LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (Shit Liver, Soundcheck, And Tym Morrison), Plus An Upcoming New Album Release!!

I hope everyone had a good Valentine's Day! It's now time for another batch of weekend concert previews on the SMS, and while things are quiet on the hard rock spectrum, both of this weekend's performing hard rock acts have SHORT NOTICE LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS to address as part of them! To round things out, we have one more huge new concert to address, including a new album alongside it, so here's what you should know!

Local classic/hard rock cover quartet Soundcheck will return to The Rockstar Bar stage for one night only TOMORROW NIGHT, with their apparent Water Tower Pub debut following THIS SATURDAY NIGHT! Apologies for the short notice on these shows, the former was announced via their Facebook event page on Monday, and the latter was briefly noted on the Sault Music News Letter Facebook page on Tuesday. However, note that Soundcheck have not publically acknowledged either show on their own Facebook page at press time (or posted there in almost a month), and the Water Tower Pub haven't mentioned it either that I've seen. TOMORROW'S Rockstar Bar show will be the Mourning Wood successors' first at this venue since January 19th, and while it's not clear why they didn't get a double booking for there this weekend, SATURDAY'S Water Tower Pub show will fill in the gap in a rare solo hard rock appearance there from a local band!

An act of Soundcheck's style isn't unprecedented for this Great Northern Road venue, and hopefully they deliver a solid set on SATURDAY, assuming that the show is still on! These gigs are likely 9:30 PM affairs both nights, you must be 19 or older to attend, and there are no advertised cover charges. Check the above links for more details, and nope, no public Soundcheck videos yet! We'll let you know when any turn up!

Next up, prolific local hard rock singer/guitarist Tym Morrison has new nighttime gigs at Room 21 above Low & Slow TOMORROW & SATURDAY NIGHT to go along with his ongoing Gliss Steak & Seafood matinees that take place earlier those same days! Again, apologies for the short notice on the Room 21 shows, Tym only announced them via their Facebook event page on Sunday (concurrently with his Mark's Breakfast Plus gigs earlier this week.) These will be Tym's first stops at this newer acoustic-heavy upstairs venue of 2018, last having played there in September, so if you liked seeing his unplugged hard rock favourites there last fall, here's another chance! Likewise, his ongoing long-term arrangement at Gliss continues for two more matinee shows this weekend, so if you want an earlier and more intimate night of music, you have those options once again too!

These four shows (including at Room 21 TOMORROW & SATURDAY NIGHT) have no cover charges, and while the Gliss gigs are at 6:00 PM with no firm age limit, the Room 21 shows are at 10:00 PM with a 19+ age limit. Click here and visit the above links for more details, and here's Tym live!



Also, here's one more new show with lots of advance notice, and it's a big one, as local/St. Catharine's grindcore trio Shit Liver are coming back home for a headlining concert on Friday, April 6th at The Algonquin Pub, with their new album in tow! Last seen here at The New A in September during the "Trading Faces" split release tour, Shit Liver will make their way back north in support of their second full length album "Hitting The Fan", which never even made our "Where Are The New Albums?" posts because they never publically and firmly acknowledged studio sessions for it. In their album announcement on their Facebook page yesterday, the guys indicated that this is completely a DIY release that they recorded and are releasing themselves with no label assistance, so that may have helped explain the quiet recording sessions. "Hitting The Fan" will be released on Tuesday, March 13th, with local physical copies following at the show on April 6th, but how can you hear it?

An online release is expected for next month (presumably on Bandcamp), but physical copies appear to be limited to vinyl records with no CD pressings implied. If true, this will mean that all three of their studio albums have came out on different physical formats (should we break out our 8-track players for album #4?!) This pressing is apparently limited to 550 hand numbered records, with coloured vinyl, a lyric insert, and a poster, so keep that in mind come April 6th! In terms of that concert, local punk trio Stegadeth will open in their second show of the year, while there will be a third band to be announced. Stegadeth are a solid choice to compliment Shit Liver's punk influences! Promoted by Six, Two, Oh. (who also put on their show here last fall), a 9:00 PM start time is advertised for this 19+ concert, which has an $8 cover charge, and while prices for vinyl copies of "Hitting The Fan" are not out yet, their friends in AlgomA priced their vinyl splits for around $20.

