Last Month's Poll Results & This Month's Newest Poll!!

As it's the 18th of the month, it's now time to close down last month's poll and launch a new poll at the SMS, and today, we're finally wrapping up our "favourite _____ of 2012" polls with the results of our most recent question: What was your favourite Sault Ontario metal concert of 2012?  24 votes in total, not terribly high, but we do have some clear results, so how'd everything place? The final results of this summative poll are below!

Anvil at The Canadian Nightclub on July 25th (7 votes, 29%)
Bushplane Musical Madness on November 23rd (4 votes, 17%)
The Suicide Kings at The Canadian on Dec. 26th (3 votes, 13%)
Frightlight at The Canadian Nightclub on January 14th (3 votes, 13%)
Ypres Metal Fest at The Canadian on April 7th (2 votes, 8%)
Late and Loud at The Canadian on March 30th (2 votes, 8%)
Garden of Bedlam at The Rockstar Bar on Oct. 30th (1 vote, 4%)
3 Inches of Blood at The Roosevelt Hotel on July 9th (1 vote, 4%)
Winkstinger at The Rosie on June 7th (1 vote, 4%)
Dead In The Van at The Canadian on March 4th (0 votes)
Garden of Bedlam at The Rockstar Bar on May 12th (0 votes)
F.A.T.I.L. Gathering in Laird on June 22nd (0 votes)
The Shotgun Dolls at The Rosie on August 2nd (0 votes)
F.A.T.I.L. Requiem in Laird on August 4th (0 votes)
Dead & Divine at The Canadian on August 22nd (0 votes)
Frightlight at The Grand Theater on October 20th (0 votes)
Other (0 votes)

What do you guys think? In ascending order, I'm surprised that almost half of the choices received no votes, especially as all of these picked up at least one vote in the half-year polls on this topic, with Dead & Divine and Garden of Bedlam surprising me the most. Of the three shows tied for seventh with a vote each, I'm very surprised that neither Garden of Bedlam's October gig and the 3 Inches of Blood show got so little votes, while I had similar surprise for the Ypres Metal Fest's fifth place tie with just two votes. The third place tie for The Suicide Kings' Boxing Day show and the Frightlight/Merves date was encouraging for both, but still a surprise given what they were up against. Second place with 4 votes went to the Bushplane Musical Madness gig in November, another nice surprise from this well recieved multi-band show at such a unique venue, and hopefully we'll see heavier bands back there shortly! But the winner, with 7 votes & 29% of the final total, was the Anvil-headlined metal concert at The Canadian on July 25th, and I think I can speak for many people as to how awesome that show was!

The local openers brought it, Anvil's influential old school sound was on full display, and the huge crowd ate it all up, adding to a clear show to remember last summer! Kudos to J.D. for putting it on, here's hoping we see Anvil back in town in the near future, and thanks again for voting last month!

So, with our 2012 polls done, what's coming this month for our next poll? I wanted to focus on Sault Michigan a bit, as while there's always stories, news, and events coming from the Eastern U.P. to talk about, it feels like that there's been less in recent months. The Sault Michigan metal/hard rock scene has a lot of plusses compared to Sault Ontario (major Kewadin Casino headlining shows, a more spread out scene, more women, kids, and families in bands, etc.), but activity and news from across the river hasn't been as frequent on the site lately. Show announcements have been slower from most bands, certain dependable acts & events haven't been heard from lately, and even the active count of American metal/hard rock bands has fallen. The pageless Powerslug aside, we only have 19 active Sault Michigan-area bands listed on the site, and only a fraction of them have played live in the past year. Plus, extreme, hardcore, and death metal is not plentiful at all nowadays, with the closest active bands being studio-only or yet to fully launch.

Classic & general rock bands are plentiful enough (like Toast, The London Gentlemen, and Chump Change), but have harder-edged bands fallen on the wayside? While I don't see nearly enough Sault Michigan bands live, I enjoy, respect, and cover bands and shows in the scene as equally as possible, I graduated from LSSU last year, and I advocate great American Soo bands a lot, so I know when things seem to be not as active as they have been. With that said, I'm posing this question to you guys this month: What is most needed to improve the Sault Michigan-area metal/hard rock scene? I'm not saying it's bad, just that it's not as active or busy as it was in the late 2000s and earlier, and I know it could be better in those areas. Plus, I know that the smaller population is a clear factor, but I'm not comparing it to Sault Ontario, just itself in past years. I've picked 8 choices for this poll, so read on below for info on each, and hopefully I don't sound too uninformed on any points!

More active venues: It's not that there's a lack of concert spots in the Eastern U.P. (the "Yooper Bars" book is clear proof of that), but in recent months, most shows we've plugged on here have either been at the Kewadin Casinos or among Banned's torrid pace of weekend engagements. Of the venues that are around, most seem to focus on weekend cover bands in the region (with some exceptions), and online promotion for many is either minimal or nonexistent. Do more venues need to open their doors to metal acts?

