LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (The Sky Pilots), Bone Yard 225 Concert Previews, And New Videos!!

Today's post takes us to a quiet batch of hard rock concert previews (at least as far as publically announced shows), so rounding things out are some full set videos from bands on both sides of the border. Let's lead off with SHORT NOTICE LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS!

Munising classic/hard rock cover quintet The Sky Pilots will return to the E.U.P. for concerts at The Northern Pines Lounge at the St. Ignace Kewadin Casino TOMORROW & SATURDAY NIGHT! Apologies for the short notice, we just learned of these gigs via Kewadin's entertainment page when gathering together yesterday's all-Sault Michigan post, but the band quietly first announced these shows via the concert calendar on their Facebook page back in April. This weekend's shows follow The Sky Pilots' late notice turn as headliners at The Shamrock Show at Three One Three On Ashmun in March,  but regrettably, I completely missed their debuts at The Rapids Lounge at the Sault Kewadin on July 25th & 26th for coverage on here. I profusely apologize, the slowdown in heavier Kewadin bookings is no excuse on my end, but I hope The Sky Pilots had a great turnout here in July!

While The Sky Pilots themselves hadn't played in our area before March, some readers may recognize singer Melissa Strand, who sang for local hard rock bands like Swayze Train, Electric Motor Fish, and Toast in the early 2010s before moving west. It's cool to see Mel back in a live band, let alone a talented one that is starting to come our way more often! TOMORROW & SATURDAY'S St. Ignace Kewadin gigs are at 9:00 PM with 21+ age limits and no cover charges. See above for more details, and here's The Sky Pilots live!

Next up, here's this weekend's only other currently verified heavier concerts (alas, there is usually a post-Halloween lull), as Sault Ontario southern hard rock trio Bone Yard 225 will set up shop at The Esquire Club TOMORROW & SATURDAY NIGHT! Barring a schedule change or a hypothetical booking on the Boxing Day weekend, this will be your local 225's final concert weekend at the Second Line West nightclub for 2025, as per the venue's fall concert calendar, "The dirty three" don't play here all that often compared to other venues, but if you want the full plugged-in Bone Yard experience, don't miss out on this weekend's action, and expect merchandise and original music as well! Their "high-energy classic rock party" begins at 9:30 PM tomorrow and Saturday night with 19+ age limits and no cover charges as usual. Visit the above links for more details, and for a preview, here's a brand new video!

Filmed at Bone Yard 225's Roberta Bondar Pavilion matinee set at the Queen Street Cruise in June, this (sadly) vertical video features 22 seconds of the guys during an instrumental solo section of a song that I wasn't immediately able to identify. While a fun performance from what we hear, it wasn't uploaded to highlight the song, but rather to honour last month's passing of Queen Street Cruise founder Gary Trembinski Sr., who was standing on stage while Bone Yard were performing. Gary was also a former city councillor, the owner of Metallo's Mini-Mart, and was involved in many other community events, and our deepest condolences go out to his family and friends at this time. Gary sounds like he was a great guy. Check out the video below!

Let's close today with some new full concert videos, starting with local death/thrash metal trio's most recent video on drummer Bret Shuttleworth's YouTube channel! This comes from their set opening for Kaonashi at Jay's Piston Broke Pub on October 29th of last week (Halloween costumes were encouraged but the band did not partake), where they played a half hour set that old Rosie metal night fans definitely enjoyed! In performance order, Robert, Devon, and Bret tackled their usual intro cover of "End of Small Sanctuary" from Silent Hill 3, before playing "Specimen of Egotism", "Abhorred Apprehension", "The Curse of Eternal Sickness", "The Angst of Existence", "Wasting", "The Passing", and as recently usual, their set-ending cover of Sepultura's "Territory". Of the originals from their new album "Old Soul", six of the nine songs were played here, omitting "Sculptor of Cadavers" and the final two songs. 

Bret did note in the description that there are flashing strobe lights on stage (mind that if you have epileptic seizures), and he apologized for being stuck behind the infamous support beam on stage, reasoning the camera location as the best spot without getting in the way of fans. Nice and brutal performance across the board that existing Pillory fans and new ones alike should take to, so give it a watch below, and if you want CD copies of "Old Soul", they are now at The Rad Zone!

We'll wrap this post up by coming full circle to the E.U.P. for a look at Sault Michigan punk trio The Sole Aggressors' final(?) concert set, as filmed in full for their YouTube channel! On August 18th, the guys gathered at singer/guitarist Brett Siesel's place for their final gig before members moved out of the area for college, though initial finality teasers were dialed back to an "indefinite hiatus", along with plans to record an album of their original songs at some point. This garage concert saw Brett, Calvin, and Isaac play (in order) "Kill A Celebrity", "Ventilation", "The Same Individualist" "Tale Of An American Hero", "State Of The World", "Teenage Guide", "False Hope", "Hypocrite", "Heil Artificiality", "Humans Aren't Ordinary Monkeys", "Kill Thy Neighbour", and "Fool", before a brief jam of Black Sabbath's "Iron Man". Originals resume with "Time To Commercialize!", "Reject", "Burning Down", "Fast Punk For Fast Food", "Melted Plastic", and "Down By The Bay".

