, but hopefully we'll learn more about them soon, cause they are definitely a promising band to watch! Check out this band covering Led Zeppelin's "The Ocean" below, and see more from these guys at the above links!



Next up, here's the latest video & song from local electronic/hard rock project Candle Hour! Well, this is technically credited to frontman Hugh Stephens under his own name (and it's being sold as such on iTunes), but the video says that he's "otherwise known as Candle Hour", and it's posted on the band's Reverbnation page too, so I'll plug it as if it's a Candle Hour track! Posted earlier today, it's entitled "Azetta", and it's a softer instrumental track that appears to be in memoriam to his late grandmother, who shared this song's name. It's set to a 1902 silent movie named "The Little Match Seller", and it does add to the song's depressing yet touching mood. It's not Hugh's heaviest original song, but it accomplishes exactly what it's supposed to do, and it's worth checking out, so give Candle Hour/Hugh's new song "Azetta" a look below, and see much more of his video work at the Candle Hour YouTube channel!



Also new to YouTube is a new audio jam session recording from former Bring The Fallen guitarist Dan Souliere's YouTube channel! Last fall, you may remember some videos that he posted of jam sessions with Brantford drummer Nick Misurka, which were shot not long after Dan moved to Southern Ontario. Well, while we wait for his return home this summer, he posted this new 8+ minute audio recording on Monday of him and Nick jamming, and it sounds pretty good! If that's Dan singing, his vocals have definitely improved, and they sound like they have good chemistry, but I wish this was an actual video. It's good stuff though, so check this new recording out below!



And finally, here's this week's classic video! I had a couple of videos in mind to tie in with performers this weekend, but to spread things out, I'm dipping into the local archives for a combination video from the original crash band themselves, Sykotyk Rampage! The Humane Society battle of the bands openers were the subject of one of our classic videos last year that featured a combination of 6 short videos from a 2009 jam session in "The Cave", and this week's upload is very similar to that... just shorter. Five very short videos (four of which were 17 seconds or less in length) were filmed and uploaded to Facebook by attendee Keri Beckett after a jam session on June 12th, 2007, back when the band just a trio (bassist Brian Cattapan hadn't joined yet), and when they were still online, I downloaded them for posterity. Now that they've been deleted from Facebook, I've combined all five ("Jam Night", "Paul & Shane", and a "Solo" video for each band member) into one 95 second long video with an attempt to make each clip flow into the next in the video. NO COPYRIGHT INFRINGEMENT IS INTENDED!! All credit for these clips goes to Sykotyk Rampage and Keri, I'm just trying to share this footage with a deserving wider audience and return them to a public audience!

These clips are actually of decent quality compared to our last combo classic video of Sykotyk Rampage, though the red lighting was overpowering, so I tried to mute it a bit after uploading. If you like Sykotyk Rampage, you should like this short look at the band from 5 years ago, so check it out below, and go see Sykotyk Rampage rock The Grand Theater before the battle of the bands on April 20th!



That's all for now, but I should see you guys at The Canadian Nightclub TONIGHT, with my review of that and "Woods V" tomorrow! Thanks everyone!

The End Of Hammerspace, New Videos, And Lots More!!

Here's another news post to kick off this Thursday with, and it has a lot of assorted stuff from the last while that we're finally getting on the site for you guys to check out! Today, we have a band breakup to mention, along with this week's classic video, a handful of assorted shorter stories from the last little while, and a new video discovery of a metal performance from a few years back, so here's what you need to know!

It looks like Sault Michigan metal quintet Hammerspace have disbanded again. An official statement hasn't been made to that effect, but posts are made by band members in a thread on the band's Facebook page last month that say things like "the band is broken, time to start anew" and "I had fun while it lasted." That comment thread got very personal & detailed, and I don't wanna bring anything bad to light, but a partial reason for Hammerspace's demise appears to be band members moving out of town, with only John Bergeron & Tim Podoba not mentioned as leaving by the spring. This appears to end Hammerspace's second local run, which didn't amount to much beyond some song postings, though fans are sure to remember their 2010-early 2011 run best of all, which featured a number of notable local concert dates. I enjoyed Hammerspace and thought they'd make it further than they did locally, but hopefully the guys stay active in music in the coming years, as there's a lot of talent there! Best of luck to John, Justin, Denny, Paul, Tim, and the other former members in the future, and if anything new comes out on Hammerspace or their members, I'll try to have it here!

