Monday, February 8, 2010

LOCAL CONCERT ALERT (40 Sons), Plus New Videos And Show Updates!!

So how about The Super Bowl? Oh wait, this isn't a sports blog, it's a metal blog! Lots of news and updates to get to today, ranging from videos to show updates to just plain interesting stuff! And we'll start with a LOCAL CONCERT ALERT!!!

A little over six weeks after they last rocked Sault Ontario, Hamilton's own 40 Sons will be returning to the area for a concert on March 4th! This time, they won't be in Coch's Corner like they were in their last couple of local visits. Nope, when they hit the Sault next month, they'll be invading The Speakeasy at Algoma University! A start time of 8:00 PM is given on their MySpace page. Now The Speakeasy have yet to confirm this show, but bear in mind, they are having some issues that have resulted in the bar's closure since Wednesday, so patience will be a virtue! Once I find out details on ticket prices, age restrictions, any additional bands, and whatever all else, you'll find them here! Great to see 40 Sons back so soon, they're a solid band, check some of their stuff out at this location! I might hit this show, we'll have to see!

Now to a trio of announcements concerning upcoming concerts: One with a new band, one that needs bands, and one that needs a venue. We'll start with the show with a new band, and it's the concert on May 6th featuring Derelict at Foggy Notions! I can now confirm that there will be at least one opener, and it's North Bay experimental metal band Thekillingfield! You may recognize them as one of the opening acts for the April 12th, 2009 Cattle Decapitation concert at The Oddfellows Hall! This is shaping up to be one brutal show that death metal fans won't want to miss, I'll keep you posted on anything else I hear from this show! That includes possible additional bands, but I won't say anything that's not confirmed. You'll see if something new's added! Oh, and check Thekillingfield out on MySpace!

Now to the show that needs bands, and we'll start with a personal admission: I'm not as in tune with Sault Michigan as I'd like to be. I don't have a lot of the connections and sites that I have from the Sault Ontario side of things, so I miss stuff here and there across the river. So when I see something new in Sault Michigan being advertised, I don't hesitate to discuss it. That was the case today when I saw this on one of my breaks: Lake Superior State University are holding a Battle of the Bands next month! It will be March 20th at 6:00 PM, running until midnight! No rules or major details are listed on the poster, like exactly where the battle will be held, fan or band fees, rules, prizes, and so on, but contact info is given for this info! E-mail Jacob Winn at jwinn@lssu.edu or Tracy Merony at tmerony@lssu.edu if you are at all interested in attending or playing this battle! Judging from the LSSU stamp on the right, you have until March 12th to enter. Note that the poster doesn't say it's restricted to only bands with an LSSU student in the lineup, but keep it in the back of your head just in case. If I hear anything more on this battle, I'll be sure to share it, especially if metal bands make it on!

And finally for concert updates, here's something I haven't had in a while: A band looking to play here, but needing a venue! New Brunswick experimental hard rockers Cop Shades are looking for a Northern Ontario stop on their upcoming summer tour with bands to be announced. According to their MySpace page, they're hoping for it to be in Sudbury or Sault Ste. Marie on August 8th before heading to Thunder Bay. Seeing as this is The Sault Metal Scene, I'll do my part to help get the word out for a Cop Shades show in the Soo! If you'd like to book or host Cop Shades on August 8th at a local venue, contact them at this location! Unique sound, no guitars and kinda experimental and sludgy, but heavy at the same time! We'll have to see where they'll be heading!

Finally for today, it's video time! A pair of local metal bands have released some new videos, and we'll start with Meatplow! Finally, we have real video of these guys in action, coming from the account of singer/drummer Phil Temporao (a.k.a. Phily S. Tempo from Amethyst!) These are older jam videos, not sure how representative they are of the band today, but if it's any indication, we're in for something special! The clips feature guitarist Dennis Porter and Phil on an electric drumkit (bassist Mike Thiffault isn't present...if the last name's wrong, my apologies!) The first clip is just a random jam of stuff off the top of their heads, and it actually sounds really good considering it's improvised! Phil doesn't have a bad singing voice either, the song has a cool industrial vibe! Maybe it's not James Hetfield and Lars Ulrich, but it works! The other clip is their cover of Judas Priest's "Grinder", which I don't think suits their industrial vibe as much, but I really like Phil's vocal range, I'm surprised he could hit that falsetto! Both are good clips, check out the improv jam clip immediately below, or visit Phil's YouTube channel! (The song really kicks in after about 2:30)



Also, we have new video footage of Sykotyk Rampage from the Scotties Tournament of Hearts/Sault College Battle of the Bands! As it turns out, bands received the video footage of their sets afterwards, so guitarist Dirk Becker took the band's video, re-mastered it with effects, and created some unique live clips from the shows! Nice work! He's done two so far, "Called In Dead" and "Drinking on the Weekend", and says he'll make one for "Treating You Bad" soon as well! Nice work, always great to see pro-shot video of any local band! Check out their performance of "Called In Dead" from last Wednesday at The Heartstop Lounge immediately below! And of course, check out both the new clips (and some old) at Sykotyk Rampage's YouTube channel!



More news to come soon, including stuff on Sense of Truth and Woods of Ypres, and hopefully updates on Algoma Hope4Haiti, and much more! Stay tuned!

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