Defunct Local Band Profile Series: Tomgrindy & Beyond The Surface

As you might expect, here's this month's Defunct Local Band Profiles! Like past months, this recurring series looks at 1 or 2 defunct or inactive metal/hard rock bands from the Sault Ste. Marie area (as randomly selected) to profile them, their work, and local run for current readers, and like five of the past six months, we're looking at two bands today due to the first selected band not having enough information. We have two very different bands on each side of the border to look at today, so read on below for this month's defunct profiles!
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Tomgrindy

Genre: Goregrind

Hometown: Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario

Members

Jacob Tombari, vocals
Jean-Paul Archambault, vocals
Tyler "Ringsnaps" Gibson (Crucify The Whore), vocals/all instruments

Info/Analysis: One of many grind-influenced acts to have graced the Blood Shed Productions roster since their launch, Tomgrindy came to public attention in the spring of 2013 with numerous free song postings & the sudden release of the "Grindshed" split demo alongside frontman Tyler Gibson's Crucify The Whore project, followed by a self-titled demo in July. Public activity was limited to media releases before the band went on hiatus due to personal issues in August, before breaking up the next month, though their Facebook page is still used to promote other Blood Shed artists. Tomgrindy shared many similarities with Tyler's other grind bands, like controversial imagery & song titles, minimal instrumentation, and pig squeal vocals, but Tyler's guitar & programming abilities are present on their tracks! That said, Tomgrindy will likely be an acquired taste for fans not accustomed to grind or this label, but I applaud their drive & ambition, so check out the first half of their solo demo below, click here for more songs, and follow Tyler's current bands for similar material!


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Beyond the Surface

Genre: Hard Rock

Hometown: Pickford, Michigan

Members: (Members not in their last full lineup in italics)

Eli Reilly (Unleashed), vocals/lead guitar
Blake Mastaw, rhythm guitar
Alec Firack, bass
Isaac Leach, drums
Danielle Petingalo, vocals
Rhiannan Sibald, rhythm guitar

Audio/Video: No media of Beyond The Surface is known to be publically available at present, though a Facebook-only video of the band covering Metallica's "For Whom The Bell Tolls" at a high school event existed online during their run. I would assume that Beyond The Surface shared similarities with singer/guitarist Eli Reilly's earlier band Unleashed, but that's just speculation.

Info/Analysis: Comprised of then-Pickford High School students, Beyond the Surface were formed in late 2010, taking first place in a school talent show that December with their original lineup, which stood out by featuring 2 female members. After singer Danielle Petingalo's departure, the band won another talent show in Rudyard in January 2011, and competed in another the next month in Cheboygan. Following a divisive rhythm guitarist switch that March & scattered mid-2011 shows at school events, activity stalled that summer despite optimism for expanded live dates, and after a brief vocalist search that August, the band presumably fell inactive by year's end. Despite the lack of media, winning two talent shows in their first few months together must have been a good sign! Eli had solidly developing guitar skills, and Danielle is a very good singer, so hopefully the band's members stay active in music, and maybe we'll find some media at some point!
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I hope you guys liked this month's Defunct Local Band Profiles! As for next month in this series, we're actually going to look at two bands again, due to the first band that we chose not having enough surviving information (especially after the MySpace layout overhaul.) As a result, we'll be looking at solo projects from both sides of the border, those being courtesy of Hydra's Teeth frontman Brendan Christie and Power Slug drummer/ex-I.S.O.M. frontman Bob Helsten, a.k.a. Orb Hearthstone! Watch out for those on or around March 10th, and stay tuned for more news and notes either tonight or tomorrow! Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERT (Maximum RNR), Late And Loud & Garden Of Bedlam News, And Much More!!

The news keeps on coming, and we've got some big stuff to talk about today! In this post, we have assorted stories from some young local bands, some more "Woods V" reviews, how you can see a recent metal-relevant Shaw TV interview online, and your first glimpse at an upcoming local metal EP, but first, here's a LOCAL CONCERT ALERT that marks some familiar faces' return to the Soo!