More bands: The Sault Michigan scene's had many great metal bands in recent years (like Bad Side, Clownsack, and I.S.O.M.), and while bands like Half A Man & Theatre of Night are producing high quality original material nowadays, most of the active heavier-leaning Eastern U.P. bands are either studio-only projects or focus mainly on covers. There are many talented musicians in the Sault Michigan area both in & out of bands, but are new metal groups most needed to boost activity across the river?

More concerts: Even with Sault Michigan's usually consistent amount of summer festivals and weekend bar engagements, heavier concerts have seemed to drop off in recent months. Lately, most shows I've seen across the river have leaned towards general, classic, or southern rock bands, with many active bands with a metal element playing more sporadically or arguably going more mainstream. Are more concert bookings all that's needed to boost the scene a bit?

More out of town bands: Lately, this category seems to only fall into two categories: Allstar Promotions-headlined concerts at The Dreammaker's Theater, and Western U.P./Northern Michigan bands at weekend bar sets (like Nudge, Peril, and Driven.) All are great benefits to the Sault Michigan scene (Dave Atkinson especially does great work bringing major bands here), but would an increase in major headlining acts and touring metal/hard rock bands (hopefully with local openers) give the regional metal scene a boost?

More support/commitment: Does the Sault Michigan side of the border need just more support and commitment from fans, business owners, and musicians? I know that there are many venues and stores that firmly support and help the local scene (like Rock 101, Grooves Music, and Allstar Graphics), but to stem the Sault Michigan side of things, is an extra kick needed to boost things back to where they were even 4 years ago? Maybe more concert promoters, funding, or advertising?

The scene's cyclical and will improve soon: This is a belief I've had of Sault Ontario for a while for the peaks and valleys of the scene month-to-month, but is there a cyclical pattern in Sault Michigan's metal/hard rock scene? Do you think that current activity levels are just a low trend that's destined to pick up, possibly with the help of upcoming summer concert festivals and recent population rises in the area? If you think the scene will naturally get more active with time, vote here!

Sault Michigan's scene is fine the way it is: Do you like the Sault Michigan hard rock/metal scene as it currently stands? If nothing changed from how the bands and shows are right now, would you have no complaints? Compared to past years (and yes, even Sault Ontario), I can't see this being a top voted choice, but if this is the case for you, this is your choice!

I don't actively follow Sault Michigan bands/concerts: Are you from Sault Ontario and don't pay a lot of attention to the American side of the border? Are you just not up on the Sault Michigan scene enough to comment on what's going on across the river? Are you a Yooper that just doesn't follow regional bands and shows by your own choice? If you can't comment on the Sault Michigan scene of today, or just don't focus on it, this would be your choice!

VOTE TODAY!! You guys have until June 18th to cast your votes, and while I admit that I'm not the optimal person to ask such a question, I want Sault Michigan and area to thrive in the metal & hard rock genres, and I know the talent and ability is there to loop it back even to 2008 levels! There's plenty of solid and entertaining bands (past and present) in the Eastern U.P., and hopefully things will grow in the coming months! That's all for now, but cast your votes, and stay tuned for a new news post featuring a big new concert announcement in Sault Michigan tomorrow! Thanks everyone!

This Weekend's Local Metal/Hard Rock Concert Previews, And More!!

With the weekend upon us, it's time to preview this weekend's slate of metal/hard rock concerts, and hopefully I haven't missed any (but I'll get them up on here A.S.A.P. if I did!) Note that I'm waiting to preview Monday's cancer fundraiser The Crusade until the weekend, as it's too soon yet, but we will cover it! Today, we have previews of four shows on both sides of the border, including some long awaited returns and an out of town headliner (plus some assorted other updates at the end of the post), so read on below for what you need to know!

We'll start at The Roosevelt Hotel TOMORROW NIGHT, where Rockstar Bar Battle of the Bands winners The Suicide Kings will play their first show since their battle win! Likely a rescheduling of their planned April debut at The Rosie, it'll be great to see the guys hitting this popular Korah Road venue for the first time, and if you've missed them since their well received battle sets last month, why not come out tomorrow? Note that this is a one-night-only gig due to another concert happening at The Rosie on Saturday night that we'll mention in a bit, but The Suicide Kings will also be at The Canadian Nightclub on Monday for The Crusade cancert fundraiser, so keep that in mind! As for tomorrow's show, they'll be on at 10:00 PM, with no announced cover charge and a 19+ age limit in effect. For more details, visit the official Facebook event page! Sounds like a fun time to me, especially with new covers and a much longer set in store, but I'll have to see if I can make it to this one (either way, I'll 100% see them on Monday!)

Head down to The Rosie TOMORROW for The Suicide Kings' energetic hard rock sounds, and for a preview, here's the guys playing their song "King of the World" at the Rockstar Bar Battle Semifinals last month!

