Spades GT's Late 2023 Video Content From Rye Field Studios!!

With no currently announced Friday night hard rock concerts in the area for the St. Patrick's Day weekend, and two Sunday nighters taking place on said holiday, I'm postponing this weekend's concert previews to tomorrow so that we're slightly closer to what has been announced. Stay tuned!

Instead, let's continue playing catch-up on local/Barrie crossover thrash band Spades GT's recent activity, and we're winding back to late 2023 for some performance and interview footage that they shot! These come from Rye Field Studios, a recording studio out of Brantford that also posts long-form content to their YouTube channel featuring bands that come in to their headquarters, particularly interviews and performance footage. The former Jack Spades aren't even the only band with local ties to be featured in Rye Field Studios content, as St. Thomas metalcore band Prosector (fronted by ex-State of Misery singer Steve Rhodes) got similarly covered in January, so give those a look if you've missed Steve locally! The first of Rye Field's videos featuring Spades GT was uploaded in September, before they ever made the 2 hour drive south to Brantford, and it has concert footage of them in Toronto in June!

The video (one of two compilation videos from Beer Bash 6, the other seen here) features the first five bands that played at Beer Bash 6, with Spades GT's segment beginning about 7 minutes in with introductions by Rye Field's Ben Zander & Shane Briand, who also host much of their YouTube content. Spades GT were introduced as "the first band" despite being the third seen in the 23 minute video, and they were filmed playing their newest album's title track "Sewer City Radio". Strong performance at a nice venue with great video quality (horizontal and multi-camera, at that), but the drum-cam of Tyler is pointed too far out from him. Check out Spades GT and much more from Beer Bash 6 above and below!

On December 8th, a 17+ minute in-studio performance video of Spades GT at Rye Field was posted to YouTube, but before that, two teaser videos were shared to preview the Spades content in the preceding couple of days. One video is a preview of the actual performance so I won't redundantly embed it here, but if they were going to crop it to vertical dimensions (presumably as a "Shorts" video), why not do that before the on-screen text is added? Embedded below is the other preview clip, which features J.D., Daniel, and Tyler (no sign of James) signing a Rye Field Studios banner on the wall there, that other musicians have apparently signed over time. Oddly, the song "Sewer City Radio" is playing in the background, albeit over speakers there and not added in post. Nice gesture to help Ben and Shane commemorate their in-studio sessions, if shot vertically too, so check it out below!

As for the proper in-studio performance (part of Rye Field's "Live In The Whiskey Pit" series), it leads off with Ben & Shane introducing Spades GT, then pertinent logos (the kids saying the studio's name caught me off guard), before we get to the band proper. As noted with on-screen text, Spades GT play "Hands", "Succubus", "Red", "Final Girl", and "Sewer City Radio" here, and at least three different cameras capture the band in action here, two facing the band at slightly different angles, as well as a drum cam that is better positioned than at Beer Bash 6. Very well performed, shot, and edited, so fans of Spades (Jack and/or GT) will be right at home, but the green lighting was overdone to me. Check it out below!

Finally, a 36 minute interview with Spades GT was posted to YouTube by Rye Field Studios on December 12th, so what are they asked about while sitting on "The PodCouch"? Ben and Shane start by asking the guys about how Beer Bash 6 went, followed by the origins of Spades GT. The Soo days and Tyler's old band Caym's shows up here are addressed, but much of it is about how the band came together in Barrie, including insights by James as to how far along songwriting for the "Sewer City Radio" album was when he joined. After briefly discussing the album and practicing, they ask about Anvil (whose drummer Robb Reiner is Tyler's dad) and Spades GT's experiences opening for Anvil last fall, including some notes on working with and hanging out with Anvil frontman Steve "Lips" Kudlow. Their then-upcoming concert plans, including their cancelled winter tour run with The Dayglo Abortions, come up next.

