Weekend Concert Previews, A New Album Release, And A New Music Video!!

Here's a new SMS post to check out on this Thursday night, which is half devoted to this weekend's currently known hard rock concert previews, and half to some big recent updates related to album releases, one new, and one upcoming. Let's get things rolling!

Let's kick off a likely quiet weekend of hard rock concert previews with the return of Traverse City, Michigan metal trio Scarkazm to The Rapids Lounge at the Sault Ste. Marie Kewadin Casino branch TOMORROW & SATURDAY NIGHT! While we just saw Adam, Dave, and Jeff at the St. Ignace Kewadin last month, these will be Scarkazm's first dates in the Soo of 2022, last playing at The Rapids Lounge in October. Fans in the E.U.P. should be well accustomed to Scarkazm's brand of original classic-inspired metal and covers, so hopefully they draw a solid crowd at the casino this weekend! Both shows are 21+ affairs with no cover charge and 9:00 PM start times as usual. Visit the official Facebook event pages linked here & here for more details, and here's and for a preview, here's Scarkazm live downstate a couple of years back!

Next up, let's head to Sault Ontario, where local classic/hard rock musician Tym Morrison will return to Reggie's Place for their regular matinee on SUNDAY! Just over two weeks removed from his last stop at the downtown Reggie's, this will be more like normal for Tym's gigs there, as his prior show was a traditional Saturday nighter rather than the Sunday matinee. Tym seems to get to Reggie's once a month or so, and with his extensive setlist of classic rock, hard rock, and some country hits, he should appeal to a wide audience of fans and patrons alike once again on Saturday! Expect a 19+ age limit for this show as usual, and there is no cover charge, but the show starts at 3:00 PM given the Sunday matinee placement. For more details, visit the official Facebook event page, and for a preview, here's Tym live!

Now let's move onto some recent news and notes, starting with a new album release, as prolific local extreme metal musician Chase Wigmore surprisingly uploaded "Sonic Apocalypse" to his Bandcamp page yesterday! After belatedly posting his non-12 EPs of Christmas solo catalog there for sale in recent months, the release of "Sonic Apocalypse" marks his first new album to actually go on sale upon it's public unveiling since "One Last Act Of Defiance" dropped at the end of 2019. The description for "Sonic Apocalypse" notes the album's lo-fi, outdated hardware setup, but Chase did emphasize that it was "recorded passionately" aside from sine waves and white noise effects. The seven song album can be yours for any price you like (even free if you so choose), but he did not specify anything about physical copies. As this album is on sale from the start, it's eligible for a review on the SMS, so when can you expect it?

Honestly, it went on sale at a busy time for local metal, hard rock, and punk album releases, so it won't be imminent. This month's review is going to be The Din's "Technically Live", while I have the demo EP from Vanity (First) pencilled in for next month, so I'm thinking "Sonic Apocalypse" will be our monthly review in June, basically approaching them in chronological release order. Still, it is awesome to see Chase put out a new album for sale again, and definitely stream and/or buy it at the above links!

Finally, here's the first single from local indie punk quintet The Northwest's upcoming third EP "All In", and it has a music video to boot! Uploaded to the band's YouTube channel yesterday, the video description confirms that the song was recorded with producer Dustin Jones (presumably at Unsalted Audio) and his Pointless bandmate Bill Priddle, while the video was handled by Two Point Productions, a company led by former Gates of Winter/Kalle Mattson drummer Jimmie Chiverelli and videographer Zack Trunzo. The video sees the guys performing their new song "Long Hair (Longer Nights)" inside Coch's Corner on Queen Street East, and in case you didn't hear, the former Foggy Notions began re-opening on a limited schedule last month after being closed for an extended period due to the pandemic. Nice to see a live band there again, if via a music video!

The very nicely shot video also features a small audience of Northwest fans enjoying the show and mingling like in pre-pandemic times at 704 Queen, and while I know Coch's has shied away from non-acoustic artists since Paul took over there (remember the noise complaints of yore?), this would be a neat preview towards future events there! I'll hold comment on the song proper pending our likely review of The Northwest's new EP when it's released, but give their new video a watch below!

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