2022: A Look Back In The Year Of Local Metal, Hard Rock, And Punk

As always, let's end the year for our last post of 2022 by looking back at the year that was for The Sault Metal Scene! 2022 got off to a quiet start out of COVID-19 pandemic-related necessity, as a partial lockdown in January and a rollback in indoor capacity measures ground most Sault Ontario concerts to a halt until March. Since then however, things have slowly gotten better, aided by the end of vaccine passports in February and indoor mask mandates in March, and while we're not back to where we were in 2019, this was our busiest year for positive news since then!

This was evidenced by touring acts to play in Sault Ontario and area this year, including names like The AC/DC Show, Alien To The Ignorant, B.A. Johnston, Blessed, Crush, The Glorious Sons, Gutter Creek, Just Leppard, The Killer Dwarfs, Marianas Trench, Pyramid Theorem, Sandman, Taming Sari, The Trews, and White Cowbell Oklahoma, not to mention two Queen tribute bands two months apart! Rotaryfest (Stages 1 and 2) and Toystock both returned to their full pre-pandemic splendor, while The Northern Vibe Festival returned with another stacked lineup in August, the long-delayed Glambition fundraiser finally took place, and the Clusterfolk Music Festival was reborn with a dual focus on music videos and young band promotion. Rap/rock hybrid shows also gained prominence via the multiple $onny Vybe$ benefit concerts and The Apocalypse Afterparty's involvement in rap gigs at Soo Blaster.

Loplops Lounge also resumed hosting in-person concerts in 2022, while Handsome Sandwich made multiple appearances during The Soo's Got Talent, Dryer Fire brought a wide array of genres to their Wilson Street temporary venue, and an impressive lineup of local musicians performed at Outspoken Brewing's second annual Oktoberfest at The Machine Shop. It's a slow process to get back to where we had them before March 2020, but this year had a lot of positive events if you looked for them!

Sault Michigan and the Eastern Upper Peninsula were not lacking for an uptick in concerts and live gigging bands in 2022 either, with The Dreammakers Theatre at the Sault Ste. Marie Kewadin Casino hosting two high profile metal concerts this year, starting with the oft delayed Black Label Society concert on May 6th (with Nita Strauss opening!), followed by Steel Panther's holiday season return show on November 26th. Both were surely aided by the end of the PCR test requirement for Canadian travellers, of course. Touring hard rock bands like Fyrbird, Overdrive Orchestra, Peril, Scarkazm, Spun, and Sunspot made their way to the E.U.P. for multiple dates in 2022, while locals Buddy Repperton & The Camaros and The Nameless debuted at the former Back Door in April, and cover mainstays like Tarnished, Project 906, 415E, and Rhythm & Brews were also seen. Look for much more from hard rock bands in the 12 months ahead.

Pandemic and concerts aside, a lot of important news stories happened in the local scene this year. For concert venues, Reggie Daigle put the wheels in motion to divest his two concert venues, with Reggie's West becoming Jay's Piston Broke Pub and Reggie's Place itself being up for sale. The Oddfellows Hall sold years after ceasing concert promotion in the late 2010s, while The Rockstar Bar put concerts on an indefinite hiatus in June, and The New A and The Canadian both closed, but Shooters Downstairs Lounge opened their concert floodgates, and The Esquire Club resumed nighttime bookings this fall. Local acts like Heavy Lies The Crown, Theatre of Night, Spades GT, Obsession, The Northwest, The Uncanny Valley, Soundcheck, and Tarnished hit the road for gigs outside of our area, with The Northwest's profile beyond the Soo really expanding with press features and airplay on non-local radio stations and even on NHL telecasts last season!

Also this year: the Kim Mitchell and Anvil concerts were cancelled, Metal Morpheus aired its final first-run episodes on The Borderline, Mikey & His Uke relocated to the Soo while continuing their impressive slate of cover videos, Jonesy Land continued their push with multiple music videos, the Marconi Meets World festival debuted this summer, Fort Creek hosted two instrument raffles for charity, and Sault Michigan's Tarnished performed on a float during their Fourth of July parade. With things getting busier in 2022, the outward growth should continue next year, for better or worse!

2022 was a big year for local album releases from heavier and punk bands, as evidenced by 11 of our 12 monthly reviews this year being of new albums from late 2021 onward! While not sold on CD, the biggest in scope would arguably be indie/punk quintet The Northwest's third EP "All In", which got a strong reception here & afar after its release in June! These Magnificent Tentacles, Vanity (First), and Forever Will Be also put out their debut digital EPs for fans on the punk spectrum, while Chase Wigmore, Molten Imp, and the re-emerged Sykotyk Rampage enjoyed a busy 2022 with multiple new album releases this year alone. Metalheads could enjoy local progressive metal project PROV3RB5' debut EP "What Dreams May Come" and Theatre of Night's new Christmas-laden re-release "Dreams of Winter", while The Uncanny Valley factored into this year's Clusterfolk compilation tape. Here's to more new local albums next year!

An intriguing crop of new local metal, hard rock, and punk bands emerged in 2022, if with a surprising lack of online pages for them to promote themselves with. The highest profile one may be new alternative/punk supergroup Bookclub, whose Oktoberfest debut and recent LopLops gig have let the Surfers-laden quintet get off on the right foot! Fans have also welcomed new local metal trio The BAG and Jamie Vincent's new noise duo No Funeral to the stage this year, while the already launched Vanity First and Sylo (née Raincourt) played their first public gigs outside of White Pines, Suicide Kings successors Ravencore debuted at Toystock, and two Skeyes of Seven alums brought the acoustic Short & Sweet to Parabol's return concert. Also, Sault Michigan welcomed both Buddy Repperton & The Camaros and The Nameless to the stage at Three One Three on Ashmun in April. Look for much more from these bands in 2023!

