LOCAL CONCERT ALERT (Violet Scum), The Room 206/Inner City Surfers Concert Preview, And More!!

The news keeps on rolling, so let's get to a few assorted topics today along with the last (but not least) of this weekend's hard rock/punk concert previews, but first, here's a LOCAL CONCERT ALERT for readers in Sault Michigan and the E.U.P. next month!

Muskegon "weirdo punk" trio Violet Scum and new local punk trio About:Blank will join forces for a multi-band concert at Pickles Bar & Grill in nearby Brimley on Saturday, May 3rd! Announced yesterday via About:Blank frontman Parker Talentino's solo Facebook page, this is the latest event from local promoters Serious Business, whose last concert in February (also at Pickles) was About:Blank's live debut, albeit on an all-local bill. Good to see Parker, Nathan, and Kade back at it, and if you missed them at last month's Shamrock Show, why not drive out to Brimley next month? Violet Scum's mixed-genre lineup delivers a nice grunge-laden sound that will appeal to punk and alt-rock fans, and it will be neat to see them play up here for the first time next month! Grand Rapids experimental/synth project Dick Texas (who have played at two prior Serious Business shows, including at Pickles in November) are your headliners on May 3rd.

The show will be opened (in a mild surprise) by Sault Ontario outsider folk musician Shae Tull, marking a very rare instance of an a non-Touch Of Class artist from this side of the border playing in the E.U.P.. Who knows what the tariffs and trade war may mean for the idea of Shae playing a show across the river, but hopefully things go well, and that this is the start of more cross-border bookings from Serious Business! This 18+ show (presumably in the basement of Pickles once again) has a $10 cover charge, and doors open at 8:00 PM. Nice diverse mix of styles here, and it's good to see more original multi-band shows in Chippewa County, so see above for more details!

Next up, let's wrap up this weekend's concert previews with the arguable main event for Sault Ontario punk fans, as 1990s punk band Room 206 and 2000s punk standouts The Inner City Surfers will join forces for a reunion concert at Soo Blaster TONIGHT!  As you may recall, The Surfers last reunited in November 2023 as a fundraiser stag & doe for drummer Mikey Hawdon's then-upcoming wedding, and similarly, tonight's event will be another stag & doe, this time for the impending nuptials of Room 206/Bookclub drummer Allan Watson and his fiancee Audrey. Congratulations to the happy couple, and a public concert featuring some big band reunions is one hell of a way to celebrate! Inner City Surfers reunions are always big deals for local punk fans, but Room 206 haven't played a (known) public concert since the 2021 vinyl re-release of "2 Innies & An Outie", let alone for over a decade prior, so don't miss this one!

No word on the exact lineup for Room 206 beyond Allan, but he was joined by Mike Yorke and Surfers bassist Brad "Example" Lacell" on the album, and Brad's fellow Surfers bandmate Dave Bahun was also once in Room 206. Local alternative/punk cover sextet Bookclub (featuring Allan, Mikey, and Surfers frontman Dustin Jones) will open the proceedings, as they did in 2023, so there will be lots of familiar faces rocking out, especially given the size of Soo Blaster! Tickets run for $25 in advance through the performers, with the price jumping to $30 at the door. This is an ALL AGES concert, and Bookclub leads off at 9:00 PM sharp. This should be a huge night for local punk fans, let alone friends and family of Allan & Audrey, and given the decades since we last saw Room 206 and Brad not living in town anymore, who knows when we'll see them or The Surfers on stage again! Visit the official Facebook event page for more details, and here's The Surfers live!

Finally for today, here's three assorted shorter news items from the last little while, and as usual, these are in alphabetical order by artist or station name:

 

• There's a new on-air DJ/host on Classic Rock Sundays on 104.3 The Fox (and Rogers Radio's other rock stations carrying that format), as Adele Newton is now on air from 2:00-5:00 PM, as introduced here. This cuts into the prior 12:00-4:00 and 4:00-8:00 PM timeslots held by "Big" Kris Bawden and Lew MacDonald, but I need to listen to Classic Rock Sundays more fully to capture that day's current DJ rotation. Unlike other DJs and hosts on The Fox, Adele doesn't come from another market's rock station, rather Kitchener adult contemporary station CHYM 96.7. Tune in on Sunday to hear how Adele is doing on the former Q104!
• New local industrial metal solo act The Realignment Project revealed on their Facebook page on April 3rd that they are already mixing their second EP, and even shared the track listing for it via a photo of the songs written on a sheet of paper. The EP will be called "The Frustration Sessions" (no relation), and project leader Matt Hicks had earlier noted that he "never stopped writing while I was finishing "Afterthought", which is their debut EP from February. You can sample some of the at-home recording sessions in this Facebook "Reel" featuring heavy riffs and a keyboard line. Hopefully we hear more from T.R.P. soon, and it's good to see Matt keeping busy!
• In their newest video on their Facebook page (sadly also a "Reel"), local classic/hard rock cover quartet Silent 9 are seen covering Nickelback's "Rockstar" at The Esquire Club last month, and they were joined on stage for said cover by Fort Creek frontman Justin Grayson! I'm not a Nickelback fan, the blue lighting can overpower the view, and Justin's vocals are somewhat buried behind Jess' vocals, but this is well performed while the "Reel" lasts, so check it out above! Remember, "Reels" can't be embedded on external websites like this, nor played in background tabs, and are in permanently vertical dimensions.

