Defunct Local Band Profile Series: Swampghas

It is belatedly time for this month's Defunct Local Band Profile, but with a change in artist. Originally, I had randomly selected Dafter, Michigan hard rock solo project SweetKenny for this month's profile of a past local metal/hard rock/punk act, but as it turns out, SweetKenny returned from a two year hiatus earlier this year and has posted new songs online, so look for all of that in an upcoming news post! To replace him, I stuck to formula and went with the nearest alphabetical Sault Michigan/E.U.P. band in our defunct links that I haven't previously spotlighted in this series, and we found a promising one for sure, so here's what you should know!

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Swampghas

Hometown: Eckerman/Strongs, Michigan

Genre: Groove/Death Metal

Lineup (Members not in their last known lineup in italics):

Jason Mills (X's & Y's, Life's Eclipse), vocals/bass
J.R. Johnson (East Branch, Black Market Body Parts), guitar
Doug Reed (Drayton Fever, Tarnished), drums

Audio/Video: Building on an unreleased demo in 2006, Swampghas were working on a debut album entitled "The Raco Tower Incident" at frontman Jason Mills' own Scholomance Studios, to be released through his now-defunct independent label Werehold Records. This never came to fruition, but eight videos of theirs can be found on Werehold's YouTube channel, largely of instrumental audio tracks, be they 2006 demos or new recordings meant for the album. Notably, all of the band's songs run for under 3 minutes, which was done by choice. Here's their music video for "Bog"!

Info/Analysis: Not to be confused with the later Sault Ontario hard rock band Swampgut, Swampghas originally launched in 2001 as a side project from members' then-bands, but fell inactive circa 2003 due to outside commitments, though a demo was recorded in 2006 towards a planned reunion. The band reunited in 2011 as a studio-only project, primarily working on "The Raco Tower Incident" and also submitting songs for Werehold Records' Friday the 13th new music posting events, becoming regularly featured in those through March 13th, 2015. Album plans were delayed by studio maintenance & upgrades, and Swampghas quietly fell inactive before November of that year (as they weren't part of that month's Friday the 13th event), with Werehold proper folding in 2018. As one of the few Werehold acts that was not a solo project and released actual videos, Swampghas were easily one of the most prominent things that the label had going at the time!

While all of Swampghas' surviving "backwoods metal" material is instrumental, they had a crunchy groove metal sound that got in and out without overstaying its welcome, and the guys all performed well on the tracks! Alas, Werehold artists were not known for successfully releasing albums, Swampghas included, but original E.U.P. metal bands were getting scarce by the mid 2010s, so they still stood out. Follow Jason's current project X's & Y's to see what he's been up to as of late!

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I hope you guys liked this month's Defunct Local Band Profile! We're back in Sault Ontario next month to kick off another 2-1-3-1-2-1 cycle between the Twin Saults, and next month's randomly selected band will be 2014-2016 grunge/alternative trio The Pixo Control! Look for that on or around August 10th, and for a new news post on the site tomorrow! Thanks everyone!

Swampgut - "Swampgut" Album Review!!

It's now time for our 141st monthly CD review at The Sault Metal Scene, as we're taking a look at reunited local "shield rock" duo Swampgut's self-titled debut studio album! While not technically their first "album", their four prior releases are live recordings from jam sessions. Independently released on February 19th via their Bandcamp page, "Swampgut" was recorded locally at their home studio Spiderpotty Records, and was later mixed at 62nd Chamber Productions by ex-AlgomA bandmates Boyd Rendell and Kevin Campbell. Swampgut are represented here by singer/drummer Frank McCormick and guitarist Rob MacDonald, with other instrument roles on select songs credited on Bandcamp where appropriate, while former 12 Gauge Ready bassist Dave "Beano" Barrett guests on tracks #3-4, and Boyd & Kevin are also credited for supplying sound effects.

Exclusively a digital release (remember, Swampgut are a studio project), you can buy this album at the above links for $5 or more if so inclined. As usual for Bandcamp, the album is free to stream there as well, but consider buying it to support Swampgut's work! With 11 tracks running for just under an hour in length, let's begin this album review!

The opening song's title is entitled "Canadian Shield Rock", and is effectively their mission statement about who they are & what they play. After an introduction with bubbling water, the song proper takes on a 1970s funk rock vibe with a fun, bouncy atmosphere, if not really that evocative of the Canadian Shield itself. Listen for horn and violin input, even! Frank's vocals are a wide contrast from the music, taking on an almost rap rock vibe with punk-style chorus shouting, which I didn't expect! In a sense, this song serves a purpose to showcase Frank & Rob's influences and carefree approach to Swampgut, and I can totally picture this in a '70s cop show, but fans of their heavier side may be left wanting. Next is "VoodooTranceMission", whose in-your-face lyrics are about giving someone the voodoo they want/need.

Another funk-based track, Frank's vocals here are buried in the mix, but their rapid fire nature is fun, and they do fit the music a little better here! Again, I am getting a distinct 1970s funk vibe, but the guitar work is solid, and you can tell everyone had fun working on this! For me, I prefer the opener for the more audible vocals and less repetitive structure. Third is "Middle-Class White Boy Blues", which talks of religious skepticism and finding inspiration in life. The first of two consecutive songs with Dave on guest bass, this one is suitably slowed down to better match the blues, but the music proper still has a funk layer, and everyone gets some solo moments to shine, including Frank's best singing so far! That said, I'm not sure that the funk/blues marriage was done to it's fullest, and it did start getting repetitive as it went along.

Song #4 is "Where Is My Snake?!?!", whose lyrics are all over the place, with allusions to voodoo, funk, snakes, and witch doctors crammed into it's relatively short runtime (for Swampgut standards. ) I hate to keep comparing these songs to 1970s funk music, but that is very evident here once again, and the vocals here even almost strike me as James Brown-esque?! Still muffled in the mix at times though. Dave's bass work is a nice fit, and the percussion is catchy. Not especially heavy, but fans of the opening two tracks will be right at home here! That's followed by "Lake Incarnate", very much inspired by nature of the area, and I believe some First Nations references come into play too. While "Lake Incarnate" is thematically similar in sound to prior tracks, this is a slower and more deliberate song that emphasizes Frank's singing more, and even has some rattling sound effects late.

