Where Are The New Albums? (January 2026 Update)

With a new year upon us, here's our first "Where Are The New Albums?" post for 2026! This monthly feature series looks at the current release statuses of upcoming albums from local metal, hard rock, or punk bands who have publically confirmed that sessions have began in studio for them. We actually have two albums to remove this month, one due to its successful release on Friday (The Realignment Project's "Let You Fall", more on that soon), and one due to the band in question now being publically inactive. For the remaining four entries, entries with new information have the title 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!", "I Took A Pill In Ibiza" (Mike Posner cover)

Background: After months of teasers that they were planning to record original music, local southern hard rock cover trio Bone Yard 225 began releasing their own songs on major streaming services in July 2024, a whopping 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 May for the band to confirm on their Facebook page that they were indeed working on a proper album. It's not immediately clear if their existing three singles will be included, but it's not a given, as Jonesy Land fans saw with "Zoom-Out". As of August 11th, it was reportedly "album tracking time", while this video from three days later shows bandmates Alex D'Ettore and 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 last month, 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.

Current Release Status: In that Facebook post from May 30th, your local 225 said that "the album is coming along nicely", and they hoped to release it "by the end of 2025", but Greg has since adjusted the timeframe to "early 2026" when mentioning it during live shows. 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 as they roll in!

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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 - In Bloom

Rumoured Songs: "Gemini", "In Bloom", "Breaking News", "It Ate The F&$%ing Moon", "Kraken Mara", "You Are Not Flesh", "The Ebb"

Background: Just over a month after releasing their sophomore EP "Dead And Dreaming", local progressive metal band Convergence announced in February 2024 that EP #3 would be named "Gemini", with its cover artwork being released at the same time. Teaser clips of most songs from the EP were posted on their Facebook page and their YouTube channel throughout much of 2024, but most prior media was wiped 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 EP (now named "In Bloom") is still in progress. Live versions of early instrumentals (now with vocals) have also been played in their early sets. A new version of "The Ebb" (first seen on their 2023 EP "One") was released to streaming services on Christmas Day.

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 "In Bloom" to come out, depending on what angle you take. 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: 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, 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.

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 5+ 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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We also have one album to remove this month due to its now unlikely release status with the band in question falling inactive, so here's what you should know on that: 

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Bullet Train's upcoming EPs

Rumoured Songs: "Atmosphere", "Illusions", "Profit", "Wayside"

Background: The new hard rock band from former Sense of Truth/Skeyes of Seven frontman Cory Murchsion and ex-Fort Creek bandmates Robin "Bones" Lee and Anthony Fabiano, Bullet Train  existed solely as a studio band, releasing four original songs recorded at their own home studio to their YouTube channel in 2024, all very much influenced by their take on current events. After a quiet summer due to "life's trials", Bullet Train resurfaced on their Facebook page in September 2024 to reveal that they were working on two demo EPs, with the first one entering post-production as of the 9th, though it's not clear if their 2024 singles would have been on them.

Reason For Removal: Despite claiming in September 2024 that EP #1 would have a release date announced "in the upcoming weeks", Bullet Train have not issued a public update concerning band activity since Christmas Eve 2024, past our one year inactivity threshold, so we'll be moving them to our inactive band links. Hopefully we hear more from Cory, Bones, and Tony in time, as they were a promising band for fans of modern hard rock!

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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 February 2nd, while our next monthly feature post will likely be our first Defunct Local Band Profile, scheduled for Saturday. That's all for now, but stay tuned for more news and notes on the site soon! Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (Bone Yard 225), Hails Updates, And More!!

Before we get too far in today's news post, I wanted to update folks on memorials for the two local metal musicians that we lost last month. I normally wouldn't mention this without a public posting, but a tribute concert to late Brutally Fatal frontman/Far From Fine drummer Austin McCrea is in the works, and the family has asked his friend Taylor "Tea" Emlaw (Handsome Sandwich's singer) to put it on. She is currently looking for performers, so contact her via her personal Facebook page if you want in, and we'll let you know when formal public details go out! No sign of an obituary yet for him or Rebel Priest/Glass Statues guitarist Ben Kemp-Reynolds, but the surviving members of Rebel Priest are hosting an open memorial for Benny tomorrow at The Moose, the Vancouver bar that he worked at. I know that most SMS readers aren't in British Columbia, but in the event that you did know Ben, are out west, and want to pay tribute, keep this in mind!

An earlier post by Rebel Priest did say that they were working with Ben's family towards giving him the right sendoff, but I don't know if any public memorials in the Soo or Central Algoma are being planned, let alone ones that would involve music (note that Rebel Priest never played a show here). We'll keep you posted when anything extra comes out regarding Austin or Ben, and they are continually missed!

