LOCAL CONCERT ALERT, Previews For This Weekend, And Much More!!!

Hello everyone, I have lots of news today, and let's begin this post with a LOCAL CONCERT ALERT!!! (Remember, for news on Stillbroke, Lion Ride, Angels of Suffering, and Tym Morrison, check out the post below this one!)

I apologize for the short notice on this show, as is the case most of the time, I didn't hear about it until just recently. No matter, here's what you need to know! Saturday afternoon, a new local hard rock band, Quite Frankly, will play their first public show (as in, not at a high school) at Top Sail Island for this year's Dragon Boat Festival! Their set starts at 12:00 PM! I don't know about any other metal bands playing, but if I do, I'll let you guys know! For more details, visit the official Facebook event page!

Now, as I don't have a site or video to show you guys yet, but I can tell you that Quite Frankly includes former members of local bands like Devastation of the Heavens, Faithless Sin, Fingerbone, and No Arrow, among others! Also, they feature a female lead singer, which you don't see much for hard rock/metal bands in Sault Ontario! Once I hear more about Quite Frankly, or if I hear anything from this Saturday's show, you'll hear it here!

Count that as a local concert preview too, cause it's so close to the concert's date! While we're on the subject, let's get to the other metal shows over the weekend! So we'll jump to Sault Michigan to continue, as there are plenty of shows this weekend to get through!

First of all, there will be a Battle of the Bands at The Corner Pub Bar and Grill tomorrow and Saturday! I can't say for certain who is in the complete lineup, but I do know that Sault Michigan's own Integrated System of Machines and Muskegon modern rockers Kilacel are scheduled to be playing! Now, I read on Reverbnation that Absolute, Nixxon Dixxon, and Clownsack might be playing there as well, but their respective MySpaces don't say that, so I won't judge on those possibilities, just what I'm certain about.

This Battle of the Bands will feature local and regional bands, with celebrity judges! Admission is absolutely FREE too! You can get in if you're under 21, but you must be accompanied by someone who is 21. Both nights of the battle starts at 7:00 PM! Should be a good battle, and for a preview, I'll show you this music video for Integrated System of Machines' song "I.S.O.M."!



Next up, we'll head to The Rapids Lounge at Kewadin Casino, where I can say for sure that Nixxon Dixxon will be playing there! They'll take the stage at 9:00 PM tomorrow night and Saturday night for a pair of concerts! Check them out on MySpace, they're definitely one of the most talented young bands in the area! These should be some good shows, so go check them out this weekend! And for a preview, check out this clip of Nixxon Dixxon performing three acoustic covers from a concert earlier this year!



The last metal shows in Sault Michigan are at The Satisfied Frog tomorrow and Saturday night, where Michigan hard rockers Nudge will return for their first local shows since April, I think! Both of these concerts will begin at 10:00 PM! Now I don't have any audio or video to share with you guys of Nudge, but judging by their MySpace page, they cover a lot of great hard rock songs, and they should put on a good show as well! If I hear anything more on this show, or any others in Sault Michigan this weekend, I'll let you guys know!

Now that we're all updated on this weekend's shows (I'll preview the Stillbroke show on Monday this weekend), let us get to some more news! And we'll start with some updates on local black metal band Woods of Ypres' upcoming Western Canada tour! Guitarist Bryan Belleau posted a note on Facebook detailing each stop, including (where available) addresses, times, other performing bands, and admission costs!

The only real update so far for the August 16th show here in Sault Ontario at The Speakeasy is that it will be a three band show, with details to be announced! Hell, he even has directions from Google Maps to each venue on the tour! Here's hoping it goes well, and that the show here in August will blow the roof off of The Speakeasy! Read the note at this location!

Oh, guess what? I found another local band to add to the listings! They're long since broken up, but there's enough on their website to mention them here! They are Children Of The Dawn, a local hard rock band that featured current Stillbroke frontman Jesse Frigault and Quite Frankly drummer Adam Pettenuzzo, among others! Their site was hosted on Piczo, but it's mostly been reduced to a menagerie of broken picture links, though it still features bio information and a guestbook! So yeah, go check it out!