Toronto old school hardcore punk quintet Maximum RNR are coming back to Sault Ontario at the end of this month for their third local appearance! The band fronted by former Saultite & ex-Lion Ride bassist Brenton "Diamond Brent Panther" Ellis will hit The Rockstar Bar on June 30th for their first local concert date since their February 2011 headlining gig at the future Coch's Corner, and you know this should shape up to be a huge concert! My source is their official website's concert listings, with this very nice poster for the event also posted on the band's Facebook page. Notably, this will be Maximum RNR's first Sault Ste. Marie stop since Brent's former Detroit & The Labour Of... bandmate (and fellow Saultite) Curtis Faux replaced Davey Dee as their bassist, so if you've missed Brent & Curtis on stage locally in their various projects, keep this June 30th gig in mind, especially as Maximum RNR's current sound will be very familiar to Detroit fans! The openers will be local country/punk favourites The Billy Bastards in their 2012 debut, which will return guitarist John Conway to an opening slot for Maximum RNR, having opened for them with Destroilet last February. It's about time that The Billys returned, as you know their unique and fan friendly sounds will attract lots of notice!

Admission will be $5 for this concert, it will be a 19+ event, and a 10:00 PM-ish start time is likely. For more details, visit the above links! It's great to see Maximum RNR schedule a return to the Soo this month, and hopefully I can make it for this Saturday night show! I missed their last show here due to a cold, but I don't intend on being absent this time around! The Rockstar Bar doesn't tend to have a lot of hardcore-leaning bands, but it's a very nice venue that's familiar to the performers, and hopefully this show is a huge hit! Stay tuned for updates on Maximum RNR's show at the end of the month as they roll in!

Next up, here's some more recent news from local classic metal quartet Late & Loud! In recent days, they've been making more out of their Reverbnation page than some other local bands do, including making some interesting blog posts and uploading some new samples from their upcoming debut demo/EP! This includes 36 second-long samples of 4 tracks and a full copy of their original "Whisper of the Damned", and while I won't give any detailed assessments yet (wait for the full review), the recording quality is better than I expected on first listen! Check the above links to hear the new audio clips (and full song), but when could we possibly see this EP? According to posts late last month on Late & Loud's Reverbnation blog, they're working on a release date for the EP and are looking into an iTunes release, while they're hoping to play a show at The Canadian Nightclub "mid-summer" with an opening band to be announced. If the album is out by then, the first 10 to be made public will be autographed by the band members. It looks like Late & Loud have a lot of stuff in the works for the summer once their little live break wraps up, and hopefully by next month, all of the excitement will be more public for us to take note of! Stay tuned for more Late & Loud news as it comes in, and check out the new audio clips!

Also today, remember last month when the Shaw TV interview piece with local metal standouts Garden of Bedlam ran on Channel 10 for local Shaw Cable customers? Well, it's televised run has ended, but never fear, as Shaw TV Sault Ste. Marie's YouTube channel now features an upload of the 5 minute feature, so you can now check it out at your leisure online! Of course, this was shot at and around their May 12th headlining gig at The Rockstar Bar, and features clips of Garden of Bedlam playing three songs interspersed with a wide range of interview footage addressing many topics relating to the band. The only real new item I have compared to when we originally covered this interview was that this was indeed produced by former local punk singer Christian Lemay, despite the lack of voiceover audio that we're used to from his last metal-relevant interviews for Shaw TV's local branch. I actually have some more local press-related videos to share from the May 12th Garden of Bedlam show to share on the site later in the week, but for now, give their Shaw TV interview a look below!



Fourthly, here's a few more reviews of Woods of Ypres' final recorded album "Woods V: Grey Skies & Electric Light"! Well, the first one apparently is more of a "first impression" rather than a critical opinion, but Apoch from the website Apoch's Metal Reviews gave a mixed-positive assessment on first listen of "Woods V", and though he had many faults for the album's mood and similarities to some other artists, he liked the growth Woods of Ypres were showing on this album, and it's interesting to see a writeup on the album without referencing David Gold's passing. Click here to check it out! In February, "Chris" from the website Metal Psalter gave "W5" 4 out of 5 stars, calling it "the perfect goodbye to David Gold", and called each track "a little trek" to the soul, and despite the missing star, he was mostly very complimentary and diverse with his opinions. Nice review, so check it out at this location! Finally, Martjin Welzen from Mass Movement Magazine gave "Woods V" a positive, but brief review in February, calling it a "great" and "pure Woods of Ypres record", while also complimenting the more upbeat sounds and insightful lyrics compared to "Woods IV". Short, but worth checking out, so click here to do so, and stay tuned for more "Woods V" reviews sooner or later!

And finally, here's a few assorted shorter stories from the last little while, all of which revolve around younger high school-age bands from the last year or so. As always, these are in alphabetical order by band or artist name:

• Local musician Aaron Desmoulin is looking for high school-age musicians for a hard rock project he's starting up, possibly to write original songs. He can sing & play bass, he has a room set up to jam in, and he's interested in playing Guns N' Roses or Motley Crue-esque hard rock. If you're at all interested, contact Aaron A.S.A.P. at this location or via his post on Sunday at the Musicians Wanted Facebook group!
  
