The Realignment Project - "War Songs" EP Review!!

It's time for our 202nd monthly CD review at The Sault Metal Scene, and with our extensive backlog of new local album releases now stretching into 2027, let's continue our slow clear-out with a look at local industrial metal solo act The Realignment Project's third EP "War Songs"! Released to major streaming services on October 8th (their third EP in 2025 alone), this is again a one-man effort led by former Dirty Virgin drummer and Riverin frontman Matt Hicks, who sings and plays all credited instruments. Recorded locally & released through British indie label East London Recordings, you can stream "War Songs" on Apple Music, Amazon Music, Bandcamp, YouTube, Spotify, Boomplay, and KKBox (perhaps among others), and you can buy it on iTunes for $5.94, Amazon Music for $7.74, and Bandcamp on a "name your price" model. Via their label deal, you can also buy "War Songs" on CD and vinyl!

Print-on-demand copies are available in either format from ElasticStage at this link, with CDs costing $17.90 and vinyl records going for $43.90 (this does not include EP #4 "Let You Fall" as the B-side like what The Realignment Project did with their first two). Featuring six songs running for about 25 minutes, let's begin with the opening song!

The first "war song" is "Digital Sacrilege", which seems to be about calling out someone for betrayal and/or selling out. This has more of a techno base to its instrumentation, and really gives off Nine Inch Nails vibes with how Matt is singing here, though his vocals are the only real lean to hard rock or metal here. There is real emotion and frustration in the lyrics, especially in the chorus and pre-chorus, but this song honestly feels unfinished, like the electronic elements should be layered over guitar work, and the percussion is a little overdone as such. It sets a good tone to start though! The title track "War Songs" is next, and this restores the rock stylings in full while still having a distorted electronic undercurrent. Lyrically about hiding from and ignoring incoming oppression, this features ominous spoken word verses and screamed choruses, though Matt's vocals there are largely buried in the mix.

Why he made that call, I don't know, as it really breaks up the momentum of the verses, but aside from the over-processed quiet vocals there, this is an improvement in all other facets, especially if you want some metal from T.R.P.! Third is the EP's shortest song "Look In The Mirror", which is a motivational "pick yourself up and don't give up" type of song, but still intense and heavy. The distortion when Matt yells the title is a little overdone, and the structure is a tad repetitive for the song's length, but it balances hard rock and industrial well with clear passion! I'd still have varied the structure a little more. Next up is "Acid Rain", an anti-war composition that shares a lot musically with "Digital Sacrilege", in that it's primarily an industrial song which only dips into rock territory via Matt's singing. Verses are approached in a bitter yet eerie tone that slowly build into the choruses.

Not a bad composition that goes along with the themes of the EP so far, but I do prefer Matt's heavier songs in this project, which better balance the musical styles without an emptier feeling without obvious guitars. Track #5 is "Bones And Dust", which is the longest song on offer, and its lyrics are basically resigning to one's fate when things seem hopeless. Proper rock instrumentation returns here, but this is more of a deliberately paced track that milks its length and only really gets into metal territory on the choruses. If Matt ever took The Realignment Project to live concerts, the choruses would play well with audiences, but the song moves along a little too slowly for my liking despite good intensity at its peaks. "War Songs" closes with "Claim Your Dead", which is about the after-effects of the war and what the survivors have to deal with even after the fighting has stopped.

This resolves the EP's anti-war concept well, and while it doesn't dip into rock stylings at all, its effectively a coda for what came before it, with a reserved and reflective (if dystopian) bent, including heavy use of symphonics and keyboard. I do prefer the heavier and livelier songs here, but this serves its purpose in the framework of the story! That all said, how does "War Songs" compare to The Realignment Project's first two EPs? While not far removed tonally, this being a concept EP does give it a distinct vibe and message, even if only half of the songs could be called "industrial metal". Lyrics weren't repetitive, Matt is definitely using his vocals in more varied ways, and there was a little more musical freedom here, especially on "Claim Your Dead", but if you like their heavier songs (music, not lyrics), this may be somewhat lacking. Even with the overly processed chorus vocals, my favourite song on offer here is definitely the title track.

For drawbacks, I did find the first two industrial-dominant songs to be emptier without guitar work,  "Bones & Dust" was too deliberately drawn out, and there can be some uneven intensity in the vocals compared to the music. As far as The Realignment Project's discography to this point, I think my favourite is "The Frustration Sessions", but all have positive qualities and are very original in a local context, so see what you think at the above links, and I hope you guys liked this month's CD review!m We'll continue clearing out our backlog when we look at local death metal band Pillory's new album "Old Soul" next month, so stay tuned for that in May! Thanks everyone!

The Latest Updates & Album News From The Realignment Project!!

Let's talk about local industrial metal solo project The Realignment Project in this single-topic post today, so what have they been up to since we last left off with them in November? Well, on the 7th of that month, project leader Matt Hicks revealed that their fourth EP would be called "Let You Fall", which he had already finished recording at that point (remember, T.R.P. released three EPs last year alone). On November 10th, Matt confirmed both the final album cover and the release date of January 2nd (this past Friday!), with the track listing following on the 16th, notably specifying that "Scatterbrain" was retitled from "Nitwit" for one reason or another. You can see "Scatterbrain", "Where Did You Go?", and "By Myself" from that album being tracked in vertical videos linked here, here, and here from their Facebook page that same month. In a surprise announcement on November 24th, Matt announced that The Realignment Project had signed a label deal!

