Hey guys, here's one more post before we (likely) post our latest CD review, which I have penciled in for later tonight! In this post, we have lots of assorted stories, including a lineup change at an upcoming concert, a new page for an old CD store in Sault Ontario, news from Abstract, and some new audio material from a pair of solo artists named Mike. First though, here's some disappointing news concerning one prominent local band.
Sault Ontario death metal quintet Bring The Fallen have officially disbanded. Frontman Josh Stephney announced this on his personal Facebook page yesterday afternoon, and just in case there was another side to the story, I confirmed the news with guitarist Dan Souliere via e-mail. He basically told me that the band's members are going to focus on personal matters that have made it difficult to devote time to the band, though some members do have some musical plans for the future. This sort of confirms rumours we've heard over the past few months that Bring The Fallen were close to disbanding, which coincided with some notable concert drop-outs during that span. What this means for their still-unreleased debut EP isn't known, but a release for it seems very unlikely now. This is very unfortunate news, especially given their talent and local success! Since their debut as The Undead Warriors in the spring of 2009, Bring The Fallen have had a lot of notable successes, including three Battle of the Bands victories out of four attempts through last spring, and playing a number of high profile concerts over the past two years! I consider them one of the bands that kick-started our growing death metal scene, and when they were on their game, with the full band present, they were hard to beat!
Be they The Undead (Brown Pelican) Warriors, Necropolis, Silent Plague, or Bring The Fallen, these guys gave us some great death metal over the past two years, and I'm not alone in saying they'll be missed! I'd hoped they'd stay together, especially after their successful Rosie show on April 14th, but maybe this will be the best option for the time being. Best of luck to Josh, Dan, Andrew, Nolan, and Travis in the future, and here's hoping they get back into the scene soon!
Well, that's a downer, but how about some good news to turn things around? This might work! There's been a band change for THIS THURSDAY'S Roosevelt Hotel metal night, so here's what you need to know. Local classic metal quartet Late & Loud have replaced State of Misery on the lineup for this Thursday's metal night, in what will be their first ever concert at The Rosie! A reason for the switch hasn't been given, but don't worry, State of Misery will be back out there the very next night at The Oddfellows Hall for the Dead & Divine show! For Late & Loud, this will not only be their first Rosie concert, but this will be their first Dismembertainment show of any kind, and it's actually their last concert until the summer, as drummer Josh Hatherly confirmed with me that the band's taking a two month break after this show. Nice to see them back out there, they were very good at The Sewer Swampstravaganja! Also, you may notice a few firsts at the metal night on Thursday besides Late & Loud's presence, as it will mark both Sativa Rose's first Rosie concert of 2011, and the first 19+ show for Changing Waves' current lineup! So head out to The Roosevelt Hotel for a different taste of metal this Thursday, and click here for more details!
Thirdly, here's some new solo songs from a pair of Sault Ontario solo guitarists named Mike! One is from Mike Cliffe, and it's his new song "Ruthfull Aggression"! This was honestly inspired by a comment I made about his last song "Goth-O-Funk" not having "ruthless aggression", though with a name alteration for it's sound. Interesting track, it has some circus-sounding riffs to start, some heavy atmospheric work, and some well performed "ruthfull aggression"! Mike continues to show his talents on this song, so visit his Reverbnation page to hear that and more of his solo material! The other solo Mike with a new song is Bear Hunters/Skull After Betrayal guitarist Mike Vincent, who uploaded a new solo song amusingly titled "Peanut Butter & Jam Sandwich" onto his Reverbnation page as well! It's a slower, but heavy song, but it does get very repetitive. The drums are luckily not as much of a detraction as they were on "Cheese", and the song, if expanded on, could be a great base for a fuller track! Mike should diversifiy it a bit so lessen it's repetition, but it's an improvement! Check the above links for more on both Mike Cliffe & Vincent's solo projects!
Fourthly, here's the latest news from Sault Michigan hard rock quartet Abstract, who've made some big waves in recent months, especially given their young ages! One update is that the band have launched an official website! Started earlier this month, it features some basic band information, a bunch of photos, and some assorted other stuff. It's not too full yet, but give it a look at this location! As well, six photos of the band from a recent talent show at Soo Middle School on March 25th were posted by Mike McKee onto The Soo Evening News' website at this location, so give them a look! Nice to see some newspaper coverage for an event like this, and my apologies for missing it! Abstract actually took 1st place at this show, so congratulations to them! Check the above links to give the photos a look, and the 1st, 2nd, 4th, 7th, 8th, and 13th photos are from their set. Is it odd that the sound guy is BEHIND the band when they're playing? For more, check out their official Facebook page, and stay tuned for updates on Abstract as I hear them!
Finally, do you guys remember when Sault Ste. Marie had a number of music stores? (albums, not instruments.) Now, we just have HMV and The Rad Zone, but we used to have a lot more than that, and one such CD store now has a posthumous Facebook page! So, who out there remembers Mister Disc? In operation from October 1988 to July 1999, this Great Northern Road record store was owned by Saultite Todd Gordon, who's since carved out a career as (believe it or not) a screenwriter in the Boston area! But for over a decade, Todd ran Mister Disc, a fondly remembered music store which is now on Facebook! Photos from the interior and exterior of the store are included, and they show off some cool posters, music selections, and even some innovations that later music stores hadn't adopted yet! Mister Disc was before my time in a respect, as it closed when I was 10 years old, so I was too young to really be into the music scene as I am now, but I do recall this store from my childhood. It looks like it was a great store, I wish I was my age now in the 1990s to enjoy this store at it's peak! I'm not the person to sing it's praises and talk about it though, check the Facebook page to look back at the good old days when music stores weren't as endangered as they're becoming!
That's all for now, but stay tuned for our review of Clownsack's newest EP "Funny Farm" later today! Thanks everyone!
2 comments:
Thanks for the mention Rob, and great coverage of the scene from both side of the river - water cannot divide metal or rock! well I guess is can contribute to rust and erosion - but that's not what I mean :) awesome work as always!
Nice to see the Mister Disc story up there as well - a huge influence and gathering place that was a positive and memorable contribution to the Sault music scene.
Hey it's no problem at all! Metal rules no matter the nationality, and the Sault Michigan bands deserve the credit over here!
I wish I could have been old enough to enjoy Mister Disc when it was open, it sucks knowing all the good things that happened when I was still a single digit in age!
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