With 2022 being a busier year in general, there was even more lineup changes therein, and none saw more overhaul than the revived Exploring Detritus, with guitarist Dan Souliere adding Ryan St. Pierre, Justin Lam, a returning Anthony Boudreau, and (briefly) Mitch Sirie for their revival. Mitch also was part of the expansion of These Magnificent Tentacles from a duo to a quintet, with his long-time bandmate Johnny Belanger and half of Gnaeus joining Brent & Steve too this summer, and Mitch & Johnny also formed half of the revived Soo Fighters this fall. The Wyld Stallyns confirmed Alex White, Derek Turner, and long-time guest Josh Norling in their expanded six-piece lineup, while 3/5ths of Heavy Lies The Crown was swapped out, with Brandon & Ted now joined by younger St. Ignace-based musicians. Of course, the now-Barrie based (Jack) Spades GT saw J.D. Pearce & Daniel Horton round out their new lineup with GTA musicians.

Also this year: Warren Reville joined (and Brad Stephen & Ric Datson left) the stripped down Bone Yard, Jessica Amadio replaced Valerie Powley as Obsession's singer, Rafael Medeira joined the now five-piece Handsome Sandwich on bass, Bill Brouillard replaced Matt Sibilo on guitar in Fort Creek, and Raine Rancourt left his own namesake band Raincourt (now Sylo). Hopefully all of these changes prove successful for these bands, and that the former members rebound in other projects!

Things have picked up in the scene, but we're still not back to pre-pandemic rates, and it does show in the bands we said goodbye to in 2022, with only one major heavier band (power rock quintet Re:Born) firmly announcing their dissolution in February, without ever emerging from their pandemic hiatus despite their announced lineup additions. However, a handful of familiar bands were moved to our inactive band links after last being heard from late last year, including death metal favourites The Bear Hunters, Buckcherry openers Bad Chug, and punk trio Redundant. Horror punk quintet Frightlight fell inactive with Chris Thompson's passing and J.D.'s move to Barrie in 2021, and notable bands like Parabol, Tripod The Dog, and Sault Michigan's 415E, Buddy Repperton & The Camaros, and The Nameless have all been publically dormant since the spring. Fingers crossed that we haven't heard the absolute last from these bands!

Like in prior year-in-review posts, we'll end with comebacks and reunions, and with things opening up more than ever, we weren't lacking in this area! For bands in concert, The Northern Vibe Festival saw the returns of Jack Spades (now Spades GT), A Dire Setback, and The Soo Fighters after spending a year or more off the local stage, while fellow Northern Vibe performers The Cover-Up had already returned at this year's returning Go Skateboarding Day festivities. Mike Haggith, Parabol, Slumshine, and The Sick Sons (renamed The Gambit) all came back after a year+ away, while (The) Northwest made their own full comeback from the pandemic, and Heavy Lies The Crown did the same while almost exclusively playing in Michigan's Lower Peninsula. This year also saw the rebirth of Great West Falls as Forever Will Be and solo original project Stone Smyth, and the return of Downtown Street Parties, among other returns this year!

2022 was an eventful year, even if things weren't quite at the levels we might be used to from the 2010s, but it's only up from here... right? Have a Happy New Year, please drink responsibly if you're going out, and we'll see you guys back on the SMS next week (and next year!) Thanks everyone!

New Year's Eve Weekend Concert Previews!!

On this wet Thursday evening, let's look at this weekend's hard rock concert previews, all with ample advance notice, and all factoring in New Year's Eve into their plans! Here's what you should know!

We'll start at The Northern Pines Lounge at the Kewadin Casino in nearby St. Ignace, Michigan, where Traverse City classic metal trio Peril will end their 2022 concert calendar with shows TOMORROW & SATURDAY NIGHT! After a busy year for both Peril and their sister band Scarkazm with numerous gigs at Kewadin, this should be a prime chance to check out Jeff, Adam, and Brooks' hard rocking old school covers, in their first E.U.P. stops since rocking the Sault Ste. Marie Kewadin in August. No word on holiday frills on Saturday for New Year's Eve, but ringing in 2023 is very much a part of the advertising for that night's concert, so if you want to end the year on a heavy note, Yooper readers know where to go! Both tomorrow's and Saturday's shows have 21+ age limits, no cover charges, and 9:00 PM start times. Visit the official Facebook event page & the above links for more details, and here's Peril live in concert!

Next up, we'll head north to Sault Ontario with a solid range of New Year's Eve options for heavier music tastes, but let's start with the arguable biggest show of the weekend, as local funk/hard rock cover sextet The Wyld Stallyns will take the stage THIS SATURDAY NIGHT at The Canadian Bushplane Heritage Centre as the local openers for Toronto "brasshop" favourites My Son The Hurricane! The Stallyns have had quite a busy year at traditional nightclubs and community events alike, but this rare support slot should provide them with a huge platform to show their varied setlist and heavier cuts, so don't be late on Saturday! My Son The Hurricane (featuring former Redefined/Rising Tide drummer Danno O'Shea) are certainly no strangers to the Soo, having played here twice already in 2022, and multiple times in years past, and their eclectic mix of funk and dance rock should be a fun way to end the year!