As teased in this video, he is working with East London Recordings, a British indie label that help independent artists release physical albums, and they have released T.R.P.'s first two 2025 EPs "Afterthought" & "The Frustration Sessions" together on vinyl, one EP on each side! East London uses a print-on-demand method from ElasticStage for making albums, which is also what Mike Haggith's MorningStar Records utilizes for physical album pressings, but I have no idea if Matt was aware of that prior. It does appear that ElasticStage's 12'' vinyl records have a 23 minute limit per side, which affects "The Frustration Sessions". Rather than drop a song, Matt opted to edit down four of its songs to fit ("Minor Outburst" alone is chopped down by 50 seconds). Keep that in mind before buying, but if you want some local industrial rock on vinyl, it costs $43.90 at this link!

This would imply that their third EP ("War Songs") & "Let You Fall" will be similarly combined for a vinyl release, but if East London does release them thusly, note that both EPs exceed 23 minutes, so expect edits on both sides. "Let You Fall" was successfully released on Friday, and if you believe promotional postings, it is "available everywhere". Definitely not true, as it isn't even on Amazon Music at press time, among other services, but you can currently stream it on YouTube (with lyric video postings ongoing), Apple Music, Spotify, Boomplay, and KKBox, and it is buyable on Bandcamp (name your price) and iTunes ($5.94). Given our ongoing album review backlog, The Realignment Project are currently pencilled in for April, as No Arrow, Sykotyk Rampage, and Handsome Sandwich all had albums that beat the yet-to-be-reviewed "War Songs" to market.

In the event that "War Songs" and "Let You Fall" get a joint vinyl release by April 30th, I would review both at once, as that would be a singular local album release, but if this was a one-and-done, we'd just review "War Songs". Either way, I'll be looking at new music from The Realignment Project in the spring, and Matt never stops, as he was already working on his fifth EP as of December 13th! Also last month, Matt was interviewed about The Realignment Project by David Oman of the British blog PlayedByDavid, where David interviews various indie musicians, seemingly all being posed the same questions. In Matt's interview, he outlines his musical background, favourite original songs, his songwriting and recording process, favourite musicians, future plans, and more, and he gives some good detailed thoughts on the topics at hand! In terms of scoops, the biggest one is that he's planning to release T.R.P. CDs.

This would be through ElasticStage (no word on if he'd be combining them like on vinyl), and while Matt is not planning on playing live in this project, he hasn't ruled it out either. It's great to see The Realignment Project staying exceedingly productive, and hopefully 2026 sees more quality music from them, so stay tuned for more from Matt soon, and here's the lyric video for the opening/title track from "Let You Fall"! Thanks everyone!

A New Local Band & A New EP Release!!

Today's post has two extended single topics to look at, including a brand new EP release and leading off, a new addition to our coverage and band links, so here's what you should know on both fronts!

We have a new local classic/hard rock cover trio to add to our Sault Ontario band links, and they are The Guilty Party! Effectively, this group is a side-project of Separate Wayz, as the two bands share guitarist Terry Eaton and bassist Jim Michaud, who were notably late-era bandmates in Soundcheck from 2023 until they broke up at the beginning of this year. I haven't rolled Separate Wayz into our coverage yet because I'm still not sure what they play or how similar they are to Terry and Jim's past bands, but The Guilty Party have videos online and they do cross our coverage line as such! In lieu of Separate Wayz singer Nicole Thibodeau and drummer Steven Flint, both duties are taken on in The Guilty Party by Brent Royer, a veteran local rock musician who has had stints with Settle For Silver, Turner Up, and Bourbon Blue over the years, and had joined Terry & Jim in the short-term & online page-less "The Band" this summer alongside their old Soundcheck bandmate Cameron Oliver.

The Guilty Party played their first gig at a private event at Harmony Beach on September 20th, with their public debut gigs coming at Jay's Piston Broke Pub the following weekend. They also rocked The Water Tower Pub on October 17th, followed by a return to Jay's over the 24th weekend, shows that reportedly had an early Halloween theme. Interestingly, this video from October 14th shows The Guilty Party (and Cameron as a guest singer) playing at Reggie's Place, despite their teased closure (or end of concert bookings) last month. Is Reggie's doing the Rockstar Bar thing by only booking private/special events now, or were the finality hints exaggerated and the show just didn't get public advertising? We'll let you know if we hear confirmation! No word on upcoming dates from The Guilty Party, but they have been playing live more regularly than Separate Wayz this fall. What can you see in the videos uploaded to their Facebook page so far?

They were filmed covering Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers' "Running Down A Dream" at Harmony, five songs at Jay's (The Black Crowes' version of Otis Redding's "Hard To Handle", David Wilcox's "My Eyes Keep Me In Trouble", INXS's "New Sensation", Whiskey Myers' "Bar, Guitar, and A Honky Tonk Crowd", and Buckcherry's "Lit Up"), Def Leppard's "Animal" at Reggie's, and Lynyrd Skynyrd's "Simple Man" at The Water Tower Pub. All have Brent on vocals except the Tom Petty and David Wilcox covers (Terry) and the Whiskey Myers and Def Leppard covers (Cameron), who also guested on acoustic guitar for "New Sensation". Did the teasers of Cameron moving to Nashville not get as far or was he just in the Soo visiting? In any event, if you like late-era Soundcheck, you'll like The Guilty Party, and even in their regular trio formation, they deliver a solid classic/hard rock mix, and Brent adds well with a decent vocal range!