Well performed song that takes a bit of a change of pace without sacrificing what Swampgut are all about, and it's a nice diversion as we near the mid-point, and it's a highlight on the album so far despite not being overly funky! Next is "Batchewana Baby", which is sort of a love song, albeit with a lyrical "who we are" approach similar to the opener. The drawn out opening minute hardly felt necessary, but once the song kicks into proper gear, it's on a very similar fast paced funk rock track as "Where Is My Snake?!?!?", with boisterous raspy vocals from Frank and fun guitar riffs from Rob. Despite it's 6+ minute length, it doesn't feel repetitive or overlong, which is a good sign. Solid track that fits in the album's general wheelhouse, but I'd have chopped the first minute or so off. Seventh on the album is "On The Lake", about enjoying oneself at the lake and feeling the vibrations therein.

The first song on offer that really doesn't have much in the way of a funk influence, this is the most reserved and personal-feeling song on this album so far. It's well performed, and Frank sings with conviction and purpose, but honestly, I'd have cranked the instruments down a little more and went full ballad with it. Without the loose sense of humour and funk stylings of prior tracks, I can't recommend it as strongly, but it's nice to see Swampgut expand their horizons, including with a rare guitar solo late! Next up is "Some Funk", which is the shortest song on the album and the first of two instrumentals, title shouts aside. From seeing the title alone, you should know what you're getting with this song, and it delivers the requisite funk with vim & vigor, and the guys have room to let loose despite the run time!

Ninth on "Swampgut" is "The Factory Falls", about the sudden collapse of a steel factory at the hands of nature. Vocally (if not musically), this is the album's heaviest song, with Frank letting loose with some more aggressive, purposeful singing on the choruses. That said, the deliberate plonking instrumentation is not a good fit, especially as they never vary until the last minute of a 6+ minute song. Missed opportunity to get really heavy or ominous given the subject matter. I like where it's going vocally, but I'd have approached the music very differently. The penultimate song (and last of the two instrumentals) is "Ebb", and honestly, it's not really a song, instead compiling 5 minutes of sound effects, background noise, and increasingly loud instrumentation.

That said, it has all of the ominous qualities that I wish "The Factory Falls" had, and if they had made it a little more tuneful, I think it'd suit Frank's vocals better! On it's own, it'd be a good eerie backing track in a score. The album closes with it's longest track, the near-7 minute "Red Rock Blood", which starts off similarly to "Canadian Rock Shield" lyrically, but soon divulges into a violent personal crusade against people not respecting the region and nature. This is the only full-on hard rock song on the album that has both vocals and music that would fit the subgenre, so of course, I find that the album ends on a high note! Not much of a funk vibe, but the song is always going in forward motion, and is an upbeat listen despite Frank's increasingly angry vocals. Solid bass line too, and I think this would play well in a live setting!

The song is too long for it's own good though (especially with the extended finish), and Frank's ranting can be muffled once again, but if you want to hear Swampgut's heavier side, this is the song for you, albeit with no time to spare! So, what are my final thoughts on Swampgut's debut studio album? While uneven in quality, it delivers the goods for funk rock fans who appreciate the natural beauty of Northeastern Ontario, and it's a fun album on the whole! It's not as heavy as their jam sessions could sometimes imply, but Frank and Rob know what they're doing re: funk rock jams, and if you missed Frank's work in the late lamented Gianni Gagoots, this band exist in the same genresphere, so don't bypass them. Frank had impressive moments vocally on this album and some creative range, while Rob's guitar work was a nice match more often than not, and seeing such locally-relevant lyrics was very nice, especially with such a large focus on the natural beauty!

However, there are things I'd change with this album, including more consistently audible vocals, a bit of editing on those longer 5-6 minute tracks, some heavier music where the singing called for it, and re-worked backing tracks for "On The Lake" and especially "The Factory Falls". I also don't really associate funk music with the Canadian Shield, but hey, artistic license, maybe you'll disagree. It's still a fun listen, and with lots more original music yet to record in studio, who knows when we'll get a new Swampgut album! Give their solid first effort a buy or listen at the above links! I hope you guys liked this month's CD review, but what will we be looking at next month? I don't know just yet, but here's what I can tell you. Preference will of course go to new albums (likely candidates can be found in next week's "Where Are The New Albums?" post, scheduled for next Wednesday.)

If nothing known comes out from heavier local bands in the next month or so, we'll dip into the archives once again. Our 6 month anti-bias buffer period remains in effect, so it would not be anything unreviewed from As It Stands (if their old EPs turned up) or The Bear Hunters. I would lean towards albums featuring musicians performing live in April 2021, but with the pandemic still a concern, who knows if anything would line up. If all else fails, I would pick an album based on prominence, and I have some ideas, but nothing finite yet. Stay tuned for updates, and more news and notes on the site this week, plus our next YouTube Channel Profile! Thanks everyone!

YouTube Channel Profile Series: werehold's Channel

It's now time for this month's YouTube Channel Profile, as we continue our ongoing spotlight features on YouTube channels whose content is at least 50% devoted to local metal, hard rock, and/or punk music, in order for readers to watch some entertaining and relevant content and hopefully subscribe for possible further updates! This month's randomly selected channel will be a familiar sight for fans of local metal in the E.U.P., especially at their mid-2010s peak, so here's what you should know!
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werehold's Channel (http://www.youtube.com/werehold)

Owner: Werehold Records founder Jason Mills, who's also well known as a multi-instrumentalist in numerous Sault Michigan area bands (all now inactive) that were signed to the label, including Life's Eclipse, Moss, Swampghas, The 1,000,000,000's Who Died, and Shatterhand.

Channel Timeline: Launched on April 14th, 2011; Videos posted from that day through March 2018

Channel Summary: Launched around the time of Werehold Records & Life's Eclipse's joint revival in the spring of 2011 (after both previously being active through the late 2000s), the Werehold YouTube channel would become the primary repository for new and old material from label acts, mostly on the metal spectrum, and many attached to albums that never received a contemporary paid release. Most of the 81 current uploads on the channel came from the nine Friday the 13th new music posting events held on every Friday the 13th (except one) between April 2012 and January 2017, largely comprised of audio recordings that were typically preceded with the Werehold logo and a title card for the song. A select few videos on the channel were for amusement factor and not related to local music, like this Star Wars video game parody that attracted over 1,100 views.

