LOCAL CONCERT ALERT (The Nameless), And Halloween Concert Previews, Part 2!!

For Halloween weekend concert preview post #2, we're heading largely to the Eastern Upper Peninsula via two concerts tomorrow (one a SHORT NOTICE LOCAL CONCERT ALERT), but to fill things out and commemorate this rare Saturday timing for October 31st, I'll take some time in the back half to note what non-hard rock/punk acts are playing publically verified concerts tonight or tomorrow. Now, here's what you should know in the EUP (and remember, bridge fares are slashed to $1.50 USD or $2 CAD tomorrow from midnight to midnight to celebrate the International Bridge's 50th anniversary, so if that's an incentive to head across to enjoy concerts for cheaper on either side of the border, keep tomorrow's discount in mind!)

Local hard rock cover quartet The Nameless will return to The Merchants Bar to headline their Halloween party TOMORROW NIGHT! Apologies for the short notice, this show was only announced on their Facebook page this past Saturday, and as usual, The Merch doesn't acknowledge bands playing there by name on social media. This actually won't be The Nameless' first Halloween concert of the month, as they hit the road to play at The Paradise Inn's annual Halloween bash two weeks ago. Paradise is just outside of our coverage range (an hour's drive from the Soo), but hopefully The Nameless had a good show out west! If you're wondering, The Paradise Inn has their Halloween party early because they close for the season in late October. TOMORROW'S Merch show (their first in the Soo since August at Kewadin Casino) promises "fun", "music", "prizes", "Lume (Cannabis Co.) swag", and "gift cards", presumably as prizes.

As you'd hope for Halloween night, there will be a costume contest TOMORROW, where the top three costumes will net their wearers $300, $200, and $100 (Not bad!). The Nameless have also revealed that TOMORROW'S concert will be their final one with drummer Jamie Costner, who is "shipping off downstate" next month. As old Dirty Musky fans know, she is a talented drummer, and best of luck to Jamie in her move and in whatever comes next! Everything goes down TOMORROW at 9:00 PM with a 21+ age limit and no cover charge. Visit the official Facebook event page for more details, and for a preview, here's The Nameless live earlier this year!

Next up, let's take the half hour drive southwest to Rudyard, where local blues/hard rock cover quintet Project 906 will headline the Halloween party at Huck's Pub & Grill TOMORROW NIGHT! Last seen in Eckerman last week and in Rudyard during Summerfest weekend in July, tomorrow's concert will be far from 906's first rodeo as Halloween headliners, and they should have some fun costumes to go along with their hard rocking cover slate! In terms of seasonal frills, Huck's hasn't given much away, but there will be a costume contest, with prizes going to those with the best overall, funniest, and best couples costumes. Billy, Joe, Dustin, Jason, and Brian hit the stage at the former Joe's Bar tomorrow at 8:00 PM, expect a 21+ age limit, and there's no announced cover charge. Visit the above links for more on all of the action at at Huck's tomorrow night, and for a preview, here's Project 906 on Halloween at The Islander Bar in Hessel a few years ago!

To cap off this post (the other heavier previews are coming), as a public service, I wanted to run through all of the other known musicians playing shows tonight and tomorrow in the region that aren't hard rock or punk acts. Halloween on a Saturday only comes once every 6-11 years, after all! In Sault Ontario tonight, RPM plays at The Water Tower Pub, The Preacher & His Jackleg Band will be at Outspoken Brewing, and Frankly Speaking will rock The Whiskey Barrel. For bands doubling up tomorrow & Saturday night, Jay's Piston Broke Pub will host Bourbon Blue and Reggie's Place will welcome Smokehouse. Tomorrow only, Beck's Bar will welcome The Stumpy Coldwater Trio (matinee) and Elly McWatters & The Drifters (night), the relocated Full Throttle Saloon hosts Flathead Ford, Matthew James will be at the aforementioned Whiskey Barrel, and for Saturday matinees, Leslie Cook is at the Royal Canadian Legion and Forty Creek (not Fort Creek) are at The Moose Lodge.

Over in Sault Michigan and the EUP, NuCorp will be the final band to ever play at The Rapids Lounge at the Soo's Kewadin Casino tonight & tomorrow night before their heavy renovations begin, while Tom Katalin & Highway 41 will be playing at The Northern Pines Lounge at the St. Ignace Kewadin those same nights. Tomorrow, Viscera frontman "Blind" Bob Quinn & Louie Radecki will be playing at Moloney's Alley, Shipheads On Shore will be at The Islander Bar in Hessel, and Frank Gillotte will be performing at The Lakeside Lounge at Bay Mills Resort & Casino in Brimley. Note that this just counts bands within an hour of the Soo, but if you're up for a drive, Tarnished will be playing at The Pine Bar in Engadine on Saturday. Remember, levels of Halloween celebration and frills (from decor to drink specials to costume contests) will vary from venue to venue, so check in with each establishment and/or band before you commit to anything.

