Local Metal Video Showcase!!

While I'm at The Rockstar Bar judging tonight's first night of the battle of the bands, I do have a special auto-post for you guys to check out, and it's a local metal video showcase! Mostly, this is devoted to solo videos from a trio of local metal/hard rock artists, but first, we have a new live recording from a recent concert, that being from local grunge quartet Haggith! Like their two most recent videos, this audio-only recording (and accompanying slideshow) comes from their Relay For Life set at Sault College last month, though this time, it's their unplugged cover of Pink Floyd's "Wish You Were Here"! Featuring just Curtis McKenzie and Daniel Horton, this was posted onto the band's YouTube channel yesterday, and the slideshow photos (which still include band members not on the track) have all been put through some type of effects filter. I'm not high on 1970s Pink Floyd material (I much prefer their heavier and more psychedelic 1960s stuff), but Curtis & Daniel do justice to this softer classic, and Curt's vocals fit the mood of the track, so check out Haggith's new cover below, and stay tuned to the SMS tomorrow to find out how Haggith did in tonight's first third of the battle of the bands semifinals!



Next up, here's some long awaited new videos from veteran local solo musician & Audiofumes podcast owner Mike Cliffe! Though he's steadily posted new material on his Reverbnation page (which often passes me by, apologies for that!), he ended a 6 month hiatus of new original music video postings on his YouTube channel yesterday, so I thought it was about time to plug Mike's prolific work again on here! The new videos include original instrumental songs named "Exodus", "Jaz-I-Lux", "Waltz of the Slush Bauchan", and "Dead Jig", so of course, click each link to check them out! Each is accompanied by trippy visualizations, save for "Exodus", which has them overlayed with footage of drummer Bill Ray, one of many out of town musicians that Mike has collaborated with on original material. The first two songs are jazzy progressive rock numbers, while "Waltz of the Slush Bauchan" has more of an atmospheric & intricate sound, and all are good for their styles! Embedded below though is "Dead Jig", which has a dramatic and almost orchestral intensity, and hopefully Mike finishes this sketch, so give it a look below, and hear more of Mike's recent solo work at the above links!



Also in new videos, Bear Hunters bassist Justin Lam has launched a brand new YouTube channel featuring his own audition videos for the vacant Machine Head bassist position! Oddly not uploaded to his prior YouTube channel (which I take it is now inactive), he posted 4 videos there yesterday, including an introduction relating to Machine Head's open auditions, and three Machine Head covers ("This Is The End", "Halo", and "Beautiful Mourning"), so click each link to check them out! I imagine the search to replace Adam Duce will be long and jam packed with capable bassists, but Justin's skills are far better than the audio quality of the video allows, and hopefully his videos pick up some steam and popularity no matter what! Check out Justin's awesome cover of "Halo" below, and don't miss The Bear Hunters at the last Rockstar Bar Battle of the Bands semifinal in two weeks!



Finally for tonight, here's a couple of new video discoveries from AlgomA frontman Boyd "Darby Wigwaus" Rendell! Granted, these are old, but I only just came across them now, so why not share them? Apart from his past/present work as a singer & guitarist, Boyd does have drumming talent, and two videos give proof of that on his YouTube channel. One of the videos from 2010 features him (I assume) dressed up as Drumfoot (rather than Bigfoot), complete with Frightlight-esque body part props, while the other compiles two of Boyd's drum solo videos from 2008 & 2009. Both are fairly straightforward musically, but Boyd shows some solid drumming ability and some nice fills, and hopefully he'll post some more solo videos like this in the future, perhaps on guitar? Check out his first of the drumming videos below, and stay tuned for more from AlgomA as I hear of it!



That's all for tonight, but stay tuned for our recap of tonight's first night of the Rockstar Bar Battle Of The Bands! Did Late & Loud move one step closer to their second straight battle win, or did Haggith or Sarah's Valley make a larger impression in their first battles? We'll find out tomorrow! Thanks everyone!