Let's do some catch-up in today's post via long overdue updates from a talented local solo musician, and leading off, house cleaning notes on our active band links, so here's what you should know!
We have two bands to remove from our active local metal/punk band links today, the first being local death metal band Exploring Detritus, who have been returned to our inactive band links due to over a year's inactivity. Four
years after the former Kaepora Gaebora fell inactive, guitarist Dan
Souliere and original drummer Anthony Boudreau surprisingly brought the
group back in April of last year, but Exploring Detritus never progressed past jam
session videos despite some very promising lineups, last posting
on their Facebook page
in July 2022. Extreme metal hasn't been super prominent among local bands post-pandemic, but hopefully we hear more from Dan, Ryan, Justin, and
Anthony soon, and don't miss brief frontman Mitch Sirie in his array of
current projects, including his and Justin's recent Bear Hunters revival! As their only live gigs were under the Kaepora Gaebora name, they are listed on the SMS under that name anew.
Next up, local pop punk project Forever Will Be
have sadly been deleted outright from our band links, as they no longer have a
formal social media page centric to the band. As it was, their now-deleted
Facebook page was scarcely updated, with project leader Ryan McLaughlin
primarily posting Forever Will Be updates on his/their label Relentless Audio's Facebook page.
That said, Forever Will Be proper are likely still active, with Relentless Audio
last posting about the project in December, so even without a proper band page, hopefully we hear more from Forever Will Be soon! Note that Relentless Audio did post two Facebook videos in February to demonstrate what Ryan can do with his computer programs to make songs sound better, including this clip of him improving the quality of "Acolyte" by the inactive Cambridge, Ontario metalcore band The Intake Of Glass, but the other video didn't produce a song match on Shazam.
We'll close today with some the latest media and updates from prolific local extreme metal/folk punk musician Chase Wigmore! We haven't posted much about him since the winter, the Darsombra show aside, but back in February, he posted the second part of his trilogy of "The Pit" songs under the project name Manitou, as uploaded to his "Jason Walker" YouTube channel. Part 3 was belatedly uploaded in April, and while not extreme metal, these marry his guitar prowess and alternate influences fairly well, with part 2 dipping into Black Lodge Masters-esque techno stylings, and part 3 even had clean singing layered into the track. Effectively done and accentuated with trippy visuals, so don't bypass them (or part 1!). On April 5th, Chase noted that he'd been practicing and playing a few open mic nights, but had largely been "chilling out on music" in recent months.
His long-gestating and allegedly "last" solo album "The Chaotic Rite" is 75% complete, and Chase noted that it will only run 25-30 minutes (a big drop from the prior rock opera teasers for the former "Story About A Kid Named Todd"), but his aim here is to focus on quality over quantity. His planned book on the guitar "Ars Cithara" is "mostly done" but was then on a break, still needed to be edited & restructured, and could be split up into a trilogy. Basically, Chase wanted to take time to "step back and become a human being again" rather than "focusing 95% of my time in music", but he hopes to release both by year's end. Fingers crossed! Four new non-Manitou videos have been posted online in mid-2023, including this trippy animated piece on his Facebook page set to ominous techno music (is this AI art?), plus a new original song named "From Beyond The Clouds" featuring dark but cleanly sung vocals.
While not extreme metal, it's certainly an intense and well layered song with some eerie background effects that are accentuated by the images of forests and bad weather, so give it a listen above! The others have Chase performing unplugged on camera, including his older original drinking song named "Running Out Of Beer" and, as embedded below, him playing his song "The Guilt & Shame Of Being" from his most recent album, last fall's "We Are All Going To Die". This one is heavily filtered in monochrome and layered with dark imagery, but both songs play into Chase's live free-wheeling intensity and passion, and it's good to see him rocking out, so check everything out for yourselves above & below!
That's all for today, but stay tuned for more news and notes on the site this week! Thanks everyone!
We have a new news post on this Monday evening, which is half devoted to a new-ish band who you may remember seeing live last fall, while we also have lots of updates from a solo project, a new live concert video, and an apology for missing a show for previewing on the site last week. Here's what you should know!
We have a new local band to add to our Sault Ontario band links, and they are noise punk duo No Funeral! You may recall seeing this band at a Dryer Fire-promoted event at Outspoken Brewing in October, and they were scheduled for last month's cancelled Matthew Nadon memorial concert, but aside from being described as an "indie noise" act, little was public about them unless you saw their October set. I knew from personal Facebook postings that former AlgomA drummer Jamie Vincent was one half of this band, but No Funeral shares far more in common musically with his mid-2010s grunge/punk duo Bad Back, but with two key differences: More of a chaotic post-hardcore bent, and that Jamie isn't the frontman here. Rather, their singer/guitarist is Connor O'Brien, who played guitar in the defunct Edmonton noise punk band Flint, of which Jamie was a member on bass from 2009 until he moved back to the Soo in 2012.
The fact that Connor isn't local may explain why we've only seen No Funeral in concert once, but this project's existence is definitely more on the local side of things than Edmonton, especially given the credits for... their debut album!? Yes, No Funeral's self-titled debut album (and if you believe Jamie's personal Facebook page, their "only" album) was released to their new Bandcamp page yesterday, and the description there says in more graphic terms that the band has been in the works for two years, with the album coming together within a two week span before coming out. The album was produced by Dustin Goodall at Unsalted Audio last fall, with Dustin supplying backing vocals, additional bass, and "musical saw", while Saultite author Mat Laporte guests on saxophone on the two closing tracks and also provided the album artwork. Much like Bad Back's Bandcamp albums, "No Funeral" is on sale on a "name your price" model.
I'll hold comment on the album pending our eventual review of it (I currently have it pencilled in for June given our current backlog), but if you miss Bad Back in particular, don't bypass No Funeral! Of course, connections to Flint will be obvious if you're familiar with that band from before Jamie moved back home (or if you've lived in Edmonton), so if you want to hear Connor & Jamie's prior output, do check out Flint's Bandcamp page, as I believe Jamie factors on all but their newest two songs posted there. As best as I can tell, No Funeral's only public online page is on Bandcamp, but give it a look to see what they bring to the table, and consider paying something for the album to support their work!
Next up, I want to apologize for a concert that we missed in this past weekend's concert previews, as local funk/hard rock cover band The Wyld Stallyns returned to The Kiln at Searchmont Resort for a matinee concert on Saturday. The band did not announce this show on their Facebook page in advance, and I only learned that it was a thing when a video from attendee TerriDollie Williams' personal Facebook page was shared to the band's seldom updated Facebook group yesterday. Sensing that this likely wasn't from their Searchmont gig in January, I learned belatedly that the resort's Facebook page plugged it on Friday. Still on short notice, but at least someone got the word out. I have to do better re: Searchmont concerts, especially with The Stallyns not always plugging their own shows on Facebook, so my apologies again, I'd have plugged it had I known! That said, how about that video?
