The Full Recap Of Mike Haggith's Newest #LockdownLive Concert!!

Single-post topic to end the weekend with, as local/Thompson, Manitoba solo artist Mike Haggith live-streamed his twelfth #LockdownLive concert onto his Facebook page last night! This episode was subtitled "The Windsor Connection", and was centered around his band output in the late 2000s before enrolling in college in the Soo. We did discuss some of his Windsor bands on the SMS way back when in our old series on out of town bands from local musicians, but a lot of this aspect of Mike's career will be foreign to many readers. If I can source relevant links to the bands and songs on offer, I will let you know! After outlining the contest where the winner with the most engaged share of the video picks the mandatory cover for next week, Mike opens by playing "I Love You Anyways", which he famously wrote in a dream at the age of 6, before including it in two of his Sault-era albums, early Din setlists, and in #LockdownLive III a few months ago.

Afterwards, Mike calls a special guest, namely Dylon Rabidoux, who fronted his 2005-2012 stoner rock band S.C.A.R. (short for Sick, Carnivorous, And Rebellious), and the guys reminisce on the good old days, including lots of discussion about their last album, 2010's "13th Circle Of Hell". Once Dylan hangs up, Mike dives into S.C.A.R.'s songs "Green Peace" & "Quiet, It's The Rainforest" (with surprise Bob Dylan pastiche at the end), a mash-up of Eazy-E's "Boyz-N-The-Hood" & "Nobody Move" that they amusingly played live (as inspired by Windsor's Daniel Rush Band), and their original "Fraction Of A Second". If you are curious, you can hear the three above original songs on S.C.A.R.'s Facebook page in studio and/or live form. Next, Mike moves to his 2010 alternative/experimenal rock band The Thorns, who gave us his next song, "As Memories Fade Away", which Mike re-recorded solo on 2011's "Suspended Animation", and you may have heard on #LockdownLive VI.

Similarly to his chat with Dylon earlier, Mike calls his old Thorns bandmate Jeff Morrell, who played bass in that group, while Mike was on lead vocals & rhythm guitar. We get lots of reminiscing about their band work and high school once again, but there is an odd break in the show when Mike has to retrieve his cat Luna from an excursion to his apartment's laundry room, deal with his neighbour's dog Chico, and then find his other cat Artemis! Once that seven minute intermission concludes, Mike returns to #LockdownLive proper, where he performs the Thorns originals "A Quarter Mile At A Time" and "A Nightmare On Reed Street", the latter prefaced by a story of him getting the actual Reed Street sign from drummer Tyler Colley when he went back to Windsor for Christmas in 2014. The latter song is on The Thorns' Soundclick page, but not the former, despite 32 songs being uploaded there. He closes this section by summing up this band's short but eventful lifespan

The final Windsor band looked at here was Mike's 2007-2009 rock band The Air, who are very obscure for social media and surviving online materials nowadays. Mike performs their original songs "The Alberta Cheese Wagon" (yes, he explains the title), a shortened version of "Clockwise", and "Exit" to wrap up his look at his hometown bands. Mike ends the show by covering Elton John's "Your Song", as nominated by last week's share contest winner Brandi Martel, and given that this was a straight-forward, sincere choice not meant to troll Mike, we do get a pleasant, non-jokey rendition here. It's up to you to determine what approach you prefer, but he handles this cover very nicely! Mike gave closing remarks afterward to sum up each band in hindsight, hyped #LockdownLive XIII this coming Saturday, which will be his "quarterly report" episode looking back at the first 12 episodes.

Strong and informative #LockdownLive installment, especially if you weren't familiar with his Windsor music, and you do hear the potential that he'd carry into his local and Thompson solo and band work! Of course, much of this music is not representative of his maturity and talents nowadays, but I think he picked some good songs here! That said, could we get another #LockdownLive episode devoted to one of Mike's old bands again, perhaps The Strange Coyotes or the acid jam-era Din? Give #LockdownLive XII a watch below, and stay tuned for more news this week! Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERT (Bizotic), An Inactive Band Note, And New Out-Of-Town Concert Videos!!