Singing and drumming simultaneously isn't easy, so kudos to Brent for pulling it off on most of the Cameron-less covers! I do wish that most of these videos weren't shot vertically, but you know me by now. Stay tuned for more from The Guilty Party (and Separate Wayz?) soon, and here's Brent, Terry, and Jim covering "Hard To Handle"!

Finally, as first mentioned yesterday in our newest "Where Are The New Albums?" post, here's the latest from local industrial hard rock solo project The Realignment Project, so what have they been up to since we left off from them in late July? Well, their teased third EP "War Songs" was successfully released on October 8th! Amidst various teaser video postings about demo recording sessions for EP #4 (Matt never stops!), he confirmed that the six-song EP is available "everywhere", but if that was true, wouldn't it be on Tidal or Napster, among dozens of other services? By "everywhere", Matt means Apple Music, Amazon Music, Bandcamp, YouTube, Spotify, and yes, even Boomplay and KKBox. If you want to actually buy "War Songs" in mp3 format, it's on iTunes for $5.94, Amazon Music for $7.74, and Bandcamp on a "name your price" model. At press time, the EP isn't technically on YouTube Music yet like their first two EPs are.

"War Songs" is available on regular YouTube via lyric videos on the project's proper YouTube channel, as grouped in this playlist. As usual, I'll hold comment on "War Songs" pending our review of the full EP, which is currently slotted in for February 2026. Spades GT, No Arrow, and Sykotyk Rampage all had albums beat it to market that I have scheduled over the next few months, and Pillory's "Old Soul" (released later in October) is currently slated for March. However, given Matt's fast and prolific recording schedule, the possibility does exist that I could instead review The Realignment Project's fourth EP next, which would move it to March with Pillory in February to maintain a release order chronology, but it would have to come out by then for me to decide. Don't put it past Matt though, as his second and third T.R.P. EPs came out 3 and 6 months apart, and as of October 15th, he was already tracking vocals for the fourth EP!

Plus, he was also already working on demos for their fifth EP then too! We'll have more from The Realignment Project soon, but it's great to see Matt staying busy with new original material, so give their first three EPs a listen everywhere at the streaming services linked above, and here's the opening song from "War Times", titled "Digital Sacrilege"!

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

YouTube Channel Profile Series: aishaday, Devon Lucier, and 98Watts' Channels

After rushing last night's post due to my flub on the Pop Evil date (apologies again, look for videos from it soon!), here's this month's delayed YouTube Channel Profiles! As the first randomly selected channel this month only had one video, and the second only had one distinct file type sans duplicates, we're going all out to profile three channels today, in order for readers to find out what each has to offer and what to watch on them, and perhaps think about subscribing too! There's a nice varied mix from Sault Ontario today, so read on below for this month's YouTube profiles!
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
aishaday's Channel (http://www.youtube.com/aishaday)

Owner: Former local concert promoter and Murder By Romance singer Aisha Day

Channel Timeline: Launched on July 29th, 2006; Only video posted that same day

Channel Summary: Aisha's only video posting is of her brother Jayson Day's old band Devastation of the Heavens (or D.O.T.H.) covering Slayer's "Raining Blood" in a mid-2006 jam session, back when the guys were around 16 years old. Also featuring future Bear Hunters guitarist Mike Vincent (then Ladouceur) and current Theriac drummer Joe Bumbacco alongside Jayson on bass and lead vocals, this may be the only surviving video of D.O.T.H.'s early lineups, with only Mike remaining in the band the following year. This cover admittedly doesn't have a great reception from YouTube commenters, with the performance itself being fairly messy and rushed, but remember that the guys were 11 years younger and less experienced. Joe's work with RedD Monkey and Mike's recent solo material definitely showcase their musical growth since, but this is an interesting look back!


----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Devon Lucier (http://www.youtube.com/channel/UCPG3jM3COCsENznSkWh_eXA)

Owner: Former Crimson Crusade frontman, Dirty Few guitarist, and Pillory bassist Devon Lucier

Channel Timeline: Launched on January 17th, 2013; Videos posted in May & June of 2013

Channel Summary: A rising sight in the local metal scene of the early 2010s, Devon's only postings on his YouTube channel comprise of two separate uploads of his old death metal band Crimson Crusade's only EP "Upon The Eve of War", which came out in June 2013, just five months prior to their final concert. Featuring Devon alongside ex-Pillory bandmate Robert Sartini on guitar, Riley Marshall on bass, and Inhuman Methods alum Robert Crossley on drums, this independently-released EP was uploaded beforehand in May 2013 as 5 separate songs ("Vanquish the Tyrant", "Pillage", their self-titled song, "Left For Dead", and "Consumed"), but featured here is the post-release video featuring all 5 songs. "Upon the Eve of War" could have shown more structural variance, tempo changes, and guitar solos, but it was a solid blast of Death-inspired originals that shows why they were so promising, and hopefully Crimson Crusade re-emerge down the road!


