LOCAL CONCERT ALERT (A Dire Setback), Info On Their New CD, And This Month's Poll!

We're back with a new news post on this Saturday night, which is devoted to two topics: Our first 2019 retrospective poll of the year, and leading off, a LOCAL CONCERT ALERT concerning an upcoming CD release concert, and all of the pertinent details on the album in question! Here's what you should know!

Local alt-punk trio A Dire Setback will release their long awaited self-titled debut CD on Saturday, March 28th at a release party concert at LopLops Lounge! This will be A Dire Setback's first show of 2020, and of course, this will be your first chance to buy their album before it goes on general sale the following day. Albums will be on sale for $15 on March 28th, with online copies on CDBaby currently advertised at $9.99, though local store availability is to be announced. It's great to see Chris, Matt, and Nick's hard work finally paying off! This is the cover artwork, as included on the Facebook event page and the album's CDBaby page. The originally announced openers were planned to be a one-off reunion of The Din, returning the favour after A.D.S. opened for their 2018 "Dinunion" at LopLops, but they had to withdraw for unannounced reasons (remember that Mike now lives out of province.) Instead, "no genre" trio Handsome Sandwich will open on March 28th!

Fresh off of their return to the stage last week, they should provide an intriguing compliment with their diverse array of covers and sense of humour, so don't be late for their set! At least one additional opening act is to be confirmed. This self-promoted event will feature sound by Crank Sound Distributions, plus Shaw TV's Christian Lemay will be filming (presumably for an OnStage episode), while CD producer Dustin Goodall will be recording the show live, purpose not yet clear. The concert proper will be a 19+ affair with a 10:00 PM start time and a $10 admission fee, though if you pay $20, you will get a $5 discount on the album and CD combined. Tickets can be bought online at this link and at the door where available. As for the album proper, CDBaby features preview samples of all 9 tracks, which include their self titled song, "Everlasting" (no "Despair"?), "Kicking & Screaming", "Drop Dead", "Catastrophe", "Faded", "Forget This Memory", "Endless Dream", and "Nightmares".

Conspicuous by it's absence is "Wasting Away", despite still being in their live setlists. As one of their earliest and most recognizable originals, it would have been nice to hear a studio copy! I'm not 100% sold on the cover art, but this is an exciting time for A Dire Setback, so follow the above links to get more details on the album and CD over the next two months! Before we move on, the guys shared the full studio copy of "Drop Dead" to their YouTube channel on Wednesday, marking our second full look at an album track. Bouncing VU meters aside, this is just a still image. I'll hold thoughts pending our full CD review in the spring, but check out "Drop Dead" below!



We'll close today with our first "favourites of 2019" poll, as we dust off our voting booths for another year! As usual, we will start with this question: What was your favourite new local metal, hard rock, or punk band of 2019? Last year was relatively lean for newcomers in our covered genres, but enough notable names turned up to keep this poll worthwhile! To be included, bands must have made their public launch and played their first local concerts in the 2019 calendar year, which notably excludes St. Ignace's Heavy Lies The Crown and the now-defunct Sault Ontario death metal project Black Cloud, who both launched in 2018 (plus, H.L.T.C. have only played live downstate.) As has always been our criteria for show announcements, open mic nights do not count as live concerts, so Fort Creek did not make the cut either, but you can vote for these or other new-ish bands via selecting "Other". Now, here are your final choices in this month's poll!

The Guitar Gangsters: Local fans were surprised in the fall when this new Volbeat tribute band debuted in time for J.D. Pearce's annual Halloween Party, with a star studded lineup including a non-Belleau reunion of Garden of Bedlam alongside Jack Spades and Papa Fogals Chair alumni. Their one local show to date was very well received, as was their Sudbury trip in late November, but was this enough to win the poll to you?

Mackinaw Trail: One notable yet familiar sight in the E.U.P. was Mackinaw Trail, an originals-focused side project from 3/4ths of existing classic/hard rock cover veterans Highway 63. While ostensibly a studio act, Mackinaw Trail do play live sporadically for bookings when H63 guitarist Nathan Switzer is busy with Heavy Lies The Crown, leading to their live debut at The Rapids Lounge in October. Have Mackinaw Trail piqued your interest the most here?

The Sick Sons: Arguably the highest profile new act of these 5 based on concert scale alone, punk supergroup The Sick Sons made a huge splash by opening for Random Killing & The Ripcordz in their first two concerts, before playing two big holiday season sets at LopLops last month. Featuring Bankshot, Downshift, Northwest, and 12 Gauge Ready alumni, The Sick Sons have all the tools to make a further impression, but would you vote for them?

Stoned To Deaf: Though in existence since 2018, the band has yet to launch a public online page, so their May debut concert (opening for Poison Girl at The Rockstar Bar) is enough to qualify them here. A Rage Against The Machine tribute from Elements bassist James White, they seem to have went over well in their first outing, but they've been publically AWOL since. Were you there to vouch for them in this poll over the other bands?

Tarnished: The most prolific of last year's heavier newcomers, Sault Michigan hard rock band Tarnished succeeded frontman Alex Traynor's prior group Banned last summer, and soon followed with lots of acoustic sets at unconventional locales (primarily Biggby Coffee) and select full band electric gigs, even hitting the road for Mount Pleasant and Toledo along the way. Tarnished have the dates under their belt, but would they earn your vote?

Other: Did another new band get your attention more? Would you side with 2018 newcomers who only played their first gigs last year, like Heavy Lies The Crown or Black Cloud? Did Fort Creek do it for you despite not playing a formal scheduled show yet? Maybe you prefer a band who hasn't played live at all, isn't metal, hard rock, or punk, or isn't even local? Or did I miss a heavier band here? If your preferred choice isn't listed, vote for "Other"!

VOTE TODAY! You have until February 18th to cast your votes, and hopefully we have some decent totals to kick off this round of 2019 retrospective polls, in spite of the lean rookie class. That's all for today, but stay tuned for more news and updates on the site soon! Thanks everyone!