Bring The Fallen - "Stand Before" Review!!

It's now time for our 51st monthly CD review at The Sault Metal Scene, and today, it's of defunct local death metal quintet Bring The Fallen's only EP "Stand Before"! This EP was recorded at Green Room Productions in mid-2009 with producer Brad Griffith using time won at their YMCA Battle of the Bands victory that March as The Undead Warriors, but financial difficulties shelved it's release for four years. Bring The Fallen finally released "Stand Before" independently at Oddzfest 2013 Metal Mash-Up on July 26th in honour of their one-off reunion that night, so now we can review it formally on here! The EP features Bring The Fallen's classic & final lineup, including former Bear Hunters guitarist Josh Stephney on vocals, AtrophiA alumni Andrew Chiarello & Dan Souliere on guitar, Josh's ex-Giwakwa bandmate Nolan Rainville on bass, and Fountain of Betrayal alum Travis St. Amour on drums. "Stand Before" was sold by donation at Oddzfest, but I don't know if extant unsold copies are in stock, so contact band members on Facebook just in case.

I've also uploaded the whole EP to our YouTube channel (as it's likely out of print regardless), so each song name below is linked to their YouTube copy! With five songs clocking in at over 19 minutes in length, let's begin our review with the first song and the EP's title track "Stand Before"! After a brief drum intro, the full band kicks into gear with a heavy opening section with great guitar work, and I like how the production helps clarify Josh's vocals a lot so you can hear individual words easier! The guitar work from Dan & Andrew is solid and unrelenting, with Andrew's extended guitar solo showing his skills well also! Stucture-wise, few risks are taken on this song, but everyone's on form musically, and the pacing and chemistry is very visible! If anything, I'd like to hear some variance in the chorus vocals (perhaps with Josh & Dan trading off like they did live), and the song ends somewhat abruptly, but this familiar live favourite translates well in studio, and Bring The Fallen deliver well in this early recording!

That's followed by "Night Riders", which fittlingly includes galloping guitar riffs that go well with a song of this name! A bit slower than it's predecessor, Josh's vocals come in really loud, but we get a nice showcase of Travis & Nolan's drum & bass talents early on, and Andrew gets a pair of guitar solos that impress well, especially the longer & more intricate first one! While this song definitely has more structural variance, and the guys show more of their collective talents, "Stand Before" was catchier and a bit heavier, so it's hard for me to pick a favourite. This is a quality song though, and well worth giving a listen! Third on the EP is "Kill Your Life", a song that I don't believe survived into concerts in the early 2010s. The track itself is a lower pitched and more straightforward death metal original that's vocal heavy with assaulting instrumental backing that only relents for a guitar solo. Really solid showcase of Nolan's bass work & Josh's vocals to me, but compared to it's predecessors, it's not as complex or varied. Still, it's definitely a moshable and brutal track, and I wonder why it didn't get a lot of live attention after 2009?

The disc's penultimate (and longest) track is next, that being "Exposed Embankment",and after a buzzsaw of a guitar-heavy intro, Bring The Fallen hit the ground running with very brutal verses, and this song definitely doesn't flow with the usual "verse-chorus-verse" pattern, which I appreciate for diversity! Creatively, the guys shown their skills here well, with nothing being predictable, and Travis' drumming really catches my attention, but the lack of a guitar solo is disappointing given this song's format. Still, this song's a winner for all of the skill levels shown, especially the middle-late stretches of it! "Stand Before" closes with it's shortest track "Defiling Despondence", which opens strongly with a solid guitar riff and great drumming, and it generally returns to the territory of the title track as a brutal and catchy original that doesn't overstay it's welcome. Josh's growling is probably at it's best, the guitar solo from Andrew is as good as you'd expect, and everyone lays into this live favourite with enthusiasm and energy, helping cap the EP off on a high note!

So, what's the final word on Bring The Fallen's long overdue EP? I'd say it's a very solid and heavy glimpse of their early run, and it shows exactly why they won three battles of the bands in their heyday! Talent-wise, B.T.F. were a great fit, with Josh Stephney's clear growling, Dan Souliere's riffing, Nolan Rainville's skilled bass work, and Travis St. Amour's fast and varied drumming fitting this puzzle nicely, but Andrew Chiarello's awesome guitar solos and lead work helps put the material just that extra step higher, and I wish he'd get back into live music! Brad Griffith's production was pretty good too, I wonder why we don't hear as much from him in terms of producing? That said, I think "Stand Before" would have turned out better had Bring The Fallen recorded it in late 2009 or early 2010, as they arguably peaked as a band and had their sound fleshed out by then ("Nostalgia" would have been nice to hear, for example), so why not use the later recording time they won at their other battles to add to the 2009 sessions?

For what we did get though, we get a very heavy slice of death metal originals that started and ended very strongly, and while the release took place in very different circumstances than we could have imagined in 2009, it's release at their farewell gig in July helped give closure to their run, and fans were rightfully pleased! Hopefully the members of Bring The Fallen stay active in music going forward, and check out the full EP at the above links!

