A New Local Album Release, More Inactive Bands, And More News!!

A post a day must keep the doctor away, as our recent posting schedule is working fairly well! In today's news post, we have some assorted news stories from the last little while, and no less than three notes on likely inactive local hard rock bands, but first, we'll start with some big news from a local band, and if you've missed new album releases in the past year, you'll wanna hear about this, so read on below for all that you need to know!

For the first time since "Woods V", a new Sault Ontario hard rock/metal album has been released, and it's "Dragon Joy Ride", the debut album from local grunge quartet Haggith! Keeping with their latest release date announcements, it was officially launched for digital download via their brand new Bandcamp page at midnight today (no word yet on a possible Reverbnation release, a'la drummer Mike Haggith's solo work.) Physical copies on CD and cassette (yes, cassette) have also been made up, but all are available for the low and very reasonable prise of $5, so picking up a physical copy wouldn't be a bad idea, especially for the same price as the digital copies! CDs & cassettes can be bought from band members directly or on Facebook, and presumably at their next live concerts, but if you just want the mp3s, click here! You may also notice the new album cover, which the band was debating changing in the past week, and I will admit to liking the new design better! Haggith have also uploaded a new Facebook photo album featuring the compilation of the album's CD copies and liner notes, along with assorted other recent photos, so check the above links to give it a look!

After the recent lineup concerns and turmoil, I'm very glad to see Haggith get "Dragon Joy Ride" out and available for fans to pick up! They've been quick off the draw since their debut, and hopefully this is just the next step in a successful run in the area! With that in mind, I'd like to announce that "Dragon Joy Ride" will be our 40th monthly CD review at the SMS this month, and we will review it by Halloween (hopefully earlier), so keep an eye out for it in the coming weeks, and pick up "Dragon Joy Ride" at the above links!

Next up, I've got some more bands to reluctantly bump into our inactive band listings, the first being Sault Ontario hard rock band Half Past. While not at a year's inactivity yet (they were last visibly active in February after their brief advertisement for a Late & Loud concert), they have offered no formal band updates since, with two of their final three members now active in newer primary bands like Skeyes of Seven & Frightlight. Nothing else I've heard since indicates that they're active at present, but if I'm wrong, I'll happily retract any assumptions! Half Past had been a talented sight locally since their 2008 formation as Fingerbone, but they didn't really take off until they became Half Past the following year, where they played a number of notable concerts from late 2009 through mid-2010, including debuting three original songs & briefly launching plans for a debut album. Later activity was more sporadic & dotted with a couple lineup changes, with the band last playing live almost a year ago. It is disappointing to see Half Past fade into inactivity, as they were an entertaining hard rock band whenever they were seen on the local stage!

I enjoyed all of Half Past's incarnations, with all three of their singers providing their own sound and style that furthered them as a local band, and the originals that Half Past played with ex-frontman Luke LeBlanc were really catchy in their own right! It is a shame that their last show ended on a down note, but I don't wanna rehash what happened, as they had so many positive concerts to look back on. Best of luck to Jordan, Alain, Chris, Arthur, and all of their other ex-members in the future, and maybe Half Past will pop up again down the road!

Another band that we're now counting as inactive on the SMS is young Sault Michigan hard rock quartet Free Refill. Last seen at a talent show at Sault Area High School in February (where they placed second), official updates have not followed since, but online postings are indicating that they're likely done. According to some online research, members Betsy Lehman & Mike Pascoe have both moved out of town for college following their graduation (former guitarist Tyler Wall did the same after graduating himself), and guitarist Devin Anderson had referred to the talent show in February as their "last talent show" on his personal Facebook page, so all of this might be the closest we get to an official confirmation of their breakup. Free Refill had been a frequent sight at local events and festivals since their 2007 inception (including the Kewadin Casino 25th Anniversary Festival & a number of Sugar Island Festival appearances), and while not commonly seen during the school year, they were very visible in the summer seasons with their diverse hard rock covers.

Free Refill had talent for their age, and they improved rapidly to add to the impressive roster of female-fronted hard rock bands across the river by the early 2010s! Maybe we'll see them or the members down the road, but best of luck to Mary, Devin, Betsy, Mike, and Tyler in the future, and hopefully they'll all stay active in music in some form!

And finally for today, here's three assorted shorter stories from the last little while (including one more inactive band note), and as always, these are in alphabetical order by band, series, or event name:

• I'll likely be moving Bear Hunters guitarist Mitch Sirie's solo project April Eyes to our inactive band links next week due to a year's inactivity, having last updated their MySpace page on October 13th, 2011. Previously named Animas & By The Gods, Mitch had worked on April Eyes material off and on since at least 2009, but he's worked on other bands more frequently lately, including the yet-revealed Sorrow Fields. Mitch's solo work has a lot of plusses, so hopefully he revisits April Eyes or something similar in the future!
• In some minor updates to our Defunct Local Band Profiles, I edited our profile of The White Knights to replace Caveman Morrison with Fitswitch when mentioning drummer Rick White's other band work (as he was with Fitswitch longer.) Stay tuned for more updates to our feature profiles in the coming weeks!
• The Halloween Party at The Algonquin Pub on October 27th (featuring Frightlight & others) will be one of three stops on a Halloween Pub Crawl from Sudbury promoters KC Events & Promotions that night, also featuring stops at Madison's Pub & The Canadian, plus The Rockstar Bar (upstairs from The Algonquin.) This costs $25, and will ensure no cover charges at any venues, along with free food & drink specials, so if you're up for some pub crawling along with your metal & punk, click here for details!

That's all for today, but stay tuned for more news and updates as the week rolls along! Thanks everyone!