No word on seasonal frills beyond the headliners' presence, but this is a licensed 19+ event at the Bushplane Museum, and it's the culmination of pandemic-altered plans for My Son The Hurricane to play in town on December 31st since 2020. Presented by LopLops Lounge, tickets run for $64.67 at this link, and doors open at 8:00 PM. The scope, holiday tie-in, and headliners alone will make this must-see for many, but The Wyld Stallyns will bring the heavy (if mixed with other funk covers) to kick off the night, so don't miss out! Visit the above links for more details, and here are The Stallyns live in concert earlier this year!

Also taking place THIS SATURDAY NIGHT is local southern hard rock quintet Fort Creek's first ever gig at The Water Tower Pub for that venue's own New Year's Eve party! Last seen headlining their "Christmas blowout" at Soo Blaster three weeks ago, Saturday will prove to be another high profile event for Fort Creek and their hard & heavy covers (and new originals), but in very different ways. The Water Tower Pub are absolutely going all out for New Year's Eve, with their event having $60 admission, but included in that price are an appetizer buffet, midnight toast, and party favours, so expect all of those frills if you're weighing our December 31st options. New Year's Eve room packages at the Great Northern Road venue's attacked inn are also available, click here for details. Advance tickets are on sale at The Water Tower Inn's reception desk, and presumably at the door, while this show is obviously 19+, and has a likely start time of 8:00 PM.

Between this and My Son The Hurricane/The Wyld Stallyns, $60+ tickets will scare many off, but remember what you're paying for in both cases, and at least The Water Tower Pub are open as to what they're providing on Saturday, so hopefully lots of revelers come out to send 2022 off and rock out with Fort Creek, especially in their debut there! Visit the above links for more details, and here's Fort Creek live!

Finally for known hard rock concerts this weekend is local classic/hard rock cover quartet Soundcheck's own New Year's Eve show, which takes place at Shooters Downstairs Lounge on SATURDAY NIGHT! Thursday jams nights aside, this will be Soundcheck's first concert since playing at Jay's Piston Broke Pub this past Friday, but unlike that show, Saturday's New Year's Eve party has had plenty of advance notice on both the band's and venue's fronts! Soundcheck have played often at Shooters this year to positive audiences, so they should be a fine choice to send 2022 out at the Dennis Street nightclub with their old school hard rocking covers! Expect some type of New Year's frills, as this show will have a cover charge, but only $5, so if you want a much cheaper option than the Sault Ontario shows above, here you go! There will be a 19+ age limit as usual, and the festivities have a later run time of 9:00 PM-3:00 AM.

This has been a quiet year for concerts as we come out of the pandemic control measures, but it's good to see a solid slate of hard rock action in the Twin Saults on Saturday for your New Year's Eve partying needs, so visit Soundcheck's Facebook event page and the above links for more details, and here's Soundcheck live at Shooters!

That's all for today, but unless there's late notice shows, I'll next see you guys on Saturday for our annual year-in-review post! Thanks everyone!

The Northwest/Gambit Concert Preview, Plus New Videos!!

I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas (and Hanukkah) and got in lots of family time and presents underneath all of this snow! With the year winding down, here's a new news post on this Tuesday morning, and it mostly includes new videos, but leading off, here's a mid-week concert preview to check out, assuming you can swing it on a work night!

Local indie/punk quintet The Northwest will headline a special charity concert TOMORROW NIGHT at LopLops Lounge! Ending their eventful 2022 in style, this will be The Northwest's first LopLops appearance since the pandemic began, their first local gig since the Marianas Trench show in September, and their first show period since their Guerrilla Grooves date in North Bay in October. This should be a fine way for the guys to cap off the year with their increasing profile & strong originals, so don't miss out tomorrow night! Revived and renamed local punk supergroup The Gambit (née The Sick Sons) will play their first concert since their LopLops dates in December 2019, preceding a three year pandemic hiatus, name change, and reportedly adding a fifth band member (identity yet unclear). It's great to see The Sick Sons Gambit back at long last, and remember that drummer Clint Wilson is a Northwest alum himself!

Reportedly taking place during renovations at the Queen Street East nightclub, tomorrow's 19+ show has an 8:00 PM start time, and admission is $20 at the door or via advance tickets purchased through the Facebook event page. However, The Northwest are holding a charity drive for St. Vincent's Place tomorrow (something they hope to reprise next year), where non-perishable food or hygiene product donations will get you either $15 door entry or $5 back (LopLops will match each donation for $5 apiece). Wonderful idea, as even after Christmas, many are still needing help from the community! Visit the above links for more on this holiday season concert, and here's The Northwest live!

Next up, let's dive into some videos, starting with the latest Mikey & His Uke cover video, as uploaded to the project's YouTube channel on December 16th! It's not a seasonal song or a carol, but that's just as well given that I'm only covering it now. This time, Mikey and crew are tackling Rancid's "Daly City Train", with Mikey himself on guitar and (at first) ukelele once again. Vocals are split four ways here, courtesy of Slackers frontman Vic Ruggerio (also on accordion), Buck-O-Nine singer Jon Pebsworth, Bedouin Soundclash frontman Jay Malinowski, and Mighty Mighty Bosstones singer/ex-Jimmy Kimmel Live announcer Dicky Barrett. Jon's Buck-O-Nine bandmate Andy Plafoot handles bass, while ex-Goldfinger drummer Darren Pfieffer (a former bandmate of Mikey's in The Dookies) rounds out the lineup here. I'm not a massive Rancid fan, but everyone acquits themselves well on this rendition!

Having four different singers spreads the wealth and lets some strong names in on the action, and they each do Tim justice in their own ways, and the instrumental performers more than hold their own (even the accordion isn't out of place!) Solid stuff as usual, so if you love punk rock, don't bypass Mikey & His Uke's latest effort below!