In our last news post of the month, here's some all-Canadian news and notes in advance of Canada's 150th birthday next week! Along with some recent concert videos from out of town events involving local bands, we have a note on a move out of our active band links, and first, a LOCAL CONCERT ALERT for next month, so here's what you should know!

Local indie/hard rock quartet Bizotic will make their Gore Street Cafe debut on Friday, July 21st when they play alongside two touring pop bands from Victoria, British Columbia! The bands in question are "lazy pop" quintet Bridal Party (whose laid back indie-pop originals should fit the laundromat well) and Bright Boy (a more dream-like "shoegaze" group who should provide some interesting material of their own next month), so check out both acts to see what you think in advance! Bizotic will provide some extra heaviness and alternative stylings as the local featured attraction, and fresh off of last night's Deathsticks show, hopefully they can continue to ride the forward momentum at the cafe in three weeks' time! Note that Bizotic are actually billed first on the Facebook event page, but so are every local band on the Bridal Party/Bright Boy tour for other stops, so I'm not sure if they're playing first or last. In any event, this is an ALL AGES & "pay what you can" event with a 7:00 PM start time. See above for more details!

Next up, we have a band to move to our inactive band links due to a year's inactivity, they being local/Toronto celtic punk quartet Dustin Jones & The Rising Tide. Now, this is by no means an assumption that they're defunct, especially given members' busy personal lives and outside musical projects, but they have not issued a public statement or played live since opening for Hedley one year ago tomorrow at The Yard, and I have to keep our links current (also, that show is the only public local concert that they've played since August 2015.) Upon their launch in 2007, The Rising Tide united Inner City Surfers frontman Dustin Jones with the violin & stand up bass-wielding Jaaskelainen brothers (of Boot Hill Crooners & Wild Turkeys fame) and a rotating array of drummers, and they quickly became a fan favourite attraction locally and on the road with their unique brand of punk rock, which also saw them release three albums and even rock the Vans Warped Tour.

Dustin and company have been a reliable and original band with a solid reputation over the past decade, and they managed to make punk rock work with ease alongside a violin and stand-up bass! I don't think The Tide are 100% done, and would not be surprised when they announced a return show, but in the meantime, best of luck to Dustin, Sheldon, Marshall, Mikey, and their other former/live drummers in the future, and follow Tidal Records and Mission Control Studios for Dustin's recent work in local music production and promotion, as he's been busy on some great stuff!

We'll close today with a pair of new concert videos from local bands on tour, starting with one from local alt-punk quartet A Dire Setback's out-of-town debut at The Asylum in Sudbury this past Sunday! Filmed by frontman Larry Babic's wife Karen for her personal Facebook page, she has more from this concert, but this video is the only one that the band shared publically onto their own Facebook page the following day. The video features the guys playing their original song "Everlasting Despair" from a good central angle of the stage, and while it's of very solid quality, venue lighting gives everything a blue/green tint. Also, it's worth noting that they're on the front cover of the current issue of Sault This Week, via this photo taken by Ali Pearson at last week's Go Skateboarding Day concert, with skater Mika Lindback grinding the ramp as well. Nice to see A Dire Setback get some visual play on one of our local newspapers, so check out the photo on the cover of this week's issue, and give their Sudbury concert video a look below!



Finally, here's a new video that only just surfaced from local doom metal trio AlgomA's headlining concert in Windsor a year and a week ago! Filmed by attendee Nancy King, this was only just publically shared by guitarist Boyd Rendell on Wednesday onto the Facebook event page for the Uncle Ray concert at The New A in two weeks that AlgomA are opening. There is synergy afoot here, as Uncle Ray opened for AlgomA at The Windsor Beer Exchange during that stop of AlgomA's 2016 summer tour, but now the roles are reversed as Uncle Ray travel north! The video in question was live streamed by Nancy at the time, but re-posted by Boyd this week, and it features AlgomA playing their songs "Extinct Volcanoes" & "The Longest Swim" (well, the first chunk), but it sill adds up to over 13 minutes of crushing sludge metal to kick off their set that night! Inconsistent lighting but solid audio and a nice close vantage point, though unfortunately, it's privacy settings mean that it can't be embedded on external websites, even though it's publically available on Facebook.