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

LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (Dodge This & Generations) And More Weekend Concert Previews!!

As promised, let's continue this weekend's hard rock concert previews today, which focuses on covers-leaning acts in the Twin Saults, including LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS, some on SHORT NOTICE. Here's what up you should know as this busy weekend continues, and Saturday's Inner City Surfers/Room 206 reunion concert preview is up in our next post!

Local classic/hard rock cover quartet Generations will return to The Water Tower Pub for one night only THIS SATURDAY NIGHT! Apologies for the short notice, the band only announced this show on their Facebook group on Tuesday (and no, it wasn't an April Fools joke). Last seen at Reggie's this past Saturday, this will be Valerie, the Tonys, and Pierre's first stop at the Great Northern Road nightclub since the end of February. Should be a good time for fans and patrons alike as Generations unleash another night of classic and hard rock cover favourites, so don't miss out on SATURDAY! Remember, The Water Tower Pub doesn't host the same band on both nights on a given weekend, and I don't immediately know who's playing there tomorrow. SATURDAY'S concert has an 8:00 PM start time, 19+ age limit, and no cover charge. Visit the above links for more details, and for a preview, here's Generations live!

Next up, local classic/hard rock cover duo Dodge This will return to The Dive Gastro Pub for concerts THIS SATURDAY NIGHT and then on Saturday, April 26th! Again, apologies for the short notice on THIS SATURDAY's show, it was only announced via The Dive's April concert calendar on their Facebook page earlier this week (the band has not promoted either of their Dive shows this month on social media at press time). Fans may have seen Jason & Jamie at The Water Tower Pub last week, while SATURDAY's show will be their first at the former Low & Slow in about a month. Hopefully a strong crowd turns up at The Dive as Dodge This return to "The Naughty Corner" for these April-bookending Saturday nighters! Note that singer/guitarist Jason Taillefer is also playing a solo date at The Dive on (Think It Over) Thursday, April 17th, but I don't know if his solo sets diverge much from Dodge This.

You can see Dodge This on SATURDAY and three weeks later at 9:30 PM with 19+ age limits and no cover charges as usual. Visit the above links for more on Dodge This' latest dive into The Dive, and here they are in concert!

Now let's head to Sault Michigan, where Traverse City metal trio Scarkazm will return to The Rapids Lounge at the local Kewadin Casino TOMORROW & SATURDAY NIGHT! Yooper fans just saw Adam, Dave, and Jeff rocking The Rapids Lounge two months ago, so a quick return will be welcomed by fans of their hard hitting originals and covers, so if you like some classic flavoured metal and hard rock tunes, you won't want to miss these touring favourites back at the Soo Kewadin this weekend! We await confirmation of Scarkazm's return to the E.U.P. after this weekend, we'll keep you posted when something is announced, let alone for their sister band Peril. Tomorrow & Saturday's concerts have no announced cover charges and 9:00 PM start times, and you must be 21 or older to attend. Visit the official Facebook event pages linked here & here for more details, and for a preview, here's Scarkazm live in concert last year!

Finally for weekend concert preview post #2, we'll head back to Sault Ontario, where local classic/hard rock cover musician Tym Morrison will return to Misty's Fifties for another acoustic matinee concert on SATURDAY! This is the seventh matinee gig that Tym will have played at the Second Line West nightclub in 2025 so far, and the continuation of his recent trend of playing twice a month at Misty's (like with Dodge This, he is bookending the month's Saturdays here). Tym's proficient talents and packed setlist should prove to be a solid soundtrack for rock fans in the west end on Saturday, so don't miss out if you want some earlier live music that day! Tym hits the stage at 4:00 PM with a 19+ age limit and no cover charge as usual. Visit the official Facebook event page for more details on Tym's Misty's return on Saturday, and for a preview, here he is live!

That's all for now, but stay tuned for our Room 206/Inner City Surfers preview and more on the site next! Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (Tarnished, Double Down, And Curtis McKenzie), Plus Related Updates!!

