Well guys, last night's Sault Humane Society Battle of the Bands is in the books, and I have a recap (not a review, per say) coming tomorrow. Why tomorrow? Because the videos I filmed are taking forever to upload, but don't worry, it'll be a good one, and you can check out the videos from earlier bands last night and the results at our Facebook page if you wanna until then. So to keep things rolling here (and because of a SHORT NOTICE LOCAL CONCERT ALERT), we've got a post with some recent news today, including new videos, so here's what you need to know!
Sault Michigan hard rock quartet Powerslug are playing at Golanka's Bar (a.k.a. The Bird) TONIGHT! I apologize for the short notice, but guitarist Chris Gurnoe only just announced the show this morning on his personal Facebook page. This has become a common occurrence with the band formerly known as River Witch for about a year now, since their former Facebook page fell into disuse, as I've only tended to hear about their non-Kewadin shows late or on short notice. I'm doing my best to keep on top of things though, so bear with me! This will be Powerslug's second straight Saturday night concert at The Bird, and though I've yet to hear media of them in action, members' pasts in their predecessor band Blind Baby indicate a solid sound, so don't miss them TONIGHT! Admission should be free, you must be 21 to attend, and there's likely a start time of 10:00 PM. For what little I can gather about this concert, get more at the above links! Hopefully Powerslug knock it out of the park again this weekend, and go check them out tonight for some hard rocking across the river!
Now to some new videos, starting with a new song from prolific local solo guitarist (and judge at last night's battle) Mike Cliffe! Entitled "Nose Hair Sweater", it was uploaded to his YouTube channel last Wednesday, and it's definitely one of Mike's harder rocking and more upbeat instrumental tracks! Employing lots of time signatures and some interesting vocal samples & visualizations, Mike did note that it was "quite unfinished", but complimented how fun it was to play. It's a really cool track as it is, and has lots of creative heavy parts, so check it out below!
Also in new songs is a new solo track from Wearwithal frontman and veteran Sault Michigan singer/drummer Bob "Orb Hearthstone" Helsten! The former voice of bands like I.S.O.M. and End of Existence posted a new original solo song named "Destination" onto his YouTube channel on Tuesday, and it's pretty catchy! Completely clean sung, it's got a nice groove to it with solid melodic vocals, and if this is the direction is solo material is going now, I definitely wanna hear more (though with some harsh singing too, of course.) Very nice, so check it out below, and hear more from Orb's recent band work at the above links!
Finally for today, I'm sharing this last because it doesn't work in the United States, so it has a limited view range. Two weeks ago, former Swayze Train guitarist Scott Savoie uploaded a video of him covering the Devildriver song "Not All Who Wander Are Lost" onto his YouTube channel, but it was blocked in the United States shortly after on copyright grounds by WMG (probably because the original song was in the background.) That said, it was not blocked in Canada, creating the odd scenario of a video by a Sault Michigan guitarist that only Sault Ontario metalheads can watch without an IP switching tool. If you can see it, you'll get a very proficient and well played cover, and Scott's on high form here, but maybe he should redo it without the backing track for American fans? Check out Scott's newest solo guitar cover below if your country allows it!
That's all for today, but stay tuned tomorrow for my recap of last night's Sault Humane Society Battle of the Bands, and also, tune in to CBC Radio One (89.5 FM in the Twin Saults area) at 5:00 PM TODAY to hear Garden of Bedlam's song "New Rain" on the CBC Radio One program "Bandwidth", which is all about Ontario music! Not sure if they're just being played or if anything else will come up, but listen in at 5:00! Thanks everyone!
Today's second concert preview post is completely dedicated to a major local concert event, as after almost two years, a battle of the bands is hitting Sault Ontario TOMORROW NIGHT! The Sault Ste. Marie Humane Society are hosting this 10-band battle at The Grand Theater as a fundraiser, with all proceeds from the event going to the Humane Society, which is a great cause, as who doesn't love animals? This is the first battle of the bands to my knowledge in Sault Ontario since Downtown Showdown at The Oddfellows Hall in May 2010, the first to be held at The Grand Theater since the YMCA battle in March 2009, and the largest of it's kind since the 20-band Kiss battle of the bands in late 2009, so this is both a big event and a long time coming! Before we get into the wide array of bands, here's what I know and can tell you about what to expect tomorrow night. Tickets are $20, but considering that you're seeing 10 competing bands and one bonus opening band, you're paying less than $2 a band, and that's quite a good investment! Tickets are available in advance at the Humane Society on Second Line East, Northland Music, The Rad Zone, Music Depot, and at The Grand itself, which will also have tickets at the door. Doors open at 4:30 PM tomorrow afternoon with a 5:00 PM start time for the opening band, and yes, this is an ALL AGES event! However, it will be liquor licensed too, so if you have ID, you can get your drink on tomorrow night!
The battle's rules itself are fairly straightforward from what I can tell, but I can confirm one new addition: Judges! Originally planned to have an audience vote to determine winners, there will be an (at-least) three man judging panel tomorrow, so if you wanna win, bring your A-games, not tons of friends! Each of the 10 bands will have 15 minute sets to rock out and show their stuff, but going over 15 minutes will apparently result in disqualification. Bands have 10 minutes to set up and 5 minutes to tear down instruments, and delays in either could result in judging penalties. Bands will be scored on numerous categories relating to talent, stage presence, and so forth, and the performance order is being randomly drawn at the Grand Theater tomorrow before the battle. Cover songs are not off limits, but originality during sets is part of the judging criteria. After the bands wrap up, winners and prizes will be awarded, though I have not personally heard what the grand prize is or if anything will go to higher placing acts. Now, let's preview each of the bands playing tomorrow night (6 of which are metal), with most of them making their Grand Theater and local battle debuts, so what should you look out for? Out of fairness, the bands are listed in alphabetical order, so here's who's competing tomorrow night!