Until/unless that's changed, I can't embed it here, but give it a look at this link if you want to see AlgomA live in Windsor last year! That's all for now, but stay tuned for this month's CD review next! Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERT (Tribune), The Return Of State Of Misery, And New Videos!!

The news keeps coming in, so today's news post is packed with stories, including a LOCAL CONCERT ALERT for next month, a confirmed band reunion, new songs from Half A Man, and this week's classic video, so read on below for what you need to know, and check out this month's Saultites In Out Of Town Bands Profile on Winter of Silence in the post below this one!

A big metal concert has been announced for May 13th, in what is Dismembertainment's first concert since the Ypres Metal Fest and second of 2012! This show will feature two notable band returns after long live hiatuses, but this Sunday nighter at The Canadian Nightclub will be headlined by Vancouver death/thrash quintet Tribune! You may remember them as the headliners of the 31st Rosie metal night in September, and their local return 8 months later should bring some brutal face melting metal to The Canadian and local metalheads! Very aggressive mix of genres, you won't wanna miss them next month! There will be two local opening bands, including the long awaited return of the local hard rock band Borderline Divine, who'll be playing their first show since last year's name change from Stillbroke on May 13th! Also debuting their current lineup and originals for this show, it'll be good to see these guys for the first time in over 2 years next month, especially following the cancellation of the Music Mayhem show they were gonna be in a few weeks back! The other local opening band is the reunited State of Misery, but we'll get to them in a second, as there's more new stuff to say on their front.

Doors open at 9:00 PM for this show, there'll be a $7 cover charge (no word on advance tickets yet), and like the Ypres Metal Fest, it will be an ALL AGES concert! For more details, visit the official Facebook event page! This sounds like a great concert with lots of talent and some big returns, so definitely check out all the bands and circle this show on your calendars! I definitely don't wanna miss it!

As for State of Misery, the hints on their Facebook group are true, as the local death metal band have officially reunited for a second time! You'll no doubt remember them fondly from their initial 7 month run from November 2010 to May 2011, but their opening slot at the May 13th Tribune concert will mark both their Canadian Nightclub debut and their first live concert in over one year! According to the band's brand new Facebook page (their old one was deleted late last year during their second breakup), the original State of Misery lineup has reunited for their current incarnation, including The Valentine's Day Massacre's Steve Rhodes on vocals, Social Suicide's Ray Cowan on guitar, Kevin D'Orazio back on the bass, and Nick Kainula on drums. Ex-bassist Devon Overman (who played with the band last spring and during their brief late-2011 reunion) does not appear to be back in the fold, though I'm not sure why he's not back. It's about time that State of Misery reunited (again), as they were one of the fastest rising local metal bands in early 2011, and their breakups were disappointing for sure! Time will tell how far State of Misery go in this third incarnation, but hopefully they pick up where they left off last May, so go see them next month at The Canadian!

Also in the news, Brimley metal quartet Half A Man have kept busy with two new original song uploads onto their YouTube channel! One is a full version of their new original song "What If", though it's not from the studio copy that the chorus sample came from on Sunday, instead being a live version that they recently recorded and uploaded yesterday. It's very promising and has a Black Label Society vibe, though Erik Rintamaki's vocals are extremely quiet in the mix, so turn it up to get the full onslaught. In case this is going on their debut EP, I'll hold full opinions on it for now, but click here to check it out! Embedded below though is the newest of yesterday's uploads, that being another new original named "Reborn"! Like "What If", it features Erik on vocals, and it appears to be a live recording with the same or similar equipment, but it has a bit of a faster pace with some good aggression! Again, I'll hold opinions until it gets a proper release, but Half A Man's promise continues, so check out the newest songs (and more) at the above links, with "Reborn" below!