I had no idea that things were this far along for Shit Liver's sophomore original album, but this is huge news, and I know fans will be eager to hear their new originals in studio form next month! Stay tuned for more on the digital release and price, track listing, and more, and assuming there's no release hang-ups, our next three CD reviews are set for the site! Given that Mike McCleary and Telephone & Address have new albums already on sale, that may bump "Hitting the Fan" to an April review, but certainly no later than that. Keep in touch for updates, and for a new news post this weekend, hopefully with Big Wreck and Pop Evil fallout! Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (I Mother Earth & Redundant), Live705 Updates, And More!!

Here's a big news post for your Tuesday delectation, and with other big news and announcements piling on, there was no need to delay things! Today's post features some assorted shorter items,

Three local punk bands will unite for Punk Covers Night at LopLops Lounge on Saturday, March 3rd! A presentation of Tidal Records, this show's lineup will include veteran punk favourites Redundant in a rare LopLops appearance from them, and they definitely know their share of punk classics! While this is a covers-centric show, might we hear originals from their long-awaited debut EP, currently in progress at Tidal's own Mission Control Studios? Sporadically seen punk cover quartet The Cover-Up will play their first publically advertised concert in three years next month, with frontman/Tidal Records head Dustin Jones & ex-Lion Ride guitarist Marco Pedalino now joined by Dustin's Rising Tide bandmate Marshall Jaaskelainen & K.I.C.K. drummer Aaron Dunn, replacing Clint Wilson and Mike Yorke respectively, as per personal Facebook postings. Reasons for the lineup changes haven't been publically announced, but remember that The Cover-Up don't have any known band pages on Facebook or elsewhere. Solid and familiar choices for Tidal loyalists, and they should deliver a fun set!

The third advertised band is The Bananas Guerrillas, and while the name is new to the site, this band is either a renaming of or successor to Enema of the Soo, the Blink-182 tribute from the Halloween Party events at The Algonquin last year. If the lineup's identical, look for ex-Stereo North frontman Andrew Pucci, ex-Long Shot bassist Adam Dawe, and ex-Gnaeus drummer Brendan Garlick in this band. No online pages yet, but they have an intriguing lineup! A $5 cover is in effect for this 19+ concert, whose doors open at 8:00 PM on March 3rd. Visit the above links for more details, and look for a high impact night of punk rock at LopLops next month!

Next up, here's a huge show announcement for The Machine Shop on Wednesday, April 18th, as Juno award winning, multi-platinum-selling Ontario hard rock bands I Mother Earth and Finger Eleven will co-headline this already highly anticipated show! Best known for hit singles like "One More Astronaut", 'So Gently We Go", and "Another Sunday", this will be a long anticipated gig for fans of I Mother Earth's alternative and prog-tinged hard rock sound (they last played here at Club Princess, so there's an idea of the wait!) This will be I.M.E.'s first show here with Salads bassist Chuck Dailey in place of Bruce Gordon, while it'll mark frontman Edwin Ghazal's return after his 2 prior stops here with Crash Karma. As for Finger Eleven, this will mark their first stop here since headlining at The Roberta Bondar Pavilion back in 2004, and their first Soo gig since having their biggest chart success with the dance rocker "Paralyzer", so look for that and other hits like "One Thing" & "Living in a Dream" in a couple of months' time!

Also, this will be Finger Eleven's first local show since Steve Molella replaced Rich Beddoe on drums. Tickets are $40 for this ALL AGES concert, which has an advertised start time of 8:20 PM, and tickets will go on sale TOMORROW at 10:00 AM at this link and at the in-person box offices at The Machine Shop and Station Mall. Fittingly announced the day of tonight's Big Wreck concert at the same venue, it's great to see The Machine Shop booking more non-country acts, and with this double whammy of Canadian hard rock, I know the buzz will only build in the next two months! Visit the official Facebook event page for current and future details as they come in!