As It Stands: This prominent local hardcore quintet will be sure to deliver a high tempo set of their explosive originals tomorrow night, in their first appearance at The Grand Theater since (I think) 2008! Always attracting a big crowd and high profile notices, will they score as big with the judges as they do with their wide local fanbase?
The Bear Hunters: Quickly rising in the local metal ranks, this frequently seen melodic death metal quintet will be sure to deliver some brutal originals in their quest to win the Humane Society battle! Note that guitarist Josh Stephney has won no less than three local battles while fronting Bring The Fallen in 2009 & 2010, but can he make it four tomorrow?
Cowboys & Indians: A late addition to the battle lineup, this talented alternative/indie rock trio is stacked with local talent, including The Crossed's Jordan Flesher & Soldiers of Misfortune's Alex White, both of whom won major local battles of the bands in the mid-2000s with their old bands. Will their softer, yet very proficient brand of music rise to the top this time around?
For All That Is Lost: One of two bands from Desbarats competing in this battle, For All That Is Lost have made noticeable local waves since their local debut last year, and their notoriety is spreading well, but will the men in the white masks have what it takes to claim top honours with their quickly improving death metal assault?
Inhuman Methods: Though arguably the least familiar of the competing bands, this newer Desbarats death metal quartet did attract some notice with their debut performance at the Dead In The Van concert at The Canadian last month. Can they build on their first gig and deliver a strong set of brutal death metal come tomorrow night?
Late & Loud: Since their late 2010 debut, Late & Loud have brought classic styled metal to many local concerts with lots of talent & swagger to spare, but will their old school sounds rise to the top of the ranks tomorrow? Also, can members Benn Garside & Josh Hatherley build on their 3rd place finish at 2009's YMCA Battle with The Glass Statues?
T-Rex Manning: This newer local punk band has not been a frequent sight at local concerts since their November debut, but with Frightlight's J.D. Pearce up front, they shouldn't be taken lightly! Will their entertaining punk onslaught captivate the audience tomorrow night? Though T. Rex Manning don't have an online page yet, check out two live videos at this location.
Tea With Lincoln: The smallest and softest band tomorrow night by lineup & genre, this acoustic folk duo led by Brendan Simard & Deven Creagh have became a frequent and talented local sight with their well performed brand of indie rock, and their talents speak for themselves at live concerts, but can they claim first place at tomorrow's battle?
The Valentine's Day Massacre: With State of Misery, Sativa Rose, and Chillum alumni in their ranks, The Valentine's Day Massacre have quickly became a prominent part of the local metal scene since their November debut with their brutal and well-performed deathcore sound, but can they carry that to victory over the other 9 bands?
Wishbone: The only band competing tomorrow with a recent local battle on their resume, the 2009 Kiss battle finalists will bring a well respected rock sound with a progressive flair to the Grand Theater tomorrow night, but will Dennis, Glen, and company's prolific and easily listenable sound claim the top prize at this battle?
Check out all of the above links to read more and hear material from each band! Note that three previously confirmed bands have dropped out of the battle, those being new local blues rock quartet The Moves, classic hard rock standouts Turner Up, and funk rock trio The Vertically Impaired. I haven't heard why the latter two bands dropped out, but The Moves did so due to external commitments. Disappointing, but we'll see them all around soon (in Turner Up's case, this Saturday night), and 4/5ths of Turner Up at least saw battle success last weekend when Havadder placed at the Rock N' Roar Festival battle in Spanish to open for Lou Gramm this summer!
And finally, there will be an opening band for tomorrow's battle, as local blue Chinese metal crash punk quartet Sykotyk Rampage will play their first concert set in four months when they open the festivities at 5:00 PM tomorrow evening! Though they're battle veterans in their own right (notably finishing third at the Sault College/Scotties Tournament of Hearts battle in February 2010), they're not competing against the other bands, and will perform out of competition. Sort of similar to the YMCA battle from 2009 at The Grand Theater in a sense, though that opened with a YMCA Rocks play. Sykotyk Rampage's unique blend of alternative hard rock, punk, and blues have propelled them to over two dozen albums and some good local notoriety, and it'll be good to see them back at it tomorrow to lead things off before the battling begins! I will absolutely see you guys there for the entire battle tomorrow night, and may the best band win! It's been far too long for a local battle, so let's make this a huge success so that more occur in Sault Ontario in the near future! For a preview, here's Sykotyk Rampage playing their signature song "Drinking On The Weekend" at their last competitive battle appearance in 2010!
That's all for today, but if there's no news post tomorrow, I will 100% see you guys at the battle tomorrow before $5, so get your tickets, this should be a fun night! Thanks everyone!
Hey guys, it's time to preview most of this weekend's local metal & hard rock shows, but first, I've gotta apologize for one missed date last weekend. Apparently, Sault Michigan hard rockers Powerslug returned to Golanka's Bar (a.k.a. The Bird) across the river this past Saturday for what (I think) was their first stop there of 2012. Guitarist Chris Gurnoe confirmed the gig on his personal Facebook page that afternoon, but the short notice (and the band's lack of an internet page) prevented me from hearing about it until it was too late. I apologize to Powerslug and anyone who could have been affected, I'll try to stay more on top of their next gigs! Now, to the concert previews, and while we're saving the battle of the bands profile until later today due to it's size, we've got some big shows going down this weekend to cover (including a LOCAL CONCERT ALERT) and some "Woods V" reviews, so here's what you need to know!