And finally, here's THIS week's classic video! We made up last week's lost ground, but what video are we posting to represent this week? Given the extremely light concert weekend for metal shows, I'm dipping into the archives again, and given their mathematical tie at the Humane Society battle, it made sense to focus on As It Stands this week out of fairness to the results! This comes from the prominent local hardcore quintet's headlining show at The Coach & Horses in Windsor on March 26th, 2011, from which we've already featured a video of them playing "Conception" in this series last month. This time however, it's of As It Stands playing their original song "One Less Than Wayne Gretzky", and like the "Conception" video, it was filmed by attendee Jo-Ann Chayka and posted to Facebook afterwards. The same video quality issues prevail here, as it sounds pretty good, but the interior lighting makes the entire video look extremely red and dark, which is hard to correct using YouTube's video edit tools. It's a solid video though of an entertaining original you don't hear as much in As It Stands' recent setlists, so it's definitely worth checking out! The original video can be seen at http://facebook.com/photo.php?v=10150203284478274.

NO COPYRIGHT INFRINGEMENT IS INTENDED!! All credit for this video goes to As It Stands and Jo-Ann, I'm just trying to share it with a wider audience like it deserves! This is another good performance from one of the area's best metal bands (video quality notwithstanding), so check out this video of As It Stands in Windsor last year below!



That's all for today, but stay tuned for more news and notes shortly, along with our review of End of Existence's debut album by the end of the month! Thanks everyone!

Woods Of Ypres & David Gold Tribute News, Reviews, And Fallout!!

It's been a few days since we devoted a full post to fallout and news related to local doom metal notables Woods of Ypres and their late frontman David Gold, and with more stuff to mention and give promotion to, I thought we should compile everything into another post! So today, we've got news on a cool tribute to David that you can help with, the latest details on the David Gold tribute CD, some new videos from the tribute show in Toronto, and the latest reviews of "Woods V", so here's what you need to know! (Edited at 12:57 AM)

First, here's some details on a tribute to David that's in the works, and how you can help. Former Woods of Ypres singer Robin Cross is spearheading a project (with the Gold family's blessing) that would see a memorial tree and plaque planted in Optimist Park in Windsor (the band's original home from the early 2000s.) This was the "woods of Ypres" that inspired David's work and the band's name, and Robin said that he can think of no more appropriate way to remember him. This already sounds like a great project to honour David's memory, but if you want to help, Robin is accepting donations to cover the cost of the tree & plaque, which will total at over $600. If you're interested in donating to help fund this project at the original woods of Ypres in Windsor, you can send money via PayPal to robindcross@hotmail.com or via check or well concealed money to the address found at Robin's post on the David Gold's Legacy Facebook page. I hope this takes off, because it sounds like a great and fitting tribute to David's memory and Woods of Ypres, and from what I've seen, Optimist Park looks like a very nice spot for the tree to be planted (and very fitting given it's personal connections!) Kudos to Robin for planning this tribute project, and hopefully you guys can donate for the cause! Check the above links for more details!

Also in David Gold related news: the David Gold tribute CD is still in the works, and an updated track listing is now up for the project! "A Heart Of Gold: A Tribute To Woods of Ypres" has changed a lot since it was first announced for it's band listings, but at least 18 tracks are confirmed for it at present, via this handwritten photo by Steph LeDrew, who's helping in the album's organization. Though not final, you'll notice bands like Novembers Doom, Gypsy Chief Goliath, Panzerfaust, Pagan Ritual, and Eclipse Eternal from the local and Toronto David Gold tribute concerts on the track listing, and though most of them are scheduled to do their Woods of Ypres covers from the tribute shows, Gypsy Chief Goliath are listed to cover "Shards of Love (Hurt Forever) with Woods of Ypres' Joel Violette & Rae Amitay, who did the song live with GCG frontman Alex Petrovich at the Ypres Metal Fest. Also of note: according to comments on the above setlist picture, Joel & Rae were also confirmed to cover "Silver" from "Woods V", which they performed at the local memorial show by themselves. That'd be interesting to hear again! If you're interested in an early taste of the album, Will Bozarth's acoustic cover of "Finality" was posted online at this location to stream, though note that it's an early instrumental demo. Sounds good so far!