Why You Should Watch: This is a must watch channel for fans of Jason Mills' local music work as both an extreme metal guitarist and as one of the last major active proponents of local extreme metal in Michigan's Eastern Upper Peninsula, despite Werehold acts not being known for playing regular public concerts. I enjoyed a whole lot of Werehold's roster, even if many of the posted songs lacked vocals, and their roster deserves a lot more eyeballs than it got in it's original run or it's 2010s revival. However, note that both Werehold Records and all of it's signed musical acts have been publically dormant since early 2018 (earlier in the case of certain bands.) Also, note that this channel was not immune to certain old video deletions.

Our Recommended Videos To Check Out

Swampghas - Bog (sync up version): From 2011-2015, a prominent band on the Werehold roster was Swampghas, a then-reunited death/thrash metal trio featuring Jason Mills on lead vocals & bass alongside East Branch guitarist J.R. Johnson and Drayton Fever/ex-Half A Man drummer Doug Reed. During this second run, Swampghas was very active in studio, recording for an unreleased debut album named "The Raco Tower Incident", and in a Werehold rarity, they actually recorded a music video for their instrumental song "Bog", which was released in September 2011. The black & white video features assorted footage of the guys exploring a farm at nighttime, and there is an eerie ambiance to a lot of it if you can look past the heavy riffs. You also see J.R. & Jason jamming in a field, though faces appear to be obscured on purpose. A brutal song while it lasts, you can also see behind the scenes footage from the shoot at this link, and many full songs are posted on this channel as well.



Life's Eclipse - Welcome to the Vortex: The most popular Werehold video that is definitely focused on their musical acts is of their flagship metal band Life's Eclipse's short song "Welcome To The Vortex", which was to have been the lead single for their unreleased album "The Chemicals To Make You A Better Person", and was belated posted in July 2013. Full credits aren't given, but Life's Eclipse's last stated full lineup featured Jason Mills & Joe Semasky on guitar, Jason's brother David on bass, and Casey Amo on drums. Recorded in 1996 or 1997, this archival track showcases Life's Eclipse's pounding metal attack well, particularly with the riffs, though like most songs on this channel, it is an instrumental. If you like this song, there's plenty more from Life's Eclipse to hear on here from an assortment of older albums!



The 1,000,000,000's Who Died - Horrible Laughter (9 string song): As Werehold collaborator activity died down in the late 2010s, much of their 2017-2018 output revolved around Jason's own material, such as The 1,000,000,000's Who Died, his progressive death metal solo project that was comically billed from Isle Royale. This project was the most uploaded of the Werehold roster from 2014 onward, and showcased a more technical, intense style than many of Life's Eclipse's older tracks. "Horrible Laughter" was The Billions Who Died's apparent swan song from January 2018, and it makes great use of Jason's then-new 9 string guitar, which you can see him model in this actual video from that same winter. Jason also broke this guitar out for one preceding song, "Long Walk Upright."


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I hope you guys liked this month's YouTube Channel Profile! This series will return on or around August 26th when we return to Sault Ontario for a double profile, as the first randomly selected channel we picked only had two distinct types of videos, so I randomly chose another channel with two videos much the same as each other to round things out. As such, we'll be looking at the YouTube channels of users paperclipprojectX (featuring 4 early videos from the band Haggith) and Thelilspirit (featuring a couple of notable covers from prolific local drummer T.J. Case.) Stay tuned for those then, and for more news and updates this weekend! Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERT (Black Cat Attack), New Videos, And More Assorted Notes!!

As we continue to clear our our cache of recent news items, here's a packed news post for your Tuesday, and it includes some assorted recent updates, new concert videos from each side of the border (coincidentally, both including Led Zeppelin covers), and leading things off, a LOCAL CONCERT ALERT for this summer, so here's what you need to know!

Oshawa "death punk" quartet Black Cat Attack will return to Sault Ontario for a headlining concert on Friday, July 8th at The Rockstar Bar! Almost three years removed from their local debut at the former Roosevelt Hotel in 2013 (ironically at a show relocated from The Algonquin Pub), this explosive genre-melding punk outfit should deliver strongly in their long awaited return to the Soo, and it never hurts that Sum 41 guitarist Dave "Brownsound" Baksh is a B.C.A. member as well! Frontwoman Valerie Knox's other band, Toronto grunge/punk quartet The Anti-Queens, will open in their local concert debut on July 8th, and their strong, to-the-point punk sound should get fans going as well at The Rockstar Bar this summer! Local support will come via punk/metal quintet Jack Spades (whose frontman J.D. Pearce is promoting this show), while at least one additional local band is to be announced, so message promoters at the official Facebook event page for more details just in case!

This 19+ concert has a 10:00 PM start time, and while admission will be $10, there will be some level of advance ticket sales, so stay tuned for updates on that front. It's great to see Black Cat Attack back in Sault Ste. Marie after such a long wait (I know the rumours of them playing Jack Spades' 2014 EP release show had some fans excited), so keep posted at the above links for full updates on what should be a big concert this summer!

Next up, here's some new videos, starting with lots of new concert videos from Sault Michigan classic/hard rock cover quartet Highway 63's show this past Friday at The Rapids Lounge at the Soo's Kewadin Casino branch! All shared to the band's Facebook page over the past few days via personal Facebook accounts, one comes from attendee Brian Boswood, who filmed 17 seconds of Highway 63 covering Billy Squier's "Everybody Wants You" that night, and while it's on the vertical cell phone camera angle, it's solid for what we get! The rest come from frontman Henry Switzer's own personal Facebook page, though the videos vary in length and camera orientation. Included are covers of Kiss' "Love Gun", part of Survivor's "Eye of the Tiger", AC/DC's "Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap", Journey's "Don't Stop Believin'", The Outfield's "Your Love", the end of Led Zeppelin's "Rock & Roll", and as embedded below, Led Zeppelin's "Whole Lotta Love", so click each link to watch each video to see what went down on Friday!

It's great to see a wide variety of new videos of this talented quartet, as both a sign that they are still playing announced gigs despite their caesura on Facebook promotion of them, and to give fans a fresh look at their recent shows! The videos are well filmed, and the guys sound good, especially on the heavier tunes, so give Highway 63's new Facebook videos a look!