Next up, here's an interesting find of a local band playing something heavier from a few years back! While doing research for an upcoming feature post, I came across a video of a Sault Michigan band named The Right Reverends playing two songs at a 2007 Battle of the Bands at Sault Area High School! The band featured singer/guitarists Robert Quinn & Tim Hall and drummer Mitchell Leon, who I believe was in the short lived death metal band Hands of Betrayal the following year. In this video, which YouTube user fishstix7711 posted online in February 2008, The Right Reverends covered Bob Dylan's "The Man In Me" before playing what sounds like an original song named "Puppies" that definitely leans in a metal direction! It doesn't start until 4:52 into the video, and it's not too long, but it has a good sense of humour about it, even if it's nothing too technically amazing! I'm not sure whatever happened to The Right Reverends, but this is an interesting video from 5 years ago, so give it a look below if you wanna!



Thirdly for today, here's three more assorted shorter stories from the last little while, and as usual, these are in alphabetical order by band, musician, or post name:

• I've updated our 2008 Case's Music Battle of the Bands Profile to note that "Best Bassist" winner Nathan Bouliane (then of the high school division champions Stillbroke) will also be at next month's Humane Society Battle with his new band The Moves, along with putting more emphasis on Behind Society drummer Josh Hatherley's later battle experience with The Glass Statues and Late & Loud. Nothing major, but I thought I'd mention them!
• Ex-Bring The Fallen guitarist Dan Souliere is looking for musicians for a new local metal project he's hoping to launch in the fall when he moves back to town. He has a drummer already for the project, and he sounds like he's already taking this new band very seriously. If you're at all interested in possibly trying out come this fall, then get more details via Dan's post on Friday at the Musicians Wanted Facebook group!
• The fourth band for March 30th's Lust Boys concert at The Canadian Nightclub has been confirmed, and it's a new band named Pools of Booze! More specifically, they're local punk band T. Rex Manning in a one-off set without frontman J.D. Pearce (likely similar to Late & Loud's turn as General Striker last year), though a reason for J.D.'s absence isn't known. My source for the addition is this show's Facebook event page, and don't miss out!

And finally, here's this week's classic video! With them playing two different concerts this weekend, it made perfect sense to focus this week's classic video around local hardcore quintet As It Stands, and with it almost being a year since this video's filming, it's as good a time as any to put this on YouTube! This comes from one of As It Stands' out of town concerts last year, when they headlined a hardcore concert at The Coach & Horses in Windsor on March 26th, 2011. Attendee Jo-Ann Chayka filmed this video of the band playing their song "Conception" that night, and posted it onto Facebook the next day. It's a solid performance with good audio quality (Justin Pregent's very quiet clean singing aside), but the lighting is very dark and red, almost like it's in Virtual Boy-vision. It's a nice video though, and it's nice to see local bands making waves in Southern Ontario like this! This video was originally posted onto Facebook at http://facebook.com/photo.php?v=10150174364083274 and NO COPYRIGHT INFRINGEMENT IS INTENDED!!! All credit for this video goes to As It Stands and Jo-Ann, I'm just trying to share this performance with a wider audience like it deserves! It's a solid video of As It Stands, so give it a look below, and go see them at The Rosie & Speak Easy this weekend!

That's all for now, but stay tuned for more news, hopefully some concert reviews, and my "Woods V" review shortly! Thanks everyone!

Napalm Death/Foggy Notions News, A Local Band's Return, And This Week's Classic Video!!