A busy concert weekend is upon us, so we'll have to break up this weekend's hard rock/punk previews into two posts once again. As such, look for our previews of this weekend's Scarkazm, Tym Morrison, Generations, and Dodge This shows next, with Saturday's Room 206/Inner City Surfers concert rounding things out in a separate news post (possible late notice shows that I don't know about yet acknowledged). Stay tuned, but let's lead off with LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS, all involving SHORT NOTICE ones for the next couple of nights, and in one case, shows well beyond, plus some other updates from two of the bands in question!

Former Eclipse/Project 421 frontman Curtis McKenzie will return to The Dive Gastro Pub for another "Think It Over Thursday" acoustic concert TONIGHT! Apologies for the short notice, Curt only announced this show via his Facebook page on Saturday, with The Dive's Facebook page only following suit yesterday via this concert calendar for the month. Fans of Curtis' hard and alternative rock covers last saw him at the former Low & Slow two weeks ago, and hopefully his return to "The Naughty Corner" will go smoothly TONIGHT, so keep things in mind then for both his music as well as The Dive's atmosphere! We'll touch on Dodge This' shows at The Dive this month in tomorrow's post. Curt's on TONIGHT at 9:30 PM with no cover and a 19+ age limit. Visit the above links for more details, and here he is live!

Next up, Sault Michigan hard rock/classic metal quartet Tarnished will return to The Merchants Bar for one night only TOMORROW NIGHT! Again, apologies for the short notice, the band only announced this show via its Facebook event page on Sunday, and The Merch rarely promotes concerts on social media. Last seen in Manistique three weeks ago, TOMORROW'S show will be Tarnished's first truly local date since playing at the St. Ignace Kewadin Casino in early March, and will be their first in the Soo proper since rocking The Merch in January (three planned interim dates in the city were called off since). And notice above that I said "quartet", as Tarnished has finally confirmed via this official photo on the Facebook event page that Rhythm & Brews bandmates Chris Leask and Ron Suchey have indeed joined Tarnished as official, full-time band members, replacing the already departed Parker Talentino on bass and current guitarist Josh Fair on drums respectively.

Chris & Ron have been playing with Tarnished on the regular since August (albeit not at the LSSU Battle of the Bands), and had guested at a few prior 2024 dates when Josh was beginning his exodus from the drumkit, with Parker moving to rhythm guitar in such gigs before he left. Nice to finally get solid public online word that Chris & Ron aren't just session players, and while there is an age gap, their talents and chemistry are well known! You can see Tarnished rock The Merch TOMORROW at 9:00 PM with a 21+ age limit and no cover. See above for more details, and here's Tarnished live!

Finally for now, let's head back to Sault Ontario, where local classic/hard rock cover quartet Double Down have announced shows for TOMORROW & SATURDAY NIGHT at Jay's Piston Broke Pub! Apologies again for the short notice, the band only announced these shows via their Facebook event page this past Friday. These will be Double Down's second and third shows with new bassist Dan Beaupre, following his debut at Jay's on Friday, March 7th (he missed the next day's gig due to being double booked with his other band The Sidekicks), so if you want to see what he brings to the table alongside the Syrettes and Ric, then TOMORROW & SATURDAY are your next chances! Beyond this weekend, Double Down have also announced a series of upcoming dates through the fall at two locations, including returns to Jay's on May 23rd-24th, June 6th-7th, and September 12th-13th, so click here for each booking's individual Facebook event page!

Elsewhere, the new Double Down lineup will debut at The Water Tower Pub for Friday nighters on May 2nd and June 27th, so if you want to enjoy some entertaining classic and hard rock favourites, you know where to go then! The September date there will be held for a later SMS post due to the distance and to not glut our concert listings with the same band in a clump at the end (also, are they taking July-August off?) The Jay's shows (TOMORROW & SATURDAY included) are at 9:30 PM, the Water Tower Pub shows start at 8:00 PM, and all are 19+ affairs with no announced cover charges. See above for more details, and for a preview, here's a brand new video from Double Down's Facebook page! Uploaded on Sunday, this sees the guys covering A Flock Of Seagulls' "I Ran (So Far Away)" in Dan's debut gig at Jay's last month.

Drummer Ric Datson sings lead on this cover, which is filmed across two cameras angled towards the stage, one pointing at the band from the right and one focused on Ric from the left. Mixed lighting, and Ric's tone of voice does need some adjusting here, but it's a well played tune, one of 15 new covers that the band learned with Dan as of March 30th, so it'll be interesting to hear more of them! Check it out for yourself below, and don't miss Double Down back at Jay's TOMORROW & SATURDAY!

