Before we begin today's post, I wanted to apologize for a missed concert in this past weekend's previews, as local classic/hard rock musician Tym Morrison returned to the stage for a special matinee concert on Saturday at... the Community First Curling Centre?! The gig, Tym's first since the end of his bi-weekly Shooters run, was as musical entertainment during day #2 of the Anita Boulevard curling rink's Labatt Ribeye Cashspiel tournament, but the venue never plugged Tym as the Saturday performer, and Tym only announced the gig via his Facebook event page an hour before showtime. I apologize again for missing this one, it was just on too late of notice, but I hope Tym's set was well received by music & curling fans alike!
Now, today's post is mostly devoted to recent Sault Michigan updates, plus a newly uploaded Sault Ontario concert video, but let's start across the river with the first known public video from The Dreammakers Theatre at the local Kewadin Casino this past Saturday night! From what I have heard, the concert was a hit on musical and humorous levels, so it's great to see that Steel Panther picked up where they left off here four years ago! The video comes from YouTube user splatfreak's channel in his first upload from a local event, though he has previously posted videos from concerts in northern Wisconsin. Despite the 10 minute+ runtime, this video only features one song, namely "Asian Hooker", with the first six minutes comprised of the band introducing each other as only they can.
Featuring Steel Panther's brand of 18+, sex joke-heavy adult humour in both the banter and the song (plus some Rick Allen jokes and a preceding brief Def Leppard cover), this is definitely NSFW but very fun for hair metal fans in on the gag, and underneath the comedy exterior, Steel Panther are a strong glam metal band! The video quality is quite good too, with Josh on first row, almost side-stage angle, and everything looks and sounds clear, to a point where I could even recognize some attendees! Check this out below, and hopefully more videos from the show turn up!
At press time, this was the only video from the concert that I've seen on a public source, but local openers Tarnished did post this short video onto their Facebook page a half hour before showtime, as filmed by a band associate backstage at the casino. Here, the guys give final hype for the show, noting that there were still a few tickets available, and if you didn't come out, Isaac and Josh were going to come to your place and.... well, watch the video to find out what! Amusing final push, and it sounds like the local hard rock band had a good set based on what I've heard since, so give their pre-show clip a watch below!
Also today, here's something that I apologize for forgetting to talk about on the SMS when it went live, namely a full concert set from inactive Sault Ontario doom metal trio AlgomA! This was shot during their appearance at Dank Fest, an 11 band all-ages concert marathon put on by Heavy North Entertainment at The Oddfellows Hall in April 2014, which was actually AlgomA's debut appearance at the late lamented Dennis Street venue. Uploaded to guitarist/vocalist Boyd "Darby Wigwaus" Rendell's current project Molten Imp's YouTube channel last month, the 42 minute set (eighth in the performance order) was filmed by a stationary camera behind assembled fans, so the view isn't optimal of Boyd, Kevin, and Jamie (a.k.a. Darby, Marty, and Geezer), but the sound mostly holds up! The songs performed include "Extinct Volcanoes", "Bedsores", "Electric Fence", "Phthisis", "Go On, Git!", and "Tertiary Syphillis".
Yes, only six songs, but the first two alone eat up half of the set! If you're curious, their set included all but two songs from their 2014 debut EP "Reclaimed By The Forest" plus both tracks from their 2016 split with Chronobot. The video is oddly slanted to the left (not a tilted angle, the video is skewed), and the red stage lighting can be overpowering, but AlgomA's slow, punishing ferocity is well captured, especially at this early stage of their local run, and fans are into it, even getting a few mosh pits going! Give it a look for yourselves below, and check out my review of Dank Fest in its entirety at this link, including my video of "Electric Fence"!
We'll close today back in Michigan for some of the latest from St. Ignace metalcore quintet Heavy Lies The Crown, who have been busy in studio as of late but got surprisingly busy posting videos and assorted teasers related to the sessions on their Facebook page, plus some fan engagement and meme sharing. As of November 12th, they were almost done recording two songs and were working on more riffs, so things are on their way! In their first new video of the month on the 11th, H.L.T.C. posted this 5 second clip with their duck mascot Iggy inserted into another meme, while this 7 second video of guitarist Ted Olson playing a riff through heavy video filters followed two days later. On November 21st, this video was shared to showcase the official Heavy Lies The Crown hockey jerseys that were ordered, albeit only ten, but they look sharp for hockey fans! Definite Mighty Ducks (movie) vibes from them for multiple reasons.