Also today, here's the latest from local concert promoters Live705's Facebook page, starting with a post on January 20th where they held a "roll call" for bands that would be interested in playing future shows of theirs, or to be "placed on our talent list" if they're contacted with information about band-for-hire slots. No word yet on when Live705 will end their concert promotion hiatus (they teased the summer), but send your band's name, contact info, description, lineup, and available links to Live705 above if you're interested! With that said, a Live705 representative was in attendance for Elements bandmates Rob Speers & Jesse Cook's acoustic concert at The Rockstar Bar on Friday, and this is an unplugged cover of Tom Petty's "You Don't Know How It Feels" alongside Rob's Jack Spades bandmates Daniel Horton and Johnny Belanger on guest guitar and percussion. The vertical footage doesn't help, especially at this sharp angle, but it's a solid rendition of this roots rock classic! Give it a look below, and I wonder why there were so many balloons?



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

• The aforementioned Daniel Horton is thinking about starting a new side project that would play originals and select covers. Influences would include bands ranging from Breaking Benjamin and Chevelle to A Perfect Circle and Tool, among others. No word on what instrument Daniel would primarily play (he's usually a guitarist, but was the bassist in Project 421), so message him at this link or via his Musicians Wanted Facebook group post from Thursday if you're interested in more details!
• Former A Dire Setback/A Fall From Innocence singer Larry Babic is looking to get back into the scene, and is interested in jamming with other musicians. He is currently learning to play guitar as well, he cited bands like Taking Back Sunday and Tiny Moving Parts as some of his favourite current bands, he likes "making sad lyrics", and he indicated that he loves doing promo work. If you're interested in jamming with Larry, message him at this link or via his Musicians Wanted Facebook group post from Friday!
• Sykotyk Rampage's Facebook page has quietly returned after being briefly deactivated late last month, so we can quote the posts there that acknowledged their hiatus. On January 16th, the band said "Sorry we have been out of the loop, but we will be back with more", and "we should be getting together soon so we can bring the sweet creativeness to all of you.", while thanking fans for the love & likes. This isn't a firm declaration of imminent activity, so we'll leave them in our inactive band links for now, but I know fans of the crash are hoping that Sykotyk Rampage come back in full force in 2018!

That's all for today, but stay tuned for more news and updates on the site as the week progresses! Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (Tym Morrison), Pop Evil/Big Wreck Concert Previews, And More!!

A unusually high profile stretch of shows is upon us early this week, so let's largely cover those in this Monday morning post, alongside some new videos from a recent concert, and leading off, surprise LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS, half on SHORT NOTICE! Here's what you need to know!

Prolific local acoustic hard rock singer/guitarist Tym Morrison has announced six matinee gigs at Mark's Breakfast Plus for this month TONIGHT, TOMORROW, and WEDNESDAY, then again on February 26th-28th! Apologies for the short notice, Tym only announced these shows via their Facebook event page yesterday, and while he did also announce a pair of new Room 21 gigs as well, we will hold those for this weekend's concert previews to avoid redundantly covering them twice in under a week. Already busy enough with his weekly Gliss Steak & Seafood arrangement and bi-monthly Roadhouse gigs, February is suddenly packed for the former Caveman Morrison frontman, with only Thursdays having no gigs at all this month! TONIGHT'S Mark's show will be his first at the Market Mall restaurant of the year, and first in over two months, and if that doesn't work out for you schedule-wise, he will be back there on TOMORROW, WEDNESDAY, and at month's end, so you have plenty of opportunities to see Tym live this month!

And no, the Wednesday gigs will not conflict with his open mic night hosting duties at The Canadian, as their matinee scheduling means they'll end well beforehand. All six of Tym's Mark's shows this month (including TONIGHT, TOMORROW, and WEDNESDAY) are at 4:00 PM with no announced cover charges or age limits, but mind the locale, this isn't a typical concert venue, let alone time of day or week. Check the above links for more details, and here's Tym live a few years back!