• I'll likely be moving Pickford hard rock outfit Beyond The Surface to our inactive band links tomorrow due to a year's inactivity. The Sault Michigan-area band featuring Unleashed & Focus alumni haven't been visibly active since a year ago tomorrow, when they uploaded a new photo to their Facebook page. They had promise & some successes at area talent shows, so hopefully they (or their members) pop up again in the near future!
• Apparently, local/North Shore metal quartet Crimson Crusade played a set of some type yesterday at the Ho Shin Sool Martial Arts Centre on Korah Road. Odd on the surface, but I assume one of the band members trains there. From what little I know, it wasn't a publically available "concert", so I didn't call it on here, but hopefully it went well, and check the above links for more on Crimson Crusade, including their current setlist!

That's all for now, but stay tuned for more news and weekend concert previews tonight or early tomorrow, along with this week's classic video and that second archive Woods of Ypres magazine interview! Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERT (The Bear Hunters), New Videos, And More!!

Hey guys, I have some more local metal news for you all today, including a LOCAL CONCERT ALERT, some new videos, and some assorted Sault Michigan news, so let's get things going tonight!

Local melodic death metal quintet The Bear Hunters have been confirmed as part of the lineup for the first annual Searchmont Music Festival! Yes, the popular area ski resort is throwing their hat into the festival ring with a fundraiser festival scheduled for September 10th inside and outside of the resort, and The Bear Hunters are confirmed for this year! Odd choice of a picture though, as "The Bear Hunters" implies that they're hunting bears, not that a bear is hunting. Full details on the festival are not out yet, but admission will be $10, it looks to be all ages, and the outdoor portion will consist of open mic and acoustic performers, with plugged in bands like The Bear Hunters rocking inside. Music for both stages will run from 12:00 PM to 11:00 PM on the 10th. Other announced performers include solo artists Al Davis, Douglas Cousineau, and Rusty McCarthy, along with local bands Moondance, The Trippy Hippies, The Dirty River Band, and Green Cafe, with more likely to be announced. Most of the acts are new to me, but this should be an entertaining festival, and thanks to The Bear Hunters, some metal will easily be welcomed! Stay tuned for updates at the above links and at the SMS as they come in!

Next up, we have some new videos, and first, local hardcore quartet Changing Waves have their own YouTube channel! Launched in April, I only just found out about it the other day, and yes, there's some concert footage there! One concert video from an undated Roosevelt Hotel performance (metal night on August 4th?) was posted there twice on Thursday, and both are of the band covering System of a Down's "Suite-Pee"! Why was it uploaded twice? Well, the first upload is sideways, possibly due to the original video dimensions, so they corrected it in a later upload, but you can still see the sideways version at this link. Overall though, it's nice quality, and it shows their hardcore take of the S.O.A.D. favourite well, with each member visible, though the camera shakes a bit and the video missed the beginning of the song. Good stuff overall, and it's nice to see more videos of Changing Waves, so check out their "Suite-Pee" cover at the above links and below, and also visit their channel for an interesting acoustic song by band members(?) called "Gimme My Cat"!



The other new videos is courtesy of Brimley hard rockers Half A Man, who are still hard at work on their upcoming debut album! On Thursday, the band uploaded a rough mix of their original song "Drunk" onto their official YouTube channel, and you can check it out below! It sounds good, and it's nice to hear a studio version finally (especially given that this is one of the first Half A Man originals we heard last year), but I'll hold on detailed comments until the album comes out and I get a chance to review it. Also featuring video footage of the band members playing the song individually and shots of their recording computers and equipment, check out "Drunk" below and get ready for the new album!



And finally, here's three assorted shorter stories from the last little while from Sault Michigan-area bands, in alphabetical order by band name:

• I'll likely be moving Sault Michigan quartet 7/47 (featuring members of Free Refill & The Highest of Fives) to our inactive Sault Michigan band links tomorrow due to inactivity. The Guitar Studio products were last visibly active on August 21st of last year when bassist Jack Slater uploaded videos from a Mackinac City concert onto his YouTube channel. 7/47 had promise, but hopefully the members' current bands remain successful!
• According to their respective Facebook pages, young local rock bands Abstract & Banned competed at a battle of the bands of some type outside of Joe's Bar in Rudyard earlier today. For the life of me, I couldn't find official information on this battle, which is why we didn't plug it here, but keep an eye out in case we hear any fallout! For what it's worth, Banned's Facebook page indicates they didn't win.
• Pickford hard rockers Beyond The Surface have quietly welcomed guitarist Blake Mastaw back to the band, and are also now looking for an official singer again, presumably to replace the long-since departed Danielle Petingalo. Click here if you live in the Pickford area and are interested in singing for Beyond The Surface!