If you're free and able, go occupy a venue this weekend! The calendar blessed us with an ideal weekend for Halloween concerts, and there won't even be an October 31st on a Friday until 2031, so take advantage where you can. We'll wrap up our Halloween previews with three shows tomorrow night and one short notice Sunday matinee, so stay tuned then! Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (Soundcheck & Dos Amigos) And Devil's Night Concert Previews!!

Halloween weekend is upon us and for the first time since 2020 (when the pandemic threw a monkey wrench into the holiday for many), October 31st is on a Saturday! There's no shortage of live music to take in at local concert venues this weekend, and things will need at least three posts to get to everything! We'll start here with Devil's Night shows tomorrow, including two SHORT NOTICE LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS and one previously announced Friday nighter, so here's what you should know for the end of spooky season!

Local acoustic punk cover duo Dos Amigos will cap off their run of fall festival gigs at Thomson Farms Cider & Winery TOMORROW NIGHT! Apologies for the short notice, we only learned about this booking via (you guessed it) a Facebook "Story" shared by the band members' personal accounts, as the band's social media hasn't publically acknowledged TOMORROW'S booking, let alone the mill, whose AI generated poster for this weekend's festivities doesn't even mention live music. For the closing day, Thomson Farms will have the haunted corn maze open for one more night, and the usual family entertainment, vendors, and refreshments seen throughout October should also be on hand. Dos Amigos will be playing from the 5:00 PM opening TOMORROW until 8:00 PM, this is definitely all ages, and there are no cover charges. Proceeds TOMORROW will be helping the U12 AA Soo Jr. Greyhounds hockey team.

The haunted maze proper costs $15, and while Halloween decorations are certainly implied, the farm hasn't 100% confirmed anything about costumes (they don't appear to be open on Saturday, so I assume they'd be okay with costumes TOMORROW). 9&10 News is calling for mostly cloudy skies with temperatures of 7-8°. I do wish that Dos Amigos were plugging events in permanent posts through the band's own accounts, but hopefully their unplugged punk covers provide a fun soundtrack to the evening! Visit the above links for more on TOMORROW'S festivities at Thomson Farms, and for a preview, here's Dos Amigos live!

Next up, local classic/hard rock cover quartet Soundcheck will return to Beck's Bar for one night only TOMORROW NIGHT! Again, apologies for the short notice, we only learned about this Devil's Night gig when Beck's announced their weekly entertainment schedule on their Facebook page on Tuesday. Now, these shows were originally announced as being for fellow classic/hard rock cover quartet Silent 9 on that band's website's calendar, but it has was quietly updated in recent weeks to remove both tomorrow's gig as well as one at Beck's on Saturday, November 14th (all that is listed there now are private events). A reason for Silent 9 dropping out of both dates has not been publically announced, but hopefully all is well in their camp! Soundcheck have taken on TOMORROW'S gig, and in a mild surprise given their increasingly rare social media updates, they have plugged them on their Facebook page!

As such, they have finally acknowledged the "Soundcheck 7.3" branding from their recent AI generated artwork on Facebook, but have yet to confirm online if they have indeed changed their name or if it's just a logo element (let alone what "7.3" means. Richter scale?). Also, TOMORROW'S show is not advertised as an "epic crossover" gig with their sister band Separate Wayz, who have not updated their Facebook page in over a month. In terms of Halloween accoutrements, while Beck's is hosting Elly McWatters & The Drifters on Saturday night, TOMORROW will also be a Halloween party, with costumes encouraged, and there will be a contest, with prizes in store for those with the scariest and funniest costumes, as well as the best character impersonation. Soundcheck will kinda sorta have an opener TOMORROW, namely local magician Ryan McFarling at 7:00 PM.

I say "kinda sorta" as Ryan's show will be ticketed, whereas Soundcheck have no cover charge for their 9:00 PM-starting concert, which is 19+ as usual. There's a lot more than this going down at Beck's, so be sure to check their Facebook page for the complete weekend itinerary (Sunday matinee included), but hopefully Soundcheck (7.3?) hold up their end of the bargain with their hard rocking old school covers at the Goulais Avenue nightclub TOMORROW! See above for more details, and here's Soundcheck live!