----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
98Watts' Channel (http://www.youtube.com/98watts)

Owner: YouTube user 98Watts, an unidentified former member of the Chateauguay, Quebec hard rock band Axis

Channel Timeline: Launched on March 2nd, 2006; Videos posted that same day and on October 1st, 2006

Channel Summary: Joining a later live video of Axis playing an original song at a high school event (which isn't bad, but has muddled audio quality), 98Watts' only other upload is of the music video for local/Toronto indie punk veterans Treble Charger's Juno nominated song "American Psycho", which has attracted over 1.2 million views to date, a record for that song on YouTube. The lead single from their platinum selling 2000 CD "Wide Awake Bored', and arguably Treble Charger's most famous song, this features longtime frontman Greig Nori & guitarist Bill Priddle alongside then-bassist Rosie Martin & drummer Trevor McGregor. The video (copied from MuchMusic) features the guys playing on a rooftop, as intercut with footage of crimes, arrests, and seemingly candid everyday happenings, which the band later invades by slapping "American Psycho" stickers on everything, fittingly matching the lyrical themes. This is a fun video that helped introduce fans to Treble Charger's transition to a pop punk sound, and it's well worth checking out, along with the whole album!


---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I hope you guys liked this month's YouTube Channel Profiles! Next month in this series, our random selections will take us to Sault Michigan, namely YouTube user MissOutdoors' channel, as she has uploaded 29 videos(!) of Alice Cooper live at The Dreammaker's Theater back in 2014! Look for that on or around March 26th, and stay tuned for more news soon! Thanks everyone!

Mid-Week Concert Previews, Plus New Videos From Shaw TV!!

With hard rock or punk concerts taking place TONIGHT & TOMORROW in Sault Ontario, today's post is half devoted to special mid-week concert previews, with the remainder focusing on a pair of recent videos aired on local TV that have a metal relevance! Now, here's what you should know!

Vancouver hard/blues rock quintet Cocaine Moustache will make their local concert debut TONIGHT when they headline at The New American Pub! This "heavy soul" outfit will bring their fun live experience to the Soo for what should be a hopping Tuesday nighter at The New A during their first cross-Canada tour, and their sound should make lots of new fans for "Canada's party band", as they like to say! Though not the other touring band, debuting local "hard and heavy" jam trio Gianni Gagoots will make their debut concert appearance tonight as well, with their lineup uniting former Redefined bandmates Matt Sibilo & Josh St. Amour with veteran local punk drummer Frank McCormick. This interestingly named band will apparently have improvised hard rock and punk songs in store, but how will they sound? Be at The New A to find out! Vancouver grunge/punk trio War Baby will open the show in their own local debut, and their genre-melding "apocalypse rock" should deliver a jolt of energy to kick off the proceedings!

Note that this show was originally scheduled to be the fifth installment of promoters Six, Two, Oh.'s punk rock bingo series, but any bingo references have quietly been removed from the Facebook event page for unannounced reasons (maybe Brent's unavailable?) Hopefully this isn't it for the punk rock bingo events, they have gotten a good reception from attendees! This 19+ show has a $5 cover charge and a 9:00 PM start time, so check the above links for more on what should be a fun night of hard rock and punk mayhem, and here's Cocaine Moustache live!



Next up, here's one more special mid-week concert preview at The New American Pub, as local grunge/punk solo project Telephone & Address will rock The New A TOMORROW NIGHT as the opening act for Hamilton blues duo Frankie & Jimmy! Marking a rare appearance at the Bay Street bar and concert venue, Chris Shoust's solo project Telephone & Address will be playing their first local concert set since closing The Gore Street Cafe's Fortnight Festival, and Chris should have an entertaining night of acoustic punk originals for fans at The New A tomorrow! Frankie & Jimmy are hitting the Soo in the second stop of their western Canada tour, and their creative and experimental blend of blues originals should get a good following tomorrow, and yes, copies of their vinyl LP will be on sale! Apparently promoted by Chris, this 19+ show has NO COVER CHARGE, and has a listed 8:00 PM start time. This should be an entertaining, if low-key, night of unplugged music for punk and blues fans alike, so visit the Facebook event page for more details, and here's Telephone & Address live!

We'll close today with new videos, including something that I apologize for missing when it first aired. In late May, you may have seen references online to local punk/metal favourites Jack Spades having a special broadcast on Shaw TV Sault Ste. Marie (channel 10), with the program even showing up in Shaw TV guides, so what exactly was this? Basically, it's an extended version of their previously aired profile piece that aired on Shaw TV in the spring, as filmed by Id Iota frontman Christian Lemay, and uploaded to the local Shaw's YouTube channel on June 1st. This still features the interview clips filmed with the band (sans Jesse Cook) at The Oddfellows Hall in April, but now contains full performance footage from their set at March's Speak Easy Battle of the Bands, rather than just clips, complete with some introductions & extended interview segments. Notably, this may be the last professional footage of Jack Spades with the departed Tiffany Stocco to make it's way online, unless SooToday's Go Skate Day footage pops up with audio.

The included songs in the video are "Rise", "Crossroads", "Motorwolf", and "Negative Headspace", so click each link to go directly to the videos. The spacing on the title bugs seems doubled at times, and Jesse's absence is noticeable in the interview, but this is otherwise well put together, and showcases Jack Spades delivering a solid and heavy set at full strength, even if they didn't place at that battle! Give their full Shaw TV piece a look below, and apologies again for missing it at the time, I thought it was the shorter original getting a re-airing!