Ben & Shane (who has a great voice) ask about Spades GT's early favourite bands before getting into Tyler's drumming style, the advantages and disadvantages of the internet, their plans to work on new material in 2024, and even James' story about meeting Robert Plant(!), among other topics. This is a fun and laid back interview with great presentation from multiple cameras, and it's nice to hear James so much throughout (he's definitely the quietest member in social media promotions). However, it can be hard to hear some of the conversations with everyone talking over each other at points, especially when things go off the rails a bit. Check the whole interview with Rye Field Studios out for yourselves below!

Lastly, kudos to Ben & Shane at Rye Field Studios for all of their work in promoting metal and punk bands in Southern Ontario, both from their YouTube videos and their actual recording studio work, so give much more from them a look above as well! That's all for today, but stay tuned for weekend concert previews on the site next! Thanks everyone!

Spades GT Updates From August 2025!!

Today's post takes us back to the world of local/Barrie crossover thrash quintet Spades GT, so what have they been up to since we last left off with them at the end of July? Well, the guys were getting ready for their set at the fifth annual Rye Fest, a yearly outdoor concert festival in Brantford (2 hours south of Barrie, 7 hours southeast of the Soo), as held by Rye Field Studios, where Spades shot performance and interview footage both in 2023 and last month. Spades GT were the ninth of fourteen bands at this all day event on August 9th, which was headlined by Peterborough "beatdown/core" quartet Seagrave, who were one of the scheduled touring bands for last year's cancelled Crucifest in Leeburn. Bizarrely, the guys did not post their usual vertical recap video to Facebook from Rye Fest, but I don't know whether that was an intentional decision, if their footage is just really delayed, or if they completely forgot.

If you want to see new Brantford footage, head to Rye Field Studios' YouTube channel, as they have been featured in a bunch of new videos this year! Some are "Shots" videos that clip out individual songs from their 2023 set at Rye Field that you can watch in full at this link, but how about the brand new stuff from this summer? For this quick three song set, the guys were filmed playing two songs from their new album "United" (specifically the title track and "Demons"), before closing with "Hands", which opened their 2023 Rye Field performance. Lineup changes aside (James out, Matt and Sean in), this is otherwise formatted similarly to the 2023 video, including introductions by hosts/studio owners Ben Zander & Shane Briand, and high quality multi-cam footage of the guys in action. Thankfully, the lighting is much better and far less green than last time, though it does go black & white at parts.

For the record, "Demons" from this set also got clipped out for a separate "Shots" video earlier this month. If you like excellent quality performance videos of local bands (let alone horizontal ones), you should take to Spades GT's Rye Field encore with ease, so check out the intense and heavy performances for yourselves below, and hopefully Rye Fest videos surface!

The other new Spades content from Rye Field's YouTube channel is a brand new interview that was released at the end of July, so what should you know there? Conducted on July 5th prior to the "United" release party in Toronto, the interview does not feature drummer Tyler Reiner, who left early to make it to The Bovine to deal with soundcheck and prep for the concert proper. This interview was episode 20 of Ben & Shane's interview series The PodCouch, and it features J.D., Daniel, Matthew, and Sean talking about "United" and its underlying messages, the band's evolution since they last played at Rye Field, the genres and sounds on display on the album (Matt primarily wrote and sings on "Filthy Lie"), and hype for the release party and their then-upcoming shows. When addressing their return to Spiderfest in Meyersburg, Daniel noted that "we were in a band called Jack Spades" prior, a distinction that I haven't seen made in modern interviews.

The back half of the interview is mostly loose and casual banter, but I'd love to see more of Matt's arcade game collection! Solid interview that keeps fans updated on what Spades have been up to this summer, so give it a watch for yourselves below!

Let's close with some non-Rye Field content from Spades GT, starting with a new review from August 21st of "United" from Gustavo Scuderi of the Canadian metal website The Headbanging Moose. There, Gustavo gave the album a 3.5/5 rating, saying that it combines "hard-hitting riffs, driving rhythms, and compelling vocals to create a sound that’s both familiar and refreshingly contemporary", while praising the title track", "Filthy Lie", and "Wrecked" the most of the eight cuts. Note that this review credits Sean MacNab on bass even though he didn't join the group until a few weeks after the recording sessions wrapped (Daniel was seen tracking bass in one of the teaser videos from the sessions). Either way, it's a complimentary and detailed review that you can check out at this link! Two days later, the guys shared posters for their upcoming fall tour slate in Southern Ontario (sorry, no Sault Ste. Marie return yet).

