Another month is upon us. so let's kick it off with this month's "Where Are The New Albums?" feature post! As always, this series looks at the current information, whereabouts, and release statuses of albums, CDs, and EPs by Sault Ontario metal/hard rock projects, and in this month's installment, there are a few notable changes! One covered album has been released (Haggith's "Flight 75", albeit on a limited basis), and all 6 of Sykotyk Rampage's 2012 albums are now posted online for streaming purposes (though not yet on sale as albums), so while they're removed from the series, we've added four more announced/partially recorded albums for you guys to read up on! Remember, if it has new or edited information, the album's title is given in
italics. So, where are the new albums? Read on below to find out!
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As It Stands' third EP
Rumoured Songs:
"Conception", "Big Problem, Little Lock City", "Rise Above",
"One Last Chance", "One Less Than Wayne Gretzky", "Big Bucks, No
Whammy", "Eeny, Meeny, Miney, Ho", "Embay the Terrible", "Oh
Herm, Herm Delish", "David & Goliath", "Stay Together
For The Kids" (Blink-182 cover)
Background: Continuing
their high success levels since their local re-emergence in
2010, hardcore quintet As It Stands started recording sessions
for their third EP with
Metalworks Studios in Mississauga in July 2011 with producer
Kevin Dietz.
The sessions lasted just a few days, but from what I hear, a
lot got accomplished! You can see some of the happenings from
the sessions on
their official studio vlog,
which features some audio samples and video of some members
recording their parts. The vlog also confirmed that their cover of
Blink-182's "Stay Together For The Kids" was recorded in
Mississauga, and that the songs will be part of an EP, not a full
length album as was previously believed. It's currently unclear
whether the songs they recorded at
Stereo Soul Studios
in 2010 and/or in Stoney Creek in 2011 will be featured on the
EP in some form. A new track named "Oh Herm, Herm Delish"
was posted
onto SoundCloud in early 2012, with studio copies of "Conception" & "Big Problem, Little Lock City" also being uploaded to
their Facebook page this year, both of which you can stream at
this location.
Mixing was underway locally with Brendan Clace at the former Dimension
Studios, so stay tuned for more news on this EP soon!
Current Release Status:
As It Stands seemed to have everything under control and well
planned for the sessions and their studio work, and though nothing
concrete has been explicitly said about it's release, things seem on
track, despite recent delays and absences of updates, including just one live concert in the past 8 months. When might we see
this EP? I don't know, especially with the closure of Dimension Studios, but keep an eye out for
any possible updates!
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The Bear Hunters' full length demo
Rumoured Songs:
"Bloodthirst", "Succumb To Eternity", "Dominate",
"Overthrown", "Casualties Of War", "Collapse The Sun", "Render
This Void", "Karma", "Deception"
Background: Local
death metal quintet The Bear Hunters formally announced that
they'd begun recording for their debut EP "Bloodthirst" in May 2011,
just days after adding guitarist Josh Stephney to the band. The
news was broken on
their Facebook page,
but details were extremely scant following that news, and the
recording plans fell dormant until January, when the band announced
plans to record material towards a full length demo release. This
appears to be an independent
production towards future better quality recordings, and plans are in
place to release official band t-shirts along with the demos when
completed. Plans are
for this demo (which won't be "slapped together") to feature at least
10 songs, and though progress has been made towards completions,
setbacks (including a dead computer) have pushed back a planned release,
including their non-album cover of Woods of Ypres' "Kiss My Ashes
(Goodbye)". Stay tuned to the band's Facebook page for continued
updates!
Current Release Status:
Though things seem to have been delayed from original expectations,
recordings for the demo are ongoing as per their Facebook page. Recent
band news (aside from scattered live dates) has been slow at best, and no new timeline is out for the
release of it beyond before "the end of the world", but they seem to
have things in
good order, so keep an eye out for updates on official Bear Hunters
media as it comes in!
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Gates of Winter - Perihelion(?)