The buyers will look sharp in them, too bad they're limited edition! A video from singer Brandon West's Facebook page was shared yesterday featuring their song "Voices" set to that Belvedere vodka commercial with Daniel Craig, with teasers about new music ahead. Embedded below is their newest prior video that doesn't have any music to content match, namely this 19 second video from Saturday night where Brandon noted that they're "finishing off the recording (and) doing some sweet things". Time will tell where this leads, but give it and more a look above & below!
That's all for today, but stay tuned for more news and notes in the days ahead! Thanks everyone!
It's now time for our 161st monthly CD review at The Sault Metal Scene, as we're taking a look at local/Toronto progressive metal trio PROV3RB5's debut EP "What Dreams May Come"! Independently released to major streaming platforms on November 1st, this short digital-only EP features instrumental versions of their first three original songs, which were previously released online with vocals from ex-singer Josh Ratliff. In this form, PROV3RB5 are represented by guitarist Benjamin Roswell and Toronto-based bassist/drummer Bryan Lee (the songs were recorded before new drummer Phil Greco joined the band), while Kevin Xiong from the Minnesota metal band Stelliferous guests on the last song. As the versions with vocals never had an album release, I'll primarily review these as instrumentals, but I will make comparisons at the end. You can hear the EP for free on Spotify, Apple Music, and Deezer (all linked at this Distrokid page).
If you want to actually buy the mp3 files, "What Dreams May Come" is on sale for $2.97 on iTunes, and now on Bandcamp for $3, so keep those options in mind also! Featuring three songs (all close in length) running for 13 minutes, let's begin this review with the opening song, "Sea of Tranquility"! After a softer guitar opening, the well layered progressive technicality is on full display, with an effective staccato riff early and some solidly crushing djent riffs at the mid-point, but this song operates on multiple effective tracks and will satiate extreme metal and prog fans! The drums are too monotone during the guitar solo (itself a little short for my liking), but as a pure showcase of Ben & Bryan's talents, this is a good introduction to what PROV3RB5 are all about!
The middle song is "Treasure Forest", whose title is a better thematic match to the song than "Sea of Tranquility" was. I do find that the first song executed its melodies and layering better, but "Treasure Forest" does have heavier moments on average, and at points, it reminds me moreso of a video game level music. Benjamin's guitar work and time signature changes are worth the price of admission alone, and the percussion does flow better down the stretch. Maybe a little too much of the twinkly ethereal parts (including the outro), but genre fans should still be into this one! The closer has PROV3RB5 & guest Kevin Xiong playing "Particles", which doesn't stray from prior formulas despite the added guitarist. This one more alternates between heavy prog metal and softer, more ambient (but drum-heavy) bridges, so for headbanging purposes, it comes and goes. When it's on though, it's very much on, especially with Bryan's bass work!
The melodies are on point throughout "Particles", so this ends things on a solid note! As for comparing these songs to the versions with Josh's singing, this style of progressive metal doesn't stick to a traditional structure for composition, so the songs don't feel empty without vocals. That said, Josh is a capable harsh vocalist with clean singing and harmonizing abilities, and while the tone of his screaming isn't my favourite, the first melody you pick up on from these songs is definitely altered when you have him featured, so in a way, these songs are new experiences with Josh, or without if you heard them first. Listen to the versions with vocals on major streaming platforms!
Overall, PROV3RB5 will definitely be worth checking out for fans of progressive metal, especially given the subgenre's shelf life for other local bands! PROV3RB5 benefited from having an established profile in the online metal community before Benjamin ever started making a local push for the project, and he and Bryan are a strong pairing with high proficiency in their instruments! While not full bore heavy on the three songs (each has ebbs and flows into softer sections), their metal credibility is readily apparent, and there's nowhere to go but up, especially given their teasers of late! I will say that, with each song hovering around 4:31, they will blur together for many listeners, especially in this instrumental form, and some extra variance would help to make them stand out, such as longer/more substantive guitar solos or more of a relentless death metal influence on some songs.
The drums were also something that could be mildly distracting based on repetitive tracks and beats, especially in the second half of songs, and again, while the lack of vocals isn't a hindrance, their inclusion dramatically changes the songs' initial perception, so keep that in mind based on what you like out of your metal. PROV3RB5 are definitely on their way though, and hopefully this EP goes some way to giving them a true foothold in the local scene, but check it out for yourself above! I hope you guys liked this month's CD review, and look for our year-ending review of Chase Wigmore's "We Are All Going To Die" on the site next month! Thanks everyone!
