Heavy Lies The Crown - "Heavy Lies The Crown" Album Review!!

It's now time for our 151st monthly CD review at The Sault Metal Scene, as we're taking a look at St. Ignace, Michigan progressive metalcore quintet Heavy Lies The Crown's self-titled full length album! Independently released to digital platforms on December 17th, this is H.L.T.C.'s second release, following their 2019 EP "Scatter Brain", whose four songs were all re-recorded for this album, albeit with one renaming. Recorded primarily at their home studio in 2020 & 2021, "Heavy Lies The Crown" features the band's current lineup, including singer Brandon West, guitarists Ted Olson & Nathan Switzer, bassist Danny Tucker, and drummer Cale Krist, with Nathan making his studio debut with the band here. Heavy Lies The Crown's new album is solely a digital release (note that they have not played live during the pandemic), but you can buy it for $9.49 on Amazon in MP3 format, and you can stream it for free on YouTube, Spotify, and Amazon Music.

Song names below are linked to their YouTube copies, and for the "Scatter Brain" re-recordings, I'll primarily be comparing differences with the originals rather than re-reviewing those songs (check out that EP's review for my original thoughts). With 12 songs running for about 42 minutes in length, let's kick off this review with the first song, "Friend"! A pounding hardcore number that seems tailor made for live concert mosh pits, this has the production quality and style that fans of bands like Wage War will get a kick out of, and the dual guitar attack is put to solid use! That said, this is a short song eithout a proper guitar solo (despite Ted & Nathan's skill levels), the drums can sound a little artificial, and Brandon's screaming sounds shriller here than it did on "Scatter Brain". Still, this is an entertaining contemporary metalcore song that gets in and out without overstaying its welcome!

Second is the album's shortest track, "Interlude", but this is barely a song. In reality, it's a 55 seconds-long techno piece that directly leads right into song #3. I'm not a massive fan of breaking up one actual song like this to have a dedicated introduction track, but it's fine if you like instrumental drum & bass. "Interlude" segues right into the first of this album's "Scatter Brain" re-recordings, namely "Choke", so what's different about the 2021 version? Aside from having no interlude of any kind, the song's structure has not changed, but the instrumentation is fuller, no doubt helped by having Nathan on board now! While louder than the EP, "Choke" does have a harsher, rawer feel that may not be to everyone's taste, but it's still a killer track that puts Brandon's A.H.C.-esque vocals to good use! As on "Scatter Brain" though, there are more technically sound songs on offer.

Next is another returnee from "Scatter Brain", namely "Knucklebutter", which is very similar in how H.L.T.C. handled it for the new album: Identical structure, a fuller sound with twin guitars, and a louder yet tinnier recording quality. The biggest difference is the background laughter from the band late in the song is completely gone for the re-recording, though Brandon now does some pig squealing(?!) at the very end. Musically, this was my favourite song on "Scatter Brain", and I'm pleased to see that they didn't change much, as that galloping riff and dramatic tension can't be denied! We briefly move to new songs with "Every Step Of The Way", which contrasts a nice melodic guitar intro with assaulting instrumentation to start, and these guys sure know how to write a solid breakdown! The alternating clean and harsh vocals are well handled, and this song sure puts Danny and Cale to solid use!

As a pure musical showcase, everyone gets moments to shine on this song, and while the song isn't catchy on earworm levels, I can definitely see why this was one of the advance singles, as the technicality and heaviness quotas were certainly met! The third of the "Scatter Brain" re-recordings is next, namely "Time Diffuser", but you can just repeat most of my prior comparisons verbatim for what's different from two years ago vs. now, aside from a more drawn out last stretch that slightly lengthens the song. In this way, the song doesn't end so abruptly, so that's an improvement! The more inventive structure and nice vocal contrast and guitar line are all intact here, so fans of the original will have nothing to worry about, and new fans won't feel out of the loop either! On the second half of the album, we're mostly dealing with new songs, with the last re-recording at the very end.

Next on the album is "Princess", which is the most melodic song yet on offer, with Brandon clean singing (to varying extents) throughout, though some background screaming is included. This kind of gives me the vibe of modern In Flames, which is sort of a mixed blessing, but it does show that H.L.T.C. aren't afraid of expanding their boundaries. Myself, I think it's a little too mid-tempo and sleepy, despite solid musicianship, but if you wanted to hear them drop the metalcore aspect, here you go! Song #8 is "*69" (yes, as in the call return code), and this song bizarrely is a bit of a throwback to nu metal, with pseudo-rapped verses. I guess in this respect, American Head Charge comparisons are more apt than ever! For a relatively shorter song, there's surprisingly not a lot going on here, with a relatively repetitive musical structure and minimal lyrics, plus some wind effects at the end.