That's all for now, but stay tuned for more weekend concert previews on the site by tomorrow morning! Thanks everyone!

Where Are The New Albums? April 2025 Update

It's now time for this month's "Where Are The New Albums?" post! This monthly feature series lets us once again look at the currently public information on upcoming Sault Ontario metal, hard rock, and punk albums, CDs, and/or EPs from local musicians, in order to spotlight where they are at last word and when we might see them go on sale. This month's installment has one removed album due to its release last week (Fuller's "II"), but a newly announced hard rock album has kept the numbers steady! Three of this month's seven entries have updated information, as noted with their titles in italics. So, where are the new albums? Read on below to hopefully find out!

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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 on September 1st 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 on September 9th that a release date for EP #1 would be announced "in the upcoming weeks", a timeline not realized as of this writing. It'll be interesting to see how fast things come along for Bullet Train, so keep tabs on their Facebook page 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 this 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 past 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 - Gemini

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 have been posted on their Facebook page and their YouTube channel since May, with guitarist Brendan Christie revealing the names of five songs in a recent Facebook conversation, one named after the band's prior name Kraken Mara, though a new or renamed song named "You Are Not Flesh" was posted an advance single on Bandcamp in September. New drummer David Peredun will make his studio debut here. The band has spent most February hyping a crowdfunding campaign for a planned tour, though "Gemini" is not overtly tied to its marketing. Convergence have been working in studio recently with producer Dustin Goodall at Unsalted Audio, documenting the sessions in Facebook "Reels", while teasing the involvement of a singer named Steve, but it's not clear if this is all for "Gemini" or something else.

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 "Gemini" 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"

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 June 2022-August 2023, and were working in studio throughout 2023, revealing that "it's coming along" in a Facebook post that March, and teasing new recording sessions following earlier "learning experiences" there that May. 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 year. 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.

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 4+ 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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Handsome Sandwich's first EP

Rumoured Songs: "Without You", "Partyfuel", "Change A Bit", "No Idea", "All Done Now"

Background: Before even releasing their full-length debut album "Deconstructed" in May 2023, local alternative/hard rock quintet Handsome Sandwich revealed that not all of their existing originals would be on that album, with plans to instead release them and some brand new songs on a forthcoming EP. In September of that year, they began recording this EP (which will reportedly have seven songs) at the Algoma Conservatory of Music, with bass & drum tracks completes that month, and then-guitarist Mitch Sirie was finishing his parts as of that December, with vocals still to go. At least five of the seven songs have had their names revealed in concert setlists. After only contributing to the packaging on "Deconstructed", bassist Rafael Medina will perform on this EP, and a "Reel" of him recording an unidentified song in studio was posted to the band's Facebook page. It's not clear if new guitarist Brandon Ruch will be involved on the EP in some fashion or not, but Wyld Stallyns saxophonist Josh Norling may appear again, as he guested with them to play "Partyfuel" at August's Northern Vibe Festival.

Current Release Status: To be determined, and while they're not recording this EP at the same place as "Deconstructed", note that the sessions for that album at Unsalted Audio wrapped up four months before the album release. An article about the band from The Sault Star in June noted that the seven new songs "will likely be released as singles", but whether this points to a change of release plans or is just an acknowledgement that they have seven individual singles to put out, I don't know. It will be interesting to see how things progress in the coming months!

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Headfirst - "Road Trippin'"

Rumoured Songs: Unknown

Background: Three months after releasing their debut EP "Head Trauma" in July of last year, local hard rock quintet HeadFirst revealed on their Facebook page that they would be "stepping away from the live scene temporarily (in February and March) to continue to develop our music and projects", with unreleased new originals being played at concerts over the winter. While they would play shows in February & March anyway, they continued teasing their "next project" on social media, and said project was revealed last month as their first full-length album "Road Trippin'", which was produced by Treble Charger guitarist Bill Priddle and the aforementioned Dustin Goodall. The album will have nine songs, though aside from live performances, none have been teased in advance yet online.

Current Release Status: "Road Trippin'" is slated to be released on Saturday, May 3rd when HeadFirst headline this year's Steel City CollectorCon's pre-party at Soo Blaster, but the band hasn't revealed details on pricing, format, or the cover artwork yet (unless the poster and ticket design is a hint). It's good to see HeadFirst acting fast to get their sophomore effort out, and hopefully this album is a strong step forward musically and professionally! Stay tuned for more on "Road Trippin'" in the month ahead!

