LOCAL CONCERT ALERT (Iskra), Gnaeus & Din Album Updates, And More!!

With weekend concert previews complete, let's tackle some big recent updates in this stacked news post! Today, we have the latest from a veteran local band, big updates concerning two upcoming local alternative hard rock albums, and first, a LOCAL CONCERT ALERT with a familiar touring band coming back to our area next month, so here's what you should know! (Updated at 11:06 AM)

Just under three weeks after their headlining date at The Oddfellows Hall, Victoria, B.C. grindcore quintet Iskra will return to the Soo on Tuesday, August 2nd at... The Gore Street Cafe?! In what may be the heaviest show to ever hit the laundromat, fans of Iskra's brutal crust originals will return for what should be a devastating encore next month, so if you want a second helping (or missed their Oddfellows show last week), be at The Gore Street Cafe on August 2nd! This confirms the earlier teases that Iskra would return to the local stage on this date on the way back during their Canadian tour, but contrary to the original & now-cancelled plans, Blood Shed Productions are not promoting this show anymore. Local openers haven't been announced yet for this month, and while there was a local opening lineup for the original Blood Shed-planned date, don't expect those acts to be carried over verbatim.

As usual for Gore Street Cafe shows, this is an ALL AGES concert, and will operate under the "pay what you can" model, so don't let the admission fee scare you away! It's great to see Iskra finally secure the long hinted return date on August 2nd, and that we'll see them much sooner than the prior 12 year gap, so stay tuned for updates, and visit the official Facebook event page for current details on this grind encore!

Next up, here's the latest from local post-punk quartet Gnaeus' upcoming debut CD "Meditations", so what should you know about it now? Well, according to this shared meme photo on their Facebook page, it will apparently be released on Friday, August 5th! We're under two weeks from the release in other words, and while Gnaeus hasn't publically elaborated further on the release, bassist Matt Fronzi indicated plans for a release show in a personal conversation (which we'll wait for the band to publically announce before covering here.) The full official album cover has also been unveiled, as you can see on the left, and it is indeed one and the same as the original "Loomings" cover, just with Gnaeus' name and new album title in all lowercase with a new and weathered font. Looks good and fitting to their style, though still no word on if the preview image from the Rotaryfest program was ever officially intended to be the cover art.

As a preview for the release, Gnaeus posted a lyric video for their song "Fire" onto their YouTube channel yesterday, which is a rarity alone in the fact that it's a lyric video from a local band! It's yet to be established if the physical album booklet will have printed lyrics or not, but it's nice to have words to sing along with if need be! Check the above links for more on "Meditations" and Gnaeus' upcoming plans, look for the new CD next month, and give their lyric video a look below, and keep an eye out in just in case we have an advance review in store in the next week or so!



Also, here's some of the latest updates from local alternative hard rock trio The Din, who are also nearing the release of their own debut CD "Give In To The Din"! We're badly behind on Din updates so far this month, so let's start rectifying that with this preview of the album artwork & booklet courtesy of CDBaby (where their album is being manufactured), which lets fans get a full 3D look at the front, back, and inside of what you'll get in physical copies! The preview is very tricky to maneuver with a mouse, especially when trying to look inside, but if you buy the album proper, you can avoid any issues! The full CD will have 9 songs, including "In Search of the Perfect Moment", "Flux", "Alleyways & Apartments", "Out Of My League", their cover of Haggith's "75", the newer "Remember", "Potato (Should Have Known Better)", another new song "The Rose", and "A Drive Through The Peninsula". Everything looks good and professional so far, and of course, copies go on sale on August 12th at The Tech!

As another preview, The Din unveiled the studio version of "Alleyways & Apartments" on their YouTube channel on Tuesday, which is notable as the song that the band recorded at Mission Control Studios with Dustin Jones engineering things, though Pretoria Hill Productions' Daniel Schmidt produced the track along with the remainder of the album. We'll hold comment until our review of the album (likely coming next month), but check it out below, stay tuned for more from The Din soon, and don't miss the release show!

Finally today, here's the latest from local classic/hard rock cover quartet Griphook, as per their latest post from their Facebook page last week! The post reveals that frontman Joel Syrette is taking a hiatus from the band while attending Queens University in Kingston, and as a result, he did not play with them at Rotaryfest on Saturday. As a result, bassist Dan Beaupre's former Hollow bandmate Adam King (recently of Mustang Heart) filled in for him, which is a solid and fitting choice, and hopefully Adam performed well last week! It's not clear if he'll join Griphook for future gigs or not, but the band did note on Facebook that their hiatus since January was due to band members "going through some ups and downs", and while they didn't elaborate further on that, they said that they remain "dedicated to keeping rock n' roll alive." It's great to see that Griphook are alive and still kicking, so stay tuned for more on their next shows when announced, and best of luck to Joel in Kingston! Hopefully we'll see him back on the local stage in time!

That's all for today, but stay tuned for more news and updates shortly! Thanks everyone!