Things seem to be shaping up well for the album, and there's some interesting covers planned for sure, though I wonder if fellow recent Woods of Ypres member Brendan Hayter will be factored in to Joel & Rae's planned songs on the album? The other note I had on this tribute album was that there are some tentative plans to have some sort of a local connection towards it. As revealed last week in a post on our Facebook page, Steph LeDrew had a proposition for bands from Sault Ste. Marie to submit material towards the tribute album, and if you're interested in more details, to contact her on Facebook at this location. From what I understand, she's looking for local musicians to contribute to a cover of "The Ghost of Summer's Past" for the album, which potentially sounds very cool, so contact Steph if you wanna be a part! I've heard rumblings about some other possible local participation, but nothing has officially been confirmed yet towards any local bands being on "A Heart of Gold". Hopefully we hear something though, as the local bands at the Ypres Metal Fest did a solid job with their covers, and it'd be cool to hear some of them in studio form! Check the above links for all the current details on the David Gold tribute album, and click here for all the newest updates via the album's Facebook group!

Let's close today's post with a bunch of new reviews of Woods of Ypres' final recorded studio album "Woods V: Grey Skies & Electric Light", which is nearing it's full North American release beyond just the tribute concerts and online stores! There's much more than just these, but I'm admittedly overdue. On April 3rd, Atanamar Sunyata from the website Metal Injection gave "Woods V" a 9.4 out of 10, calling it a logical progression from "Woods IV", a reflection of David Gold's spirit, and "an indelible, infectious sign of his craft", though some minor criticisms were given for David's attempts to sing too low. Solid review, so check it out at this location! Also, a recent review by Todd Lyons of About.com Heavy Metal saw "W5" gain 4.5 stars out of 5. He called it "an elegy for a lost prodigy" and a "harrowing experience", while going into nice detail on the album and events surrounding it, even calling "Kiss My Ashes (Goodbye)" a lost Type O Negative creation! Very nice review in it's own right, so click here to give it a look! Another review came from Zach Duvall of the site Metal Review, where he gave "Woods V" 9.5 out of 10. In a lengthy and well written review, he called the album "a near masterpiece" among other deep praise for the songwriting and music, including a nice view that this album is a celebration of life rather than a damnation of it. Another really good review, and well detailed, so click here to check it out!

Another new-ish review came from the editor at MetalAlbumReviews.com in January, who gave "W5" 4.5 stars out of 5, and though he didn't recommend it for people who don't like being emotionally compromised, he called it "almost perfect" and as containing "the kind of doom metal I want to hear." Overly positive (though short) review, and you can tell how much he liked "Woods V", so give it a look by clicking here! Also, Ryan Neal from the website OneMetal.com gave this album a 4 out of 5 in a review from last month, and though he used an outdated band photo, he complimented the album as having a "strikingly original brand of doom metal", while praising it's melodic qualities and somber elements. Nice review overall, so check it out at this location! Finally for this batch of "W5" reviews, "Facundo" from the website Metal Blast gave this album a perfect 5/5, calling it the best album he's heard so far this year and "an opus in the truest sense", though he says you need an open mind to listen to it, and it is the perfect fit for only specific people. I like his connections to other examples in this review, and it's a nice and highly complimentary review for sure, so click here to check it out, and stay tuned for more "Woods V" reviews soon, hopefully!

That's all for now, but stay tuned for the second half of our profile of the Friday the 13th song uploads from Werehold Records later today! Thanks everyone!

Saultites In Out Of Town Bands Profile: Constructed Apocalypse

It's time for our next Saultites In Out Of Town Bands Profile, and third-last feature post of March 2012! In our 34th profiled band in this series, we're looking at another notable band from out of town who featured a Sault Ontario/Michigan resident in their past or present lineups, and you may remember this one well from some recent all ages shows in the area! Now, I don't have as much on this band's past lineups and details as some other recent profiled bands in this series, so please let me know if you can fill in any blanks! For now, enjoy this month's Saultites In Out Of Town Bands Profile! (Updated on November 26th, 2014)
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Constructed Apocalypse (Windsor, Ontario)

Lineup: (Saultites in RED; members not in their last full lineup in italics. This lineup information is incomplete. E-mail me at robertfigures@outlook.com if you have any additions or corrections!)