TerriDollie filmed the band (minus saxophonist Josh Norling, who apparently missed the January Kiln show too) covering The Outfield's "Your Love" with Christina Speers on lead vocals. Not a supremely heavy choice, but everyone handles it well, and I'd hope most attendees were familiar with the original song! The video is vertically shot, but as the video is as much to highlight a young relative getting into the song as it is the band proper, I won't nitpick the angle. Cute watch in that respect too, so check it out below, and apologies again for missing The Stallyns at The Kiln... again!
Finally, here's the latest from newer local rap rock solo project Less Than Zero, so what have they been up to since the fall? First off, in November, project leader/ex-Winkstinger guitarist Jason Ladouceur changed the band's name in In The Sun. According to their Bandlab page on December 6th, the new name is intended to make the project "more inspirational", though their sound and even their existing logo remain unchanged. If you're Facebook friends with Jason, you'll know very well that he is always posting material for In The Sun, and at the moment, fifteen unique songs can be heard on Bandlab, many being tweaked as time goes on, so you can tell that this is a labour of love for him. In fact, under the name "In The Sun1", three songs are now up on Spotify, while a couple dozen videos can be seen on their YouTube channel, and Jason did tease late last year that he wants to release an In The Sun album in the near future.
Embedded below is a recent take of their song "Factory Reset" (all of their songs except a cover of Megadeth's "Sweating Bullets" are original). Jason's method of frequently posting these songs and then adding to/editing them over time is helping the songs sound heavier and more fully realized, so if you do check out In The Sun's songs, definitely listen to the newest instance of each song on Bandlab or YouTube, not the oldest ones unless you want to see the journey. Vocals can still come off as unnatural and not as aggressive as the music calls for, but again, Jason's always working on these songs, so I doubt he's done yet. Check out much more from Less Than Zero In The Sun above & below!
That's all for today, but stay tuned for more news and notes on the site this week! Thanks everyone!
Today's post was going to be our latest Defunct Local Band Profile, but a SHORT NOTICE LOCAL CONCERT ALERT (partially missed, at that) hit my desk this morning, so we're pushing the feature post ahead slightly. To fill things out, there's also some new videos and a surprise new local punk band to take a look at, so here's what you should know!
We have a new local screamo/pop punk project to add to our Sault Ontario band links, namely Forever Will Be! This act is led by former As It Stands/For July guitarist Ryan McLaughlin, though I don't know if this is the same project as his 2019 offering Great West Falls or not, or if anyone else performs on their material. Their Facebook page is mostly a shell so far, but Forever Will Be is considered "the home project" of Ryan's independent studio/label Relentless Audio, who have been covered on the SMS previously for working on his old band As It Stands' posthumous EP "The Lost Tapes" and Christopher Raginskis' online page-less punk solo project 9 Times Dark's debut album "Vicissitude", both from 2020. According to posts on Relentless Audio's Facebook page,
Forever Will Be's debut album from November 17th (entitled "Dead & Dishonest") has
been "a year in the making" and he hopes to take listeners back to 2004 with the songs.
You can hear the album for free on major streaming platforms linked via this Hearnow page, but it is
on sale on iTunes for $7.92, so consider buying it if you want the mp3s
and/or to support Ryan's work. I'll hold comment on the songs
until I review the album proper (likely next month), but definitely check out the album's preview videos on the Relentless Facebook page, and here's their first music video for "Nosedive" from their YouTube channel, set to clips of people in varying states of despair. If you like Ryan's past local band work, do check out Forever Will Be above & below!
Next up, here's that LOCAL CONCERT ALERT, as classic/hard rock cover quartet Soundcheck will return to Reggie's Place for a concert TONIGHT, after previously playing there last night! I profusely apologize for the short notice and for missing yesterday's show in our concert preview post on Thursday, I just heard about both this morning via Reggie's Facebook page (who only announced them Wednesday night), and Soundcheck themselves have not mentioned them on their own Facebook page. Yesterday's and TONIGHT'S shows mark(ed) Soundcheck's first at Reggie's since mid-October, and hopefully their fan-friendly blend of classic, hard rock, and country covers found a strong audience last night, and will do so again TONIGHT! It is worth noting that Reggie's is now up for sale for $480,000, as per this SooToday article by Kenneth Armstrong on Monday, noting that Reggie Daigle himself actually still owns the property.
The sale "doesn't include the business", as from what I understand, Randy Lapossie is just managing bar operations, but whether the new owners would keep things as they have been since late 2020 is yet unknown. It sure seems like business as usual for now at Reggie's, but after Reggie sold Reggie's West, this can't be too surprising. We'll keep you posted! TONIGHT'S (and yesterday's) show has a 9:00 PM start time, no cover charge, and a 19+ age limit. See above for more details, apologies again for missing last night's concert, and here's Soundcheck live!
Also today, here's a couple of new videos from prolific local extreme metal/folk punk guitarist Chase Wigmore's Facebook page! One is just a Facebook copy of his original song "The Guilt And Shame In Being" from his newest solo album "We Are All Going To Die", and while I'll hold comment on it pending our review of the album later this month, Chase did clarify that this is "one of the quieter ones" on the album. The new video proper from Sunday is cryptically titled "$20", and features him playing the guitar solo from Pink Floyd's "Comfortably Numb". The grainy black & white filter combined with a poorly placed light over Chase's face don't add to the video, but he nails the solo, helping forget about the visual deficiencies. Check it out for yourself below, and stay tuned for more from Chase!
Finally for today, here's some new videos from local southern hard rock quintet Fort Creek's Facebook page, albeit not primarily focused on their "Christmas Blowout" at Soo Blastertonight. As they have done for a guitar last year, Fort Creek recently held a raffle on Facebook for a custom jazz bass donated by Tommy Lair, with proceeds going to the Algoma Regional Community Hospice (or ARCH). That, along with a giveaway for a band t-shirt and tickets to tonight's show also took place in the past couple of weeks, with bassist Robin "Bones" Lee and drummer Anthony Fabiano appearing in this one hyping all of their draws, and more band members turned up in this video to announce the winner of the shirt/tickets raffle. Be advised that some of these recent videos have awful audio that almost sounds like an old 78 RPM record, not sure what happened there.
The draw for the bass is ongoing until December 21st (or until all 100 allocated tickets are bought, whichever comes first), so visit their Facebook page for details on how to enter! As for the videos, I'll embed the one from November 29th here, which features a clip of Bones playing the bass to demonstrate its abilities and sound for prospective ticket buyers, as preceded by a clip of their studio original "Hammer Down" and an oddly echoed audio recording of him discussing the raffle. On the gear and performer's end, everything sounds good, so definitely check it out below, get details above, and don't miss Fort Creek tonight at Soo Blaster!
