Overdue Updates From Two Local Metal Solo Projects!!

Today's post is designed to get ourselves caught up on two distinct local solo projects featuring guitarists from past metal bands flexing their solo muscle on original studio material, so here's what you should know from them over the past so many months!

Let's take a long overdue look at recent news & updates from local industrial metal project Molten Imp! Be advised that many of Molten Imp's posts on their Facebook page are vague or cryptic by design, often hinting at general upcoming work moreso than something finite about new material or concert dates or whatnot. Back in November, they teased a "one man electric jam" that has since been deleted from their Soundcloud page, alas, but it would have been interesting to hear! In December, project leader/AlgomA alum Boyd Rendell teased having "a great video call with an old friend about new stuff coming up", and while it may have been for the since released "Pyrolytic Punishment" split with goregrind project Crucify The Whore, I can't 100% confirm that. On January 4th, Boyd did hint that the initial plan for the split was a three-way release also featuring Chase Wigmore, but that obviously didn't pan out.

On January 29th, Boyd revealed that the movie Awakenings inspired AlgomA's old original song "Extinct Volcanoes", and if you know what that movie was about, you'll understand the symbolism! As we alluded to when Mike Haggith launched MorningStar Records in the spring, Molten Imp signed on as one of the first non-Mike acts from the Soo, and on March 8th, they announced plans to release a "double EP" through this imprint in the fall. That season is arguably less than a month away, so we'll have to see if that planned release is indeed still in the cards! Also in the spring, Molten Imp launched an official store (via MySpreadShop, a manufacture-on-demand deal like Redbubble) so you can buy various official fabric items with their new logo. That is pictured here on the cover for their fourth digital single, fittingly named "IV", which came out on their Bandcamp page on April 25th!

Yes, it came out on that day, but it has already been taken down. Why? Because Boyd bundled the songs from all four of their virtual singles onto one compilation album named "Bloom Closing: Singles ('23-'20)" that was released on Bandcamp on May 13th! Yes, this means that "IV" as a standalone digital single was only on the market for a maximum of 18 days, but at least you can still buy it (and more). Mike Haggith equalized the songs for this compilation, and it was hinted that the Bandcamp paid download-exclusive bonus songs are similarly included here. You can buy "Bloom Closing" for $16.75, and if you find that price to be steep, the whole thing can be streamed for free there as well, albeit sans any bonus songs. Boyd also hopes to release "Bloom Closing" on CDs, and he has since confirmed that this will be handled via MorningStar (I don't know if this is the previously teased "double EP" or if plans changed). 

Two new electronica songs have been posted to Soundcloud in the last two months, namely the sample-heavy "UVW 'And Another One'" and the more industrial "Bessemer Process", but again, many posts from Molten Imp are cryptic, personal, or vague by design, and often show off Boyd's gear and equipment more than finished products. In a rare Facebook video, however, Molten Imp did sample a newer original song on May 10th with a video pointed at a speaker grill, and it's a fun, in-your-face techno number with a good drum-and-bass element! That is embedded below, but get much more from Boyd's creative blend of industrial metal at the above links, and hopefully we don't fall this behind on Molten Imp again!

Finally, here's the latest from ex-Winkstinger guitarist Jason Ladouceur's solo rap/metal project In The Sun (née Less Than Zero), who we haven't talked about on the SMS in five months, so what have they been up to? Well, in April, they changed their name again, first toying with Broken By Design before settling on Failure To Remain, as per updates to their Bandlab page. Unlike the switch to In The Sun last year, a reason for the name change(s) was not announced, but I do think that Failure To Remain suits Jason's genre better than In The Sun did. New and reworked material has been steadily shared to both the Bandlab page and their YouTube channel in recent months, and on July 21st, Jason compiled 19 original songs as an "album" named "Quantum Affiliation", representing the project's evolution and as "a mix of everything meaningful".

Now, this isn't a pure "album" release, as it is a free download and you can only even get that if you have a Bandlab account, but it is the most convenient place to hear Jason's solo music in one place in the form he currently intends (he has reworked and altered a lot of his songs over these months). Failure To Remain's songs continue mixing rock and rap styles with lots of experimentation and post-production, giving them a unique sound that other local bands really aren't trying (The Apocalypse Afterparty would share the most musical DNA), but Jason's vocals can still lack in force and confidence. Check out Failure To Remain's material above, and here's a solid newer cut, "Occupied Affiliation Creation"!