The new show is courtesy of Sault Ontario classic hard rockers Turner Up, who will return to The Sportscentre Bar & Grill on Wellington Street West THIS SATURDAY! I apologize for the short notice, this show was announced on Tuesday but I could only slot it into a post today. Though they won't be at tomorrow's Sault Humane Society Battle of the Bands anymore, this talented quintet will bring their set full of entertaining hard rock covers back to this new-ish concert venue on Saturday, two months after playing their first gig at this West End bar. I'm still not familiar with the Sportscentre Bar & Grill as a concert venue, but I'm hearing good things from people who've played there, and it's slowly becoming a more prominent place for local bands, so keep it mind this Saturday! This is a one night only gig (possibly for the same reasons why they're not at tomorrow's battle), with Turner Up hitting the stage at 10:30 PM on Saturday. You must be 19 to attend, and there's no cover charge. For more details, visit the official Facebook event page! It's always good to see Turner Up rocking the local stage, and hopefully they deliver some great classic hard rock tunes for their fans on Saturday! For a preview, here's the old Turner Up covering a Guns N' Roses classic at The Rockstar Bar last year!
Now to previously announced non-battle concerts this weekend, and we'll take a quick detour to Sault Michigan for the next concert by local hard rock trio Trail's End! The new-ish local band from 3 former Nixxon Dixxon & Splitshot bandmates are scheduled to return to The Rapids Lounge at Kewadin Casino TOMORROW NIGHT for just their fifth advertised concert since forming late last year, though unlike their previous two concert weekends, this will only be a one night engagement. Despite earlier listings on Kewadin Casino's entertainment page, they will not be playing on Saturday night due to a showing of UFC 145 at The Rapids Lounge, so Trail's End's Kewadin weekend plans are halved, much like Swayze Train's were in February thanks to UFC 144. Should be a good card though, and Trail's End have big plans in 2012 beyond tomorrow, I'm sure! Admission should be free for tomorrow's concert, you must be 21 to attend, and a 10:00 PM start time is likely. For more details, check the above links! Though Trail's End haven't publically acknowledged this show, Kewadin entertainment page is as reliable a source as any, and hopefully the guys have a great set full of covers & originals tomorrow night! For a preview, here's their original song "Run"!
Finally for the previews, local metal trio Caveman Morrison are returning to the stage for their third concert weekend with their current lineup for shows TOMORROW & SATURDAY NIGHT at The Nicolet Tavern! Their current lineup of Tym Morrison, James White, and Johnny Belanger appears to be settling in well, and you know that they'll deliver a great weekend of hard rock and metal covers for their fans at The Nic this weekend! Nothing seems to be too different from the usual Caveman Morrison concert weekend, but if you're up for some live music all weekend, you can't go too wrong with these shows! However, I will note that drummer Johnny Belanger is still scheduled to compete at tomorrow's Humane Society Battle of the Bands with The Bear Hunters, so fingers crossed that they're earlier in the night so he can play at both events without issue! Both tomorrow & Saturday's Caveman Morrison gigs should have no cover charge, you must be 19 to attend, and 9:30 PM start times are listed. For more details, visit the official Facebook event page! These should both be solid concerts, so hopefully there's big crowsds both nights for Caveman Morrison's latest weekend at The Nic! For a preview, here they are covering a Foreigner classic at The Rosie in December, and message Tym A.S.A.P. if you can help return his stolen acoustic Yamaha guitar!
And finally for today, here's some more reviews of local blackened doom metal band Woods of Ypres' last recorded album "Woods V: Grey Skies & Electric Light"! In January, Lior Stein of the website Metal Temple gave this album an "almost perfect" rating of 9/10, calling it a "masterfully crafted release" and highly praising the late David Gold's vocal range and the album's peaceful mood it created. Nice review with some interesting thoughts on the themes of the CD, so click here to check it out! In a review on The Metal Crypt last month, writer Christopher Foley gave "W5" a 3.75/5, calling it "a quality selection of songs" and giving high marks for it's crossover appeal, while noting some lyrical deficiencies and that the album might turn off black metal purists. Brief and more straightforward review, but if you're looking for one with less sentimentality, this may do the trick, so see this review at this location! Finally for today, Ryan Grant from the metal website HereToDestroy.com gave "Woods V" a very positive review earlier this month, and while it's more personal with connections to how Woods of Ypres' music has been life changing for him, he still gives good thoughts on David's vocal intensity and the increased emphasis on melody, among other well termed thoughts. Another nice review, and you can tell how much it meant for him to write it, so check it out by clicking here! Stay tuned for more "Woods V" reviews hopefully soon!
That's all for now, but stay tuned later today for our extended preview of TOMORROW'S Sault Humane Society Battle Of The Bands! Thanks everyone!
It's the 18th of the month, so that means it's time to close down the previous month's SMS poll and launch a new one! As you guys may remember, last month's poll posed this question to you guys: What was your favourite local metal concert in the second half of 2011? 35 votes came in, which was a bit less than our poll on your favourite concerts in the first half of last year, but still gave us a decent sample of your thoughts! You'll be seeing the upper half of last month's poll again shortly, but for right now, here's the final results from last month, so what were your favourite concerts from July 1st to December 31st, 2011?