Things are certainly picking up news-wise in the local metal scene, so I think I might double up on posts tonight as a result. I have new concerts, videos, and so forth to get to (and weekend concert previews), but those will be tonight or tomorrow so the stories I want to get to first don't get overshadowed. That said, this post features this week's classic video and a local band's return, but first, here's some huge news concerning a major upcoming concert and it's new venue!

THIS SATURDAY'S Napalm Death concert has been moved from The Riuniti Hall to the bar formerly known as Foggy Notions! Yes, the Queen Street East bar will officially re-open for business on Saturday night, under new ownership with a new name and look, and I can confirm that the bar's new name is Feedback! Sounds like a good name, hopefully it sticks with fans! I assume it's safe now to confirm that the new owner of Feedback is Dismembertainment head and local guitarist Rich Moreland, who is also putting on the Napalm Death show, so it's a fitting first concert for the "new" bar! The only other change is that the doors will now open an hour earlier at 5:00 PM on Saturday. Yes, previously purchased tickets are still 100% usable, and it is STILL ALL AGES! The news was broken in an e-mail to concert attendees yesterday, and has since been added to the Facebook event page. No reason was announced for the venue change, but I hope it wasn't due to ticket sale concerns, as you know how huge this concert should be! Check the above links for all current details on both the concert and venue!

I have to say, if there was a way to begin the era of Feedback with a bang, then having Napalm Death, Hallows Die, Wake, Shit Liver, & The Bear Hunters all on one night is the way to do it, and though I'll sadly be out of town this weekend, I know it will be an amazing concert and a great introduction to the local scene for Feedback! Stay tuned for more in the next few days when we preview this weekend's metal & hard rock concert schedule!

That said, while metalheads and old Foggy's fans are sure to be buzzing over the Feedback news, there is a more unfortunate side of the story, as was being discussed on SooToday last night, so I feel I should address it. SooToday's Carol Martin posted an article onto SooToday last night called "Foggy's next generation questioned by City Council", which basically outlines how City Council wants the Alcohol and Gaming Commission to consider the concerns of residents in the Foggy's area before transferring a liquor license to the new owners (For the record, the new ownership & name of the bar are not mentioned in the article.) Ward 4 Councillor Rick Niro wants the new owners to address concerns relating to noise, debris, and other issues that came up during the previous Foggy Notions eras, though he was clear in saying he's not against the reopening. Check the above links for the full article. Now, I'm not in a position to comment on what Rich has done with Foggy's/Feedback, but I know that he's following all the rules and taking all the right steps to ensure that everything will go smoothly. Considering that they're planning to reopen on Saturday, most of the work must already be done, and if he was planning to ignore any concerns, do you think it would have gotten this far?

I feel that if you willingly move into a neighbourhood near a bar that puts on concerts with non-acoustic bands, you should be prepared for noise, and should only have a right to call the police over it if they actually violate some noise ordinance. I'm sure in many cases, Foggy Notions was there before a noise complainer moved nearby, and they should have known that before moving into the area. There are other bars downtown that put on loud events near residences, and they don't get brought up at City Council over noise issues. That's just my opinion though, and I hope Rich gets no bad "feedback" over what goes on at Feedback in the future. The bar's in good hands, everyone will see that soon!

Now to some cool news for you Skull After Betrayl fans, as the local hardcore quartet have officially reunited! The band originally broke up in late July after the members parted ways with guitarist Justin Polutanovich and formed a new band named The Dead Kings with some new members, but it looks like Skull After Betrayl are back in action! The band relaunched their Facebook page earlier today, with frontman Mike Vincent confirming that they'll be ready for shows "soon" on his personal Facebook page. Their old lineup (including Justin on guitar) is back together, though bassist Adam Brett is now also listed for some singing, which should be interesting! With all that said, it looks like The Dead Kings have broken up, with their Facebook page deleted, which is disappointing, but hopefully Willis Tholberg & Jacob Cere get back into a new band soon! As for Skull After Betrayl, it's great to see them back, and hopefully the steady improvement we saw from them through the summer will continue when they return to the stage! Stay tuned for details on Skull After Betrayl's next shows as they come in!