This set includes all of The Sole Aggressors' publically performed originals from their other full set videos, though aside from the "Iron Man" snippet, there are no covers here. Definitely a warm day here (you can tell based on how shirts vanished early), but it's a blistering punk set that genre fans will easily take to, and it's good too see the guys in more natural lighting! Many of their concert videos were impaired by heavy colour tints from the lighting setups at the venue. Hopefully we will hear more from The Sole Aggressors when able, but give their last(?) concert a watch below!

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

LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (Oz, Scarkazm, And Exit 808), Plus More From Sault Michigan!!

Today on the SMS, we're focusing entirely on Sault Michigan and the Eastern Upper Peninsula via some LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS and new videos & related updates from a band in question, so here's what you should know!

Traverse City metal trio Scarkazm will return to both the Sault Ste. Marie and St. Ignace Kewadin Casino branches for one more weekend each in 2025, as they'll rock The Rapids Lounge in the Soo over Thanksgiving weekend (Friday, November 28th & Saturday, November 29th) before closing out their E.U.P. calendar for the year on December 19th & 20th at The Northern Pines Lounge in St. Ignace! Both weekends were confirmed on both Kewadin locations' entertainment pages linked above, which have been updated to reflect concerts through the end of the year. Always good to see Adam, Dave, and Jeff bring their hard hitting original and cover attack to our neck of the woods, and hopefully these concerts go well across the board! While we're on the subject, Scarkazm themselves have confirmed shows through April via their Facebook page's event pages, so will they be back here in 2026?

Yes! The Peril sister band will be back at The Rapids Lounge in the Soo on January 30th & 31st, and then again on March 20th & 21st, before rocking The Northern Pines Lounge in St. Ignace once again on April 24th & 25th, so keep all of these upcoming dates in mind for your Scarkazm fix over the next six months! As usual for Scarkazm's Kewadin bookings, all ten dates have 9:00 PM start times, 21+ age limits, and no cover charges. Visit the above links for more details on Scarkazm's next E.U.P. trips!

Next up, Iron Mountain classic/hard rock cover quintet Oz will return to The Rapids Lounge at the Soo Kewadin on Friday, December 12th & Saturday, December 13th, but they too will also be back in the E.U.P. in 2026! Like with Scarkazm, Kewadin isn't going into next year yet, but Oz confirmed on their Facebook page that they will be back at the same venue on February 20th & 21st and then again on September 18th & 19th! Really far out booking there, bands that we cover don't usually announce dates 11 months prior like this, but they also confirmed a December weekend in Baraga in the same post. Local fans last saw Oz at The Rapids Lounge in April, so it will be neat to see their talented blend of classic and hard rock covers back in town for one more weekend before the year is up! Like with Scarkazm above, all of Oz's Kewadin dates ahead are 21+ affairs with no cover charges and 9:00 PM start times. See above for more details on these shows!

Also taking place on December 12th & 13th (albeit at The Northern Pines Lounge in St. Ignace) is the return there of local hard rock band Exit 808! Kewadin's entertainment page credits the band playing there as Double Jack, but that is (of course) their old name that they changed from in early 2024 due to the existence of a separate band named Double Jack downstate. So these shows has been scheduled with the casino for at least 21 months without someone catching the old name? Exit 808 have yet to confirm these dates on their own Facebook page, but these will be their first shows in St. Ignace since the beginning of August. Hopefully these winter-time concerts go well across the board with their dual vocalist-led array of hard rock covers! Like with Oz and Scarkazm above, these are 21+ events once again at 9:00 PM with no cover charge. Visit the above links for more details, but we're not done with Exit 808 for this post yet!

As you may recall, Exit 808 most recently headlined at The Back Bay Grill & Games at Bay Mills Resort & Casino for their belated Halloween party on Saturday, November 1st, a concert that had multiple guest musicians, one being a mystery bassist named Brad. When acknowledging who performed on Saturday, they said "we were joined by 13-year-old Molly Escherich and new bass player, Brad Pringle, along with our typical 6". Note the lack of a pronoun, so is he a new bassist or their new bassist? Brad has played bass (and saxophone!) in bands downstate, and in both of the new videos from "Fright Night On The Bay" on the band's Facebook page, he is on bass with no sign of Blaze Beairl. The "typical 6" would include Blaze, so he must have been there, and he has played at Back Bay gigs in the past despite being underage, but he is not visibly performing any instrument in the two videos. We'll let you know if things get clarified on Brad and Blaze's statuses either way!

Both videos feature Molly on guest vocals and Brad on bass, but teased guest guitarist Joe Jenkins is not in either clip. The videos include a cover of Volbeat's newer single "By A Monster's Hand" with Dillon and Molly splitting vocals (no Amy), but as it's shorter and bafflingly uploaded in vertical "Reel" dimensions with heavy pillarboxing despite being a horizontal landscape video, it's not embedded here. Instead, here's the longer and fully framed (but still vertical) video of Exit 808 covering Journey's "Separate Ways (Worlds Apart)" with Amy and Molly sharing vocals. This alone is unusual as Molly usually subs in for Amy, but they sound good together! Both covers are solidly done, so give them a watch above & below!