Also today, here's a couple more hard rock covers from new local blues/classic rock cover quartet Red & The Muscle! Uploaded to frontwoman Marisa Valois' YouTube channel last week, one is a short audio cover of Heart's "Alone", joining a pair of Aretha Franklin renditions, but embedded below is a part of a cover of Led Zeppelin's "Ramble On" from their debut concert at The Water Tower Inn earlier this month. It's a much better showcase of Marisa's strong vocal range compared to their earlier "Sweet Emotion" cover, and while the instruments are a little quiet, it's well done overall, so give it a look below, and see more from Red & The Muscle above!



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

• In some clarification on new local band Gianni Gagoots (who are opening for Cocaine Moustache at July 12th's's punk rock bingo event at The New A), we can confirm that their lineup features Late Shift's Matt Sibilo on guitar, his former Redefined bandmate Josh St. Amour on bass, and veteran local punk drummer Frank McCormick on drums. Frank confirmed on the show's Facebook event page that they are a jam band inspired by numerous genres (including metal & punk) that make up songs on the spot. No word yet on their name's inspiration, who (if anyone) sings lead vocals, or if they'll launch an online page, but kudos to Frank for the info!
• Troubled Mind drummer Mike Vincent's third original song since relaunching his solo project can now be heard at his Bandcamp page! Entitled "Six, Six, Six", it's a fast and heavy instrumental that has some thrash and groove metal elements, but the production is uneven. Give it a listen above, as well as newly mastered versions of Mike's first two 2016 songs!
• We have moved Strongs, Michigan "backwoods metal" trio Swampghas to our inactive band links due to a year's inactivity. The Werehold Records-signed band hasn't posted an online update since their participation in March 2015's Friday the 13th music event, and we waited for this year's before making any calls on their status. Relaunched in 2012 after previously forming in 2001, Swampghas are a gritty & entertaining metal band whose album "The Raco Tower Incident" seemed to be coming along well, so hopefully we see Swampghas back soon, and best of luck to Jason, J.R., and Doug in the interim!

That's all for today, but stay tuned for last month's poll results on the site tomorrow, and for more news and previews as well! Thanks everyone!

Friday The 13th New Music On Werehold Records (Part 9)

As we just celebrated Friday the 13th for the second of three times this year, Sault Michigan-area independent record label Werehold Records partook in a new music posting event for a seventh straight occurrence of this unlucky day! Fresh off of last month's Friday the 13th event (yes, two in two months), the label uploaded four new songs onto their YouTube channel on Friday, resulting in another abbreviated spread of new music, but hopefully the studio repairs are coming along! However, this month's uploads do not include new material from label acts Awaken Eidolen, Drayton Fever, East Branch, or Moss, though the latter were featured last month. Longtime fans and followers of Werehold Records should take to this month's uploads though, so here's what we got in alphabetical order!

We'll start with label owner Jason Mills' solo side project The 1,000,000,000s Who Died, whose new song is entitled "Faith Eraser". Hinted at being included on an album named "Warskematik", this instrumental clocks in at just under 2 minutes, but it delivers the metal goods with a melodic and crushing riff and a solid groove throughout! Not as artificial sounding as some of their prior tracks, so give "Faith Eraser" a listen below!



Next up is "For the Burning" from Jason's main band Life's Eclipse, which he said was "one of the original 5" (as in, the first songs that they wrote/recorded?) In any event, it's likely planned for their "Shadow Over Superior" album. Though also an instrumental, this has a catchy aggressive bite to it that is just dying for some harsh vocals to round it out! Great drum track too, so check it out below!



Also among today's tracks is "Explosions at the Ice Factory" by Brimley electronic artist Leonard LeBlanc's Palaver solo project, which has a catchy techno beat, but admittedly doesn't have the "video game music" vibe of some of their earlier songs. Quality work for electronic fans though! We'll close with "Born Frownin'", the first new song in nine months from Strongs backwoods metal trio Swampghas, so how does it sound? A demo from their planned "Raco Tower Incident" album, it's also an instrumental, and it has more of a lower groove to it without much of a varied melody. Grimy and effective, give it a listen below as well!



The next Friday the 13th on the calendar will strike in November (which will also be it's only occurence in the next 14 months), so might we see a bigger splash of new Werehold material in the fall? I'm very curious to find out, but be sure to check out all of their work at the above links to tide yourselves over until then! That's all for today, but stay tuned for more news and features in the coming week! Thanks everyone!

Friday The 13th New Music On Werehold Records (Part 7)

As promised, our second half of our feature on Sault Michigan area label Werehold Records' newest Friday the 13th new music is now up on the site! Though this is the fifth time that Werehold have posted new music from their affiliated artists on Friday the 13th, this is just the second where we can't fit everything into one post of a reasonable length, so we saved the last four alphabetically for this second post. As a result, visit yesterday's post to hear new music from The 1,000,000,000s Who Died, the long awaited Awaken Eidolen, Drayton Fever, and East Branch! Moving further down the alphabet, let's first look at the newest song from Werehold's flagship band, Eckerman metal quartet Life's Eclipse, which is entitled "Firebreather", so what should you know? To be featured on an upcoming album named "Invasion", this is an instrumental metal track that has a nice heavy riff and solid groove & melody, plus extra guitar effects and keyboard parts for good measure, and it lives up to Life's Eclipse's past standards! Give "Firebreather" a listen below!



Next is Life's Eclipse frontman/Werehold owner Jason Mills' regional hard rock band Moss, whose Friday the 13th song is a rough version of their original "Trilobite". A mid-paced rocker, it's suitably heavy and has a solid rhythm, but it's also an instrumental. I will say that it's not as rough as the YouTube description implies, and fans of Moss and local hard rock should definitely take to this track, so check it out below!



Brimley electronic project Palaver also contributed a new song this year, named "3636", and while it's not a metal song, it is dark and has the vibe of a boss theme in a 16 bit video game, for what that's worth. As far as electronic music goes, Palaver deliver the goods, so check out their new Friday the 13th song above! Finally for this latest Friday the 13th is the newest song from Strongs "backwoods metal" trio Swampghas, and it's entitled "The Starving Rust". To be featured on their long gestating debut album "The Raco Tower Incident", this song is similar to some of the other songs from Friday, but it has a slower and more straightforward sound with less frills (and no vocals again either.) Existing Swampghas fans will have little to complain about, and Jason, J.R., and Doug are in usual form, so give their newest song a listen below!



