Last Month's Poll Results & Our Newest Poll!!

It's now time to close down last month's poll and launch a new one on the SMS, as we continue our "favourite _____ of 2019" polls! Last month, we posed this question to you guys: What was your favourite new local metal, hard rock, or punk band of 2019? Alas, we only received four votes since January 18th, but there is a very clear result, so how did it break down?

I won't bother giving the full results here as usual, as all 4 voters gave us a unanimous result, with new local punk quartet The Sick Sons receiving all of the selections. I'm not surprised that they won, given their live prominence in the back half of 2019, but even in our low voted polls like this one, usually there's at least one dissenter! That all said, 2019's was a light year for debuting bands, with The Guitar Gangsters & Stoned To Deaf only playing live once each publically, while Mackinaw Trail and Tarnished were disadvantaged by Sault Michigan readership being lower than Sault Ontario's. In hindsight, I should have included The Uncanny Valley in the poll, given that they did technically debut live in 2019 (December 31st), but I didn't know what they played before this poll launched, and no one voted for "Other" anyway. In any case, The Sick Sons are deserving winners, following their well received sets at the Random Killing and Ripcordz concerts, with LopLops support gigs ahead, and don't miss them at A Dire Setback's CD release show next month!

Thanks to everyone for voting! As for this month's poll, I am posing this question to you guys: What was your favourite new local metal, hard rock, or punk album released in 2019? While there wasn't a lot of high profile heavier CDs released locally in 2019 with wide physical distributions or big launch parties,  we still got a lot of new paid album releases in this 12 month span from a wide array of local talent that you can pick from here! To make the poll, an album or CD must have been released for sale between January 1st and December 31st of 2019, with paper sleeve demos, free downloads, and albums exclusive to YouTube or Facebook videos excluded. Given the relatively unique occurrence of two qualifying albums being released and pulled from the marketplace last year, I will include them here as they were on sale at one point, though their current status is worth noting when you're deliberating your choices. Of course, "Other" is back as usual if your preferred choice isn't here. Now, here are your final options in this month's poll!

Alex Traynor - Crazy World:  The debut solo EP from Tarnished/ex-Banned frontman Alex Traynor, and a rare album release from a live concert-playing Sault Michigan-area hard rock act in the 2010s, "Crazy World" received a positive reception from local and downstate fans with it's modern rock energy and songwriting, but would you pick it as your favourite of last year?

Either of Awokest's debut albums: A busy 2019 for prolific Sault Ontario solo musician Chase Wigmore notably featured the paid debut albums from his experimental/death metal project Awokest, including his compilation debut "Enter The Nightlands" in January and the all-new studio alhum "Solving The Human Condition" in April. Mixing techno influences with extreme noise metal, Awokest made a strong first impression as a paid album act, but would you vote for them?

Black Cloud - Abstract Sounds: The experimental metal solo project from local guitarist Peytan Andreola, their debut demo "Abstract Sounds" was released on Bandcamp in June, before being taken down during a brief hiatus late last year. The project quietly resurfaced last month, complete with the demo returning on YouTube, but not in paid form. A work in progress with clear promise throughout, would you cast your vote for Black Cloud's debut?

Either of Chase Wigmore's formal debut albums: After years worth of free EPs and loose demos, the aforementioned Chase Wigmore finally released what he calls his debut folk/punk studio album "Songs To Punch Yourself In The Face To" in December, and just two weeks later, he followed that with another digital album, the death metal-focused "One Last Act of Defiance". Harbouring lots of intense material for fans on both sides of the coin, would either earn your vote here?

Crucify the Whore - Crucifiction Inquisition: Capping off a quiet but escalating late 2010s, the local goregrind solo project put out the aforementioned 5 song lo-fi EP last February, featuring more of the brutal minimalist grind that Blood Shed Productions followers have known and loved over the past decade. C.T.W.'s newest solo release won't win over the unconverted, but would it get your vote in this poll?

Heavy Lies The Crown - Scatter Brain: Despite still not playing a public concert in the Eastern U.P., new St. Ignace progressive metal band Heavy Lies The Crown have had a steadily rising profile downstate in 2019, and that peaked in September with the release of their debut EP "Scatter Brain". Featuring some early 2000s nu-metal influences and a solid musical base, H.L.T.C. are on the rise, but can you vouch for "Scatter Brain" in this poll over the rest?

Mike Haggith - Ashes of K (Official Motion Picture Soundtrack): The postponement of his "Bridges" album meant that local/Thompson, Manitoba hard rock musician Mike Haggith released no new studio albums in 2019, but he did release the soundtrack to the 2018 Windsor, Ontario independent film Ashes of K on his Bandcamp page last year! Featuring 7 solo songs and 4 from The Din, the music holds up, but would a soundtrack compilation be enough to vote for over the competing CDs?

Mike McCleary - Propaganda Model: Prolific local solo musician Mike McCleary has largely been quiet in 2019 amid personal and outside concerns, which included his newest solo album "Propaganda Model" (released in February) being taken down later in the year for planned reworking. While very political in it's lyrics, Mike's solid musicianship and songwriting was on full display, and hopefully he resurfaces with new music in the future! Did you hear this album enough to vote for it?

Other: Did we miss an album you'd rather vote for? Was your favourite new local album of 2019 from a non-metal/hard rock/punk act, a free release, or even unfinished? Did I just neglect to include something? If, for whatever reason, your preferred new album isn't included above, vote for "Other"!

VOTE TODAY!! You have until March 18th to cast your votes, and it will be interesting to see who comes out on top here, hopefully after more than 4 votes roll in! That's all for now, but stay tuned for more news and notes on the site soon, including weekend concert previews! Thanks everyone!