Moving to previously announced concerts, hard rock fans in the Twin Saults have quite a double header ahead with a huge show on both sides of the border in the coming days, starting with the long awaited return of Juno Award winning Toronto/Boston hard rock notables Big Wreck to the Sault Ontario stage TOMORROW NIGHT at The Machine Shop! Familiar to rock fans for high charting hits like "Albatross", "Blown Wide Open", and "That Song", this will be Ian Thornley and company's first local concert appearance since 2001, so if you've been waiting patiently for their local return for the past 16+ years, here is your big chance! This show is a stop on Big Wreck's 20th anniversary tour for their multi-platinum debut album "In Loving Memory Of...", and if recent shows are any indication, expect that whole album to be played tomorrow, albeit in mixed up order! Winnipeg alternative rock trio Attica Riots will open this show in their local debut, so look for an upbeat pop/indie rock-influenced sound from them tomorrow as well!

Also, don't forget the interview with Ian by The Sault Star's Jeffery Ougler from January 28th, which talks about his musical background, Big Wreck's initial successes and drawbacks, and more, so give this detailed interview a look above or if you still have that issue! Tickets for this 18+ show are $35, and are available at this link or at the Machine Shop and Station Mall's in person box office, while the show proper starts at 8:00 PM. This should be a very solid concert for hard rock fans, especially with such a long wait for Big Wreck's local return, so don't miss all of the action at The Machine Shop tomorrow night, and here they are live!



Finally for this early-week batch of concert previews, we'll head across to Sault Michigan, where Muskegon hard rock quintet Pop Evil will return for their fifth local concert appearance THIS WEDNESDAY NIGHT for a Valentine's Day concert at The Dreammaker's Theater at the Soo's Kewadin Casino! Hitting this venue for their fourth headlining show there, and first since last February, this should be another great opportunity for fans to check out this fan favourite group and their numerous chart-topping hits like "Footsteps" & "Torn to Pieces", plus their newest single "Waking Lions", so there should be lots of familiar hard hitting songs to take in on Wednesday! Las Vegas/Toronto "fashion-art rock" band Palaye Royale (not "Palace") and San Francisco post-hardcore trio Black Map will open this show in their own local debuts, and with the former's indie influenced power rock and the latter's more aggressive metal attack, both should make solid fanbases here on Wednesday, so don't be late for them!

The first concert of 2018 from Allstar Promotions (who have put on most of Pop Evil's local gigs), tickets for this all ages event are $25, and are available at the in-person box office, at this link, or at 1-800-KEWADIN, with limited center section seating still available, but seats from the second row and back are still on sale in the left & right sections. Everything starts at 7:00 PM, and whether you're in this just for the rock, or if this is part of your Valentine's Day plans, Pop Evil should have a great show in store for their U.P. fans once again! See the above links for more details, and here's Pop Evil live at The Dreammaker's Theater last year!



Finally for today, we'll stay on the Kewadin track, as local hard/blues rock quartet Project 906 have shared four videos from their set opening for Laith Al-Saadi at The Dreammaker's Theater on Saturday onto their Facebook page! All vertically oriented cell phone camera clips, two were shared from guitarist Joe Jenkins' personal Facebook page, including the end of their cover of ZZ Top's "Tush", and an instrumental section that I can't identify off hand. Both are more less to showcase Joe soloing, though new drummer Tommy Korcal is in easy view on them also, and the quality is solid despite the length! Attendee Dani Baumann also filmed the guys playing "Tush", and while it is an earlier section with vocals, Joe gets some solid solo time in at the end! The audio quality is even clearer, and while Dani was further from the stage than the filmer on Joe's clips, she zoomed in and showcased Billy & Dustin too, so it all works out! However, embedded below is a full performance clip of Project 906 covering The Marshall Tucker Band's "Can't You See", courtesy of attendee Katie Jeffson, so how does it sound?

In our first look at the current Project 906 lineup, we get a solid cover of this southern rock standard here, and it's a bluesy enough number to suit the concert's theme! Solid video quality despite the vertical angle, and you get a good view of everyone, all things considered, so give this video a look below, and see more from this show above!



That's all for today, but stay tuned for more news and updates on the site as this week rolls along! Thanks everyone!

Defunct Local Band Profile Series: Project 421

It's now time for our second Defunct Local Band Profile of 2018, as we're continuing our spotlighting of defunct or inactive local metal, hard rock, and punk bands, so current readers can read up on their run and accomplishments, and see where members are now! As always, we randomly selected this month's band, and they are quite a prominent group for Sault Ontario metalheads of the last few years, so here's what you should know!
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Project 421

Genre: Classic Metal/Power Rock

Hometown: Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario

Members: (Members not in their last full lineup in italics.)