And finally, here's this week's classic video! With the Napalm Death show upon us, it made perfect sense to tie in this week's video with one of the local opening bands, and I chose The Bear Hunters, specifically guitarist Josh Stephney! Before becoming a local fixture as Bring The Fallen's singer & The Bear Hunters' guitarist, Josh and his BTF bandmate Dan Souliere joined forces at the "In The Pines" guitar showcase at White Pines Collegiate & Vocational School on May 16th, 2008 to cover Tenacious D's "Tribute"! This was a solid cover with Josh on lead vocals, Dan on backing vocals, and both on guitar, and they mostly have the song down. Besides, it's Tenacious D, you've gotta do them justice! This video was filmed by an attendee of this event and was uploaded by Josh onto Facebook two days later. After uploading the video onto our YouTube channel, I also corrected the lighting to make it brighter and clearer, but you can still check out the original video at http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v=42347370570. NO COPYRIGHT INFRINGEMENT IS INTENDED!! All credit for this video goes to Josh, Dan, and the original filmer, I'm just sharing this video with a wider audience like it deserves! That said, check out Josh and Dan covering the tribute to the best song in the world below!



That's all for now, but I may have another news post later tonight, but if not, I'll have weekend concert previews probably tomorrow, so stay tuned! Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERT (Powerslug), New Videos, And More!!

It's time for some more news for this Saturday afternoon, and remember, we're one week out from NAPALM DEATH at The Riuniti Hall! Get your tickets A.S.A.P. for $20 at The Rad Zone, Northland Music, or through members of Shit Liver & The Bear Hunters! Remember, this show is ALL AGES, and you won't wanna miss it next Saturday! Today though, we've got some newly discovered videos, some assorted news stories from the last little while, and leading things off, a LOCAL CONCERT ALERT, so here's what you need to know!

Another Halloween weekend concert is now official for the Sault area, and it will feature Sault Michigan hard rockers Powerslug headlining at The Merchant's Bar! The band formerly known as River Witch will headline the "Halloween Bash at The Merch" on October 29th (exactly three weeks from today) in what should be another quality addition to the usually stacked Halloween concert lineup in the twin Saults! Aside from Powerslug's hard rocking set, there will also be drink special and a costume contest for $100, so make note of those special elements for this Halloween concert! The Facebook event page lists a 7:00 PM start time (which is very early, I expect the music won't start until 10:00 PM), there's no cover charge listed, and you must be 21 to attend. Check the above links for more details! Nice to hear about this show in advance for a change, as The Merch doesn't usually announce live bands more than a few days out, so we have lots of advance word for Powerslug at the end of the month! Of course, they haven't updated their Facebook page in months, but Powerslug are frequent sights at The Merchant's Bar, and they'll rock on the 29th, so keep them in mind for your Halloween weekend plans, and stay tuned for more as I hear it!

Next up, here's some new videos from young Sault Michigan hard rockers Abstract, courtesy of frontman Jacob Hotlen's YouTube channel! These are new finds for me, despite the fact that Jacob's had a channel since May 2009, but thanks to the band's new Google Sites page, I now know about them! Two Abstract videos are posted on his channel, both uploaded on April 26th of this year, though they both are from older shows. The first one is of Abstract playing on the main stage at last August's Kewadin Casino 25th Anniversary Summer Festival on July 24th, 2010 (opening for Meat Loaf, Clownsack, and others.) I thought they were on the second stage only? No matter, this is even better for them! The video features Abstract covering The White Stripes' "Seven Nation Army", Weezer's "Beverly Hills", and the beginning of Wolfmother's "Woman" before the video cuts out, and they do a good job on all three! It's odd seeing Ethan Twardy using Clownsack's drumkit for their set, but overall, they did great on the big stage! Click here to see Abstract from last year's Kewadin Festival, but the one I'm embedding here is even longer and heavier!