If you're a nu metal diehard, this song may pique your interest, and the choruses do have screaming, but I dunno, this song feels even more out of place than "Princess" did. Ninth is another of the album's advance singles, "Voices", and while this also is heavy on clean vocals like "Princess", the song proper is heavier and feels more like it could have came from the "Scatter Brain" sessions, and it has a darker vibe, fittingly with background voices in the intro. The second chorus in particular has Brandon letting loose with harsh vocals! Ted & Nathan lay down some brutal riffs and solos in this one, and I like how Cale's drumming sounds on this one. Heavy Lies The Crown have catchier songs, but it's good to see them getting back on track for their wheelhouse here while still shaking it up! 

"Dead Teeth" is next (along with a little too much background hiss), and the pre-verse guitar riffing is excellent here! Like with "Voices", this song nicely alternates clean and harsh singing with the right mood for where the song's going, and musically, everyone performs to the best of their abilities! Nothing shocking to report here compared to prior songs, just a very solid metalcore song from H.L.T.C. that fits with their usual sound! The  "Oh God, I love it" at the end came out of nowhere though. The penultimate song "A Sold Soul" is both the last brand new song and the longest one on the album, and like with "Princess", I am getting heavy post-"Siren Charms" In Flames vibes from this song, with Brandon singing for the duration aside from the background screaming. Honestly, some of his vocals on the chorus sound really strained, but they do set a darker, ominous mood!

The song proper isn't bad, and it doesn't feel padded to almost 6 minutes, but compared to what I most like out of Heavy Lies The Crown, I was definitely missing crushing riffs and breakdowns and what have you. As a piece of music, it's well composed and professional, but "Scatter Brain" fans may not get what they're expecting. Speaking of which, the final carry-over from that EP closes this album, namely "A Hell Bound Heart", which was known there as "Thing #1". Not sure why they renamed it, but it sounds less Seussical now! As with the prior three re-recordings, this song is largely the same structurally but with fuller guitar work, but the production quality is beefier here, and the effects put on the start and end do help add a little extra flourish! This one seemed to get the most care, and it feels heavier now!

So what are my final thoughts on Heavy Lies The Crown's self-titled album? Overall, this is an entertainingly diverse album that feels like what their 2019 EP should have been right along in many respects! While not perfect, it shows their metalcore hybrid sound put to good use with lots of professionalism, and everyone shines musically! Brandon's screaming is effective, and his clean vocals have their moments, while Ted & Nathan play off of each other well with their technical guitar skills, Danny's bass filled out the low end as well as you'd expect, and Cale kept a strong rhythm on drums throughout! The four re-recordings were wisely not altered too much, while the new songs mostly followed in a similar vein, so this mostly felt like one cohesive recording session. My favourite songs would have to be "Knucklebutter", "Every Step Of The Way", and "A Hell Bound Heart".

For negative points.... the production did feel tinny and less rich for most of the re-recordings, I'd have liked to have heard a couple more guitar solos, "Interlude" being separated from "Choke" is pointless, I didn't really take to "*69" at all, and I think Brandon should work a little on his clean vocals, especially if we're going to be getting more modern In Flamesy stuff from them on future albums. Still, it's great to see a talented extreme metal band making new music in the E.U.P. like this, and hopefully we hear much more from Heavy Lies The Crown ahead, especially when they're ready to play live again! Give this album a listen at the above links, and I hope you guys liked this month's CD review! As for our next CD review, I'm not sure what we'll be looking at yet. The obvious picks (The Din's "Technically Live" and Molten Imp's "Constable Sewage") are still within our 6 month anti-bias buffer period.

Normally, if nothing new comes out on sale to review, I'd dip into the archives, ideally tied into a musician playing live in the given month, and if there's any solace to that idea, it's that restrictions in Ontario are loosening, so some live concerts could be ahead next month. Time will tell, but stay tuned in any event, and we'll have more news and notes on the site as the week progresses! Thanks everyone!

Fyrbird Concert Previews, A New Video, And More!!

Before we begin today's post, I wanted to offer our deepest condolences to the family and friends of  local rock guitar legend Bob Yeomans and veteran local news anchor Karl Sepkowski, who both passed away in the past week. Bob died on Saturday at the age of 74, and is survived by his wife, two children (one being former Ashes To Dust guitarist Liam Yeomans), a step-son, and a large extended family. Read Bob's SooToday obituary at this link. While not a hard rock/metal musician, Bob was a prominent mainstay of the local scene in bands like Zak's All-Stars, The Vendettas, and The Amen, as well as serving as an instructor at the Thomas Walls School of Music. Nationally, he and fellow Saultite Tim Ryan had success in the 1970s pop rock band Jackson Hawke, who first recorded hit songs like "You Can't Dance" & "Set Me Free", and Bob later worked musically in Nashville before returning home in 1985.