Lastly, here's one more Shaw TV piece that aired on channel 10 earlier this year, actually getting posted to YouTube one day after the extended Jack Spades feature! This focuses on local artist Darren Emond and his work on the new Iron Maiden comic book, with an unheard Shaw reporter interviewing him at his release & signing event for it at The Rad Zone on May 21st (similarly to SooToday's earlier feature.) The interview features Darren discussing how he got the gig to work with Iron Maiden, reactions from fans, and more, but this video goes beyond to show Darren's process as to how he completes pages of a comic book, as he demonstrates with his own rough sketches, and how the inker completes the colouring and shading, before getting lettered and printed. This is an entertaining look at the work it takes to draw and sketch the art in a comic book, and Darren is definitely a big talent in that regard, so check out the full Shaw TV piece below, and get your copies of the Iron Maiden comic at The Rad Zone for $5!



That's all for today, but stay tuned for much more news and notes this week! Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERT (Gnaeus), A New Local Metal Band, And Much More!!

With the first full week of June now in progress, let's clear out most of our backlogged news stories, along with two lead items: A LOCAL CONCERT ALERT for later this month, and first, a new addition to our Sault Ontario band links, so here's what you should know!

We have a new local metal band to add to our band links, and they are Kraken Mara, a new progressive metal band from Sault Ontario featuring a pair of familiar faces! Kraken Mara marks the return of former Late & Loud guitarist Brendan Christie & bassist Benn Garside after a two year public absence from local music, with the guys being joined by guitarist Jacob Valois, who's new to the Soo's scene, but used to play in the Wawa bands The Palm Trees and Exiled Earth. No sign yet of a lead singer or permanent drummer, and while Brendan sang lead for many Late & Loud songs and for the short lived Hydra's Teeth, it's not clear if they immediately intend on adding a singer. Kraken Mara have been active since at least April (apologies for the delay), and the band is apparently already recording their debut EP, as per their Reverbnation page, with bands like August Burns Red, Animals As Leaders, and Dream Theater cited as influences.

Harbouring the closest similarities with Brendan's inactive solo project, Kraken Mara eschews his and Benn's recent classic/speed metal influences in favour of progressive & djent metal, and there's a lot of promise so far on the three songs posted on Reverbnation ("Chimera" and a two parter named "Grand Machinations"), with strong, crushing, and technical guitar work, but live drums would be an asset, and the production could be beefier on the earlier songs. Very promising band to start, so hopefully we hear much more from Kraken Mara soon, and see above for more on them!

Next up, here's that LOCAL CONCERT ALERT, as local post punk quartet Gnaeus will return to the stage on Saturday, June 18th when they open for Whitehorse, Yukon folk project Old Cabin at LopLops Lounge! After a couple of months off, Gnaeus should have a strong set in store as they near the release of their debut CD "Meditations" (more on that soon, hopefully), so prepare yourselves for their garage punk originals in two weeks! Touring in support of their 7'' vinyl disc, Old Cabin (fronted by Saultite Jona Barr) should get a great reception in their long awaited return to our neck of the woods, so if you want some well written and performed folk rock, don't miss Old Cabin later this month! The other opening bands include local/Ottawa indie rock project Great Chamberlain and The Dirty Princes, a power pop quartet from Sudbury who I don't recall from past local shows. Nice diverse lineup, so keep everything in mind for June 18th at LopLops!

Promoted by Ears & Eyes Online's Jackson Reed (the brother of Old Cabin's Jona Barr), this 19+ show has a $10 cover charge, and doors will open at 8:00 PM. For more details, visit the above links, and hopefully this is a strong show for fans of folk, indie, and alternative rock, with Gnaeus bringing a dash of punk to the proceedings as well!

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

• Gabriel Pesek of the metal website The Burning Beard reviewed local doom trio AlgomA's recent vinyl split EP with Saskatchewan's Chronobot yesterday at this link. He didn't give a score, but he positively praised both band's halves of the split as "a solid introduction" to newcomers, especially compared to the tech/death metal that he's tended to see come out of Canada. Not a bad review, so give it a look above!
• Local hardcore punk quintet Destroilet's cover of The Rebel Spell's "Murderers" (originally seen on last year's "Fed Up!" split CD) is going to be included on an upcoming Rebel Spell tribute album called "Rebels Sing"! In memory of late frontman Todd "Serious" Jenkins & with proceeds going to his family, the massive 30 song compilation will include songs from such locally familiar bands as Propagandhi and The Royal Red Brigade, among many others. This is great to see, so pre-order your copies of "Rebel Sings" above!
• In a surprising find, the message board for defunct local bar/concert venue Foggy Notions (now Coch's Corner) is still online and available to check out! The forum was lightly used for about 6 months between 2003 & 2004, and features some discussions relating to local metal & punk bands and concerts at both Foggy's and beyond. It's an interesting read for local music fans who were around the scene 12 or so years ago, so check it out above, and it's now in our message board links on the SMS!
• The original crash band, Sykotyk Rampage, have released two more free "albums" to their Reverbnation page! One is entitled "Alarm Alarm" and was posted in April (apologies for the delay), while the other is "Kock Block Rock", which went up this past Wednesday. Featuring 11 & 12 songs each, these are full of Sykotyk Rampage's irreverent & improvised "blue Chinese metal crash punk", so give them and much more a listen above!
• In a new posting on local musician/Gore Street Cafe co-owner Sam Decter's blog The Tinderbox, he revealed that local punk/grunge solo project Telephone & Address will be putting out an album called "Are You or Have You Ever Been?" through his new local label BGP Tapes, which strongly hints at putting out new material from local artists on cassette tapes. It's unclear what this means for Chris' yet-released albums "Monster" & "The Early Tapes", but remember that Sam & Chris briefly planned to collaborate as a band under the similar name Are You Now? or Have You Ever?. We'll let you know when more is elaborated on!
• Vancouver "apocalypse rock" trio War Baby have been added to the lineup of Six, Two, Oh.'s punk rock bingo event at The New American Pub on July 12th! Despite being an out of town band (the show is late in their summer tour of Canada), they are currently listed as the opening act, behind the debuting local band Gianni Gagoots. War Baby's punk-influenced, fast paced aggression should be a nice addition to this concert/bingo night next month, so keep their local debut in mind for then!