Also today, here's a new videos from prolific local folk punk/extreme metal musician Chase Wigmore's Facebook page on Friday! This video sees him covering "No Children" by folk band The Mountain Goats, which Chase noted that he has covered in a video before, but allegedly didn't know what he was doing originally. The grainy monochrome quality of the video proper is at least livened up by rapidly changing backgrounds laid overtop of the original footage that seem to feature outdoor forest settings and animal skeletons in a living state. I'm not familiar with "No Children", but Chase gives it an ominous building quality with good vocal passion, so do check it out below, and more is coming soon!

Finally, here's a new acoustic version of a song from new local pop punk solo project Forever Will Be's YouTube channel two weeks ago! This is the unplugged version of "Downsides" from their debut album "Dead & Dishonest", and while I'll hold full comment on this song pending our review of the album (currently pencilled in for February), it translated well enough to this format, though the peppy, upbeat nature suits a full plugged-in band more. Check it out below, and stay tuned for more from Forever Will Be!

That's all for today, but stay tuned for weekend concert previews on the site next! Thanks everyone!

The Northwest Updates, Plus New Christmas Cover Videos!!

Before we get into today's post, I wanted to apologize for a missed concert to preview on here, as local classic/hard rock cover quartet Soundcheck actually played at Jay's Piston Broke Pub last night. This one-nighter was only announced on Jay's Facebook page on Thursday, and the band has not posted on their Facebook page in three weeks. With the local concert calendar being very quiet given that today (Christmas Eve) is a Saturday, I frankly wasn't expecting any heavier bands to announce shows this weekend, but hopefully there was a decent turnout at the former Rosie last night, and I'd have covered this show had I heard about it prior!

Today's post is mostly video related, including two seasonal offerings as we near Christmas, but we'll start with a charitable update for an upcoming post-Christmas concert, namely the Northwest/Gambit show at LopLops Lounge on Wednesday! Our proper preview of that show will hit the site early next week, but on the 15th, the headlining indie/punk quintet announced that they would be holding a charity drive for St. Vincent's Place that night. If you bring non-perishable food items or hygiene products with you, you'll basically save $5 on admission (the ticket price is otherwise $20), so you'll either get in for $15 or you'll get $5 back if you bought yours in advance. In response, LopLops will match all donations by giving $5 apiece to St. Vincent's Place. Wonderful idea, and especially at a screwy time of year for many, so hopefully lots of money and food is raised for the needy at St. Vincent's Place on Wednesday night!

The charity drive is also addressed in this new SooToday article by Chris Belsito yesterday, which also looks at The Northwest's busy 2022, from high profile live dates to their EP release to their airplay on radio and during televised NHL games over these past 12 months. Frontman Wayne Watkins is quoted in the article, where he praises the grants that the band has received from the Ontario Arts Council, as well as the assistance that they have received from Cultural Industries Ontario North towards mentorship and networking in the Canadian music scene. Wayne teased that The Northwest already has "voice memo demos" for what they hope will be a full length studio album next, before closing by plugging Wednesday's concert. Strong promotion that points to what should be a big year for The Northwest, so click here or above to give it a read!

To cap off the Northwest portion of today's post, they did post a few new videos onto their Facebook page (mostly text-heavy "Reels" to promote the concert/food drive), but the only actual video (uploaded on Wednesday) features Wayne and guitarist Greg Callaghan plugging the show while also wearing ugly Christmas sweaters. Fellow guitarist Mike Yakasovich is also present, but says nothing, which isn't anything new if you recall prior speech-heavy Northwest videos. Good and light promotion for the festivities on Wednesday, so check it out below, and see more recent updates and content from The Northwest above!

 

Next up, here's another new Christmas carol covers from former Brain Tuel guitarist Zach Reid's YouTube channel! He has clearly been in the Christmas spirit since I shared his acoustic guitar rendition of "Christmas Time Is Here" on the SMS last week, as he has posted eight more carol covers there since! These include versions of "Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas", "Silent Night", "I'll Be Home For Christmas", "I Saw Three Ships", "Greensleeves" (a.k.a. "What Child Is This?"), "Silver Bells", "Somewhere In My Memory" from Home Alone as a "Short" video, and as embedded below, the Canadian standard "The Huron Carol". These quiet, intimate acoustic carol renditions might be just what the doctor ordered with the snow still coming down in the Soo area tonight, so give them a watch above & below!

Finally for today, here's one more video to watch by the fire... as it literally has one! As you may recall, Sault Michigan classical metal band Theatre of Night released their new/revised Christmas album "Dreams of Winter" on December 2nd, and it has made its way to YouTube for free streaming twice. Once is via the automated YouTube channel hosting select studio material for YouTube Music, but the other is in one batch video on their official YouTube channel as set to a 56 minute video of a yule log on the fire! All 14 of the new/re-recorded songs are present in order as seen on the album (and timestamped in the description), so this will surely be the most metal yule log video you'll watch this year, at least as far as local bands go! Looping it to run longer aside, the only thing I'd have changed would be to make the video in full widescreen, as having it in square Instagram dimensions seems counter-productive. Check it out below!

That's all for today, but I hope everyone has a Merry Christmas, and I'll catch you back on the site on Monday or Tuesday! Thanks everyone!

Theatre Of Night - "Dreams Of Winter" Album Review!!