That's all for today, but stay tuned for more hopefully tomorrow, and if nothing else, look out for this month's YouTube Channel Profile on Monday! Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (The Darwin Project), A New Local Band, And More From Sault Michigan!!

The marathon of news continues today into it's latter stages, as we give you some news from across the river! Today, we focus on Sault Michigan, including the latest news from Beyond The Surface & Life's Eclipse, an intriguing piece of news from Werehold Records, and LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS, but first, here's a new local band! (UPDATED: Monday, 8:32 PM)

The new band I've discovered is Chained Memories, a new young metal band from nearby Kincheloe, Michigan! Though they started their MySpace page in December 2009, I've only seen them really active in the past few weeks, so they really flew under the radar in the past year and a half. As far as I can tell, the only current member of the band is former Silent Despair drummer Mike Rynberg, though their Facebook page also credits Outshined frontman Jacob Zeeryp as a band member with an unknown role. The lineup on the band's MySpace page is, as best as I can tell, outdated (so guitarists Brandon Mason & Isaac Suggitt appear to be out,) and they are looking for band members aged 14-17 to fill out their lineup, which would include a keyboard player! Aside from a logo and some hints towards t-shirt designs, there's not a lot to say yet, but hopefully Chained Memories succeeds where Silent Despair failed! Check the above links for more, as well as their Reverbnation page, and I will keep you posted!

Now for those LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS, as a prominent Northern Michigan band is returning to Sault Michigan in July! Cheboygan hard rock quartet The Darwin Project will make their first announced local stops of the summer when they hit The Corner Pub Bar & Grill on July 8th and 9th for a weekend set of entertaining music! The news about these new local shows was quietly posted on the band's Facebook page on Thursday thanks to two new Facebook event pages, this one for the Friday show, and this one for the Saturday concert. Both shows have 9:30 PM start times, you must be 21 to attend on either night, and there's no announced cover charge. Check the above links for more details! It's always good to see The Darwin Project out and about in Sault Michigan, and their energetic take on radio hard rock should go over well, as it always seems to! Stay tuned for more updates on The Darwin Project's next local stops as I hear them!

Now for some stories related to the recently relaunched Eckerman metal quartet Life's Eclipse, starting with the posting of demos from their upcoming album "Shadow Over Superior"! On Wednesday, the band posted a video onto their record label Werehold Records' YouTube channel that features 30 second samples of every song on the "Shadow Over Superior" album! The tracklisting hasn't changed from what was on their MySpace page, so head there for title previews if you don't pay attention to the screen in audio-based videos like this. 30 seconds is very little to go on to give definitive thoughts to the songs on the album, but these instrumental samples all sound promising, and this should be a quality album when it comes out! Of course, one of the songs (the instrumental "Not Dead, But Dreaming") is posted on their MySpace, so if you want a full taste, check that very cool song out! Now though, give a listen to samples from the whole album, which I'm eager to hear, how about you guys?



Speaking of Werehold Records-related topics, Life's Eclipse frontman/Werehold Records head Jason Mills has a big plan in mind involving an album featuring local bands, so here's what you should know! He's hoping to make up a compilation record featuring local bands to help give them exposure, presumably through release through Werehold Records in the coming months. He's aiming to have bands who want in on the CD to contribute up to two songs for inclusion on the record, which would be professionally pressed and be available to sell at shows and on band pages. Nothing he said to me implied a restriction for which side of the border your band lives on, or if you had to be connected to Werehold Records already to get in on this. I've heard similar rumblings on this side that I won't go into without public word, but Jason's idea sounds very intriguing! Never hurts to get some well needed exposure, and why not do it with other bands who also want the same thing? If this flies, this could be to the benefit of a lot of bands, so definitely shoot Jason a message at werehold@hotmail.com if you or your band would be interested in being on this compilation record!