Blair Burch (Re:Born, Broken), vocals/guitar
Frank McGillivray (Re:Born), guitar
Daniel Horton (Jack Spades, Haggith), bass
Chris Thompson (Fitswitch, Frightlight, Half Past), drums

Curtis McKenzie (Haggith, Eclipse, The Din), vocals
Larry Mousseau (Fitswitch, Frightlight), drums

Audio/Video: Though loose plans to record a debut EP (perhaps with an April 21st release date) never came to pass, Project 421 are well documented online from live concert videos, which can be seen officially via their Facebook page & YouTube channel, while Christopher Paci's channel & our Facebook page have a good amount of videos as well, among other fan-shot sources. Most of 421's set was comprised of covers from bands like Iron Maiden, Black Sabbath, and Diamond Head, but originals like "No One Rides For Free", "Into the Darkness", and "Running Away" were also very prominent. Here's their 5-piece lineup covering Judas Priest back in 2014!



Info/Analysis: Debuting as a mystery band during Haggith's initial farewell show at The Algonquin Pub in December 2013, Project 421 soon became a prominent sight at local concert events in the mid-2010s. Soon adding bassist Daniel Horton's Haggith bandmate Curtis McKenzie for his first of two stints as lead singer, 421 arguably made their biggest early splash by opening for Anvil at The Canadian in March 2014, a role they reprised the following year. Fans will have also seen Project 421 open for bands like The Ripcordz, Diamond Head, and Broomfiller, play notable events like both of 2015's local battles of the bands, Medi-Fest, and Sault Band-O-Rama, and headline a smattering of headlining and solo nightclub events in their later years, though breaks from the stage became increasingly more common. Curtis, Daniel, and 421's second drummer Chris Thompson formed the modern hard rock side project Eclipse in 2015, which ran concurrently with Project 421 until both bands' disbanded for differing personal reasons in the fall of 2017.

Project 421 were succeeded by guitarist Blair Burch & Frank McGillivray's current new band Re:Born, who have taken on their predecessor's original songs, but Project 421 will be missed by their fans! Not many groups could feel right at home at an all ages Oddfellows Hall show and a solo Rockstar Bar three-set booking, but they pulled it off! Blair and Frank were an effective double threat on guitar, Curtis' excellent vocals were a bonus during his time in the band, Daniel's bass work stood on it's own, and both Larry and Chris each had good chemistry on drums! Project 421 had a good run, but be sure to follow Re:Born & Jack Spades for members' current projects!
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I hope you guys liked this month's Defunct Local Band Profile! Next month, we'll hit Sault Michigan for the first time in this series in 2018, as our next random selection will be inactive early 2010s metal band The Eleventh Hour (a.k.a. Angelic Genocide & Changing You For Better Days), and while I forecast that they can sustain a full profile on their own given their numerous updates and name/lineup changes, we'll add a randomly chosen Sault Ontario band with minimal info if we need to. Look for that on or around March 10th, and stay tuned for concert previews and more next! Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERT (Rob & Jesse) And Weekend Concert Previews!!

This weekend's concert previews are here for your delectation, and just a disclaimer: This is a shorter post than usual due to recent quietness for other news, and a relatively quiet weekend for hard rock and punk shows ahead. Of course, we'll touch on next week's Pop Evil and Big Wreck shows early next week, but it's way too soon to preview them now, so look for them on Sunday or Monday. Now, let's start with a SHORT NOTICE LOCAL CONCERT ALERT!

Elements bandmates Rob Speers & Jesse Cook will join forces for an acoustic concert at The Rockstar Bar TOMORROW NIGHT! Apologies for the short notice, this show was only announced via it's official Facebook event page earlier this week, though it was previously advertised on the venue's physical marquee board as a Rob Speers solo concert.  Making their first live appearance in this setting of the year, fans may recall Rob & Jesse playing as "The Kariokeheads" at Room 21 late last year, but that name is used nowhere on the event page. No word on whether they've dropped it, they're not incorporating live karaoke TOMORROW, or if the name was Room 21's idea, but it's the same base act! Now describing their sound as "bluesy acoustic rock", but surely with a harder edge akin to their electric bands, Rob and Jesse will be playing covers for assembled fans, and expect guest appearances from their friends and bandmates, as well as Rob's wife Christina, who guested with them at one of their Room 21 shows.