With a very quiet concert weekend ahead, let's get this month's 162nd CD review up on the SMS, and to end the year, we're going seasonal with a look at Sault Michigan classical metal band Theatre of Night's sixth paid album "Dreams of Winter"! Independently released on their Reverbnation page on December 2nd, this is their first album with a paid release (Spotify playlists excepted) in almost 5 years, and is effectively an expanded revision of their 2011 album "Christmas Night", a seasonal release that foretold Theatre of Night's future as a touring act. Credits for the album aren't listed, but they have worked on and teased Christmas studio plans for years, some of which may or may not reflect the final product on this album. Their current lineup includes returning keyboardist Craig Harrison and guitarist Steve Giles from "Christmas Night", now joined by singer Rachel Mender, bassist Luke Bernard, and drummer Erik Sales.

Note that Scott Andringa was their bassist from 2017-2021, but it's not clear if he recorded anything present on the released album. You can buy "Dreams of Winter" at the above links for $9.99, and it can also be heard on most major streaming platforms, including on YouTube. As this album is mostly re-recordings, I won't re-review most songs, but I will compare them to the original album as to what changed. For reference, I am using the original all-instrumental 2011 version of the album for comparisons, not the later digital copy that featured vocals from ex-singer Gaby Koss and guest Ida Elena on select songs, and click here for my review of the original album. Featuring 14 tracks running for about 56 minutes, let's begin another Christmas night, 11 long years later!

The track listing of the albums have differences, but both start with "What Child Is This". The new version keeps the same arrangement but with some extra crescendos, and crucially, Rachel on vocals in the second half. She puts her pretty, operatic vocals to good use, with an effective drop in pitch late! I'm not sure that the added early instrumentation truly added anything, but you can see why this song kicked off the albums and their live Christmas concerts! Moving way up to track #2 is "Carol of the Bells", which is more or less a verbatim re-recording from the original a decade ago, and while there's no differences to speak of compositionally, the production quality is definitely cleaner and less fuzzy on the new version! Given how the Trans-Siberian Orchestra popularized this carol in a metal context, Theatre of Night's version continues to fit their mold very well!

The next eight songs are in order on both albums. Next is "Road To Bethlehem" (no "The" at the end anymore), which remains a short original instrumental with an identical arrangement. New recording quality aside, the biggest difference is that the opening 15 second introduction gradually gets louder, whereas it was a static volume originally. This mildly eerie orchestral piece still sets an interesting mood at this early stage! It is followed by "Little Drummer Boy", which sees the return of Rachel on vocals, but not singing the complete lyrics, opting not to do the "pa-rum-pum-pum-pum" parts until the title character asks Mary if he can drum for the baby Jesus. I assume they opted to hold that until the boy actually started drumming in universe, but something feels missing when you don't have them there. Otherwise, this is the same song with higher production values, and it's a strong & dramatic rendition!

Next is "Christmas Night" (formerly "Arabian Christmas Night"), which retains the original instrumental piece's structure but does tone down some of the twinkling and windy background effects, and I think I hear some vocal harmonies layered into the recording. Not a heavy song, but a pretty bridge between established carol renditions then and now! The albums' shortest song "Away In A Manger" follows with Rachel's return on vocals and more of a prominent drum track than on the original. Erik is a little loud in the mix here, especially given the softer nature of this carol in both versions, but Rachel's addition fits very well, and it's a nice mellow break as we reach the mid-point! Song #7 is "Dance of the Sugarplums" (previously named "The Nutcracker"), which remains an instrumental with the same structure, but Steve does show off a little more on guitar, and the drums are more prominent & rock based.

I think this revision is the best of the instrumental ones so far in terms of adding to the song, giving this holiday ballet staple some extra zest! The second half of "Dreams of Winter" leads off with "Silent Night", which Rachel sang on the Spotify version of "Christmas Night" too. Unlike her prior songs on the new album, her vocals are used from the start rather than after an instrumental verse. Her vocals are well done again and suitably orchestral, but I'd have dialed them back a little just given the song's mellow & spare tone. Still effective, and maintains the original version's musical framework! "Oh Come All Ye Faithful" is next up, and for the first time on the album, Rachel sings on consecutive songs, but only to do partial choruses and the final verse. You have her here, why not use her? The drum track is also more prominent here, so fans of Erik's work will be happy!

Well performed version of this classic carol that sticks to old formulas with additions, but again, I'd have had Rachel sing more of this. The run of eight consecutive songs in order across both albums ends with track #10, "Star In The East" (no more "A" at the beginning). While still an original instrumental, this arguably has the most changes to the song proper yet, including a shorter intro, a steady percussion track (the original had no drums), and an electric guitar solo rather than the spare plucking fans originally heard. As such, the 2012 version is definitely more metal, and it does feel a little more like a Theatre of Night song compared to the slighty muzak-ish original! With "Carol of the Bells" launched up to song #2, the final two songs imported from "Christmas Night" remain as tracks #11 & #12 here, with "O Holy Night" up next.

The longest song on offer then & now, this version keeps the same arrangement, but adds drums and vocals to the mix, and they are a massive help, as the original was kind of monotonous as just a keyboard/guitar instrumental. Clearly the prior re-release with Ida on guest vocals became the canon version of this carol to update! It's still a little long compared to prior songs, but adding in the full band heft was the right call, and Rachel arguably has her strongest vocal performance yet! The final song adapted from "Christmas Night" is "Hark The Herald" (no "Angels Sing" at the end anymore). Like the original, this is a orchestral-heavy rendition, but about 1:20 in, Rachel and Erik jump in to add vocals and drums to the proceedings. They generally help things out, but having Rachel only sing some verses partially with the instrumentation "singing" first just made the song sound unfinished.