Finally for weekend concert preview post #1, we'll head to The Art Hub At Spring (technically at 504 Queen Street East) for a FREE multi-band Devil's Night concert TOMORROW NIGHT, but there has been a late headliner switch. Originally, local alternative/hard rock quartet The Reeves were supposed to headline, but they dropped out "due to unforeseen circumstances" on Monday, as per the official Facebook event page, though they promised that "we will still be in attendance". If they'll still be there, is someone sick or hurt? No idea, but hopefully everyone's alright! Replacing The Reeves tomorrow are local crossover thrash trio Hails, who are no strangers to The Art Hub following frontman Brenton Ellis' recent art exhibit residency there, and with the cancellation of the private Devil's Night At Dirtbag's tomorrow, their schedule was open! Ha!ls will be joined by debuting pop punk/emo quintet Homeroom Hero.

This promising band has yet to reveal the identity of their new female singer, but you can be the first to find out tomorrow (possible Halloween costume acknowledged), and click here to sample them covering The Offspring! Opening is former Stereo North frontman Andrew Pucci, so if you've missed him and were curious what his solo material sounds like following the cancellation of his open mic set at Rotaryfest Stage 2 following the air quality index concerns, keep this in mind! A dance party is planned after the bands, there will be complimentary food and drinks, and costumes are welcomed (no word on a contest). While this will be a free and all ages concert at 8:00 PM, organizers recommend RSVPing first, and while the event page suggests contacting performers/organizers to "get on the list", I did see a reference on Facebook where just saying that you're going on the Facebook event page would be enough. I'm assuming all of this is due to The Art Hub's smaller size.

Compared to some of the other multi-band events for Halloween downtown, this one's punk slant, price point, and Friday scheduling will definitely appeal to some, and while it is unfortunate that The Reeves aren't playing despite their promotional involvement, hopefully there's a strong turnout at The Art Hub tomorow night! See above for more details, and here's Hails live!

That's all for now, but our weekend concert previews continue tomorrow with shows actually on Halloween night! Thanks everyone!

YouTube Channel Profile Series: Woods Of Ypres - Topic

After a slight delay, here is this month's YouTube Channel Profile, as we look at another YouTube channel whose content is at least 50% made up of content from local metal, hard rock, or punk musicians! This month, our latest random selection takes us to a YouTube Music channel from the biggest metal band to ever call the Soo home, so here's what you should know!

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Woods Of Ypres - Topic (http://youtube.com/channel/UCUKasoaU68XYA7_d9wjQRKg)

Owner:  If anyone, Earache Records, though the channel is auto-generated to facilitate Woods Of Ypres' catalogue being available on YouTube Music

Channel Timeline: Launched on January 16th, 2014; All videos uploaded in the early 2010s, and last revised from September 23rd-24th, 2025

Channel Summary: The official YouTube Music channel for Woods Of Ypres' five mainline studio albums, these 57 songs were originally uploaded to YouTube Music well before last fall, but these are the more recent versions. Of course, this is all posthumous, as the local/Toronto blackened doom metal band dissolved shortly after frontman David Gold passed away in December 2011. Note that channel technicallty only has five its own videos, as the rest are taken from Earache's proper YouTube channel or their Earache Catalog channel (particularly earlier songs and non-singles in the latter case)

Why You Should Watch: If you're a fan of Woods Of Ypres, and prefer YouTube (Music) for your streaming needs, this is a must stop channel to hear their best known songs from Windsor to the Soo and all points within! However, the channel only features their five albums (re-)issued by Earache Records, omitting their output that was solely released via David's indie labels Krankenhaus and Practical Art Records. Missing here are their 2009 compilation album "Independent Nature 2002-2007" (though its songs are all on YouTube Music via their original albums), the "Allure Of The Earth" single from 2009 (featuring a cello cover by outside musicians), and 2011's "Home" single (featuring two songs from the still-unreleased EP "Woods 4.5: You Were The Light"). For official video content from his and the band's lifetime, visit David's personal YouTube channel.

 Our Recommended Videos To Check Out:

 

A Meeting Place And Time: I'll start with their first EP, 2002's "Against The Seasons: Cold Winter Songs From The Dead Summer Heat" for two reasons. One is that it has the most differences from later work (a black metal-centric sound with David just drumming), and also that these songs are the only ones that were directly uploaded to the YouTube Music channel, rather than being appropriated from other Earache channels. By far their most popular song from this Windsor-era EP, it features strong ans nicely suited guitar and bass work from Brian McManus and Aaron Palmer, and their alternating harsh and clean vocals were on point while also being reminiscent of what David brought to the mic on later albums. Definitely a standout of their early period before things got doomier!