The second video is from Abstract's 1st place winning performance at the Sault Area Middle School talent show on March 25th of this year, which is surely another highlight for this talented young band! In the video, they covered Metallica's "Enter Sandman", AC/DC's "Back In Black", and "Woman" again, though it was caught in full this time. The video's further away and a bit darker, but the audio quality's good and the songs are longer and heavier, so I definitely recommend this video as well! Check the above links for more, and here's (part of?) Abstract's talent show winning set below! (For the record, Jacob's YouTube channel & Abstract's Google Site don't have much else for new band relevant stuff yet.)



Also new for videos are two new solo jam videos from former Bring The Fallen and AtrophiA guitarist Dan Souliere, who posted these onto his YouTube channel yesterday. Roughly two minutes each, they're basically rhythm guitar riffs by themselves, and his skill is clear in them, but it would definitely be interesting to hear these with more instruments accompanying them. Good quality though! Check out the second jam video by clicking here, but I've embedded the first one below, so give it a look!



And finally, here's three assorted shorter news stories from the last little while. As usual, these are in alphabetical order by band or venue name:

• If you've been wondering where Lion Ride have been over the past few months, they've been forced into a break, as guitarist Marky Lion broke a knuckle on his left hand in August. As a result, he's been unable to play guitar since, which has stalled band activity. He posted the update onto the band's Facebook page last Saturday. Get well soon Marky, hopefully your knuckle heals up soon!
• Following their closure last month, The Vibe Lounge on Goulais Avenue closed their Facebook page. I saw it coming, but no worries, as I've replaced their link on the SMS's "Other Local Metal Links" with their still-online Facebook group. It hasn't been updated in a month, but a less-used link is better than nothing!
• A review of Woods of Ypres' "Home" vinyl single by Ryan Grant was posted onto the metal website Here To DESTROY last month, where he briefly (but glowingly) reviewed it and shared his love for "Woods IV" as well. Good read, and it has some purchasing links too, so check it out at the above links!

That's all for today, but stay tuned for more news soon and our Defunct Local Band Profile on Detroit on Monday! Thanks everyone!

Local Metal Video Showcase!!

Hey there local metalheads, I have another local metal video showcase for you guys today! In this post, I've found new videos from a recent major Kewadin Casino concert, new jam session footage from a local guitarist, new original audio material from another local six string slayer, and a newly posted archive album for you guys to stream, so here's what you should know!

A new video from August 26th's Whitesnake concert at The Dreammaker's Theater at Kewadin Casino is now online! This comes from YouTube user jcpeck76, who was the uploader of a video of Whitesnake playing "Still of the Night" that you may have saw last month. I'm not sure why this one took so long to get uploaded, but no worries! Like two earlier videos from the concert, this is of drummer Brian Tichy's drum solo, and it's not bad in quality! It's the furthest from the stage and has slightly washed out colour, but the camera's centered well with Brian's drumkit, and everything's clear enough! I still prefer gmanohio1's video of Brian's drum solo for length and quality, and Joelle Aikens' video is longer and good quality too, but jcpeck76's certainly isn't bad, and it's nice to get another view of this very cool drum solo! Check out the newest Whitesnake video below, and stay tuned for more Kewadin Casino hard rock concert videos as I find them!



Next up, here's the latest videos from former Bring The Fallen/Misery and AtrophiA guitarist Dan Souliere, who just launched his own YouTube channel on Sunday! Dan posted four videos from a Saturday jam session that he had with Brantford drummer Nick Misurka on there over the weekend, with each one labelled as part of an "LOF jam". Is L.O.F. a new band name acronym, or is there another meaning to that? I don't know either way, but this is apparently the first time that Dan and Nick have jammed in three years! How do the videos sound? Pretty good, they have good chemistry, and there's lots of thrash and death metal riffing going on! Nick's a talented drummer too, it'd be interesting to see him and Dan in a band together if it was a possibility! Click here to check out all four parts of the jam, and give the first part a look below!



