Monday, November 16, 2009

Battle Of The Bands, Woods Of Ypres, Shift, And Brendan Christie Updates!

Hey guys, more news to share with everyone today, and let us begin with this: Attention local bands and band members! Here's what you need to know so far about the Battle of the Bands next month!

Erin Lemke from The Algoma University Students' Union has revealed more details about the Battle of the Bands to take place at The Speakeasy on December 1st, which is two weeks from tomorrow! First of all, how can you enter your band? Well, as I said yesterday, your band must be locally based and have some recorded material. The band entrance fee is $100, which does sound steep, but it's to ensure bands will participate and not pull out. Besides, it's for United Way charities, and this could be a big opportunity, so I guess it depends on if you have the cash and are willing to pay it. Fees won't have to be paid until after the final bands are chosen.

There are only spots open for SEVEN bands, so get your entries in while you can! To enter your band for consideration for the battle, e-mail Erin at elemke@algomau.ca this information: Your band's name, the names of the band members, contact information (including at least one e-mail address & phone number), your genre of music, an internet link to check out your music/videos, length of time playing together, whether you're a local band or not, any potential sound requirements, if you're prepared to pay the entrance fee, and why you want to enter the battle!

The battle will take place December 1st at 7:00 PM, with entered bands to show up early for set up. Tickets will be $7 for Algoma University students with a student card, and $10 for anyone else. No word yet on prizes or if the battle's all ages or not, I'll keep you guys posted! Also, judge Dustin Jones pulled out due to concert obligations with The Rising Tide, a replacement is to be announced. Get full details as they come in for this battle at this location, and remember to e-mail elemke@algomau.ca for questions and battle entries! Band announcements may come by this weekend, and I've seen interest from Bring The Fallen & Dirty Virgin members on Facebook, which is a potentially good sign!

Next up, more updates from Woods of Ypres, concerning their new release, Woods IV: The Green Album! A pair of online stores are now selling the album, and lucky for those of you that didn't pre-order, not only is it cheaper there than the initial pre-orders were, but it also includes the special bonus disc! And thanks to these online sellers, I can now confirm that the bonus disc is......."Slaughter of the Seoul", the new album from South Korean death metal band Necramyth, who Woods frontman David Gold drummed for during the recording of the album! I assumed it'd be an album of Woods of Ypres live tracks or a compilation of some sort, but this works, it's a good freebie! I likely won't review it in December (it isn't technically a "local" album), but Necramyth are brutal as hell, and death metal fans won't want to ignore them! Also, "Slaughter of the Seoul" and "The Green Album" share more than just similar album art, the online sales sites state that Necramyth's new album "actually tied into the 'The Green Album' conceptually and artistically." So there you go!

Now that the cat's out of the bag in terms of the bonus disc, here's how you can buy the album online if you haven't already! Visit here to buy the album from Century Media Records, and here to buy it from The End Records! From The End Records, it's $15.99, but it's just $14.11 right now from Century Media, so that might be your best option to getting "The Green Album", but either way, you're saving cash! More details on the CD's release to come, including likely more reviews, when it will be available in Sault-area stores, and my thoughts on the album before my official review on December 1st! And before anyone asks, I AM NOT linking to torrents of it, if any are online. Support the band and actually BUY the album, for god's sake!

And finally, two quick updates from some local metal performers. First, have you noticed a lack of news from Sault Michigan hard rockers Shift this month? Well, there's a very good reason for that! Shift frontwoman Amy Beairl and husband/guitarist Joey are expecting another baby, which is due in March! So the band are currently on hiatus, but hope to be back to play Pigfest in Ishpeming next June! They have mentioned this on their MySpace page, so there's my source. Congratulations to Amy and Joey on the upcoming arrival! Also, Sault Ontario solo artist Brendan Christie has uploaded some new songs to his official MySpace page! Check out the newest ones at this location, the new songs are the ones with the lowest viewcount. I'm really digging "Road To Insanity", I can't wait to hear what's up Brendan's sleeve next!

That's all for today! What's coming up on The Sault Metal Scene? Well, there will be a new poll (and results of the current poll) at some point Wednesday, as well as more upcoming news on the Battle of the Bands, "The Green Album", and a likely review of this Saturday's Tym Morrison concert! Stay tuned for more!

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