That's all for now, but stay tuned for weekend concert previews on the site next! Thanks everyone!

A New Local Band & A New EP Release!!

Today's post has two extended single topics to look at, including a brand new EP release and leading off, a new addition to our coverage and band links, so here's what you should know on both fronts!

We have a new local classic/hard rock cover trio to add to our Sault Ontario band links, and they are The Guilty Party! Effectively, this group is a side-project of Separate Wayz, as the two bands share guitarist Terry Eaton and bassist Jim Michaud, who were notably late-era bandmates in Soundcheck from 2023 until they broke up at the beginning of this year. I haven't rolled Separate Wayz into our coverage yet because I'm still not sure what they play or how similar they are to Terry and Jim's past bands, but The Guilty Party have videos online and they do cross our coverage line as such! In lieu of Separate Wayz singer Nicole Thibodeau and drummer Steven Flint, both duties are taken on in The Guilty Party by Brent Royer, a veteran local rock musician who has had stints with Settle For Silver, Turner Up, and Bourbon Blue over the years, and had joined Terry & Jim in the short-term & online page-less "The Band" this summer alongside their old Soundcheck bandmate Cameron Oliver.

The Guilty Party played their first gig at a private event at Harmony Beach on September 20th, with their public debut gigs coming at Jay's Piston Broke Pub the following weekend. They also rocked The Water Tower Pub on October 17th, followed by a return to Jay's over the 24th weekend, shows that reportedly had an early Halloween theme. Interestingly, this video from October 14th shows The Guilty Party (and Cameron as a guest singer) playing at Reggie's Place, despite their teased closure (or end of concert bookings) last month. Is Reggie's doing the Rockstar Bar thing by only booking private/special events now, or were the finality hints exaggerated and the show just didn't get public advertising? We'll let you know if we hear confirmation! No word on upcoming dates from The Guilty Party, but they have been playing live more regularly than Separate Wayz this fall. What can you see in the videos uploaded to their Facebook page so far?

They were filmed covering Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers' "Running Down A Dream" at Harmony, five songs at Jay's (The Black Crowes' version of Otis Redding's "Hard To Handle", David Wilcox's "My Eyes Keep Me In Trouble", INXS's "New Sensation", Whiskey Myers' "Bar, Guitar, and A Honky Tonk Crowd", and Buckcherry's "Lit Up"), Def Leppard's "Animal" at Reggie's, and Lynyrd Skynyrd's "Simple Man" at The Water Tower Pub. All have Brent on vocals except the Tom Petty and David Wilcox covers (Terry) and the Whiskey Myers and Def Leppard covers (Cameron), who also guested on acoustic guitar for "New Sensation". Did the teasers of Cameron moving to Nashville not get as far or was he just in the Soo visiting? In any event, if you like late-era Soundcheck, you'll like The Guilty Party, and even in their regular trio formation, they deliver a solid classic/hard rock mix, and Brent adds well with a decent vocal range!

Singing and drumming simultaneously isn't easy, so kudos to Brent for pulling it off on most of the Cameron-less covers! I do wish that most of these videos weren't shot vertically, but you know me by now. Stay tuned for more from The Guilty Party (and Separate Wayz?) soon, and here's Brent, Terry, and Jim covering "Hard To Handle"!

Finally, as first mentioned yesterday in our newest "Where Are The New Albums?" post, here's the latest from local industrial hard rock solo project The Realignment Project, so what have they been up to since we left off from them in late July? Well, their teased third EP "War Songs" was successfully released on October 8th! Amidst various teaser video postings about demo recording sessions for EP #4 (Matt never stops!), he confirmed that the six-song EP is available "everywhere", but if that was true, wouldn't it be on Tidal or Napster, among dozens of other services? By "everywhere", Matt means Apple Music, Amazon Music, Bandcamp, YouTube, Spotify, and yes, even Boomplay and KKBox. If you want to actually buy "War Songs" in mp3 format, it's on iTunes for $5.94, Amazon Music for $7.74, and Bandcamp on a "name your price" model. At press time, the EP isn't technically on YouTube Music yet like their first two EPs are.

"War Songs" is available on regular YouTube via lyric videos on the project's proper YouTube channel, as grouped in this playlist. As usual, I'll hold comment on "War Songs" pending our review of the full EP, which is currently slotted in for February 2026. Spades GT, No Arrow, and Sykotyk Rampage all had albums beat it to market that I have scheduled over the next few months, and Pillory's "Old Soul" (released later in October) is currently slated for March. However, given Matt's fast and prolific recording schedule, the possibility does exist that I could instead review The Realignment Project's fourth EP next, which would move it to March with Pillory in February to maintain a release order chronology, but it would have to come out by then for me to decide. Don't put it past Matt though, as his second and third T.R.P. EPs came out 3 and 6 months apart, and as of October 15th, he was already tracking vocals for the fourth EP!