Skull Fist at The Canadian Nightclub on November 6th (8 votes, 22.5%) Napalm Death & Shit Liver at Feedback on October 15th (6 votes, 17%) Garden of Bedlam at The Canadian on December 26th (4 votes, 11%) Garden of Bedlam at The Roosevelt Hotel on July 21st (4 votes, 11%) Helix at The Rockstar Bar on December 3rd (3 votes, 8%) Other (3 votes, 8%) The Bear Hunters at The Oddfellows Hall on July 20th (2 votes, 5%) Fatality & Immersed at The Roosevelt Hotel on July 10th (2 votes, 5%) Caveman Morrison at The Rosie on December 9th-10th (1 vote, 2.5%) Half Past at The Rockstar Bar on October 22nd (1 vote, 2.5%) Smeltzer at The Oddfellows Hall on August 12th (1 vote, 2.5%) Hollow at various venues on August 5th-6th (1 vote, 2.5%) Lion Ride at The Rockstar Bar on July 2nd (1 vote, 2.5%) Titan's Eve & Sativa Rose at The Roosevelt Hotel on July 4th (0 votes) Gunz N' FN' Rosez at The Rockstar Bar on July 23rd (0 votes) Laika at The Roosevelt Hotel on August 25th (0 votes) Thekillingfield at The Roosevelt Hotel on September 15th (0 votes) Empyrean Plague at The Rosie on September 22nd (0 votes) The Bear Hunters at The Rosie on November 10th (0 votes) Turner Up at Feedback on December 10th (0 votes)
What do you guys think? I notice that the results are a bit more spread out than in our first half of 2011 poll, which is nice to see! Of the concerts with no votes, I think I'm most surprised to see no less than 5 concerts from The Roosevelt Hotel score no votes, especially given the high profile out of town bands at most of them! I assume many people picked some bigger shows from common promoters later on though. Of the 1 vote choices (which tied for 9th), I'm most surprised to see Lion Ride's last concert and the Smeltzer reunion gig score just a single vote each, but it's all in who votes. The Bear Hunters-headlined and the Fatality/Immersed all ages shows' 7th place tie with 2 votes each didn't surprise me too much, but the 5th place tie between the Helix show and "Other" definitely did. I thought Helix would be a 1st place contender, and after "Other" got no votes in the first half of 2011 poll, I assumed it'd finish lower this time around too! Garden of Bedlam's last two shows of 2011 tied for third in the poll, predictably high, and if you count them together, they're tied for first place, which is good to see! I'm honestly very surprised to see Napalm Death finish in second place, given the scope of that concert, but the Skull Fist-headlined show at The Canadian last fall is a solid first place winner! They have a very big local following and the show was well attended with some entertaining local openers, and hopefully Skull Fist are back in the area shortly!
Thanks to everyone for voting! With our second half poll about your favourite concerts from 2011 done, it only makes sense to cap off our "favourite _____ of 2011" polls by grouping the highest voted concerts from both half-year polls into one again to see just what was your absolute favourite of last year! That said, I'm posing this question to you guys this month: What was your favourite local metal concert of 2011? Along with "Other", I've picked the 14 concerts that scored multiple votes in the two polls, along with 5 shows that got a single vote, and those were decided by how close they were to their original poll's respective launch date, as they had less time in the public conscious for voting than the earlier ones. As such, the Icy Metal For Aborted Therapy all ages show from last January, Lion Ride's last concert in July, and the Hollow reunion weekend in August didn't make the cut because they had the longest time between date and poll and only scored a vote each, but if they were your favourite concert of the whole year, you can vote for them in "Other"! So with that said, here's a refresher on each concert in this month's poll, so read on below for info on all of your possible favourite concerts of 2011!
Bands:Woods of Ypres, The Bear Hunters, and State of Misery Venue:The Roosevelt Hotel Date:March 10th, 2011 Info:After 18 months away from the local stage, blackened doom metal standouts Woods of Ypres finally returned to our burial ground for the ninth Thursday metal night at The Rosie! The first show on their "Woods IV: The Green Album" re-release tour, Woods of Ypres brought a metal assault to fans in attendance, with some great local support, though it would sadly mark Woods of Ypres' last local concert before frontman David Gold passed away in December. Was this the best show of last year?
Bands:Sneaky Pete Venue:The Rockstar Bar Date:April 8th, 2011 Info:After months and months of anticipation, local hard rock quartet Sneaky Pete FINALLY made their local debut at The Rockstar Bar on April 8th, and by all accounts, the show was a hit! This talented group of local veterans rocked the stage with some great covers, and firmly stamped their name into the local scene with further shows over the next few months before they disbanded this year, but was this the best of 2011?
Bands:RedD Monkey, As It Stands, Winkstinger, Frightlight, The Bear Hunters, Sativa Rose, Late & Loud, The Tenagens, State of Misery, Changing Waves, and Skull After Betrayl Venue:The Oddfellows Hall Date:April 9th, 2011 Info:What started as a show to pay for RedD Monkey's new tour van turned into The Sewer Swampstravaganja, an 11 band all ages concert full of great local talent, including 9 metal bands! The music was wall to wall, notably including the live debuts of Sativa Rose guitarist Anthony Orazietti & Changing Waves bassist Terrence Gomes as well! Amazing show full of great bands, but is it your top pick of 2011?
Bands:Lion Ride & The Billy Bastards Venue:The Rockstar Bar Date:April 9th, 2011 Info:There was no camping weekend in the way on April 8th, as Lion Ride made a triumphant local return to rock The Rockstar Bar for the second-last time with their energetic mix of punk and metal! A huge crowd took in this exciting high impact show, with country punk stalwarts The Billy Bastards delivering their unique musical blend to their fans as the openers! This show was awesome, but is it your #1 pick for 2011 as a whole?
Bands:Dead & Divine, As It Stands, The Bear Hunters, and State of Misery Venue:The Oddfellows Hall Date:April 29th, 2011 Info:Burlington hardcore rockers Dead & Divine made their long awaited return to Sault Ontario on April 29th for an intense night of hardcore and metal for all ages at The Oddfellows Hall! Three local bands opened the festivities, including promoter John Mignacca's hardcore standouts As It Stands and local death metal band State of Misery in their last local concert! Was this Oddfellows Hall show your favourite of last year?
Bands:Fuck The Facts, Shit Liver, As It Stands, and Winkstinger Venue:The Roosevelt Hotel Date:May 9th, 2011 Info:Ottawa grindcore rockers Fuck The Facts made their triumphant return to Sault Ontario on May 9th, headlining a brutal Dismembertainment-promoted metal show at The Rosie that night! Their return was welcomed, and all the openers (including late addition As It Stands) threw down some heavy stuff to add to this concert, but of all the 2011 metal shows, is it your favourite?
Bands:Farewell To Freeway, No Bragging Rights, Hallows Die, and As It Stands Venue:The Roosevelt Hotel Date:May 12th, 2011 Info:Who says a Rosie metal night has to have mostly locals? Three touring metal bands from two previously booked concerts joined forces on May 12th to deliver a devastating set of death metal and hardcore, including Guelph's Farewell To Freeway, California's No Bragging Rights, and Toronto's Hallows Die, with As It Stands fittingly opening the show! Was the 15th Rosie metal night your top concert in 2011?
