LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (Tarnished & Tym Morrison), Plus New E.U.P. Metal Videos!!

Before we begin this post, just a heads up that the Glambition fundraiser concert at The Canadian Bushplane Heritage Centre (scheduled for this Saturday) has been postponed again due to the rise in regional COVID-19 cases, as per the event's Facebook group late last month. The Facebook event page confirms the date change to Monday, January 30th, but the statement confirming the postponement was not cross-posted there. Disappointing but understandable, and hopefully things quiet down in time for next month! Still, we do have some SHORT NOTICE LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS for this weekend, plus a new videos from some familiar faces, so here's what you should know!

Local hard rock singer/guitarist Tym Morrison will play his second concert at Mane Street Cafe & Lounge on Queen Street East TOMORROW NIGHT! Apologies for the short notice, Tym only announced this show via its Facebook event page on Monday. Apparently "back by popular demand", Tym made his debut at the Square 1 Mall cafe & hair salon spinoff on November 12th, and hopefully he delivers another skilled night of unplugged classic & hard rock hits for assembled fans TOMORROW! Yes, there will be half priced martinis and snack board specials if these interest you. An early 7:00 PM start time is in effect TOMORROW, prepare for a 19+ age limit, and there are no announced cover charges. Crucially, please use common sense to maintain social distance, wear face masks, and do not forget your vaccine passport if you want to attend this concert safely. See above for more details, and here's Tym live & in concert!

Next up, we'll head to Michigan's Eastern Upper Peninsula, where local hard rock quartet Tarnished will return to Huck's Pub & Grill in nearby Rudyard on SATURDAY NIGHT for their themed ugly sweater party! Again, apologies for the short notice, this show was also only announced on Monday, this time via the band's Facebook page. Last seen via their replacement gigs at The Rapids Lounge two weeks ago, this will be Alex, Nathan, Isaac, and Josh's first Rudyard stop since playing at Huck's (the former Joe's Bar & Grill) almost a month ago at a hunter's bash. Given the seasonal timing, SATURDAY'S concert will be in the holiday spirit, with attendees encouraged to wear ugly Christmas sweaters, and there will be prizes of some kind on offer (perhaps for the ugliest sweaters of all?) Yes, there will be drink specials too, no word on if you have to wear a sweater to get them. A 9:00 PM start time is in effect on SATURDAY, as well as a 21+ age limit and no cover.

Please be sensible and follow any public health guidelines posted at Huck's to ensure everyone's safety, especially with recent rises in COVID case counts and the new omicron variant. Visit the above links for more details, and here's Tarnished live!

We'll stay in the E.U.P. to wrap up this post via some new videos, including new teasers over the past week from St. Ignace progressive metal band Heavy Lies The Crown, who have posted one new video on their YouTube channel each day over the past week hyping that their long-teased full length album will be released tomorrow! You can pre-save its Spotify copy on Distrokid, but the band has not confirmed if it will be available elsewhere, let alone via outlets where it'd be on sale. The teaser videos (all under a minute long) feature audio clips from the album alongside thematic imagery and text hyping the release, but I embedded today's presumed final teaser video here, as it's the longest and gleans the most information. The album will be self-titled, and it will include twelve songs, including at least three of the songs from their 2019 EP "Scatter Brain", sans "Thing #1" unless they renamed it.

I cannot 100% confirm if the "Scatter Brain" carry-overs are re-recorded or not, but the version of "Knuckle Butter" from their music video in July used the 2019 recording. The album's cover artwork is embedded above, which can be seen on Distrokid and the YouTube teasers. Could H.L.T.C.'s new album leapfrog the Room 206 vinyl re-release in line as our next album review? It does have being a mostly new album and an earlier release date on its side, but it also has to officially be sold, not just posted for streaming. We'll let you know, but stay tuned for the full release tomorrow (our coverage should be short to follow), and check out this week's teasers above & below!

Finally, here's a surprise: New guitar performance videos from former local metal guitarist Mike Libertoski! The Galactic Alignment, Slackjawed Rats, and Swayze Train alum no longer lives in Sault Ste. Marie, but he is still musically active, currently performing in the White Lake deathcore band Bleak Life. After a nine year hiatus from his YouTube channel, Mike resumed posting new videos there in the last couple of days, and while all are short, it's great to see Mike is back and hasn't lost any of his considerable guitar skill! The videos include two teasers of Bleak Life original material (one audio only, one in black & white), plus a sweep picking arpeggios demo, and two cover snippets of Archspire's "A Dark Horizontal" and, as embedded below, Necrophagist's "Stabwound". I wish these were longer, especially the Archspire clip, but Mike's still got it, and Bleak Life have brutal songs of their own, so give everything a watch above & below!

That's all for today, but stay tuned for more news and notes on the site in the coming days! Thanks everyone!