Plus, he was also already working on demos for their fifth EP then too! We'll have more from The Realignment Project soon, but it's great to see Matt staying busy with new original material, so give their first three EPs a listen everywhere at the streaming services linked above, and here's the opening song from "War Times", titled "Digital Sacrilege"!

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

Where Are The New Albums? (November 2025 Update)

It's now time for this month's Defunct Local Band Profile, our monthly resumption of the current release whereabouts of upcoming local metal, hard rock, or punk albums from Sault Ontario bands who have publically confirmed that recording sessions have begun for them! This month sees one removal due to its successful release last month (Pillory's "Old Soul"), but a new album and artist replaces them, and as that's the only entry here with real updates or new content, its title is in italics. So, where are the new albums? Read on below to hopefully find out!

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Bone Yard 225's debut album

Rumoured Songs: "F.A.F.O.", "Gypsy Spell", "Fuck!", "I Took A Pill In Ibiza" (Mike Posner cover)

Background: After months of teasers that they were planning to record original music (as previewed in their live concerts prior), local southern hard rock cover trio Bone Yard 225 began releasing their own songs on major streaming services in July 2024, a whopping fifteen years after the pre-225 band debuted as a country cover quartet. Their first three singles (all recorded at their home studio) were posted online by January, though it took until May 2025 for the band to confirm on their Facebook page that they were indeed working on a proper album. It's not immediately clear if their existing three singles will be included, but it's not a given, as Jonesy Land fans saw with "Zoom-Out". As of August 11th, it was reportedly "album tracking time", while this video from three days later shows bandmates Alex D'Ettore and Warren Reville recording backing vocals for their cover of Mike Posner's "I Took A Pill In Ibiza". That will be one of "a couple of covers" for the album, as confirmed by frontman Greg Simpson during recent concerts.

Current Release Status: In that Facebook post from May 30th, your local 225 said that "the album is coming along nicely", and they hoped to release it "by the end of 2025", but Greg has since adjusted the timeframe to "early 2026" when mentioning it during live shows. While singer/drummer Greg Simpson did release an EP with his old band Stiffler's Mom, it's hard to compare the release methods and schedule given that "The Demo" came out in 2004.  It is neat to see that Greg, Alex, and Warren are going all in on a studio album, and stay tuned for updates as they roll in!

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Bullet Train's upcoming EPs

Rumoured Songs: "Atmosphere", "Illusions", "Profit", "Wayside"

Background: The current hard rock band from former Sense of Truth/Skeyes of Seven frontman Cory Murchsion and ex-Fort Creek bandmates Robin "Bones" Lee and Anthony Fabiano, Bullet Train have existed solely as a studio band so far, releasing four original songs recorded at their own home studio to their YouTube channel in 2024, all very much influenced by their take on current events. After a quiet summer due to "life's trials", Bullet Train resurfaced on their Facebook page last September to reveal that they were working on two demo EPs, with the first one entering post-production as of the 9th, though it's not clear if their 2024 singles will be on them.

Current Release Status: No idea yet, especially as this band has no prior track record for releasing albums, though all three band members have experience writing and recording studio material to varying degrees. Bullet Train claimed in September of last year that a release date for EP #1 would be announced "in the upcoming weeks", but he band will hit a year without a public update on band activity in late December. It'll be interesting to see how fast things come along for Bullet Train, so keep tabs for further updates!

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Chase James Wigmore - The Chaotic Rite

Rumoured Songs: "The Cities Alive & It's Angry"

Background: Ever the prolific artist & songwriter, local folk punk/extreme metal musician Chase Wigmore has been working on an extensive rock opera for years (once claimed to be a 33 part work), originally named "A Story About A Kid Named Todd". Worked on in between his other unrelated solo albums, released for sale or otherwise, Chase posted a lengthy elaboration of the rock opera in 2022, now titled "The Chaotic Rite", outlining its concept, recording plans, and long-term release timeline. Clips of songs have surfaced on his Facebook page, as have full songs not explicitly tied to the album, as well as the final artwork. In more recent promotion, Chase has hinted that "The Chaotic Rite" might be his final solo album as part of aims to focus on his personal life more than his prolific original material. Regardless, the final product has been pared down to 25-30 minutes.

Current Release Status: Chase elaborated on Facebook last summer that the album was 95% done earlier that year when the files "got trapped on my desktop's hard drive", and he had been unable to procure a backup of the material or recover the files as of that post. In any event, three of the full songs uploaded to Facebook in the previous year were clarified as not being planned for "The Chaotic Rite", but they could surface on a separate EP. Fingers crossed that Chase is able to save this album and put it out when able, especially given the years that he's put into the making of it!

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Convergence - In Bloom

Rumoured Songs: "Gemini", "In Bloom", "Breaking News", "It Ate The F&$%ing Moon", "Kraken Mara", "You Are Not Flesh"

Background: Just over a month after releasing their sophomore EP "Dead And Dreaming", local progressive metal band Convergence announced in February 2024 that EP #3 would be named "Gemini", with its cover artwork being released at the same time. Teaser clips of most songs from the EP were posted on their Facebook page and their YouTube channel throughout much of 2024, but most prior media was wiped as they retooled as a full band, now including singer Stephen Gagnon-Ruscio and drummer David Peredun. Convergence have been working in studio recently with producer Dustin Goodall at Unsalted Audio, documenting the sessions in Facebook "Reels", and while they did get cagey about the endgame for the studio sessions, they have confirmed in concert that the EP (now named "In Bloom") is still in progress. Live versions of early instrumentals (now with vocals) have also been played in their early sets.