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

Lopstock III Coverage (Part 1!!)

As you may recall, ex-Gnaeus drummer Brendan Garlick resurrected his mid-2010s "bohemian conclave" multi-band concert Lopstock for a belated third installment at LopLops Lounge this past Saturday, which served as the launch event for his new promotional agency Sault Noir. In the lead-up, he teased "one more Lopstock announcement... and it's a pretty exciting one" on social media, but at the time that we previewed Lopstock III on the SMS on July 28th, it hadn't been made 100% public, so what was the announcement? Well, the concert was live-streamed.... all of it. All 8+ hours of it! And this wasn't just a "let's set up one camera in front of the stage and hope things cooperate" situation, as this was in cooperation with SooToday, being live-streamed directly to their YouTube channel and promoted on their website proper, with three high quality (mostly) static camera angles being used for the duration.

Kudos to Brendan for getting this high production quality to log this entire show (with ten scheduled acts, mind you), and it sure blows his already extensive video coverage from the last Lopstock out of the water! This is also a good sign of intent for what he's aiming to do with Sault Noir, even if we don't see video like this all the time. The live-stream runs for over 8 hours and 36 minutes, but is bookended by 7 minute-long static title cards on SooToday's end, and the performance order was heavily changed from the posters, with the three hard rock-leaning acts all pushed into the last four timeslots. The live video begins with Brendan himself introducing the show (he was the evening's MC), and the opening artist was folk/pop singer/guitarist Hannah Lindsay, who played her original songs "The Water Runs Cold", "Speak Your Mind", "The Birds", "Scarred", and "Where I'll Go", a cover of Fleetwood Mac's "Rhiannon", and her own "Your Friend".

Remember, Brendan asks Lopstock acts to keep their sets focused around original material with a one cover limit. Hannah had a strong performance of acoustic pop rock songs here, and while not always too animated on stage, she had a comfortable rapport with the audience, so don't sleep on her opening set! After Brendan offered a quote from Flowers For Algernon and acknowledged his late friend Joonas Kamula, the second act of the evening was local rapper Tristan "Bold Noize" Goslow, whose set started with his songs "Set The Tone" and "Danger". Things took a surprising turn next when he acknowledged on stage that he was going to "switch up the vibe a little bit", as "we're putting out a punk album (in) two weeks". Now this is 100% news to me, but as a rapper, Bold Noize isn't a project that I regularly scout. Social media teasers have been minimal as of this writing, but the album will be named "God Save Me", cover art pictured.

The punk portions of Bold Noize's set were still just Tristan alone with a backing track (if he has bandmates, they weren't on stage with him), but he was predominantly singing rather than rapping. The first two songs of this ilk were not introduced by name, but you can see them linked here and here. He gets back to his existing rap output next with "Bring The War", before dipping back to the punk album ahead with the title track "God Save Me", a song named "Dead Inside", and a slower track not introduced by name, before closing with his existing rap song "Talk". Personal Facebook postings suggest that "God Save Me" will be released on major streaming services on Thursday, so keep an eye out then if this interests you. If these are a true indication of how this album will sound, then expect something more like Machine Gun Kelly's rock output than NOFX, but I'm definitely curious to hear how the final product turns out!

Is this just his existing rap structure with predominantly clean vocals, or truly something more rock-based? We'll find out soon! I'll pass judgement on the songs until I hear the studio versions (even the rap songs here were more vocally animated live than in studio), but Tristan can carry a tune as a singer, and while the backing tracks did lean more to his rap output than a fully fledged band (at least as presented here), props to him for expanding his range beyond hip hop! He also made good use of the LopLops venue to rock out in the audience rather than staying on stage, and his rap flow was fast and natural. Check out all of Lopstock III below, with our coverage of the other 88% of it to follow this month!

That's all for now, but stay tuned for much more from Losptock and beyond this week! Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (Peril And Rhythm & Brews), Plus The Last Of This Year's Rotaryfest Videos!!