 

Woods of Ypres - I Was Buried in Mount Pleasant Cemetery (Official Video): Possibly because its represented on YouTube Music via its music video, the most popular upload on this channel is "I Was Buried In Mount Pleasant Cemetery" from 2009's "Woods 4: The Green Album", where David was joined by his former Gates of Winter bandmate Bryan Belleau on guitar and Pennsylvania-based brothers Shane & Evan Madden on bass and drums. Receiving over 4.1 million views at press time, the video (filmed in Southern Ontario in 2010 after Thrawsunblat's Joel Violette replaced Bryan) captures the guys playing one of their best known melodic doom-era originals on a porch while David walks through the title cemetery. Well shot and edited with an aesthetic perfectly capturing the "W4" themes, and it's a must watch video for fans of local-era Woods Of Ypres! Note that Earache has not posted their own copy of Woods' 2007 music video for "The Northern Cold".

Woods of Ypres - Adora Vivos (Official Audio): I wanted to highlight a song from Woods' Juno Award-winning final and biggest album "Woods 5: Grey Skies & Electric Light", but rather than go with one of the better known songs from it, here's "Adora Vivos", which was one of my favourite cuts from the album despite being being the second-lowest streamed song from it on YouTube Music. One of Woods of Ypres' heaviest songs from their late period work, it crushes while still telling a poignant message, with David telling us to love the living while they're still alive, and not to worship those who aren't here to appreciate the sentiment. Fans haven't necessarily taken to that when honouring David and his music, but it's a very solid song from him and Joel, and don't bypass it on the full album!

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I hope you guys liked this month's YouTube Channel Profile! This series will return on or around November 26th, and now, we can focus on the Halloween weekend concert previews! Stay tuned!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (Nate's Chow & Curtis McKenzie), Plus Crush Updates!!

Before I post this month's YouTube Channel Profile, I thought I'd throw a new news post together, as two LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS for late next week hit the news desk, and if I don't talk about them now, it'll be late notice when there's time (given the busy Halloween weekend schedule ahead). Rounding things out are some recent updates from a prominent local hard rock band, so here's what you should know on this Tuesday night!

Former Haggith/Eclipse frontman Curtis McKenzie will play a solo concert on "Think It Over Thursday", November 5th at The Dive Gastro Pub! Newly announced on his Facebook page (and good thing too, as The Dive tends to announce musicians on very short notice), this will be Curt's first acoustic concert at the former Low & Slow in ten weeks, last rocking "The Naughty Corner" in late August. If you'd rather see Curtis' hard and alternative rock covers in a downtown venue rather than his recent west end gigs, keep next week's show in mind! This is a 19+ show as usual for The Dive, it has no announced cover charge, and a 10:00 PM start time was noted. Visit the above links for more details! While we're on the subject, some readers may be aware that Curtis is the new owner of the remodeled used/antique store Stuff at 288 Korah Road (right near Jay's Piston Broke Pub), and he is hosting the first Soo Retro Con next door on November 20th & 21st.

I mention this new pop culture/collectibles convention here because advertising promises "live music". The Retro Con will be held in the adjacent Great Lakes Hall with paid admission and various entertainment, and Curt was still looking for "entertainers/musicians" as of October 16th, as per the Facebook event page. What would a live musician lineup look like at this location, let alone at a comic con, and will Curtis be playing that weekend? If metal, hard rock, and/or punk acts are included, we'll let you know, but see above for more details on the Soo Retro Con!

Next up, let's head to the EUP, as Sault Michigan hard rock cover trio Nate's Chow have been selected to headline the Brimley Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW) Post 9023's fifteenth annual Veteran's Day ATV ride on Friday, November 7th! In recent years, a cover hard rock band has been a staple of this event, even if the band in question doesn't publically plug it (Project 906 did the honours in 2023 & 2024 and The Nameless played last year), so kudos to the former Unfortunate Sun for announcing it with a week+ to spare! As detailed on the official Facebook event page, the main event of this annual event is the ATV ride, with proceeds going to local veterans, and there are prizes and draws along with the run, plus a dinner, with Nate's Chow performing afterwards. You do not need to ride in the ATV run to attend this event, and paid admission for the dinner and concert will be available on site from 3:00-6:00 PM next week.

Nate's Chow will play at 7:00 PM, but dinner is included with all tickets, which cost $20, though they will accept higher donations. The VFW Post 9023 is located at 8968 West M-28, which is 8 minutes southeast of Bay Mills Resort & Casino. There is no stated age limit next week. Helping military veterans is a great cause, and hopefully Jody, Brett, and Jason have a strong concert for riders and supporters alike next Friday, so visit the above links for full details on the Veteran's Day ride and related events!