In a quick detour to Sault Michigan, newer local hard rock/metal quartet 415E will make their first ever appearances at The Rapids Lounge at the Sault Michigan Kewadin Casino TOMORROW & SATURDAY NIGHT! Referred to online as their "first show" despite actually debuting at the Sebastian Bach concert in January, these will be the first solo headlining gigs from 415E, whose lineup features ex-Nixxon Dixxon guitarist Chris Hubbard, his old Splitshot bandmate Dave Menard on vocals, and Highest of Fives bandmates Jack Slater & Devin Anderson on bass & drums. Surely ready with a set full of originals from their upcoming debut album (and plenty of covers, likely with lots of Van Halen to go around), fans of the members' older bands should be amped up for their debut gigs, so keep them in mind for this weekend! Admission should be free for tomorow & Saturday night's 21+ shows, and 10:00 PM start times seem likely. For more details, visit the above links!

It's great to see 415E back after 4 months, and hopefully they pick up where bands like Nixxon Dixxon left off to carve a big and successful name in the Eastern U.P.! For a preview, here's 415E playing their self-titled original song at the Sebastian Bach concert at The Dreammaker's Theater in January!



Finally for the known weekend metal/hard rock concert schedule, a death metal concert hits The Roosevelt Hotel THIS SATURDAY (which is different in itself), but there's a lot of familiar faces on the lineup! The headliners are Cambridge doom/grindcore duo Greber (featuring Fuck The Facts bassist Marc Bourgon), and while they're small in number, their experimental, guitar-less, and sludgy sound should attract a positive notice at The Rosie this weekend! Different sound, but very heavy! The local openers are definitely no strangers to The Roosevelt Hotel, as local melodic death metal quintet The Bear Hunters and grime/crust trio Shit Liver will play local support! This will be The Bear Hunters' first local show since their 5th place run at the Rockstar Bar Battle of the Bands last month, while Shit Liver (who are putting this show on) haven't been seen since Axed Theory Night at The Rosie in February. With hard hitting and brutal originals from both of these popular local acts, you won't wanna miss a minute of this concert on Saturday night!

A $3 admission is in effect for this 19+ concert, and a 9:00 PM start time is advertised. For more details, visit the official Facebook event page! If you've missed the Thursday Rosie metal nights, this should be a nice throwback to that dormant series (if two days later), and while a two man, no guitar sound may seem odd, bands like Sue Inside and The Fury pulled off each well locally, so come in with an open mind and give Greber some great mosh pits! For a preview, here's 20 minutes of Greber live in Toronto last year!



Finally for today, here's three recent shorter news stories, and as usual, these are in alphabetical order by band name:

• Barring a return to musical activity by Tuesday, I'll soon be moving local electronic/hard rock project Candle Hour to our inactive Sault Ontario band links. While their Facebook page is continually updated with links to mainman Hugh Stephens' claymation films, he's made no band-specific updates since May 21st of last year. I like Candle Hour's hard-edged techno material & album, and hopefully Hugh works on more Candle Hour music down the road!
• Local grunge/alternative rock band Haggith are looking for a keyboardist to add to their lineup, as per a post by drummer Mike Haggith on the Musicians Wanted Facebook group yesterday. The Rockstar Bar Battle runner-ups have a number of songs with keyboard accompaniment on their latest albums, and would encourage songwriting ability as well. If you're interested in trying out, message the band at their official Facebook page!
• If you were curious about info on new local band Jack Spades (who are opening for The Dayglo Abortions at The Rosie in September), they feature T-Rex Manning frontman J.D. Pearce & guitarist Tiffany Stocco alongside Asylum Country drummer/local metal band alum T.J. Case, with a bassist (and sound) to be determined. Promising lineup so far, I can't wait to hear more! My source is personal conversations with J.D.

That's all for today, but stay tuned for a likely news post either tomorrow or Saturday, probably including our preview of The Crusade! Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERT (Frightlight), How To Apply For The Rotaryfest Second Stage, And New Videos!!

Well guys, I apologize for the lack of news since the weekend, but things have hit a surprisingly low point for updates in the last few days. That ends now though, as we have some big stories to get to, including new videos from two wildly different local acts, details on how you can apply to play at an annual local festival, and first, a LOCAL CONCERT ALERT featuring a prominent local band's return, so here's what you need to know!

Frightlight are back! The local horror punk/metal standouts will end a 7 month concert hiatus in just under two weeks when they open for Montreal psychobilly quartet The Brains on Tuesday, May 28th at The Rockstar Bar! Frightlight's energetic and always fun sound has been missed since the Halloween season, but with everyone back in town (I assume), hopefully Frightlight shakes off the stage rust and delivers a frightfully good set in what may be their first ever set at The Algonquin Hotel's upstairs bar! The Brains themselves are local favourites that were just seen at The Rockstar Bar last week at a very well received punk concert, and promoter/Frightlight frontman Johnny Pints is bringing them back for another go-round, so fans of their punk and rockabilly hybrid should be right at home once again! The other opening band will be local punk trio Redundant, who'll open for The Brains once again with their own entertaining mix of covers, originals, and banter, so don't miss them either come the 28th! This 19+ concert has an advertised 9:00 PM start time, and there's a $5 cover charge.