Two topic post on this sunny Saturday, which is split in two via the last of the known videos from a major annual concert festival in Sault Ontario, and first, LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (one on SHORT NOTICE with related apology) for Sault Michigan and area. Here's what you should know!

Local hard rock quartet Rhythm & Brews are playing at The Northern Pines Lounge at the St. Ignace Kewadin Casino TONIGHT, after previously playing there last night! I profusely apologize for the short notice and for missing yesterday's show in our weekend concert previews to date, as while the band has not plugged them on their Facebook page, they were listed via Kewadin's entertainment page for the St. Ignace branch as part of their August dates there. Between how busy the SMS has been this summer and the band's lack of promotion, this weekend fell through the cracks, so I apologize again, and hopefully last night's show was a hit! Notably, this weekend's shows mark Rhythm & Brews' first dates since the passing of guitarist Chris Hubbard's father (and ex-Splitshot/415E bandmate) Tony two weeks ago, and our continued thoughts are with Chris & his family at this difficult time. Hopefully rocking out on stage with friends all around helps a bit!

Rhythm & Brews were last seen three weeks ago at The Rapids Lounge in the Soo, shows that entirely slipped us by for coverage on the SMS, but alas, this band isn't known for plugging all of their shows on Facebook, let alone posting videos from their gigs (you have to be there, I guess!) They last knowingly played in St. Ignace back in March. TONIGHT (and yesterday's) shows are/were 21+ affairs with 9:00 PM start times and no cover charges, and hopefully TONIGHT'S show goes as well as last night's surely did. Apologies again, hopefully we'll be right on top of the next ones!

Next up, Traverse City, Michigan classic metal trio Peril have announced their next two Kewadin Casino concert weekends in the Eastern Upper Peninsula, as per this concert calendar for their August and September gigs that was shared onto their Facebook page last month! Their sister bands Scarkazm and Project 6 (no relation) are also addressed here, but Scarkazm are not scheduled to return to our area until November, and Project 6 rarely play concerts north of the Mackinac Bridge. Peril's next E.U.P. stops will come in two weeks when they rock the aforementioned Northern Pines Lounge at the St. Ignace Kewadin Casino on Friday, August 18th & Saturday, August 19th, before heading north to The Rapids Lounge at the Sault Ste. Marie Kewadin Casino on Friday, September 15th & Saturday, September 16th. Fans of Jeff and crew's classic metal and hard rock covers won't want to miss out on these dates!

Kewadin's entertainment pages linked above only address August shows at press time, so stay tuned later in the month for the likely official confirmation of Peril's Soo shows next month (and more). Like with Rhythm & Brews TONIGHT (and last night, apologies again), these are 9:00 PM affairs with 21+ age limits and no cover charges. Visit the above links for more details on these and other upcoming Peril shows in Northern Michigan!

Now, let's finally close out our Rotaryfest fallout today, as I've stretched things into another month, so better wrap it up while July is still somewhat in the rear view mirror! Firstly, I slightly jumped the gun when noting last time that Sault Ontario classic/hard rock cover quintet That's Chester's complete festival-closing reunion set on Stage 1 on the Saturday was uploaded in video form to their Facebook page. Drummer Ric Datson said that they played 16 songs, and that is the amount uploaded as of the end of July, seemingly ending with a three song encore of two April Wine covers followed by ZZ Top's "La Grange". However, as they were getting ready to leave, fan response actually led to a real encore, for which they did Trooper's "Raise A Little Hell". I don't know this if this was the uncounted song or not... perhaps he skipped "La Grange" as it was unrehearsed?

In any event, this cover is well handled by this veteran five-some! While ostensibly a one-off reunion (That's Chester have only played live thrice since Eugene Orlando died in 2015, all at Rotaryfest), nothing I have seen or heard has implied that this was a farewell set, so hopefully this isn't the absolute last time that we see them on stage. Check out their Trooper cover below, and watch their entire Rotaryfest 2023 set across multiple cameras on their Facebook page linked above!