No word on why they're not playing on Saturday, but Rob & Jesse/The Kariokeheads are on at 10:00 PM TOMORROW, you must be 19 or older to attend, and there is no announced cover charge. Visit the above links for more details, and hopefully the guys launch an online page or post some public media at some point!

Moving to previously announced concerts, fans can take in another two matinee concerts from ex-Caveman Morrison frontman Tym Morrison also as his weekly concert arrangement continues for shows TOMORROW & SATURDAY! Only playing at Gliss this weekend (Wednesday open mics at The Canadian aside), this weekend's shows should provide fans and restaurant patrons alike with another entertaining pair of evening concert sets from this prolific veteran performer, so don't miss out at The Quality Inn's house restaurant tomorrow and/or Saturday! As usual for Tym's long-term gigs at Gliss, these are 6:00 PM events with no announced age limits or cover charges, but mind the non-traditional locale (well, outside of Tym's shows, at least.) Visit the official Facebook event page for more details, and here's Tym live!



Lastly for known hard rock concert previews this weekend is a big show for blues rock fans, as Sault Michigan hard rock/blues quartet Project 906 will be among the openers for Ann Arbor blues rock singer/guitarist Laith Al-Saadi as he makes his local debut on SATURDAY NIGHT at The Dreammaker's Theater at the Soo's Kewadin Casino branch! Entitled “The Best of Michigan Blues”, fans will recognize Laith as a finalist on The Voice in early 2016, but don't judge on that, as he has since carved his own path in solo music with a rich and skilled blend of blues rock, so don't miss out on Laith's headlining set on Saturday! Fellow Ann Arbor blues/funk act The Chris Canas Band will co-headline with their own powerful take on the blues, so definitely keep them in mind, especially with how well their shows tend to be recieved! Project 906 will add a hard rock touch to this show, which is just their second announced gig with new drummer Tommy Korcal, so see how they do on this big stage on Saturday!

Reunited local blues group Chord On Bluz (featuring Clownsack alumni) will open this show as well, and it'll be nice to see them back on a local stage! Despite an earlier rumour, this show (presented by U.P. Beat Entertainment) is not cancelled, and will go on as scheduled for Saturday night at 7:00 PM, with tickets going for $30 at this link, at 1-800-KEWADIN, or at the in-person box office. At press time, seats are still available from the second row and back, so act A.S.A.P. for the best possible spots! This should be a fun time for fans of the blues, so visit the official Facebook event page for more details, and here's Laith live tackling a Jimi Hendrix classic!



That's all for today, but stay tuned for this month's Defunct Local Band Profile on the site next, in all likelihood! Thanks everyone!

A New Album Release, New Videos, And Much More!!

A quiet start to the month has been noticeable so far, but we have a full news post for you guys on this Wednesday, so what's here to check out? Some assorted recent news and notes, new videos from each side of the border, and leading off, a long awaited new album, so here's what you should know!

After an almost three year wait, local acoustic punk project Telephone & Address have finally released their fifth official album "Monster", courtesy of their Bandcamp page on Saturday! Frontman Christopher Shoust first announced this album on their Facebook page back in March 2015, but monetary concerns were partially cited for it's delayed release, and the later-recorded "Are You Now or Have You Ever Been..." would go on sale first in late 2016. Presumably released through Harmisntus Productions again, "Monster" features 13 songs, including the previously unveiled "I Can Bleed", and the album resembles "Are You Now..." in musical style, including full instrumentation and drums. That said, I believe this was recorded well before new drummer Jackson Reed signed on, and while no credits are given on Bandcamp, Chris did hint at productional involvement from AlgomA's Jamie Vincent back in 2015, so keep that in mind just in case.