For Karl, he passed away on Monday at the age of 81 in Newmarket after a battle with lung cancer, and he is survived by his wife, three children, five grandkids, and his extended family. Read more on Karl's life & career at this link. While not a musician, Karl was "the authoritative news voice in Sault Ste. Marie" for decades, becoming CKCY's news director in 1963 after starting there in 1959, and he later worked on camera for CJIC and MCTV, returning to the radio in the 1990s with WSOO, and moving to Rock 101 as their news anchor in the fall of 2005. Karl's tenure at The Sault's Rock Station appears to have been relatively brief, as he disappeared from their website's staff page circa March 2006, as per Internet Archive Wayback Machine backups, but this is still a notable for being (as far as I can tell) his final stop as a local news anchor.

From what I've read about both Bob Yeomans and Karl Sepkowski, they were kind and honest men who loved their work and the Soo, and there's a lot of kind words being shared for the both of them online (if you're Facebook friends with Mikey Hawdon, he posted some nice remembrances about Bob as a music instructor). Bob and Karl definitely made their positive marks on the community, and they'll definitely be missed. R.I.P.!

Now, this post (possibly our last news post of the month) has a new video to check out, but first, here's a pair of concert previews for this weekend, as Manistique, Michigan hard rock duo Fyrbird will return to The Rapids Lounge at the Sault Ste. Marie Kewadin Casino for concerts TOMORROW & SATURDAY NIGHT! As revealed on Kewadin's entertainment page, these will be Fyrbird's first E.U.P. stops of 2022, after making their casino debut last year, but now that event advertising has their name spelled correctly, we won't miss these ones for the SMS! If you want to learn more about Jamie & Rikk's music and live schedule, visit their Facebook group, which confirms that they will also be back in the E.U.P. for a show in Paradise (just outside of our coverage range) on February 4th. Fyrbird's hard rocking minimalist sound has won them a good following in the Upper Peninsula, so don't bypass them!

As usual for Rapids Lounge concerts, tomorrow and Saturday night's shows have 9:00 PM start times, no cover charges, and 21+ age limits. Of course, please respect and follow any posted or recommended public health measures at the lounge/casino to ensure everyone has a safe time. Visit the above links for more details, and here's Fyrbird live!

Finally, here's a new video from local hard rock/progressive guitarist Mike Cliffe's YouTube channel  from last week! While the video does feature Mike playing on an acoustic guitar, it's primarily a product review for Tree Picks, a company that sells wooden guitar picks made out of real trees. For each order, the company will plant a real tree, and you can customize the picks with your own logo or label (Mike got the Audiofumes logo on his). A sustainable non-plastic pick that plays good may appeal to guitarists and bassists who see the video, and Mike's a fan, so check it out to see what you think! Hopefully Mike has some new performance videos to come!

That's all for today, but stay tuned for this month's CD review on the site next! Thanks everyone!

YouTube Channel Profile Series: Jon Tiberious & Handsome Sandwich

Here are our first YouTube Channel Profiles of 2022, and yes, that is a plural, as I had to slightly change plans for this month! Upon actually working on this post, I realized that the local content of the channel we had randomly selected as less than I realized, so I added one more channel with only two videos of the same format to round things out with diverse footage. That said, there's a bunch of familiar faces to see here, so here's what you should know in our latest spotlight on SMS content-heavy YouTube channels!

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Jon Tiberious (http://www.youtube.com/channel/UCIeafoJqob6Vzym2yUlJgGw) 

Owner: Late & Loud guitarist/vocalist Jonathan Tiberi, also known from local bands like The Daybreak Johnnies, Lazer Queen, and Pillory, the solo projects The Last Warrior of Rock and The Soviet Space Program, and most recently in the Hamilton doom metal band Astral Witch

Channel Timeline: Launched on January 10th, 2014; Videos uploaded from February of that year until March 2019

Channel Summary: A personal use channel, Jonathan uploaded five videos here, though only one comes from a local concert. The rest include one of friends shotgunning beer, a jam session clip of him & friends in Etobicoke, and two clips intended to showcase gear that he was selling online.
 
Why You Should Watch: This channel will interest fans of Jonathan's post-Soo music work in particular, especially as it starts with one of Late & Loud's final concerts to date, and there's a surprising amount of diversity on offer regarding the different video content! The jam session video, while really not local beyond his involvement, is an entertaining watch in and of itself! However, note that there are no Astral Witch videos on his channel, let alone anything else in the 2020s.