Here's this month's YouTube Channel Profiles, continuing our monthly feature spotlights of YouTube channels whose content is at least half devoted to local metal, hard rock, and/or punk artists and/or concerts! As the first channel that we randomly selected only had one video, and the second only had four songs (one a re-recording) primarily from one EP, we're tripling up this month, but there's an interesting array of performances to take in, so here's what you should know!
Channel Timeline:Launched on January 8th, 2010; Only surviving video posted on December 2nd, 2011
Channel Summary:As fans should remember, local progressive death metal band Gates of Winter slowly worked on a third album named "Perihelion" from their 2010 return from hiatus as a studio project through their last public activity in 2016, with most teaser clips from the sessions being taken down as the guys worked on perfecting the material. Alas, the album never came out, but one of the few surviving clips is Lee's only remaining video on his YouTube channel, where he played 51 seconds of the riff from a song tentatively named "Wormhole Mechanics" to test track mirroring. It's a shame that "Perihelion" was never finished, as Gates of Winter's pure technicality was excellent on their 2010s sample media, and Lee's in fine form here, but hopefully we'll hear completed songs in some form down the line!
Owner: An original member of local alternative/punk band These Magnificent Tentacles, identity unclear, though the uploaded music was from their run as a duo
Channel Timeline:Launched on March 23rd, 2022; All videos uploaded that same day
Channel Summary:This is an auto-generated YouTube channel made to host songs submitted by Brent & Steve to YouTube Music, thusly featuring their debut EP "Surfacing..." from the previous month and the original (but very similar) studio version of its opening song "The Abyss", which is actually the most viewed upload there. These Magnificent Tentacles have since expanded to a full five-piece band, but have been publically dormant for four months now, so it remains to be seen how fast they could put out new material for streaming services. Still, these are entertaining and varied songs that point to a promising future, and hopefully that will be realized in 2023!
Owner: A member of 2018-2019 local hard rock band Steel Sour, identity unclear
Channel Timeline:Launched on May 9th, 2019; Only video uploaded that same day
Channel Summary:The official YouTube channel for this short lived group, their jam session video cover of The Tragically Hip's "New Orleans Is Sinking" was their final public act before dissolving later that year. Steel Sour featured a massive sevenpiece lineup (at least for this jam), including Robert Nevitt on vocals, backing vocalist Nicole Ambeault, guitarists Rick Atkins, Randy Russell, and Fred Dunn, bassist Steve Bentley (with impressive wig), and drummer James White, notably featuring multiple members of Re:Born, Lockdown, Big Mistake, and Dealing Without. Despite the manpower in this basement, the cover is lively, energetic, and doesn't feel rushed, and it's a shame that Steel Sour didn't keep going!
I hope you guys liked this month's YouTube Channel Profiles! To end 2022 in this series, we're doing multiple channels again, as the first randomly selected channel only has one video, and the second only has a handful of similar uploads. As such, we'll be looking at the channels of YouTube users AtYourC3rvix (featuring a live Uncanny Valley video) and mikemccleary3123 (featuring five original songs of his, some with accompanying videos or lyric tracks). Look for them on or around Boxing Day, nd stay tuned for more news & notes (and this month's CD review) in the coming days! Thanks everyone!
As I will likely be tied up all tomorrow with Christmas decorating and such, here's a special extended post on this Friday night, devoted to both recent promotional videos surrounding a major concert tomorrow night, and leading off, here's our preview of a big returning charity concert!
After a two year, pandemic-induced hiatus, Toystock is back for its ninth annual installment on SUNDAY at The Grand Gardens North! This special charity event will once again see ten bands/solo musicians in ten hours donating their time for Christmas Cheer, with admission by donation of new/gently used toys, non-perishable food, and/or money to help needy families at this time of year. Always a wonderful cause, so kudos to organizer & Bone Yard frontman Greg Simpson for sticking with the concept through the pandemic, and hopefully there's a great turnout on Sunday! Like in past years, expect a children's play area, face painting, appearances by Santa & Mrs. Claus themselves, but no word on the Stuff-A-Bus. 705Live will be on hand to provide sound on Sunday, with this being the sixth Toystock at its current 1324 Great Northern Road homebase. Now, who all is playing Toystock IX and when?