Let's close up north (while going further south at the same time) by looking at local hard rock trio Crush! After the originals-focused Tarnished sister band posted photos from the Tribe989 concert in Gould City last month onto their Facebook page (is that Trogdor The Burninator attacking Iggy?!), they posted Iggy's second bathroom review video, where he assesses and grades the quality of the men's bathroom at Bemo's Bar in Bay City (where they played a show early last month). I'll let you watch to see how he grades the bathroom and if you agree! In a bizarrely late notice announcement for a downstate gig, Crush announced on Friday that they'd be hitting the road the next day to open for Lapeer punk band Skitchfall at the Bruce Mansion in nearby Brown City (almost 5 hours southeast of the Soo). And yes, it's a legit mansion, with paranormal reports, so it's fitting to play there in October!

Adding to the "shouldn't you guys be advertising this earlier?" files, Crush played one more downstate gig on Sunday, when they headed to Westland (outside of Detroit) to play at The Token Lounge, where they were among the openers for Van Haven: The Ultimate Van Halen Tribute as part of a Halloween masquerade party. To plug both shows, they starred in the video embedded below featuring the guys messing around backstage before hyping the Skitchfall show, with Iggy popping up afterwards solo to plug the Westland concert, forgotten in the moment of the main video. Things end with their usual yellow caption cards, this time with a clip of the studio version of their original "Too Close" playing, and when are we going to hear their studio original songs in full? All we're getting from their sessions are these end-of-video teaser clips, and things sound reasonably far along!

No word on when Crush will play an honest-to-goodness local concert again (they last played a show in our coverage range in April at The Merch), but it's good to see Alex, Josh, and Iggy staying busy, even if it means a lot of recent 4+ hour drives downstate for gigs in bigger markets. Check out more from Crush above & below, and stay tuned for more from their camp!

That's all for now, but this month's YouTube Channel Profile is definitely next, and then, Halloween weekend concert previews! Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERT (Toystock XIII) & Two Local EP Uploads From 2014!!

Before we get into today's post, just a heads up that Friday night's "Devil's Night At Dirtbag's" concert at a private location has been cancelled. According to Underground Events SSM's Facebook page, "Dirtbag" (implied to also be a member of one of the scheduled bands) hurt his foot, hence the cancellation. Why the rest of the bands can't play on, I don't know, but hopefully "Dirtbag" heals up soon, and there's no shortage of concerts at public venues to check out for Halloween weekend! Now, this post features a big LOCAL CONCERT ALERT for the impending Christmas season and some surprise local EP uploads, so here's what you should know!

The full lineup for the thirteenth annual Toystock was announced on their website and Facebook page last week! Returning for its tenth installment at their current homebase at The Grand Gardens North on Sunday, November 29th, this is the annual Christmas Cheer fundraiser concert held in late November by GS (formerly Maxx) Entertainment, where 10 bands play across 10 hours, all donating their time to the cause. Along with music, each Toystock features kids activities like face painting, arts and crafts, a play area, and visits with Santa Claus himself, and the Stuff-A-Bus may make another appearance for good measure. For adults, The Grand Gardens is licensed and the bar will be open if so inclined, and food will be on sale as well. Admission is FREE with the donation of new toys or winter clothing, new or gently used books, games, and puzzles, or gift cards, though you can also donate cash.

Visit the above links for full non-musical details! For just the second time (after 2018), most bands from the previous year are returning for the following year, and in a mild shocker, there are no mystery debuting bands next month. As usual, your headliners at 9:00 PM are local southern hard rock trio Bone Yard 225, who have played every event save for 2014, when frontman (and Toystock promoter) Greg Simpson took the stage with other bands of his. Eternal kudos to Greg and his wife Kerry for all they do to help those in need over the holidays! After debuting last year as late replacements, local blues/classic rock cover band Sunday & The Broken Hearts will leap up the bill to serve as the co-headliners at 8:00 PM, while country rock cover quintet Elly McWatters & The Drifters will return to Toystock for their own second straight year at 7:00 PM.

Fittingly, the 6:00 PM timeslot belongs to Mike Haggith & The Big Finish Band (in their third straight year), and the timing works out, as The Drifters and The Big Finish Band share a lot of members between them! While this will be Steve & Brad's fourth straight year, their current hard rock quartet The Reeves will be playing Toystock for the second time next month at 5:00 PM. Toystock newcomers make up most of the first half of the bill, including blues/hard rock trio Stones & Crows (Spencer knows Bone Yard well now!) at 4:00 PM, young hard rock quartet 5 Dollar Bribe at 3:00 PM, and new pop punk/emo band Homeroom Hero at 2:00 PM (see them debut on Friday night at The Art Hub At Spring!). Continuing the annual trend of giving a timeslot to representatives of a local music store/school, blues rock quartet The Associates are up at 1:00 PM

This will be The Associates' third straight year at Toystock, and they will once again feature Bone Yard bassist Warren Reville before he joins the rest of "The Dirty Three" that night, along with fellow colleagues of his from Long & McQuade. The opening act this year is a solo artist, namely local country musician Jazmine "Jazz Marie" Ladouceur at 12:00 PM in her Toystock debut. It's great to see another stacked lineup of talented local musicians back for Toystock XIII, and hopefully there's a huge turnout of music lovers, families, and festive folks at The Grand Gardens once again on the last Sunday of November! Visit the above links for full current details!