 Our Recommended Videos To Check Out:

 

late and loud: After disbanding in 2013 following Jonathan's move back to Southern Ontario, Late & Loud resurfaced for two more Rockstar Bar headlining gigs the next year, and this video features the guys playing their set-opener "Trouble" at the first of those dates in February 2014. Featuring Jon alongside Kraken Mara guitarist Brendan Christie, bassist Benn Garside, and drummer Josh Hatherley, the video captures Late & Loud's amusingly dramatic introduction and this lengthy original song fairly well, but the blurry visuals are definitely not optimal. Luckily, the filmer took the camera close to the stage for the last three minutes, so you get a good look at the future Late & Legends podcast crew in axction then!

 

 

Orange Rockerverb 50 Mk I: As the most viewed video on Jonathan's channel is the shotgunning one, let's shine a light on #2, which features him covering a medley of classic rock and metal songs on guitar to showcase the Orange Rockerverb 50 Mk I amplifier that he was selling on Kijiji eight years ago. There's a lot of familiar tunes and solos that he nicely plays here, and it wouldn't be fun to spoil them, so give it a watch below, and hopefully we see Jon back in the Soo for a show of some kind down the road!

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Handsome Sandwich (http://youtube.com/channel/UCXpa-LZhX_sZQ4Xn82gGvFw) 

Owner: A member of local "no genre" quintet Handsome Sandwich, exact identity unclear

Channel Timeline: Launched on June 12th, 2021; Videos uploaded that day and eight days later

Channel Summary: The official YouTube channel for Handsome Sandwich upon their 2021 relaunch, the band quickly uploaded two jam session performances of new original songs (their first after previously being a covers-only trio) towards a planned debut album, both featuring singer Taylor Emlaw (Big Mistake), guitarist Jesse Cook (The Wyld Stallyns), and Bear Hunters bandmates Mitch Sirie & Johnny Belanger on bass & drums. The songs are "All Or Nothing" & (featured here) "Bitter", each recorded in different locations. From the punk/power-pop leanings of the former to the slower, genre-fluid style of the latter, the new look Handsome Sandwich have gotten off to a promising start, and while they've been hard at work in studio as of late, hopefully we'll hear more from their camp soon!

 

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 I hope you guys liked this month's YouTube Channel Profiles! This series will return on or around February 26th, while our next post will hit the site by Friday morning, with this month's CD review following over the weekend. Stay tuned, and thanks everyone!

Ontario COVID-19 Restriction Update, New Videos, And More Assorted News & Notes!!

We're back with a new news post on this chilly Sunday afternoon, and it includes a new live concert video, some assorted updates, and more local hard rock musician exposure in a popular YouTube series! Before we get to topics about music, here's what you should know about a major news story and what it means for live music in Ontario in the short term.

We might as well start today with the province of Ontario's re-opening plans following the roll-back of restrictions on January 5th due to the highly contagious omicron wave of COVID-19, which put concerts to a screeching halt once again. In a news conference on Thursday, Premier Doug Ford revealed that the current modified Stage 2 restrictions will remain in place until this coming Friday. Starting then, the re-imposed restrictions will be incrementally scaled back at three week intervals, but specifically regarding concerts, venues & nightclubs can re-open with 50% capacity as of Friday, and will be lifted outright on February 21st (Family Day). All remaining capacity and gathering limits will be removed on March 14th, bringing us back to where we were to end 2021, though these are all subject to change if COVID case counts warrant a reversal. Vaccine passports and indoor masking requirements remain mandatory until further notice.

Read more about the provincial re-opening plans at this link or via your favourite provincial news outlet. As we learned following the end of the three full lockdowns in June 2020, February 2021, and June 2021, there are some musicians and venues who will eagerly book shows with capacity limits, so we should start to see limited concert announcements perhaps in time for Saturday the 29th, but we'll keep you guys posted no matter what. Fingers crossed that case counts and vaccination rates allow for no more COVID restrictions in Ontario, and stay safe out there!

Next up, here's a new live video of Sault Michigan hard/blues rock quartet Project 906 live at The Strongs Tavern in November, as uploaded to their Facebook page at the time! Notable as their first publically posted video featuring new drummer Odin Osogwin, the guys are playing their new original "Girls That Bleed" here. Between the side-stage camera angle, overly bright stage lighting, muffled vocals, and placement of the band members (you can barely see Dustin), this isn't an optimal look at the band, but the song does have a harder edge and good melody, so fans will definitely wanna check out the new Project 906 video below, and don't miss them in Hulbert next month!

