Anciients/Havok Concert Review!!

It's now time for our review of last night's Anciients/Havok concert at The Canadian Nightclub, but be sure to check out lots of fallout from Friday night's Heart concert in the post below this one! The attendance last night wasn't great, and likely not at the level that promoters were hoping, but the Tuesday scheduling and ticket prices may have factored into some fans' attendance or lack thereof. The fans that did come out had a visibly great time though! It was also weird seeing ribbons cordoning off some paths in the bar area, but I wasn't sure of the purpose. Now, let's talk about all 5 bands!

Opening last night's show was local doom/punk trio The Revolution (formerly the second Brutaly Fatal) in their first show under their new name, and while there's a lot of work to do, they have a unique blend of styles that will appeal to metal and more melodic rock fans! Mostly playing originals (though ending with Weezer & Kiss covers), Austin McCrae's clean vocals continue to develop nicely, Rainey Vincent's bass work was pretty good, and Brandan Glew was equally up to task on drums! Where they fell short was in stage presence and crowd engagement, as the guys barely interacted with the crowd and did very few introductions, and compared to their Swampstravaganza set, things seemed more aloof. As well, Austin strummed the same chord on his guitar repeatedly between song breaks, which seemed to throw off fans who didn't know if the song had ended, and I think it contributed to a lower crowd response during their set. It's all growing pains though, and hopefully The Revolution can build on this in time for their next live set!

The first of four out of town bands last night was psychedelic/doom metal quartet Black Wizard, who rolled through a rollicking set of 1970s-inspired metal that any The Sword or Black Sabbath fan would instantly take to! Though not harbouring the all-out aggression of some of the day's later bands, the melodic and classic sound definitely took many in attendance by surprise, especially with some of the bluesy touches! Frontman Adam Grant had a nice command of the stage with his excelelntly matched vocals and guitar skill, and both he and Kenny Cook are solid compliments on the six string! Eugene Parkomenko also was a standout on drums, and while I will say that they'd probably have gotten a better reaction if they were at a local show with bands closer to their sound, Black Wizard definitely left their mark, and hopefully they'll roll back through the Soo in the future!

The middle band was Charlotte, North Carolina death metal quintet Wretched in their second local concert appearance, and while the crowd wasn't as large as the 3 Inches of Blood show two years ago, Wretched definitely did something right, as they got the first moshpit of the evening, and didn't play any differently compared to the crowd level! Like in 2012, singer Adam Cody was a sparkplug, completely owning the stage with his aggressive growling vocals and intense stage presence, and the instrumental members held up their end of the bargain too! Steven Funderburk & Joel Moore provided some of the best guitar solo moments of the night, and Andrew Grevey's bass playing was skilled and well ranged as well! Wretched played this show just like they would any other, and their intense death/thrash hybrid would be more than welcomed back to town again!

Co-headlining last night's concert were Denver, Colorado thrash quartet Havok, and they may well have stole the show with their blistering old school speed metal onslaught! Fans of the recent thrash metal renaissance will have been right at home with Havok's proficient set, which seemed to go by way too fast as they played tracks from their numerous releases, including select cuts from their new album "Unnatural Selection". Keeping on-stage banter to a minimum (aside from a rant about karate kicking in the moshpit), Havok were on fire from bell to bell, and though I could barely hear David Sanchez's vocals up front, he and the guys completely overcame that, with Pete Webber's drumming particularly impressing throughout the night, and the guitar work melted many a face! I just wish Havok had more guitar solos, but overall, they had quite the impressive set, and it's proof that the Soo needs more thrash bands!

And finally, your headliners last night were Vancouver progressive metal quartet Anciients, and they definitely made up for their exit from last year's Skeletonwitch tour with a technically impressive set of melodic metal! I will say right now that they might be the most similar band to Woods of Ypres that we've seen in the Soo in quite a while (yes, that's a compliment), with frontman Kenny Cook (also a guitarist in Black Wizard) demonstrating a darker and more complex angle of his musical talents on songs like "Raise The Sun" and "Giants". Shorter set than you might expect given the length of some songs, but the creative time signatures and doomy yet melodic sound (plus the skilled guitar work of Kenny and Chris Dyck) kept things rolling well! The balance of dark rhythm and harsh passages was a nice appealing fit, but in retrospect, their set was somewhat of an anticlimax coming after Havok, as many fans had their peak reactions and energy for them, but that owes to their stylistic differences only. Great set, and hopefully Anciients come back here down the road!