Finally for today, remember how mid-2010s local punk/grunge duo Bad Back released two demo EPs in late 2014 that were amended somewhat for their digital release? Well, physical copies of each have finally been uploaded to YouTube! Originally limited to 25 copies apiece, the band from former Fuller bandmates Jamie Vincent and Nathan Sauve had released the EPs (now named "VOLumes!" and "VOLumes TWO!") on Bandcamp, but they opted not to use the physical artwork in either case, and the setlists of both had cuts. Jamie's old AlgomA bandmate Kevin Campbell owns copies of each EP, and he posted both to his Canadian Punker YouTube channel in August. On the first originally self-titled demo, Jamie & Nathan dropped "Drum My Way Home" and "Number One Hit Single" for Bandcamp, possibly because they re-recorded them for 2015's full length "ALbums". 

"Bad Back Vol. 2" had "No. 1 Hit Single" again, and "Oh!" was also redone on "ALbums", but the eight minutes long instrumental jam "Stop Listening To Phish" was completely dropped from the Bandcamp release without being redone. I get the sense that "ALbums" was intended to be their representative final act with the best songs and recordings, hence why it had cherry picked remakes, but why not post "Stop Listening To Phish" on Bandcamp? Unless you bought one of the 25 CD copies, you can hear it now though! A review of either isn't imminent (neither are new, and look at our backlog), but give Bad Back's original demo EPs a listen above & below, and thanks to Kevin for posting these after a 12 year wait!

That's all for now, but stay tuned for this month's YouTube Channel Profile on the SMS next! Thanks everyone!

X's & Y's - "Face The Moon, Forgive The Stars" EP Review!!

It's now time for our 208th monthly CD review at The Sault Metal Scene, and for a second straight month, we're heading to Michigan, with this month's review being of local metal solo project X's & Y's' third CD "Face The Moon, Forgive The Stars"! Posted online on January 13th in advance of a physical CD release exactly one month later, this EP features two versions of the title track along with two bonus holdover originals. A Werehold and AFR Records production, the songs here were mixed and mastered in Lansing by Mitchell "Mitch Michelle" Wells, with Jason as the only credited musician this time. X's & Y's forgone the usual streaming platform release for "FTMFTS" (Bandcamp doesn't even have the middle two songs), but the whole 20 minute EP is officially streamable on YouTube. CD copies only cost $3 USD, which is a pretty good deal, so contact Jason on social media if you want to inquire about availability eight months later! I have no idea if there are/were any physical storefronts in the EUP carrying the CDs.

Let's begin this quick review with the title and longest track, "Face The Moon, Forgive The Stars", a 7+ minute song that Jason said leaned "into doom/drone/horror territory". This is undeniably a metal song, but it really slows down with an extremely deliberate and ominous pace. A rare Jason Mills-led song with vocals (albeit just seventeen yelled words), I'm not gonna lie and tell you that this style of metal is my favourite, but it's distinct, punishing, and will be a fitting choice for inclined listeners over the Halloween season! For my tastes though, the song might be more effective if sped up in Audacity. Next is the EP's shortest song "Hand Of Cydonia", which continues the space concept, as Cydonia is a region of Mars. This song is particularly distinguished because Jason uses a tremoloa (a zither often used to replicate the sound of a Hawaiian steel guitar) as one of the included instruments, which he couldn't find other examples of in metal music.

If the droning nature of the title track wasn't your thing, you may appreciate the pounding djent riffs of this instrumental, and the tremoloa does add suitably spacey/other-worldly affect. It's still a doom metal song, but the aggression and quicker pace works better for what I like, and it would suit a sci-fi movie or TV show well! The last completely new song is "Crater", which is peppered with backwards guitar playing, including the first 30 seconds.before the full song kicks into gear. Definitely not as heavy as "Hand Of Cydonia", but it has an effectively eerie feeling and strong instrumentation, including what sounds like more tremoloa input in the background, and the last 52 seconds is just a mild harmony to keep the existing vibes going. Not a bad song at all, especially for seasonal mood music, but metalheads will take to the opening tracks more for heaviness.