Now, today's post features some new videos and updates, starting with LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS, as local southern hard rock trio Bone Yard 225 have more shows ahead this month, all courtesy of their website's concert calendar! We already touched on TONIGHT's and TOMORROW'S short notice gigs at Beck's Bar on the site on Thursday, but "the dirty three" will be seen thrice more later this month, starting with their first Water Tower Pub show of 2026 on Friday, January 23rd! Even though electric bands routinely play at the Great Northern Road nightclub, Bone Yard always play there "uncorked", so if you prefer seeing their acoustic shows there, keep this one-nighter in mind! Their next regular plugged-in concerts after this weekend take place on January 30th and 31st, when they take over The Esquire Club for a full weekend, in their first stops there in over two months. Keep all three shows in mind if you love your local 225!

Neither venue has corroborated these late-January bookings on Facebook, but we'll let you know when either posts a 2026 concert calendar. The Water Tower Pub show is at 8:00 PM, the Esquire Club gigs are at 9:30 PM, and these are all 19+ affairs with no cover charges. See above for more details, but while we're on the subject, what else have the guys been up to lately? In a jokey video on their Facebook page from December 3rd, we see Greg and Alex "grinding", but let's just say it's not on a new song! The following day, bassist Warren Reville starred in this video reflecting on "the 225 life", which at that moment, amounted to being "in the studio finishing shit". It was taken in jest, but it's good to see work on new songs is ongoing! Frontman Greg Simpson also starred in two different vertical videos (linked here & here) to promote each of their last two shows of 2025 and reflect on each prior day's weather.

In terms of performance videos, we have more plugged-in concert videos of Bone Yard 225 to share, but let's pause for now with this clip from their "uncorked" gig at Beck's on December 14th, which was uniquely filmed during a lull in the matinee when Greg's battery died mid-set. While that was sorted out, Warren played an impromptu vocal/bass original song to narrate those proceedings. Fun way to fill time, and kudos to whoever filmed this clip, which you can watch below!

Let's close with the latest from local crossover thrash band Hails, and they started 2026 with some very surprising news, as they have parted ways with guitarist Mikhal Muto. A reason for his departure wasn't announced, but in yesterday's post about his exit on their Facebook page, they did call him a "guitar wizard" and they thanked him for helping them move forward in developing their sound, so things do seem amicable. Mikhal had been a key member of Ha!ls since their early 2023 debut, but he does have many irons in the fire as it is, with The Apocalypse Afterparty, his Agnosticism solo project, and his new ska punk band A.S.D.P. all being active concerns, so we'll be seeing lots of him ahead! No word yet on if Hails will be replacing Mikhal, but remember that they were a trio before his cousin Carmen joined the band in the spring of 2024, so they could easily move forward as one again. With all of that said, what else is new from them?

This slipped us by last month, but the long-teased physical release of Ha!ls' self-titled album is getting closer, with the band sharing this image on Facebook of a test pressing of the album on vinyl. No word yet on when copies go on sale, but it is encouraging to see them making full vinyl records! At one point, other formats were also teased (remember Brent's old projects getting DIY cassette tapes?), but no finite word on CD or tape copies yet. Stay tuned for more from Hails, including videos from their last show with Mikhal next week, along with more recent news and notes! Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (Double Down, Headrush, and Tym Morrison) Plus New Half Past Videos!!

It turns out there was a lot more going down on this first concert weekend of 2026, so let's spend most of today's post going into that via some LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS, three of which are on SHORT NOTICE! To round things out, we have some new videos from a recent New Year's concert, so here's what you should know on this Friday night!

Local classic/hard rock cover quintet Headrush will kick off 2026 with their debut appearance at The Full Throttle Saloon TOMORROW NIGHT! Apologies for the short notice, this show was quietly announced on the band's Facebook group on December 23rd, which slipped by me at the time. After taking December off, this will be the first gig from Headrush (not HeadF1rst) since ending November at The Esquire Club, and will be this veteran group's first public gig at the Full Throttle Saloon, the 256 Wellington West venue previously known as The Primavera Hall. If you're up to escape the snow at this new-ish Steelton nightclub, then don't miss the Johns, West, Gino, and Frank there TOMORROW NIGHT! This one-nighter has a 9:00 PM start time, 19+ age limit, and no cover charge. Visit the official Facebook event page for more details, and here's Headrush live last year!