And finally, some updates on three Sault Michigan metal bands that I've had to remove or alter from the Local Metal Band Links. Two of the bands, 13 Mile Style and The Roadhouse Rebels, have had their MySpace pages deleted, and with no other noticeable sites online, I've deleted them from the SMS listings. While The Roadhouse Rebels didn't have a lot to speak of, last I remembered, 13 Mile Style's page seemed to have a bit going for it, so I was kind of suprised. Oh well, hopefully the members of those bands find themselves into some new bands soon!

The other band is Dust N' Bones, a classic hard rock band that doubled as a Guns N' Roses tribute act. They're also notable for featuring Integrated System of Machines keyboardist C. Harrison as lead singer! Well, their official website was either deleted or it's domain expired, cause it's now a dead link. But never fear, they still have other pages! So I changed their link to redirect to their Reverbnation page, which features a whole bunch of their original and cover songs, and they're pretty good, so check them out!

That's all for today, more news coming soon! Thanks everyone!

A Few Random Updates

Well, I haven't heard too much in "new" stuff to share, but I have a few things, so here we go!

First up, some updates on Stillbroke! According to their Facebook page, their upcoming EP is all finished! It was recorded at Stereo Soul Studios, but it has been sent away for mastering. Knowing their talent, this EP should turn out excellent! Remember to go check them out on Monday, when they support Marianas Trench at The Canadian! As of this weekend, there were less than 100 tickets still available for this show, so snap them up while you still can! Visit the Facebook event page for more details!

Next up, Sault Ontario natives Lion Ride have scheduled a few more shows in Southern Ontario! These punk/glam rockers will hit The Bovine Sex Club in Toronto on July 3rd, with Toronto punk band CJ Sleez! The next day, they will head to Moonstone, Ontario as part of the lineup for Moonstock, which is a yearly cancer benefit held there! Following that, they'll be playing in Peterborough on July 11th for an outdoor festival. In my searching, it seems likely that they're playing at this year's Peterborough Summer Festival of Lights, but they aren't mentioned on the site, so I don't know for sure. I'll list the show that way, but if I'm wrong, let me know! Best of luck to Lion Ride on these shows!

Now, I'll let you guys know about a couple of new discoveries I made today. First off, I'll talk about Sault Michigan's own Angels of Suffering. I don't talk about this band too much on here cause I don't usually hear a lot from them. However, when I was crawling around MySpace, I came to their page. And wouldn't you know it, they posted an original song on their music player, called "Lie In Hate"! And I'll tell you what, it's good. Damn good! It reminds me of Hatebreed a bit! Check it out on their official MySpace page! I hope to hear more from these guys real soon!

As well, I wanna direct you guys to a man named Tym Morrison. Tym's a native Saultite and metal guitarist, now based in Calgary. He used to play in a few local bands, and past bands of his have opened for Dio and Alice Cooper, among others. He has over 30 original solo songs on his official website, and they're all pretty good! As well, it features a biography, photos, links, and even a forum and guestbook! Hell, he even has a solo CD which you can purchase online on CD Baby!

I was aware of Tym's work previously (his PureVolume page has been in the Local Metal Band Links since the blog started), but I didn't know about his site until yesterday. It's well put together and comprehensive, but it hasn't been updated since last year. Aside from that, his songs are great, he's an excellent guitarist, and I recommend you check him out! And I updated the Local Metal Band Links to redirect to his site now too! (Oh yeah, he also has a MySpace page!)

So that's my little news update for today, I will have more in the coming days, including previews for this weekend's full slate of Sault Michigan shows and Monday's Stillbroke concert! And as well, expect the APE CD review very soon as well! And if you're going to see Sense of Truth or Today I Caught The Plague tomorrow night, let us know! Thanks everyone!

Local Concert Previews, And Stuff I Missed This Weekend!!!

