A New Local Band, Skeyes Of Seven Updates, And More!!

Before we post our review of last night's Archspire concert, we have a new news post for you guys this morning, including a new solo performance video, recent concert clips, and big updates from a local hard rock outfit, but first, here's a new local punk band that you guys might wanna check out!

Remember how this past weekend's private Das Bunkerfest featured a handful of unknown bands? Well, at least one will be of great interest to SMS readers, and they are The Apocalypse Afterparty! The newest in the recent influx of two man metal & punk bands in the area (joining Bad Back and various Blood Shed Productions artists), their lineup includes a singer and bassist named "Z" and a drummer named "X", and while both use the stage names and masks to conceal their identities, songwriting credit is given to ex-Smeltzer bandmates Paul Stanghetta (The Fury) and Steve Mozarowski (RedD Monkey), so you can draw your own conclusions from there. I'll note that I have heard about The Apocalypse Afterparty's jam sessions actually getting noise complaints, which some may take as a good sign for their live shows! Self described as "a fresh new noise", the band's public debut has yet to be announced, but attendee Amanda Brown was in attendance to film four songs at Das Bunkerfest on Saturday, so how do they sound?

As uploaded to her YouTube channel yesterday, her videos include this short untitled clip, and their songs "Glory & Gore" and "The Crowd", but we have the longest (also untitled) song embedded below. Musically, The Apocalypse Afterparty share similarities with The Fury, but with more of a rap influence, and I recall "The Crowd" (or a similarly structured song) taking place in that band's shows. Entertaining, and the fans seem to be responding well! I don't know if this means that The Fury have disbanded again or not, we'll let you know if we get clarification. For the record, Das Bunkerfest looks to have taken place indoors, and there's a good setup for the stage and fans! Check out The Apocalypse Afterparty below, and they're now in our band links!



Next up, here's the latest from local modern hard rock quintet Skeyes of Seven, including the news that they've apparently parted ways with bassist Mike Mannarino. Though an official reason for his exit has not been made, personal Facebook postings are indicating that Mike ("Minus Blue" on Facebook) and his family are soon moving out of the area. He also posted a heartfelt message on the band's Facebook page on August 1st thanking the band for all that they've accomplished and gave to him over the past few years, and it's worth checking out! Also well known from past band work with the likes of Tripod the Dog, Mike was a founding member of Skeyes of Seven upon their 2012 debut, and featured in both of their concerts and their "Fallen Faith" single. This is disappointing news, but you can tell this is more than amicable between all parties, and we wish Mike the best wherever his travels lead! Before leaving, the band shot this GoPro video focusing on Mike during a jam session cover of Tool's "Schism" on July 31st, so how does it sound?

Uploaded to the band's YouTube channel on Saturday, this is well filmed at a creative angle (apparently mounted on his bass' head), and it's a quality cover from this talented band that we don't see nearly often enough! Mike's bass skill will be missed, so give the newest Skeyes of Seven video a look, and stay tuned for updates!



Also, local all female hard rock quartet The Danger Cats uploaded two new videos from their weekend at The Esquire Club onto their YouTube channel on Saturday! One is of their cover of The Runaways' "Queens of Noise", but embedded below are covers of The Beatles' "I Want To Hold Your Hand" and The Bangles' "Walk Like An Egyptian", and you can click each song name to go straight to the cover in question. Like their earlier Esquire Club videos, these are strong covers, if darkly lit, and they know the songs well, but a little more energy wouldn't hurt. Good stuff all around though, so give The Danger Cats' new videos a look above & below!



Finally for today, here's a new solo performance video from veteran local hard rock guitarist (and Audiofumes podcast host) Mike Cliffe! His first proper solo video on his YouTube channel in 8 months (not counting videos relating to collaborative songs and Audiofumes streams), this is of Mike jamming along to Ste Van Horne's "Worlds Effect", and he adds an experimental guitar flourish to this interesting (though repetitive) number! Hopefully we see more videos from Mike's solo music than we have been getting, so give it a look below, and go check out or submit music for the Audiofumes podcasts! It's a fun listen!



That's all for now, but stay tuned for our review of last night's Archspire show next! Thanks everyone!