That's all for now, but stay tuned for this month's Defunct Local Band Profile on the site next! Thanks everyone!
As the second Ontario lockdown pushes forward, here's a new news post for your Sunday morning reading, and it's half devoted to lots of assorted shorter stories from recent weeks, but leading off, here's all you should know about a recent news piece/interview with a very familiar face!
Veteran local punk musician Mikey Hawdon was interviewed by fellow musician/SooToday contributor Chris Belsito on Thursday, so what should you know in this extended article? Early on, Mikey discusses "Eik Namo", the new album from his main Toronto-based punk band The Fairmounts, as well as discussing his popular Mikey & His Uke series, which famously evolved from solo ukelele "quarantunes" during the first pandemic lockdown into a collaborative series with far-flung musicians. Now, it's a once-a-month project where the ukelele pretense is dropped early on in favour of a full band cover, often with very recognizable non-local names joining in. Afterwards, Mikey talks about his love for Sault Ste. Marie, and apparently, he and his family plan to move back here, but that detail weren't elaborated on otherwise
This intertwines with more Fairmounts talk, including selling physical copies of "Eik Namo" while on Christmas vacation back home during the pandemic, and he also plugged one of his newer Toronto bands, the Huey Lewis & The News tribute group The Power Of Huey, who he played with at a drive-in concert there. The big reveal late in the article is that Mikey has launched his own independent label called Soolebrity Records, whose name alone will be a big hint towards local content, and their first release will apparently be a vinyl re-issue of an album by famed mid-1990s punk band Room 206! While they are admittedly before my time, their pedigree is well known among genre fans from that era, and Mikey would later perform with Room 206 alumni in The Inner City Surfers. I do know that they put out an album called "2 Innies & An Outie", but is that the tape that Soolebrity Records is re-releasing?
Assuming plans stay in place, I hope that the Room 206 vinyl sale does well (I hope to get one myself!), and even if Mikey's move back home isn't imminent, he's a talented guy who has managed to stay busy artistically with lots of irons in the fire here and there. I am surprised that the Surfers' reunion single "Excess Express" and their two new songs ahead weren't brought up, but there was so much ground to cover. Kudos to Chris for conducting this interview, and click here or see above for more details!
Finally for today, here's six assorted shorter news items from the last while, and as usual, these are in alphabetical order by artist name:
I
have removed local classic/hard rock cover quintet Fluid 5ive from our
active band links due to the deletion of their Facebook (and only
online) page at some point last month, which would seemingly indicate
their dissolution. If accurate, a reason has not been announced, but
Fluid 5ive had not been publically heard from since their last concert
at The Water Tower Pub in February of last year, and who knows what
affect the ongoing pandemic had on the band as a whole. Fluid 5ive were a
talented group, and hopefully we hear from Colin, Liam, Rob, Jeff, Pierre,
and Joe again down the road!
Local musician Kiefer Barone is apparently looking to join a metal band as a rhythm guitarist, as per his posting on the Musicians Wanted Facebook group last month. Kiefer had posted searches on this group in the past, most recently a drummer search for a metalcore band in 2015 I'm not familiar with Kiefer musically, but message him at this link or above for more details!
The former members of local classic metal quartet Late & Loud have reunited... kind of! Jonathan, Brendan, Benn, and Josh have been collaborating on a podcast called Late & Legends since October, where they play a fantasy RPG game together, and you can even support the podcast via Patreon. Very surprising project, but creative at the same time, so give it a listen above or on Spotify to hear their adventures in Renlan!
As a promotional offer during the lockdown, Ryan McLaughlin at Relentless Audio is offering a deal for musicians looking to have studio material mixed & mastered without having to leave the house. If you heard the "new" As It Stands EP, you'll know the quality work Ryan does, so message him above or via his Musicians Wanted Facebook group post from last week for more information!
Sault Michigan hard rock quartet Tarnished have announced a new concert for 2021 (presumably conditional on the pandemic easing up), as they are scheduled to to take a road trip to Curtis on June 30th to play at the Erickson Centre For The Arts! Now, Curtis is 90 minutes west of the Soo, which is outside of our coverage range, but it is nice to see Tarnished have something planned, and hopefully it will stick! Visit the Facebook event page for more details!
Young Sault Ontario classic/hard rock band The Uncanny Valley have apparently parted ways with bassist Adam Fahrer, as per his removal from their lineup on their Facebook page's About section. A reason for his departure was not announced, but the band has not updated their Facebook page since posting their "Middle Man" single in October. This is a surprise to hear, especially as Adam
was presumably on the recordings for their upcoming debut album, but
hopefully we hear from him in music again in the future!
That's all for today, but stay tuned for our first 2020 wrap-up poll on the site next! Thanks everyone!
(Updated at 8:53 PM) I have a new news post for you guys to check out on this Saturday morning, including some big updates from a fast rising local recording studio, a slideshow from a familiar band, and leading off, a new music video from a long awaited local album. Here's what you should know! (This post originally plugged an advertised Sunday matinee from Tym Morrison tomorrow at Reggie's Place, but that concert was postponed earlier today. Stay tuned for news on the rescheduling!)
Here's the newest single and music video from local Celtic punk quintet Dustin Jones & The Rising Tide's still-forthcoming new album! Abruptly teased on their Facebook page on Monday in their first post there in almost 9 months, the video premiered on label Tidal Records' YouTube channel the next day, and it's for their new song "No Control". Uniquely, the video is entirely seen on an old school CRT TV, complete with visual quality mimicking how it may have looked on that equipment. The video proper is a slightly slow motion clip of the entire band walking outside in the woods, and it fits the song well enough, though the audio doesn't seem to be synched 100% with the video (Dustin's singing is an easy way to tell.) I'll hold comments on the song proper for now, pending our presumed review of their new CD, but give the video a watch below!
Next up, here's some topics related to a new-ish local recording studio that recently launched, namely Relentless Audio! You may have seen discussion about this studio on social media in recent months, but this studio has actually existed since April 2018, so what should you know about them? Relentless Audio is headed by veteran local punk musician Ryan McLaughlin, who you may recognize from the emo-era As It Stands and Fist Fighting Stephen Hawking, among other projects. Ryan has recorded a number of audio demos through there, though visibly more to showcase his production, and much of his pre-2020 work was with acts not from the Soo, but he definitely has talent in mixing and producing regardless of artist locale! Ryan was writing under the band name Great West Falls last year, complete with guest vocals from the Nevada-based David Valles, but only their single "Better Than This" is still up (the other went down with their old Soundcloud page.)