The first of those shows saw Spades GT play their first Barrie show in "a while" (which equalled almost three months) at C.W. Coop's on September 6th, where they opened for Daniel's other band The Fast Life on a bill that featured their good friends in G.F.U. once again. That show did indeed feature a recap video, so we'll have more from that and other fall content from the former Jack Spades in the coming weeks, so stay tuned for that and more on the SMS soon! Thanks everyone!

Spades GT Updates From March-April 2025!!

It's been almost a month, so let's take another gander into what local/Barrie crossover thrash quintet Spades GT have been up to as of late! When we last left off with them, we were noting the fallout from their set at the Steve Edwin McLeod tribute concert at The Rockpile in Toronto on March 14th, and if you want something much longer, more horizontal, and less restrictive than a "Reel", then good news! Attendee Jake Disman (who has filmed Spades GT at multiple concerts since 2023) was on hand to film bands across the whole night for his YouTube channel, and while he curiously mixed up the bands for individual staggered uploads rather than posting them in performance order, five videos of the former Jack Spades can be seen there, capturing all seven of their songs. Our first full, raw, and unedited looks at the band with new bassist Sean MacNab, the videos on Jake's channel include "Final Girl", their new song "United", ...

..."Cenobites", "Sewer City Radio", and as embedded below, their three openers "They Live", "Rise", and "Succubus" in one upload. Jake did note in the videos' descriptions that bands playing this concert donated their time for the occasion, and a dog rescue charity got all of the proceeds from it, so kudos to Spades and all involved for paying tribute to Steve in the best way they could!  The videos were all filmed from a high stationary vantage point, and while the audio can be somewhat muffled, we get a great view of the stage throughout Spades' and other bands' videos. Everyone sounds good, Sean fits in well, and Matthew's stage presence is great, so give these brand new videos a watch above & below!

Now, Spades GT did post a separate edit of "Succubus" from this night to their Facebook page on April 1st (definitely not a prank), combining Jake's footage with that of ZigSeven's Dave Galante, who also filmed the guys at Walterstock in January. While well edited with cool post-production effects, I'm actually not going to embed that video here because Dave again included his raw footage from this concert in its own lengthy YouTube video, as he did at Walterstock. If you want to jump straight to J.D., Dan, Tyler, Matt, and Sean in action, you'll want to head to the 1:04:19 mark of this 2 hours & 43 minutes long video, and their complete 20 minute set was included in order, so what did Dave capture last month? He is literally walking to the stage as Spades' set begins, and in order, you'll see them playing "They Live", "Rise", "Succubus", "Final Girl", "United", "Cenobites", and "Sewer City Radio". The closer mobility of Dave & his camera leads to some solid angles!

Seeing these in unedited performance order does emphasize the fact that Spades GT were playing on a packed lineup with relatively strict set times, and while they crammed seven songs into their timeslot, you can tell that they were rushing somewhat (J.D.'s between-song banter and introductions can be very hard to hear due to how fast he's talking). Still good stuff, let alone of the night's other bands, so see what you missed in Toronto last month below, with Spades' set coming on 64 minutes in!

After picking fans' brains as to what cities they should play at next and what bands they should share the stage with, Spades GT revealed on Facebook on March 28th that "we have been rocking to the new mixes of the new album & it's fire", while "big things are happening with the new record, and announcements are inbound soon". On April 14th, the guys announced their next concert date, which will see them and two other bands open for drummer Tyler Reiner's old Toronto melodic death metal band Selias at The Queens Nightclub in their current Barrie homebase on Wednesday, June 11th. Readers may recall Selias from headlining locally at Soo Blaster twice in the past year, and it will be neat to see them share the stage with Spades GT this summer, albeit from 6 hours away! Also newly confirmed is their set at Rye Fest 5, a big multi-band concert taking place outside of Rye Field Studios in Brantford, on Saturday, August 9th.