Also today, here's some more recent appearances on the YouTube series You Rock! with Thomas Christ, which Sault Ontario/Thompson, Manitoba alt-hard rock musician Mike Haggith got good mileage & exposure out of in episodes #11-#15, but he was not in episode #16 from December 22nd. However, former No Arrow frontman Dann Pichette was (no doubt encouraged by his old bandmate Brad "Gortium85" Griffith), submitting his 2012 solo track "Swass" for a live review! You can check it out at the 2:26:48 mark (this episode is over 4 hours long). Beforehand, Thomas reads remarks from Dann about the inspiration of "Swass", and yeah, it's quite a description! Thomas compared the song to something he'd record under the influence, but he called it a fun track and said it was interesting, and you can tell that it intrigued him! Embedded below is episode #17 from December 29th.

Here, Dann submitted "Trial & Error" from No Arrow's unreleased album "Souls For Sale" (1:46:14), while the 3 hour episode ends with Mike Haggith's live cover of Prince & The Revolution's "Purple Rain" from his virtual CD release party in 2020. Thomas liked the lo-fi four track recording quality and punk energy of "Trial & Error", calling it "kick ass", while the "Purple Rain" cover was also praised for it's production values and professionalism. I have a feeling more local talent will get looked at by Thomas in 2022 episodes, but give his last two from 2021 a watch above & below!

Finally, here's three assorted shorter news items from the last while, and as usual, these are in alphabetical order by artist name:

 

• I have moved local hard rock band The Bridge Heads to our inactive band links, having not made a public post since new band photos appeared on their Facebook page in September 2020. Effectively the successors to Eclipse, this band launched in January of that year, and played just two concerts before the pandemic began. They did plan to press on as a trio after guitarist Daniel Horton moved out of town, but nothing really came of that. It's a shame The Bridge Heads didn't do more, but best of luck to Curtis, Daniel, and Caleb in their next moves, and R.I.P. Chris!
• Former Winkstinger guitarist Jason Ladouceur has moved back to the Soo and is looking for "someone to jam with" towards forming a heavy metal/rock band, specifically mentioning a drummer. It'd be great to see Jason back playing live again in the Soo, so message him at this link or via his Musicians Wanted Facebook group post from last night for more details!
• Vanity guitarist Mikhal Muto posted on the Musicians Wanted Facebook group yesterday himself, looking for a "serious bassist to join a punk/alternative rock band" that plays originals and covers. The description heavily implies that he's looking for a new bassist for Vanity, and while they have not publically confirmed if Nick McClelland left the group, note that Vanity's Facebook page has not been updated in almost two months. We'll keep you guys posted when more comes out on Vanity, but message Mikhal at this link for more details on the bassist search!
  

 

That's all for today, but stay tuned for more news and features on the site this week! Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERT (Project 906), Peril Concert Previews, And Treble Charger on MuchMusic!!

For the first time in 2022, we have a new post that is not 3 days from the previous one! Not necessarily because news is perking up, but because there's actually a pair of concerts to preview this weekend, obviously not in Ontario though given the current restrictions (though we'll have more on the new re-opening timeline on the site soon.) Alongside those previews, we have a very cool video upload with a prominent local band, but leading off, here's a LOCAL CONCERT ALERT for next month!

Sault Michigan hard rock quartet Project 906 will return to Hulbert Happy Hour in nearby Hulbert Township for one night only on Friday, February 18th! This will be Project 906's first gig at this venue since way back in 2019, as well as their first show of 2022, and their second concert set with new drummer Odin Osogwin. However, this is actually a rescheduling of a concert originally planned for this past Saturday. While we did miss it for coverage on the SMS when  the Facebook event page went up two weeks ago, the COVID-19 pandemic forced the show to be postponed five weeks, with news breaking in a post on the event page on January 12th. There's no partial lockdown in Michigan right now like in Ontario, but clearly some venues are still being very cautious, and hopefully things are sufficiently quieted down by Presidents Day weekend! Expect a 9:00 PM start time, 21+ age limit, and no cover.

And as usual, please respect and follow any public health and safety measures in effect at Hulbert Happy Hour (at 10402 South Maple Street) to ensure everyone has a safe and happy time next month. It's a shame that the pandemic cost this show its original date, but the omicron variant is what it is and everyone's adjusting however they can, so hopefully next month's date sticks! Visit the above links for more details, and stay tuned for updates from the Project 906 camp as we get them!

Next up, while Project 906's show this month was postponed, we do finally have weekend concert previews for the first time in 2022, as Traverse City classic metal trio Peril will return to The Rapids Lounge at the Sault Ste. Marie Kewadin Casino TOMORROW & SATURDAY NIGHT! As best as I can tell, Kewadin have not been cancelling concerts due to omicron, but please adhere to any and all public health and safety guidelines posted at the lounge/casino if you come out this weekend. This weekend's shows are Peril's first anywhere in 2022, and their first in Sault Ste. Marie since February 2020, and while they did return to the E.U.P. with St. Ignace Kewadin gigs in the fall, it's probably pretty obvious why they haven't played in the Soo in almost two years. It'll be great to see Jeff, Adam, and Brooks back at The Rapids Lounge this weekend, so keep these rare gigs in mind!