I have returned, and luckily, I haven't missed any concerts to preview, and there's three coming up in the next three days, so let's get right to that, I'm overdue as it is.....stupid computer. So here are your local concert previews for the next couple of days!!

First off, tomorrow at Coch's Corner, Edmonton based metal band All Else Fails will make their return to Sault Ontario! Of course, they just played at the same venue on May 28th, and I almost missed it. Well, not this time! Early start for a show at Coch's too, they will hit the stage at 8:00! And as in any other show there, the admission cost is ZERO! Should be a good show, thought I must admit, I'm more accustomed to seeing bands like AEF at The Oddfellows Hall. No matter, free to get in, alcohol's for sale, a pretty good hardcore band, just make sure you're 19, it is a bar after all.

As for All Else Fails, they're have a very good brand of extreme hardcore/prog metal, and they should appeal to a good segment of concertgoers, so why not check them out? Head to their official MySpace page to check out some of their originals! And here's a video of a live performance of their song "Eyes of the Martyr"!



Next up, there are two local metal concerts on Thursday, both in Sault Ontario, and the first of them will also be at Coch's Corner! Local hard rockers Sense of Truth will be there, as direct support for Edmonton screamo band On The Sidewalk Bleeding! This show will begin at 10:00 PM on that night! And just like the All Else Fails show, there's NO COVER CHARGE! Personally, I'm not into screamo, but I'm sure many of you are, so go check out some of On The Sidewalk Bleeding's originals on their official MySpace page, they're good for their genre! As for Sense of Truth, I'm sure you guys are aware of their talents already, and they should put on another great show on Thursday! And for a preview, here's a video of Sense of Truth's performing their song "Vicious Cycle"!



And finally, we'll head to The Oddfellows Hall, where a whole bunch of Ontario metal bands will make their way here for a big hardcore show on this stop of The Canadian Crusade Tour! Your headliners are Today I Caught The Plague, a progressive metal band from Ottawa! Support will come from Thunder Bay death metal bands Faceless Hulk and Norris (I won some Norris prizes on the 2nd!), as well as Windsor death metal band Constructed Apocalypse, and locals Loyalty Is Dead! All of the above bands are pretty good, click on their names to check out their original songs! Admission is just $5, which is nice and affordable, and the doors open at 6:00 PM! Should be a good show, so why not go?

For a preview, I'll show you guys this live video of Today I Caught The Plague performing their original "The Artisan Movement" from a concert in April 2008!



So now you're all caught up on the next few shows coming up! Of course, this weekend, Integrated System of Machines, Kilacel, Nixxon Dixxon, and Nudge will all play shows in Sault Michigan, and there will definitely be previews of those shows in the coming days! Now, as I have been AWOL from the SMS over the weekend thanks to the computer problems, I must get caught up on news, so let's get you all caught up too!

First off, local hardcore band As It Stands appear to have broken up. No formal announcement is on their MySpace page, but their name has been changed to "As It Stands [RIP 2004-2009]". Pretty clear, if you ask me. This is shocking, especially when just 2 weeks ago, they announced they had chosen a new singer. Well, whatever happens, I hope the former AIS members will find their way into some great new bands, cause there's some real talented musicians there that I'd love to see back on stage soon!

Next up, some updates on two big festivals coming up this summer, those being Rotaryfest and Hempfest. First, Rotaryfest has most of the main stage bands announced, and there are no metal bands so far (jazz/swing bands on July 16th, country on July 17th, and classic rock on July 18th), but there are still a few openings, and the Second Stage lineup has yet to be announced. If I hear anything more, I'll let you all know, cause there's usually a metal band or two on the Second Stage!

As for Hempfest, no official band announcements of any kind yet, but the official website has been launched, featuring lots of info on scheduled events, and an official message board too! Ticket prices have been announced, and they're $40 in advance for all four days of the event! If you're showing up at the gate, tickets are $50 for four days, $40 for three, and $30 for two. Pricey, yes, but it's not just music, it's much more, and you can get full details at the official site! Obviously, this is a 19+ festival as well. For tickets, call 1-888-215-8970, or go to Planetary Pride's official website! When I hear more on tickets, and any metal bands playing, you'll hear it all here! Remember, this will be the last Hempfest, so here's hoping it goes out on a high!