Leaving in the low, spare, and drawn out ending of the original more or less intact isn't what I'd have done, but it's still effectively performed! The last two songs on "Dreams of Winter" are new to Theatre of Night albums and were not on either the original or the patched revision of "Christmas Night". First of them is "God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen", and while this is new to their discography, the formula is not dissimilar, including a sparer intro and a full band middle section with vocals, plus Craig's solid orchestral keyboard work throughout. Alas, this song also does the "Rachel sings only the back half of some verses" thing, which I really don't get (if the band is "singing" the first chunk, it should be a more prominent solo from Steve than what we're getting). That aside, this carol has always lent itself well to rock covers and Theatre of Night do it justice, and I like that the outro wasn't dragged out for as long as on earlier tracks!

The new album closes with a rendition of "We Three Kings", This is arguably one of the heavier cuts on offer, and the chugging riff is solid (if a little low in the mix). Mercifully, Rachel's verses are all intact here, and the composition is strong on this carol, with a nice symphonic fade out to boot, but this is a song that is repetitive on its own, so playing it traditionally (if metalled up) for 5+ minutes means that it does drag a bit by the end. Solid rendition all the same, and a nice bonus to cap off the album with!

So, what is the final verdict on Theatre of Night's second Christmas album (or it's re-recording?) Overall, this is a strongly done update that adds a lot to the existing songs and better reflects Theatre of Night as the live band that we know and love today! With the exception of "Star In The East", the songs are seriously identical structurally (I bounced back and forth in Audacity to cross-reference the 2022 changes), but adding vocals to most of the carol renditions is largely a plus, and I had forgotten that Greg Giles' drumming on the original wasn't a constant across those songs, so having a more regular inclusion of percussion was very welcomed. On the whole, these songs were generally heavier and more varied with the expansions, and Craig's orchestral flourish on keyboard helps set these apart! However, I don't really like the "Rachel only sings half of a verse" approach used on some songs.

Given the heavier, full band approach, letting Steve loose on guitar would be a plus if it happened more, and I do think Theatre of Night slightly missed the boat by not basically making this a verbatim studio version of their live concert, complete with bridging spoken word narration. Still, this is an improvement on "Christmas Night" (original or revised), and it'd be neat to see Theatre of Night tackle more Christmas classics down the line! Buy or stream "Dreams of Winter" at the above links, I hope you guys liked this month's CD review, and stay tuned for our review of Chase Wigmore's newest solo album on the site early next month! Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERT (Fort Creek), A New Album Release, And More!!

After a quiet holiday season weekend, we're back on the SMS with a Monday night post including some updates and videos from two different local bands, a new and quite seasonal album to buy/stream, and leading off, a LOCAL CONCERT ALERT for the end of the year. With all of that said, here's what you should know!

Local southern hard rock quintet Fort Creek will cap off 2022 with a New Year's Eve party on Saturday, December 31st at The Water Tower Pub! As far as I can tell, this will be Fort Creek's first ever appearance at the Great Northern Road venue, and doing so on New Year's Eve is definitely a big way to debut there! Last seen with their "Christmas blowout" at Soo Blaster earlier this month, Fort Creek's new lineup continues riding high with assorted live dates and their recent charitable initiatives, and hopefully their hard rocking covers and select originals prove to be an ideal way for revelers at The Water Tower Pub to ring in 2023! This 19+ event does not have an announced start time (likely no earlier than 8:00 PM), but The Water Tower Pub is going all out with this, including an appetizer buffet, midnight toast, and party favours included in the $60 ticket fee, and if you believe their Facebook post, "tickets (are) going fast".

There is also an overnight New Year's Eve hotel room package at the on-site Water Tower Hotel with breakfast and a concert ticket included for $175 ($275 for two people), so see above if that interests you. The admission fee will scare many off, but they're just pulling out all of the stops to make this party one to remember, and hopefully there's a sizeable crowd for Fort Creek to end the year with! Visit the above links for more details!

Next up, here's a surprise (yet still long teased) album release, as Sault Michigan classical metal band Theatre of Night have put out their second full-length Christmas album "Dreams of Winter" on their Reverbnation page! On sale there for $9.99, it was posted on December 2nd, and is their first actually on-sale album (free Spotify playlists excepted) since they quietly released "Guntower Democracy" in 2018, and it 100% confirms their teasers and hints at putting out another Christmas album, effectively an expanded re-recording of their 2013 instrumental album "Christmas Night", but now with vocals from Rachel Mender on some songs. While every song on "Dreams of Winter" is a revision labelled as "V2" (version #2), two of the songs were not on the original "Christmas Night" album, namely "God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen" & "We Three Kings", and some songs have been renamed and re-ordered.

Song lengths are similar to the original 2013 versions, implying that they largely kept the old arrangements, but how different is "Dreams of Winter"? Due to the holiday season timing, I'm actually going to try and review this album before Sunday so it's timely for the holidays (it'd be odd reviewing this next month), and if this makes the site by Sunday, I'll bump our planned Chase Wigmore album review to early January, as it'll be still as relevant and about as new then. In any event, a new album review is coming, but if you want to hear some new-ish Christmas carols gone symphonic metal, buy or stream Theatre of Night's new album above!