Three of the closing four bands are Toystock returnees, including Greg's own southern hard rock cover trio Bone Yard in their record eighth Toystock set, but first with their current lineup. They're closing at 9:00 PM, with veteran classic rock quintet Mustang Heart making their surprising debut at this event at 8:00 PM. Country musician Brendan Hodgson returns for his third straight Toystock at 7:00 PM, while classic/hard rock cover quartet Soundcheck will hit the stage for their fourth straight year at 6:00 PM. Yes, drummer Glen Thomas will be donating three drumkits to young attendees after their set, including the drums that he will be using, so keep that in mind! The preceding six acts are all new to Toystock, including new local pop rock cover quintet Bourbon Blue (featuring Soo Fighters/Cherry Crush alum Jules Cote on drums) at 5:00 PM, though specifics are still slight on this band as of yet.
Country musician Rob Wagner "and friends" are on at 4:00 PM, preceded at 3:00 PM by a debuting local band named Ravencore. This group still has not issued any public details on their lineup or sound, aside from their advertised involvement in the Matthew Nadon memorial concert (postponed from tomorrow to February), and while some personal Facebook posts have hinted towards possible band members, Ravencore are clearly keeping things somewhat quiet until showtime. We'll keep you posted! Rising young punk trio Vanity First take the stage at 2:00 PM, preceded by The Long & McQuade Band (presumably a student group from the MacDonald Avenue music store) at 1:00 PM, which will pick up where old Case's Music and Bocturoc student bands left off at Toystocks past. Acoustic singer/guitarist Jeremy Logan Newman will kick off the festivities at 12:00 PM.
Toystock IX is an ALL AGES event and kids are happily welcomed to come enjoy the holiday festivities and meet Santa Claus on Sunday! Again, admission is via Christmas Cheer donations, and this should be a great event once again to enjoy a diverse array of local musicians! In some musical respects, this is kind of like a winter Rotaryfest (if indoors), but the charitable causes are absolutely paramount with Toystock, so be generous and come on down if you want to kick the holidays off right! Visit the above links for complete current details, and for a preview, here's Bone Yard, Soundcheck, Brendan, and the other 2019 acts last time out!
Next up, here's something you don't see posted every day, an on-air interview with a major touring musician on The Sault's Rock Station, Rock 101! In his first upload on his YouTube channel in over two years, Hair Scare host Scott Cook posted his interview with Steel Panther drummer Stix Zadinia from his morning drive show Scott Cook In The Morning on Saturday, in advance of their Dreammakers Theatre concert tomorrow night at the Sault Michigan Kewadin Casino. If you missed the live interview on 101.3 FM, what can you hear in this one? The 17 minute audio interview (uploaded alongside a photo slideshow) features Stix talking about his experiences on tour and playing shows of varying sizes, his musical origins and influences, perceptions of their adult comedy lyrics and sensibilities, their upcoming studio album, his favourite drummer between Neil Peart and John Bonham, and more related topics about well loved bands and so forth.
Honestly, this interview comes across like Scott and Stix talking like old friends without a lot of hard hitting questions specific to tomorrow's concert, which is cool to see, and Stix sounds very friendly and natural on the phone here, so Steel Panther fans should be into this! Give the whole thing a listen below, and visit Scott's YouTube channel for a handful of other interviews he conducted for Rock 101 a decade back!
Finally, local hard rock quartet Tarnished (who are the first band up at tomorrow's concert) also got to promote things on local radio, albeit outside of the Sovereign umbrella, as they returned to local classic hits station Eagle Radio 95.1 on Wednesday morning! While the Eagle isn't a rock station (comparable in format to Oldies 93), it's good to see Timmy E and the crew there supporting local talent, especially given Tarnished's appearances on there in 2020 & 2021. The interview proper was not excerpted in video format, but Eagle 95.1's Facebook page did post this video of the guys covering Chuck Berry's Christmas classic "Run Rudolph Run" in studio, and it's a fun rendition! Here, Alex & Nathan handled guitar as you're used to from their plugged in gigs, with Isaac also joining in on guitar, and Josh handled tambourine. Far from my favourite Christmas carol, but Tarnished make it work despite the vertical camera angle!