The last known public videos from Rotaryfest 2023 (as of this writing) come from the Friday Night Blues program on Stage 2 by the Art Gallery of Algoma from July 14th. The Sault Blues Society live-streamed 2+ minute-long videos of all five acts for their Facebook page that day, where you can see Rusty McCarthy play his original song "Detroit City", The Steeltown Playboys covering Son House's "Walkin' Blues", reunited prog/blues rock trio The Hyperion Effect playing a song named (I think) "Mustang Woman", Bill Priddle's indie rock cover band All The Tired Horses covering Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers' "Candy", and Smokehouse playing an apparent original song, possibly named "Walk In The Light". All are well shot from a good angle on the grass, and while it'd have been nice to see more fans up front (let alone seeing/hearing each song in full), the clear video and audio quality across the board is nice!

Hyperion Effect frontman Keith Conway also uploaded a video from their set to his solo Facebook page, which features his ending guitar solo from their cover of Gary Clark Jr.'s "When My Train Pulls In", but the video is quite blurry. Nothing hard rock or metal to take in from what was knowingly filmed on the Second Stage on the Friday, but there's a lot of talent and familiar faces from that day, so definitely check them out if you are so inclined at the above links, and look for more news and notes on the site next week! Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (Soundcheck), Plus New Videos!!

I figured that we might see some more SHORT NOTICE LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS for this weekend, so those are leading off this otherwise new video-heavy post on this Friday morning, so here's what you should know!

Local classic/hard rock cover quartet Soundcheck will return to Jay's Piston Broke Pub for concerts TONIGHT & TOMORROW NIGHT! Apologies for the short notice, these shows were only announced via the venue's Facebook page yesterday, and the band has not confirmed them at press time, not having plugged a concert on their own Facebook page in almost a month. Yes, these did follow Soundcheck's regular jam night hosting duties last night, while singer/guitarist Cameron Oliver played an acoustic country set with Matt Tarantini for their Wing Wednesday matinee this week, so Soundcheck have had the former Roosevelt Hotel on lock this week! Not counting jam nights, these will be Soundcheck's first traditional concerts at Jay's since June, and hopefully their brand of classic and hard rock covers go over well with west end fans once again TONIGHT & TOMORROW NIGHT!

TONIGHT & TOMORROW NIGHT's concerts are 9:30 PM affairs with 19+ age limits and no cover charges. See above for more details, and for a preview, here's a couple of new videos of Soundcheck from... their Instagram page?! On July 25th, they opened a page on that platform, promising "weekly uploads" with media from each gig, but only three batches of pictures and two videos have been posted, ending on the 27th. The videos were both shot on stage by Cameron himself, so despite both being vertical, you do get a unique vantage point! One is of Terry Eaton playing the guitar solo from (I think) David Wilcox's "Riverboat Fantasy" at Reggie's Place earlier this year, while the other is of the band rocking out on an unidentified song at a recent jam night at Jay's alongside an uncredited jam night musician on guitar. Cameron typically does not perform at jam nights, but he was here for this one in some capacity.

Interesting videos that let us literally see things from Cameron's point of view, but of course, I'd like to see longer and horizontal videos even more, and of course, ones with the full band in action. Give these a look for yourselves above and below, and don't miss Soundcheck at Jay's Piston Broke Pub TONIGHT & TOMORROW NIGHT!

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by SoundCheck (@soundcheck.ssm)

Next up, here's a new music video from online page-less folk/punk solo project Jonesy Land! Their fourth music video and first for a song from their debut studio album "Zoom - Out", this was uploaded to label Tidal Records' YouTube channel on Monday. The video is for the song "Old Man", with the video produced by the local consulting/marketing agency Dig. I'll hold comment on the song proper for now, as our very next album review on the SMS will be on "Zoom - Out", but the video features Dustin playing the song alone in a forest while surrounded by seven old CRT televisions playing footage of him, either from past videos of this & other bands of his, or alternate camera angles of this very song in progress. It's very well put together and shot in a way that suits the song, while also showing off his growth as a musician over the years, so give it a look below, and look for our "Zoom - Out" review later this month!