Spades GT fans may recall seeing the guys play at Rye Field for the studio's YouTube channel back in late 2023, as well as taking part in an interview and other video content, and you can see all of that at this link. As far as I can tell, bands playing at Rye Fest are past favourites from Rye Field's social media uploads. Should be a good time, so keep it in mind for later this summer if you'll be in Southern Ontario! Nothing major has turned up from the guys since, with their newest Facebook postings being part of a series of "100 days of thanks", where they thank a person a day for their support, coverage, input, or collaborations with/of the band. If they don't skip any days or give up on the conceit outright, this will run until July 27th, and while that could mean nothing, the band did note that their new album is slated for release in July in the caption of their recap "Reel" from the Toronto show last month.

Could the "100 days of thanks" be a covert countdown for the album release, or just coincidental good will? We'll know in due course, but keep July in mind for the new Spades GT record, and visit the above links for more from their camp, and stay tuned for more news and notes soon! Thanks everyone!

Our Recap Of Spades GT's Sofa City Sounds Interview From Last Month!!

Today's, we are heading back to the world of local/Barrie crossover thrash quintet Spades GT, and for this post, we'll focus on a brand new interview that guitarist Daniel Horton and bassist Sean MacNab took part in on September 22nd with the Niagara Falls-based music promotion company Sofa City Sounds! This is the third interview that Spades GT members have conducted with Sofa City head Amanda Schilz, following interviews with J.D. and Tyler in December 2023 and Tyler alone in January of this year. We just need her to talk to Fang and she'll have the entire current lineup covered! Our prior links to those interviews have been wiped due to Facebook live-streamed videos now being deleted after 30 days, but I linked to each interview's YouTube copy via Amanda's YouTube channel, which is also where I've sourced the new interview so it doesn't vanish in eight days. 

This 65 minute remote interview begins with Dan & Sean introducing themselves and talking about recent experiences at live events Amanda saw them at. Apparently, Amanda was supposed to interview Spades GT members before their set at Rye Fest in Brantford in August, but unspecified health matters led to that being delayed. She and Daniel discuss how well Rye Fest went to perform at and attend, and assorted experiences at live concerts, before transitioning to how Sean joined the band (he confirmed that he did not perform on "United"). Interesting to hear how he fell into the Spades gig, let alone his jokingly tenuous standing with the band even now! Looser casual talk follows, including everyone's ages, past live concert experiences, and family links (one of Amanda's kids was off camera playing with a loud toy), before they about how they got on the bill to open for The Exploited last year and will again do so later this month.

This leads to Daniel elaborating on how their sound is kind of a punk/metal hybrid that allows them to adapt to multiple bills. After Amanda discusses aborted plans to ask Spades to open for The Dayglo Abortions at a concert she was involved in, Daniel outlines the band's origins (again describing Jack Spades as a different band than Spades GT), and then taking the lost Dayglo opportunity in stride, as Spades opened for Dayglo in in their first post-relaunch gig in Barrie in April 2022. Note as well that Jack Spades' first full concert set in September 2013 was opening for The Dayglo Abortions here at the former Roosevelt Hotel, but of the current GT lineup, only J.D. was in the band then. They next discuss the networking and relationships made through the rock music scene in Southern Ontario, including podcasts, and apparently, Dan and J.D. have kicked tires on starting one to talk to other musicians. If Tyler can do one with Drummers Paradise, why not?

Personal struggles with sobriety and mental health come up next, with Sean rightly pointing out how their new song "Demons" is relevant to the topic at hand, and things also evolve into how the music scene has evolved in good and bad ways, including how the pandemic affected how bands operated, and continued experiences of seeing live music and performing at big concerts. A lot of credit is given by Amanda and Dan to the people who support the scene, be they musicians, promoters, journalists, photographers, stage crew, or anyone else who helps the cause. Near the end, Daniel does tease that "we've got some fun stuff comin' next year for sure", with Amanda planning to contact Spades GT for booking them on a show in 2026, before talking about Amanda's bull mastiff, who helped end the interview a little more abruptly than planned. Nice long interview that had a very friendly atmosphere, and while questions about Spades GT and their past/future plans weren't the firm focus, Amanda and the guys had a good rapport that shows that they knew each other well!