Of course, Alex & Nathan also played "Run Rudolph Run" at the Eagle in 2020, and a pre-Isaac lineup did record a full studio version that you can watch at this link. Elsewhere, a "story" video was shared where Josh hyped the show during setup at The Dreammakers Theatre (with interjections from Isaac), but alas, it was not posted separately as a regular video, so catch it if you can, while you can. A contest was also held for two pairs of tickets for the show, as promoted in this jokey video where Nathan bought everyone tickets without knowing that they were playing. Amusing hype, and congratulations to the winners, but give their new "Run Rudolph Run" cover a watch below, and don't miss the concert tomorrow night!
That's all for today, but stay tuned for more news and notes on the site next week! Thanks everyone!
It's about time to tackle this weekend's hard rock concert previews, and while it's relatively quiet for announced gigs, the first full weekend of the holiday season is not lacking in scope! To give it proper emphasis closer to showtime, our preview of the returning Toystock charity concert will hit the site either tomorrow or on Saturday. Now, let's start the previews with a SHORT NOTICE LOCAL CONCERT ALERT!
Local southern hard rock cover duo The Bearded Lounge will return to Gateway Casino for one night only on SATURDAY NIGHT! Apologies for the short notice, this show was only announced via the venue's Facebook page yesterday. Even without the late announcement, this show is a bit of a surprise given that this is Toystock weekend (Bearded Lounge frontman Greg Simpson organizes that event, which returns the next day). Maybe a low stress acoustic show on SATURDAY will be a good lead-in for him and Alex before the craziness at The Grand Gardens North on Sunday, so head to Sault Ontario's casino for all of their unplugged hard rock cover action! Last seen onstage at the same venue last month, this installment of the casino's SATURDAY NIGHT concert series has an 8:00 PM start time, 19+ age limit, and no cover charge. See above for more details, stay tuned for our Toystock preview in the coming days, and here's The Bearded Lounge live!
Next up, let's head to Michigan for two heavier concerts that did get advance notice, starting with Sault Ste. Marie hard rock quartet Rhythm & Brews' apparent debut at Huck's Pub & Grill in nearby Rudyard THIS SATURDAY NIGHT! The band hasn't updated their Facebook page since September, but members' personal Facebook pages have confirmed the date with the help of Photoshop. Saturday's gig at the former Joe's Bar will double as Ladies' Camo Night, not just Ladies Night, so don't forget your camouflage attire before heading out for this one! There are drink specials as well, if that's your thing, and it is worth noting that Huck's will also be screening the Michigan vs. Ohio State NCAA football game on Saturday afternoon. You can enjoy this this talented supergroup on Saturday at 9:00 PM with a 21+ age limit and no cover charge. See above for more details, and no preview videos yet!
Lastly for today's previews (Toystock will be featured closer to Sunday), let's head back to Sault Ste. Marie proper, as Los Angeles glam/comedy metal quartet Steel Panther make their long awaited return to The Dreammakers Theatre at the local Kewadin Casino branch THIS SATURDAY NIGHT! Last seen there almost four years ago, this will be the first stop on Steel Panther's Claws & Paws Holiday Tour running through December 4th. Well known (if not notorious) for their ribald comedy glam metal songs & parodies like "Death To All But Metal" & "Party Like Tomorrow Is the End Of The World", Steel Panther got a great reception from Hair Scare loyalists in 2018, and here's hoping the guys deliver more hilarious but proficient goods on Saturday! Opening the first two dates of the tour are Columbus, Ohio hard rock quintet Harmless Habit (they swap out for The Small Town Titans for the remainder), and their melodic modern hard rock sound should deliver the octane well!
Local hard rock quartet Tarnished will play one of their biggest local concerts as the first band on Saturday, and fresh off of their Wednesday nighter at The Merch, hopefully Alex & crew set this one off on the right foot with their modern and classic hybrid sound! Presented by Allstar Promotions (who also brought Steel Panther here the last time), this 7:00 PM show has tickets running for a flat $29.50 (up $4.50 from 2018) and they are still available from the third row onward! You can get yours at 1-800-KEWADIN, at this link, or at the in person box office. Should be a great show to help kick off the holidays, so visit the above links for more details, and here's Steel Panther at Kewadin last time!
Now, the Steel Panther show is getting a lot of promotion as of late, with two different radio stations interviewing performers on Saturday this week, which we'll address on the site tomorrow (videos are online from both). We'll close today with this short clip of Steel Panther frontman Michael Starr promoting the show, as uploaded to Allstar Promotions' Facebook page on November 12th. There's nothing new to learn here, but it's always cool seeing major touring musicians plug their local date like this, and Michael is sure enthusiastic in this clip, so check it out below!