Bands:Unleash The Archers, Wear Your Wounds, Abstract & The Artist, and Changing Waves Venue:The Roosevelt Hotel Date:June 4th, 2011 Info:As Vancouver power/death metal quintet Unleash The Archers toured through the astrowaste, they stopped at The Rosie on June 4th for an awesome night of metal! Accompanied by Winnipeg hardcore bands Wear Your Wounds & Abstract The Artist, and locals Changing Waves, this show was a success with lots of metal to go around, but did you like it enough to pick it as the best concert of last year?
Bands:The Dayglo Abortions, Frightlight, Skull After Betrayl, Sativa Rose, and Shit Liver Venue:The Roosevelt Hotel Date:June 16th, 2011 Info:What started as your usual Roosevelt Hotel metal night (the 20th overall) took a major upgrade when it was announced that Canadian hardcore punk legends The Dayglo Abortions would be headlining! And then it snowballed, leading to a huge audience, huge moshpits, and one hell of a concert from the legendary Dayglo Abortions! Also featuring four great local opening bands, including Frightlight's Rosie debut, was this your favourite concert of 2011 so far? Bands:Garden of Bedlam Venue:The Rockstar Bar Date:June 17th, 2011 Info:After seven months away from the local stage, prominent local metal quartet Garden of Bedlam returned to the stage for just the second time since opening for Kiss when they headlined a solo show at The Rockstar Bar on June 17th! With loads of newer material and some surprise new covers (Metallica, anyone?), Garden of Bedlam returned with a vengeance last month, but did this late June concert manage to top the half year for you?
Bands: The Bear Hunters, Sanktuary, Black Moor, and RedD Monkey Venue:The Oddfellows Hall Date:July 20th, 2011 Info: This was one of a few extremely hot all ages shows featuring The Bear Hunters and out of town bands, but this was at The Oddfellows Hall with The Bear Hunters oddly headlining! A good crowd turned out to see them, punk favourites RedD Monkey, and two Halifax classic metal outfits in the first of two gigs last summer that Sanktuary, Black Moor, and The Bear Hunters were a part of! Was this your #1 show from last year?
Bands: Garden of Bedlam, The Bear Hunters, and Winkstinger Venue:The Roosevelt Hotel Date:July 21st, 2011 Info: The 25th Roosevelt Hotel metal night (and last Dismembertainment-promoted one with three local bands) finally saw local metal standouts Garden of Bedlam make their Rosie debut in their last show before the "Everything Will Die" CD release party, and fans sure came out to rock out with them on July 24th! Also notably featuring Winkstinger's last concert set for four months, was this metal night your favourite 2011 concert?
Bands:Smeltzer, RedD Monkey, Changing Waves, The Tenagens, Shit Liver, and The Bear Hunters Venue:The Oddfellows Hall Date:August 12th, 2011 Info: An old school all ages show was in store for local fans on August 12th, headlined by a one-off reunion set by local alt/punk trio Smeltzer and frontman Steve Mozarowski's current active band RedD Monkey! Among the openers: Changing Waves in a well recieved set, The Tenagens in their most recent local concert appearance, and death metal standouts The Bear Hunters and Shit Liver, but was this show your favourite of last year?
Bands:Napalm Death, Shit Liver, Hallows Die, The Bear Hunters, and Wake Venue:Feedback (soon to become the new Coch's Corner) Date:October 15th, 2011 Info: After Foggy Notions became Feedback, the newly renamed Queen Street venue launched it's high profile two month run with British grindcore legends Napalm Death in a huge metal concert event featuring a stacked lineup of out of town and local bands! The buzz and fallout from this concert was huge, and Dismembertainment outdid themselves for this major event, but was it your favourite metal concert of 2011?
Bands:Half Past Venue:October 22nd, 2011 Date:The Rockstar Bar Info: Following their successful return to the stage at Hempfest in August, Half Past debuted new singer Jordan Rains to a Sault Ontario audience at this one night only concert on October 22nd at The Rockstar Bar! Also featuring guest bassist Harley Syrette, this is Half Past's most recent concert to date, but despite a cut short set due to noise complaints, they rocked the house with some great covers! Is their return one of your favourite 2011 concerts?
Bands:Skull Fist, Late & Loud, and View To A Kill (now The Valentine's Day Massacre) Venue:The Canadian Nightclub Date:November 6th, 2011 Info: The first metal concert at The Canadian since the flood in July saw Toronto speed metal quartet Skull Fist return to the Pim Street venue once again for another classic and fast paced set of heavy metal! Also featuring local standouts Late & Loud and the live debut of the band now known as The Valentine's Day Massacre, this concert attracted a solid crowd of local metalheads, but was it your top local metal concert of last year?
Bands:Helix & Boogie Fever Venue:The Rockstar Bar Date:December 3rd, 2011 Info:Three and a half years after they last rocked the Sault area, Kitchener metal legends Helix rocked The Rockstar Bar on December 3rd with a set full of their classic hits, including "Rock You" and many more songs! Their set got a great response, and with Boogie Fever kicking off the night, a lot of fun was had, but did this show top the latter half of 2011 for you?
Bands:Caveman Morrison Venue:The Roosevelt Hotel Date:December 9th-10th, 2011 Info: Though frontman Tym Morrison was a frequent sight on the local scene last year, his band Caveman Morrison played more sporadically, and their December concert weekend at The Rosie marked their first shows in five months. Still, with the debut of new bassist James White and the return of his brother Rick as their then-new drummer, their return was a notable late-2011 sight on the local scene, but was this concert weekend #1 for last year for you?