It's clear that Amanda loves what she's doing with the heavier music scene in Southern Ontario, and she gets along well with the Spades crew (lack of an interview with Matthew acknowledged) , though it would have been nice to hear Sean a little more in the discussions. Check out the full hour+ interview below, and stay tuned for more from Spades GT soon! Thanks everyone!

Recent Updates From Spades GT & Their New Album!!

Before we fall completely behind with a busy weekend ahead, let's dive into the album release and launch party for local/Barrie crossover thrash quintet Spades GT in this single-topic post! As promoted in this "Reel", Spades headlined their release party for their second GT-era album "United" at The Bovine Sex Club in Toronto on July 5th. The "Reel" was mostly just guitarist Daniel Horton hyping the show from the jam room with background interjections from his bandmates, but a longer and wordier hype video came on July 3rd from drummer Tyler Reiner, and this one was not a "Reel", so I can embed it here. Shot from the drivers seat of his vehicle, Tyler pumped up the concert and album, while also noting that they'd be filming content at Rye Field Studios in Brampton on July 5th as well, much like they did in late 2023 when they took part in a "Live In The Whiskey Pit" performance and a video interview.

Whatever Spades filmed at Rye Field is not public yet (there's likely an editing turnaround), but keep tabs on their YouTube channel when things go live! Tyler next plugged their planned tour run with Kaos Attack in Southern Ontario from July 7th-9th, but all three of those dates (in London, Guelph, and Hamilton) were cancelled due to "reasons beyond our control". Very disappointing, but hopefully they turn up in all three cities soon! Tyler then confirmed that Spades GT would have new merchandise on sale at the release party on the 5th, as well as CD copies of "United", and he also plugged some of the streaming platforms that would be hosting the album. Solid updates, so check things out for yourselves below!

Before the release party, "United" was released "everywhere" early on July 5th, and by "everywhere", they mean YouTube Music, Apple Music (it costs $7.92 on iTunes), Amazon Music, and Spotify. I have no idea when/if physical copies will be stocked in the Soo, so stream it on one of the above services to check it out! If you were curious about the guest performers, they're backloaded at the end of the album's track order, with "Wrecked" featuring backing vocals from Daniel's Fast Life bandmate Andrew Moorehouse, "Strong" featuring a rap verse from Julien "Mersinary" Dos Santos, and "Die On Our Feet" featuring former second guitarist Jay Sarrazin. Due to the glut of new local albums in June & July, our review isn't hitting the site until November, but reviews from other outlets are making their way online, with LoudTO's Jay Broderick getting an advance listen for this article.

While Jay didn't get a chance to review 2023's "Sewer City Radio", he made up for lost time on "United", calling it "an exceptional sophomore release" (obviously not referencing their Jack Spades-era output there), praising the overall production value, timely lyrics, and even saying that it "just keeps getting better with each listen". High praise, and with lots of punctuation marks and enthusiasm dotted within, which is good to see! The Southern Ontario-based Facebook page New Music Showcase also gave "United" a good review, calling it "a vibrant manifesto" containing "bangers only", and while there's a lot of hyperbole without individual performer credits, it's great to see more platforms raising 'em up and causing a scene! Check out their review at this link. Dennis Eikenkotter of the German website Crossfire Metal gave "United" an 8/10, though the original review is obviously not in English.

Spades did share a screenshot of a translation of Dennis' review, and while it mostly prefaces brief thoughts with outlining Tyler's dad Robb Reiner's work in Anvil, Dennis was very complimentary of  "United", and how their music is ideal to drink beer, party, and drive fast to. Another European metal music reviewer named Dennis got a hold of this album, as Dennis Jarman reviewed it this weekend for PlanetMosh out of Great Britain. Like on prior reviews highlighted in this post, Dennis J. used a lot of evocative hyperbole to pump up his feelings on the eight included songs, so click here for his very positive review of this "full on album"! We'll feature videos and highlights from both the release party on July 5th and their next show this past Friday on the site soon, as they returned to the annual Spiderfest in Meyersburg on short notice, but the guys have also teased that online availability of their new merchandise will commence soon.