Next up, fellow local classic/hard rock cover quartet Double Down will also kick off their new year TOMORROW NIGHT with a one-night-only concert, in their case at The Water Tower Pub! Again, apologies for the short notice, they too first announced this show via their Facebook page on December 23rd, though it got much less follow-up promotion on social media than Headrush's concert, and at press time, The Water Tower Pub has yet to post a January concert calendar on social media (they didn't post one at all last month, and no word on who's playing there tonight). Double Down were last seen at Jay's Piston Broke Pub on Friday, December 14th, though not Saturday the 15th, as they quietly confirmed on their Facebook page that they had to cancel the following night's show. They didn't directly specify why there, but if memory serves, major snow hit the Soo that day. Better safe then sorry, of course! The guys last played at The Water Tower Pub on November 22nd.

Notably, that Water Tower gig was their last one with a fill-in bassist (Alex White that time) before Dan Beaupre quietly returned for last month's Jay's concert, so if central concert-goers have missed the full lineup, keep TOMORROW'S show in mind! As usual for the Great Northern Road nightclub, expect a 19+ age limit, no cover charge, and an 8:00 PM start time. See above for more details on Double Down's 2026 debut, and here they are live!

Also newly confirmed is the return of local acoustic classic/hard rock musician Tym Morrison for his first solo shows of 2026, as he has confirmed a bunch of Saturday matinee dates through May at Misty's Fifties, starting TOMORROW! Apologies again for the short notice, Tym only announced TOMORROW'S show with the rest of them in this batch Facebook event page on Monday. We'll hold the last two May shows for now, as no other heavier-leaning acts have gotten that far ahead yet, but you can see Tym back at the Second Line West staple TOMORROW and next Saturday, before taking a week off from Misty's. He'll return there on January 24th, February 7th, 21st, and 28th, March 14th & 28th, April 4th & 18th, and May 2nd, so keep all of the above dates in mind if you his well produced solo covers and extensive setlist! Of the Misty's bookings listed above, only one falls on a holiday long weekend (the April 4th show is the day after Good Friday). These are all 4:00 PM matinees with 19+ age limits and no cover charges.

The only other new booking from Tym (so far) will see him return to "The Naughty Corner" of The Dive Gastro Pub for his first nighttime gig of 2026, which will be on (Think It Over) Thursday, January 15th. If the lack of a Misty's gig on the 17th disappointed you, maybe this will make up for it a bit! Tym doesn't play at The Dive with anywhere near the regularity of his Misty's shows, but hopefully this 19+ and 9:30 PM show with no cover goes over well also in two weeks! Visit that show's Facebook event page and the above links for more on Tym's busy start to the year, and here he is live!

We'll close today with new videos from last year (technically), as there's footage on Facebook from local hard rock quartet Half Past's New Year's Eve concert at Beck's Bar to check out! Three videos are publically circulating, with one being shared to the band's Facebook page from Headrush bassist John Amendola's personal Facebook page (his son Johnny is Half Past's drummer), and it sees them covering Godsmack's "Keep Away". Not a band you see covered often locally, but the guys have a good handle on this single, and John's camera quality is really nice, especially when he gets closer to the stage! The lighting really accentuates the drumkit more than anyone else (John can't have minded that!), but the venue was nicely dolled up for December 31st revelry! Beck's Facebook page also uploaded two videos of their own from Wednesday night, one of them featuring a 17 second vertical snippet of their cover of Weezer's "Hash Pipe".

Unusually, the video was put into a post-production filter where it's tiled to look like four physical photographs, two in monochrome. I guess it's a way to give some zest to a vertical video, but I wonder if they shot more of this cover? It's one of my favourite Weezer songs, and it was filmed from a unique angle with frontman Jordan Rains walking into the crowd with a lot of quick zooms! Embedded below is Half Past covering Alice In Chains' "Would?" with guitarist Alain Fletcher (a.k.a. "Flex"?) helping for the backing vocals. Strong cover Jordan pushing his vocal range well, and the lighting better suits the stationary camera here, so give this video and more from Wednesday night a watch above & below!

That's all for now, but stay tuned for this month's "Where Are The New Albums?" post and more on the site this weekend! Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (Bone Yard 225 & Generations) And Weekend Concert Previews!!

For our first post of 2026, we're diving into another round of weekend concert previews, as there's a range of hard rock cover bands rocking out on both sides of the border, so let's lead things off with SHORT NOTICE LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS, with some new videos tucked in!

Local classic/hard rock cover quartet Generations will make their first ever appearance (to my knowledge) at The Kiln at Searchmont Resort on SATURDAY NIGHT! Apologies for the short notice, this show was first announced by drummer Tony Santoro on their Facebook group on Christmas Eve, which slipped me by initially among the holiday rush. Regardless, Searchmont have not corroborated the band's announcement on their own social media. Two weeks removed from their last 2025 date at The Water Tower Pub, this will be Generations' third concert with new guitarist Joe Miller, and if you're up for a trip to our local ski resort, hitting the slopes or not, you should get your fill of classic and hard rock covers on SATURDAY! This indoor concert takes place at 8:00 PM in The Kiln with no announced cover charge or age limit. Visit the above links for more details, and for a preview, here's Generations live!