Although this is the only Friday the 13th of 2014, Werehold fans may want to buckle their seats, as there are three Friday the 13ths next year, including two consecutive in February and March, so if Werehold Records keeps up the tradition, 2015 will be the biggest year yet! Look out then and before for more news and material from Werehold Records, and stay tuned for more local metal and hard rock news and notes soon as well! Thanks everyone!

Friday The 13th New Music On Werehold Records (Part 5)

As you should remember, yesterday was Friday the 13th, and to mark the occasion, Eckerman, Michigan metal label/studio Werehold Records went on another song uploading spree on their YouTube channel! Last seen in July, this is the fourth time that Werehold Records dedicated this "unlucky" day to new music from their talented artist roster, so I found it appropriate to spotlight the material once again for you guys! In terms of exclusions, there's no new tracks from The 1,000,000,000s Who Died, Awaken Eidolon, East Branch, or Moss, nor did we get any from some of the featured artists from the September 13th installment, such as local guitarists Mike Libertoski & Scott Savoie. Actually, only 4 artists were featured yesterday, including Brimley techno project Palaver, whose new track is entitled "Jotunn" (Icelandic for "giant"), and it's a chaotic (if short) electronic number that keeps with their dark techno sound nicely, so give it a look at this link! Now, to the new songs from Werehold metal projects, and as before, they're in alphabetical order by band name!

One of the songs is from Swampghas drummer Doug Reed's solo project Drayton Fever, and while it's not a new track, it is an unreleased instrumental demo from his planned debut CD "The Longest Summer", as originally recorded way back in 2005. Entitled "Fleshwork", it's a solid and hard-charging metal number that would be cool to see with a higher recording quality and with vocals, and I really like the guitar work on this one especially! Hopefully we get some more news from Drayton Fever in 2014, and check out "Fleshwork" below!



Also among the "new tracks" is "Dreams & Nightmares" by Werehold's flagship band Life' Eclipse! From their album "Shadow Over Superior" (and one of the first 5 songs that guitarist Jason Mills wrote way back in 1995), "Dreams & Nightmares" stacks up with Life's Eclipse's other studio work with great instrumentation and a catchy groove, but it comes across as short to me, and like "Fleshwork", this version's an instrumental. I like where it's going for sure, so check out this "new" Life's Eclipse demo below!



Finally for this newest Friday the 13th, Strongs "backwoods metal" trio Swampghas (featuring the aforementioned Jason Mills & Doug Reed) were the main focus yesterday, as four instrumentals from a 2006 demo were posted onto YouTube as well! Entitled "Bog", "Eckerman", "Struggle", and "Killbilly", these were recorded solely by Doug and guitarist/East Branch mainman J.R. Johnson with the intent of reforming the then-defunct Swampghas, though Jason noted that these songs were recorded in 2 hours while "whiskey drunk". Compared to newer Swampghas material, the production quality and songwriting isn't as refined as we've been accustomed to, but it's a nice look at some early work from this talented regional metal band, and hopefully their still-forthcoming "Raco Tower Incident" CD delivers even harder! Check out the first song "Bog" below, and hear more at the above links!



The next Friday the 13th comes our way in June, so keep an eye out then for more original U.P. metal from Werehold Records, unless some more stuff makes it's way to the public in the interim! That's all for today, but I'll see you guys at The Canadian Nightclub in Sault Ontario TONIGHT for Bam Margera as Fuckface Unstoppable! $25 at the door, 19+, 7:00 PM! Thanks everyone!

Friday The 13th New Music On Werehold Records (Part 4)

For the third time (and first since July 2012), Eckerman, Michigan independent label/studio Werehold Records have uploaded a bunch of new songs from their artist roster to their YouTube channel yesterday in honour of Friday the 13th! This has become a recent trend for this very entertaining label, and 7 songs have went up to YouTube to mark the day, so what should you know? In terms of exclusions, there's no new tracks from The 1,000,000,000s Who Died, Drayton Fever, East Branch, Moss, the still un-revealed Awaken Eidolon, or any projects involving Power Slug drummer Bob Helsten (a.k.a. Orb Hearthstone), though Werehold head Jason Mills told me in a Facebook conversation that Bob was never fully affiliated with the label. For non-metal and non-local uploads yesterday, two of the songs ("Exponential" & "Pow-Wow Nightmare") came from Brimley techno project Palaver, which are both darker electronic tracks that fans of their other work should like (particularly "Pow-Wow Nightmare"), so check them out via the above links!

Another upload came from (surprisingly) an Australian metal project named Atrophyac, and they're extremely good! Tristan Close is an incredibly talented multi-instrumentalist, as displayed on the song "Mass Control", and though I don't know the extent of his connections with Werehold, give Atrophyac's music a listen at their SoundCloud page, as he's got a great thing going! Now to the local metal uploads (in alphabetical order), starting with... Galactic Alignment?! At least for yesterday, the Mike Libertoski-led technical death metal project is under the Werehold banner, and their newest song "Abort the Export" was uploaded by Werehold for Friday the 13th! Also uploaded to Mike's SoundCloud page last week, this is his first Galactic Alignment song posting in 4 months, and it lives up to past expectations for the Toast guitarist's solo work! Very fast, technical, and heavy, and Mike's considerable talents are on full display once again! Hopefully we hear more Galactic Alignment songs soon (perhaps with vocals), but give "Abort the Export" a listen below!



We couldn't go on without looking at label flagship band Life's Eclipse's newest song, so next is the Eckerman metal quartet's newest demo "Face of Horror"! Projected to be on an album named "The Dark Kingdom", the description only credits guitarists Jason Mills & Joe Semasky for the track (no sign of David Mills or Casey Amo), but aside from missing David's vocals, it sounds full and very brutal! Well paced and full of crushing riffs, this continues the promise that Life's Eclipse have constantly shown, and it'd be nice to hear a lot more from them! Give "Face of Horror" a listen below!



Also from Friday the 13th, we have a recent solo track from Mike Libertoski's former Swayze Train bandmate Scott Savoie! As you may remember, the former Insipid Brutality guitarist has recorded a number of original metal tracks for his SoundCloud page in the past year, and yesterday's upload ("Resorting to Pyre") was one of three that Scott posted in May. A thrash metal original with vocals, it's blistering and very heavy, and Scott's vocals are effective! Thrash metal fans would be well served to check out this song, but Scott has songs of numerous genres on SoundCloud, so listen to "Resorting to Pyre" below and more above



Finally, Strongs "backwoods metal" trio Swampghas ended their long absence of activity with a new song upload of their own for Friday the 13th, courtesy of their song "Beneath the Whitmarsh"! A very short track (coming in at just under 2 minutes), this song is expected to be on their long gestating debut CD "The Raco Tower Incident". It's an instrumental (at least in this version), but it delivers heavy metal goods and a raw edge for what we do get, and I really like Doug Reed's drumming on this one! Check out "Beneath the Whitmarsh" below, and hopefully we hear more from Swampghas soon!