Vince Donaghey (vocals/ex-bass)
Roberto Gasparin (guitar)
"Moose Knuckle" (bass)
Sean Furlong (drums)

Steve Giroux (vocals)
Jeremy Hannah (vocals)
Matt Shearer (vocals)

Spencer ???? (guitar)
Josh ???? (bass)

Official MySpace page: http://www.myspace.com/constructedapocalypse
Official MySpace page (original): http://www.myspace.com/destructivepattern

Local Info: Only one Saultite has been in Constructed Apocalyse's lineups, that being local musician and concert promoter Jeremy Hannah. Currently well known for fronting the acoustic indie band The North Shore and for running his live music company Pure Sonic Audio, Jeremy might be best known in local music circles for his mid-late 2000s run as a local concert promoter with Big Voiced Records, including shows that Constructed Apocalypse has played on. Jeremy has also gained local notice as a singer and guitarist with bands here and in Ottawa like Ocean View, but he has sang more aggressive metal material in bands like March Into Regression, Lorax, and the band that preceded it, Constructed Apocalypse!

Band Bio: Formerly known as Destructive Pattern and Emphasis on Khrysis, Constructed Apocalypse were a hardcore band from Windsor, Ontario that were active between 2003 and 2010 under varying lineups, with only drummer Sean Furlong participating in each incarnation. Details on their runs under their old names are sparse, but they evolved from a jam band to a serious touring band with original songs, and were seen in Sault Ontario at The Oddfellows Hall on at least two occasions. Playing an experimental death metal style, Constructed Apocalypse opened for bands like Dead & Divine and Today I Caught The Plague during their late 2000s peak, among other local and Southern Ontario dates. Jeremy Hannah's run with the band isn't well documented, but he sang with them from at least 2008-early 2009, including on at least one local show, before being replaced by Matt Shearer. Constructed Apocalypse quietly went inactive in early 2010, with Sean and bassist Moose Knuckle launching the popular hardcore band Burn The Path as their next musical project, which has since splintered off into active Southern Ontario bands like Beastmode and Reasons Lost.

There isn't a lot of full band material to judge Constructed Apocalypse with, but from what I do have, I sense some good talent! They had a solid developing death metal sound with some nice riffing and some good effective drumming from Sean Furlong, but the recordings available online aren't of the highest quality. The originals I've heard need more vocals, guitar solos, and more of a technical element than their bios lead you to believe, but they were definitely on the right track! Their only posted song with vocals ("Venereal Disease") is a good step, but Steve Giroux's singing is too loud in the mix. I'm also curious to hear how they'd have sounded with Jeremy on vocals, especially given his more-hardcore singing style. From what I've heard, I can say that Constructed Apocalypse were a talented young band, but Burn The Path and the bands that succeeded them have advanced their sound and talent levels even higher in my opinion!

For media, there's two demos of Constructed Apocalypse on their MySpace page, but drummer Sean Furlong's YouTube channel has the most band material, including 4 live instrumental jam videos from mid-2009 and a lot of solo performance videos, mostly of Sean drumming their original tracks. Here's their original song "Eradication", but see and hear much more from Constructed Apocalypse at the above links!


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There we go, hopefully you guys liked this month's profile! Next month, we're likely looking at our first solo project in this series in 10 months, that being the Southern Ontario black metal project Winters of Silence, fronted by current Sault College student Ryan DeWinter! Look out for our next profile in this series between April 23rd and 29th, so keep an eye out, and stay tuned for a new news post later today! Thanks everyone!