Peril are not scheduled to return to either Kewadin branch in the first quarter of 2022 after this weekend, but their sister band Scarkazm will be at The Northern Pines Lounge in St. Ignace in March, pandemic willing. Peril's Rapids Lounge gigs this weekend have 9:00 PM start times, no cover charges, and 21+ age limits. See above for more details, and here's Peril live!

Let's head north to Canada now, as another archive video of inactive Sault Ontario/Toronto indie/punk band Treble Charger on television has surfaced on YouTube, this time from the 2001 installment of MuchMusic's old Snow Job outdoor concert festival! In case you forgot, Snow Job was held annually from at least 1993-2002, and featured (mostly) Canadian bands & musicians performing outdoors at a Canadian ski resort to a live audience and on TV proper. In March 2001, MuchMusic held Snow Job at Sun Peaks Resort in British Columbia, with Treble Charger joining Our Lady Peace, Shaggy, and Crazy Town as that year's featured acts. If you want more info on Snow Job 2001, visit the Internet Archive's Wayback Machine backup of it's old Much website page. Almost 40 minutes of Much footage was uploaded by YouTube user TheLasko45 last week, so there's obviously a lot to take in!

Yes, Treble Charger footage from Snow Job 2001 was already uploaded by YouTube user tiffanyminx11 over a decade ago, but her videos only add up to 19 minutes, and are mislabeled by one year. The video proper (which features two vintage MuchMusic commercial breaks!) sees Treble Charger as the first band to play that year, and they were introduced by then-MuchMusic VJ Bradford How. Set-wise, Treble Charger played "How She Died", "Cheat Away", "Friend of Mine", "Favourite Worst Enemy" (preceded by Bradford asking Greig and Trevor about the song's inspiration while on the slopes), "Brand New Low", "Business" (preceded by the band snowboarding), "More's The Pity", "Mercury Smile", and "American Psycho". If you're into watching old commercials, the breaks are at 6:51 & 22:06. I don't know about you guys, but I had a lot of fun watching this set back!

This long of a Treble Charger concert video is cool enough (tape hiss excepted), but what put things over the top are the visuals and special elements that an outdoor winter concert at a ski resort provides, from the mountain scenery to snowboarders doing their thing behind the stage to Rosie wearing a ski helmet & goggles, and even a challenge during "Brand New Low" for a fan to chug 4 bottles of ginger ale during the song! I don't know what the temperature in Sun Peaks was that day, but I didn't see anyone's breath, so I doubt it was as cold as the Soo has been over the last week! Definitely worth a watch for Treble Charger and old school MuchMusic fans, so check it out for yourself below!

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

Another Episode Recap Of Metal Morpheus On The Borderline!

For today's post, let's continue to play catch-up with the remaining un-recapped episodes of Metal Morpheus on local internet radio station The Borderline! As you may recall, the series has been put on hold for publically unannounced reasons since last month, and said break continued into the new year, as both of the January episodes so far turned out to be re-airings from last year, while the January 16th episode either didn't take place or did not have an episode page put up. The fact that reruns aired at all was at least a sign that host Josh Amendola will be back with more new episodes, but the lack of even a rerun this past Sunday may be concerning. We'll keep you posted, but note that if Metal Morpheus airs live on The Borderline this weekend, it'd be on Sunday night at 9:00 PM. The two last (so far?) episodes include the heavily revised Soo Metal one on December 5th, which we will look at soon.

As for November 28th's episode, it featured the next installment of Josh's planned series looking at bands from countries around the world in alphabetical order, albeit skipping six countries after Algeria to instead shine a spotlight on Austria. This takes us to Central Europe and into more hospitable territory for a thriving metal scene, given how Josh didn't have to devote nearly half the episode to local bands! The slightly longer 71 minute episode starts with Josh acknowledging that he skipped countries intentionally due to "crazy shit going on" (his words) in Austria, but he promised to cycle back to bands he passed in the As, specifically name-dropping Argentina and Australia, though obviously, neither has followed yet. After giving some information on Austria (ignore the mispronunciation of some of the composers' names), Josh starts by looking at death metal trio Pungent Stench.

He gives them lots of back story before playing two songs of theirs, namely "Extreme Deformity" (2:25) and "Games of Humilation" (8:25). Next, Josh plays power metal quartet Stygma IV's song "Earth Children" (14:05), which is not on Spotify, before playing melodic death metal band The Sorrow's track "Heart Of A Lion" (20:45). The first half of the episode ends with power metal quintet Edenbridge (a rare example of a female fronted band on Metal Morpheus), whose song played on air is the 10+ minutes long "The Grand Design" (25:35). Two songs follow from the symphonic death metal band Hollenthon, who share a singer with Pungent Stench, and these songs include "The Calm Before The Storm" (36:20) and "Woe To The Defeated" (42:25). Afterwards, Josh plays death metal band Disharmonic Orchestra's grindcore era track "Disharmonisation" (48:40).