Finally, here's the second live video posted onto new local classic/hard rock cover quartet Silent 9's Facebook page! Again shot at last month's Cory Marks show at The Machine Shop, the 65 second clip features the Obsession successors tackling The Red Hot Chili Peppers' "Give It Away", which you don't see too many local bands covering, and they seem to pull it off well! The video is really nice too, with a solid view of The Machine Shop's unique staging while being able to see the band & front row fans very clearly, so give it a watch for yourself below!

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

LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (Tarnished & Heavy Lies The Crown), This Weekend's Concert Previews, And More!!

Before we begin our weekend concert previews, we have a cancellation to take note of, as reunited Sault Ontario hard rock band Half Past are apparently not playing at Shooters Downstairs Lounge tomorrow night. The Facebook event page for that show was quietly deleted by the venue, and the band never acknowledged the concert on their own Facebook page. No reason was given for the cancellation, but for their first gig in almost 12 years, the lack of promotion was definitely suspect. When they are ready to return, expect lots of hype! Now, here's what you should know for announced hard rock shows in the area this weekend, starting with LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS, one on SHORT NOTICE!

St. Ignace, Michigan metalcore band Heavy Lies The Crown will play a public event in their hometown THIS SATURDAY NIGHT, namely the 2nd Street Music Festival! Apologies for the short notice, the band first announced this on their Facebook page last Wednesday, but I wanted to get more information just in case. As you may know, H.L.T.C. almost exclusively play concerts downstate due to a lack of available opportunities in the E.U.P. (they also can't easily enter Canada), so their few gigs in this peninsula have tended to be private outdoor affairs. Not on SATURDAY, with this concert seeing them actually playing on a proper outdoor stage that is open to the public at 376 North 2nd Street, which is a bit south of Chain Lake. Like their past private events in St. Ignace, this is a multi-genre affair, as they'll be joined by local classic rock cover band Aisle8, acoustic rock musician Austin "Grayham" Graham (who has played some heavier covers live), and cover band Just Jammin'.

This all goes down on SATURDAY at 5:00 PM, there's no advertised cover charge, and this should be all ages. If you're coming from the Soo, the ideal exit off of the I-75 would be exit 345, and 9&10 News is calling for mostly cloudy weather in St. Ignace with a high of 79° (26° Celsius). As best as I can tell, Heavy Lies The Crown are headlining the 2nd Street Music Festival, so it'll build to their brutal original metal nicely! It'll be nice for E.U.P. fans to be able to not have to drive 2+ hours and pay bridge fare twice to see H.L.T.C. in concert, and it'll be a solid showcase for St. Ignace musical talent, so definitely visit the official Facebook event page for details, and here's Heavy Lives The Crown! See what I did there?

Next up, local metal/hard rock quartet Tarnished will return to The Rapids Lounge at the Sault Ste. Marie Kewadin Casino for concerts TOMORROW & SATURDAY NIGHT, but in terms of a new confirmation, they will return to nearby Rudyard on Saturday, August 19th at Huck's Pub & Grill... or rather, outside of it! While the former Joe's Bar is no stranger to hosting live bands inside, they do have an outdoor stage that they'll use on occasion in the summer, and Tarnished will get to rock out there in two weeks, weather permitting! Should be a fun time for fans of their hard rocking covers and solid originals, so don't miss out then! One assumes that they'll just move indoors if rain occurs. That show has a 9:00 PM start time, 21+ age limit, and no cover, but before that, remember that their previously announced Rapids Lounge dates in the Soo are this weekend, so if you're further north or prefer the casino, keep tomorrow & Saturday's Soo Kewadin dates in mind!

While fans in Sault Ste. Marie just saw Tarnished live at The Merch two weeks ago, these will be their first Kewadin dates in town since the Memorial Day long weekend. Like in Rudyard later this month, expect no cover, 21+ age limits, and 9:00 PM start times tomorrow and Saturday night. Visit the above links for more details on all of Tarnished's announced August dates in our area, and here they are live!

Now let's head north to Sault Ontario for some linked shows, starting with local acoustic classic/hard rock musician Tym Morrison's next concert in his weekly seasonal run at The Mike Case Memorial Stage outside of The Trading Post TOMORROW! This is stop #5 in this year's regular arrangement at the outdoor stage way down Great Northern Road, which runs at least through the end of the month, and it should prove to be a fun way for fans to check out his rock cover favourites! For a third straight week, Tym is double booked tomorrow, as he'll be zipping downtown for a full band concert tomorrow night that we'll be previewing in a second, so it'll be a bit of a trek if you want to pull the double. This all ages concert has a 7:00 PM start time and no cover charge, while 9&10 News is calling for sunny weather in the 22° range. Visit the official Facebook event page for more details, and here's Tym live!

