Where Are The New Albums? (July 2023 Update)

To catch up a bit after not posting on Canada Day, let's double up today courtesy of this month's "Where Are The New Albums?" post! This monthly feature series is largely unchanged from last month, with the same featured upcoming local metal, hard rock, and/or punk albums this month, but three of the five entries this month have updated information about the albums in question, as noted with the titles in italics. So, where are the new albums? Read on below to hopefully find out!

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Chase James Wigmore - The Chaotic Rite

Rumoured Songs: Multiple

Background: Ever the prolific artist & songwriter, local folk punk/extreme metal musician Chase Wigmore has been working on an extensive rock opera for years (once claimed to be a 33 part work), originally named "A Story About A Kid Named Todd". Worked on in between his other unrelated solo albums, released for sale or otherwise, Chase posted a lengthy elaboration of the rock opera last year, now titled "The Chaotic Rite", outlining its concept, recording plans, and long-term release timeline. Clips of songs have surfaced on his Facebook page, as well as the final artwork, while in promotion for his last release, Chase has hinted that "The Chaotic Rite" might be his final eponymous solo album.

Current Release Status: Your guess is as good as mine for when this will finally come out, but remember that Chase is very prolific and varied in his musical interests, and not every album of his has seen a formal paid release, either by finishing it's lifespan as a demo, or by being released online for free. Regardless, he has been working on the rock opera for years to ensure a quality product, so stay tuned for updates from his camp!

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Far From Fine's debut album

Rumoured Songs: "Relapse", "This Way Again", "Poison In My Mind", "Broken"

Background: The new hard rock band from former Suicide Kings bandmates Mike Gaetano & Mitch Sirie, ex-Gnaeus bassist Matt Fronzi, and Brutally Fatal alum Austin McCrae on drums, Far From Fine signalled that they wanted to record a debut album as early as their debut gig (under their original name Ravencore) at Toystock in November, as hyped on SooToday. The renamed group went public in April and outlined their early plans on their Facebook page, including the names of four original songs. Far From Fine were recording at Mission Control Studios with producer Dustin Jones from (at least) May 26th-30th, sharing videos of Mitch and Matt tracking material there, but no full recordings of their songs (originals or covers) are online yet.

Current Release Status: No idea, and we don't even have a released Suicide Kings album to compare timelines with, but Mike aside, everyone in Far From Fine has released local albums with separate bands. It'll be interesting to see how things shake out for Far From Fine in general, and if you missed Toystock, don't miss their return to the stage at Rotaryfest Stage 2 next week to hear how their originals sound!

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Fort Creek's debut EP

Rumoured Songs: "Hammer Down"

Background: Local southern/hard rock quintet Fort Creek have sporadically teased plans to record an EP since February 2020, and while the pandemic lockdowns may have gave them more time to record, they wouldn't release any samples until almost two years later when they shared this snippet of their single "Hammer Down" their Facebook page, later posting this 72 second clip. The guys debuted it at their headlining concert at Soo Blaster in June 2022, and have played it live regularly since, but they have yet to release any full tracks online. The band has been working in studio in early 2023, revealing that "it's coming along" in a Facebook post on March 22nd, and teasing new songwriting & recording sessions following earlier "learning experiences" there in May.

Current Release Status: Fort Creek revealed in a comment reply on their Facebook page on April 17th that their originals are "set to be released this fall", which follows their unrealized plans to release an EP in "late summer", then "late 2022". There are a lot of unknowns either way, especially given the 2+ years of production time and that this is a band primarily known for their work on the weekend cover circuit (though some members do have experience in name original bands, especially Tony). It will be interesting to see how things develop, so stay tuned!

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Mike Haggith - "All The Best In All You Do" & the "Face To Face" live album

Rumoured Songs (A):  "All You Do", "Twist Of Fate", "Hot & Cold", "If Only You Could Hear Me", "Carousel", "I've Seen It Before", "Love Will Light The Way", "The Start Of Something Real", "To Be With You", "All The Best", "Atlantic City" (Bruce Springsteen cover)

Rumoured Songs (F):  "MorningStar", "The Best You Never Had", "Into The Setting Sun", "Come On Home", "I've Seen It Before", "If Ever Comes The Day", "Suburban Dream" (The Din cover), "Out Of My League" (The Din cover), "Potato (Should've Known Better)"

Background: During his live-streamed Facebook concert in February 2022, local/Barrie alt-hard rock musician Mike Haggith revealed that he was working on his newest studio album, entitled "All The Best In All You Do". Like his other post-Sault Ste. Marie albums, this will have an overarching concept, this time about the transition out of depression and being manipulated by others, into a happier personal life. A single version of "Twist of Fate" was unveiled in July 2022, and live videos of some songs can be found on Mike's Facebook page and/or YouTube channel. Mike confirmed on his new indie label MorningStar Records' website that those who buy it on Bandcamp will get bonus songs named "All The Rest To Get You Through" including a Bruce Springsteen cover, while the song "Hot & Cold" will feature a guest guitar solo from Southern Ontario musician Hetriani. A lyric video for "Carousel" was released last month, while this image is implied to be the cover artwork, but not officially labelled as such. A separate live album (with vinyl print run) was also hyped for his "Face To Face" concert with Brian Tremblay at The Art Hub on Spring on May 26th, which you can watch in full at this link, but it's not clear if Brian's performances will be on the same album (if so, it would have to at least be a double album on vinyl given the show's length).

Current Release Status: Mike has revealed that "All The Best In All You Do" will be released on Thursday, July 13th, the day of his Rotaryfest Stage 1 opening set, so look for that in under two weeks! Mike has revealed a lot about the inspirations and themes about the album regardless, so definitely see above for more on what to expect when the album releases later this year, and expect physical pressings on Kunaki as well! Less word is known about the "Face To Face" live album, however, but we'll keep you posted!

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The Uncanny Valley's debut album

Rumoured Songs: "The Uncanny Valley", "Glowin'", "Middle Man", “This Love is Psychedelic”, "Stuck In Rotation", “Sweet Like Sugar”, "Fumbling Through", "The Village"

Background: The new classic hard rock band from 2019 Soo's Got Talent winner Adrian Sullivan, fans will have seen original material of theirs right from the start, as The Uncanny Valley debuted their own songs in their first live concert at The Canadian on New Year's Eve 2019. Live concert & jam session videos have followed on their Facebook page featuring their own material as well. After posting a teaser audio clip of "Sweet Like Sugar" in September 2020, they posted the full studio version of "Middle Man" that October, finally confirming there that they are working on their first album. The guys did record a studio version of "Stuck In Rotation" at Unsalted Audio for the Clusterfolk Music Festival and a related compilation album in April 2022, but whether that exact recording will be included on the band's own album is unclear. After an 8 month public break, the band released a music video for their song "The Village" last month.

Current Release Status: No clue, which isn't helped by The Uncanny Valley's age and relatively unfamiliar profile for many readers, and their 8 months away from new updates may be concerning for some as well. That said, they are a talented group who seemed to be taking the right steps for the future, and hopefully more updates on The Uncanny Valley's debut album follow in some form or another when ready!

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I hope you guys liked this month's "Where Are The New Albums?" post! This series will return on or around August 2nd, while our next monthly feature post will likely be this month's Defunct Local Band Profile one week from tomorrow. That's all for today, but stay tuned for more news and notes on the site this week! Thanks everyone!