That's all for now, but stay tuned for a new news post tomorrow, which may or may not have our Toystock preview, pending how long it ends up being, so that may not hit the site until Saturday. In any event, stay tuned!
Before we get into weekend concert previews, here's a new news post on this Wednesday night, which is mostly devoted to recent new videos. Leading off though, here's a LOCAL CONCERT ALERT for next month!
New local alternative rock supergroup Bookclub and funk/hard rock band The Wyld Stallyns will join forces for a special holiday season concert on Saturday, December 17th at LopLops Lounge! A recently rare all-local show at the Queen Street nightclub (who haven't been open on a pre-pandemic schedule this year), this will reunite two bands from Outspoken Brewing's Oktoberfest lineup last month (more on that in a second), with the online page-less Bookclub playing just their second public concert and first ever headlining date at this one. Featuring Inner City Surfers, Fairmounts, Rising Tide, and Room 206 alumni, their old school brand of alt-rock covers (including some heavier leaning cuts) should find an audience in their LopLops debut! As for The Wyld Stallyns, fans should be well accustomed to their fun and varied but often hard rock-focused range of covers, so don't be late for their set in a few weeks!
While just featuring two local covers-centric bands, this will have advance tickets running for $15 via the official Facebook event page (yes, you can buy them through there), with the price jumping to $20 at the door. No word on any seasonal frills beyond the bands (the poster's motif acknowledged), but this is a 19+ event starting at 10:00 PM. Should be a good time for live music fans interested in some distinct live cover action, so visit the above links for more on this concert!
Before we move into the Oktoberfest content alluded to above, it's worth noting that The Wyld Stallyns' Facebook page now describes them as a "6-pc rock/blues/funky band that is all about having a good time and bringing the party." This finally puts in public writing that saxophonist Josh Norling (arguably best known from Blues Harvest) has joined the band full time, confirming his regular presence in shows this year after previously being a guest performer for bigger events and pending his own availability/the venue's size. Having Josh's smooth sax skills helps The Stallyns stand out every time, so it's good to see them finally confirm it outside of their concerts! As for Oktoberfest, you can see Josh with both The Stallyns and The Hustle Brothers in this new highlights video from the event, courtesy of Outspoken Brewing's Facebook page! Other bands from that weekend are shown, including Bookclub.
Filmed by Connor Stoneman, you also get good looks at the non-musical activities (like the stein hoisting competition) and attendees enjoying the music, but you won't hear most of the bands. For the first 1:56 of the 2:39 video, the German drinking song "Heute is Schutzenball" is dubbed overtop with no background audio, but Saturday headliners The Uncanny Valley are seen and heard finishing their set to close the montage. Looked like a cold night, but everyone seemed to have fun with the bands and beer alike, though it'd be interesting to hear the bands' performances even clipped up. Alas, Facebook content matched "Heute is Schutzenball", so I can't embed the video here, but click here to check it out!
Next up, here's a new video of local indie punk quintet The Northwest playing "Shoreline" when they opened for Marianas Trench & The Trews at GFL Memorial Gardens in September! Filmed by attendee Cara Lynn and belatedly uploaded to the band's YouTube channel on Friday, this vertical cell phone camera video is filmed from the opposite side of the arena as prior videos I've seen from this concert, and while Cara wasn't super close to the stage, she did use zoom and didn't let the portrait orientation cut too much off. Nice clean audio too, so fans will get to see a strong performance from The Northwest at the Gardens below!
Finally, here's a new original song from local classic/hard rock singer/guitarist Tym Morrison's YouTube channel on Sunday! Entitled "Mystic Shadows", Tym calls it "a dark and mystical sounding instrumental", which is true enough, and it gives Tym lots of room to let loose and show off his skills! Assorted thematic video clips play alongside the song, many eerie in nature and/or having to do with weather & the environment. We haven't heard much from Tym since the end of his short bi-weekly run of acoustic concerts at Shooters, but it's good to see him staying busy, and this is a solid rocker in its own right, so give it a listen below!
That's all for today, but stay tuned for weekend concert previews and more on the site in the coming days! Thanks everyone!
With the American Thanksgiving fast approaching, let's devote today's SMS post entirely to Sault Michigan bands, primarily from the latest updates from a very prominent local metal group, but leading off, here's a SHORT NOTICE LOCAL CONCERT ALERT!