Current Release Status: No clue, and given the complexity of their music yet their independent studio trappings so far, that could bode a quick or lengthy timeline for "In Bloom" to come out, depending on what angle you take. Since their modern studio cycle commenced in 2023, things have been relatively steady for Brendan and Jake as a recording act, and here's hoping that Convergence keep that up for their third offering! 

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Fort Creek's debut album

Rumoured Songs: "One For The Road", "Sweet Rosie"

Background: Background: Local southern/hard rock band Fort Creek have sporadically teased plans to record an EP since February 2020, but they wouldn't release any samples until almost two years later when they shared (now-deleted) clips of their original song "Hammer Down" on their Facebook page. The guys would play it regularly at concerts from 2022-2023, with studio sessions taking place in early-mid 2023 as well. After the departure of bassist Robin "Bones" Lee and drummer Anthony Fabiano (both now of Bullet Train) in the fall of 2023, Fort Creek opted to abandon material recorded with them "as a show of good faith", and have been working on new material and rebuilding their studio over the past two years. Now featuring Phil Greco on drums, their first single (the acoustic "One For The Road") was posted online in January, with the band confirming plans to now record a 10 song album at Jettison Studios prior to returning to live concerts. Their new single "Sweet Rosie" was said to be coming next, and they teased being back in studio to record that very song as of August 31st.

Current Release Status: Prior release timelines for their debut EP reflected their early 2020s lineup's material, and Justin, Shane, Bill, and Phil have largely kept things somewhat close to the vest prior to putting out "One For The Road". There are a lot of unknowns, especially given the 5+ years of production time and their decision to basically start over in 2023, and that this is a band that was primarily known for their work on the weekend cover circuit before their rhythm section left. It will be interesting to see how things develop, so stay tuned for updates!

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The Realignment Project's fourth EP 

Rumoured Songs: "What Have We Done"

Background: The solo industrial hard rock project led by former Riverin frontman and Dirty Virgin drummer Matt Hicks, The Realignment Project got off to a fast start as a recording act, independently putting out three EPs in 2025 alone (January's "Afterthought", April's "The Frustration Sessions", and last month's "War Songs"), Fans of T.R.P. will have noticed that Matt has begun songwriting and recording for future EPs before his next ones were even released, and that remains true for their next effort, as Matt confirmed on their Facebook page on October 15th that he was already tracking vocals for their fourth EP, and had began the demos for EP number 5. While not explicitly tied to either planned EP (yet), a new instrumental song named "What Have We Done" was posted to the project's YouTube channel yesterday. Matt claimed it was "the first of many instrumentals", but we don't yet know if this means the next EP will have no vocals at all.

Current Release Status: If the turnaround from their second and third EPs is anything to go by, the fourth EP should drop "everywhere" (well, on most major streaming services) by the spring, but as a one-man operation focusing on digital platforms, it could really pop up whenever Matt's done with it and happy with the results. Follow The Realignment Project on social media for continuing updates, and we'll have more on "War Songs" and the upcoming plans in a regular post soon! 

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I hope you guys liked this month's "Where Are The New Albums?" post! This series will return for one last time in 2025 on or around December 2nd, while our next monthly feature post will be next week's Defunct Local Band Profile. That's all for now, but stay tuned for more news and notes on the site this week! Thanks everyone!

 

LOCAL CONCERT ALERT (HeadF1rst), New Videos, And Sault Michigan Updates!!

Tonight's post came together somewhat out of necessity due to a surprise SHORT NOTICE LOCAL CONCERT ALERT, so that is rounded off with some new videos and shorter notes, so here's what you should know!

Local hard rock quintet HeadF1rst will return to the stage TONIGHT at Shooters Downstairs Lounge as post-game entertainment after game 7 of the World Series! I apologize for the short notice, this show was only announced on the venue's Facebook page at 12:22 PM today. This may look like it came together on late notice to take advantage of the Toronto Blue Jays/Los Angeles Dodgers series going the distance, but guitarist Rainey Rancourt plugged it on his personal Facebook page on Wednesday, before we knew there would even be a game 7. In any event, HeadF1rst have not publically corroborated this booking on their Facebook page whatsoever. Shooters in general has really dialed back on hosting live bands this year, with HeadF1rst really being the only band of any genre to play there since the spring, so they're ideal to head back to Dennis Street to cap off the World Series in style TONIGHT!

This is a 19+ concert with no cover charge starting immediately after the World Series game ends, which is a bit of a leap of faith given how long game 3 went (18 innings running until about 3:00 AM). Assuming things aren't delayed like that again, HeadF1rst should take the stage between 10:30 and 11:30 PM given how games in the rest of the series have ended so far. In other words, this will be a shorter (but later) concert compared to a normal HeadF1rst gig, but fingers crossed that the Blue Jays can win the World Series TONIGHT to start the hard rock action on the right foot! Visit the above links for more details, and here's HeadF1rst live!

