Rockstar Bar Battle Of The Bands Preview (Night 3)

TOMORROW NIGHT is the last night of semifinal action in the Rockstar Bar Battle of the Bands, so like the last two weeks, it's time for a preview of the last qualifier for next week's final round! As brought to you by The Rockstar Bar, Case's Music, The Rad Zone, and The Sault Metal Scene, the last three semifinalist bands will be at The Rockstar Bar tomorrow to compete for the right to join week 1 winners Late & Loud and week 2 winners The Suicide Kings in the finals, where they (plus the wild card band to be determined) will compete for prizes like $1,000, recording time at Case's Music, a guaranteed opening slot at one of co-promoter J.D. Pearce's upcoming concerts, and more! Me and fellow judges Jay Case & Len Ward will have perhaps the heaviest night of the battle so far tomorrow to weigh in on, with all three bands playing hard rock or death metal. All have plenty of recent battle experience, with two competing in battles in the last 3 years, and all three feature at least one musician with a top 2 finish to his name, but which band will return to such successes at this current battle, and can one of them supplant the wild card tie to earn a clear path to next week's finals?

Remember, like the past weeks, I will NOT be critiquing the individual bands or predicting any results, as to remain fair & impartial given my judging role. I'll just be promoting and hyping the bands and tonight's action, and hopefully encouraging you guys to come out and support the bands again! Now, which (two?) of the final three semi-final bands will punch their final round ticket tomorrow night? Here's some info on each, in alphabetical order:

The Bear Hunters: One of the biggest local death metal bands of recent years, The Bear Hunters will bring their melodic/groove influenced sound to The Rockstar Bar for the first time tomorrow, where they'll look to improve on their 6th place run at the Humane Society Battle last April. Can that, plus members' past battle experience with D.O.T.H. & Operation: Killdozer, help put them over the top this time? Also, can guitarist Mitch Sirie make the finals with both of his local bands, joining fellow finalists The Suicide Kings?

Giwakwa: After almost two years of preparations, new local stoner/death metal band Giwakwa just debuted at The Rosie last week, but can they make a big early impression tomorrow night to make the finals? Their members have big show experience in bands like Lead The Dead and Frightlight, but one big asset is members Josh Stephney & Nolan Rainville's string of three battle wins out of four tries with Bring The Fallen in 2009 & 2010. Can they repeat that incredible run of victories with Giwakwa tomorrow night?

Sykotyk Rampage: The only non-death metal band tomorrow, this creative veteran quartet will bring their blend of alternative rock, punk, and blues originals (all improvised in studio) back to The Rockstar Bar for the first time in 3 years tomorrow! Playing their first competitive battle since their third place run at 2010's Sault College Battle, can their entertaining originals & drinking songs bring them similar success, and can new bassist Tony Briglio's second place run at 2010's Downtown Showdown with The Fury prove beneficial?

Also to note, Giwakwa frontman Josh Stephney will pull double duty tomorrow as The Bear Hunters' rhythm guitarist, but will the judges put one/both of his bands through to the finals, or do Sykotyk Rampage have something to say about that? Barring a sudden cancellation, tomorrow's winning band will return for the final round NEXT WEEK, where they will face Late & Loud, The Suicide Kings, and the wild card band (who are being announced tomorrow night.) As we've said on here before, we're going into tomorrow's last semifinal with a tie for the wild card, so if tomorrow's second place band doesn't surpass them, the judges will likely have a tough decision to make for who gets the fourth finals spot. As for attendee details, there will be a special start time TOMORROW of 10:30 PM, but the 19+ age limit and $3 cover charge are still in effect. For more details, visit the official Facebook event page or the above links! We've had two great and competitive nights of battle action so far, but who will be the last two bands to complete the final four next week?

Will The Bear Hunters ensure their best battle finish ever with a finals run? Will Josh & Nolan channel Bring The Fallen's battle successes with Giwakwa tomorrow night? Can Sykotyk Rampage show up the death metal bands with their creative crash music? Will one of these bands prove to be the clear wild card band for the finals, or will a tie-breaking decision come into play? The complete final round will be determined TOMORROW, so join us at The Rockstar Bar to enjoy the music and see who comes out on top! Thanks everyone, hope to see you guys there!