Thirdly, here's some new videos from Sneaky Pete guitarist Mario Carlucci! Over the past couple of weeks, he's uploaded some solo instrumental material onto his YouTube channel, so I thought now's as good a time as any to share them with you guys! One is some instrumental hard rock harmony guitar riffs which sound pretty good and have a nice melodic quality while still having some bite to them! Mario also uploaded a track called "Bayou Blues" which is a slower blues solo track, but he has some nice licks and solo parts in this one! The other track is "Full Moon Ballad" which is also really proficient and entertaining, but it's not as tender and soft as he made it sound. Very good stuff all around, it'd be interesting to see him expand on these more, possibly into Sneaky Pete originals? Check the above links for more from Mario's YouTube channel, and here's "Full Moon Ballad", so see what you think!



And finally, as you may know, our next Defunct Local Band Profile is coming up on Monday, where we'll profile the inactive hardcore/punk quartet Detroit. In preparation for our look at the 2008-2010 band featuring three then-Lion Ride members, I'm doing something I haven't done in nine months, which is upload a full out of print local CD onto The Sault Metal Scene's YouTube channel! If you followed Detroit over the past few years, you'll know that they independently released two EPs, and the first was "Let The Hammers Fly" in December 2008, which was memorably launched at a CD release show at The Oddfellows Hall! "Let The Hammers Fly" featured 11 original songs (5 of which were re-recorded the next year), and with a run time of around 16 minutes in total, you know this EP was fast and furious! Very entertaining album with lots of brutal moshing tracks (most with the familiar seven-hit drum intro), and if you enjoy fast paced and quick timed hardcore punk (especially like Maximum RNR), you'll definitely get a kick out of Detroit's first EP! As stated above, this album is out of print, and with the band inactive at present, I thought I should preserve "Let The Hammers Fly" online like it deserves. NO COPYRIGHT INFRINGEMENT IS INTENDED!!

That said, the whole "Let The Hammers Fly" EP can now be streamed at this location, or you can click here for a handy playlist I've made for just this album, which I've done with other full albums on the SMS channel. The first song, "Blue Collar" is embedded below, but give the rest of the EP a listen at the above links, and stay tuned, as I may have some more Detroit songs to share later this week!



That's all for today, but stay tuned for more news this week, including this week's classic video, weekend concert previews, and more! Thanks everyone!

SHORT NOTICE LOCAL CONCERT ALERT (Tym Morrison) & Lots Of Assorted News!!

How about some more assorted news for Wednesday? Gotta get this in before 8:00 PM, I know most of us will likely be watching the Canucks game (myself included), so here's what you need to know this afternoon! Today, we have new updates from Mike Haggith & Woods of Ypres, an apparent departure from a local band, and this week's classic video, but first, here's a SHORT NOTICE LOCAL CONCERT ALERT!!

Hey Tym Morrison fans, now you have more opportunities to see him this weekend, as the Caveman Morrison frontman has announced a new solo concert for THIS SATURDAY! In an odd setting (and time) for his solo acoustic shows, Tym will hit Service Grill Pizza on Korah Road (just seconds from The Roosevelt Hotel) on Saturday afternoon at 3:00 PM! I apologize for the short notice, Tym only just announced this show yesterday. This is unfamiliar for one of his solo shows, but there is precedent for it, as he has played restaurants of varying sizes in the past. The early start time would suggest a special event too, but nothing has been stated if there is. The show runs from 3:00 PM to 7:00 PM, there's no cover charge, and given the setting and time, I imagine it has to be all ages. For more details, visit the official Facebook event page! Sounds like a fun time, hopefully a good crowd turns out! Also for Saturday news, Tym's scheduled show at The Zone Roadhouse in Goulais River has been moved from this Friday to this Saturday as well, so Tym will pull double duty with two solo shows on the same day! No reason was given for the date change, but Tym confirmed it on the event page & via e-mail to attendees. So if you want to enjoy some entertaining unplugged hard rock covers, you know which places to go on Saturday!