The EP closes with an instrumental version of "Face The Moon, Forgive The Stars", which is the exact same song minus lyrics, and the song wasn't verbose as it was. The vocals aren't essential to appreciation of the song, but they are also a variance to its structure and pacing, so I do prefer the main version to the instrumental. Your mileage may vary! Overall, I did like X's & Y's' new EP, but for what I go for in metal, I did prefer their full-length albums "The Obsidian Dream" and "Ruination Coactive" more. It has the diversity seen on the former, including the doomy overtones and tremoloa usage, but this wasn't as fast paced and hard-hitting on average. "Hand Of Cydonia" was easily my favourite song here", but fans of AlgomA and later Woods of Ypres will want to check this for a more modern example of local doom metal. Honestly, there's so much material that Jason could have sourced for a full space concept album similarly to the Contra-themed "Ruination Coactive".

Still, my reservations are mostly of the "existing metal subgenre preference" type, and this is a good collection of songs. Here's hoping that Jason returns to the studio and works on some new X's & Y's material soon, but check out this EP above, and I hope you guys liked this month's CD review! Next month, we will return to Sault Ontario for a look at local metal trio The BAG's debut album "Sacculus", so look for that in November, and for more news and notes on the site this week! Thanks everyone!

The 2026 Lake Superior State Battle Of The Bands Review!!

My review of this event was delayed a few days due to our usual weekend concert preview cycle conflicting with when I would have normally began typing it out, but I made the slightly impromptu call to head over to Sault Michigan to check out the fourth annual Lake Superior State University Battle of the Bands on Wednesday! Returning to their on-campus Arts Center, this is the second time that I have crossed the border to check out the festivities (following 2024), and it was a good day to do so given the dramatically increased cash prizes and larger advertised lineup. Attendance in the the theater wasn't sold out, but a good sized crowd turned out, aided in part by a large group of students from a high school downstate (I think it was a marching band). The crowd was vocal and attentive as you'd hope, and compared to 2024, there was a surprising amount of impromptu clapping along with certain artists. Always good to see an invested audience like this!

The MC of the battle this year was Ryan Maurer, an accomplished local actor who you may recognize from Soo Improv, Yooper Frankenstein, and various stage productions. He's also married to Sara Maurer, an adjunct instructor and writing tutor in LSSU's arts department. Judges included Dr. Jason Swedene (an LSSU professor who competed in the last two battles with The Undecideds and Socrates & The Caveman) and current students Nathan Piche, Jack Callaghan, and Victor TenElshof. I do not know if the judging criteria has changed since 2024 (re: was each judge scoring on one specific aspect or were they all assessing everything now), but Ryan's pre-battle specifics weren't as detailed as Noah Luce's were two years ago. I will note that Ryan was still referring to this as the third annual battle, omitting the fan-voted 2023 debut event won by The Sole Aggressors. Unchecked error or is this a retcon because of the lack of judges in 2023?

Eight scheduled acts were blocked in 15 minute timeslots, but the lineup was gradually impaired by artist withdrawals that I'll address as Ryan mentioned them. The opening act on Wednesday was new jazz fusion sextet FusionCore, made up of current Sault Area High School students. Despite being the biggest band on the bill, they had the shortest set, playing for only 7 minutes! I'm not sure if this was due to their inexperience and/or the late 7:06 PM start time, but they didn't have any clear song breaks either, and no real crowd banter, Still, the kids were dressed to impress and have a promising ska-heavy sound that you certainly don't get much of in the EUP! I couldn't easily make out the singer's voice, but Byron Hockersmith made for a good effect by leaving stage and coming back with a trumpet of his own to play. They do need to work on their stage presence, but FusionCore are off to a good start! 

The first of three solo competitors was next, namely local singer/guitarist Danielle "Dee" Homminga, a rising local musician and performance artist who also appeared in Yooper Frankenstein. Despite FusionCore's short set, Dee didn't begin performing until 7:22 PM due to technical difficulties, but she still had a longer set featuring three covers, including of Dolly Parton and Cage The Elephant songs. Dee's guitar work wasn't perfect but she has a nice voice and she had a natural rapport with the audience, and she has a bright future of her own ahead! The third performer on Wednesday was supposed to be local indie rock singer/guitarist Adam Alford, but he no-showed the battle (unlike with Sonic Dazye's withdrawal in 2024, Adam's absence was announced to the live audience). Adam clarified on his personal Facebook page that he caught a cold, and you know how that can affect a singing voice, but check his original music out on streaming!

The opening half of the battle concluded with new local classic rock/country act Whiskey Red, featuring singer Holly Sibbald (ex-Small Town Society) and guitarist Jason Lamoreaux (ex-Full Throttle) joined here by bassist Mark Blackwood. Possibly because of Adam dropping out, they got a longer four song set, including covers of songs by Zach Bryan and The Devil Makes Three, plus a closing original about drug addiction. I wasn't familiar with Whiskey Red, but I did find that country rock covers suited Holly better than what we heard at the 2024 battle, and Jason's shared lead vocals on "Something In The Orange" were well implemented, as was strong fan interaction. I'm not a country guy, but they delivered well! After a 15 minute intermission, the battle resumed with Dynamix, and while initial promotion didn't say they were one & the same, we can now confirm that they are the renamed evolution of reigning champs The Dynamic Duo.

