Keeping our busy pace to start August 2026 going, here's this month's "Where Are The New Albums?" post! In our monthly look at the release statuses of upcoming albums from local metal, hard rock, and punk acts who have 100% publically confirmed recording sessions for an album (not just singles), we have the same five entries as last month. However, three have updated information, as noted with the titles being in italics. So, where are the new albums? Read on below to hopefully find out!
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Bone Yard 225's debut album
Rumoured Songs: "F.A.F.O.", "Gypsy Spell", "Fuck!", "Welcome To The Shit Show", "I Took A Pill In Ibiza" (Mike Posner cover)
Background: After months of teasers, local southern hard rock cover trio Bone Yard 225
began releasing their own songs on major streaming services in July
2024, fifteen years after the pre-225 band debuted as a
country cover quartet. Their first three singles (all recorded at their
home studio) were posted online by January 2025, though it took until last May for the band to confirm on their Facebook page
that they were indeed working on a proper album. As of August 11th, it was reportedly "album tracking time", while this video
from three days later shows bandmates Alex D'Ettore & Warren
Reville recording backing vocals for their cover of Mike Posner's
"I Took A Pill In Ibiza". That will be one of "a couple of covers" for
the album, as confirmed by frontman Greg Simpson during recent concerts.
"Fuck!" was renamed "The F Word" on streaming services in December, but
it's not clear if the less explicit name will stick on the album. The
band was still "in the studio finishing shit" as of December 4th, source here, and a new single "Welcome To The Shit Show" was released on streaming services yesterday.
Current Release Status: In that Facebook post from May 2025, your local 225 said that "the album is coming along nicely", but announced release timeframes of "by the end of 2025" and "early 2026" have came and went. While singer/drummer Greg Simpson did release an EP with his old band Stiffler's Mom, it's hard to compare the release methods and schedule given that "The Demo" came out in 2004. It is neat to see that Greg, Alex, and Warren are going all in on a studio album, and stay tuned for updates!
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Chase James Wigmore - The Chaotic Rite
Rumoured Songs: "The Cities Alive & It's Angry"
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 in 2022, 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 have full songs not explicitly tied to the album, as well as the final artwork. In more recent promotion, Chase has
hinted that "The Chaotic Rite" might be his final solo album as part of aims to focus on his personal life more
than his prolific original material.
Regardless, the final product has been pared down to 25-30 minutes.
Current Release Status:
Chase elaborated on Facebook in mid-2024 that the album was 95% done
earlier that year when the files "got trapped on my desktop's hard
drive", and he had been unable to procure a backup of the material or
recover the files as of that post. In any event, three of the full songs
uploaded to Facebook in 2023 were clarified as not being
planned for "The Chaotic Rite", but they could surface on a separate EP.
Fingers crossed that Chase is able to save this album and put it out
when able, especially given the years that he's put into the making of
it!
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Convergence's self titled album
Background: After
previously teasing a third instrumental EP named "Gemini" for much of
2024, local progressive/djent metal group Convergence wiped most most
prior media as they retooled as a full
band, now including singer Stephen Gagnon-Ruscio and drummer David
Peredun. Convergence worked in studio last year with
producer Dustin Goodall at Unsalted Audio, documenting the sessions in
Facebook "Reels", eventually confirming in concert that the now-full
length album (then named "In Bloom") is still in progress, with Adam
Roxner mixing the songs in Sweden. A new version of "The Ebb" (from their delisted second EP "Dead And Dreaming") was released to streaming services on Christmas Day, while the song "Gemini"
followed in April. As "Dead And Dreaming" was pulled from streaming,
the possibility of Convergence doing full versions of its
other four songs for this album has been hinted at, and other songs from
that EP have been played live with the full band. Now self-titled, you
can sample the studio sessions for the album in this video.
Current Release Status: No clue, and given the complexity of their music yet their independent studio trappings so far, that could bode a quick or lengthy timeline for this album to come out, depending on what angle you take. David also moved out of town late last year to further his own music career, and while he hasn't left Convergence, that could help explain their slowdown in activity in 2026. Since their modern studio cycle commenced in 2023, things have been relatively steady for Brendan and Jake as a recording act, and here's hoping that Convergence keep that up for their third offering!
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Fort Creek's debut album
Rumoured Songs: "One For The Road", "Sweet Rosie"
Background: Local
southern/hard rock band Fort Creek have sporadically teased plans to
record an EP since February 2020, but they wouldn't release any samples
until almost two years later when they shared (now-deleted) clips of
their original song "Hammer Down" on their Facebook page.
The guys would play it regularly at concerts from 2022-2023, with
studio sessions taking place in early-mid 2023 as well. After the
departure of bassist Robin "Bones" Lee and drummer
Anthony Fabiano in the fall of 2023, Fort
Creek opted
to abandon material recorded with them "as a show of good faith", and
have been working on new material and rebuilding their studio over the
past two years. Now featuring Phil Greco on drums, their first single
(the acoustic "One For The Road")
was posted online in January 2025, with the band confirming plans to now
record a 10 song album at Jettison Studios prior to returning to live
concerts. Their new single "Sweet Rosie" was being recorded as of August 31st, and a teaser of the song was posted to their Facebook page on New Year's Eve. The band recently teased plans to shoot a music video this month, though it's unclear it if it will be for "Sweet Rosie" or not.
Current Release Status: Prior release timelines for their debut EP reflected their early 2020s lineup's material, and Justin, Shane, Bill, and Phil have largely kept things somewhat close to the vest prior to putting out "One For The Road". There are a lot of unknowns, especially given the 6+ years of production time and their decision to basically start over in 2023, and that this is a band that was primarily known for their work on the weekend cover circuit before their rhythm section left. It will be interesting to see how things develop, so stay tuned for updates!
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Mike McCleary's new album
Rumoured Songs: "Carousel"
Background: Background: A
talented studio hard rock musician who has released multiple solo
albums in the past (albeit almost entirely delisted from streaming
services as his musical approach and personal life changed), Mike announced plans to record an instrumental album in 2023, but
after a year+ public hiatus, he opted to shelve that unfinished album in
2025 in favour of a new album with vocals. He signed with Swedish indie
label Rexius Records,
with plans to put out an 8 song album covering "a variety of topics"
and featuring "some fun, catchy, and energetic rock music for everyone
to enjoy". A teaser video from the sessions was posted onto his Facebook page
on December 6th, and the
planned first single ("Carousel") was released online in June.
Current Release Status: Your guess is as good as mine, but as this is is a one-man project likely aimed at streaming services, this album could pop up at any time, and may be close given that an advance single is being unveiled next month. The Rexius Records connection is a variable, but Mike is a strong musician with morals and a lot to say about himself, and hopefully this album comes out successfully in the near future!
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I hope you guys liked this month's "Where Are The New Albums?" post, and this series will likely return on or around September 2nd. Next up on the SMS later today is more recent news and notes that slipped by us during our busy July, so look for all of that shortly! Thanks everyone!