That's all for today, but stay tuned for more news and notes this week! Thanks everyone!

Crimson Crusade - "Upon The Eve Of War" Review!!

It's finally time for our (believe it or not) 50th monthly CD review at The Sault Metal Scene, and for the fifth time in six months, it's of a new release, as this month's focus is on local death metal quartet Crimson Crusade's debut EP "Upon the Eve of War"! Independently released on June 3rd after their set at that night's Skeletonwitch concert, the EP was recorded this past winter at The Smoke & Oak Room Studio with producer Dave Pihlaja. "Upon the Eve of War" features Crimson Crusade's current lineup, including The Dirty Few's Devon Lucier on vocals & guitar, Robert Sartini (of Pillory & The Issues) on guitar, Riley Marshall on bass, and former Inhuman Methods drummer Robert Crossley. Copies of this EP can be bought at Crimson Crusade shows for $5, and though you should buy it to support their work, all 5 songs (coming in at around 20 minutes in length) can be streamed at the band's Reverbnation page & Devon's YouTube channel. With all of that said, let's look at the EP's tracks, with each one linked to it's official YouTube posting!

"Upon the Eve of War" opens with "Vanquish the Tyrant", which immediately opens with crushing riffing and solid bass work from Riley Marshall, slowly building to the first verse, where Devon Lucier's locally unique vocals kick in, which should instantly recall the late Chuck Schuldiner of Death (if raspier), ad they give this material an extra kick! I like the melodic guitar contrasting with his vocals in the verses, and the band are firing on all cylinders for one of my favourite original tracks of theirs! Nice guitar solo too, but it comes oddly late in the track, and it feels like it ends too soon afterwards. For an EP opener though, this is brutal, fast, and well paced, and it's a good introduction to Crimson Crusade's studio work!

One of the band's first originals ("Left For Dead") is next, which opens softly with a slowly building guitar-centric intro before the full band kicks in with guns blazing! The song reminds me of a less melodic "Vanquish the Tyrant" in structure, if less melodic and slightly messier at points, but it's still very heavy and ready to get mosh pits going live! The guitar solo also comes across as too short, and while I like the track and the displayed talents, it feels too similar to "Vanquish the Tyrant" after the intro to really stand out compared to it, especially as they directly follow each other. The band's self titled song "Crimson Crusade" (also the EP's shortest) is next, with brutalizes with a very fast opening riff and full band assault, and while it has structural similarities to the first songs, it's more to-the-point and intense, and I like Devon & Robert Sartini's guitar work especially here (despite the lack of a full solo.) An improvement on "Left For Dead" despite it's sudden end, their eponymous tracks packs in their heaviest collective work nicely!

Fourth on the EP is "Pillage", which instantly sets itself apart with chant-like backing vocals lain in with their pre-verse intensity, and Devon's vocals are slower paced than on previous tracks, helping give the song more of it's own identity, but the backing vocals just got lost when thrown into the chorus. While not as blistering of a track as it's predecessors, it has a darker feel that doesn't detract from their established sound, with Robert Crossley's drumming standing out technically, but the guitar solo seems way too short, and it's almost an afterthought. It's not my favourite track on the EP, but it's the most original so far, and the darker and slower feel doesn't cost them any heaviness! "Upon the Eve of War" closes with it's longest track "Consumed", which returns to a fast metal attack with solid guitar melodies thrown in, and it does distance itself more from past tracks with very slow paced choruses contrasting with the heavier verses, and while I like the change, the vocals never change with the mood. Standout drumming and bass on this track late, but I wish there was a guitar solo and a bit more variance to their sound than we get, but it's definitely a strong closer to the EP, and a very cool song in it's own right!

So, what's the final word on "Upon the Eve of War"? Personally, I enjoy it and think it's a solid first effort from Crimson Crusade, but there's room to grow and expand their sound. Talent wise, the guys have it, with heavy and crushing riffs from Devon Lucier & Robert Sartini, skilled bass work from Riley Marshall, and fast & often technical drumming from Robert Crossley, but Devon's Death-inspired vocals arguably give them a lot of their unique local identity, and when you hear them, you instantly know what band it is, which is nice! The production is pretty good, if cluttered occasionally, but what Crimson Crusade need to work on is varying their sound. The first three songs are all very similar in structure, and when they do shift to slower & darker pacing like on the "Consumed" choruses, the mood doesn't change to go along with it. Some live favourites are also missing that the disc has room for (like "Lost Memories" & "Here We Lay"), and I'd like to see more guitar solos (and not only in the songs' last minute), but for a first recorded effort, Crimson Crusade's first EP delivers the death metal goods, and I hope they build on their promise in future recording sessions! Buy it at their next shows!