If Great West Falls are still active and launch a social media/band page, they would easily fit our coverage, solid upbeat hard rock sound there! After months of sporadic updates, Relentless Audio resurfaced in July to announce that they were working on material with local musician Christopher Raginskis, later revealed to be under the project name 9 Times Dark, and their debut EP, entitled "Vicissitude", came out on August 26th! This completely flew under the radar (9 Times Dark's only online presence is via postings of the album), but click here for relevant links to every major online service hosting the EP. Musically speaking, 9 Times Dark are a punk act with a bit of a dark edge, and if they had a proper band page, I'd absolutely add them to our band links too! As such, this album is absolutely in the cards for an early 2021 review on the SMS, and it's great to see Chris finally get a band going after all these years! Give the opening song a listen below!
There is one more big local album project that Ryan is working on with some old friends of his, but we'll keep that for an upcoming post. In any event, Relentless Audio are now linked on the SMS, and hopefully Ryan keeps up the great work! We'll close today with a new slideshow video all about local punk trio Redundant! Drummer Rick White posted this to his YouTube channel on Wednesday, and it features photos of him, Justin, and Andrew on stage and having fun on & off stage, including some familiar local and out-of-town faces along the way, as set to "All By Myself" from their 2018 debut EP. Despite playing on the studio recording, former bassist James White is only sparingly featured here. Fun trip down memory lane even still, so give it a watch below, and stay tuned for more news and notes on the site next week! Thanks everyone!
Today's SMS post is an all-video one, including footage from two prominent artists in a solo setting, and the latest from a Sault Michigan act, but let's start with the latest from local alt-punk trio A Dire Setback's debut album sessions! On Saturday, the guys announced on their Facebook page that they have finished recording the album's ghost/click tracks, and will be practicing to get tempos right before recording final copies. Though Bill Priddle is producing, the guys were working with his Pointless bandmate Dustin Goodall over at Unsalted Audio on this stage of the album process, and posted this video to their YouTube channel yesterday featuring frontman Chris Nielsen tracking a song with Dustin at the controls. The tight shots don't show a lot (perhaps intentionally), but things sound like they're shaping up well! Give this video a look below, and learn more above, and more still if you become a backer of A Dire Setback on Patreon for $1+ a month!
Next up, here's some new videos from local solo hard rock artist Mike McCleary's Facebook page, and apologies for the delay in these making the site! One video is a cryptic 50 second video featuring white noise, clips of his music, and footage of a fire, later saying "Coming Soon" in the top right. Embedded below though is a music video for his song "Lost", the opening track from his newly re-released album "In Ruins", which features lots of varied imagery and stock footage, from television static and monochrome stairways to a woman trying to untangle an enormous knot. I believe the cryptic teaser clip was referencing the "Lost" video more than the album, as both videos end with the same burning fire, for what it's worth. Mike does a good job putting together his music videos, they're well edited too, but I wonder if we'll get one with him performing at some point? Give Mike McCleary's new videos a look above & below!
Also today, here's the latest video from Sault Michigan classical metal project Theatre of Night's Facebook page, as shared from keyboardist Craig Harrison's personal Facebook page on Saturday! The video features guitarist Steve Giles (I think) playing an ethereal sounding musical section with an effects application on an iPad, as he has been known to do in select Theatre of Night songs in the past. The close up angle and lack of vocals add to the mood, and while it's not a complete song, this would add a nice background ambiance, so give it a look below!
Finally, here's a new jam session video from Redundant/Elements bassist James White's YouTube channel featuring him and three unidentified musicians (only one of which being visible on camera) playing an instrumental song. I don't know if this is just a recorded jam among friends, or if this is a new/revived band project, but the song has a harder essence to it, and a very solid guitar solo! If only the camera wasn't on a vertical angle. Give James and company a look below, and if this ends up being a SMS-fitting band, we'll let you know about them!
That's all for today, but stay tuned for more news and weekend concert previews on the site this week Thanks everyone!
Let's round out this weekend's hard rock concert previews today, but also, we have some more recent updates to touch on, including some assorted recent updates from a few different sources, a new hype video for a big upcoming concert, and some news and notes regarding a fast-rising local recording studio. Now, here's what you should know!
Firstly, we'll close this weekend's announced hard rock concert previews with the return of Sault Michigan hard rock quartet 415E to The Northern Pines Lounge at the Kewadin Shores Casino in nearby St. Ignace TONIGHT & TOMORROW NIGHT! Last seen during the Pop Evil concert weekend in the Soo last month, tonight's concert will of course give you a chance to partake in St. Patrick's Day potent potables tonight, so keep that and potential holiday promotions in mind if you're not planning to go elsewhere! As for tomorrow's show, 415E have hyped on their Facebook page that "a very special wedding anniversary" will be celebrated that night, so keep that angle in mind if you plan on coming Saturday (congratulations to the couple!) 415E aren't advertised to play anywhere next month, so if you can't wait until their May weekend in Sault Ste. Marie, prepare for 21+ age limits, no cover charge, and 9:00 PM start times tonight & tomorrow, as usual for their Kewadin gigs.
Check the above links for more details, don't miss 415E's hard rocking & Van Halen inspired covers tonight & tomorrow, and here they are live!
Next up, we can add Id Iota guitarist/Mike Mikus bassist Dustin Goodall's recording studio Unsalted Audio to our "Other Local Metal Links" section, as he's finally launched a website for the company! Ambitiously calling the studio "the future of music production in Northern Ontario", the website extensively lists the production equipment he uses for recordings, and outlines his goals and ambitions to provide artists (local or otherwise) with "world-class audio quality at affordable rates", while emphasizing that "mediocrity is the enemy" and aiming to establish emotional connections between artists and their intended audiences. So far, you'll have heard Dustin's production for Id Iota's debut EP, The Pixo Control's only CD, and Mike Mikus' debut single, while he also mixed and mastered AlgomA's half of their split with Chronobot, Inner City Surfers bassist Brad Example's 2015 solo single, and Jack Spades' third of their "Fed Up!" split CD.
In terms of upcoming projects, he has finished producing Mike's yet-released solo CD, while the website finally confirms that Id Iota are indeed recording their second CD currently and first full length album, and he's currently in pre-production for local death/thrash metal trio Pillory's second CD and a solo EP from Winkstinger frontman Keith Gagnon (though I have no idea what his solo music will sound like.) The website's a little wordy, but Dustin talks a big game and backs it up with his production quality so far, so be sure to contact him at goodalldustin@gmail.com or via the above links for quotes or information if you want to work with him on some studio music!