Guitarist Matthew Voros reportedly recorded an interview with Dave Standridge of This Is Pop Punk Promotions that will be released soon as well, while Spades GT are also planning to release a music video for a song from "United" later this month, as well as recap videos from their last two shows and the Brantford/Rye Field trip. Click here for more on Spades GT's imminent plans, and stay tuned hopefully soon for our coverage of public videos from the album release party! Thanks everyone! 

Spades GT Updates & Recap Videos From July 2025!!

It's been too long, let's take a brief look at what local/Barrie crossover thrash quintet Spades GT have been up to since their album release party in Toronto last month! We're not quite done with the release party though, and we'll start there with the band's official recap video from The Bovine Sex Club on July 5th, which made its way to the band's Facebook page nine days later. Unfortunately, now that "United" is out, Facebook can content match songs from it, and as such, the recap video (which has the title track as backing music) can't be embedded on external websites like this. The video features guitarist Daniel Horton largely behind the (sadly) vertical camera once again, and after some dubbed over clips from their set, we see Dan mingling with attendees outside of The Bovine while asking everyone what their favourite song on the then-brand new album was. If you're curious, "Demons" narrowly won that brief poll.

Watch for cameos by Daniel's old Project 421 bandmate Blair Burch and former Spades GT guitarist Jay Sarrazin in this block. We next get some raw video clips (with live audio!) from The Fast Life and Spades' sets, including with guest rapper Mersinary on "Strong", plus more hanging out with attendees during and after the show. No clips of G.F.U. or lengthy/horizontal raw footage, but watch Dave Galante's lengthy video from the release party to see everything that was performed in full. Effective recap of the night's action, so while I can't embed it here, give it a watch at this link or above! In their first show afterwards, the guys had announced their short notice return to the annual Spiderfest in Meyersburg (40 minutes west of Belleville) on July 11th, continuing an off and on tradition that began when the former Jack Spades began making the 8+ hour drive from the Soo for Spiderfest in the 2010s. Good to see the guys back there!

If you believe the band, "we bluffed our way onto the bill" this year, possibly explaining the short notice. As plugged by frontman J.D. Pearce in this Facebook video prior, Spiderfest 2025 also got the recap video treatment, albeit just five days later, and this time, Facebook did not content match any backing audio, so I can embed it here! Drummer Tyler Reiner implies that Spades replaced Brazil's Kaos Attack (who they were supposed to open for in other Southern Ontario dates in the lead-up) as the Friday headliners. Like on the release party recap video, this (also sadly) vertical upload starts with footage of Spades GT's set dubbed over by studio material, this time "Die On Our Feet". The video features the guys hanging out earlier that day in the field, selling new band t-shirts on an effective "table" of sorts, and getting ready for their set, before we get some more welcomed raw clips with live audio, if all vertical and visibly edited down.

As Daniel said at the end in the black of night, "We came, we crushed", and that seems accurate from the clips! If only they'd post more full unedited videos from their sets, let alone horizontal ones, especially as this was (by J.D.'s count) his 700th time there! Still a good look at what went down in Meyersburg, so give the whole thing a watch below!

Elsewhere in the Spades GT camp, they announced their fall concert schedule on July 22nd that will see them play at least eight shows from September to November, though unfortunately, all are in Southern Ontario (the closest date to Sault Ste. Marie is in Windsor if you can cut through Michigan, Orillia if you can't). As of that date, details on the shows had largely not been publicized by the band proper, but information would follow later! A lot of their bigger July and early August news concerned interviews and performances that deserve more time than the end of a post, but the band & "United" got plugged in this article from Brave Words & Bloody Knuckles, and it's always a big deal when a platform like that gets the word out! While it again skips over the Jack Spades era to call this their "sophomore album", it's an extremely complimentary and pumped up article, so click here to give it a read!