The Austrian journey ends with two more bands, including black/death metal veterans Belphegor (the band in this episode I was most familiar with) playing "Blutsabbath" (54:25), and lastly, prog/power metal quartet Serenity's song "For Freedom's Sake" (1:01:55). Before the episode proper ended, Josh played that week's requisite local band, though only partially, as he played a song by Down In Ashes, the Ottawa-based hard rock band featuring Sault native Steve Brogno (ex-Driving Dave Home and Turner Up) on drums. Oddly, Josh did not mention Steve by name, let alone that they're not technically a local band, but their song played on air was "Veins" (1:07:30), the title track of Down In Ashes' 2012 EP. They're a solid group for fans of modern hard rock, and it's a shame Steve's never brought them to home for a gig that I know of, but at least his other Ottawa band The Red Rails have been here!

Despite a few missed details in band bios, this was an entertaining episode of Metal Morpheus, helped by having a national metal scene that is more plentiful with less need to fill time or run the supply dry! With the series' return still in limbo, it remains to be seen if Josh will return to alphabetical order as promised, but Andorra, Angola, and Antigua & Barbuda would technically be next if he does (given their small national scenes, I'd bundle them together if I was him). The final new episode (of 2021?) will be spotlighted on the SMS next week, but stay tuned for a new news post on the site either tomorrow or on Friday! Thanks everyone!

More New Videos, Plus An Inactive Band Note!!

Hopefully everyone survived that cold snap in the Soo area over the last few days! Hopefully this will help warm everyone up, as we have another SMS post to check out today as this month moves along at a glacial pace. We mostly have some new videos to put the spotlight on, but there is a band moved to our inactive band links within, so here's what you should know!

Here's an interesting find, namely a clip of inactive local/Toronto indie/punk band Treble Charger playing "Sick Friend Called" on the CBC variety show Rita & Friends circa 1996! This was uploaded in October by YouTube user Uncool Dispatch, who previously posted this video of Greig & Trevor being interviewed on MuchMusic in 1997. If you're too young to remember it, Rita & Friends was hosted by the late country singer Rita MacNeil from 1994-1997, and while it is odd to see her introducing Treble Charger, it does show that she wanted to spotlight a wide array of music! The video quality is very rough (was this making the tape trading rounds?), but the audio's alright, and it's neat seeing an early video like this, especially given that Greig's on lead vocals for an indie-era song.

If you can get past the visual quality, this is a prime early performance from Treble Charger that surely gave them some much needed exposure to a national TV audience! Give it a look below, and do check out Uncool Dispatch's channel for much more videos of Canadian TV appearances from 1990s rock and alternative musicians, as there's a lot to see there!

Next up, I have moved local hardcore punk quintet Destroilet to our inactive band links due to a year's inactivity. The band's last public update (a picture on their Facebook page) went up one year ago yesterday, and while the pandemic is acknowledged, Destroilet updates had dramatically slowed down in the late 2010s, with the band playing just two public sets in the past six years, most recently at the Joni Radford memorial concert in March 2019. One of the most enduring original local punk bands of the new millennium, Destroilet launched in 2009, uniting five scene veterans into a fast & blistering old school package that fans will have seen open for the likes of Random Killing, The Rebel Spell, and The Dayglo Abortions at concerts through 2015, as well as releasing a self-titled EP in 2011, expanded into a full length CD in 2012, and participating in 2015's "Fed Up!" split alongside The Ripcordz and Jack Spades.

Jam space renovations, members' personal lives, and the pandemic haven't helped Destroilet's concert frequency since the mid-2010s, but given their sporadic usage of social media to post band photos and sell t-shirts, hopefully they're not 100% done and that we'll see the guys tear up the stage once again when things return to normal! Best of luck to Mike, John, Christian, Adam, Matt, and Brent in the interim, they've all been missed!

Also, let's belatedly cover some more of local/Thompson, Manitoba alt-hard rock musician Mike Haggith's recent appearances/reviews in Thomas Christ's YouTube series You Rock!, where the host reviews songs by independent musicians in a 2+ hour live stream, Studio Live Today style! Mike debuted in the series with song reviews in episodes #11, #12, and #13 late last year, but he also popped up in episode #14 at the 57:44 mark, with Thomas checking out "Everything Not Saved Will Be Lost" from "Bridges", positively complimenting the song for it's professionalism, slow burn, and overall talent, even plugging Mike's interview with Pete Johns. As it turns out, former Bizotic frontman Brad Griffith (a.k.a. Gortium85) recommended Mike submit songs for Thomas to feature on air, which seems to have worked out! Embedded below is episode #15 from last month. 