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Spades GT's second full-length album

Rumoured Songs: "United"

Background: Long teasing plans to record their next album this year, local/Barrie crossover thrash band Spades GT did indeed begin recording sessions for their follow-up to 2023's "Sewer City Radio" on February 17th at Room 21 in Toronto with producer Kyle Marchant once again. Their fourth release total dating back to their original all-local run as Jack Spades, this will be Spades GT's first album with new second guitarist Matthew Voros. Teaser videos on their Facebook page included guitarist Daniel Horton tracking bass on at least one of the planned eight songs (the sessions took place after James Roy Daley's departure but a few weeks before Sean MacNab replaced him) and ex-guitarist Jay Sarrazin returning as a guest musician, while the video from the vocal sessions seemed to suggest that one song will be named "United" or "We Are United". The final sessions on February 22nd reportedly featured guest appearances and gang vocals, but teaser videos from that day were not shared online, so we don't know who else will pop up yet.

Current Release Status: The caption for the band's recap video/"Reel" for their most recent Toronto concert from last month indicates that the album will be released in July, though they have not put this in writing on social media since. If that month holds, it'll be a longer timeframe to see this album compared to "Sewer City Radio" (which came out three months after sessions wrapped), but good art takes time. There are many variables, and of course, the band now being based in Southern Ontario has its own plusses. In general, Spades are pretty open about their upcoming plans, so stay tuned in the coming months as they continue the promotion for the new album!

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I hope you guys liked this month's "Where Are The New Albums?" post! This series will return on or around May 2nd, while our next monthly feature post will likely be this month's Defunct Local Band Profile scheduled for one week from tomorrow. That's all for today, but stay tuned for this weekend's concert previews next! Thanks everyone!

Updates On New & Upcoming Local Albums, Plus Two Concert Cancellations!

Before we dive into this post, I wanted to note two concert cancellations/postponements, one that we missed on here and one that is still ahead. First, local classic/hard rock cover quartet Generations cancelled their Friday nighter at Reggie's Place last week due to that night's ice storm, as per drummer Tony Santoro on their Facebook group at 10:55 PM on Friday, when the show would have been in progress. I hadn't heard of other bands on Friday that called off that night's show, though Generations were back as scheduled on Saturday night. Seeing as the announcement came that late, I obviously couldn't mention it in a post prior, but apologies anyway, and hopefully things went well for Generations at Reggie's on Saturday! The other postponement is actually for this Saturday's planned Dressed To Kiss concert at The Sault Community Theatre Centre.

The news broke on Rock 101's Concert Track segments on air, and promoters Miles Management confirmed in this Facebook comment reply that it will now take place on Saturday, August 9th, pushing the D.T.K. show back exactly 19 weeks. Miles Management cited "unforeseen circumstances" for the rescheduling (source here), and while an updated ticket link from the S.C.T.C. is not out yet, tickets bought for this Saturday will still be honoured. Disappointing for fans of Kiss that this talented tribute band had to delay their local debut, but hopefully the summer season date will work out!

Today's post otherwise looks are information on an upcoming album, and leading off, here's some details in a regular post on reunited local midwest emo/psych rock trio Fuller's new studio album "II"! I touched on everything in our review yesterday, but I try to actually mention unspoken details from prior news posts in a new news post too, in case readers don't check the album review first. "Fuller II" is available to buy on Bandcamp for $7 or on iTunes for $9.99, and you can stream it on Bandcamp, Apple Music, Spotify, YouTube, Amazon Music, and the Africa-geared Boomplay (at press time, there are no physical pressings of the album, though bassist Mark Rand had floated the idea in the pre-release promotion). "II" was released through the Advance Records imprint, and with one exception, is almost entirely made up of songs from the band's late-era run in the mid-2000s.

The album closer "Six" is a re-recording of the untitled sixth song from their 2002 EP (which had no song titles at all), and retains songwriting credits for ex-members James Kersley and Dan Fagan. Mid-2000s drummer Nathan Sauve is similarly credited as a co-writer on everything else. The songs on offer are presented in the exact order that they were played at Fuller's reunion concert at LopLops Lounge in December 2023, with the exception that their covers of American Football and Moneen songs that night were replaced by two short filler tracks named "A" and "B", one being an acoustic ballad and the other being a dark instrumental. Emo isn't my first love in terms of rock genres, but "II" is a solid album that fully realizes the Mark/Nathan era of Fuller, so definitely buy or stream it at the above links, and hopefully a proper release party happens when Mark is back home next! Here's the opener "Batteries From Old Flashlights" from YouTube!