Also, here's a new YouTube video from this past Monday where Quiet Riot drummer Frankie Banali hypes up their show at The Machine Shop on Thursday, March 30th! This is a short video that does feel slightly rushed, but it's good promotion straight from Quiet Riot's longest serving member, and he's right, tickets are going fast, with half of available seats now sold out. Give it a look below, and click here to get your tickets A.S.A.P.!
Finally for today, here's three assorted shorter items from the last while, and as usual, these are in alphabetical order by artist or promoter name:
Rising Tide frontman and Tidal Records head Dustin Jones is featured in the cover photo of this week's issue of Sault This Week, where he's seen entertaining his son Jaycee through a puppet theatre at the Best Start Hub program at Holy Cross Catholic Elementary School last week. Cute photo, and it's nice to see Dustin back on a local stage of sorts, so look for the photo in the latest issue of the weekly free newspaper!
Are local hard rock quartet Eclipse reuniting? Four months after their very messy breakup in early November, the band noted on their Facebook page that "we will be performing April 1st", while prior past tenses regarding their status have quietly been removed as well. I'm not going to jump to conclusions just yet, as this is April Fool's Day after all, but in case this is a legitimate reunion, stay tuned for updates!
Local concert promoters Live705 have revealed on their Facebook page on Wednesday that their next concert will be an Easter holiday weekend event on Saturday, April 15th, breaking their pattern of one show every two months. A Facebook event page is forthcoming, alongside games and giveaways of some description, so be sure to stay tuned for details on those, not to mention the concert's venue, bands, and more!
That's all for today, but stay tuned for last month's poll results and our new poll tomorrow! Thanks everyone!
This was a quiet weekend regarding the SMS, but we are back with a new news post on this Monday night, so what's on tap? A lot of assorted notes, mostly regarding cleaning up our own links, but we do have some big updates for a major concert this weekend, and to kick things off, a surprise album release, so here's what you need to know!
Are you an Inner City Surfers fan? Did you think that the defunct local punk quartet only had three studio albums? Well, think again, as a fourth album was put on sale via iTunes in May! Posted at the same time as their other released CDs for sale there (as well as on Spotify and Soundcloud), the album is called "Time To Travel On", and while it's actual recording date isn't given, Spotify lists it coming out between 2002's "Laughing On The Outside" and 2007's self-titled CD, though I have never seen it referenced as an album release prior to May of this year. Even official links and posts don't reference the back story of "Time To Travel On", but it's 10 songs are not shared with other Surfers albums. My theory is that the album just didn't get released for one reason or another, was shelved indefinitely prior to recording their last album in 2007, and was released posthumously as a fan bonus this year. If so, kudos to the guys for finally sharing it! With all of that said, it is a paid album release ($9.90 on iTunes), so when might we review it?
As we didn't find out about "Time To Travel On" until just recently, it's no longer a "new" release (assuming it didn't have a limited release run at the time), so now, precedence would go to their debut self-titled album from 2000. Surprisingly, we have yet to review an Inner City Surfers album on here, which definitely has to change! Check out "Time To Travel On" via the above links for more of The Surfers' energetic punk originals, and hopefully we see them back on stage in the future!
Next up, here's some late updates concerning THIS SUNDAY'S fifth annual Toystock charity concert at the Northern Grand Gardens! As per the new Facebook event page, local Christmas-themed punk outfit The Rude-Offs have quietly dropped out of this year's Toystock for unannounced reasons. Hopefully it's as simple as a band member being unable to attend, it'd have been fun to see them back! However, guitarist Greg Simpson will still pull double duty on Sunday, as his acoustic rock duo Guitars & Tequila (listed on the event page as Tequila & Guitars) will replace them in their own Toystock debut. Greg plays in this act alongside That's Chester bandmate Gabe Tessaro, and their mellower blend of covers should be a solid attraction in their own right, especially if you've missed That's Chester in recent months! With that said, the lineup has been almost completely overhauled, with country rock cover quartet Bone Yard (now the only returning band from any prior Toystock) the only band to retain their old time. Check the image on your left for the new order!
The same picture (which is the Facebook event page's cover photo) also newly confirms that there will be cotton candy, some type of appearances from the Elf on a Shelf and (Disney?) princesses, plus a play center on site, adding to the family-friendly vibe of past years. Toystock V is shaping up to be a fun event, especially with the varied and largely different lineup from past years, and remember, entry is via Christmas Cheer donations! Stay tuned for our full preview of this year's Toystock this weekend!
Finally for today, here's six assorted shorter stories from the last while, mostly focusing on updates and deletions from our "Other Local Metal Links" section on the bottom right! As usual, these are in alphabetical order by band or company name:
The teased amalgamation of Stiffler's Mom drummer Greg Simpson's event promotion and graphic design companies Maxx Entertainment and Maxx Graphix under the Choose Maxx banner has taken place, with the former retitled under the new name on Facebook and elsewhere, and the latter deleted as planned, so our links have been updated as a result. Choose Maxx is a clunky name to me, but it tells you what to do if you need an event booked or a logo designed, so it works that way, and don't miss Toystock on Sunday!
Project 421 bassist/Eclipse guitarist Daniel Horton launched a search to find a replacement for singer Curtis McKenzie in at least one of the bands last weekend via a post on the Musicians Wanted Facebook group. He noted that he's looking for someone with stage experience and a high & "fairly large" vocal range, while paid gigs will start in January. No word on which band he means (or if it's for both), but for what it's worth, neither has posted anything on Facebook since Curt's departure and it's immediate fallout. Message Daniel here or above for more details!
We have removed local music management agency Escape Into Music from our "Other Local Metal Links" section due to the deletion of it's Facebook (and only online) page in recent months. This somewhat ambitious attempt to have a local company to manage musicians and assist in their expenses never visibly got off the ground, but best of luck to Stephanie in the future!
In another page deletion from that same section, we have removed defunct local grunge/hard rock quartet Haggith's official online store from our band links, as it's Facebook (and only online) page was also deleted in recent months. The band had still been posthumously selling some merchandise through there after dissolving, and while it's a shame that it's been taken down, message their Facebook page if you want to see if they still have merchandise or albums available!
Also now deleted from the same link section is Pure Sonic Audio, a short-lived concert promotion agency that would have marked Autumn Roots singer Jeremy Hannah's return to putting on concerts in 2014, as he memorably did with Big Voiced Records in the mid-late 2000s. Despite ambitious plans, Pure Sonic Audio's online pages have all been taken down or repurposed for other uses (their Facebook group is now a general use group on the local music scene), but hopefully Jeremy returns to promoting down the road!
One last change to our "Other Local Metal Links" section is to update our links to SooToday's classified sections that are relevant to local musicians, plus their entertainment page, as those received new URLs when the site received it's overhaul and new design earlier this year. Those have been updated and work as normal once again, so give them a look and make use of them if you can!