Next up, remember how I mentioned at the end of yesterday's post that a biography on local blackened doom metal band Woods of Ypres and frontman David Gold is now being written? Well, it got featured on CBC News Windsor yesterday, and the piece is now on YouTube! Posted to the book's YouTube channel (that has to be a first for here), this of course comes from the CBC affiliate of Woods of Ypres' initial hometown. David later moved the band to Toronto and then home to the Soo, but we haven't had a dedicated local CBC affiliate in over 20 years. The 2 minute piece by CBC's Dalson Chen reflects on how the forest off of Ypres Avenue in Windsor inspired the band's name, and how the band's legacy has grown among fans since David's passing in 2011. Author J. James and Glenn Fricker of Spectre Sound Studios (who worked on both of the band's first two albums) were both interviewed here.

We also hear from David's mom Esther Gold, who has been the strongest champion of her son's music career since, and accepted their Juno Award win in 2013 on his behalf. I like the paintings of him behind her for her interview clips! If the book is getting attention on the CBC, then you know things are really in motion for it, and while I'd have included more live performance video of the band, it's worth checking out for fans. Give it a watch below, and stay tuned for more on Deepest Roots: The Woods Of Ypres Story!

Also today, let's look at a new concert video from a more recent local extreme metal band, namely death/thrash metal trio Pillory from their album release party at Soo Blaster last month! This was uploaded to drummer Bret Shuttleworth's YouTube channel earlier this week, and it is their first video on Bret's channel with bassist Devon Lucier after their recording from July's Insurrection show was uploaded as audio only due to poor camera placement. Bret also said to "give a warm welcome to our new bassist" as this was his first channel appearance on video, though Devon was previously in Pillory briefly in 2014. At the release party, Pillory played every song from their new full-length album in order, followed by their cover of Sepultura's "Territory", but that cover and the final two originals did not make the cut for YouTube due to "an undiagnosed error with (Bret's) phone". In order, what can we see?

The video features "The Angst Of Existence", "Abhorred Apprehension", "The Curse of Eternal Sickness", "Wasting", "Sculptor of Cadavers", "The Passing", and "Specimen of Egotism". Bret's phone was set up from a stationary locale on the floor, capturing a good if somewhat tight angle of the guys in action, and with no pesky strobe lighting to blur out this time. I'll hold comment on the songs pending our review of "Old Soul" early next year, but the brutality is off the charts, so check out (most of) Pillory's release party set below, and stay tuned for more from them!

Finally for today, here's three assorted shorter news items from the last while (this time, all from Sault Michigan and the E.U.P.), and as usual, these are in alphabetical order by artist name:

 

• I have moved local groove/thrash metal band Buddy Repperton & The Camaros to our inactive band links. The group last posted on their Facebook page in October of last year (itself their only post since mid-2023) when frontman David Waite noted his return to singing metal, only to blow out his voice. I don't assume that's why The Camaros haven't posted anything in over a year, but this band had a lot of promise for true original metal in the E.U.P., and hopefully we hear more from David, Doug, Brett, Jason, and Dennis in due course, in this band or otherwise!
• Regarding tonight's Exit 808 show at The Back Bay Grill & Games at Bay Mills Resort & Casino in Brimley, they finally confirmed on their Facebook page earlier today that Molly Escherich will indeed be guesting with them on vocals, while Project 906 guitarist Joe Jenkins will also pop up tonight, as will a bassist named Brad, with other impromptu guests also possible. I have no idea who Brad is, let alone if he and Joe were replacing anyone in Exit 808 outright, but hopefully every performer involved delivered well for the post-Halloween "Fright Night On The Bay"!
• Speaking of Joe and Project 906, their Halloween concert at Huck's Pub & Grill in Rudyard last night went ahead with hand drummer Brian Duford playing the standard drumkit in place of Jason VanLuven, who was double booked with Unfortunate Sun at The Merch. They also welcomed young local guitarist Garrett Howland (son of former Steelhead guitarist Mark Howland) to play with them for a set, which reportedly went well! Visit the band's Facebook page to see photos from the gig, including what costumes that some members of 906 were wearing!

 

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

Two More Saturday Night Concert Previews, Plus More Recent Updates!!

I hope everyone is having a happy and safe Halloween, however you choose to celebrate! Tonight's post takes us to two more weekend concert previews in Michigan's Eastern Upper Peninsula tomorrow night, with lots of recent Sault Ontario updates to take note of, but let's lead off in the E.U.P. with the last of this weekend's heavier concert crop!