Bands: Garden of Bedlam Venue:The Canadian Nightclub Date:December 26th, 2011 Info: Capping the year in style was Garden of Bedlam's CD release concert at The Canadian on Boxing Day, where fans got their first opportunity to buy "Everything Will Die"! This well received headlining concert sent 2011 out on a clear high note with lots of high impact original songs, and the success of "Everything Will Die" is still felt around the area, but was this your favourite local concert of the year?
VOTE TODAY!!! You guys have until May 18th to submit your thoughts in this final "favourite _____ of 2011" poll, so what was your top concert of last year? Remember, you can vote for multiple concerts, though only once in this poll. Make your voices heard, and stay tuned for weekend concert previews and more news shortly! Thanks everyone!
Our busy stretch of news at the SMS continues today with this stacked news post, so what's on tap? Today, we've got updates on the upcoming battle of the bands, another local band's recent out of town battle success (with a video to show for it), updates on a prominent band with a Saultite's next local gigs, the latest fallout from the David Gold tribute concerts, and leading things off, details on a missing guitar, so here's what you need to know!
This past weekend, Caveman Morrison frontman Tym Morrison was the victim of guitar theft during the band's weekend set at The Roosevelt Hotel. The stolen guitar is his Yamaha APX500 guitar that he primarily uses for his acoustic solo concerts, and it was taken from the Roosevelt Hotel's back parking lot over the weekend. A picture and information on this model of guitar can be seen at this location, and you're bound to remember Tym playing this black acoustic guitar at most (if not all) of his recent acoustic solo shows. If you happen to have any information as to its whereabouts, please contact Tym on Facebook at this location or the Roosevelt Hotel at the above link or by phone at (705) 253-1411. I hope that Tym can get his guitar back, as I know that guitars aren't cheap, and that guitar's important for his solo gigs. If you see a black acoustic Yamaha guitar anywhere, let Tym or The Rosie know A.S.A.P., and hopefully this story will have a happy ending!
Next up, here's the latest updates surrounding the Sault Humane Society Battle of the Bands THIS FRIDAY! Despite what I'd heard previously about replacement bands not being sought, a new band has been added to the battle lineup, bringing the list of bands back up to 10 competing acts. That band is local indie rock trio Cowboys & Indians, who feature notable musicians like The Crossed 's Jordan Flesher, ex-Soldiers of Misfortune bassist Alex White, and former Shore drummer Aaron Dunn in their lineup! Notably, both Jordan and Alex have won local battles with the bands mentioned above (including The Crossed's victory in the last Bon Soo battle in 2007), so do not sleep on them come Friday! They were quietly added to the Facebook event page for the battle recently, though note that new blues rock quartet The Moves are still listed for the battle despite bassist Nathan Bouliane confirming to me last week that they were dropping out. Also of note for this battle: tickets WILL be available at the door, so you can pay the $20 entrance fee at the door on Friday as well! Finally, I'll note that most of our battle of the bands profiles from our Battle of the Bands Rewind Mini-Series have been updated to reflect The Moves' withdrawl and Cowboys & Indians' addition (as members of both have been in numerous recent local battles), so check out each profile linked on your right for the updates! Stay tuned for a preview of this battle in the next few days!
Thirdly today, remember how Detroit hard rockers Fifth Way are returning to Sault Michigan next Saturday to open for The Gin Blossoms at Kewadin Casino? Well, they have a lot more on their plate than just that gig, as revealed in an article in The Soo Evening News (Sault Michigan's newspaper) on Sunday! The article features brief quotes from former area resident & guitarist Zak Stelmaszek, and also details the band's sound and local ticket/album availability, along with plans to possibly make their Gin Blossoms set an acoustic gig, and some nicely written info on the band's military connections with their new song "Sacrifice" and new bassist Mike McMann, a corporal in the U.S. Army. However, the article also details some new performances before the big show at The Dreammaker's Theater, including a planned performance the day before on Rock 101 (presumably during "Scott & Brian In The Morning") and a private gig at Lake Superior State University (Zak's alma mater) next Thursday as part of the school's Engineering Alumni Bash. Sounds like they've got a lot of great stuff planned next weekend for their stay in the area, and hopefully everything goes extremely well for Fifth Way next weekend! If updates come in, I'll have them here for sure!
Also in the news, here's some more fallout from the recent David Gold memorial concerts! Final Woods of Ypres drummer Rae Amitay penned a very nice article for Metal Review entitled "Song of Redemption - A Celebration of David Gold" that was posted earlier today, where she outlined her experiences at the memorial concerts, including her set with Woods guitarists Joel Violette & Bryan Belleau at the Ypres Metal Fest in Sault Ste. Marie. She came across as very grateful and moved to have been a part of the tribute weekend, and she gave some very nice press and props to her fellow musicians and the Gold family, so click here for her full article! Also, Gypsy Chief Goliath drummer Sean Hamilton posted two more videos of the Windsor stoner metal band from their set at the Toronto memorial show on April 5th onto his YouTube channel, including performances of their original "Black Samurai" and their Woods of Ypres cover "Suicide Cargoload (Drag That Weight)", so click the above links to see the new videos! Like the local videos from this camera, these are on a mounted camera, this time on the stage's right, but they sound fairly muffled. Good stuff though, so check out the new videos at the above links, and stay tuned for more David Gold & Woods of Ypres news shortly!
And finally, while local classic hard rockers Turner Up may no longer be in this weekend's Humane Society Battle of the Bands, most of the members recently had some battle success of their own! 4/5ths of Turner Up, as you may know, play more frequently locally in the local rock cover quintet Havadder, and this past weekend, they made the trip to Spanish, Ontario (almost 3 hours east of the Soo) to compete in a battle of the bands there for cash and opening slots at Spanish's Rock N' Roar Festival on August 18th, where winners would open for Foreigner frontman Lou Gramm, among other acts. I'm glad to say that Havadder were among the winners, and though they didn't take first place, they did place in the top five competing bands (they were the only local band that I know of), earning them $500 and an opening slot at the Rock N' Roar Festival's second night! Congratulations to the guys in Havadder for sure! Now, Havadder generally play a general rock style of music, and don't quite cross the hard rock/metal threshold like Turner Up do, but they do occasionally cover heavier bands, and proof of that is from this video from YouTube user nlabelle78 of their cover of Alice In Chains' "No Excuses"!