That's all for today, but stay tuned for more news and notes this week! Thanks everyone!
Before we continue clearing out backlogged news stories, here's this weekend's hard rock concert previews! Aside from the St. Ignace shows at post's end, these all have SHORT NOTICE CONCERT ALERTS attached, along with some December shows later in the month from two of the bands, but there's some solid covers going down at numerous venues this weekend, so here's what you should know for this weekend and beyond!
Local classic/hard rock cover quartet Griphook will return to The Rockstar Bar for one night only TOMORROW NIGHT! Apologies for the short notice, the band originally announced the show on Sunday via it's Facebook event page, but our own busy last few days pushed it aside at the time. This will be this veteran band's first Rockstar Bar appearance in almost nine months, and just their second show since Rotaryfest, so you know they'll be ready to rock with their often heavy covers once again tomorrow! No word yet though on why they're not playing on Saturday, but it's likely due to a separate booking from another act. A $5 cover charge is likely (though The Rockstar Bar has had more and more no-cover nights in recent months), you must be 19 to attend, and an 11:00 PM start time is advertised. For more details, check the above links! It's great to see Griphook playing live somewhat regularly again, so keep TOMORROW'S show in mind, and here are the guys live this summer!
Next up, we'll add veteran local hard rock musician Tym Morrison's acoustic solo concerts at The Harp Bar & Grill for December to our concert listings, as he's scheduled to return there TOMORROW & SATURDAY NIGHT, as well as on December 12th & 13th, 19th and 20th, and on the 26th & 27th! Apologies for the short notice again for this weekend, we were waiting for Facebook confirmation of the first shows, but none came before this preview post. Also, I thought I'd mention that Tym's shows at The Harp last weekend were cancelled on short notice last Friday due to Tym being too sick to perform, as per his personal Facebook page, and I apologize for not hearing about the cancellations at the time! In any event, Tym's website's calendar lists all of this month's dates, but we'll let you know if something changes! Like usual for his Harp run (which hits it's one year anniversary later this month), Friday shows are jam nights that he hosts and plays at, and Saturday shows are general acoustic gigs.
Like usual, this month's solo shows from Tym Morrison have 19+ age limits, no announced cover charges, and 10:00 PM start times. For more details, visit the above links, and we'll of course let you know when/if we hear of any cancellations or changes! Either way, hopefully you consider a trip to the former Madison's Pub this weekend for some entertaining unplugged hard rock, and here's Tym at Mill Square!
Lastly for short notice announcements, we have local classic/hard rock trio Mourning Wood, and unlike last weekend at Reggie's West, we had slightly more advance word on these so we could get them on the site! Still, apologies for the short notice, the earlier of the shows was only announced on Tuesday. First, you can see Terry, Steven, and T.J. live at The New American Pub SATURDAY NIGHT at The New American Pub, marking their third advertised appearance there since forming, while the other booking will see them rocking out on New Year's Eve (Wednesday, December 31st) at The Rednecks Saloon, so there's your first known hard rock show to ring in 2015 with! That show was announced on their Facebook page on November 19th, but further details are to be confirmed. Both of this month's shows are 19+ engagements with no announced cover, and while the New Year's show will likely be a 10:00 PM gig, SATURDAY'S New A show will have an early start time of 6:00 PM.
The 6:00 PM start time does seem odd on the surface, but all of Mourning Wood's shows at this venue have started then for unannounced reasons, so it's normal for there. If you want an earlier night from your cover rock bands, this might be up your alley though! For more details, click here and visit the above links, don't miss this talented trio's hard rock attack on Saturday and on New Year's Eve, and here are the guys at Rock For Dimes!
Finally for this weekend's confirmable hard rock shows, we'll head to The Northern Pines Lounge at the St. Ignace Kewadin Casino, where Charlevoix, Michigan hard rock quartet Audio Circus will make their long awaited Eastern U.P. debuts TOMORROW & SATURDAY NIGHT! Fronted by Jeff Hudson (of Peril, Scarkazm, and Kiss'd fame), Audio Circus are the last of Jeff's active bands to play a Sault-area show in 2014 following his non-Peril bands' local show bookings earlier this year, and in a sense, they're also the most mysterious, having very little online concerning their sound of media of them in concert. The guys do have a 1980s-leaning hard rock sound though, and have opened for the likes of Quiet Riot & Slaughter since debuting, so fans should be in good hands when they take in the Audio Circus this weekend (and yes, these shows had plenty of advance notice!) Both tomorrow & Saturday's shows have 21+ age limits, no announced cover charge, and 9:00 PM start times. For more details, check the above links, and don't miss Audio Circus this weekend in St. Ignace!
That's all for now, but stay tuned for more news soon, as we're still fairly behind on recent items! Thanks everyone!
Before we begin this post, we have a note on a postponed concert, as the Tiffany Maj benefit concert at Coch's Corner featuring Northwest & Late Shift has been postponed a week from tomorrow to next Saturday. Promoter/Northwest guitarist Greg Callaghan explained on the Facebook event page that the date change was to avoid possible complications with tomorrow's Santa Claus Parade, which goes down Queen Street. Makes sense, especially with the earlier 8:00 PM start time, so keep the new date next Saturday in mind! Now, today's post features the remaining known hard rock concert previews for this weekend, news on a local promoter's reemergence, and much more, so here's what you need to know!
Kinross, Michigan hard/classic rock trio Banned are scheduled to return to the Dondee Lanes in Sault Michigan for the first time this year TONIGHT & TOMORROW NIGHT! This will be the guys' first date in Sault Ste. Marie proper in three months, and will mark a rare Dondee stop for Alex, Wayne, and Don, so if you want to take in some entertaining and varied covers & originals, you know where to be this weekend! Of course, they'll be back in the Soo next month at The Rapids Lounge, but what if you can't be at those gigs? Admission this weekend is likely free, you must be 21 to attend each night, and like usual for the Dondee, these shows have an early start time of 8:00 PM. For more details, check the above links! Hopefully this weekend's shows go well, so don't miss Banned this weekend, and here they are covering the Imagine Dragons!
Next up, North Shore frontman and former local hardcore singer Jeremy Hannah is finally re-entering the promotion area of the local scene via his new company Pure Sonic Audio! Years after the closure of Big Voiced Records, Jeremy has ambitious plans to provide event coordination, professional DJ services, and light & sound rentals for concerts and events in the area, which he partially outlined in a new Facebook group he launched to help musicians post info about their development and to help them get local bookings. Jeremy says that he has "new strategies" to ensure that bands can make some money for their skills and play to crowds, but he needs help, so invite your friends to join the group linked above! A Pure Sonic Audio website is online too, but as of yet, it's mostly a placeholder page with blank links and generic write-ups. Jeremy has shared some of these plans with me in personal conversations in the past, and I'm curious to see where this goes, so follow and like the links above for more info, and Pure Sonic Audio's now in our "Other Local Metal Links"!