Rumoured Songs: "The Stars Call My True Name", "Edin Na Zu", "Dimensions", "Time Warp", "Wormhole Mechanics"
Background: Despite
a hiatus from live concerts lasting 4 years, Gates of
Winter never broke up, and are slowly working on their follow-up
to 2008's "Lux Aeterna". The first glimpse of the new album
was unveiled in February 2010, when frontman/producer
Lee Maines uploaded a snippet of their new song "The Stars Call My True Name" onto
his YouTube channel,
and he followed that up with more demo & rehearsal clips
sporadically over the last couple of years, though all were later taken
down. The band launched
a new Facebook page
in August 2010 to keep fans updated on the sessions, including
the unveiling of a new song title, "Time Warp", and while Sault
native
Jon Morrison
was announced as the album's drummer that fall, they are currently
looking for a new session drummer. In November 2011, bassist Steve
Furgiuele confirmed in
a YouTube video
that the album, now titled "Perihelion", was planned for release
in
December 2012, with some older re-recordings likely for the
summer, but Lee confirmed last month that the album would be delayed
further, be retracted to EP length, and likely be renamed. Another new
song, tentatively called "Wormhole Mechanics",
was previewed in
this video
that Lee uploaded as well last year. Whether Jon or
ex-keyboardist Brian Holmes will be included in some capacity on the EP is currently unknown.
Current Release Status: According to Lee's posting on
the Musicians Wanted Facebook group
relating to their session drummer search, he's hoping for the work to
be done "within the next 4-12 months", which lines up with postings
about delays for the EP. Personal commitments and the like have slowed
things down incredibly, but good art takes time, and knowing Gates of
Winter's
talent and attention to detail, they won't wanna release this until
everything's perfect, so keep an eye out for updates!
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Haggith - "Deuce"
Rumoured Songs (D): "Leon The Janitor", "75", "Safe On The Outside", "Public Enemy"
Background: A new local grunge act formed last May, this band featuring
20 Pack of Marshmallows &
Acention alumni alongside local solo artist
Mike Haggith
have quickly began work on album releases, already putting out their three since the fall. Announcements, previews, and photos from
the studio and sessions have
made it to
their Facebook page
over the last couple months for both older releases and upcoming
albums, including their planned third studio album "Deuce", which maybe
their first to feature bassist Caleb Cachagee on most tracks. Though details are minimal beyond song & video postings on Facebook &
YouTube, indications are that this will see a release in 2013 through
the band's independent label
PaperClip Productions. Keep tuned
in to Haggith's online pages for further updates!
Current Release Status: A release timeframe for "Deuce" isn't publically known beyond this year, but with Haggith operating on a similar
prolific
schedule as Mike Haggith does solo, a quick release is more than
possible! Keep an eye out for updates!
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Mike Haggith - "The Present Din"
Rumoured Songs: "Her Song", "Careless Space", "The Issue"
Background: Slated to be Haggith drummer/namesake Mike Haggith's 46th solo album, the oddly titled "Present Din" was announced on
Mike's solo Facebook page
on December 19th, where he revealed that the album would be lighter
than his latest release "Neighbourhood Watch, though with slower piano
based james and occasional heaviness. Planned to be released through
Galactic Records with possible input from the Haggith band's label
PaperClip Productions, the album's artwork and instrumental mixes of
three songs have been revealed via Facebook, but any further details are
likely forthcoming, so be on the lookout!
Current Release Status: Good, but
still unclear. Mike's output is prolific and often quick, but some
albums can take longer than expected (i.e. "Neighbourhood Watch".) I'd
expect to see "The Present Din" out in 2013, but stay tuned for more
specifics as work continues on it!
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Pillory - Cringe At The Cross
Rumoured Songs:
"Onward to Death", "Fatal Woods", "Shattered By War", "No One Answers", "Cringe At The Cross"
Background: On January 10th, new local thrash band Pillory surprisingly announced that they would begin recording tracks towards their debut EP this weekend, despite only making their live debut in November. Since then, updates have been posted on
their Facebook page confirming the EP's title, the completion of drum tracks, and the beginning of bass tracks, while bassist Jonathan Tiberi has also shared EP artwork ideas there as well. It's currently unclear how late guitarist Andres Duchesne's parts will be handled on the recordings, but while the band has been searching for a replacement in recent months (and guitar tracking hasn't visibly begun yet), the concept artwork does credit him with the surviving members, so take that for what you will. Keep an eye out for further updates!