Local hard rock quartet Tarnished will play a special one-night-only concert TOMORROW NIGHT at The Merchant's Bar! Apologies for the short notice, the band announced this gig via their Facebook event page this past Wednesday, but I held it until closer to the event to avoid redundantly plugging it twice in under a week. For full disclosure, The Merch have not acknowledged this show on their Facebook page at press time, not having posted there since October. The unusual Wednesday night booking is due to the American Thanksgiving holiday on Thursday, so most Yoopers are able to come out on the middle of the week TOMORROW and rock out with Tarnished without fear of compromising work/school the next day. Tarnished last played at the 108 West Spruce Street nightclub four months ago, and hopefully the guys deliver another solid night of hard rock and classic metal covers and originals TOMORROW!
Of course, this can also be seen as a warm-up for the Steel Panther concert on Saturday that Tarnished are opening, and our preview of that event hits the site later this week. As for TOMORROW's Thanksgiving Eve show, expect a 21+ age limit, no cover charge, and an early 8:00 PM start time. Visit the above links for more details, and here's Tarnished live!
Next up, here's the latest from local classical metal band Theatre of Night, who have been very quiet in a Facebook sense since the summer, but they have actually been far more active on their Instagram page in recent months, so what can we learn there? As you can see, the band has finally given their current lineup an official band photo, and via their website's band members page, we can confirm that their new bassist (who replaced Scott Andringa last year) is Luke Bernard. I'm unfamiliar with Luke musically beyond his Theatre of Night work, but he is from the Soo, he has worked with the band already as a guest musician & photographer, and he's actually the head researcher for the Soo Area Ghostbusters! As in, real paranormal investigations, not film cosplay. From what I have seen, Luke holds his own with Theatre of Night, and for the longest, Instagram-unencumbered look at him on bass, check out their music video for "We Three Kings" from last year!
With their non-website updates lately being Instagram exclusive, what else will fans have missed from Theatre of Night as of late? Well, as established fans may know, the band will often post teasers and allusions to new music and/or an album being in the works, but things often aren't finalized publically, though of course, the pandemic is acknowledged. Still, among the last year's posts on Instagram, Theatre of Night teased songs named "Vanquish The Damned" and "Into Darkness" plus a second Christmas album with vocals, plugged their epic instrumental compilation "album" on Spotify, and posted assorted teaser videos, usually involving keyboardist Craig Harrison or guitarist Steve Giles jamming, with Luke also getting some camera time. A music video for their song "The Killing" (with guest singer Ida Elena) is also planned, and a remastered version of that song can also be checked out on major streaming platforms like Apple Music.
Regarding their Christmas tour, it is indeed returning for 2022 after missing the last two years for very obvious reasons, and three stops are listed so far! Unfortunately, all are downstate (in Jackson, Battle Creek, and Wayland), but you can get details on these three dates (all on successive Fridays) at their Reverbnation page. Hopefully they can lock down at least one local stop on the tour, but we'll keep you posted! Anything else new is via the assortment of Instagram videos, all under a minute long as per that site's limits, but the performances and teasers there trend towards slick and professional, and the ones that are rawer jams showcase members' talent well! Would be nice to see Rachel and Erik more in these videos though. Instragram videos are tricky to embed on the SMS, but luckily, the newest one was cross-prosted to their YouTube channel earlier this month, featuring Steve shredding a Pantera-esque riff.
The monochrome clip is solid while it lasts (35 seconds), but will it be part of a song from Theatre of Night, or is this just a studio jam? Time will tell, but definitely visit the above links for much more on Theatre of Night's recent activity and upcoming plans, stay tuned in case they do play in the U.P. for their fourth Christmas tour, and here's that new video of Steve!
That's all for today, but stay tuned for more news and notes on the site as the week rolls along! Thanks everyone!
With the snow coming down pretty hard in the Twin Saults, bundle up with a new news post on this Sunday afternoon! It includes a new short film, assorted recent updates, and a new album release, but leading off, here's LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS for the end of the year!