Next up, local southern hard rock trio Bone Yard 225 will kick off their 2026 with shows at Beck's Bar on SATURDAY & SUNDAY NIGHT! Again, apologies for the short notice, these shows were only announced via the venue's Facebook page on Monday. Bone Yard proper haven't confirmed these bookings on their own Facebook page, but their website's concert calendar does list them along with other January dates that we will cover in an upcoming post along with extra band updates. Three weeks ago, "the dirty three" rocked Beck's for their most recent double header there, and like usual for their bookings at the former Vibe Lounge, SATURDAY'S show will be a normal electric concert, while SUNDAY's is a 3:00 PM "uncorked" matinee. Regardless, both are 19+ affairs with no announced cover charges. Regarding the SATURDAY matinee timeslot at Beck's, that goes to local country musician and former Soundcheck singer/guitarist Cameron Oliver.

Remember, Cameron is not "opening" for Bone Yard 225. He and the band have separate four hour timeslots spaced two hours apart. It's good to see Bone Yard starting the new year on a high note, and hopefully SATURDAY & SUNDAY's shows have strong turnouts! See above for more details, and for a preview, here's a brand new video of your local 225 covering Van Morriosn's "Brown Eyed Girl" at their "uncorked" Beck's gig last month, courtesy of their Facebook page! While sadly shot vertically, it's a fine melodic rendition of this classic rock staple, accentuated with some holiday decor, so give it a watch!

Now to shows that did have advance notice, starting with new local classic/hard rock cover trio The Guilty Party, who will lead off their 2026 slate TOMORROW & SATURDAY NIGHT at Reggie's Place! After a fast start to their run as a live band, these will see Brent, Terry, and Jim rock out as the first hard rock-leaning band to rock Reggie's since owner/namesake Reggie Daigle resumed management of the bar last fall after Randy Lapossie's five year tenure came to an end. It is a good sign that Reggie isn't immediately reverting to a country-only band rotation like in ye olden times, and hopefully The Guilty Party deliver a solid pair of shows downtown this weekend! The Facebook event page is teasing a "special surprise" for tomorrow's show, heavily implied to be a female guest singer in other postings, and while this isn't a 100% guarantee, note that members' other band Separate Wayz are fronted by Nicole Thibodeau (more on her and that band soon).

As usual for concerts at Reggie's, tomorrow's and Saturday's Guilty Party concerts have 9:30 PM start times, 19+ age limits, and no announced cover charges. Visit the official Facebook event page for more details on this weekend's shows, and for a preview, here's a brand new video of The Guilty Party covering Bryan Adams' "Run To You" live at the former Reggie's West (Jay's Piston Broke Pub) in November! Sadly also shot vertically (and almost never capturing bassist Jim Michaud in frame), this Terry Eaton-sung rendition is soundly and professionally handled, though I'd have at least zoomed in a bit and moved the camera around moreso. Check this one out below as well, and don't miss the guys at Reggie's!

We'll head to Sault Michigan to round out this weekend's previews (as far as I'm currently aware), as Traverse City classic metal trio Peril will kick off their year by rocking The Rapids Lounge at the local Kewadin Casino TOMORROW & SATURDAY NIGHT! Jeff Hudson's two active rock bands will actually both be coming north of the Mackinac Bridge for Soo Kewadin gigs this month (Scarkazm will be here in four weeks), but the longer running Peril are up first for Yooper fans. Should be a solid pair of hard rocking cover concerts in store to lead off 2026, so don't miss out on this talented trio's launch for another year tomorrow and Saturday! If you miss out, they'll be back at the St. Ignace Kewadin over the Valentine's Day weekend for the pond hockey tournament, but they won't be back in the Soo until at least the second quarter of the year. Expect 9:00 PM start times, 19+ age limits, and no cover. See above for more details, and for a preview, here's Peril live a while back!

That's all for now, but stay tuned for an overdue news post on the SMS tomorrow! Thanks everyone! 

2025: A Look Back In The Year Of Local Metal, Hard Rock, And Punk

Happy New Year! As usual for the SMS at year's end, I have cobbled together a lengthy "year-in-review" post, and after a quite busy and eventful 2025, here's a window into the big events, news stories, and so forth during that span! I'm sure I missed things (I always do), but hopefully this is a fun and informative look back at the year that was!