Current Release Status: No idea. Pillory's quick launch into recording hasn't given us a lot of time to speculate, but it does mirror Jon's early tenure with
Late & Loud, who announced recording plans and held photo shoots to that end shortly after their own 2010 debut. The guys definitely seem deep into the process though, and with their next show coming in March, might they rush to have this ready in the next month? Time will tell, but fingers crossed everything works out!
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Shit Liver's debut EP
Rumoured Songs:
"Contribute or Perish", "Fabricated Nonsense", "Hateroleum", "Helen
Kellers", "It's Not My Problem", "Pennotration", "Sewer Livin'", "Shift
Liver", "Shit Liver", "Shit Will Prevail", "Survival of the Shittest",
"Unabomber", "(Friendly Old) Uncle Joe", "You're Scared"
Background: Curiously
not plugged at all on their online pages until January 2013, I have heard from those close
to the band that local grimecore trio Shit Liver have independently
working on a debut EP since at least mid-2012 which is supposed to have 14 songs (knowing how
short most of their songs are, that's not a typo.) I can confirm that
there are unmastered recordings of at least some of the album tracks
floating around, but as they've only minimally acknowledged EP plans
online, it's not clear how far along they are, but I'll keep you guys
updated if they say anything!
Current Release Status: On
their Facebook page last month, Shit Liver implied that this album could be done by their local concert return on February 21st at
The Roosevelt Hotel, but that wasn't a solid confirmation. Given how quiet they've been on the recording sessions, I have no idea how realistic the given date could be, but from what I understand, they're at least well into the process. Hopefully we hear some
big news on this front soon to go along with hopefully a lot more band activity in 2013!
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Sykotyk Rampage - "Eye For An Eye", "Sykotyk Rampage", and "Wonder About Baby"
Rumoured Songs: Unknown
Background: Just days after posting streaming copies of their six albums from 2012 onto
their Reverbnation page, Sykotyk Rampage unveiled
the album covers towards at least three new albums scheduled for a release in 2013, although when they'll actually be available for streaming and/or purchase isn't clear. Expected to be their first recorded material with new bassist Tony Briglio, the three credited albums are listed as Sykotyk Rampage's 38th to 40th albums, implying that they have at least 2 other unannounced albums in the works (as they've only released 35 to date.) Recording sessions have started in the past month at River Front Recreation Studios, but keep an eye out for updates!
Current Release Status:
Initial indications are that the band will release these this summer, but take that with a huge grain of salt, as publically available copies of Sykotyk Rampage's early 2010s albums have been posted months later than the given release dates. As well, the band's last 8 albums have only been made available in free streaming copies, with no full album purchasing or packaging options, so make note of that as well. Still, Sykotyk Rampage's prolific and creative blend of alternative, blues, and hard rock will be hard to ignore, so stay tuned for their next releases!
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Tym Morrison's second solo album
Rumoured Songs: "Moon
Patrol", "Dungeons & Dragons", "Nag Hamedi", "The
Reason Why", "The Dark Shred", "Song For Jen", "No Name",
"Amy", "Lay It On The Line", "Someday", "How I'm Wanting You
More", "The After Life", "9/11", "His Sacrifice", "Termination of
Exystence"
Background: I
honestly don't know a lot about the background for Tym
Morrison's second album, but he has posted samples of nine songs
for his "next album" onto
the music player on his official website.
The songs are all of good quality, and feature Tym in
familiarly good form! Original information about recording
sessions for his solo album are either very sparse or were made
quite a while ago, so I don't know a lot about it, but the
songs were likely self-recorded at Morrison Studio Productions
with Tym on all instruments save for the programmed drums. He's
worked on the album sporadically since, including scattered song
postings (including some of a comedic or acoustic nature) and Facebook
hints at a double album release, but it's unknown how close we are to
seeing a second Tym Morrison album release, or if all of the originally
announced songs will make the cut, but keep an eye out!
Current Release Status:
I don't have any real idea, but the song postings from this
summer hint towards good things! Hopefully Tym does release
these songs in the near future, as his older samples and newer
material deserve an audience, but for now, check out the above
links to hear what he has to share that could make the cut!