That's all for this latest Friday the 13th event from Werehold Records, and compared to the 15 month wait from the previous installment, the next one could be a lot sooner than you think, as the next Friday the 13th will fall in December of this year! Christmas season tie-in too, perhaps? Time will tell, but stay tuned for a new news post on the site hopefully tomorrow! Thanks everyone!

Friday The 13th New Music On Werehold Records (Part 3, Plus A New Local Band!!)

I know this is badly late from when it took place, but this got pushed back and back repeatedly thanks to other posts and some personal commitments. The wait is over though, as it's time for our coverage of the second Friday the 13th blitz of new material by Eckerman, Michigan label/studio Werehold Records! As you may remember, July 13th was a Friday this year, and Jason Mills' local label made good on plans to do another Friday the 13th song upload spree to the label's YouTube channel after the success of the first one in April, but this time with just 6 new songs, which is down from 9 that went up in April, so we'll fit this into one post rather than two. As a result, there's no new material from Moss, Wearwithal, or Orb Hearthstone's solo project this time around (or from a mystery band named Awaken Eidolen that Werehold pages also mention), but there is one new artist included this time around, and despite the smaller number of songs, there's a lot of quality songs to cover as there were in April, so let's start this look at what went up for Friday the 13th this month on Werehold Records' YouTube channel!

Let's first look at the bands that either lie outside our current coverage range or aren't metal first. One of the new songs is the "seriously truncated" instrumental mix of Isle Royale metal band The 1,000,000,000s Who Died's track "Declaration", which has promise and a solid low groove, but it's fairly repetitive, and I'd like to hear it with vocals and some more variance. Click here to check it out though! Also new on the 13th was "Nameless", the new song from Brimley electronic project Palaver, and like their earlier tracks, it's an edgier techno/electronic instrumental that isn't as monotonous as other similar songs I can think of by other artists. If you like electronic music, Palaver are an interesting listen, so click here for their new song!

We'll go in alphabetical order for the rest, starting with a new (and overdue) addition to our band links, that being the local thrash metal project Drayton Fever! We hadn't listed them on the site before as their pages described them as being from both Paradise & Hulbert (both outside of our current coverage range), but their Facebook page lists their current location as Sault Michigan, and knowing this project's leader's local band work, they definitely fit for further full coverage on the SMS, but their addition was inevitable regardless! Drayton Fever are led by veteran local musician Doug Reed, who you may recognize from past work with bands like Bludgeoned, Great Bodily Harm, Half A Man, and currently with fellow Werehold acts Swampghas & Wearwithal. A solo project at it's core, Drayton Fever have been active since 2008, and have been working on a solo album named "The Longest Summer" off and on in recent years, which is based around Doug's recent life events. This album is where the Friday The 13th upload "And On With The Killing" comes from, and unlike the other new Werehold tracks, this has vocals! I like the varied singing styles that Doug uses here, but his heavier singing does sound a bit forced. That said, the music (though short) is well recorded and very heavy, and it lives up to earlier tracks like "Mary Kelly", which I really dig!

Drayton Fever is definitely a promising metal project, and hopefully Doug keeps at it so we can hear "The Longest Summer" in full at some point! He's got lots of talent on different instruments, and he puts them to good use on the Drayton Fever tracks I've heard, which is good, as pure thrash metal is a rarity for active local bands. Check out "And On With The Killing" below, and for more on our newest addition to our Sault Michigan band links, click here and the above links!



Next up is the new song from Doug's Swampghas bandmate J.R. Johnson's Strongs-based metal project East Branch! Though they still don't have an online page that I know of, this latest instrumental "haunt" is called "Hillbilly Highway", and it's a lot lighter than "Black Market Body Parts" from April. It's harder to describe than it's fellow Friday the 13th uploads, and almost feels like two separate songs, as the first 90 seconds sound much different from the rest of the song. It's well done, and it has sort of a lonesome travelling vibe going for it late, but it's something you'll have to hear to really get. You can do that below, as it's worth a listen!



Also for the new uploads is a new old song from Eckerman, Michigan metal quartet Life's Eclipse, as led by fellow Swampghas member Jason Mills! Again, we have an instrumental track here (entitled "Up From Sleep"), which is part of an (unreleased?) demo from 1998 named "Deeper In The Woods". I really like where this one's going, as it's very heavy with a dark yet upbeat vibe, but a guitar solo and some vocals would definitely help it be less repetitive, especially midway through. I've always really enjoyed Life's Eclipse, and this song definitely fits with their solid local track record, so check out "Up From Sleep" below!



Finally for the latest Friday the 13th Werehold Records songs is (who else?) Swampghas, and not just the members in other projects this time! The Strongs metal trio's contribution to July 13th's uploads is a demo mix of their song "Fistfight With A Microwave" from the forthcoming "Raco Tower Incident" album, and thanks to the video description, we now know the inspiration for that song title! Despite commenting that this was the version recorded so lyrics could be written, it's also an instrumental, but a heavy and fast paced one, and slightly longer than their earlier originals! The riffing's fast and very heavy, and the drumming suits it well, so I'm eager to hear the full track! Give a listen to "Fistfight With A Microwave" below!



I hope you guys liked this latest look at Werehold Records' Friday The 13th extravaganzas! If they plan to do a third installment of a new music blitz for the label on Friday the 13th, it won't be for a long while, as the next Friday the 13th will be in September... of next year, but when Werehold Records have new media and updates to share, you know we'll have them here! Stay tuned as well for two more all video posts tonight and early tomorrow, including our last CASS Cafe video showcase and this month's YouTube Channel Profiles, and I'll see you guys at the Rotaryfest Second Stage TONIGHT! Thanks everyone!

Garden Of Bedlam On Shaw TV, End Of Existence's New Singer, And New Videos!!