I'll leave it at that for tonight, I should have some more news tomorrow, cause I do plan on crawling the Internet somewhat for some news and shows and bands and such. There's bound to be more stuff I've missed! Oh, and the Billboard charts and Metal News will definitely be updated once you see this, so stay tuned for that! Thanks for the patience, everyone! Keep it metal!

I'm Back Online, My Computer's All Fixed!!!

(EDIT: 6:57 PM, Monday June 8) Hey everyone, my computer's back and all fixed up! One fucking problem led to another, but everything's mostly back to normal! I'm right now restoring all the old programs and files on my PC, and I'll update all old and missed items later tonight, I promise! I'm really sorry about my lack of updates over the weekend, I'll make it up to you guys with lots of news today and tomorrow (Well, if there is any.) Stay tuned!

Local Concert Previews, And SMS 2nd Anniversary Updates!!!

Well, another weekend is upon us, and we have five local metal concerts taking place in the next while! So let us get right to it, here are your local concert previews for this weekend!

First, in Sault Ontario, local heavy metal band Necropolis returns for a show at The Oddfellows Hall! They will be one of the support bands for Waterloo punk band Broadcast Zero, alongside fellow locals Free Beer, The Fury, Good Morning Gorillas, and PRM! Tickets are just $5, and the doors open at 6:30! Now I know this show is mostly just punk rock, but why not go? It's inexpensive, the bands are all talented, and there'll be a bit of metal too! For more information, visit the Facebook event page at this location! (Also, I've added the official website for this show's promoters, Unsalted Records, to the Other Local Metal Links!)

And for a preview, check out this video of Necropolis from the YMCA Battle of the Bands, performing their original song "Defiling Despondence"!



Now, let's go to Sault Michigan for the rest of the weekend's shows! First, at The Satisfied Frog, local hard rockers Shift will take the stage tomorrow and Saturday night! Both will start at 10:00 PM! These should be some good concerts, so go check them out if you want! Also, Shift will be playing at a Relay For Life party in Sault Michigan on the 13th, but because it is a private party, I won't add it to the listings. But no matter, they've got plenty of shows coming up, and if I hear anything more, you'll hear it here!

As well, Michigan metal band Peril will return to The Rapids Lounge at Kewadin Casino tomorrow and Saturday! Should be a pair of good shows, they got some great songs on their official MySpace page, so check them out! Really reminds me of come classic 80s stuff! And if you miss them this weekend, never fear, they'll be back at Kewadin on July 31st and August 1st! No videos that I can find of these guys, but be sure to check them out!

So there's your local concert previews for this weekend, the next local metal concert is Tuesday night, when All Else Fails hits Coch's Corner, followed by Today I Caught The Plague and Sense of Truth at separate shows on Thursday!

Finally, as you might have noticed by the banner image, we are just one month away from our second anniversary! Before you ask, no, those are NOT the new SMS logos in the banner. I actually used a program to morph the old logos into the new ones, and those are from the morphing process. You guys won't see the complete final new logos until July 4th! Remember, the Free CD Giveaway will return on July 4th as well, and our Facebook relaunch will take place too! I've also been planning a secret project relating to the SMS that I'll unveil on the big day. I won't say what it is, but it's just a little something to promote us and the great bands in the area, I'll leave it at that.

Stay tuned for more local metal news in the coming days! Thanks everyone!

Northern Rocks Magazine Update, And More!

I'm back with more news! Hasn't been a ton lately, but I had to post something, and good thing I got some stuff! And as usual for the beginning of the month, Northern Rocks Magazine has found its way to your inboxes (if you're a subscriber), so let's start with that!