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Winkstinger's debut EP
Rumoured Songs:
"Sadist", "Fuck The Rest", "Cheese Grater Face", "Chudnugget", "From
Bullshit To Buzz (Lies = Weed)", "Where'd We Go Wrong", "Poop", "In
Other Words", "Stop! You Can't Interrogate Someone With Brain Damage!",
"The Devil's Hand", "Feel All My Hate", "Move It, Peenie-Weenies, My
Hands Are On Fire!", "Jimmy Got His New Legs (Derp.)", "Bidniz",
"Nunya", "Of Steed & Steel"
Background: Little is publically known about this EP, but Winkstinger initially confirmed on March 15th on
their Facebook page
that recording had begun. Anything else from official band pages is
open-ended or minimal, but guitarist Jesse Cook has also kept fans
posted on the recording sessions for the band's first EP on his personal
Facebook page, noting that recording took place from the 15th through
the 27th, with mixing done and some lyric finalization left. I assume
this EP is being self-produced and recorded, but again, the band
hasn't said much publically about it or it's possible track listing,
length, release formats, or anything else. In May, the band posted 5
demos from the sessions onto
their new SoundCloud page,
so stream them there in advance of the full release! It's also unclear whether Jason Ladouceur and/or Anthony Orazietti provided rhythm guitar tracks at the sessions.
Current Release Status:
I'm not sure, especially with the limited public information
as of yet. A fall release made sense once, but band updates have been
slow in recent months, with Winkstinger not playing a public live
concert since July. No
matter what though, I'm curious to hear more of Winkstinger's creative
and often amusing material in studio form, so hopefully this does
come out relatively soon! Stay tuned for updates!
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I hope you guys liked this month's "Where Are The New Albums?" post! Next weekend, our monthly feature posts continue with this month's Defunct Local Band Profile on No Arrow, but until then, stay tuned for a new news post later today, if all goes well! Thanks everyone!
Sault Michigan hard rock trio Powerslug will return to The Cozy Corners Tavern & Grill in Barbeau this coming Saturday! Normally, I'd only hear about this short notice due to the band's continuing lack of an online page to promote concerts in advance, but thanks to The Cozy Corners' Facebook page recently starting to put up Facebook event pages for their live bands, we know about this one! Fresh off a road trip to the Kewadin Casino in Manistique yesterday, look for Powerslug to tear up the stage on Saturday in this visibly one night only gig with plenty of hard rocking covers, as is usually the case! There's no announced cover charge, a 9:00 PM start time is advertised, and you must be 21 to attend. For more details, visit the above links! While I still wish Powerslug would launch a larger online presence, their talent and frequent local appearances bode well for this weekend, so take the drive down to Barbeau (40 minutes from the Soo, an hour from St. Ignace) on Saturday to chug your mug with Powerslug!
Next up, here's a new video relating to newer Sault Michigan hardcore band The Eleventh Hour! Clean singer Cathy Burgos uploaded this video onto her YouTube channel in November of her playing a short piano composition named "That's Not the Wind Howling, It's the Wolves", which is apparently for an Eleventh Hour original song. Just 80 seconds long, it's nicely done, yet reserved, and it would add well to one of their tracks, even if she was a bit nervous when filming this! Also of note, this video is the first real confirmation that The Eleventh Hour will include keyed instruments in their material, while it also indicates that Cathy hasn't fully left the band (despite her removal from their Facebook page's lineup and her current residence in Indiana), so we'll have to see where this all goes! Check out Cathy's new video below, and keep an eye out for Eleventh Hour updates as the new year rolls on!
Finally for today, I wanted to share a couple of new archive videos that I recently uploaded to our YouTube channel! As you may remember, we profiled late 2000s Sault Ontario grunge trio No Arrow in this morning's Defunct Local Band Profile, and I like I often do in this series, I wanted to post some new media of theirs on YouTube that wasn't there previously. As these weren't featured on the profile itself, they deserve a spotlight on here, so these are two early clips of No Arrow live at Madison's Pub! The videos are of them covering Nirvana's "Breed" on New Year's Eve 2006 (when they were still known as Murder Playground) and, as embedded below, them playing their original "Colder Side of the Sun" in April 2007 after their name change. I think both feature their "classic" lineup (Dann Pichette, Harley Syrette, and Joe Falco), and both had edits made to the video quality to fix poor lighting. The quality on both is mixed (though the audio is clearer for the original), but it's good to see these videos all the same, especially as clips from Madison's Pub metal/hard rock concerts aren't plentiful from my experience.