When Tym finishes up at The Trading Post, he'll make his way downtown to join his Nostalgic Band bandmates Randy "Dutch" Vanderploeg and Chet Dziergas for shows at Reggie's Place TOMORROW & SATURDAY NIGHT! Again, this will be the third straight week where Tym is playing solo and with his band on the same night, but unlike the last two weeks, they are definitely doubling up for public gigs this weekend. so you have options if Friday doesn't work for you, or if you just want to spread things out. Tomorrow and Saturday's concerts have 9:30 PM start times, no cover charges, and 19+ age limits. For more details on the festivities at Reggie's this weekend, visit the official Facebook event page, and for a preview, here's a new live video from The Nostalgic Band's Facebook group! Dutch posted this on Monday, and it comes from a private gig that they played this past weekend.

The video has The Nostalgic Band tackling Deep Purple's "Highway Star", and everyone sounds good on this strongly performed cover! That's beneficial given the muddy and dark video quality, though post-production zooms are attempted. Give it a watch below, and don't miss The Nostalgic Band's classic metal and hard rock attack at Reggie's this weekend!

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

Where Are The New Albums? (August 2023 Update)

We're back with another round of our monthly "Where Are The New Albums?" feature posts, as we again look at the current release whereabouts and most recent public updates on upcoming albums from local metal, hard rock, and/or punk musicians! While largely in a holding pattern from July, two of this month's five entries have updates (noted with the title in italics), and one is basically a complete re-write due to the successful release of one of the addressed albums last month. So, where are the new albums? Read on below to hopefully find out!

------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Chase James Wigmore - The Chaotic Rite

Rumoured Songs: Multiple

Background: Ever the prolific artist & songwriter, local folk punk/extreme metal musician Chase Wigmore has been working on an extensive rock opera for years (once claimed to be a 33 part work), originally named "A Story About A Kid Named Todd". Worked on in between his other unrelated solo albums, released for sale or otherwise, Chase posted a lengthy elaboration of the rock opera last year, now titled "The Chaotic Rite", outlining its concept, recording plans, and long-term release timeline. Clips of songs have surfaced on his Facebook page, as well as the final artwork, while in promotion for his last release, Chase has hinted that "The Chaotic Rite" might be his final eponymous solo album.

Current Release Status: Your guess is as good as mine for when this will finally come out, but remember that Chase is very prolific and varied in his musical interests, and not every album of his has seen a formal paid release, either by finishing it's lifespan as a demo, or by being released online for free. Regardless, he has been working on the rock opera for years to ensure a quality product, so stay tuned for updates from his camp!

------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Far From Fine's debut album

Rumoured Songs: "Relapse", "This Way Again", "Poison In My Mind", "Broken"

Background: The new punk/hard rock band from former Suicide Kings bandmates Mike Gaetano & Mitch Sirie and ex-Gnaeus bassist Matt Fronzi, Far From Fine signalled that they wanted to record a debut album as early as their debut gig (under their original name Ravencore) at Toystock in November, as hyped on SooToday. The renamed group went public in April and outlined their early plans on their Facebook page, including the names of four original songs. Far From Fine were recording at Mission Control Studios with producer Dustin Jones from (at least) May 26th-30th, sharing videos of Mitch and Matt tracking material there. It's not yet clear whether ex-drummer Austin "Mickey" McCrae will factor into the final product or not, but you can see the band & guest drummer Blair St. John playing these and more original songs at Lopstock III last week at this link (SMS coverage forthcoming).

Current Release Status: No idea, and we don't even have a released Suicide Kings album to compare timelines with, but Mike aside, everyone in Far From Fine has released local albums with separate bands. It'll be interesting to see how things shake out for Far From Fine in general, but see them live to hear what they have in store originally!