Honestly, this issue has nothing really "metal", per say. Most issues have at least one metal anything, but meh, I won't sweat it. It's still a great, well put together magazine, and it's 100% worth getting a subscription to! The metal will return! Also, this issue is the first anniversary issue, and congratulations to them on reaching this milestone! Remember, Northern Rocks Magazine is a FREE internet magazine dedicated to bands and concerts in all of Northern Ontario! If you're interested in subscribing, head on over to http://www.northernrocksmagazine.com/subscribe.html and join the mailing list!

And on a slightly personal note, remember last month when I mentioned that Northern Rocks were running a contest to win Norris merchandise? Well, yours truly was among the winners! So I won their new CD "Bone Crusher", as well as a Norris sticker, button, and poster! I've already sent my mailing address to them, and should receive my prizes soon! Will I review their new CD on the SMS? Maybe, we'll have to see! And remember, Norris will be playing at The Oddfellows Hall a week from Thursday with Today I Caught The Plague! Tickets are just $5, get more details at this location!

Next up, Woods of Ypres have added a few dates to their upcoming tour! They'll be playing at The Annex Wreckroom in Toronto on August 15th, The Exchange in Regina on August 19th, and The Lucky Bar in Victoria on August 25th! Best of luck to WoY on these new shows, and the tour in general! And remember, they'll be hitting The Speakeasy at Algoma University on August 16th, for what should be an excellent concert! Stay tuned for more details on that as I hear them!

And finally, a Facebook event page has been launched for Stillbroke's upcoming concert with Marianas Trench. They haven't completed a lot on it, but I'm sure in due time, all details will be there! To confirm your attendance for this show, visit this link! That's all for this post, I hope to have more news and updates very soon. And yes, the APE CD review is coming, trust me!

Fitswitch Concert Review!!!

So, as you probably heard, I went to see Fitswitch last night! And here's my review of the show!

I got there around 10:30 PM, I thought I'd be late, but luckily I wasn't! Decent crowd too, mostly for the birthday party, but they were into the music! This was easily Fitswitch's first show in a year or more, and the first time I've seen them in maybe three years! For this show, J.D. Pearce and Rick White from the classic lineups were back, with other musicians filling in, including (among others) Jason Bourcier from Operation Killdozer on bass and backing vocals, and Jeff Goertzen on drums! If you know who Jeff is, you'll know he only has one arm, but believe me when I say, he's a pretty good drummer, and he beat my expectations!

The band started their set with an eclectic set of covers, ranging from Danzig and AC/DC, to blink-182 and Bryan Adams, to Flock of Seagulls and Tommy Tutone! They even threw in a cover of VANILLA ICE! I'd say this was weird, but they played these songs in their typical punk/metal sound, and all was good! J.D. even gave me a shoutout during the first half, which was awesome, and completely unexpected! Rick even came to chat with me during the break, and even apologized for not being metal enough! But trust me, Fitswitch are metal enough to get covered here! They were as I remembered them, with the metal attitude and punk sound that got them famous around here!

The break was lengthy, but I'm honestly getting used to that at bar shows. Sense of Truth frontman Cory Murchison even came and said hi, and thanked me for all the press on the SMS! Awesome! The second half of the concert featured a more typical Fitswitch set, including plenty of Misfits covers, a couple originals, and some covers of songs by bands like The Bloodhound Gang, Gwar, and Judas Priest! Concertgoers were dancing and having shots, Rick was playing the guitar on chairs and tables, and everyone was having the time of their lives!

I have to say, they were great, but J.D. tried songs out of his vocal range a bit too much, and sometimes, they missed a few notes. But those are minor complaints, this was a fun show to celebrate Erin Goertzen's birthday party, and it was clear throughout the night that Fitswitch were having a good old time, even as the size of the crowd steadily dropped! I wasn't going to pass up the oppurtunity to see Fitswitch again, it's been too long, and I sure hope this won't be the last we see of them!

As you can tell by the photos, I took pictures at the concert! Visit The Sault Metal Scene's Photobucket page to view the rest of my photos! I don't know what concert I'll hit next, but when I do, I'll have another review and photos ready! Thanks everyone, more news to come!