For more details, visit the official Facebook event page! This should be a very fun concert for punk and psychobilly fans, and anyone who saw The Brains & Redundant last week should attest to that! However, with The Small Town Rivals swapped out for the return of Frightlight, there's an extra spark for metalheads to hit this one up! I always like to ramp up on concert bookings around my birthday, and this year's looking far better than 2012 for that, so I imagine this will kick off a great week of shows to attend! Stay tuned for potential updates!

Next up, the annual registration period for the ninth annual Tenaris Second Stage at this year's Rotaryfest is coming up on July 19th & 20th, and as usual, YOUR BAND can enter! Of course, this is the outdoor concert stage on Queen Street East outside of The Grand Theater, which traditionally hosts local original talent and out-of-town indie bands during our local summer festival, and though metal & hard rock hasn't always been featured, bands like Gates of Winter, Stillbroke, Garden of Bedlam, and Sailor's Tongue have all played the Second Stage since it's 2005 inception. As originally announced last week on SooToday (apologies for the late mention on here), you have until May 31st (two weeks from Friday) to submit applications to be considered for a slot at this year's Rotaryfest Second Stage, so how can you do that? To register online, visit this location and, in the given forms, provide your name, e-mail address, and phone number, and your band's name, biography, performance history, websites, at least one band photo, and a sample of your music.

If submitting in person or by mail, provide a work sample with all of the above info, and with music on a CD or DVD with at least 3 good quality original songs (and possibly press clippings) to the address provided at this link, and preference will be given to bands with professionally released CDs. I'd love to see more metal & hard rock on the Second Stage this year (getting two bands last year was a good start), but we won't get any unless some heavier bands apply, so register A.S.A.P. at the above links! (Also, note that there's no advertised Thursday night for the Second Stage, so they may have cut it since last year.)

We'll close today with new videos, starting with new videos from Haggith drummer/local solo musician Mike Haggith, who's launched a new YouTube channel! He already has one, but he's aiming to either replace or succeed it as part of a rebranding project according to his solo project's Facebook page yesterday, which is a good idea given that his older channel isn't under his name. He plans to upload full albums of his onto the new channel, albeit with songs as single video uploads rather than together as one video, and his newest CD "The Present Din" has already been uploaded in said format, with more likely to come. The other videos are brand new to YouTube (as far as I can tell), and they're of Mike playing solo songs at (I assume) open mic nights at Sault College's former bar/venue The Outback over 2 years ago! Likely among the first live sets Mike played in town, two are of Mike playing his original songs "Trinity" & "Hot Summer Sun" in February 2011 (there was more filmed that night, but the rest was lost during processing.)

Embedded below though, we have Mike playing "Nightmare on Reed Street", "As Memories Fade Away", and "I Love You Anyways" at an Outback set in December 2010, and all of the new postings feature him on vocals & guitar with backing tracks to fill out the lineup. I hadn't seen these in quite a while, but they give a glimpse into how a Mike Haggith solo concert would look/sound, and his vocals and guitar abilities are on full display, despite some audio issues midway through. Solid stuff overall, so give his 3 song set a look below, and stay tuned for more from Mike's new channel!



Finally for today, local goregrind solo project Crucify The Whore uploaded their second demo "Fetel Pig Dissection" ("Fetel" intentionally misspelled) onto their label Blood Shed Productions' YouTube channel on Friday! It's in two parts (click here and here for each), and if you like their past work, this should be just as appealing, though it's still very much an acquired taste despite some more varied influences. There's more techno & electronic influences, and the heavier parts are definitely brutal, but the pig squeal vocals, recording quality, and somewhat divisive themes will not be universally accepted by listeners. Still, I appreciate what Ringsnaps is doing, even if this isn't my cup of tea, but I'd still like to see him expand the band and take it beyond just releasing solo demos and split discs. As both halves of the album's YouTube upload feature images that some readers may find disturbing, I've embedded only the audio below, but if you're up for some original grind, give Crucify The Whore's second demo a listen!



That's all for today, but stay tuned for this weekend's local metal/hard rock concert previews likely tomorrow! Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (415E), J.P. Fecteau Benefit Preview, Winkstinger Updates, And More!!

Before we get to tonight's news post at the SMS, just a quick apology for missing promotion of last Friday's Lucky 13 show at The Nicolet Tavern. As it only got a brief plug on their Facebook page on Monday, it slipped me by until the day of the show, and I could only get it on the site as a Facebook-exclusive that night.  My sincerest apologies to the band and all readers, I'll try and be on my toes more for their next gigs, and hopefully the show was a hit! Today though, we have recent feature post updates, news on a local metal band's lineup, and a preview of a benefit event tomorrow, but first, here's some long awaited LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS for this month, so here's what you need to know!