And finally, here's the latest news on young Pickford hard rockers Beyond The Surface! Firstly, the band appears to have quietly parted ways with guitarist Blake Mastaw, just two months after his addition to the band. No statement has been made as to his exit, but he was removed from the Beyond the Surface's lineup on their Facebook page, reducing them (at least for now) to a three-piece band. I know that when Blake joined, there was a visible uproar from some fans, but I wonder what happened so soon for him to leave? Well, best of luck to him, and of course, if you're a Pickford-area guitarist and want to try out, give the band a shout, you never know! Also, in some of the band's latest updates, they announced that they are looking to play some dates soon, and were open for suggestions. That, and they're apparently playing a set on Tuesday night at the Pickford High School gym, but without a lot of details, I don't know enough to really "call" it on here. Still, best of luck to them, and they are a promising young band! Check the above links for more!

That's all for now, but stay tuned for more news and notes tomorrow, including (maybe) a book review? Keep your eyes peeled to the SMS! Thanks everyone!

Lots Of Assorted News And Notes From The Last While!!

This is our 25th post of the month already, and at this rate, we could approach last month's post record at this rate! Today's post is largely comprised of older stories that got pushed aside in recent weeks, but is well worth discussing! This includes a cool SMS concept logo, the latest from Lion Ride & Beyond The Surface, some new pages, and kicking things off, a new video! Here's what you need to know!

Veteran local musician Phil Temperao has uploaded a solo song onto his YouTube channel! Unlike the older jam session videos that usually featured him and Dennis Porter, this is a solo song that bears little resemblance to the older Meatplow (or whatever they'll be called next) videos. This is just a song named "Rain" under the project name "Sebastien 6". It features Phil on all instruments save for the lead guitar, which is actually provided by his brother Jose (a.k.a. Jose Wailz), who you may recall as Phil's old Amethyst bandmate! Compared to the more aggressive and industrial tinged songs from the full band, "Rain" is a lighter track that is still hard rocking, and shows off Phil's singing range. The guitar work's solid, but the song can be a bit repetitive, and if you prefer the material from the live videos with Dennis contributing, "Rain" may be slightly underwhelming in tone. It's a solid track though, and it's accompanied with some good shots of Phil and outdoor nature pictures. Recorded at Greentown Digital Studios this year, there's apparently more coming from this solo project, so keep an eye out! Check the above links for more, and here's "Rain"!



Next up, here's some long overdue news on young Pickford hard rockers Beyond The Surface. Firstly, they've announced that lead guitarist Eli Reilly is now be their full time singer going forward in addition to playing guitar, replacing Danielle Petingalo in the band's vocalist position. No reasons have been posted for Danielle's departure, but in all fairness, she hasn't been a credited member of the band since before I heard about them, so it just took a while for official confirmation. I don't know how Eli sounds vocally, but he can't sound too bad! With that said, the band have announced their next live gig, which will be part of a "spring concert" at Pickford High School on May 17th with the school band. I don't know enough about it to call it on the SMS yet as a "public concert", but keep it in mind, especially if you live in Pickford or attend Pickford High! They're a promising young band, and I am curious to hear how they sound in their current incarnation! Stay tuned for more updates at their Facebook page, and I'll try to stay more on top of them in the future!

Thirdly, here's a pair of new Facebook pages from some local metal bands! One isn't really "new", but I only discovered it a few weeks ago, so I gotta mention it. Sault Michigan hard rockers Intrepid (one of the many Guitar Studio rock camp bands) have had a Facebook page since August of 2009, and believe it or not, we've never mentioned it here! The page tells us some interesting details on the band from late 2009-2010, including a number of very brief and often ill-detailed statuses about their next shows, which ranged from local bars to talent shows to the Kewadin Festival! I'd have covered these for sure if I knew about them, but many were ambiguous and only hinted towards potential shows or gigs with no listed venue or date. The page also includes a bunch of live photos, though sadly, no concert video footage. Intrepid haven't updated this page since after a December talent show performance, but if you wanna get caught up on Intrepid, click here! The other news is that Sault Michigan classical metal project Theatre of Night have a Facebook page of their own, and though it only features synched news from their primary Reverbnation page, do check it out, as you'll still find out about their latest news!

Fourthly, do you want some new photos? How's about some new Lion Ride photos? Some professional quality photographs from around the time of their local show earlier this month at The Rockstar Bar are now online, including an extensive slideshow from photographer Jesse Nelson on his blog Family Tree Land! Loads of photos from before and after their concert, including the show itself, are included there, which are great quality but sadly unavailable in high resolution on the page itself. To view in larger and better resolution, click here to go straight to the original Flickr feed, you'll thank me later! Look out for cameos by members of some prominent local bands and a band member's mother in the front row, for example! The other photos will be coming soon from prominent local photographer Curt O'Neil, who's done some outstanding past work with Lion Ride concert pictures! This time around, he just did a formal photo shoot with the band, I think their first of this type with the current lineup. Though the fruits of this labour aren't visible yet, Curt did post one preview picture, and it's on your left, but click here for full resolution! Nice work, I can't wait to see more, so stay tuned for when they come online!