No word yet on a physical release of "Monster", with or without their usual cardboard casing, but Telephone & Address next play live at The New A on March 18th, so check there in case CDs are on sale. Bandcamp copies of "Monster" are on sale for $10, while physical copies of their prior albums tended to go for $15. It's great to finally see this album released, and between this and Mike McCleary's "Weight of the Truth", our next two album reviews are set, but in what order? And will the long-delayed "Early Tapes" be next, or a full album with Jackson drumming? Buy "Monster" at the above links, and stay tuned for updates!

Next up, here's the latest from local/St. Catharine's grindcore trio Shit Liver, starting with a few new tour dates of theirs in Southern Ontario! Confirmation of their spring tour dates (including a hoped local return) are still forthcoming, but the guys will join Toronto grindcore project Truth of All Death for shows in St. Catharine's and Hamilton later this month, albeit missing that band's other three shows on this run. Great to see the guys keeping busy, so look for them this month in Southern Ontario via the gigs listed on their Facebook page! To tease their February shows (including four with Cruel Bloom, starting tomorrow in Owen Sound), Shit Liver posted this video to their Facebook page yesterday featuring the 16 second intro to an original song from a recent jam session. Tinted in a bluish monochrome, the guys lampshaded the clip's "horrible audio quality", but given their extreme sound and the opening's heavy focus on Matt's drumming, it's not bad at all for what it is. Give Shit Liver's new video a look below!



Also today, here's a new-ish instrumental track from Sault Michigan metal project Life's Eclipse, courtesy of their label Werehold Records' YouTube channel! Uploaded last week, this is a partial revision of "Evil Star" from their unreleased 1998 album "Deeper In The Woods", though now featuring frontman Jason Mills playing his new 8 string guitar. Very solid performance, and the new guitar slides in nicely to the original, so fans of hard hitting groove-inspired metal should take to this one! Give Life's Eclipse's new/old song a listen below, and stay tuned for more from the Werehold camp!



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

• Hamilton, Ontario punk/grunge trio Doors & Fours have been added to the previously announced Archelon concert at The Rockstar Bar on March 10th, as per the official Facebook event page on Sunday. This will be a makeup date of sorts for Doors & Fours, who were forced to drop out of a headlining Algonquin Pub concert in November (also to have featured Jack Spades opening) due to their tour vehicle breaking down, so don't miss their long awaited local debut next month!
• The Gore Street Cafe will host their third annual Fishbowl Festival of Community, Food, Arts, and Culture from February 20th-March 5th (again during the Pisces stretch of the astrological calendar), and there are lots of varied events announced for it already that you can read up on a the Facebook event page! At press time, no events have been announced that visibly include hard rock or punk acts, but if you want to organize or play on one, contact the venue at gorestreetcafe@gmail.com. Best of luck for year #3!
• Musical acts are being sought for the Walk for ALS on Saturday, June 2nd at the Roberta Bondar Pavilion. I have no idea if organizers would be interested in heavier or original acts, but fighting Lou Gehrig's Disease is a a great charitable cause to support. If you're interested in more details, message co-organizer Brigitte Labby at blabby@als.ca or via her Musicians Wanted Facebook group post from last week!

That's all for today, but stay tuned for weekend concert previews on the site next! Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERT (Archelon), New Video Postings, And Much More!!

Just to make sure we don't interfere with your Super Bowl plans, today's post is up well and early, so what's in this one? The return of the shorter items bumped from our second Thursday post, two new videos from local concerts last fall, and leading off, here's a LOCAL CONCERT ALERT!

Sudbury death/thrash metal band Archelon will make their long awaited return to Sault Ste. Marie with a headlining concert at The Rockstar Bar on Saturday, March 10th! Most recently noted on the SMS when they and locals Jack Spades toured Northern Ontario together in the fall, this will be Archelon's first set in the Soo since the Devil's Night show at The Oddfellows Hall in October 2014. This brutal Northern Ontario quintet should be easily welcomed back to the local stage next month, so welcome their aggressive and crushing originals back on March 10th! The aforementioned Jack Spades will return from last fall's tour as openers next month in their first live appearance of 2018, while debuting local classic metal quintet Re:Born will hit the stage for the first time ever as the night's advertised openers (though members did open for Archelon with Project 421 and The Revolution back in 2014.) How will Re:Born sound in their first live go-around? We'll find out next month!