Finally for today, here's six assorted shorter stories from the last little while, and as usual, these are in alphabetical order by band or station name:
Saskatchewan stoner/doom metal band Chronobot (who memorably opened for Skynet in the Soo in March) are a new confirmation for the lineup of the planned Das Bunkerfest II concert event at a Garden River location to be confirmed over the last weekend of August 2015, as per promoter Boyd Rendell on the Facebook event page yesterday. Solid addition, we'll have to see how everything shapes up next year, so see above for more info!
So, who exactly are Infamous, the mystery act playing at Sault Band-O-Rama TODAY? According to a recent e-mail from co-promoter Steven Flint, their lineup features Lizzie Pearson on vocals, Social Suicide alum Anthony Boudreau on guitar, and Damon King on drums, with no obtained bassist yet. They appear to be one and the same as "The Damon King Band" that dropped out of Rock For Dimes last week, though they lack info (or an online page) otherwise. At least we know something on Infamous now, and thanks to Steven for the info!
Last week, local punk/metal quintet Jack Spades revealed on their Facebook page that they already have six songs in mind for their next EP, including the previously unveiled "Fear Corps", "Frederick", "Crossroads", "Motorwolf", and two new songs named "The Lot" and "Negative Headspace". It's not known when recording sessions would commence, but things sound promising, so stay tuned!
Marquette/Ishpeming, Michigan hard rock cover quartet Nudge have a sampler clip of songs played at The Satisfied Frog in Sault Michigan during at least one of their local shows on their Reverbnation page! It features segments of the band covering Rage Against The Machine's "Bulls on Parade", Metallica's "For Whom The Bell Tolls", Sponge's "Plowed", and The Beastie Boys' "Fight For Your Right (To Party)", and all sound good (the Rage vocals are suprisingly effective), so give the clips a listen above!
Urawk (the live band karaoke series led by members of Beaumont Avenue and Mourning Wood) will make their Rockstar Bar debut this coming Thursday, so if you want to enjoy the entertainment or sing on-stage with a real band, keep Urawk's first show since moving to The Algonquin in mind for next week! The debut there was postponed from yesterday due to the weather.
New local internet radio network VM Radio have launched a sixth station for the next couple of months, that being VM Holidays, whose rotation obviously revolves around Christmas and seasonal songs. We mention this on here in particular because the station does have a handful of heavier Christmas songs on rotation, including Trans-Siberian Orchestra material, so if you want some seasonal music, give VM Holidays a listen!
That's all for today, but stay tuned for this month's YouTube Channel Profile TOMORROW, and remember not to miss Sault Band-O-Rama TODAY at The Primavera Hall! Thanks everyone!
For the second time in four days, we have a post that focuses mostly on Sault Michigan bands and events, which is great for our recent coverage across the river! That includes recent updates on a young local metal band and their drummer's surprising new project and some LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS for the end of the year, but stay tuned at the end for some Sault Ontario musician searches! Now, here's what you need to know!
Remember how prolific Charlevoix metal musician Jeff Hudson has recently been adding to his Peril gigs at the regional Kewadin Casino branches with recent St. Ignace dates from his groove metal band Scarkazm? Well, Jeff's other active band will apparently be making their Eastern U.P. debuts later this year, as Charlevoix hard rock quartet Audio Circus will make their way to The Northern Pines Lounge at the St. Ignace Kewadin Casino on December 5th & 6th for a full weekend! There's not a lot of online media concerning Audio Circus (despite being active since 2010), but note that a number of bands share the name, so it's not easy to pick through media under that name. This Audio Circus have an old school hard rock sound though that has saw them play at a number of state festivals and open for the likes of Quiet Riot and Slaughter, so they should fit right in at the St. Ignace Kewadin in December! Admission is likely free for this 21+ show, and everything will start at 9:00 PM both nights. Check the above links for more details, and don't miss Jeff's dates with Scarkazm in St. Ignace later this month!
Lastly for our recent Kewadin Casino concert announcements is a newly confirmed weekend at The Rapids Lounge at the Sault Michigan Kewadin Casino for Kinross hard/classic rockers Banned, who will reportedly return there on December 12th & 13th! Also scheduled to play there this weekend and in August, there is still some uncertainty from the Banned camp given their lack of online updates in the past two months and no non-Kewadin dates announced for the rest of the year, but we'll treat these shows as on unless Banned or Kewadin Casino makes any announcements to the contrary. If all's well and they do play these Kewadin dates, look for an entertaining & varied blend of heavy originals and classic rock covers from this Alex, Don, and Jim! Like the new Audio Circus gigs, admission is free, you must be 21 to attend, and 9:00 PM start times are likely. Check the above links for more details, and assuming they're playing, don't miss Banned at The Rapids Lounge TONIGHT!
Next up, have you guys been curious as to the lack of updates from Sault Michigan metal band Tantrym Tyme so far in 2014? So have I, but it appears to be due to just not updating their Facebook page, as drummer Ethan Twardy was interviewed back on February 27th on Newberry classic hits station Eagle 95.1 (the area's newest FM station), and a clip of the interview is online to stream at this location! After a brief weather forecast, Ethan and DJ Paul VanWagoner discussed Tantrym Tyme's recent appearances at Soo Eagles hockey games, the improved audio setup for when they played, and recent original recording plans (including lyrical subject matter.) Nice to see the band getting some local radio attention, though with the lack of recent online page updates, who knows what else we've missed from their camp. Check it out above though! Speaking of Ethan, a recent post on the Musicians Wanted Facebook group points to him being involved in an unlikely project (unlikely in that it's from Sault Ontario), so what should you know on that?
According to said post from last week, he's apparently drumming in These Sins of Time frontwoman Alexa Leclair's current band (whether it's T.S.O.T. or something else isn't known yet), while Acention's Dalton Boissineau is apparently back on guitar, and a bassist is still being sought. If this lasts into a live project (which is the plan, including originals and covers), I'll be very curious to see how they handle the cross-border angle, as it's definitely not the norm for the area, but stay tuned for updates, and if you want to try out for this band, message Alexa at this link!
Finally for today, here's three more recent updates concerning the Musicians Wanted Facebook group linked above, so who's looking for a band or a musician in Sault Ontario that might have hard rock connections? As usual, these shorter notes are in alphabetical order by artist name:
A local drummer named Brandan Glew is looking to join a local band on drums, and though he didn't specify any genre preferences, he'll be out of town until April 27th. He does like harder bands, so just in case, message him at this link or from his group post from Thursday!
