Saultites In Out Of Town Bands Profile: Damage Inc.

Well guys, this month's Saultites In Out Of Town Bands Profile has a change of band. I'd originally planned to look at Kitchener hard rock project Malicious Side Effect due to the members' past work with local guitarist Keith Conway, but on further research, I found out that was in a different older band named Camaro, so it wouldn't fit the series to look at M.S.E.. Instead, I've bumped my planned band for next month (our second tribute band in this series) to today to look at, and like our past selections, this band features at least one Saultite in their past and/or present lineups, even though they're not regionally based. Read on below for this month's profile! (Updated on November 27th, 2014)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Damage Inc. (Lethbridge, Alberta)

Lineup: (Saultites in RED; ex-members in italics. The lineup information is incomplete regarding the identity of Damage Inc's first drummer[s]. E-mail me if you can fill in any blanks!)

Mark Di Giorgio (vocals/guitar)
Oleg "Ole Gus" Usykov (guitar)
Paul Melanson (bass)
James Nagy (drums)

Mick Friday (bass)
????? (drums)

Official Facebook page: http://facebook.com/damagedmetallica
Official website: http://www.damageinccanada.com/
 

Local Info: Damage Inc. is the newest project from Sault Ontario native and talented multi-instrumentalist Paul Melanson, who's been a steady sight in his current home of Lethbridge, Alberta since the mid-late 2000s. You may recognize him from his most recent original band Caste of Shadows,  but he's also attracted notice for his guitar & bass work in bands like Daemon Rage, Igniter, and Gravity Crash, along with work as a singer and guitarist in older local bands like Malediction, Gutwrench, and Under The Gun. Paul's busy with his current bands, but he's keeping things heavy, so if you're out west, give his bands a look!

Band Bio: Launched in May 2012, Metallica tribute band Damage Inc. are a self-described "hard-hitting tribute to heavy metal's most successful act." They played their first live gigs in Lethbridge in October 2012, and have since played numerous solo and joint concerts in the Lethbridge & Calgary areas, including events in British Columbia, shows with other tribute bands, and even coinciding with the Calgary Stampede. Their lineup has been stable since their live debut, save for Mick Friday's injury-related exit in May of 2013, when Paul Melanson replaced him. Still frequently seen across Alberta, Damage Inc. show no signs of slowing down! When it comes to tribute bands, they do have the musical side of things well to match up with Metallica, but Mark Di Giorgio's vocals aren't a perfect fit (they almost sound more fitting of a full on NWOBHM band.) Metallica fans who can't see the real thing should enjoy Damage Inc. though, as they have a solid and very heavy take on the original songs!

For videos, frontman Mark Di Giorgio has two different YouTube channels of their live concerts (here and here) to sample Damage Inc.'s live show, where you can see the band's live skill, including Paul's bass talents! I chose this video of Damage Inc. covering "Master of Puppets" to feature here, as it's pretty solid overall (despite some minor lyrical flubs), so give it a look below!


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I hope you guys liked this month's Saultites In Out Of Town Bands Profile! Next month's profile will be our last before we update past installments in November, and it will look at inactive Illinois metal band Life In Shadow, whose frontman was current Bury Your Demons bassist (and Sault Michigan native) Scott Mills! This will be out first profile in this series since January to look at a band with a Yooper alum, so watch out for it on or around October 26th, and stay tuned later today for weekend concert previews! Thanks everyone!