Finally, here's a cool little custom item I've been holding onto for a while! If you know me well, you'll know that I enjoy the art of logos, be they for sports, companies, or whatever, and I try to utilize appropriate designs in SMS artwork, logos, and page layouts. I'm not a professional, but I do what I can. That said, Destroilet drummer Matt Waples, who is a VERY talented graphic designer with Sonigraphix Design Solutions, sent me a concept for a new SMS logo last month based around the one we debuted in December. I thought now was a good time to share his work with you guys, as he deserves all the credit in the world for the work he does! I'm a fan of logo concepts on sites like Icethetics, so why not inject some of that here? If I remember correctly, I told Matt that this looked great, but it felt more like a Japanese action movie logo than a metal website logo, not that that's a bad thing. I find the M a bit fat and the flipped second S makes it look like "SMZ", but that aside, it's a damn good concept, and I appreciate Matt going out of his way to make this on his own free will! What do you guys think of it? Feedback is welcome, especially with the work Matt puts in! Check out his portfolio too at this location, outstanding work on logos and posters, and I added Sonigraphix to our Other Local Metal Links too!

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

LOCAL CONCERT ALERT (The Darwin Project), Lots Of Band Updates, And The End Of SooNews.ca!!

Hey metalheads, here's some more scattered news from the last little while, but first, I want to apologize for missing a pair of shows last weekend. Apparently, Sault Michigan hard rockers Splitshot played at The Bird on Friday and Saturday, and I didn't hear about them until today. While they were announced short notice on Wednesday, they still slipped me by entirely, and I never saw the posted Facebook statuses plugging the shows, so they never got reported here. My deepest apologies go out to Splitshot and their fans, I screwed up, and I hope to be better on my toes for their next shows at The Bird! If it's any help, they'll be at The Rapids Lounge on the April 22nd weekend, so look out for them then! Now, to the news, and we'll start today's post off with a LOCAL CONCERT ALERT!!

Cheboygan hard rockers The Darwin Project have added another concert onto their local itinerary for next month, as they return to The Savoy Bar & Nightclub on Thursday, April 21st for another night of ripping original music! This (I think) will be their first trip to the Savoy since November, but they have a lot more for us local fans before then, with shows at The Satisfied Frog THIS WEEKEND and a return to The Rapids Lounge next month on the horizon as well! This Savoy show on April 21st will take place at 9:30 PM, there's no announced cover charge, and it should be a 21+ affair. For more details, visit the official Facebook event page! It's good to see The Darwin Project ramping up their local bookings, they're a talented band with lots of solid hard rock tunes, and they have a good local following to go with that! Plus, with the recent release of a new CD, things haven't looked better for them then they do now! Remember this show, and the rest of their upcoming dates, and I'll keep you guys posted if updates come in!

Next up, here's the latest updates from Pickford hard rockers Beyond The Surface, who are one of many younger bands in the Sault Michigan area! Yesterday, they announced the addition of guitarist Blake Mastaw, replacing Rhiannan Sibbald in the band. Blake will now be their rhythm guitarist, with Eli Reilly moving to lead guitar full time. Singer Danielle Petingalo is still shown in band photos, but she's still not a credited band member on their Facebook page, oddly enough. No reason was given on the band's Facebook page as to why Rhiannan left, except for saying "Change happens", which is true, but not really an explanation. I imagine this is something they don't wanna publicize, and judging by the responses on there from fans, there is visible disappointment to the move. Best of luck to Rhiannan though! I don't know how Blake sounds on guitar, but he should do OK, as the band are talented! They recently placed at a talent show at Cheboygan (I didn't have enough concrete info to mention it here), and have recently began the process of writing original material, which sounds promising! For more, check out the above links and this video of Beyond The Surface covering Metallica's "For Whom The Bell Tolls" circa January! Not too bad, honestly, hopefully some clearer audio comes out soon!