2025's biggest hard rock concert in Sault Ontario has to have been the Our Lady Peace/Collective Soul concert at GFL Memorial Gardens in March, and very well timed with The Fox now on the airwaves to get the word out for it! Across the past 12 months, other notable touring acts like B.A. Johnston, Bon Jovi Forever, Cory Marks, Damage Case, The Dayglo Abortions, Epic Rush (née Rust), Ikons Of Rock, Insurrection, Just Leppard, Kaonashi, Mean Bikini, Queen: It's A Kinda Magic, Selias, Virvum, and Who Made Who (among many others) made their presences known on local stages. This year saw the returns of Toystock, Rotaryfest, and (despite very bad weather) The Northern Vibe Festival, plus a healthy number of touring tribute bands at multiple venues, Mike Haggith's high profile Downtown Plaza show in September with his Big Finish Band, and a number of big Soo Blaster shows, with and without touring acts. There was a lot going on as usual!

Over in Sault Michigan and the Eastern Upper Peninsula, they had no shortage of interesting concerts in a busier year than recently normal! At The Dreammakers Theater at the Sault Michigan Kewadin Casino, fans were able to see Tesla in February, Clutch in June, and both Night Ranger and Trixter headlining separate hair metal concerts in October, while touring bands like Driving Dawn, Fyrbird, Ghidora, Oz, Peril, Scarkazm, The Sky Pilots, Spun, Tribe989, and Violet Scum (among others) all made their way to smaller local venues in this calendar year. Despite the lengthy Sault Ontario drought for such events, two battles of the bands hit the E.U.P. in 2025, with the debuting Crush winning the Superior Whitefish Festival battle in Brimley in July, and the debuting Dynamic Duo defeating About:Blank and other regional acts at the third annual Lake Superior State University Battle. 

Multi-band E.U.P. concerts happened at a wider clip this year in general, including a bunch of mixed genre shows from Serious Business in Brimley and at Pizza Hut(!), while Heavy Lies The Crown played their annual St. Ignace show in August for frontman Brandon West's birthday, and nine acts gathered at Bird's Eye Outfitters in March for the Musicians Unite benefit in honour of Project 906 guitarist Joe Jenkins' wife Mary Jo's cancer battle. Not to mention all of the solo shows from local hard rock acts in 2025, and this was a really solid year for Sault Michigan and area that bodes well for 2026!

For general news items outside of concerts, there was arguably nothing bigger for local rock fans than the format change of Country 104.3 in January, transitioning into 104.3 The Fox, and giving us two rock radio stations on the FM dial, one on each side of the border! With local bands, the likes of Bone Yard 225, Crush, Exit 808, Heavy Lies The Crown, Spades GT, and Tarnished hit the road for gigs outside of our coverage area, while Sault Michigan's Sole Aggressors joined the rare list of E.U.P. bands to play gigs in Sault Ontario in the past two decades! 2025 saw the former Vibe Lounge and Primavera Hall relaunch respectively as Beck's Bar and The Full Throttle Saloon with new regular band lineups, though The Distraction closed indefinitely in July due to fire code violations discovered during the planned Ripcordz show that month. Sault Ontario wasn't able to get planned battles of the bands at Jay's Piston Broke Pub and the Downtown Plaza off the ground, and for the first time, Go Skateboarding Day was completely rained out.

The Northern Vibe Festival was severely compromised by a major rainstorm that rendered the Forest Stage unusable on the Saturday, and the planned Headstones concert (booked opposite Rotaryfest Saturday) was cancelled a few days prior. In a positive light, we did see new music videos from HeadF1rst and The Bear Hunters, the beginning of work on a Woods of Ypres biography, and new Convergence frontman Stephen Gagnon-Ruscio's runner-up run at The Soo's Got Talent, so this was certainly not an uneventful year! Hopefully we get more big news and notes in the next 12 months!

Unfortunately, the last third of the year saw three deaths among local hard rock musicians, starting with Stone Smyth founder and veteran local guitarist Troy Isaac, who lost his battle with cancer in September at the age of 63. In just the past week, we learned of the passing of two more familiar faces, including Rebel Priest/ex-Glass Statues guitarist Ben Kemp-Reynolds (a.k.a. Benny Blitz) at the age of 35 over the weekend, while former Brutally Fatal frontman and Far From Fine drummer Austin McCrea also passed away at the age of 30 after a three month battle with worsening medical concerns in hospital. We also mourned the deaths of former local journalist and concert videographer Mike Caruso, Queen Street Cruise founder Gary Trembinski, and Darsombra synth player/vocalist Ann Everton, just one week before the Baltimore psych-hard rock duo was supposed to play at The Downtown Plaza. May all of them R.I.P.!