Sault Michigan hard rock/metal quartet 415E will make their first concert appearances in 4 months THIS WEEKEND & next weekend at both of the regional Kewadin Casino branches! They'll start with gigs this coming Friday & Saturday at The Rapids Lounge at the Sault Michigan Kewadin Casino, followed by two shows next weekend at The Northern Pines Lounge at the St. Ignace Kewadin (as replacements for local country band Perry Hatch), and though there isn't a great deal of notice, these constitute the long-hyped May "debut" for 415E (despite opening for Sebastian Bach locally in January.) My source for the 4 new concerts is 415E's Facebook page this morning, and for reference, Kewadin Casino's entertainment page lists neither weekend, so they're likely newer confirmations. 10:00 PM start times are likely each night for these 21+ shows, and there's no announced cover charges. For more details, visit the above links!

With Nixxon Dixxon, Splitshot, and Highest of Fives alumni, you know 415E will have plenty of great originals & covers in store for their first headlining/solo shows, so don't miss them at either of the main regional Kewadin Casinos this month, and keep an eye out just in case their long awaited debut album surfaces in some form! Stay tuned for updates!

Thirdly today, while not exactly a concert preview, there is a big event going down tomorrow night, so I thought I'd acknowledge it (especially for the causes behind it.) As you may remember, former local metal guitarist Jean-Paul Fecteau (of J.A.B. & other bands) suddenly passed away early last month at just 38 years old, and amidst the outpouring of support & condolences, Asylum Country guitarist/local metal band alum Terry Eaton kicked off organizing & promotion of a benefit for his family, which will see numerous friends and musicians jamming some tunes in his memory. Admission will be $20 for the benefit, which goes down TOMORROW at The Canadian Nightclub at 6:00 PM, though potential age limits weren't mentioned, and food and prize draws have also been advertised. For more details, visit the official Facebook event page! Even though we don't know much on the performers, there's bound to be lots of talent, camaraderie, and emotion in J.P.'s honour tomorrow night, so don't miss this event, and help give his family & daughter some much needed support! R.I.P. Jean-Paul!

Also today, here's the latest lineup news from local extreme metal band Winkstinger, as they've finally confirmed the addition of ex-Fitswitch/No Arrow bassist Jason Bourcier to their lineup, replacing Ryan Sherman. This was announced on their Facebook page earlier today, though I'd heard of his enlistment for a while now through personal conversations. Arguably more prominent from his singing work in bands like Time of Ruin in the last few years, Jason's a skilled bassist from some widely varying local bands, and hopefully his addition will spark the guys in their impending return to the stage on the 29th! Also, the lineup above essentially confirms the departure of rhythm guitarist Anthony Orazietti, but there is no replacement listed there, and despite rumours of Jason Ladouceur coming back (and recent personal postings indicating that they had a replacement), they're currently listed as a quartet. A smaller lineup won't be a jarring change (they won the Battle For The Blood as a quartet), but here's hoping for the best, and best of luck to Anthony in the future!

It's been a long road back to the stage since July for Winkstinger, but hopefully this long wait will see an even heavier and faster sound come the 29th when they open for Sleep When You're Dead at The Oddfellows Hall, so don't miss their new lineup's debut then, and stay tuned for more from Winkstinger as I hear it!

Finally for today, here's some recent updates to some profiles in our YouTube Channel Profile Series! In our profile of Lion Ride's channel, I added references to their newest posthumous video (featuring all 4 songs from their unfinished second album's sessions), emphasized their 2012 breakup more, and noted that Foggy Notions (the site of some of their live videos) is now Coch's Corner. On our profile of Stillbroke's channel, I de-emphasized their later name change to Borderline Divine a bit (as they were more active & successful under the Stillbroke name), while I edited our profile of Candle Hour's channel to note that project's likely inactive status at present. On our profile of soundguyjoe's channel, I edited references of Free Beer (who he filmed members of in some videos) to reflect their 2013 revival under the Sarah's Valley name, while I removed the now-deleted links for Splitshot & Trail's End on our profile of myangels1266's channel, as they both featured performers in that channel's Nixxon Dixxon videos. Finally, I edited our profile of AshTraynor's YouTube channel to note featured act Banned's creation of an official YouTube channel and various lineup changes. Hopefully that's all for that series for now!

That's all for today, but stay tuned for more news this week! Thanks everyone!