We'll start with a show TOMORROW NIGHT that has no credited post-Halloween ties, as local promoters Serious Business are bringing an intriguing package of local and touring musicians to... Pizza Hut? Yes, the bands will be setting up shop in the basement of the 2255 Ashmun Street restaurant, and while this is highly atypical for local concert locales, why not give it a shot if they're willing to host it? Novi noise punk quartet Permanently Pissed and Detroit grunge/alternative band Werewolf Jones will both be making their local concert debuts tomorrow, and with the former's garage rock-influenced noise attack and the latter's punk inflected hybrid originals, fans should get some quality sounds that we don't get often enough in the E.U.P. tomorrow! Local support will include new local hard rock trio Crush (fresh off of Alex & Josh's Halloween gig with Tarnished in St. Ignace tonight) and three-time LSSU Battle of the Bands competitor Kevin Blakeney.

Tomorrow's concert goes down at 6:00 PM with an 18+ age limit, and admission will be $15 at the door. It's always good to see Serious Business host a multi-band event like this, let alone one with touring bands, and hopefully fans pack the space for this concert (and maybe to buy some pizza?) Visit the above links for more on tomorrow's festivities, and for a preview, here's Permanently Pissed live!

Next up, I almost forgot to preview one more concert TOMORROW NIGHT, but I caught it in time, as local hard rock quintet Exit 808 will return to The Back Bay Grill & Games at Bay Mills Resort & Casino in Brimley for their Halloween party! It's a day late because The Back Bay Grill doesn't host bands on Fridays, not even for October 31st. Yes, there will be a costume contest, and organizers have even revealed that prizes of $300, $200, and $100 will be awarded for the top three, so don't put away your costumes just yet! "Fright Night By The Bay" will be Exit 808's first concert in over two months and their first in Brimley since the spring, while it will see them joined by fast-rising Dafter singer/guitarist Molly Escherich (straight outta Interlochen) as a guest singer, as per her Facebook page. The band has oddly not confirmed her involvement themselves, but hopefully Molly shines in her return home for the weekend!

Tomorrow's post-Halloween festivities begin at 9:00 PM with a 21+ age limit (Molly and Blaze aside) and no cover charge. With two (no, three) singers in force for this concert, hopefully Exit 808's lively brand of hard rock covers get a strong reponse at Bay Mills tomorrow as we wind the Halloween season to a close! Visit the official Facebook event page for more details, and for a preview, here's Exit 808 live!

Finally for today, here's six assorted shorter news items from the last while (all from Sault Ontario bands and concerts), and as usual, these are in alphabetical order by artist or event name:

 

• This might be nothing, but a scheduled live-stream for the multi-genre Broke & Hungry fundraiser concert at Beck's Bar on December 19th has quietly been posted onto host/MC Twitchy T. Tantrum's YouTube channel. Live-streams of local concerts don't happen enough, let alone charitable ones for the Soup Kitchen, so we'll have to keep tabs on this as we approach the holidays! Just to clarify, listed performer King Mizo is an alternate handle for Toronto rapper Unknown Mizery, who has been advertised right along.
• Sudbury-based Rush tribute band Rust have changed their name to Epic Rush, as per their Facebook page on October 20th. This came just four days after they headlined at Soo Blaster, and while I'm told that they were still were selling Rust-branded merchandise at the local gig, the name change can't have been a kneejerk reaction given the turnaround to update social media and whatnot. Regardless, posts referencing the local show are calling them by the new name, so I figured I should acknowledge it here. Hopefully things went well, and that we see Epic Rush (and/or Just Leppard) back in Sault Ste. Marie in the new year!
• Reunited local classic/hard rock cover band Quite Frankly did not perform at Kosmos Pizza in Bruce Mines this past Friday, as per their Facebook page on Tuesday last week. The band cited "an unexpected medical circumstance" as the reason for their withdrawal from the Down syndrome awareness fundraiser event, but did not go into specifics beyond that. Hopefully whoever got sick/hurt gets well soon, and that we see Quite Frankly at a public concert again soon! Kosmos Pizza still plugged "live music" afterwards, but never confirmed who replaced them.
• Local punk trio Redundant have quietly dropped out of next month's Toystock, as per the newly updated schedule on the Christmas Cheer benefit concert's Facebook page and website. A reason for Redundant's withdrawal wasn't publically announced, but they haven't posted on their Facebook page since 2023, not even to plug their Toystock set last year (let alone their bassist change). Hopefully all's well in their camp! They have been replaced by a mystery band named Sunday & The Broken Hearts, who I know as little about as I do The Reeves (the other mystery band at Toystock this year), so stay tuned when more comes out on one/both groups!
• If you're wondering why I didn't feature local classic/hard rock cover quartet Silent 9's Facebook video from Wolf Fest last month on here, it's because it's actually not of Silent 9. While the thumbnail features frontwoman Jess Amadio, this actually comes from a guest turn she took with headining local pop rock cover band The Killer Hooks, where she joined in on their cover of Rose & Bruno Mars' "Apt.". While sadly vertical and incomplete, it's a fun and lively cover of this modern pop hit, and hopefully things went well at The Roberta Bondar Pavilion for Wolf Fest!
• A book is being written about defunct local black/doom metal band Woods of Ypres and their late frontman David Gold! To be named Deepest Roots: The Woods of Ypres Story, it's being authored by J. James of the California-based Arcane Archivist Zine, and he has kept fans updated as to the biography's progress on the Woods of Ypres Fanclub Facebook group. Apparently, he has conducted 20 long format interviews adding up to around 100 minutes of material for the book so far, but things are still at an early stage. This is highly intriguing, so stay tuned for updates as the book comes together!