Filmed on Saturday at their set at the Four Seasons Waterfront Complex in Spanish, this is a solid cover with some nice vocal harmonies, though the lighting is very band-centric and dark otherwise, and the audio has some muffled patches. Sounds good though, and I'm glad to see Havadder get a huge opportunity like this! Check out their Alice In Chains cover in Spanish below, and keep an eye out for more metal & hard rock performances by bands of other genres as I find them!
That's all for today, but stay tuned for last month's poll results & this month's poll on your absolute favourite local metal concerts of 2011 tomorrow! Thanks everyone!
As promised, here's the second half of our look at the Friday the 13th song uploads by Eckerman, Michigan label/studio Werehold Records from their roster of local bands and artists! As uploaded to their YouTube channel on Friday, we already mentioned the posted material from Life's Eclipse, East Branch, The 1,000,000,000s Who Died, and Palaver, but four more songs by four more local metal-relevant acts remain to share on here (and there's vocals to hear on most!) For the sake of fairness, we'll go in alphabetical order by band/artist name for the remaining videos. Read on below for all you need to know, and check out the first half of our look at the Friday the 13th uploads at this location, and check out the post below this one for the latest David Gold/Woods of Ypres stories!
We'll start with a new song from the Eckerman/Strongs metal quartet Moss, in what amounts to their first new song posting since the deletion of their old PureVolume page! The recently reactivated band featuring the Mills brothers of Life's Eclipse fame made this original song tentatively named "Call Me Nothing" for the Friday uploads, and though it's not complete (it's an instrumental demo), it has promise as a hard rock number! It's a bit slower paced and not as blistering as some of the new Werehold songs, but I like it's sound well enough, and hopefully a complete version makes it online at some point! Check out Moss' new song "Call Me Nothing" below, and the next three tracks have vocals, I promise!
Next up, one of the new songs on Friday came from veteran local musician Bob "Orb Hearthstone" Helsten! The former I.S.O.M. singer and ex-Clownsack/Elipzis drummer has been quiet on the local scene since leaving End of Existence in February, and while his solo project's MySpace page hasn't seen a recent update, this song is credited to him alone, so it's good to see him still doing music, and allied with Werehold Records! That said, this song is actually a solo rendition of an earlier End of Existence song named "12.21.12" from their debut album that came out in February (yes, the review's coming soon), and with this being written by Orb, a solo cover does make sense! The backing music sounds very simplistic and artificial compared to the End of Existence version of this track, which alludes to the Mayan apocalypse theories on December 21st, but Orb's singing voice is on brutal form from what I'm used to, and hopefully we hear more from his solo work soon! Check out Orb's new solo version of "12.21.12" below!
Our second last song from the Werehold Records Friday the 13th spree is a short new song from Strongs metal trio Swampghas (featuring members of other Werehold bands), and it's a solid metal number named "Struggle"! Presumably to be on their debut album "The Raco Tower Incident" (whose pretty cool album cover was posted onto their Facebook page yesterday), this is a dirty and straight forward metal track with some nice aggressive singing, and it lives up to their earlier posted originals well! I'm curious to hear more from Swampghas, but if you're in for some quick and heavy aggression, give "Struggle" a listen below, and stay tuned for more from Swampghas as it comes in!
Finally, this is a song called "Minion" by a newer local metal act named Wearwithal. This band features the aforementioned Bob Helsten on vocals & drums, along with Swampghas/ex-Half A Man drummer Doug Reed (also of Drayton Fever) on guitar, but fans may recognize the two musicians as former bandmates in the short lived local metal band Great Bodily Harm! When shared on Werehold's Facebook page, Wearwithal were described as "the half of Great Bodily Harm that decided to continue on" (ex-GBH members Kirk Labadie & Chris Leask are not a part of Wearwithal), but it's good to see Bob & Doug still making music together! "Minion" keeps on the same groove metal path as Great Bodily Harm's originals did, though maybe with less of a hardcore influence, and the vocals flow really well with the very heavy riffing! Solid first track from Wearwithal, and hopefully we hear more from them soon, so check out their song "Minion" below!
I hope you guys enjoyed the songs and postings from Werehold Records' Friday the 13th blitz of new material! I needed two posts to do the wide array of bands' and songs justice, and hopefully these acts are gaining some more fans and attention as a result! That's all for today, but stay tuned for more news, last month's poll results & this month's new poll, and much more shortly! Thanks everyone!
It's been a few days since we devoted a full post to fallout and news related to local doom metal notables Woods of Ypres and their late frontman David Gold, and with more stuff to mention and give promotion to, I thought we should compile everything into another post! So today, we've got news on a cool tribute to David that you can help with, the latest details on the David Gold tribute CD, some new videos from the tribute show in Toronto, and the latest reviews of "Woods V", so here's what you need to know! (Edited at 12:57 AM)
First, here's some details on a tribute to David that's in the works, and how you can help. Former Woods of Ypres singer Robin Cross is spearheading a project (with the Gold family's blessing) that would see a memorial tree and plaque planted in Optimist Park in Windsor (the band's original home from the early 2000s.) This was the "woods of Ypres" that inspired David's work and the band's name, and Robin said that he can think of no more appropriate way to remember him. This already sounds like a great project to honour David's memory, but if you want to help, Robin is accepting donations to cover the cost of the tree & plaque, which will total at over $600. If you're interested in donating to help fund this project at the original woods of Ypres in Windsor, you can send money via PayPal to robindcross@hotmail.com or via check or well concealed money to the address found at Robin's post on the David Gold's Legacy Facebook page. I hope this takes off, because it sounds like a great and fitting tribute to David's memory and Woods of Ypres, and from what I've seen, Optimist Park looks like a very nice spot for the tree to be planted (and very fitting given it's personal connections!) Kudos to Robin for planning this tribute project, and hopefully you guys can donate for the cause! Check the above links for more details!