Thirdly, we'll head back to Ontario for some news, leading off with the latest updates from Woods of Ypres! Firstly, frontman David Gold was interviewed by Jonathan Keane of the metal website Drop-D, and you can check out the full interview at this location! It's a good in-depth interview featuring discussion about the Earache Records signing, their current tour (the Sault's kinda undervalued when mentioned though), the status of "Woods V" (There's a LOT more to do with it than we knew before), what David hopes for the band in the future, and more! Good read, and he's well spoken as always, so give it a look at the above links! As well, there's a few new reviews of "Woods IV: The Green Album" to share, so here's what you should know from there! Tom Valcanis from Metal As Fuck called the album "unreletingly soul destroying", while praising it's doom qualities despite not being an "exciting" CD. Positive review though, click here to read it! One more for today, as Hong Rui from The Heavy Metal Tribune gave "W4" 7.2/10, saying that it may alienate certain doom or black metal fans due to it's genre mixing, but he praised the band's ingenuity and even said this could put "bands like Katatonia to shame", which is quite a statement. Click here to read this review! I have more to share later, so stay tuned over the next few days!

Fourthly, here's some lineup news for a couple of upcoming concerts. Both have hard rock bands, but the new bands aren't metal, so I'm clumping them together. Firstly, a local band named The Night Owl Meme Makers will be the second openers at TONIGHT'S Rebel Spell concert, joining Motion Carried. I have to say, they're not familiar at all, but their sound is certainly unique! Very hard to explain, but they have an accordion and a banjo, so take that for what you will! Check them out at this location, and note that the cover tonight is now just $3 or $2 with a vegan food donation. Remember, that's TONIGHT at 9:00 PM, click here for full details! The other new band addition is actually to Turner Up's shows this weekend, which is unexpected, as we're so used to them rocking out solo! Machines Dream (formerly The Craig West Band) will join Turner Up on Friday and Saturday to open for them at The Rockstar Bar, which should be interesting! In case you don't know, Machines Dream are a very talented progressive rock quartet, and they feature Gates of Winter's Brian Holmes (pictured) as their bassist & keyboardist, so there's some metal notability there! For more details, click here, and head out to one or more of these shows if you can!

And finally, here's some long overdue news on the fate of a prominent local news site. On March 7th, you may have noticed that SooNews.ca's homepage was replaced by a lengthy statement and closure notice. According to the statement, SooNews.ca has officially been succeeded by a new local news site named Local2 (despite being their 3rd news site, LTVNews.com preceding both.) Apparently, SooNews developers Craig Huckerby & Jake Cormier have been working on Local2 for a few years now, and are calling it "the next evolution in local media." The major difference with Local2 compared to SooNews.ca appears to be a greater integration of reader contributions, with a high focus on having the local community contribute to, talk about, and edit the news, even describing it as "Wikipedia, but for local information". You can read the whole press release at this location. I do have to say, Local2's site does have a nice, clean, and easy to navigate design, if a bit plain, and I admire the ambition of it all! I hope it grows to big levels, as it never hurts to have too much local news coverage! No metal articles yet though, but give it time, something should pop up! Check the above links for more, and just for the record, SooNews.ca is no longer active, but the site still exists (sans front page), so click here to navigate all the old features and posts!

That's all for today, but stay tuned around midnight for our latest Saultites In Out Of Town Bands Profile, as we take a look at Buster Cherry! Oh, and check out our latest Defunct Local Band Profile in the post below this one as well. Stay tuned!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (Turner Up, That's Chester, And Shit Liver), A New Local Band, And A New Music Video!!

If there was ever a post on the SMS that could be defined as "packed", then this is it! Today, we have THIRTEEN LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS for the next two months, the long awaited new music video from a local metal band, and kicking things off, a new local band! We have loads of stuff to come in the next few days, including some SMS housekeeping notes, our classic weekly video (don't worry, I haven't forgotten it!), and much more, so stay tuned! Let's kick off today's stacked post with the new local band!

I just came across this band the other day, and they are Beyond The Surface, a hard rock quartet from nearby Pickford, Michigan! Comprised of area high schoolers, the band features Rhiannan Sibbald on lead guitar, Eli Reilly (formerly of Unleashed) on rhythm guitar, bassist Alec Firack, and drummer Isaac Leach. They don't appear to have a singer at present, but 2009 International Idol winner Danielle Petingalo sang with the band at at least one prior gig. Since their inception in December 2010, they have won the"Best Band" award at a Rudyard High School talent show, and according to their most recent Facebook page update, they were auditioning for a talent show in Cheboygan the other weekend. Their influences range from Metallica, Demon Hunter, and Pantera to August Burns Red, Paramore, and Evanescence, which are quite the diverse group of bands! I have no real idea of how they sound as a band (I've found no video), but they seem promising enough for their age if they've won talent show awards. No word on if they're connected at all to Joey Beairl's Guitar Studio rock camp, but I wouldn't be surprised if there was some link. I'll keep you guys posted if I hear more on Beyond The Surface, but check all of the above links for more!