Here's one more news post before TONIGHT'S Fuck The Facts-headlined show at The Canadian (also featuring The Bear Hunters, F.A.T.I.L., and two bands discussed below), and remember that the show tonight is ALL AGES and $10 with the first band on at 9:00 PM, so don't miss this huge concert! Now, today's news post features this week's classic video, a new performance video from a local musician, and the new singer for a partly local metal band, but leading off today, here's all the details on a prominent local band's new televised interview, and how you can check it out!

Remember on May 12th when local metal quartet Garden of Bedlam played a major headlining concert at The Rockstar Bar, and indicated that they were being interviewed by Shaw TV Sault Ste. Marie in the process? Well, the band hasn't followed up on that since right after the gig, but the interview piece is now on rotation on Shaw TV! That's Channel 10 for Shaw customers, so non-Shaw customers aren't in as much luck. I don't know who did the actual interview, as unlike other recent Shaw TV pieces with a metal link, no reporters are featured, but it's still a solid clip! It features all 4 members of Garden of Bedlam talking about their formation, crowd response, their bandmates' talents and instruments, and other topics, like a good discussion of how their growth & their Kiss Battle of the Bands victory have really opened up their sound to even non-metalheads! They also plugged their albums and plans to do some touring this summer, although specifics weren't revealed. Some performance clips are also featured of Garden of Bedlam playing "The Truth Shall Set You Free", "Shallow", and "Three Days", and they're very well filmed, as you'd expect. Very nice video overall, and it promotes Garden of Bedlam really well, but when can you see this interview?

It should be on at least twice an hour through the week, and comes after a piece about the movie "Compulsion" being filmed here, but specific times during the hour will vary, so keep that in mind. It's worth checking out A.S.A.P., but I'd also expect it on Shaw TV's website and, later, their YouTube channel after it's run on Channel 10 wraps up. Give it a look this week if you can, stay tuned for it's online posting, and also see The 705 Video Magazine's photos from this show at this link! I'm curious to hear their cover of Slipknot's "Dead Memories", nice to see that on the one setlist shot, but will anything ever come of that interview that the 705VM did with Garden of Bedlam? If I hear anything, I'll let you guys know, but go see them TONIGHT at The Canadian as they open for Fuck The Facts!

Next up, local/Grand Rapids epic metal band End of Existence have announced the addition of new Theatre of Night singer Gaby Koss to their lineup, replacing Bob Helsten. In a statement on their Facebook page on Monday, the band indicated that they're beyond privileged & ecstatic to be working with her, and indicated that they'll begin formal work with her after the projected third re-release of Theatre of Night's "Christmas Night" album this fall, which she's singing on. They also reiterated their plans to change their name this year, indicating that they're "gratefully shedding" the End of Existence moniker. While Gaby's addition probably doesn't indicate imminent live concert plans (she's from Germany), she is an extremely talented soprano vocalist with backgrounds in metal bands and opera, and while this will be a change from their more aggressive first album, Gaby stands to be a clear asset for the guys going forward! That said, the seeming anxiousness to dump the End of Existence name is odd (it's not a bad band name at all), but I assume a new name will be a way to help signal a new era for the guys and distance themselves from their past work, especially if Bob had a hand in picking the old name. No matter what though, the future looks bright, so stay tuned for more updates, and check out Gaby's awesome and diverse singing work at the above links!

We'll close with new videos, starting with a new video from Eckerman/Strongs metal trio Swampghas! Just uploaded to their YouTube channel this afternoon, it's a rare look at an actual original performance from a band member, as guitarist J.R. Johnson is featured playing the guitar track from their original song "Fistfight In A Microwave" here! Filmed in different takes & angles with some humourous asides, he lays down some really good riffs here, but the audio quality is noticeably muffled, but that could be on purpose to build suspense for the full song/album release. Sounds good to me (despite the video's self-deprecating tags), but give this new Swampghas guitar video a look below!



And finally for today, here's this week's classic video! With the Fuck The Facts show going down TONIGHT, it made sense to focus on one of the bands playing at tonight's show, and Shit Liver seemed like a good candidate! The prominent local grimecore trio have been a frequent sight locally since their 2010 inception, and one of their earlier concerts had filming done for their Facebook page last year, that being the 5th Roosevelt Hotel metal night on January 20th, 2011! One video with this song from this show is already online, but this week's classic video is of the guys playing their original song "Sewer Livin'" at that show. It's got nice audio quality, but the filmer definitely did not have much of a stable angle to shoot, and the camera is frequently rattled or dips down to shoot the floor. If anything, it captures the mosh pit better than Shit Liver themselves, but they tore up this quick original song well, as usual! It was originally uploaded to Facebook at http://facebook.com/photo.php?v=495845419822 (though I've since brightened the video) and NO COPYRIGHT INFRINGEMENT IS INTENDED!!! All credit for this video goes to Shit Liver & the original filmer, I'm just trying to share this video with a deserving wider audience! This is a fun video of a chaotitc Shit Liver concert, and if you like their crusty death metal, you'll definitely like this video, so give it a look below!



That's all for today, but I'll see you guys at The Canadian TONIGHT for Fuck The Facts, Garden of Bedlam, and much more! Thanks everyone!

Theatre Of Night News, New Sault Michigan Audio Tracks, And More!!

Well guys, if you've heard some rumours or informal word regarding some big metal concerts and band returns next month, then so have I, but I'm waiting for official promoter or venue confirmation before plugging them here. Until then, we've got a new news post featuring news from a prominent Sault Michigan metal act, new audio recordings from a pair of bands across the river, and some assorted other recent stories, so here's what you need to know!

In an e-mail to fans and subscribers of theirs on Reverbnation on Monday, Theatre of Night keyboardist Craig Harrison announced that the Sault Michigan classical metal trio is planning to release a new album by the end of next month! Apparently, this will be a concept album (like their debut "Christmas Night"), only this album will have a heavy patriotic theme with renditions of American standards like "Battle Hymn of the Republic". Though not completed yet, the band is hoping to release the album with some sponsorship that will allow free copies to be distributed to the troops and combat veterans, which would be awesome if it went through! In another recent posting, the band also indicated that they'll be working with a German musician named Gaby Koss "very soon", but the extent of that partnership is not yet known. This all sounds good to me, and it sounds like there's some great plans for the future from Theatre of Night! If this American patriotic-themed album comes out next month on schedule, I'll hopefully make it next month's CD review (our third from a band with Craig and the Giles brothers in 7 months), but time will tell! Check out lots more from Theatre of Night at the above links!