Also in David Gold related news: the David Gold tribute CD is still in the works, and an updated track listing is now up for the project! "A Heart Of Gold: A Tribute To Woods of Ypres" has changed a lot since it was first announced for it's band listings, but at least 18 tracks are confirmed for it at present, via this handwritten photo by Steph LeDrew, who's helping in the album's organization. Though not final, you'll notice bands like Novembers Doom, Gypsy Chief Goliath,Panzerfaust, Pagan Ritual, and Eclipse Eternal from the local and Toronto David Gold tribute concerts on the track listing, and though most of them are scheduled to do their Woods of Ypres covers from the tribute shows, Gypsy Chief Goliath are listed to cover "Shards of Love (Hurt Forever) with Woods of Ypres' Joel Violette & Rae Amitay, who did the song live with GCG frontman Alex Petrovich at the Ypres Metal Fest. Also of note: according to comments on the above setlist picture, Joel & Rae were also confirmed to cover "Silver" from "Woods V", which they performed at the local memorial show by themselves. That'd be interesting to hear again! If you're interested in an early taste of the album, Will Bozarth's acoustic cover of "Finality" was posted online at this location to stream, though note that it's an early instrumental demo. Sounds good so far!
Things seem to be shaping up well for the album, and there's some interesting covers planned for sure, though I wonder if fellow recent Woods of Ypres member Brendan Hayter will be factored in to Joel & Rae's planned songs on the album? The other note I had on this tribute album was that there are some tentative plans to have some sort of a local connection towards it. As revealed last week in a post on our Facebook page, Steph LeDrew had a proposition for bands from Sault Ste. Marie to submit material towards the tribute album, and if you're interested in more details, to contact her on Facebook at this location. From what I understand, she's looking for local musicians to contribute to a cover of "The Ghost of Summer's Past" for the album, which potentially sounds very cool, so contact Steph if you wanna be a part! I've heard rumblings about some other possible local participation, but nothing has officially been confirmed yet towards any local bands being on "A Heart of Gold". Hopefully we hear something though, as the local bands at the Ypres Metal Fest did a solid job with their covers, and it'd be cool to hear some of them in studio form! Check the above links for all the current details on the David Gold tribute album, and click here for all the newest updates via the album's Facebook group!
Let's close today's post with a bunch of new reviews of Woods of Ypres' final recorded studio album "Woods V: Grey Skies & Electric Light", which is nearing it's full North American release beyond just the tribute concerts and online stores! There's much more than just these, but I'm admittedly overdue. On April 3rd, Atanamar Sunyata from the website Metal Injection gave "Woods V" a 9.4 out of 10, calling it a logical progression from "Woods IV", a reflection of David Gold's spirit, and "an indelible, infectious sign of his craft", though some minor criticisms were given for David's attempts to sing too low. Solid review, so check it out at this location! Also, a recent review by Todd Lyons of About.com Heavy Metal saw "W5" gain 4.5 stars out of 5. He called it "an elegy for a lost prodigy" and a "harrowing experience", while going into nice detail on the album and events surrounding it, even calling "Kiss My Ashes (Goodbye)" a lost Type O Negative creation! Very nice review in it's own right, so click here to give it a look! Another review came from Zach Duvall of the site Metal Review, where he gave "Woods V" 9.5 out of 10. In a lengthy and well written review, he called the album "a near masterpiece" among other deep praise for the songwriting and music, including a nice view that this album is a celebration of life rather than a damnation of it. Another really good review, and well detailed, so click here to check it out!
Another new-ish review came from the editor at MetalAlbumReviews.com in January, who gave "W5" 4.5 stars out of 5, and though he didn't recommend it for people who don't like being emotionally compromised, he called it "almost perfect" and as containing "the kind of doom metal I want to hear." Overly positive (though short) review, and you can tell how much he liked "Woods V", so give it a look by clicking here! Also, Ryan Neal from the website OneMetal.com gave this album a 4 out of 5 in a review from last month, and though he used an outdated band photo, he complimented the album as having a "strikingly original brand of doom metal", while praising it's melodic qualities and somber elements. Nice review overall, so check it out at this location! Finally for this batch of "W5" reviews, "Facundo" from the website Metal Blast gave this album a perfect 5/5, calling it the best album he's heard so far this year and "an opus in the truest sense", though he says you need an open mind to listen to it, and it is the perfect fit for only specific people. I like his connections to other examples in this review, and it's a nice and highly complimentary review for sure, so click here to check it out, and stay tuned for more "Woods V" reviews soon, hopefully!
That's all for now, but stay tuned for the second half of our profile of the Friday the 13th song uploads from Werehold Records later today! Thanks everyone!
Sault Michigan hard rock quartet Powerslug are playing at Golanka's Bar (a.k.a. The Bird) TONIGHT! I apologize for the short notice, but guitarist Chris Gurnoe only just announced the show this morning on his personal Facebook page. This has become a common occurrence with the band formerly known as River Witch for about a year now, since their former Facebook page fell into disuse, as I've only tended to hear about their non-Kewadin shows late or on short notice. I'm doing my best to keep on top of things though, so bear with me! This will be Powerslug's second straight Saturday night concert at The Bird, and though I've yet to hear media of them in action, members' pasts in their predecessor band Blind Baby indicate a solid sound, so don't miss them TONIGHT! Admission should be free, you must be 21 to attend, and there's likely a start time of 10:00 PM. For what little I can gather about this concert, get more at the above links! Hopefully Powerslug knock it out of the park again this weekend, and go check them out tonight for some hard rocking across the river!