When we next pick up with Spades GT, we'll look at their Rye Field Productions and Rye Fest performances in Brantford from last month, plus a new interview with Tyler (no sign of Matthew's teased video interview with This Is Pop Punk Promotions or the band's teased music video yet), so stay tuned for that and more on the site soon! Thanks everyone!

The Latest Updates From Spades GT, Including Big Album Release Information!!

We have some big updates from local/Barrie crossover thrash quintet Spades GT today, so what have they been up to in the last two weeks? On May 22nd, they announced another new concert in Toronto on Friday, June 27th, where they will be the headline act (with four Southern Ontario support bands) at See-Scape, a science fiction-themed bar & cafe. I know See-Scape isn't local, but I'd be remiss if I didn't compliment its concept and design! To promote that gig (their last one before their album release, more on that in a bit), new bassist Sean MacNab starred in the video embedded below on May 26th where he was plugging both that show and the May 30th concert at See-Scape featuring his and guitarist Matthew Voros' psychobilly band The House Of Haunt, where they opened for past local headliners The Fixer. Good to see Sean taking the lead in some new Spades social media content, so give this video a watch for yourselves below!

In a "Reel" shared to their Facebook page on Thursday, guitarist Daniel Horton hyped their next concert (opening for Selias in Barrie next Wednesday), noting there that it will be their "last one (in Barrie) for a little bit", though readers down there are only a 40 minute drive from their Windsor show next Friday, traffic permitting. Dan also alluded to their big impending album announcements, noting that June will be "a Spades GT month". I can't embed "Reels" on the SMS, so click here to give it a watch! As for the big announcements, those began dropping on Friday, where Spades confirmed that their new album (named "United" will be released on Saturday, July 5th, confirming earlier teasers, and that there will be a formal release party concert that night at The Bovine Sex Club in Toronto! The guys had opened for Random Killing there in September 2023, and many local-infused bands have played there over the years.

At press time, the former Jack Spades have not elaborated on the release party (7 hours away or not), but stay tuned to their social media accounts for details when they are made public! Aside from their three Southern Ontario gigs, the guys will unveil the cover artwork (heavily implied to have a jigsaw puzzle motif) on Saturday, while all eight track names will be unveiled on Monday the 16th. The studio version of the title track (as seen in their recent live concerts) will be posted online on Saturday the 21st, and one week later, the second advance single will be released, entitled "Deamons". Whether that spelling is intentional or if they meant to type "Daemons" is to be confirmed. There are other blanks to fill in about "United", like who's guesting on what song, whether Dan is handling bass on every track, if CD copies are being printed, and if they'll be playing in Sault Ste. Marie any time soon in support of the album.

When "Sewer City Radio" came out in June 2023, Spades returned home two months later to open for Josey Scott, but could "United" spur things along similarly? We'll let you know! In their first concert after the album drops, the guys will return to Hamilton to open a crust punk show at Vertagogo on Wednesday, July 9th, where they will open for Mexico's Coaccion and Brazil's Kaos Attack. Just on where those bands are from, this will be a very intriguing concert if you're in the area, so keep that in mind for next month if you'll be in Southern Ontario! Lastly, we now know more about Rye Fest 5, the outdoor multi-band festival being held by Rye Field Studios in Brantford on August 9th. Spades are either second or third billed, depending on how you read the band logo order, and a couple of bands will be familiar from our coverage, like Devilz By Definition, who Spades GT are opening for in Windsor next Friday.

The other name that you may recognize in a local context is Peterborough "beatdown/core" quartet Seagrave, who were scheduled to play at the cancelled Crucifest in Leeburn in July of last year. Far from a local booking, but good to see Seagrave sharing the stage with some Saultites later this summer! Big things are definitely afoot for Spades GT, so follow their social media as June progresses for more reveals and teasers for "United", and stay tuned for more news and notes on the site soon! Thanks everyone!

Spades GT Videos & Updates From August-September 2025!!