The band confirmed this on their Facebook page, and as such, ex-Absolute bassist Bill Spence and drummer Dan Jackson have joined Danielle Petingalo and Ben Huyck in this mixed genre cover quartet. Set times definitely appeared to be growing as the night went on, as Dynamix played five songs, including covers of Gretchen Wilson, Halsey, Alannah Myles (always a trip seeing an EUP band covering Cancon), and The Cranberries. I wasn't at last year's battle, and Bill & Dan only joined this band a month ago, but Dynamix came in with the fullest presentation as an established band here, covering a diverse array of music with energy and enthusiasm, and you wouldn't have guessed that this foursome only united as a full band recently! The next set belonged to veteran local folk musician Kevin Blakeney, who is one of just two performers to have competed in all three four LSSU battles of the bands to date.

The slow growth of set lengths continued, as Kevin played six songs, including a Blue Stones cover and his originals "Gone Are The Days", "Babe", "Thank God For The TV", and "The Burning". You did get a sense of Kevin's discontent with the state of the world in some of his lyrics, but he performed well with his requisite grit and determination, and the crowd got into it, with a surprising amount of impromptu clapping! Good stuff for fans of acoustic singer/songwriters, and if he played shows in Sault Ontario, he'd find a strong audience here too (granted, every performer here would!) The penultimate band was supposed to be returning local rap duo Tunngtyed, but they dropped out on short notice due to an unspecified emergency. Hopefully all is well with The Baztad and G-Blunt, though I wonder if their and Adam's withdrawals helped explain why set times got progressively longer as the night wore on?

After all, they had two hours to fill, though it does work out that the band order put all returning acts after the intermission, so they benefited from any timeslot extensions (if so, I feel really bad for FusionCore!). We did have one more change to the performers though, as About:Blank drummer Kade DesArmo was called into work late on Wednesday and was unable to compete. Luckily, frontman Parker Talentino is also a solo musician who competed as such here in 2024, so he reverted to acoustic singer/songwriter mode as a result. Note that Parker is the other performer to play at every LSSU Battle, having played with Tarnished in 2023 and with About:Blank last year. While Ryan did invoke the About:Blank name still for introductions, this was a Parker solo set otherwise, and he played eight songs, including originals like "Given What I Got", "When I Fall", and "Already Been Said", plus a Green Day cover.

Another entertaining set for fans of acoustic alt-rock, and Parker had good candor and explanations of his music, with some enthusiastic fan input at points! I do prefer the heavier About:Blank, but Parker's solo music has seemed to take a back seat to his band, so it was a nice change of pace to dip back into that well! While judges deliberated and tallied their scores, Ryan plugged upcoming Arts Center events and interviewed some of the performers. All sixteen performers on Wednesday were on stage for the announcements of the winners, and taking home the $1,000 first place prize were.... Dynamix! Make it two straight battle victories for this band regardless of name, which is a huge feather in Danielle & Ben's caps in particular, and it will be interesting to see where Dynamix go locally in the near future! Whiskey Red claimed the $500 second place prize.

Even without Kade present, Parker claimed the $250 third place prize, giving him two podium finishes at local battles in a row (About:Blank won $500 for finishing third at the Superior Whitefish Festival Battle of the Bands in Brimley in July). Congratulations to all of the prize winning artists! In spite of the late artist withdrawals and the slow increase in set time lengths, this was a fun evening of EUP talent, but I've really gotta get across for a Sault Michigan show that isn't a battle of the bands! Hopefully this event returns next fall, even if it stays on a Wednesday (the first three were Thursday nighters), and there's so much talent in Northern Michigan that deserve to get the spotlight, especially from Canadian readers. You can check out our photos from the battle at this link or via our Facebook page, limited to 5 apiece because I didn't realize that FusionCore were playing an abbreviated set and I needed to film something.

As for my videos, here's FusionCore playing the end of their un-introduced last (only?) song, Dee Homminga covering Fleetwood Mac's "Dreams", Whiskey Red covering Sam The Sham & The Pharaohs' "Li'l Red Riding Hood" (with healthy audience involvement), Dynamix covering Audioslave's "Like A Stone", Kevin Blakeney playing his original "Remember Palestine", and Parker Talentino playing his own "Running From The Day"!

That's all for now, but stay tuned for more news and features on the SMS as we wind down October next week! Thanks everyone!