I hope you guys liked this month's CD review! Next month (hopefully earlier rather than later), we'll be reviewing Bring The Fallen's posthumous EP "Stand Before", as released at Oddzfest 2013 Metal Mash-Up last month, and coming four years after the original recording sessions! Does it live up to the hype? Find out in early September, and stay tuned for a new news post tomorrow! Thanks everyone!

A New Local Solo Project, Crimson Crusade's EP, And New Videos!!

Tonight's news post is essentially a local metal video showcase, but it's full of big news beyond just that, so what's in store? Well, we have a commercial for a major upcoming concert, video footage from a recent show at a newer local concert venue, and all that you should know on the newest Sault Ontario metal CD release, but first, we have a new local band to introduce, so here's what you need to know (and check out our review of last night's Skeletonwitch show in the post below this one!)

Haggith frontman Curtis McKenzie has returned to solo work with a new side project named Sound X! You may remember that Curtis fronted various similar bands like Restricted Illusions & 20 Pack of Marshmallows (many with Haggith guitarist Daniel Horton involved) since the late 2000s, but this is a completely new project that Curtis has been posting about on his solo Facebook page since May 22nd (it'd previously focused mostly on his Haggith work.) He's already announced plans to release a Sound X album this fall named "Three Year Relapse" featuring a mix of older originals and newer songs (including the former Haggith band song "That Cold Winter Breeze"), and this project will feature Curtis on all instruments except drums (Daniel Horton's covering that), while Haggith drummer Mike Haggith will produce and mix the material at Paperclip Productions. To that end, Curtis has posted the first Sound X song named "Disengage" onto his new YouTube channel, so how does it sound?

It sounds good so far, nice catchy alternative hard rock sound, but I worry that it might sound too similar to Haggith originals, and I'd like to see Curtis shake things up a bit to separate the two projects musically. I like where it's going though, so check out Sound X's first public song below, and as I've added them to our active Sault Ontario band links! (There's no official Sound X page yet, but Curtis' solo page fills that need in the interim.)



Next up, here's what you should know about local death metal quartet Crimson Crusade's debut EP! Released after their set at the Skeletonwitch show at The Canadian on Monday night, "Upon The Eve Of War" does still feature 5 songs (all of which are streamable online as well), and the songs are "Vanquish The Tyrant", "Left For Dead", "Crimson Crusade", "Pillage", and the last to be unveiled online, "Consumed", with a total runtime of about 20 minutes. Featuring their current lineup (including singer/guitarist Devon Lucier, guitarist Robert Sartini, bassist Riley Marshall, and drummer Robert Crossley), this was recorded in the winter at The Smoke & Oak Room Studio with producer Dave Pihlaja, and it's packaged in a slim jewel case with cover artwork as pictured, and liner notes secured in the case (though they're surprisingly minimal in content.) I won't comment on the songs in full yet though, as I plan on reviewing this in either July or August (Haggith's "Deuce" is this month, and I'm not sure whether to do this or the Woods of Ypres tribute album next month), but it will get a formal review, I promise!

I presume Crimson Crusade will have copies of "Upon The Eve Of War" on sale at future concerts for $5, but for now, stream the tracks at the band's Reverbnation page and Devon's YouTube channel, and as we haven't plugged it formally on here before today, here's the EP's last song (on the disc and in uploading order) "Consumed", so give it and the rest of the songs a listen!



Also in the realm of new videos, Local2's Mike Caruso was on hand for last Saturday's Faces of the Soup Kitchen event at the Machine Shop building at Mill Square (the former St. Mary's Paper site), and he uploaded a video of the musical performers from the event onto Local2's YouTube channel (and as part of this article), which amounts to our first footage of live acts at the Machine Shop. The video features local cover rock band Obsession covering Vanity Fair's "Hitchin' A Ride", M.D. Dunn playing what I think is an original track, Caveman Morrison frontman Tym Morrison covering Little Texas' "What Might Have Been", Frank Bock playing his rendition of "Dream A Little Dream Of Me", and Griphook frontman Jim O'Leary and friends (including Obsession's Valerie Powley) covering Nazareth's "Sunshine", so click each link to go directly to those songs! Note that Tym didn't play solo entirely on Saturday, as you can see Caveman Morrison drummer Johnny Belanger behind the kit in the video, so there was some full band performances as well.

Though not the heaviest show, it was for a great cause to both benefit the Soup Kitchen and introduce locals to what's going on at Mill Square now, and you can catch up on more of the day's events, vendors, and sights at this location! The Machine Shop looks nice and seems to have good acoustics, and I hope we see more live bands there in the future! As for the performers, all put in good sets, and it's nice hearing a Nazareth cover especially from Jim and company, so give them a listen below! (For metal/hard rock seekers, Tym's on about 6 minutes in, and Jim and friends play about 11 minutes in.)