Defunct Local Band Profile Series: Cherubic Red & Faithless Sin

It's the 10th of the month, so it's now time for this month's Defunct Local Band Profiles! As usual, this monthly feature series looks at 1-2 local metal/hard rock bands that have either broken up or fallen inactive, in order to profile their history, material, and major events for current readers, and as the first band we picked this month had no available media, I picked another band to fill out this double post! Today, we have a band each from both sides of the border, and though neither lasted a long time, they have their own distinct info to share, so read on below for this month's Defunct Local Band Profiles! (Updated on August 28th, 2013)
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Cherubic Red

Genre: Experimental/Industrial Rock

Hometown: Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan

Members:

Steven Dahlke, vocals/guitar
Nick Moreau (Plastic), guitar/bass/drums

Info/Analysis: Originally named Cash Only, Cherubic Red were a short lived industrial hard rock project that was active in the Sault Michigan area from roughly August 2009 until February 2010. Describing their sound as "rhythmic destruction", along with crediting numerous influences, old blog postings on their MySpace page from late 2009 indicated plans to release a single named "An Deinem Herzen" (German for "In Your Heart"), though the band went inactive before any media could be posted. They also had a close relationship with defunct local grunge band Half Stupid (who Steven Dahlke once promoted shows featuring), but little else is known on Cherubic Red that I can find. The influences and postings seem promising for a more unique local hard rock project, and hopefully we'll hear some of what Steven & Nick were working on at some point down the road!
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Faithless Sin

Genre: Thrash Metal

Hometown: Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario

Members: (Members not in their last full lineup in italics. E-mail me at robertfigures@outlook.com if you have any additions or corrections!)

Jason Bourcier (Winkstinger, Fitswitch, No Arrow), vocals
Joe Falco (No Arrow, Flashback), guitar
Ryan Gratton (Chronic Demonic), bass
Jonathan Harvey (Gates of Winter), drums

Mike DiPasquale (Time of Ruin), guitar
Frank LaTassa (Quite Frankly), guitar
Mark Parent (Time of Ruin), drums

Info/Analysis: Primarily active from 2006-2007, Faithless Sin were visible and busy during their initial run, including releasing their song "Chaos Reigns", but major activity died down after the departure of guitarist Mike DiPasquale in September 2006, and updates ended the following spring. Plans to relaunch the band with a new name & sound led to the creation of a separate new band named Time of Ruin (featuring Jason, Mike, and Mark from Faithless Sin), who were active from 2007-2008. Most of Faithless Sin's original lineup relaunched the band after a three year hiatus in August 2010, but their reunion was short lived, and they disbanded for good that fall. Personally, I'd say that Time of Ruin should be looked back on & remembered first given that they did more (and actually played concerts), but at least Faithless Sin had posted media! "Chaos Reigns" is a solid extreme metal track with nice guitar work and an intense feeling, but the recording quality isn't very good. Still, if you liked Time of Ruin or the other local bands that Jason fronted, check out Faithless Sin's only posted original song below!



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I hope you guys liked this month's defunct profiles! Next month, we'll look at another Sault Michigan band, but which one? By random selection, I've chosen Insipid Brutality, the defunct local black/death metal band who just released a posthumous album last year, so watch out for what should be an interesting single-band profile on or around June 10th! That's all for today, but stay tuned for at least one new news post this weekend! Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (Haggith, The Crusade, Banned, And The Sewer Swampstravaganza!!)

We have a stacked news post today in our first of two posts (this month's Defunct Local Band Profiles are going up tonight), but now, we have LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS for five newly confirmed metal/hard rock shows! Two are from the same band in the Eastern U.P., but the others include confirmed bands for two previously announced multi-band events, and first, a short notice CD release party that also doubles as a concert preview, so here's what you need to know!

Rockstar Bar Battle of the Bands runners-up Haggith will launch their third studio album "Deuce" with a CD release party TODAY! Apologies for the short notice, this was only just announced yesterday. To be held at 101 Crawford Avenue (which I believe is a band member's house), Haggith also plan to play an outdoor concert set to coincide with the release (a year to the day of the band's launch), in what will be Haggith's first live set since their battle run last month, so keep that in mind! Note that it's weather permitting, but the forecast doesn't call for rain tonight, so I assume it'll be on. The album will be sold for $5 at the party, which has a 6:30 PM start time and no other explicit charges, and attendees are welcome to bring drinks. Also, this is the final album cover, which is a simplified version of the image used on band pages & videos in recent months. For more details, visit the official Facebook event page! It's a shame I'm going out of town for the weekend later today, as I don't live far from Crawford Avenue (near the Canadian Nightclub & the YMCA), and I'd love to pick up the album!

If you can't make the release party, CD copies will be on sale at The Rad Zone starting tomorrow, and I'm sure future concerts will have copies too! Go check out tonight's party, stay tuned next month for our review of "Deuce", and for a preview, here's the guys playing "Leon The Janitor" from "Deuce" at last month's battle!