Next up, here's a pair of Sault Michigan audio recordings, though both are fairly quick, so don't let them skip by! First is a short clip of the chorus from Brimley metal quartet Half A Man's brand new song "What If", as uploaded onto the band's YouTube channel on Sunday. Featuring guitarist Erik Rintamaki on vocals (as their debut EP will have), this doesn't tell us a whole lot about the full song, and it's not complete in terms of band members, but he seems to be singing well to match the song's intensity, and I definitely wanna hear the full track! Check out this new Half A Man sample below, and stay tuned for more updates from them!



The other new sample is even shorter, but it actually might be the full song?! Strongs metal trio Swampghas uploaded this 17 second video onto the Werehold Records YouTube channel yesterday, but when you take out the Werehold logo, song title, and dead space, you get only about 4 second of music! That said, the track (entitled "If I Didn't Know Any Better, I'd Say You Were Trying to Kill Me") sounds complete rather than a short clip, so maybe it's an allusion to extremely short songs like "You Suffer" by Napalm Death? I dunno, but the 4 seconds we get sound promising! Check out Swampghas' new song (though short, it may be) below!



And finally for today, here's three assorted shorter stories from the last little while, and as always, these are in alphabetical order by band name:

• Though their next local concert isn't known yet, Kinross hard rock quartet Banned are hitting the road for concert dates in Hessel & Gould City, Michigan next month, as per their Facebook page! For reference, the Hessel show on May 12th is closer than the Gould City show the following week, being only about 50 minutes from here compared to 90. Still, check out Banned's latest "jobs" if you can!
• Local horror punk/metal quintet Frightlight have released their first CD for free download via torrent website The Pirate Bay! Their October 2010 live EP "It's Alive" from their earlier quartet lineup can be downloaded for free at this location, though download speed is pending on if seeders of the album are seeding it at that time. It's an official free release from the band, so give it a download if you wanna!
• In case you missed it, local metal quartet Garden of Bedlam got some airplay across Ontario on CBC Radio One on Sunday! The Rad Zone's Paul Muncaster called in to their music series "Bandwidth" towards their International Record Store Day broadcast, where he briefly plugged The Rad Zone and requested "New Rain" for airplay! Nice feature for sure, though shorter than some other call-ins on the broadcast, but it's awesome to see CBC continue to support Canadian music!

That's all for now, but stay tuned for our next Saultites In Out Of Town Bands Profile tomorrow and much more news shortly! Thanks everyone!

Friday The 13th New Music On Werehold Records (Part 2)

As promised, here's the second half of our look at the Friday the 13th song uploads by Eckerman, Michigan label/studio Werehold Records from their roster of local bands and artists! As uploaded to their YouTube channel on Friday, we already mentioned the posted material from Life's Eclipse, East Branch, The 1,000,000,000s Who Died, and Palaver, but four more songs by four more local metal-relevant acts remain to share on here (and there's vocals to hear on most!) For the sake of fairness, we'll go in alphabetical order by band/artist name for the remaining videos. Read on below for all you need to know, and check out the first half of our look at the Friday the 13th uploads at this location, and check out the post below this one for the latest David Gold/Woods of Ypres stories!

We'll start with a new song from the Eckerman/Strongs metal quartet Moss, in what amounts to their first new song posting since the deletion of their old PureVolume page! The recently reactivated band featuring the Mills brothers of Life's Eclipse fame made this original song tentatively named "Call Me Nothing" for the Friday uploads, and though it's not complete (it's an instrumental demo), it has promise as a hard rock number! It's a bit slower paced and not as blistering as some of the new Werehold songs, but I like it's sound well enough, and hopefully a complete version makes it online at some point! Check out Moss' new song "Call Me Nothing" below, and the next three tracks have vocals, I promise!



Next up, one of the new songs on Friday came from veteran local musician Bob "Orb Hearthstone" Helsten! The former I.S.O.M. singer and ex-Clownsack/Elipzis drummer has been quiet on the local scene since leaving End of Existence in February, and while his solo project's MySpace page hasn't seen a recent update, this song is credited to him alone, so it's good to see him still doing music, and allied with Werehold Records! That said, this song is actually a solo rendition of an earlier End of Existence song named "12.21.12" from their debut album that came out in February (yes, the review's coming soon), and with this being written by Orb, a solo cover does make sense! The backing music sounds very simplistic and artificial compared to the End of Existence version of this track, which alludes to the Mayan apocalypse theories on December 21st, but Orb's singing voice is on brutal form from what I'm used to, and hopefully we hear more from his solo work soon! Check out Orb's new solo version of "12.21.12" below!



Our second last song from the Werehold Records Friday the 13th spree is a short new song from Strongs metal trio Swampghas (featuring members of other Werehold bands), and it's a solid metal number named "Struggle"! Presumably to be on their debut album "The Raco Tower Incident" (whose pretty cool album cover was posted onto their Facebook page yesterday), this is a dirty and straight forward metal track with some nice aggressive singing, and it lives up to their earlier posted originals well! I'm curious to hear more from Swampghas, but if you're in for some quick and heavy aggression, give "Struggle" a listen below, and stay tuned for more from Swampghas as it comes in!



Finally, this is a song called "Minion" by a newer local metal act named Wearwithal. This band features the aforementioned Bob Helsten on vocals & drums, along with Swampghas/ex-Half A Man drummer Doug Reed (also of Drayton Fever) on guitar, but fans may recognize the two musicians as former bandmates in the short lived local metal band Great Bodily Harm! When shared on Werehold's Facebook page, Wearwithal were described as "the half of Great Bodily Harm that decided to continue on" (ex-GBH members Kirk Labadie & Chris Leask are not a part of Wearwithal), but it's good to see Bob & Doug still making music together! "Minion" keeps on the same groove metal path as Great Bodily Harm's originals did, though maybe with less of a hardcore influence, and the vocals flow really well with the very heavy riffing! Solid first track from Wearwithal, and hopefully we hear more from them soon, so check out their song "Minion" below!



I hope you guys enjoyed the songs and postings from Werehold Records' Friday the 13th blitz of new material! I needed two posts to do the wide array of bands' and songs justice, and hopefully these acts are gaining some more fans and attention as a result! That's all for today, but stay tuned for more news, last month's poll results & this month's new poll, and much more shortly! Thanks everyone!