For our first post of October 2025, let's resume playing catch-up with local/Barrie crossover thrash quintet Spades GT's recent activity by acknowledging the recap video from the fifth annual Rye Fest in Brantford on August 9th! In doing my research for our last Spades-centric post on September 21st, this completely slipped me by, which I apologize for, so kudos to guitarist Daniel Horton for sending me the link after that post went live! After we hear a clip from "Wrecked" from their new album "United", we see Daniel in his vehicle getting ready to meet the rest of the guys in Brantford, before we get to see the whole band setting up for their set and Daniel mingling with multiple Rye Fest attendees and performers (many horns are thrown in this segment). The desserts on offer looked good too! We do get brief raw video footage of Spades GT playing "Rise" late, but it's side-stage, vertical (as ever), and just of the start of that song.

I'm not sure of the advantages of the taped-together beer staff, but this was an entertaining recap video for fans of these types of uploads! I still prefer full live songs, let alone horizontally shot ones, but it looks like the guys had a blast at this all-day metal festival, so check everything out below!

On September 2nd, the band announced on their Facebook page that they were featured in the newest issue of the Niagara-On-The-Lake-based Plunk O Rama zine, but it's a legit physical zine like in the good old days, hand-stapled and everything. As such, you'll have to head down there to buy a copy and/or read the Spades article, assuming that the band doesn't re-post it online. In the former Jack Spades' first show of their fall concert calendar, they returned to their hometown of Barrie for the first time in "a while" (almost 3 months) on September 6th, where they and their friends in G.F.U. opened for Daniel's other band The Fast Life at C.W. Coop's. This show did get a vertical recap video as well, if a shorter one (granted, it was a smaller concert), so what can you see here? Along with mingling and setup, we get a lot of talk about wildlife in the Barrie area from Daniel and Tyler, and the odd sight of J.D. singing while wearing a bucket hat.

I'm not sure that the slow jam backing music in the first half is a good fit, but we do get (all too brief) raw video footage of all three bands in the back half, with a focus on Daniel playing a guitar solo in the Spades clip. Also, props to Sean's choice of t-shirt, now we just need to see him play in that band's hometown! J.D. said that they "killed it", and from what we see of the show, I'm unable to disagree, so give the Coops recap video at this link! Unfortunately, Facebook was able to content match "Wrecked" in this particular recap video, so I'm unable to embed it here. On September 18th, the guys asked on their Facebook page for suggestions towards adding a possible new cover song to their setlist, implying that it would be for "spooky season" or at least Halloween themed, so offer suggestions there in the event that they haven't added such a cover yet! The following day, they did post a new (vertical) video that I can embed here, so what is there to see?

Shot in drummer Tyler Reiner's vehicle, Tyler (or "T", as it were) shows off a copy of the Plunk O Rama zine that they're featured in, though you can't really read the shown pages clearly on the video. Copies were sold at their merchandise table at their next show, however! Tyler also plugged (in particular) their Toronto show opening for The Exploited on October 19th, which they are actively selling tickets for, as well as their debut in Niagara Falls this coming Friday. Good updates all around, so give this one a watch!

For today, we'll close with Spades' return to Newmarket at The Lion Pub & Grill on September 20th, which was basically an encore of the top half of the C.W. Coop's show, with all three bands making the 40 minute drive south for it. A vertical recap video was shared from this gig, which leads off after the titles with Daniel and bassist Sean MacNab outside of the venue. Sean teases that they may have "exciting news around October", so we'll have to see what he was hinting at now that it is October! After everyone arrives at the venue, we do get some brief raw footage of the guys playing "United" at The Lion, along with some brief clips of Daniel with show attendees and performers, as well as The Fast Life & G.F.U.'s later sets. Effective recap video within the confines of what fans can expect from them, even if vertical and heavily edited, so give the Newmarket one a watch below!

We'll pick things back up with Spades GT with a new video interview that Dan & Sean recorded last month, plus new show announcements and their gigs this weekend, so stay tuned for all of that and more soon! Thanks everyone, raise 'em up, and cause a scene!