Next up, there's apparently been a lineup change with a new local metal band, as it looks like local death metal band Bring The Misery have parted ways with guitarist Dan Souliere. Now there hasn't been a public statement about him leaving, but he was quietly removed from the band's lineup on their Facebook page's info section. That alone implies something happened, but I haven't heard what. If this is in fact true, then Dan is the second original member of Bring The Misery to leave the band in the last few weeks, following Kory Derasp earlier in the month. It's disappointing to hear that he left, I've liked Dan's guitar work dating back to the AtrophiA days, but hopefully he pops up in a new band sooner or later! No word has been made on a replacement, if at all, but the band do have a concert scheduled for this month that I'll announce on here as soon as I get some more confirmation on it. Will they stay as a four piece? Time will tell, I'll keep you posted as I hear more from Bring The Misery!

Thirdly today, here's some assorted news from Woods of Ypres from the last little while! Firstly, the final part of bassist Shane Madden's tour blog on MetalSucks is now online, and if you liked his well versed and detailed thoughts on their past "Pain & Piss" tour dates, you'll like this final installment! Very interesting, click here to check it out, and search for "Ypres" on the MetalSucks search field to find the first three parts! As well, their concert in Charlotte, North Carolina one week ago was reviewed by Jenny Lou Bement on Vibes: The Music Blog yesterday, and you check it out at this location! She highly praised their sound and atmosphere, but found the vocals inconsistent, even suggesting a nu metal sound at times. That baffles me, I can't even picture that, but hey, perceptions are an individual thing. She gave more praise to openers Towering Pyre, but it's still a positive review, check it out at the above links! And finally, I wanted to copy and paste a status (and following comment) that Woods of Ypres put on their Facebook page on Sunday: "WOODS OF YPRES is NOT opening for the OPETH / KATATONIA tour, nor the ENSLAVED, GHOST, ALCEST tour this fall......yet." Let the speculation run wild? I'll keep you posted!

Now to some more news from local solo artist Mike Haggith, all relating to his online store on Reverbnation! Mike has posted a bunch of new items to buy there, including another one of his back albums! The new album up for purchase is one of his 2009 solo albums, "The Curse Is The Cure", though with the song '599 Reasons To Say "Fuck The Past"' intentionally not posted. I imagine he wasn't happy with the song, which doesn't surprise me, as the discography entry for this album has a lot of derisive statements about it, even going so far as Mike ignoring it's existence at one point! I can't speak for the quality of it yet, but click here to preview tracks or buy it. The album is just $4.14 for an mp3 download, $7.11 on CD, or you can get individual songs & ringtones too. Hopefully he posts some more albums on his store! Also new on his store is official merchandise, including five different t-shirts and a travel mug! The shirts, which vary in colour, feature original designs not seen on Mike Haggith albums, including two with taglines implying that his music is the best or most awesome music "you'll never listen to."

Nice designs, though kinda "urban" in feel! Click here to see the shirts (and mug) and make purchases! Shirts range from $13.13 to $22.00, and the travel mug is $13. Stay tuned for more Mike Haggith news as it comes in!

And finally, here is this week's classic video! With Garden of Bedlam finally returning to the local stage on Friday night, it was a no brainer to post a new "old" video of them in action, so here's what you should know! Most Garden of Bedlam videos that I've seen online are on YouTube in some form, but one that didn't make it comes from the August 2008 edition of Hempfest in Ophir, which was during the first few months of Garden of Bedlam's existence. Bassist Evan Belleau has a few videos from their set on his YouTube channel, but he posted a couple on their Facebook group only, including this one of the band covering "Unsung" by Helmet! Filmed by an attendee, the video comes through nicely, though it is kinda far from the stage. Evan's really loud in the mix, but it sounds nice, especially Buzz, his singing is crystal clear! The original video can be seen at http://facebook.com/video/video.php?v=35691635931&oid=10668648337 & I mean no harm with this upload! I want a bigger audience to see it, and all of their 2008 Hempfest videos should be on YouTube eventually! NO COPYRIGHT INFRINGEMENT IS INTENDED!! So with that said, check out Garden of Bedlam covering "Unsung"!



That's all for now, but stay tuned for weekend concert previews (including The Dayglo Abortions) either tonight or early tomorrow! Thanks everyone!