Now to LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS, and we'll go in chronological order for these shows. Firstly, local classic hard rock cover band Turner Up have scheduled 10 more concert dates through March! Guitarist Robert Brown confirmed all of these dates in a new post on their Facebook group, which also includes this weekend's Docks shows and next weekend's Bon Soo 70's/80's night at The Nicolet Tavern that we previously reported. For the new shows, they'll return to The Rockstar Bar on February 18th and 19th, with shows at The Roosevelt Hotel on the 25th and 26th. In March, they have three concert weekends scheduled, including March 4th and 5th at The Nicolet Tavern, March 11th and 12th at The Roosevelt Hotel, and finally, March 18th and 19th at The Rockstar Bar! All shows should have 10:30 PM start times, none have announced cover charges, and in all cases, you must be 19 to enter. Sounds good, it's great to see the bookings rolling in for Turner Up! Stay tuned for updates from this frequently seen live act as it comes in!

Meanwhile, another similar local band returns to the stage for another pair of concerts in March! That band is That's Chester, who will return to Docks Riverfront Grill on March 4th and 5th for a pair of classic hard rock-filled nights of music! The band haven't announced these shows yet on their pages, but Docks' event page on their official website confirms these upcoming dates, so if the venue says they're on, I wouldn't doubt them! I find it odd that they list That's Chester as a dance band in some show listings there and as just a live band in others, I guess it depends who you ask. I assume these have 10:00 PM start times, no cover charge, and 19+ age limits. These and their shows next weekend at Docks are the only confirmed That's Chester dates that I know of on the horizon, so make note of them! They're a talented band of local music veterans, so definitely consider going if you can! I'll keep you posted if I hear more!

Finally for new shows, this is one I'm sure you punk fans have been aware of for a few weeks, but now it graces the SMS thanks to one of the opening bands! Vancouver punk mainstays The Rebel Spell are making their long awaited return to Sault Ontario on March 7th for what should be an entertaining night of music at Foggy Notions! I remember seeing and enjoying The Rebel Spell on Halloween night in 2006 at The Oddfellows Hall when they opened for Propagandhi, so take my word for it, they'll deliver! Two local bands will be opening for them at this show, including popular local punk rockers Free Beer in a rare concert appearance (you can see them THIS WEEKEND at Foggy's too as well) and, for you metalheads, local grimecore rockers Shit Liver! Unless they get added to a Rosie metal night in the interim, this should be their first show since January, and it should open them up to a wider audience given what I expect to be a hard hitting night of punk rock! Seriously, The Rebel Spell are one of my favourite Canadian punk bands, take my word for it, check them out! Free Beer always entertain, and Shit Liver's crusty brand of hardcore will no doubt find some fans! There is no announced cover charge, everything starts at 10:00 PM, and you must be 19 to attend. Click here for more details, and I'll have more if it comes in!

And finally, Woods of Ypres' new music video has FINALLY came out! After filming for it took place with Handshake Inc. and director David Hall this past summer, Decibel Magazine gave the world an exclusive first look at Woods of Ypres official music video for "I Was Buried (In Mount Pleasant Cemetery)", just in time to promote their forthcoming "Woods IV" rerelease! I find the song's a bit long and melancholy for a first single, but it's an epic number, so it works on that basis! The video features the band performing on what looks like the front porch of a house, intermingled with a song-related storyline including frontman David Gold's visit to Mount Pleasant Cemetery, the cliff jump and beard shaving scene that we shown here, and more. I won't give away too much, just watch it! I find that the video is very sunny and bright compared to the song's tone, and the blur effects from the band's performance segments sort of wash out Shane and Joel, but aside from that, the video works well! Good quality work, and it's nice to finally see another Woods of Ypres music video!

You can check out the original Decibel Magazine upload of this video from Viddler user shanemehling at this location, but the video is both unembeddable and private from viewing on other sites. Luckily, YouTube user LucifugeRofocale88 uploaded the music video onto their YouTube channel yesterday, so I can share it with you here! Now, check out Woods of Ypres' new music video for "I Was Buried (In Mount Pleasant Cemetery)"!



That's all for now, but I have much more news to share in the next little while, possibly tonight, so stay tuned! Thanks everyone!