Overall, this was a great concert and full of something for the taste of every metalhead in attendance, but I just wish the attendance was better. I will note as well that SooToday and Local2 were on hand filming and getting photos of the bands, so might we see a review/photo album and Tuned episode in the coming days? Stay tuned when/if we do! Our photos from the show can now be seen at this link or via our Facebook page, and as for videos, here's The Revolution playing "Murder For Sport", Black Wizard playing "Eliminator", Wretched playing "Morsel", Havok playing "Give Me Liberty... Or Give Me Death", and Anciients playing "Faith & Oath"!











That's all for today, but stay tuned for our first of the weekend concert previews tomorrow! Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (Lopstock & The Danger Cats), Plus The Anciients/Havok Concert Preview!!

In what's shaping up to be a big week at the site, we're starting with a post half dedicated to LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS, and half to a special extended concert preview for a major metal show going down TOMORROW in Sault Ontario! I know many of you guys are waiting for Heart fallout, and some recent uncovered Sault Michigan stories, and I guarantee that they're coming this week, so look out tomorrow and beyond for them! Now, let's begin this post with the two new shows!

Local alternative/hard rock trio The Pixo Control will be playing at a special ALL AGES concert event THIS SATURDAY at LopLops Lounge, appropriately called Lopstock! Obviously playing on the Woodstock name and motif, this will be an all-day show featuring 5 confirmed bands and more artists to be announced, as promoted by Jackson Reed at Ears & Eyes Online, and while The Pixo Control are the only "heavy" band on the lineup, there's lots of young local music talent to discover this Saturday! The announced headliners will be local blues rock quartet The Frasiers, with the other announced acts including a band named Mashagama (genre & identity yet unknown), the aforementioned Pixo Control, acoustic rock trio K.I.C.K., and newer garage punk quartet Gnaeus, with more acts to be announced this week. Admission will be $10 on Saturday for this all ages show, which begins at noon and is projected to run until 7:00 PM. For more details on Lopstock, visit the official Facebook event page! It will be interesting to see how this show does, especially if it's a test to make this an annual event, so keep Lopstock in mind for your weekend plans, especially if you like softer and more varied styles!

Next up,another new concert will take place in just over three weeks, as Jamie Vincent and Oh! Right Arm! Promotions will bring more mayhem back to The New American Pub for the first time in 2014 when they promoted a show there on Tuesday, July 15th! The headliners will be Edmonton garage/blues rock quartet The Archaics, who aren't metal, but have an old school rock sound that many fans of the classics should take to, so don't let them pass you by if you love retro and psychedlic sounds! The local openers will cover the hard rock angle for you guys though, as all female quartet The Danger Cats (in their first ever New American set) and grunge/hardcore duo Bad Back (fresh off of their Cochrane gig at the Touch of Death festival) will set the tone with their diverse and engaging sounds! A rare 19+ show from Jamie's usually all ages promotional work, this show will begin at 9:00 PM on July 15th, and there is a $5 cover charge. For more details, visit the official Facebook event page, and stay tuned for more on this intriguing concert!

Finally, here's an extended concert preview for a special Tuesday night concert TOMORROW that many local metalheads have been anticipating, as four out of town bands will descend upon The Canadian Nightclub for an ALL AGES night of brutality! The headliners of this show will be Vancouver progressive metal quartet Anciients, who'll make their local debut at around midnight tomorrow, over a year after dropping out of last summer's Skeletonwitch concert at the same venue! Recent Juno Award nominees, their melodic and intense sound should find an audience for fans of brutality, so be there for their set! The opening bands (in what amounts to a merger of two separate tours) include Colorado thrash quartet Havok at 10:45 PM, North Carolina death metal quintet Wretched (last seen making plenty of fans 2 years ago at the last 3 Inches of Blood show) at 10:05 PM, and Vancouver stoner metal quartet Black Wizard at 9:25 PM, for what should be an explosive night of metal! Remember, San Francisco doom metal duo Black Cobra are not playing this show anymore, having dropped out due to a conflicting concert on the same date.

The local openers will be local doom/punk trio The Revolution (formerly the second Brutaly Fatal), who will replace Pillory tomorrow in their Canadian Nightclub debut, and they should provide their own improving sound to help set the pace, so come early for their set! They'll be on at 8:00 PM or shortly after for this rare all ages show from promoter J.D. Pearce, and advance tickets can still be bought at The Canadian, The Rad Zone, or at this link for $20 (note that the door price may be higher.) For more details, visit the official Facebook event page! This might just be the heaviest lineup of the year in the Soo, and I know that J.D.'s really hoping this is a hit so he can bring in more pure metal & all ages lineups, so come occupy a venue TOMORROW NIGHT, as this is a great deal for any metalhead!  There's a little something for every taste, as Anciients' talent speaks for itself, Wretched alone should pull in fans who loved them at The Rosie in 2012, Havok have been making waves among thrash fans, and doom lovers will want to be here early themselves! I really hope to see you guys there, and for a preview, here's Anciients live in Vancouver last summer!



