Before we get to today's previously scheduled local metal stories, I wanted to take a second to offer our deepest condolences to the family and friends of Sault Star reporter Frank Dobrovnik, who suddenly passed away just recently while vacationing in Italy with his wife. Frank had been a well respected writer & reporter for The Sault Star since 1998, and regular SMS readers may remember us featuring articles he has written surrounding certain major Essar Centre concerts, along with the Kiss concert campaign and aftermath, although his body of work stretches far beyond just those topics. I never met Frank, but I've been a fan of his writing style & articles for some time now, and this is completely shocking news to hear, especially for his young children and his own young age. Click here to read Frank Rupnik's tribute article from the paper, and local news sites should keep you guys posted on arrangements and donations to the family as they are made public. R.I.P. Frank!
Now, we have some more positive news to share on this rainy Tuesday, including some new songs, a band looking to play here, and kicking things off today, a local death metal band has changed their name! Yesterday afternoon, Bring The Misery officially changed their name to Unleash The Blackened Sky, after just two shows under their old name. With the name change, their Facebook page's link is different too, so we've updated our band links to reflect the change as well. No reason was publically given for the name change, though I imagine it's partly due to Dan Souliere's departure, as the "band merger" style of the old name (Bring The Fallen + State of Misery) doesn't have the same meaning when only one BTF member is left in the current lineup. Plus, the new name is more original, and it sounds very metal, so hopefully it sticks! Curiously though, their page still doesn't mention Daeson Lesage as their new rhythm guitarist, you think that would be updated by now. Stay tuned to the SMS for when we hear about Unleash The Blackened Sky's next shows!
Next up, there's another band looking for a local booking, so here's what you should know! I got an e-mail yesterday from Chris Woodford of the Toronto metal band Titan (not to be confused with Titans Eve), and he's looking for a local booking this summer! The band, who play sort of a mix of sludge and hardcore metal, are hoping to play a local concert on August 5th, between their Toronto & Thunder Bay shows on the surrounding days, and are open to playing anywhere that will book them! Dismembertainment can't do the show due to prior engagements that day, so Chris asked me if I could promote their search on the SMS, and I happily obliged! Titan are inspired by bands like Converge and Neurosis, and they have a nice slow and heavy sound with lots of aggression and intensity to get some moshpits going! It'd be cool to see Titan here on August 5th, so if any of you guys are interested in booking, helping book, or playing with Titan for a show that night, give the band a shout at their MySpace page linked above or at titanslays@gmail.com! Remember, if you wanna see Titan here, consider messaging them, they'd love to play here, someone just needs to extend an olive branch to start the process!
Now to some new updates from new local metal band AlterWhite! The band has uploaded two new demo covers onto their Facebook page (and their brand new YouTube channel), which may seem a bit odd when you think of metal covers. One is a cover of Creed's "My Own Prison" and the other (believe it or not) is of Wham!'s "Careless Whisper"! Now that's unexpected, especially the latter! Both end up sounding similar to their originals, as in they have some musical promise, but are very empty and unrefined, but remember, the band has just two guys at the moment. I find with both songs, the songs are obviously ratcheted up in heaviness, but honestly, Mike Matthews would be better served to actually try and sing the covers, not go into James Hetfield-mode, as it doesn't flow consistently with Kevin McCarthy's riffing. That said, I've never been a fan of George Michael, so I find the "Careless Whisper" cover to be an improvement! I want to hear these songs with another guitarist and a bassist, and maybe some more controlled singing, cause there is something there with AlterWhite that they need to expose musically! Check out the new covers (and more) at the above links, and here's their "Careless Whisper" cover!
And finally, if you've been a reader of the SMS in it's various forms over the years, you may know that July 4th is not just Independence Day, it's also the SMS' anniversary. We're coming up on 4 years since I started The Sault Metal Scene on Monday, and you may have seen a bit of a "countdown" of sorts on our Facebook page lately. That's just to build suspense, as we have 4 "surprise" announcements to make! Two involve the SMS blog/website itself, though what is happening there is up to you to speculate. One involves monthly features (all I'll say is none are being cancelled), and one involves one of our external pages. Yes, I'm keeping things vague for a reason, cause I want you guys to speculate and not know what's up my sleeve! Rest assured, nothing bad is happening, nothing drastic is going to happen in terms of overhauling our goals and aims, and (as I often reiterate), it's not related to me personally booking a concert. These announcements are all good, and in at least one case, I'll be able to provide you guys with something more than just text and media. Let the speculation run wild, and on Monday, you'll know exactly what we're doing to celebrate our 4th anniversary!That's all for today, but stay tuned TOMORROW as our final monthly feature post of June is unveiled, where we profile Saultite Jeff Nisbet's solo work in our Saultites In Out Of Town Bands Profile Series! Stay tuned for that, and much more to come! Thanks guys!
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