------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Fort Creek's debut EP

Rumoured Songs: "Hammer Down"

Background: Local southern/hard rock quintet Fort Creek have sporadically teased plans to record an EP since February 2020, and while the pandemic lockdowns may have gave them more time to record, they wouldn't release any samples until almost two years later when they shared this snippet of their single "Hammer Down" their Facebook page, later posting this 72 second clip. The guys debuted it at their headlining concert at Soo Blaster in June 2022, and have played it live regularly since, but they have yet to release any full tracks online. The band has been working in studio in early 2023, revealing that "it's coming along" in a Facebook post on March 22nd, and teasing new songwriting & recording sessions following earlier "learning experiences" there in May.

Current Release Status: Fort Creek revealed in a comment reply on their Facebook page on April 17th that their originals are "set to be released this fall", which follows their unrealized plans to release an EP in "late summer", then "late 2022". There are a lot of unknowns either way, especially given the 2+ years of production time and that this is a band primarily known for their work on the weekend cover circuit (though some members do have experience in name original bands, especially Tony). It will be interesting to see how things develop, so stay tuned!

------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Mike Haggith's "Face To Face" live album

Rumoured Songs:  "MorningStar", "The Best You Never Had", "Into The Setting Sun", "Come On Home", "I've Seen It Before", "If Ever Comes The Day", "Suburban Dream" (The Din cover), "Out Of My League" (The Din cover), "Potato (Should've Known Better)"

Background: In the lead-up to the staging of his joint storytellers "Face To Face" concert with local folk/country musician Brian Tremblay at The Art Hub on Spring on May 26th, local/Barrie alt-hard rock musician Mike Haggith announced plans on his Facebook page to release a live album from this event through his indie label MorningStar Records, including a vinyl pressing. If this comes to fruition, it's not clear if Brian's half of the concert (he and Mike alternated songs), let alone the stories, would be included on the final product, which would necessitate at least a double album on vinyl. In any event, you can watch the entire "Face To Face" live-stream at this link.

Current Release Status: Little has came out about the "Face To Face" live album plans since first announced, and while that show went off without a hitch for Mike (unlike Rotaryfest), it understandably hasn't been his first musical priority this summer, with his new studio album "All The Best In All You Do" being released as planned last month. We'll let you know when/if more comes out on this live album in any form!

------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The Uncanny Valley's debut album

Rumoured Songs: "The Uncanny Valley", "Glowin'", "Middle Man", “This Love is Psychedelic”, "Stuck In Rotation", “Sweet Like Sugar”, "Fumbling Through", "The Village"

Background: The new classic hard rock band from 2019 Soo's Got Talent winner Adrian Sullivan, fans will have seen original material of theirs right from the start, as The Uncanny Valley debuted their own songs in their first live concert at The Canadian on New Year's Eve 2019. Live concert & jam session videos have followed on their Facebook page featuring their own material as well. After posting a teaser audio clip of "Sweet Like Sugar" in September 2020, they posted the full studio version of "Middle Man" that October, finally confirming there that they are working on their first album. The guys did record a studio version of "Stuck In Rotation" at Unsalted Audio for the Clusterfolk Music Festival and a related compilation album in April 2022, but whether that exact recording will be included on the band's own album is unclear. After an 8 month public break, the band released a music video for their song "The Village" in June.

Current Release Status: No clue, which isn't helped by The Uncanny Valley's age and relatively unfamiliar profile for many readers, and their 8 months away from new updates may be concerning for some as well. That said, they are a talented group who seemed to be taking the right steps for the future, and hopefully more updates on The Uncanny Valley's debut album follow in some form or another when ready!

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I hope you guys liked this month's "Where Are The New Albums?" post! This series will return on or around September 2nd, while our next monthly feature post will likely be this month's Defunct Local Band Profile one week from tomorrow. That's all for now, but stay tuned for weekend concert previews tomorrow, and much more ahead! Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERT (Downtown Street Party), New Videos, And Much More!!

We made it out of July, so let's kick off August with a new news post, including some assorted recent updates, new videos, and a LOCAL CONCERT ALERT! Here's what you should know!