We'll close by heading over to Sault Michigan, where local metal solo project X's & Y's announced on March 14th that they are releasing their second studio album later this year! To be entitled "Ruination Coactive", project leader Jason Mills revealed on their Facebook page that he "nearly finished both albums at the same time, but (he) needed to focus on one", that being last fall's debut album "The Obsidian Dream". Jason noted that he wrote the new album immediately after the previous during the pandemic lockdown in 2020, and he plans to release "Ruination Coactive" on streaming services and on CD once again. The cover artwork (reminiscent of old Konami games for the NES) was also shared, as was the eight song track listing. Is the fourth track "The Gemini Machine" a hint towards a late May-early June release, and/or a reference to this being album #2? We'll keep you posted!

No public word yet on how these songs will compare to what Jason put out last fall, but "The Obsidian Dream" had a bunch of guest performers, was recorded at Scholomance Studios in Brimley, and was entirely instrumental. We'll be six months past X's & Y's' album review last fall this month, so a review of "Ruination Coactive" will hit the SMS very shortly after it is released, so stay tuned for more from X's & Y's in the near future, and look for this month's "Where Are The New Albums?" post next! Thanks everyone!

Fuller - "II" Album Review!!

It's now time for our 189th monthly CD review at The Sault Metal Scene, and this month's album is two decades in the making for their fans, namely reunited local midwest emo/post-hardcore trio Fuller's sophomore album "II"! The long awaited follow-up to their 2002 self-titled EP (which has not yet been reviewed on the SMS), "Fuller II" was recorded last year at Unsalted Audio with producer Dustin Goodall and at Mark's own Bandage A/V, before being mixed by Greg Dawson at BWC Studios in Kingston. The album was independently released to major streaming services on Friday via the Advance Records imprint. While the band had asked fans about interest for putting it out on physical formats, it is currently a digital exclusive. Fuller are represented here by founding singer/guitarist Jamie Vincent (of AlgomA and Bad Back fame) alongside mid-2000s bassist Mark Rand (now of Peterborough's Cross Dog), while Convergence drummer David Peredun takes over for Nathan Sauve behind the drumkit.

Dustin (who is also producing Convergence's newest studio material) guests on "additional instrumentation" on the album, while original Fuller drummer James Kersley provides guest vocals on "Six". You can buy "II" on Bandcamp for $7 or on iTunes for $9.99, and it is streamable for free on Bandcamp, Apple Music, Spotify, YouTube, Amazon Music, and yes, even Boomplay, though consider buying the mp3 copies to fully support Fuller's work! Just to clarify the album's makeup, the songs on offer are almost all unrecorded originals from their late-period run in the mid-2000s, and they are presented here in the order they were performed at their December 2023 reunion concert at LopLops Lounge, aside from the two covers being replaced by short filler songs in the same spots. Nathan retains a songwriting credit alongside Jamie & Mark on all songs but "Six", which was written by Jamie, James, and former guitarist Dan Fagan for their 2002 EP. With 10 songs running for about 42 minutes, let's begin this review with its first song!

"II" opens up with "Batteries From Old Flashlights", which is an upbeat and melodic song that midwest emo fans should take to! Jamie's vocals are an adjustment from his later heavier band work (granted, not so if you were a Fuller diehard in the 2000s), but his tone fits this song well, and he and Mark pair well musically! David's a considerable talent on drums, so he was a good acquisition if they couldn't bring Nathan back, and the percussion has a nice variance! I don't find that the closing instrumental was the ideal capper to the song, especially after the false ending, but it's a solid opener! Next up is "And I End", which was the album's first advance single, which is a slower and more deliberate number that reminds me more of some of the more mainstream emo bands of this era, but with a rawer indie rock edge and a lively punk spirit. Not my favourite style of the punk/rock subgenres but it gets the job done well for emo and alternative fans!

The melodies and strong lyrics are there, and while I prefer heavier than this, I see how this song was a good choice for a first single! I should also note that this song ends with what sounds like a cassette tape or 8 track player being stopped and fast forwarded, and the opener began similarly, so we'll have to see if that recurs. The third song on offer is "I Will Crush You", which has a jaunty instrumental opening for the first 68 seconds or so, before the song proper really kicks into high gear. It sounds like Mark singing lead on this song, and his gruffer, punkier vocals actually are a good contrast to the song itself, which remains light and upbeat. The song doesn't work as well for me when there aren't vocals, and as there are only lyrics present for 2 minutes of this 5+ minute song, so I'd have edited it down to accentuate the balance of styles. Well performed with good guitar even still!

Fourth on the album is the first filler song (replacing their cover of American Football's "Honestly?" from the reunion concert). Entitled "A", this album-low 52 seconds-long track again has the tape playback effect, and is an acoustic number, full title possibly "A Picture Is Worth A Million Words". Very raw and intimate, perhaps a little too lo-fi for my liking against the surrounding songs, but your mileage may vary! I'd rather it have been fleshed out more with the full band and longer runtime. That's followed by "Image In My Sight". This song has more of a pop punk spirit to it, but still played mid-tempo and with am emphasis on Jamie's vocals, which have good passion and intent to go along with the lyrical themes. The choruses are amped up in heaviness a bit, and this is another song where David shines on drums!