Next up, the first confirmed bands for J.D. Pearce's cancer benefit fundraiser concert The Crusade at The Canadian Nightclub on May 20th have been announced, and yes, there's some heavier bands on the lineup! Five bands have been announced so far, and they include J.D.'s own local punk/metal quartet T-Rex Manning, Rockstar Bar Battle of the Bands winners The Suicide Kings, the aforementioned Haggith, returning local death metal quartet Crimson Crusade, and ex-Terminal frontman Greg Callaghan in a solo acoustic set. While most have been seen at recent concerts, this will mark Crimson Crusade's first show since The Locals Attack six months ago, and it will be great to see them back before they open for Skeletonwitch next month! More bands are possible to be announced for this benefit show, which will see raised money going to the Canadian Cancer Society and the Relay For Life, which as you'd expect, is an awesome gesture! This show will go down at 5:00 PM on Monday, May 20th, with entry by donation (suggested amount: $5), and this is an ALL AGES event. For more details, visit the official Facebook event page!

The Crusade sounds like a great fundraising event, and as far as I know, there's more bands to be announced, so stay tuned for further updates, and hopefully lots of money is raised to help put an end to cancer once and for all! Stay tuned for more as it comes in, and I hope to see you guys there!

In a brief detour to the Sault Michigan area, Kinross classic/hard rock quintet Banned will apparently return to The Runway Bar in nearby Hessel, Michigan for two separate Saturdays on July 6th and August 10th! My source is The Runway Bar's Facebook page yesterday, and while Banned have yet to officially announce these shows, lead guitarist Alex Traynor liked the status confirming them, so they're on board. The July date will be Banned's first show in Hessel (45 minutes south of the Soo, a half hour northeast of St. Ignace) in almost 5 months, unless I missed one in the interim, and hopefully the guys (and girl) rock The Runway Bar well in their returns this summer! There's no announced cover charge for either show, you must be 21 to attend, and these likely have the earlier 8:00 PM start time. For more details, check the above links! It's good to hear of some more Banned concerts for this summer, so keep them in mind, and don't miss them back in Moran in two weeks!

Finally for today, the first official lineup information for the third annual Sewer Swampstravaganza at The Oddfellows Hall on Wednesday, August 21st is now out, and all three bands who played in the past two installments are back for this year, including local/Toronto punk/cello trio (and the likely headliners) RedD Monkey, local death metal quintet The Bear Hunters, and local extreme metal rockers Winkstinger! While the former two bands will be playing their first announced Oddfellows Hall gig of the year, this will be Winkstinger's second show there of 2013, though barring any interim show announcements, it will be just their second gig with their new rhythm guitarist & bassist (both still to be publically announced.) The other confirmed bands are Swampstravaganza newcomers, including Haggith (in their Oddfellows Hall debut) and the original crash band themselves, Sykotyk Rampage, in their first confirmed show since the Rockstar Bar Battle of the Bands! Though mainly new to this event, guitarist Dirk Becker provided sound for the first Swampstravaganza in April 2011, and bassist Tony Briglio was briefly scheduled to play that year with The Fury before they dropped out. Solid lineup so far, I like how it's shaping up!

As the last two Sewer Swampstravaganzas featured 10 or more bands (the first one had as many as 12 once), I'd expect a lineup of a similar scope come August, so look for perhaps 6-8 new bands to be confirmed for this massive ALL AGES concert soon! This show has as 2:00 PM start time and a $5 cover charge, but for more details, visit the official Facebook event page! The Swer Swampstravaganza is quickly becoming a must-see event for loads of local talent, so keep this major concert in mind come August, and keep an eye out for lineup news as it rolls in!

That's all for now, but stay tuned tonight for this month's Defunct Local Band Profiles on Cherubic Red & Faithless Sin! Thanks everyone!

Shit Liver/Royal Red Brigade Concert Preview, The Third Sewer Swampstravaganza, And Much More!!

Hard to believe that yesterday was the first day with no posts on the SMS since February 25th, but we have a packed post today to start hopefully another long run, so what's on tap? We have some recent feature post updates, some assorted updates from the last little while, Woods of Ypres tribute album updates, and the return of a massive all ages concert, but first, we have a concert preview for tomorrow night, so here's what you need to know!

In a relatively light weekend for local metal/hard rock concerts, there is one show of note going down TOMORROW NIGHT, as two heavier-leaning local acts will open for two Western Canada punk bands at The Oddfellows Hall, those being Regina punk quartet The Royal Red Brigade & Edmonton surf punk trio The Rhubarbs! You may recognize The Royal Red Brigade as one of the opening acts at last summer's Weak Ends show, and their classic rock-inspired sound should be fun to have back in town, while The Rhubarbs' energetic and more modern punk stylings should attract a good response too, so don't miss out! As for the local openers, one is local grindcore/death metal trio Shit Liver (replacing new local punk band Crawfather) for their first show in 3 months, and though their sound is a sharp contrast from the rest of the lineup, they'll give a solid metal injection into the proceedings, especially as they haven't played live much lately, so don't miss them! The other opening band is local grunge/lo-fi solo project Telephone & Address in their second gig of the year, and hopefully Chris' acoustic outsider take on alternative hard rock finds a bigger audience tomorrow!