A local guitarist named Corey McIntyre is looking to jam with other local musicians, and though he doesn't want anything too fast, he can play many different styles, and is a fan of metal. If you're interested in working with Corey, message him at this link or via his Musicians Wanted group post on Thursday!
A local bassist/guitarist named Justin Girardi is looking to join a hardcore punk band or play it in a new project, and he emphasized "angry fast fun tunes" like Black Flag and Minor Threat as what he's hoping to play. If you're interested, message Justin at this link or through his Facebook group post from March 15th!
That's all for today, but stay tuned for more news soon! Thanks everyone!
We haven't done one of these for a while, but with news piling up, now's as good a time as ever to devote a single post to defunct local blackened doom metal band Woods of Ypres and their late frontman David Gold! In this post, we have some newly discovered reviews of their last album, updates on the upcoming Woods of Ypres tribute album & the songs to be included, a new interview with one of the band's last members, and leading things off, a very special audio upload from last summer, so here's what you need to know!
An audio recording of Woods of Ypres' last live concert has been posted online! A user on the website Reddit named Nikolai77 recorded the audio from their 45 minute set at Strange Matter in Richmond, Virginia on June 9th, 2011, and uploaded to MediaFire shortly afterwards with permission from David Gold, and with it making the rounds online, I thought it deserved a spotlight on the SMS! In their final concert, Woods of Ypres played (in order) "The Sea of Immeasurable Loss", "The Sun Was In My Eyes (Part 1)", "Falling Apart", "By The Time You Read This (I Will Already Be Dead)", "Wet Leather", and "Awaiting The Inevitable", with "Suicide Cargoload (Drag That Weight)" as an encore, making that the last song they ever played on stage. If you're curious, there's no foreshadowing to David Gold's death in the on-stage banter, and the "inevitable end" referred to before "Awaiting The Inevitable" was clearly relating to their tour & set that night, so don't read into everything for stuff that isn't there. The audio quality is pretty good, and Woods of Ypres sounded as brutal as they ever did in their doom era, though it'd have been cool to have heard at least one "Woods III" song or "A Meeting Place & Time" at this show.
This is a very important piece of media, especially knowing that this was the last time a live audience saw Woods of Ypres or David Gold live on stage, so I highly recommend downloading this file to check out Woods of Ypres' final concert, which you can do at this location! I hope video footage turns up of it if at all possible, but this will do for now. Extreme kudos to Nikolai77 for the upload!
Also in Woods of Ypres-related news, a new interview/article with final drummer Rae Amitay has been posted online to check out as well! Conducted by Brave Words & Bloody Knuckles journalist Carl Begai and posted on his website on Friday, the article features Rae talking about her brief tenure with Woods of Ypres (which ended before they could announce that she'd joined) and the aftermath and related events in 2012. Rae discussed how she got involved in performing at the Ypres Metal Fest in Sault Ontario in April, how important it was for guitarist Joel Violette to be a part, thoughts on how that and the Toronto tribute show went, how she joined Woods of Ypres, the rough plans for 2012 had David lived into the new year, her musical past and influences, if she was intimidated playing in a band with another accomplished drummer, her favourite Woods material to play, the end of the band, and her current plans. In terms of new developments, the biggest thing revealed is that Rae has replaced David as the drummer in Joel Violette's black metal project Thrawsunblat, which I figured might happen, and she's a perfect choice to take over knowing how connected to Woods of Ypres she's become in such a short time!
This is another great Woods of Ypres article from Carl Begai, and it's nice to see how much Woods of Ypres can impact it's members, no matter how brief their tenure was! Though I'd love to hear Brendan Hayter's views on everything that's happened since November as well, Rae gave some great insights into the last while as a Woods of Ypres member and fan, and I bet she'd have been a quality addition had she been able to play with them this year! Head to this location for the full article! Also today, here's more updates on "A Heart of Gold: A Tribute to Woods of Ypres"! The planned David Gold/Woods of Ypres tribute album is still very much in progress with some of the covers finished and sent for inclusion, and a reportedly final track listing has been released to boththe album's Facebook group and brand new Facebook page. 21 songs by 21 acts are now confirmed, making this a likely double album, and the confirmed bands include Novembers Doom, Empyrean Plague, Gypsy Chief Goliath, Eclipse Eternal, Pagan Ritual, Panzerfaust, and local death metal quintet The Bear Hunters covering the songs they played at the David Gold tribute concerts, along with Woods alums Joel Violette & Rae Amitay playing "Silver" from "Woods V" (they played that at the local tribute show too), along with numerous other talented bands from many different regions. Notably, Novembers Doom frontman Paul Kuhr will join up with Will Bozarth for a cover of "Finality" under the band name Kuhrzarth, which sounds intriguing! If you're wondering, the track listing is broken down very evenly across Woods of Ypres' discography, with 4 songs each coming from all of their main albums except "Woods IV" (which has 3 represented tracks), while both songs from their "Home" single are also being covered.
Also of note: 9 of the 12 "Woods I-III" tracks being covered were included on the "Independent Nature" compilation album they put out in 2009, so I imagine David would likely approve of the final track listing. This sounds like a great compilation, and I hope this album is a huge hit when it comes out, which apparently may include a CD release party in Toronto, so stay tuned for updates as they roll in, and I've added the tribute album's Facebook page to our "Other Local Metal Links", as it's completely in honour of the music and compositions of a local metal great! And finally, here's some more reviews of Woods of Ypres' final recorded album "Woods V: Grey Skies & Electric Light"! On June 20th, DarkNoctus from the metal website Sputnik Music gave "W5" an average rating of 2.5/5, calling it "not bad, not good", though admitting it was much better than it's predecessors, which he didn't like (especially "Woods IV".) I appreciate his candor, but I disagree with his older album views, while liking his views on what improved and what could have lied ahead, so check out this review by clicking here! In a more positive review, "psorbh09" from the blog Ether Load Crunch gave "Woods V" 4 stars out of 5 on April 27th, calling it "an allegory of truths, questions, and living", while praising it's themes and messages, though the lack of criticisms doesn't gel with the rating. Nice review, so check it out at this location! Finally for today, Andy Turner from the metal website Bigger Than Satan gave the album a 4.5/5 rating in a review last month, calling "Woods V" a "fitting memorial to David Gold", while drawing attention to the upbeat yet dark nature of the album and a belief that the album is in tribute to David. Nice high praise (though he credited their last full lineup for this album when Brendan & Rae didn't perform on the CD), so click here to read this new review, and stay tuned for more at some point!
That's all for now, but stay tuned for a full news post later tonight! Thanks everyone!