Like last year, 2025 was abnormally strong for new local metal, hard rock, and punk albums. Seventeen by my count, and we still have seven of them to review next year! No one was busier this year than Matt Hicks' new solo industrial metal act The Realignment Project, who released three EPs ("Afterthought", "The Frustration Sessions", and "War Songs") throughout the year, while the ever prolific Mike Haggith released his fan club exclusive album "Frequent Flyer" and his new full-band live album "Under A Moonlit Sky". This year also saw the sophomore albums from the reunited Fuller ("II"), hard rock quintet HeadF1rst ("Road Trippin'"), and alt-rock favourites Handsome Sandwich ("Collage"), while we also got local/Barrie crossover thrashers Spades GT's second post-move album "United", the posthumous physical release of grunge trio No Arrow's album "Souls For Sale", Agnosticism's new folk punk EP "Atticcore Fornication", ...

 ...their frontman Mikhal Muto's band Hails' self-titled album, "the original crash band" Sykotyk Rampage's latest "WYRD Radio 3: The Midnight Horror Show", Pillory's long-awaited death metal album "Old Soul", and new ska punk trio A.S.D.P.'s debut album "Atom Bombs & Lemonade". Meanwhile, Sault Michigan's X's & Y's put out their second album "Ruination Coactive", and Theatre Of Night reunited with session vocalist Gaby Koss on this month's "Christmas Night 3". Hopefully 2026 is similarly bursting at the seams with new albums from local talent! 

A bumper crop of new bands made their debut across the Twin Saults this year, and some of those emerged quickly with their own material, including the aforementioned Realignment Project and A.S.D.P., while Sault Michigan newcomers Crush and About:Blank (both featuring Tarnished alumni) also debuted with their own songs right away. While they have existed as a studio band for years prior, Sault Ontario progressive metal band Convergence made their live concert debut in the spring, and other new bands to the live scene this year included hard rock quartet Maynard Hayes, BookcluB's acoustic side project Dos Amigos, classic/hard rock sister bands Separate Wayz & The Guilty Party, and just last week, new local punk quartet P.R.O.D.. We also saw the debuts of bands like Bards With Beards, Pearl Jam tribute Even Flow, One Shot, Spun Out, and The T.R.I.P. that could have big 2026s ahead, and hopefully that holds true on all fronts!

There weren't many severe lineup changes in local bands in 2025, but there were still a number to note. One of the bigger departures was guitarist Brandon Ruch from both Handsome Sandwich and BookcluB in advance of his move out of town, while we also saw Dan Beaupre replace Brad Stephen on bass in Double Down, Sean MacNab finally fill Spades GT's bassist vacancy, a returning Devon Lucier replace Blair St. John on bass in Pillory, Spencer MacGillivray replace Justin Pregent on vocals in the former Sault Side Squad, and Joe Miller replace Tony Kajnar as Generations' guitarist. In the E.U.P., the now-defunct Exit 808 welcomed back original guitarist Nathan Webber and (briefly) bassist Brad Pringle, while Jaxon Massaway returned to Heavy Lies The Crown after a year's hiatus as their new second guitarist, and Jamie Costner replaced Justin Lawless as The Nameless' drummer. I'm sure there's more big lineup turnover ahead in 2026!

In terms of major band breakups, Sault Michigan had the biggest finite and publically addressed losses, with hard rock bands Exit 808 and Dirty Musky both dissolving in 2025, while 2023 LSSU battle-winning punk trio The Sole Aggressors went on hiatus in August in advance of members leaving the area for college. Sault Ontario didn't have band breakups on that scale, but the likes of Treble Charger, Vanity First, Slumshine, and Mikey & His Uke have all been publically inactive for over a year as of last fall. At least the Vanity & Slumshine itches can be scratched with Hails! A number of notable bands have been publically inactive for the past 6+ months and will be kept an eye on in early 2026, including A Dire Setback, The Bear Hunters, Bullet Train, Crucify The Whore, Hollow Sky, The Northwest, and Rhythm & Brews. Hopefully these bands or their members therein turn up in new projects in the new year!

As always, let's end with comebacks, and there were a number of big ones from bands on the shelf for a year+ in 2025, with one of the most notable being the dual reunions of 1990s punk bands Fist Magnet and The Spigots for an ARCH benefit concert at Soo Blaster this past Saturday! Room 206 had to drop out of that event, but fans weren't entirely left out in the cold, as that band & The Inner City Surfers also reunited in April for 206 drummer Allan Watson's stag & doe at the same venue! In the interim, 2000s emo/post-hardcore notables Fuller reunited for a new album and a Rotaryfest Stage 2 headlining set, and local classic/hard rock cover band Quite Frankly reunited after 15 years themselves! We also saw a one-off Mike Haggith & The Din reunion in January in honour of Daniel Horton's late mother, while The Northwest emerged from a year+ hiatus to open for Our Lady Peace, and The Isolation Sessions also returned for a gig in March after a few years away. 