Promoted by Jack Spades frontman J.D. Pearce in his first self-promoted event in four months, this 19+ concert has a $7 cover charge and a 10:00 PM start time, and while it is advertised as being upstairs at The Rockstar Bar, the extreme metal nature of the headliners is more akin to what would be held downstairs at The Algonquin Pub/Spin Nightclub, so keep that in mind if the show changes floors. This should be a great show for metalheads to help ring in the spring months with, so visit the official Facebook event page and the above links for current & future details!

Next up, here's a new live audio track (albeit posted as a Facebook video) that I apologize for missing on the site for the past two weeks, namely the first official soundboard recording from The Din's farewell show last fall! Last month, the defunct local alternative hard rock trio announced that their posthumous live CD "Suburban Sendoff" (recorded at LopLops Lounge in October) is "finally ready to share", and they're starting with a few advance cuts to preview it's forthcoming full release. This is the cover artwork, obviously an adaptation of the front of their final studio album "Suburban Dream". The first preview track is actually their only cover from that night, aside from frontman Mike Haggith's prior solo material, namely their rendition of The Tragically Hip's "Blow At High Dough" from their encore. The Din weren't planning to cover any outside bands for their farewell, but as Gord Downie passed away just days out from the show, they added it into their set as a tribute, which was a nice gesture!

As a cover, will this make "Suburban Sendoff"? Given that The Din axed covers from the Bandcamp version of their debut live album "The Din Does Laundry", I can't see it, especially if Bandcamp is the primary sale location for this new live album, but I have been wrong before. In any event, this was a loving and welcomed tribute to Gord and The Hip at a time when fans would appreciate it the most, so give it a listen below, and stay tuned for more on the "Suburban Sendoff" live album as it rolls in!



Also today, here's the first video from local blues/hard rock trio Electric Church's new YouTube channel! Recorded at their set at Odeno at Sault College in September during their reunion celebration, I'm not sure why this performance of their song "Muddy Water" (no plural) took so long to hit the internet, but it's a cool way to launch their YouTube channel, so better late than never! Filmed on a stationary camera (albeit with minimal drift if you skip around), the audio's a little muffled, but Electric Church are in solid form from a nice camera angle, and hopefully we hear more from them live and in studio in 2018! Give their new video a look below!



Finally for today, here's three assorted shorter news items from the last while, and yes, these are the ones bumped from Thursday's second post. They're not going anywhere now! As usual for these short-form stories, these are in alphabetical order by artist or company name:

• Former Haggith/Project 421/Eclipse frontman Curtis McKenzie is looking to get back into the local scene in a new project. He noted that he can play guitar, bass, keyboard, and some drums, he has a complete jam space, his schedule is wide open, original songs are welcomed, and and he'd be interested in playing metal as well as classic, alternative, or pop rock. It'd be great to see Curtis again in a new band, but if you're interested in jamming with him or learning more information, message him at this link or via his Musicians Wanted Facebook group post from January 19th!
• This probably goes without saying, but the band named Griphook that played an Orlando, Florida concert on Saturday is not the local hard rock cover quartet, despite their logo being erroneously used on the poster, and the Soo's Griphook sharing the poster on Facebook (presumably in jest.) The Orlando band that played that event is an old school punk outfit named Grip Hook, who made their live debut last fall. Aside from nearly identical names and both being veteran all-male rock quartets, there's no connection between the two Griphooks, but hopefully this clears up any confusion!
• Local recording studio Pretoria Hill Productions now has a Facebook page, so we have added them to our "Other Local Metal Links"! Best known here as the studio where The Din recorded their two albums (guitarist Tammy Hill's father Daniel Schmidt owns Pretoria Hill), the studio is currently home to recording sessions for Tammy's country duo The Steeltown Girls' debut CD. Daniel has done solid work with Pretoria Hill so far, and contact him above if you're interested in recording music there or gaining more details!

That's all for today, but stay tuned for more news and notes on the site in the coming days! Thanks everyone!