The final heavier concerts of 2022 under the Kewadin Casino umbrella will see Traverse City classic/hard rock cover trio Peril return to The Northern Pines Lounge in St. Ignace on Friday, December 30th and Saturday, December 31st! Three weeks removed from their sister band Scarkazm's E.U.P. finale at the Sault Ste. Marie Kewadin, these will be Peril's first shows at either Kewadin branch since rocking the The Northern Pines Lounge in September, but unlike then, they did make up a promotional graphic for these new dates, which do remind us that Jeff, Adam, and Brooks will be the entertainment on New Year's Eve. Just good timing that this year, New Year's Eve is a Saturday night, so hopefully Peril's hard rocking covers ring in 2023 on the right note! As usual, these will be 9:00 PM affairs with no cover charges and 21+ age limits. Visit the above links for more on Peril's year-ending shows!
Next up, here's a brand new album release, as Sault Ontario folk punk/extreme metal musician Chase Wigmore put out his delayed new solo album on his Bandcamp page yesterday, but with big changes! For unannounced reasons, Chase changed the album's name from "Is This The End Of..." to the similarly optimistic "We Are All Going To Die", and yes, the new song of the same name is on the album despite being branded to his Awokest project in its original video. Quite the new cover artwork too! The final album has twelve songs, and three of the previously confirmed songs for the album are still present (including "Without You"), though "Spiritual Casualties" is now track #2 rather than #4, and "The End Part Two" now has a subtitle. If "All We Really Have" survived the changes, then it has a new name, but when announcing the album, Chase did admit to cutting 20 songs from the album over the past year, some he worked on for "hundreds of hours".
It sounds like Chase put in a lot of work to get the final product to his satisfaction, perhaps partly explaining the three week release delay, and you can buy "We Are All Going To Die" on Bandcamp for $7 or stream it for free there as well! If you believe his prior promotion, this will allegedly be his penultimate solo album, before "The Chaotic Rite" is finally released next year. With PROV3RB5's debut EP slotted in for a review this month, I am planning to review Chase's new album on the site next month, so look for our last album review of 2022 then, and buy or stream it above!
Also today, here's a belated holiday diversion that I better talk about before it gets really out of season, as local psychedelic hard rock quartet The Uncanny Valley posted a "Halloween short film" onto their YouTube channel on October 31st! I apologize for the three week delay in covering this here, but alas, releasing it on Halloween gave little room to be timely even if I'd seen it before now. The black & white film is too short for me to really outline what goes on without spoiling it (it's under 2 minutes long), but it alternates between a cemetery and one's mental anguish. The band do provide the backing soundtrack, but it's not a standard rock song, rather something more spare and ominous that fits well enough. Interesting idea that reminds me of something that Sault Michigan's The Highest of Fives might have done in their heyday, so give it a watch below!
Finally for today, here's three assorted shorter items from the last while, and as usual, these are in alphabetical order by artist or venue name:
Recording sessions have wrapped up for local alternative/hard rock quintet Handsome Sandwich's debut album, as per their Facebook page earlier today! Now titled "Deconstructed" rather than "Lettuce" for unannounced reasons, the band posted this picture of them (minus Jesse) with producer Dustin Goodall and Treble Charger's Bill Priddle, noting that the next step is to get the album mixed by musician Jordan Zadorozny, presumably at his studio Skylark Park in Pembroke. The band has the oddly specific date of May 5th, 2023 planned for the album's release, but stay tuned in any event for updates on their first studio outing!
There will be a touring opener at the Steel Panther concert at The Dreammakers Theater at the Sault Michigan Kewadin Casino on Saturday after all, as Columbus, Ohio hard rock quintet Harmless Habit
will open both of the Michigan dates on Steel Panther's Claws &
Paws Holiday Tour (The Small Town Titans will open the rest of the
dates, ironically including the one in Ohio). Advertising across the
board confirms their addition, including the new official tour poster.
A rising name in modern hard rock circles, Harmless Habit's melodic but hard edged
sound should be a good compliment to Steel Panther and locals
Tarnished, so don't bypass them!
Sault Ontario nightclub and concert venue The New American Pub has reportedly closed its doors permanently, as per their Facebook page on April 28th. A reason for the closure wasn't announced, and though the effects of the pandemic are obviously a possible factor, they did vaguely note to "watch for announcements for bigger (&) better things to come", so who knows what that means. The 602 Bay Street nightclub had become a semi-frequent sight for heavier-leaning concerts in the mid-late 2010s, and was still hosting cover bands on occasion in 2021, so this will be surprising to many, but hopefully The New A's staff is doing well in whatever ventures they're on to nowadays!
That's all for today, but stay tuned for more news and notes on the site this week! Thanks everyone!