I hope you guys liked this look back at 2025 in the local metal, hard rock, and punk scenes, and we're picking things back up right away tomorrow with the first weekend concert previews of 2026, so stay tuned for those then! Thanks everyone, and please celebrate and party responsibly tonight! 

LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (HeadF1rst & The Nameless) And New Year's Eve Concert Previews!!

In what will likely be our last normal post of 2025 (our annual "year-in-review" post is likely coming tomorrow), here's previews of tomorrow's known hard rock New Year's Eve concerts, including LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS, one on SHORT NOTICE! Just a reminder first though that Tym Morrison's planned Eagles Club show tomorrow was cancelled. Also, you may have seen reference on social media to a New Year's bash featuring The Apocalypse Afterparty, A.D.S.P., The Spaceship Opening, and Gimiiwan Ikwe, but that is a private event without a publically given address. Inquire with performers if that piques your interest though! Now, let's lead off with our New Year's Eve previews in Michigan!

Local hard rock cover quartet The Nameless will end 2025 in style by making their debut at The Back Bay Grill & Games at Bay Mills Resort & Casino in Brimley TOMORROW NIGHT for their New Year's Eve party! Apologies for the short notice, the band only announced this gig via their Facebook page yesterday, and Bay Mills never acknowledged a New Year's concert on their website's calendar, though head there to see what other seasonal activities are happening there. Last seen on stage at The Merch on December 12th, TOMORROW's concert will be quite a way for Josh, the Mikes, and Jamie to make their first ever Brimley stop, and while no festive frills are hyped on the band's end, hopefully this will be the heaviest way for E.U.P. rock fans to ring in 2026 with! Owing to the New Year's timing, this show has an unusually late start time of 10:00 PM, a 21+ age limit, and no cover charge. See above for more details, and here's The Nameless live!

Next up, let's take a brief detour from New Year's concerts for a new show announcement for 2026, as Sault Ontario hard rock quintet HeadF1rst will play their... first show of the year at Beck's Bar on Saturday, January 10th! If this show is a surprise to you, I'm not surprised, as it was quietly tucked in their most recent Facebook page posting from this past Saturday, which was primarily to show off photos of them at the same venue back in June. You have to click "See more" to see the show announcement, and while they never did come back for "round 2" in this calendar year, the guys (and Claire) will return next weekend! This will be their first concert anywhere since rocking Shooters on December 6th. HeadF1rst's hard rocking brand of originals and covers will be on display next Saturday at 9:00 PM with a 19+ age limit and no cover charge. Visit the above links for more details, and Beck's should confirm things on their end on Monday!

Now let's head back to New Year's Eve concert previews, and while the mid-week timing of December 31st this year has stunted some concert booking potential, Thursday is a day off, and there are a couple more hard rock concerts in Sault Ontario to take in TOMORROW. Arguably the bigger of the two goes down in the east end, where local southern hard rock trio Bone Yard 225 will end the year in style by headlining the New Year's party at The Moose Lodge tomorrow night! A very rare SMS-amenable booking at the Trunk Road hall, this will be Bone Yard's first show in almost two weeks, and they should be in fine form to send 2025 out on a high note! Along with music from "the dirty three", there will be a pasta dinner and cash bar included, along with other seasonal frills, so mind all that given that tickets cost $50 at The Moose Lodge or via e-mail at lodge535@shaw.ca.

The band's own cache of tickets is sold out, and of course, you can chance paying at the door if this all interests you. If you'd rather see your local 225 with no cover, they'll be back next month with multiple bar gigs that we will be elaborating on here shortly. Doors open at 6:00 PM with the pasta dinner beginning at 7:00 PM, and Bone Yard take the stage at 9:00 PM. If you want the full shebang for your New Year's festivities, then head down to The Moose Lodge tomorrow night to ring in 2026 in hard rocking style! Visit the above links for more details, and for a preview, here they are live!

Finally for TOMORROW NIGHT (and 2025), local hard rock cover quartet Half Past will end the year when they headline the New Year's Eve party at the aforementioned Beck's Bar! Playing their first concert since rocking the same venue in early October, this will cap off what was an eventful first full year back for Half Past after their decade+ breakup, and hopefully their brand of modern-leaning "hard rock (that) you'll actually feel" proves to be the right soundtrack for many to ring in 2026 with! In terms of seasonal frills, Beck's is promising drink specials tomorrow, and while I'm not one to go into massive details on the food offerings and menus at bars here, this is the first Beck's concert that we have covered since they struck a deal for the Matt’s Grill BBQ & Catering food truck to park on the premises daily from 5:00 PM-1:00 AM. Keep that in mind if getting a meal or some unofficial hors d'oeuvres for the New Year is of note! Here is the menu if you are curious. 