That's all for today, but stay tuned for more news tomorrow, be it Heart-related or from Sault Michigan (or both?) Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (Anciients & The Elements), A New Local Band, And Shit Liver Updates!!

We're back with some big news on this Tuesday afternoon, so what's featured today? New updates and media from a relocated local metal band's most recent show, LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS for next weekend and this summer with some big lineups, and first, a new local band playing one of them, so here's what you need to know!

New local alternative/funk rock quartet The Elements have finally launched a Facebook page, so we can finally add them to our local metal band links! Self described as "always a good party", you may remember that they debuted at the inaugural Heavy Thursday at The Roosevelt Hotel last month, and we'll touch on their next show in a second. Like last month, their lineup includes ex-Side FX singer Rob Speers, Jack Spades/Winkstinger guitarist Jesse Cook, Redundant/Caveman Morrison bassist James White, and ex-Changing Waves drummer Alex Hagerman, with The Elements' current logo and nicknames on Facebook themed after "Breaking Bad". Their sound description cites covers from The Red Hot Chili Peppers, Sublime, Pearl Jam, and Weezer, among others, which doesn't really hit how heavy they often were at their debut, and hard rock lovers shouldn't have anything to worry about from their live show! The guys are now in our active Sault Ontario band links, but when can you see them live next?

At The Grand Theatre on Saturday, March 22nd, when they host a medical marijuana benefit event named Medi-Fest 2014 that night! The show is in support of the expiring Medical Marijuana Access Regulations program and to fight repeals of them to help save people's rights to use marijuana for medical usage. The Facebook event page has all the information about that angle of this event, so head there to read up on all that! The Elements will be joined at this show (just their second ever) by bassist James White's punk band Redundant (who played The Grand as Motion Carried early in their run) and newer local classic metal quintet Project 421 in their Grand debut, while a new local band named Obviously D'uh is also credited on the lineup. No information on them yet, but I'll let you guys know as soon as we hear anything! The lineup will be rounded out by Skeyes of Seven frontman Cory Murchison in a rare solo set (and his first live concert appearance in almost a year), so there's a nice diverse lineup of local talent!

Admission will be via a donation of at least $10, though as of right now, the only advance tickets are via e-mail at theelementssoo@gmail.com, so keep that in mind if you want your tickets before next weekend! An 8:00 PM start time is announced, and it's not clear whether this will be 19+ or not. For more details, check the above links! Though I don't smoke marijuana at all, I know it has a lot of medical benefits, and I hope this show gains a lot of funds and support for the MMAR as intended (and even beyond that, this is a really solid lineup of bands!) Stay tuned for more, including on who Obviously D'uh are!

Next up, we have a massive lineup of out of town metal bands hitting The Canadian Nightclub on Tuesday, June 24th, including a long awaited local set from Vancouver progressive metal quartet Anciients! As you may remember, they dropped out of last June's Skeletonwitch show (and it's connected tour) to join Lamb of God on the road, but over a year later, we have a makeup date for their technical and often melodic brutality! They're just one of five out of town bands that night from two combined summer tour runs, and they'll be joined on June 24th by Colorado thrash quartet Havok, North Carolina melodic death metal quintet Wretched (yes, the same guys who nearly stole the show from 3 Inches of Blood at The Rosie in 2012), San Francisco doom metal duo Black Cobra, and Vancouver stoner metal quartet Black Wizard, for what should be an explosive night of metal! No word yet on potential local openers, but this is quite a package of bands, so you guys won't want to miss this show!

Promoted by J.D. Pearce, details on admission costs and ticket availability aren't public yet, but this show has a listed 8:00 PM start time, and I assume it will be 19+. For more current details, visit the official Facebook event page! What an awesome and stacked lineup of touring metal talent, and every band brings something special to this show, from Havok's full speed thrash assault to Black Wizard's retro-influenced psychedelia, and Wretched's return alone should get a lot of fans excited! Stay tuned for updates as we hear them!

Finally for today, local/Toronto grimecore trio Shit Liver have some new updates, so what should you know from their recent surge of Southern Ontario activity? The guys will make their first appearance in St. Catharines at a hardcore show on March 20th (full details here), while a video from their breast cancer fundraiser show in Niagara Falls last Friday is now shared on their Facebook page! Filmed by attendee Hayley Smash, she also got a few dozen photos of their set which you can check out at this link. The video is Shit Liver's first public video since they moved, and it features the guys playing their longer original "Liverated" to their usual brutal standards, so fans of theirs should be right at home with this clip! My only complaint is that the host venue had low lighting, but things are solid otherwise! Check out Shit Liver's new video below, their new photos above, and don't miss their local return at the Fuck The Facts show in May!



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