In Mike's fifth straight appearance, his song reviewed was "The Best You Never Had", this time from 2020's "If Ever Comes The Day", and you can check that out 1:16:07 into the lengthy video. Thomas also liked this song for it's 1980s/modern hybrid sound and production, though you can tell that Thomas has his limits as a critic, as he didn't know who Michael Hutchence (INXS' late frontman) was when a viewer complimented Mike's vocals. Solid work all around, so give both episodes a watch, and look for local indie band Man Feelings in episode #15 as well! We'll have more from Mike soon!

Finally, here's a surprise upload of an old song by former No Arrow frontman Dann Pichette's inactive solo project! Posted to his YouTube channel last month, this is The Dann Pichette Multi-Track Recording Extravaganza's song "Swass", which has been up on their Soundclick page since 2012 or so (given that this isn't a new recording, I won't move the Extravaganza to our active links unless we hear that Dann's working on new material). As I thought last year when Dann first linked me to these songs, "Swass" reminds me of a Primus demo, albeit one that cascades into chaos, and it's a silly but well performed number for what it is! Give it a listen below!

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

Local Metal Video Showcase!!

It feels like too long since we last had a proper news post on the SMS, but with all of the current restrictions, things have been moving at a snail's pace once again, alas. That said, today's video-heavy post has some new stuff to talk about, including a prolific local musician's recent exposure on a big web-series, new solo performance clips, and leading off, some new original songs from an upcoming album, so here's what you should know!

Let's start with the latest from prolific local extreme metal/folk punk solo musician Chase Wigmore, who has resurfaced after a very quiet fall with two new songs for another planned album on New Year's Eve! Uploaded to his YouTube channel, these are entitled "Angry & Jealous God", and as embedded below, the 13+ minutes long "In The Name Of The Master", which are both slated to be on a new album named "Sonic Apocalypse". I won't give my thoughts on the songs yet, pending a possible review if this album actually goes on sale (all since 2020 have just been free streams), but both of these songs are metal tracks with heavily processed harsh vocals. Note that Chase's other active solo project Awokest posted the album title on their Facebook page in November, but the YouTube songs are credited under Chase's own name, and there's obviously a lot of crossover between the two acts.

As for the above image, it was posted to Chase's Facebook page in November, and while I can't confirm if it is the "Sonic Apocalypse" cover art or not, note that it's not used with either YouTube video. It will be interesting to hear how this album (free or paid) shapes out, so hear both of the first two songs above & below, and stay tuned for updates!

Next up, here's some new solo guitar covers from former(?) Jack Spades/Stegadeth guitarist Tiffany Stocco's YouTube channel! Her first uploads in over a year, one features Tiffany tackling The Distillers' "City of Angels" (which won't surprise fans of her old tribute band Coral Fang), but embedded below is her rendition of Joan Jett & The Blackhearts' "I Hate Myself For Loving You". Both featuring Tiffany playing along with the original track in the background, these covers are well done and show solid respect to two well female rock icons, so check out Tiffany's new videos above & below!

Also, here's some new videos from former Sault Michigan progressive metal guitarist Mike Libertoski's YouTube channel! One is a 16 second clip of him shredding on an 8 string guitar (very proficiently at that), but embedded below is this black & white clip from last week of Mike demoing his TC Electronic Ditto Loop guitar pedal. You don't see him actually use it, given how the video is framed, but you can hear it. Effective performance that shows his talent and solid gear, so give it a look below, and follow his current White Lake metal band Bleak Life to hear what he's up to nowadays!

Finally, Sault Ontario/Thompson, Manitoba alt-hard rock musician Mike Haggith has gotten some more good exposure in the Australian YouTube series Your Music Live, as hosted by Studio Live Today's Pete Johns, with songs of his surfacing in even more episodes! We did mention episodes #76-78 on the site last month, but Pete reviewed "From The 55th Parallel" (from "Bridges") third to last in episode #79 from December 17th, calling him "a heck of a creator" and the song "very cool indeed". Also, "Take Back The Moon" from 2020's "If Ever Comes The Day" was reviewed in the most recent episode (#82) from last week, which is embedded below. In this case, Mike's segment is near the middle of the episode, so jump to the 58 minute mark or so. Pete liked the song's great mix and even a choice rhyme as it relates to Australian slang, so fans will like how Mike's music is reaching a new audience! Give these a watch below, and also check out the other talented indie musicians from around the world!

That's all for today, but stay tuned for more on the site this weekend! Thanks everyone!