Local classic/hard rock cover quartet Generations and online page-less alt-punk cover quintet Bookclub will join forces on Thursday, August 10th for the second summer street party of the year on Queen Street East! Put on by the Sault Ste. Marie Downtown Association, this follows their first street party of the year on July 13th, which featured the debut of new local rock band Turbo Dad (featuring alumni of Ashes To Dust, Convergence, The Saturday Nights, and The Uncanny Valley), though I don't know if their sound encroaches into heavier territory. Specifics on the family friendly entertainment next week are surprisingly not out yet, but visit the Downtown Association Facebook page for updates when they occur, or to see what happened last month. Expect games, vendors, and a good time (weather permitting) in any event, and both Generations and Bookclub should deliver strong sets to a receptive audience!

The street party will take place on a closed off section of Queen Street between Spring Street and Dennis Street, and while they have not yet specified where on Queen that the bands will be playing, note that last year's street party between Spring & Dennis had the band stage set up at the corner of Queen and March Street. The festivities begin at 5:00 PM on Thursday, and have no cover charge. Hopefully things live up to their usual promise for families and music fans alike, so visit the above links for continuing details on next Thursday's street party!

Next up, here's the first public video from new local classic/hard rock cover quartet Silent 9's Facebook page! This comes from their set opening for North Bay country/hard rock musician Cory Marks at The Machine Shop last month, with an uncredited attendee filming them covering AC/DC's "Highway To Hell". It's a shame that this video is only 31 seconds long, as the quality of this camera is really good, and it captures the Obsession successors handling this hard rock classic very nicely across the board! I'm definitely curious to see more, but give it a watch for yourself below!

Also today, this is a bit of a follow-up from my review of Handsome Sandwich's debut album "Deconstructed" on Saturday, as this never made a normal post at the time. On July 7th, the local alt-hard rock quintet posted the album on YouTube via individual uploads of all 11 songs that you can access via their YouTube channel and/or this playlist, with each video creatively highlighting just one individual item on the sandwich on the front cover (two if you count both bread slices on "Darkside"), with the rest blacked out. If you wish that they hadn't changed the album's name from "Lettuce", then you may like that this sandwich's lettuce is highlighted on tracks #5, #9, and #10! The images are static, but have pulsating light effects on the album text. Effectively done way to differentiate what may otherwise have just been a stock YouTube Music upload, so give the opening song "Stick Up" a listen below!

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

• I have regrettably removed defunct local classic/hard rock cover band Obsession from our band links due to the deletion of their Facebook page and closure of their website (I don't believe that they had any other proper social media/band pages). The veteran fan favourites ended their 18 year run in February due to guitarist Gabe Tessaro's retirement from live music (That's Chester reunions excepted), with his bandmates splintering off into Soundcheck and the aforementioned Silent 9. I wish they would have at least left the Facebook page up, but follow Obsession members' current projects to see what they're up to now!
• In a Sault Star article by Jeffrey Ougler last week, he talked about the history of major touring musicians at GFL Memorial Gardens since the former Steelback/Essar Centre opened in 2006, especially in regards to a survey that the downtown arena put out to ask mailing list subscribers about what concerts they should try to book here. Rock & country led the way, and arena general manager Robert Santa Maria was interviewed about the challenges and ideal scenarios for attracting certain acts while minimizing any sort of monetary loss for the promoters. This is an interesting read, and hopefully the survey was fruitful, so read it for yourself above!
• Louisville, Kentucky post-grunge quartet Tantric will return to the region on Sunday, September 3rd at Bates Corner Bar & Grill in Gould City, Michigan! This is a 90 minute drive from the Soo, albeit still in the Upper Peninsula, so while it is out of our coverage range (about as far from here as Blind River), you guys may want to consider checking this out, as tickets are just $20. A robust lineup of openers includes local metal quartet Tarnished (no strangers to Gould City on their own), a very rare U.P. set from St. Ignace deathcore band Heavy Lies The Crown, and oft-seen Saginaw rap rock band Redburn, among others. For such a small town, this is a huge concert, and hopefully there's a solid turnout over the Labour Day long weekend despite the 90 minute trek for many!
  

 

That's all for today, but stay tuned for this month's "Where Are The New Albums?" post on the site next! Thanks everyone!