Local Metal Video Showcase!!

It's time for our first all-video post of 2012, and we've got a nicely varied selection of new videos to share from YouTube with a local metal relevance today! So in this post, we have a new song from a local solo artist, another new track from a Sault Michigan area band, and some promising drumming videos from a young local talent, but first, here's some new live video footage of a notable local band, so here's what you need to know!

Another new video from Woods of Ypres' last tour run has been posted onto YouTube! This comes courtesy of the YouTube channel run by Winnipeg progressive metal band Grand Master, who uploaded this video on Thursday, and it's from the Woods of Ypres concert that they opened on May 16th in Regina, Saskatchewan. The video is split into two parts, starting with about 1:50 of a Grand Master song that night (which doesn't sound too bad), but the last 1:42 is of Woods of Ypres playing their song "Wet Leather" that night. It's decent quality, but the lens seems wrong for the angle that the filmer shot, and the vocals of both David Gold and Grand Master frontman Alec Schaefer are almost inaudible. Still, the footage isn't bad, and it's great to see it uploaded even 8 months later, so check out the newest Woods of Ypres footage (plus Grand Master) below, and if you want to skip to Woods of Ypres' portion, fast forward to 1:51 in the video!

Next up, here's the latest audio material from Eckerman, Michigan metal trio Swampghas (featuring Jason Mills of Life's Eclipse and ex-Half A Man drummer Doug Reed), who uploaded the projected first song from their planned debut album "The Raco Tower Incident" onto their label Werehold Records' YouTube channel on Thursday! Clocking in at just over 2 minutes long, the song's called "Bar Burner", and it's pretty heavy, though surprisingly repetitive given it's length. There's promise here though, and I can't wait to hear more from them and Jason's other projects (one of which recently reunited), so stay tuned for more on the heavier Werehold Records bands! For now, give "Bar Burner" a listen below, and keep an eye out for more from Swampghas as the year rolls on!

Third today, is your local metal band looking for a new drummer? Maybe Jonny Amendola is who you're looking for! If you're not familiar with him, Jonny's been doing work with the local pop rock cover band Cherry Crush in recent months, but he definitely has a metal background as well. His dad & bandmate John Amendola (also of Boogie Fever) has been spreading the word in recent days about new drum videos that have been posted of Jonny covering metal tracks, and though the first one was sadly blocked on copyright grounds, the newest one is still online! It's of his drum cover of Avenged Sevenfold's "God Hates Us", augmented by professional lighting, and it was uploaded onto Cherry Crush's YouTube channel a week ago today. Apparently, Jonny's looking to join a metal band of some type, and if this video's any indication, he'd sure be a quality addition! Very promising young drummer, he knows this song very well, and if you guys are looking for that piece of your lineup, Jonny's worth contacting! Click here for more, and check out Jonny Amendola's A7X cover below!

And finally, local hard rock solo artist Mike Cliffe posted some new solo instrumental tracks onto his YouTube channel on Friday! Both of them employ a more experimental softer take on his creative talents, and the visualizations the songs are set to indeed help the mood of them! One is a collaborative track called "Nu-Instrumental" that he recorded with Grand Rapids folk duo The Ducks, while the other new track is called "Starlight" and appears to be just Mike solo. I've embedded "Starlight" below, so give his creative experimental talents a listen, and be sure to check out his vast array of solo material A.S.A.P. for a lot of quality songs, many of which have a heavier bent!

That's all for now, but stay tuned for more news and weekend concert previews shortly, including some LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS!! Thanks everyone!