 

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

LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (Peril) & More Halloween Weekend Concert Previews!!

Let's continue our previews of this weekend's hard rock concert previews, Halloween themed or otherwise! Due to the amount of shows, Saturday's Permanently Pissed-headlined show in Sault Michigan will be featured in our next news post. Here's what you should know for other heavier shows this weekend, starting with SHORT NOTICE LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS!

Traverse City classic metal trio Peril will reportedly return to The Rapids Lounge at the Sault Ste. Marie Kewadin Casino TOMORROW & SATURDAY NIGHT! Apologies for the short notice, the shows were only confirmed via Kewadin's entertainment page (I have to get caught up on heavier shows there), though be advised that Peril have not confirmed these bookings on their Facebook page. I'll treat them as on unless otherwise confirmed, but these are Peril's first advertised gigs in the E.U.P. since their Soo Kewadin stops in mid-August. While a Halloween theme tomorrow goes without saying, I am unaware of specific seasonal frills beyond what Kewadin Casino proper have announced for tomorrow, so click here for details on the costume contests taking place at casino locations in general. Hopefully Jeff and crew deliver some fun hard rock and classic metal covers for fans at the Soo Kewadin!

If you're curious, Houghton country cover band Highway 41 (not to be confused with the former Highway 63) are scheduled at the St. Ignace Kewadin this weekend. Peril take the stage at The Rapids Lounge at 9:00 PM tomorrow and Saturday with 19+ age limits and no cover charges, and I am not 100% certain if Kewadin will extend Halloween themes to Saturday or not. Visit the above links for more details, and here's Peril live!

Next up, we'll head north to Sault Ontario for some post-Halloween action to kick off November 2025, and we'll start at Beck's Bar, where there's a double-header of SMS-friendly acts, starting with local classic/hard rock singer/guitarist Tym Morrison in SATURDAY's matinee timeslot! Leading off what will be another busy month for fans of his acoustic cover concerts, this will be Tym's first gig at the former Vibe Lounge since July. His talented blend of classic and hard rock covers should get a solid west end reception as usual ON Saturday, so don't miss out! While Tym isn't really known for leaning into Halloween themes with his bookings, Beck's are keeping the spooky themes going all weekend long, so there will be the same costume contests as fans tonight will be competing for, while Tarot card reader Stephanie Poitras will also be on hand once again, and seasonal drink specials will be on sale too. 

Musically speaking, Tym will take the stage at 3:00 PM on Saturday with a 19+ age limit and no cover charge. See above for more on the unplugged matinee concert action ahead on Saturday, and here's Tym live! 

If you didn't see the poster above, who is playing the nightcap block on SATURDAY at Beck's Bar? None other than southern hard rock trio Bone Yard 225, who will keep the busy Halloween weekend slate going with a high energy and gritty blend of covers and originals! Last seen at Beck's two weeks ago, fans of Bone Yard's entertaining live attack should welcome them with some post-Halloween frills and ambiance, let alone the aforementioned costume contest and more, so don't put your getups away just yet! Of course, it is worth noting that Beck's will be showing game 6 of the World Series during tomorrow's Even Flow concert (go Blue Jays!), but if the Dodgers tie the series, that would force game 7 during the Bone Yard concert. Beck's has been showing the World Series right along, so keep that in mind when balancing concert, baseball, and Halloween plans tomorrow and on Saturday!

Your local 225 take the stage at 9:00 PM with a 19+ age limit and no cover charge, and remember, Tym Morrison isn't "opening" for Bone Yard, each has a four hour block spaced two hours apart, but you can hang around to see both with no cover if you want. And no, "the dirty three" are not playing the unplugged Sunday matinee for a change, that honour goes to Out & Out Country, with Halloween themes ongoing for them too. See above for more on this weekend's Halloween action at Beck's, and here's Bone Yard live!

Finally for this post, we'll head to The Water Tower Pub for local classic/hard rock cover veterans Generations' headlining concert on SATURDAY NIGHT! Making their first appearance at this venue in almost three months, and just their second live appearance since returning from their two month break, I have not seen any firmly stated Halloween themes for the day after, so I'd inquire within if you're at all curious (tomorrow's proper Halloween party there will be headlined by country cover band Elly McWatters & The Drifters). With Generations still having a vacant guitarist slot, they have recruited Smokehouse's Michael Yurich to fill in again, while drummer Tony Santoro teased "a special surprise" on Saturday as well, so what is he getting at? Be at the Great Northern Road nightclub to find out! This is an 8:00 PM and 19+ concert with no cover. See above for more details on the old school covers ahead, and for a preview, here's Generations live!

That's all for now, but go occupy a venue for Halloween tomorrow or Saturday, with notable bands like Bourbon Blue (at Jay's) and Mid Life Crysis (at The Esquire Club) also rocking stages this weekend! Thanks everyone!