Also, here's some new videos from one of new Sault Ontario metal trio The BAG's concerts at Reggie's Place this past weekend! Filmed & posted by attendee Stephanie Laplante to the band's Facebook group on Sunday, these were uploaded in a batch post along with a few photos from the gig. The videos see The BAG covering the instrumental bridge of Golden Earring's "Radar Love", playing an apparent new original song with a punk sound (if it's a cover, I couldn't match the lyrics up with anything), and as embedded below, them covering Marilyn Manson's version of The Eurythmics' "Sweet Dreams (Are Made Of This)". Alas, all three videos are under one minute long (the punk original clip runs for just 20 seconds), and they're also all shot and uploaded vertically, but luckily, the sound holds up across the board, and Stephanie was at a good angle to capture the whole band despite the aspect ratio and the somewhat dim lighting.

From what we hear of The BAG in these videos, they sound good and are rocking out as well as you'd expect, though I'm not sure that "Sweet Dreams" is the cleanest fit for Spencer's vocal range given how slow and creepy the Manson version is plotted out. Check these out above & below, and stay tuned for more from The BAG!

Finally, here's the latest from local/Toronto progressive metal band PROV3RB5, starting with a lineup addition, as they have enlisted former Role Models drummer Phil "Philly Gee" Greco as a full band member! He was officially announced via their Facebook page on November 25th, replacing existing bassist Bryan Lee, but his joining the band was hinted at on personal accounts in the preceding weeks (though he joined after the recording sessions for their debut EP "What Dreams May Come"). Phil is arguably better known locally as a punk drummer, but he has the chops to hang with Ben & Bryan, and it'll be interesting to see how he fits in on future originals! Elsewhere, their song "Treasure Forest" was featured & positively reviewed on the web series Local Band Smokeout last month (the relevant clip was posted to PROV3RB5's Facebook page), but just as a disclaimer, "local band" doesn't mean the Soo, the show covers local bands from any market who want their songs reviewed on air.

PROV3RB5 have also been selling a new line of official band clothing that you can check out/buy at this link, and on December 6th, and they shared this "Reel" from Phil's personal page of the early drum tracking for their first new song since he came on board. Not much to see/hear yet, but good to see things are underway! For a longer video, they did share this video of guitarist Benjamin Roswell playing the solo from "Particles", but I can't embed it here as he's playing along to the studio track, and Facebook content matched it to itself, so external embedding is not allowed. Solid work though, so check out all of the new PROV3RB5 updates above, and stay tuned for more on the site soon! Thanks everyone!

Bookclub/Wyld Stallyns Concert Preview, New Videos, And More!!

As promised, we're finishing up this weekend's hard rock/punk concert previews in today's post (anything on super late notice excepted), and to round things out, there's an inactive band note and a couple of new videos to check out. Here's what you should know!

New and online page-less local alternative supergroup Bookclub and local funk/hard rock cover sextet The Wyld Stallyns will join forces for a special holiday season concert at LopLops Lounge TOMORROW NIGHT! Effectively a seasonal encore for two bands that shared the stage at Outspoken Brewing's Oktoberfest concert in the fall, this will be Bookclub's second concert period and first as headliners. With a stacked lineup featuring Inner City Surfers & Room 206 alumni playing a relatively new batch of songs compared to their prior punk-centric bands, hopefully Bookclub make a good impression at LopLops tomorrow! The Wyld Stallyns should do the same in this rare LopLops appearance from them, so look for a fun opener from Christina, Rob, Jesse, Alex, Derek, and Josh to kick off the festivities! No word on seasonal frills (poster aside), nor how LopLops' recent renovations will affect the concert proper, if at all.

Despite the all-local lineup, this show will have paid admission of $15 in advance ($20 at the door), and you can buy tickets online through the Facebook event page. This is a 19+ event, and it starts at 10:00 PM.  This should be a fun time for local music fans hoping to hear some talented musicians rocking out over the holidays, so definitely visit the above links for more details, and here's Bookclub live!

Next up, here's (one of) the newest Mikey & His Uke cover videos, courtesy of the project's YouTube channel! Of course, this features Bookclub frontman Mikey Hawdon, so it's a natural segue! Unveiled on November 23rd, this is a cover of Cyndi Lauper's verison of The Brains' "Money Changes Everything" featuring Mikey on ukelele (initially) and guitar once the full band kicks in. Joining him from afar are The Haunt singer Anastasia Grace Haunt, Warrant's Erik Turner and Mikey's Fairmounts bandmate/producer Simon Head on guitar, New Found Glory bassist Ian Grushka, Fenix TX drummer Damon de la Paz, and Huey Lewis & The News keyboardist Sean Hopper (a huge get for Mikey personally, as he loves that band and even briefly fronted a Huey Lewis tribute band in Toronto). Not the punkiest song going for Mikey & friends to tackle, but it's very well performed on all fronts, and Anastasia nails the vocals in particular!

While writing this post, December's (non seasonal) cover video was uploaded to the Mikey & His Uke channel, so we'll save that for an upcoming news post, especially given the people involved in that one. Nicely edited and shot, so fans of the Mikey & His Uke series will definitely want to check out their Cyndi Lauper cover below!

Also today, I have reluctantly decided to move local Celtic punk quintet Dustin Jones & The Rising Tide back to our inactive band links. The band has not updated their Facebook page in any capacity since a post share from another page on December 18th of last year, but they haven't posted anything themselves about new/future band activity since releasing their "No Control" music video in December 2020, and they haven't played live in three years. A factor in their 2021-2022 dormancy was fiddler Sheldon Jaaskelainen working out of town, and the pandemic can't be ignored either, but Dustin has been focusing his original music pursuits on his solo project Jonesy Land in the last two years, not to mention the revived Cover-Up and the aforementioned Bookclub. After their original 2007-2016 run and a year+ hiatus, The Rising Tide returned in 2018 and worked on an unreleased fourth album over the next few years, with two songs making it online.