Finally for today, here's something a little different: A commercial for Tesla's fourth concert at The Dreammaker's Theater at the Sault Michigan Kewadin Casino on July 27th! 30 seconds in length, it features plugs for the show and where to buy tickets, along with live clips of them playing some of their hit songs (including "Signs" and "Love Song"), and though it's well put together, the voice over narration could be more excitable for a show of this size. Posted onto Kewadin's YouTube channel on Friday, I don't know if this is running on TV, but give this commercial a look below, and get your tickets before they're gone!



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

LOCAL CONCERT ALERT (Caveman Morrison), Weekend Concert Previews, And More!!

In this last post of the month, we're touching on weekend concert previews for half of it (despite this being a relatively quiet weekend for metal shows), but we also have new videos and info on an impending EP release in the second half! For the record, our Skeletonwitch preview is likely coming on Sunday, as it's a bit early to talk about it now, but we have a lot to cover for this huge show, so keep an eye out for that! Now, let's start with previews of this weekend's heavier concerts, starting with a SHORT NOTICE LOCAL CONCERT ALERT!!

Local metal cover trio Caveman Morrison are among the scheduled performers at the Faces of the Soup Kitchen Community Celebration at Mill Square at the former St. Mary's Paper site TOMORROW! Apologies for the short notice, I only just heard about this event on Tuesday, and I didn't wanna redundantly post about it twice in a short span. This is a volunteer-organized family event featuring carnival activities, a barbeque, local vendors & artists, free guided tours of the current St. Mary's Paper site, a live play production, and a buffet dinner, with proceeds at least partially going to The Soup Kitchen (I think.) Sounds like a packed day, but for more details on the non-musical events going down tomorrow, read the SooToday press release on the event! As for the musical entertainment, Caveman Morrison (in their debut at this location) are among a diverse lineup of bands performing at 5:00 PM tomorrow, including local solo musicians M.D. Dunn and Frank Bock, Griphook frontman Jim O'Leary and friends, an act named Tyler & Tyler (not familiar with them at all), and local cover rock band Obsession headlining.

Admission is by donation for this ALL AGES event, and the bands will be on between 5:00 & 10:00 PM tomorrow, with Caveman Morrison slotted earlier in the schedule (with bands playing at the Machine Shop building that hosted the Shawn Desman concert.) For more details, check the above links! This sounds like a great event and a fun way to find out what's happening to the old St. Mary's Paper site, and with plenty of local talent on hand to entertain, why not head down? Plus, if you missed Caveman Morrison after dropping out of The Crusade, this is the next best chance to see them, so don't miss this event, and for a preview, here's Caveman Morrison covering an Ozzy Osbourne classic at The Rosie!



Now, here's a preview of the other regional hard rock show this weekend (this is a quiet weekend for metal, sadly), but it has a connection to one of the bands at the Soup Kitchen event, as Caveman Morrison frontman Tym Morrison will return to The Road House Bar & Grill on Trunk Road for his first publically confirmed show there in over a month TONIGHT! Though I think Tym has played there in the interim for at least one non-public event, it's great to see his usual acoustic gigs back, and unusually, tonight's show had a lot of advance notice, so there's all the more reason to see his solo acoustic show again! Admission should be free for this 10:00 PM concert, and I imagine it's a 19+ event. For more details, visit the official Facebook event page! It's great to see Tym back at The Road House, and his entertaining metal & hard rock covers should be fun to hear in an unplugged setting again, so keep this show in mind, and for a preview, here's Tym covering Metallica's "Nothing Else Matters" at Bossy's last year!



We'll close this post with some new videos, starting with ones connected to some big news with local/North Shore death metal quartet Crimson Crusade! Two days ago, frontman Devon Lucier uploaded two more tracks from their debut EP "Upon the Eve of War" ("Left For Dead" and their self-titled song) onto his YouTube channel (and their Reverbnation page), which leaves just one song remaining to be unveiled, unless the guys dropped it from the final product. Again, I won't give detailed thoughts on the tracks yet as I plan to formally review the EP on the site, but when might that be? Sooner than you think, as the band revealed on their Facebook page yesterday that initial copies will be sold for $5 on MONDAY when Crimson Crusade open for Skeletonwitch at The Canadian Nightclub! If this holds up, I'll definitely buy a copy, but when would a review hit the site? Probably not until July, as I have next month reserved for Haggith's newest album "Deuce", but it's a guarantee for the summer if all goes well! For now, check out their self titled song below, and don't miss the EP release and their next show on Monday, with our preview coming this weekend!



Finally for today, here's a new music video from local horror punk/metal quintet Frightlight for their original "She Screams"! Posted onto bassist Eddie Fright's YouTube channel on Tuesday (ironically the day they would have returned had The Brains' show happened), this features edited footage combining numerous Frightlight concert clips and with scenes from many famous horror movies (naturally including many scenes of women screaming.) It's well made, but the breaks with audio from the movies are sort of jarring, and would have been better served as backing samples, which is something that I'd like to see Frightlight incorporate (a'la early Rob Zombie albums.) I don't know when Frightlight are coming back to the stage, but this should help tide fans over, so check out this music video below, and stay tuned for updates on their next plans!



That's all for today, but stay tuned for more news this weekend, including this month's "Where Are The New Albums?" post, our Skeletonwitch preview, and more! Thanks everyone!