Promoted by AlgomA drummer Jamie Vincent's all ages promotion company,  this show will start at 8:00 PM tomorrow with a $5 cover charge and again, it's ALL AGES! For more information, visit the official Facebook event page! Though this concert is admittedly more of a punk-leaning gig, there's some very solid music to go around, including local bands with heavy stuff, so don't miss out on a good old fashioned all ages punk/metal show at The Oddfellows Hall tomorrow night! For a preview, here's Shit Liver playing "(Friendly Old) Uncle Joe" there in 2011!



Next up, The Sewer Swampstravaganza will return to The Oddfellows Hall on Wednesday, August 21st for a third installment! As you may remember, this is the annual all ages concert event promoted & headlined by local classical/punk standouts RedD Monkey, which saw 11 & 10 bands respectively rock The Oddfellows Hall in April 2011 & July 2012, and it'll be great to have another go-around of this all-day onslaught of local talent! Official lineup details are not yet known, but it's a safe assumption that RedD Monkey will again headline the event, in what will be their first announced local date since December, so it'll be fun to hear their new material and their fast & creative older hits! In case you're curious about possible performers, members of The Bear Hunters & Winkstinger (the only other bands who played at both of the past installments) have already expressed interest in playing again in August, while each year saw a radically different lineup. The 2011 show had all metal/hard rock acts (except RedD Monkey & The Tenagens), but last year's event was only half heavy, with punk, folk, rap, blues, and indie rock also well represented. As soon as more concrete lineup info comes out, we'll have it here!

Doors will open at 2:00 PM on August 21st for this concert, which has a $5 entry fee and NO age limits. For more details (and to inquire on if your band can get on the lineup), visit the official Facebook event page! This should be an awesome event, so don't miss it come August, and stay tuned as usual for more on the show and the scheduled performers, including confirmed metal bands!

Thirdly today, here's the latest from the long awaited Woods of Ypres/David Gold tribute CD! Now titled just "Heart of Gold: A Tribute to Woods of Ypres" (no "A" at the start), the announced cover artwork has been edited to render the main title in the Woods of Ypres logo font, as you can see on the right. It looks a little funny to me, but it does distinguish it from official Woods albums, so it works out! It's hoped that CDs will be available to be mailed by June 1st, with digital download links possible any day now, as per postings on the album's Facebook group, but if you want to pre-order anything before public sales begin, send $10 for the mp3 copy (or $20 for it and the physical album) to pkuhr@comcast.net as a Paypal gift with e-mail and/or physical addresses in the notes section. I can't wait for this album to be finished and released, but while we wait, a few more covers from the album were posted on YouTube by their respective performers, including covers of "Allure of the Earth", "Crossing The 45th Parallel", "A Meeting Place & Time", and "Adora Vivos", so check them out above, and stay tuned for tribute album updates!

Also, here's three assorted news and notes from the last little while, and as usual, these are in alphabetical order by artist name:

• Valentine's Day Massacre drummer Kyle Umgeher is apparently looking to join a new band, as per a post on the Musicians Wanted Facebook group the other night. He's very talented, so give him a shout at this location or at the above links if you're interested in jamming with Kyle! (Also, no word on if this means anything negative for The Valentine's Day Massacre's status.)
• Toast guitarist Mike Libertoski was recently interviewed by Mayur Agarwal of the website Metal Wani about his Galactic Alignment solo project, so click here to read the whole interview! In it, Mike talks about his technical death metal work's originality, influences, songwriting, gear, and future, though the only allusions to his local band work relate to the possibility of expanding Galactic Alignment to a full band. Very nice article all the same, so give it a look above!
• Former Blind Baby frontman Tadd Gravelle is looking for a good guitar player in the Eastern U.P. to work on new original material with, though no word on if he has a full new band in the works yet or not. If you're interested, give Tadd a shout on Facebook at this location, and give Blind Baby's originals a look at the above link! My source is personal Facebook conversations.

Finally for today, here's some more recent updates to our Defunct Local Band Profiles to make them more accurate & up-to-date! Firstly, I updated our Creatures of the Night profile to note alumni Keith Gagnon & Ryan Gray's more prominent band Free Beer's name change (more or less) to Sarah's Valley upon their 2013 return, while I made a similar change to our Losing Ground & Weed profiles. On the former, I replaced Stealing Kisses with members Kevin D'Orazio & Nick Kainula's current band With Blood Build Character, while on the latter, I added references to members Bob Helsten & Tony Rogers' current band Toast. On our No Arrow profile, I added former bassist Dean Scheepmaker to their lineup, as I confirmed a few weeks back that he was a band member for more than just replacement sets. I also made similar Toast-promoting edits to our profile on Shift, while I lastly added a reference to Absolute frontman Donny Newell's current band Full Throttle on their profile. Stay tuned on Friday as we profile Faithless Sin & Cherubic Red, the newest bands inducted into this monthly series!

That's all for today, but stay tuned for this month's Defunct Local Band Profiles tomorrow, and for more news (including Rotaryfest Second Stage updates) hopefully by the weekend! Thanks everyone!