Saultites In Out Of Town Bands Profile: NeanderTHRALL

It's time once again for this month's Saultites In Out Of Town Bands Profile, our first of two special feature posts this week! This month, we're looking at another band from a prolific Saultite who's carving his name in the Windsor music scene in numerous bands, and they definitely deserve some local attention! Remember, this series details bands and projects featuring at least one Sault Ste. Marie-area native, though the band itself isn't from here. So I hope you guys enjoy this month's profile in this series, but of course, if I have any mistakes or omissions you'd like to see addressed, please tell me! (Updated on November 26th, 2014)
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NeanderTHRALL (Windsor, Ontario)

Lineup: (Saultites in RED; ex-members in italics) 

Kris Kerr (vocals/guitar)
Paul Maricic (lead guitar)
Ash Richtig (bass/formerly drums)
Mike "Mihilo John" Kryworuchko (drums)

Alex Petrovich (vocals/rhythm guitar)
Chris Wilkins (vocals/rhythm guitar)
Kyle Paulton (bass) 

Official MySpace page: http://www.myspace.com/neanderthrall
Official Facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/neanderthrall
Official Reverbnation page: http://reverbnation.com/neanderthrall
Official YouTube channel: http://youtube.com/neanderthrallwindsor
Official Twitter page: http://www.twitter.com/neanderthrall

Local Info: The only Saultite in NeanderTHRALL is drummer Ashley Richtig, a Sault Ontario native who's become a frequently seen sight in the Windsor music scene for his drumming and bass talents! I don't know much about Ash's local music background, but he's definitely from here, and his local roots are evident on his online pages! Now in Windsor, he's best known as drummer for the punk influenced metal band The Heatseeking Moisture Missiles, but can also be seen on bass & drums in bands like Repetitions, The Line Drawn, and of course, as in NeanderTHRALL!

Band Bio: Formed in October 2010, NeanderTHRALL is a side project from 3/4ths of The Heatseeking Moisture Missiles that allows them to try some different genres in their spare time, namely sludge and stoner metal, as influenced by bands like Black Sabbath, The Melvins, and Kyuss. The band enlisted Gypsy Chief Goliath frontman Alex "The Yeti" Petrovich the next month to round out their lineup, and have mostly focused on jamming and recording original material since. Seven original songs, all with "thrall" (a term for slaves in the Viking age) in the title, have been posted on their internet pages, although only one currently features vocals. NeanderTHRALL finally debuted at The Coach & Horses in Windsor on August 4th as the opening band for Gypsy Chief Goliath's headlining concert that night, though just two months later, Alex was replaced by Davis Block frontman Chris Wilkins, who debuted with the band on October 30th, but departed the following year. After a quiet 2012, NeanderTHRALL returned in 2013 with a new Isis-inspired sound and new songwriting plans, so stay tuned for updates!

If you like stoner and sludge metal, you'll enjoy NeanderTHRALL! The posted songs all have that raw unpolished sound coupled with some heavy grooves and catchy rhythms, giving us a sound we don't hear enough of! Alex Petrovich's vocals perfectly suited the songs we heard from their original lineup with many low tones and punk-tinged sections, though Chris' more punk-inspired singing added a nice layer as well! The rest of the band show their appreciation for stoner metal on the posted songs, and though Ash's drumming & Paul's riffing aren't as rapid fire as we've seen before, NeanderTHRALL's material stands on it's own with it's unique style that is well worth checking out, like on the droning epic "Thrall From Grace" and the heavier and more melodic "Thrill Of It Thrall"! I probably would lean more towards THSMM if I had to pick a preference of these two Ash Richtig-featured two bands, but NeanderTHRALL are a very promising band that can make some real waves in the Windsor scene if they keep up with what they're doing, as you don't hear this kind of stuff every day!

NeanderTHRALL's Reverbnation and MySpace pages linked above will lead you to their original demos, but as for videos, the band's official YouTube channel is loaded with demos and videos from shows with both of their first frontmen! Decent quality overall, and a good preview of their future material and live shows, so definitely give them a look! Here's the first chunk of Chris Wilkins' debut with NeanderTHRALL, but check out their other material at the above links!


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There we go, hopefully you guys liked this month's Out Of Town Profile! Next month, we'll take a well-deserved look at Munising, Michigan metal quartet Infathom (as seen at LemmaFest), featuring Sault High graduate Dillion Semasky on vocals! Look for that between August 23rd and 29th, though likely on the 26th. That's all for today, but stay tuned for a new post featuring a LOCAL CONCERT ALERT early tomorrow, and yes, our review of Gates of Winter's "Lux Aeterna" on Thursday! Thanks everyone!