Unlike at The Moose Lodge, the New Year's Eve party at Beck's has no cover charge or tickets, but this remains a 19+ event with the band beginning at 9:00 PM, and note that the former Vibe Lounge will remain open until 3:00 AM, one hour later than normal. Hopefully there's a strong turnout at Beck's for their first New Year's bash, let alone Half Past's modern hard rock proficiency, so visit the official Facebook event page for more details, and for a preview, here's Half Past live at Beck's! 

That's all for now, but if all goes according to plan, stay tuned for our 2025 "year-in-review" post on the SMS next, with normal weekend concert previews to follow! Thanks everyone!

YouTube Channel Profile Series: Kelly Cristina & Chris Hubbard

After a slight delay due to the holiday long weekend and some sad losses, here is our final monthly feature post of 2025, namely this month's YouTube Channel Profile! As usual, this series looks at randomly selected YouTube channels whose content is at least half devoted to local metal, hard rock, and/or punk artists/concerts, and as the first selected channel only has one video period, I added a second channel with minimal content to round things out. As such, we're splitting things betwen the Twin Saults today, so here's what you should know from both channels!

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Kelly Cristina (http://www.youtube.com/@kekeitba)

Owner: YouTube user Kelly Cristina, a.k.a. kekeitba, who I believe is based out of Brazil

Channel Timeline: Launched on October 23rd, 2008; Only video uploaded on July 16th, 2014

Channel Summary: Kelly's only upload is a lyric video for defunct local blackened doom metal band Woods Of Ypres' song "Shards Of Love (Hurt Forever)", which led off their 2009 CD "Woods IV: The Green Album". While this is seemingly a redundant upload compared to fuller and more official copies of "Woods 4" elsewhere on YouTube and other services, note that the on-screen lyrics are in Portuguese, helping translate this post-breakup doom metal song for native speakers. There are a handful of Brazilian immigrants in the area, so note the translated lyrics if they are of use, and the song alone is a solid first sampling of their late-era doom sound!

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Chris Hubbard (http://www.youtube.com/@chrishubbard415e)

Owner: Sault Michigan hard rock guitarist Chris Hubbard, known from past local bands like Nixxon Dixxon, Splitshot, Trail's End, Hubbard, 415E, and Rhythm & Brews

Channel Timeline: Launched on May 19th, 2011; Videos uploaded from February 2016 to October 2024

Channel Summary: The official YouTube channel for Chris' solo output (and branded for his eponymous Hubbard solo project), only four videos would make their way here, two being in-studio performance clips and one featuring his own build of the time machine part of the DeLorean from the Back To The Future movies. Chris' last video to date is a "Shorts" upload where he was promoting a 5150 Frankenstrat guitar body for sale, though I don't know if he successfully sold it in the past year or not.

Why You Should Watch: Despite his crystal clear talents on guitar, Chris' post-Nixxon Dixxon bands only posted videos to social media very scarcely, so if you want to see him actually shredding on camera, the two videos here are some of the surprisingly few ways to do so! Chris hasn't been super active locally as a live musician in recent months, but hopefully he surface again when the time is right, including revisiting his solo original material! The B.T.T.F. time machine video is a neat sampler of what Chris was working on, but it is a 15 second "part 1", and the teased next part did not follow .

 Our Recommended Videos To Check Out:

 

Chris Hubbard Light Up The Sky - Van Halen Cover. Drums, Bass, Guitar ~EVH: Well known as a die-hard fan of Van Halen, Chris' first video here saw him cover "Light Up The Sky" (a deep cut from "Van Halen II") in studio. The instrumental cover saw Chris play guitar, bass, and drums at his home studio via stationary cameras, but he did not film himself playing the bass tracks. Chris absolutely nails this song on all fronts, supplemented by having the right EVH gear, and while I'd have framed his camera a little better, Roth-era Van Halen fans will absolutely appreciate the performance quality and musicianship here!

 

Messing around with Ernie Ball Music Man EVH Guitar ~ Chris Hubbard: Chris' most popular video (with over 147,000 views at press time), this 11 minute+ jam video from March 2016 was allegedly filmed with no warm-up shortly after he woke up that day. Keep that in mind when you watch this very skilled performance, both on a technical basis (look at his gear!) and for replicating Eddie Van Halen's tone and musical style, and viewers raved about how much they liked it in the comments. Chris is an excellent guitarist, one of the best in the E.U.P., and hopefully we see him back at it before long!

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I hope you guys liked this month's YouTube Channel Profiles! We're leading off 2026 in this series in a big way, as our latest randomly selected YouTube channel will be that of prolific local/Barrie musician Mike Haggith! There will be a lot to cover, so look for that on or around January 26th, and stay tuned for New Year's Eve concert previews on the site next! Thanks everyone!