They still gigged in 2018 & 2019 too, but dialed back their touring schedule in favour of staying local, while also expanding to a five piece lineup. It's a shame that The Tide's fourth album never got completed, but hopefully this isn't the absolute last we'll hear from them, and remember that Dustin does cover Tide originals in Jonesy Land's rare live sets. Best of luck to him, Sheldon, Marshall, Liam, Chris, and their former drummers in the future!

We'll close today by not straying too far genre-wise for a new video from former Brain Tuel guitarist Zach Reid's YouTube channel!  His first upload in a year, this video (like that one) sees Zach cover a Christmas song on acoustic guitar, this time The Vince Guaraldi Trio's "Christmas Time Is Here" from A Charlie Brown Christmas. This is a well done, if spare rendition of this jazz Christmas staple, so give it a watch below!

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

LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (Obsession, Tarnished, Project 906, And The BAG), Plus Weekend Concert Previews!!

Today's post is primarily devoted to weekend concert previews, as intertwined with LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS, with three bands confirming SHORT NOTICE gigs for this weekend within them! Due to the amount, I'll hold our preview of Saturday night's Bookclub/Wyld Stallyns show for our next post, hopefully hitting the site tomorrow. Now, here's what you should know to start off this weekend!

Sault Michigan hard rock quartet Tarnished will return to The Merchants Bar for one night only TOMORROW NIGHT! Apologies for the short notice, the band only confirmed this gig tonight on their Facebook page, and they said "this was also late notice for us as well", so alas, we'll take what we can get for advertising here. Full disclosure, The Merch's Facebook page has not mentioned this show at press time, but they routinely don't promote bands playing there on Facebook, focusing instead on general themed events and drink specials. Last seen opening for Steel Panther, TOMORROW'S show will be Tarnished's first at The Merch since July, and hopefully the guys continue melting faces for their fans and bar patrons alike! You can see Tarnished TOMORROW at 9:00 PM with a 21+ age limit and no cover. See above for more details, and here's Tarnished live!

Next up, new Sault Ontario metal trio The BAG will play their third and fourth public concerts TOMORROW & SATURDAY NIGHT at Reggie's Place! Again, apologies for the short notice, these dates were only announced by the venue's Facebook page on Monday. Arguably one of the heaviest local bands to play at Reggie's (a primarily country bar pre-2020), the genre gates have definitely widened with Randy LaPossie managing the bar, so it will be interesting to see how The BAG are received TOMORROW & SATURDAY! You can take in Spencer, Austin, and Bradley's hard hitting covers (expected and surprise alike) and early originals this weekend at 9:00 PM both nights with 19+ age limits and no cover charge. See above for more details, and for a preview, here's a new BAG live video from their Saturday nighter at The Esquire Club on December 3rd! Filmed by Val McGillivray once again, this was shared to their Facebook group on Sunday.

This sub-2 minute video features The BAG covering the ending of AC/DC's "Let There Be Rock", and while the quality is similar to Val's prior "Folsom Prison Blues" video, this one was shot horizontally from a closer angle, so you get a better view of the whole band. Plus, you don't hear this AC/DC song covered as often locally, and they acquit themselves well to it, at least the chunk we hear, so check it out for yourself below, and don't miss The BAG at Reggie's TOMORROW and/or SATURDAY!

Now let's hop back across the border for another newly discovered gig, as Sault Michigan hard rock quartet Project 906 will return to Huck's Pub & Grill in nearby Rudyard THIS SATURDAY NIGHT! Apologies again for the short notice, the band only confirmed this show via their Facebook event page earlier today, but Huck's Facebook page had been advertising their booking since late last month, if quietly. While Project 906 aren't mentioning this aspect of the event, SATURDAY'S concert takes place during an ugly Christmas sweater party at the former Joe's Bar, so if you're making the trip out to Rudyard for Project 906's blues and hard rock covers and select originals, pack an ugly sweater for the occasion! No word on if there's an attached contest or not. SATURDAY's show has a 9:00 PM start time, a 21+ age limit, and no cover, so see above for more details, and here's Project 906 live earlier this year!

Lastly for today, Sault Ontario classic/hard rock cover quartet Obsession will play their apparent final shows of the year TOMORROW & SATURDAY NIGHT at The Esquire Club, but they will be back in 2023! As you may recall when I first rolled Obsession into our full coverage earlier this year (before Jess even joined the group), I noted that they were already listing shows for 2023 on their website's concert calendar, and it's now about time to list them on the SMS! They'll be back at The Esquire Club one weekend a month for the first half of 2023, with dates on January 6th-7th, February 10th-11th, March 17th-18th, April 21st-22nd, May 12th-13th, and June 9th-10th, and after an apparent summer break, they'll be back at the Second Line West nightclub on September 8th-9th, October 27th-28th (a.k.a. Halloween weekend), and December 15th-16th. Clearly you can tell that The Esquire Club is their favourite venue, so they're making the bookings there count!

The other already-confirmed dates are at Shooters Downstairs Lounge, where Obsession will return on March 31st & April 1st, September 22nd-23rd, and November 17th-18th. No word on other venues yet, but remember that less bars have booked bands regularly since the pandemic. This weekend's shows (and next year's Esquire Club dates) all start at 9:30 PM with 19+ age limits and no cover, and the same applies for the Shooters gigs except for earlier 8:00 PM start times. See above for more on Obsession's old school hard rocking shows in the year ahead, click here and here for this weekend's Facebook event pages, and here they are live!

That's all for today, but stay tuned for our Bookclub/Wyld Stallyns concert preview and more on the site next! Thanks everyone!