Not a bad number that plays to their strengths as a band, so it's an early highlight! Before songs get (mostly) longer, the album's first half concludes with "Love Is Always Better When You're Dreaming", which has long been familiar to fans via this classic Oddfellows Hall video. Another light rocker that emo fans will be at home with, this song never really jumps off the track it begins on until the last 30 seconds for me, so it kinda coasts despite good intentions and lyrics. Again, Mark's vocals (in the final chorus) contrast well with the light emo stylings, and I'd have included him more on the mic! In place of their cover of Moneen's "The Passing Of America" from the reunion gig, song #7 is the other filler track, entitled "B". Nothing to do with Newgrounds or StrawberryClock here, this is an 89 seconds-long instrumental with a very quaint, kinda eerie sound like you're paddling on an endless sea.

Closing again with tape deck controls, this works better as a composition for me than "A" does, and while a tonal shift from the proper songs, it sets an isolated mood that stands on its own! The album closes with its three longest songs with steadily increasing runtimes, with track #8 being "Can You Die From Embarrassment?". After a near 2-minute long intro, this song proper really is the softest yet of anything other than "A" & "B", but Jamie (and Dustin?) unleash some spacey guitar to bridge verses, which is a neat change of pace, and the song picks up in liveliness with a fuller (no pun intended) sound in the final minute, with everyone getting into rocking territory to send the song out on a high. Good ideas and creativity here, but when it was just a gentle, emotional song, it dragged a bit before they started shaking things up, but for pure composition skill, there's something here!

The penultimate song is also the second advance single release, namely "Kerosene", which was a later song wrote by Fuller that was taking them away from midwest emo and towards post-hardcore and psych rock. On this number, Jamie and Mark split vocal duties while playing lively if laid back instrumentation that will definitely please emo and indie rock fans, but the almost two minute-long bridge was overkill to me. It's not a bad song for genre fans, if not quite as post-hardcore influenced as I assumed, but it could stand to be edited down, and I wouldn't have had the song segue directly into the closer, especially with how abruptly "Kerosene" ended at 6:27 before shifting gears into what became the final song, "Six". This is actually a re-recording of the untitled sixth song from Fuller's 2002 EP (which had no song titles), hence why James returned on guest backing vocals. If you've heard the original, the 2025 revision is an improvement all around!

Running for almost two extra minutes (counting the ending transition in "Kerosene"), the instruments are louder, more intense, and more dynamic on this version, which leans more into midwest emo but with trancelike qualities and more of a stream of consciousness structure with plainly sung vocals. David's drumming really helps the energy level, and while the extended jam nature of the song will be an acquired taste for some, they do spice it up with a slowly escalating rock base and good weather-influenced sound effects and a siren. Plus, while much longer than 2002's version of this song, the ending is way less drawn out. Definitely better than the first take, and I'd be curious to see Jamie, Mark, and David tackle the other five songs from 2002!

So, what are my final thoughts on Fuller's long awaited sophomore release? While I'm not a diehard emo fan (though I have softened on the genre since my high school years), I can definitely appreciate Fuller's talent and musical growth here! Recording and releasing this now aside, the songs on "Fuller II" are more energetic, rock-based, and dynamic than what Jamie and crew released in 2002, and while hardly a screamo record, you can see where the guys were leaning towards going had they lasted into 2006 and beyond. Jamie was an ideal frontman for the music on offer, but Mark's vocals (when utilized) really contrasted well with the music being played, and both had strong musical talents on display on guitar and bass! David's technical drumming and rhythms were a great fit here, and while I don't know how involved Dustin was for the additional instrumentation, his production definitely amped up these songs in ways that classic Fuller fans will enjoy!

"Batteries From Old Flashlights", "Image In My Sight", and "Six" were probably my favouite of the full songs, while I did appreciate what "B" was going for! In terms of drawbacks, some songs had too long of instrumental bridge sections, "A" would have been better served as a full song, I'd have completely separated "Kerosene" from "Six", and I'd like to have heard more of Mark's vocals. Anything else would be nitpicking given my own musical preferences, let alone the angrier, more in-your-face music that Jamie and Mark got up to in the 2010s and beyond, but this is a quality reunion album that answers questions that old school fans had about Fuller's unreleased original material from the Mark era, and it'd be awesome to see other contemporary local bands from the early-mid 2000s do the same! Hopefully a proper release concert happens when Mark is home again in the near future, but I hope you guys liked this month's CD review!

Next month's reviewed album is not clear yet, but it will not be of Fuller's debut EP or anything unreviewed by Sykotyk Rampage or Agnosticism due to our six month anti-bias buffer period between reviews of the same band. If we have to dip into the archives for a spell before reviewing HeadFirst's new album in May, likely candidates would be albums relating to performers at this Saturday's Inner City Surfers/Room 206 reunion concert. Possibly "Junk In The Trunk" or "Whiskey Will Be Our Sun"? Stay tuned as April progresses, and look for more news and notes soon! Thanks everyone!

YouTube Channel Profile Series: Vanity First - Topic

It's now time for this month's YouTube Channel profiles, now that our most recent weekend concert previews are wrapped up! This monthly feature post looks at a randomly selected YouTube channel whose content is at least half devoted to local metal, hard rock, or punk musicians/concerts, in order to spotlight it and its content for current readers! This month gives us a dormant but familiar local punk band's offerings on major streaming services like YouTube (Music), so here's what you should know on it!

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Vanity First - Topic (http://youtube.com/channel/UCpYvTCkSYOmy61FJuDJ2x2g)

Owner: If anyone, an unidentified member of local punk band Vanity First, though the channel is auto-generated to facilitate the band's catalogue being available on YouTube Music

Channel Timeline: Launched on March 15th, 2022; Videos uploaded from that day until April 2024

Channel Summary: The official YouTube Music channel for Vanity First, it features their 2024 studio album "Identity Crisis", two pre-release single uploads from the same album, and "single versions" of two other songs later included on that album.

Why You Should Watch: If you enjoy Vanity First's studio material, this channel will be well worth your time, though of course, these songs are also on other major streaming services if you'd rather hear "Identity Crisis" somewhere else. While comprehensive for their post-name change material, their February 2022 self-titled demo "Vanity" was not re-uploaded to YouTube Music, though all of its songs (save for the ballad "Breathe") were re-recorded for "Identity Crisis", and the original demo remains available to stream on the band's official YouTube channel, which also has videos and non-album material. Note that this channel hasn't been updated since "Identity Crisis" came out, and the band hasn't played live in six months, possibly due to Mikhal and Keeghan's focus on Ha!ls as of late.

 Our Recommended Videos To Check Out:

 

Playboy Magazine (Single Version): The first songs on offer here are "single versions" of songs that were later re-recorded for "Identity Crisis". The first song is the "single version" of "Playboy Magazine", which debuted on the 2022 "Vanity" demo, and is by far their most popular song on YouTube Music. This was released the same month that they rebranded from Vanity to Vanity First and bassist Nick McClelland left the band, though I don't know if he is on this particular recording (singer Andrew Beggs replaced him on bass). Also featuring guitarist Mikhal Muto (who sings lead on this song) and drummer Keeghan "Ljubov" McAllister, the "single version" is a few seconds longer than the final 2024 version, and doesn't have as dynamic production but it is a louder file. Not their punkiest or fastest song, but power pop fans will take to it well, especially ones familiar with Mikhal's vocals!

Get Out (Single Version): The other "single version" predating the "Identity Crisis" release is the August 2022 re-recording of "Get Out", an Andrew-sung number that is one of Vanity First's heaviest originals. About 10 seconds shorter than the final 2024 version (cornfield banter at the start aside), the 2022 version differs primarily from the 2024 one by its more reserved, punk-leaning vocals that remind me somewhat of Pennywise's "Bro Hymn", whereas Andrew more screamed the verses for the "Identity Crisis" sessions.  Strong track that was one of my favourites from Vanity First's catalogue, regardless of version, though the recording is again definitely louder with less dynamics than what we got a couple of years later.

Habitual Vanity: In terms of songs from "Identity Crisis" itself, I wanted to highlight one of the newer songs recorded for the album that hadn't debuted as a "single version" or on the 2022 demo. I went with their partially eponymous song "Habitual Vanity", which was released to YouTube Music twice, first as an advance single and then re-uploaded with the full album. This Andrew-sung number is darker than a lot of their earlier punk originals and has a nice melodic structure with ominous elements that help showcase the diversity in sounds that they were exploring! Hopefully we haven't heard the absolute last from Vanity First, but follow what Mikhal and Keeghan are up to with Hails in the interim!

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I hope you guys liked this month's YouTube Channel Profile! Next month in this series, we'll get back to YouTube channels actually ran and controlled by the band apart from the YouTube Music format, this time by way of Bullet Train - Canada, featuring the local hard rock band's original songs so far! Look for that on or around April 26th, and for more news and notes on the site soon! Thanks everyone!