So, what album are we reviewing on the site next month? After five straight months of new releases, I admit not being sure as of today. We have no new local metal/hard rock albums with a verified release date coming out until SweetKenny's "Cracks In The Wall" on Halloween, and I'm not gonna rush that for next month as I'm still unsure whether to review that or "Perception" next of his. A new Mike Haggith album is possible too (either "The Present Din or "Where It Ends"), but that's pending the release of the latter, and the Haggith band's "Apocalypse" is on hold until at least the winter, as it's too soon from our review of "Deuce". Sykotyk Rampage is also an idea, but they haven't released any of their albums for sale since 2011. If none of them releases an album for sale by late October, we'll review an archive album, and I'm eyeing Facedown's 1997 demo cassette "Self Murder", as they shared at least one member with Destroilet, so we can tie it in with shows they're playing next month, but that's assuming no new heavier albums come out. Regardless, stay tuned for updates as they come in, and for more news (including our Dayglo Abortions concert preview) tomorrow! Thanks everyone!

Bring The Fallen's EP Release, More Rotaryfest Videos, And Some Other Recent News!!

Approaching the end of one of our busiest ever months on the SMS, today's post is half dedicated to the remaining Local2 Rotaryfest hard rock videos, but we also have some shorter recent news items to get to, and leading off, details on a surprise recent EP release, so here's what you need to know!

Let's kick off this post with some info on Bring The Fallen's debut (and only) EP, which FINALLY got a physical paid release at Friday night's Oddzfest 2013 Metal Mash-Up in honour of their reunion/farewell concert, over four years after sessions began! As you may remember, the sessions for their EP (named "Stand Before") were held in mid-2009 at Green Room Productions with producer (and ex-No Arrow/SBD bassist) Brad Griffith, having won them at the YMCA Battle of the Bands that March during their live debut, but financial difficulties left the EP unreleased by the time of their 2011 breakup. Flash forward to last Friday, where fans finally got copies of it, so what should you know? "Stand Before" was released on a pay-by-donation model, and while there was no full artwork or liner notes, the jewel case and CD label are all done up professionally with band photos, a song listing, and two different CD designs released, and I've replicated my copy's design on your right as if it was the cover art.

The EP features their songs "Stand Before", "Night Riders", "Kill Your Life", "Exposed Embankment", and "Defiling Despondence", with tracks 2-3 making their official public debut in studio form, having not been uploaded to their MySpace page as a preview at the time. I like what I've heard so far, and it's nice hearing "Kill Your Life" again after so long, but if you missed Friday's show, that was likely the only day that copies will be available to purchase given that it was a one-off return. As for when we could be reviewing it on the site, I won't commit to anything yet, but with Crimson Crusade a lock for next month, it's looking extremely likely for the fall! Stay tuned!

Next up, here's the other two hard rock covers from Rotaryfest's first stage at Clergue Park that we didn't feature on the site yesterday! Filmed by Local2's Mike Caruso as part of his "Everything Sault" series, these were uploaded to Local2's YouTube channel last week. I held back these two from yesterday's post because they're both covers of songs by The Cult, so why not feature them together? The first of them is a cover of "She Sells Sanctuary" from Friday, July 19th's lineup, courtesy of local classic rock cover quartet Mid Life Crysis. Featuring singer/guitarist Dan Hodgson, lead guitarist David Kettles, bassist Lori Reinholtz, and drummer Len Legacy, this is a solid cover for the most part, if played slightly softer than the original, but their talents are on point, and Dan's vocals fit the melody and vibe of the track! Mid Life Crysis are a popular sight for weekend gigs at local bars, and though their sets are completely varied across all genres, they can rock a little harder once in a while, so don't bypass them completely! Check out their cover of "She Sells Sanctuary" below!



The last of Mike's filmed hard rock covers from Rotaryfest comes from reunited local classic/hard rock quintet That's Chester's set on Saturday, July 20th, as their Local2 video has them covering The Cult's "Fire Woman"! Nice to see the guys back together, and their fun chemistry and talents came back too, but the guitars seem oddly low in the mix compared to some other videos from Rotaryfest that I've seen. I have no idea if That's Chester have any more shows coming up this summer, or if this reunion is on a limited or sporadic basis, but they haven't lost a step in their year-long stage hiatus, so give their "Fire Woman" cover a look below!



Finally for today, here's three shorter assorted stories from the last little while, and as usual, these are in alphabetical order by artist, company, or event name:

• Local metal concert promotion agency Dismembertainment is back... just not in the Soo. After a 14 month hiatus, owner Rich Moreland announced on their Facebook page on Thursday that he's recieved an offer to book concerts at The DV8 Tavern in his current home of Edmonton, where he moved last fall. Great to hear, even if it's so far from here, but if you want a concert booking in Edmonton, give Dismembertainment a shout!
• The proposed Heavy North metal festival in September at The Canadian Bushplane Heritage Centre has quietly been called off in the last month or so, as per the deletion of it's Facebook event page. A reason hasn't been publically announced that I'm aware of, but J.D. had a good idea that would be neat to re-explore in the future!
• Former Turner Up/Johnny Lunchbox singer Krista Marshall is looking to start a new local hard rock cover band that would cover groups like Halestorm and Lacuna Coil. She apparently has a bassist lined up already, and is specifically looking for a drummer and at least one guitarist. It's be nice to have her playing live again, so if you're interested in trying out, message Krista at this location or via her Musicians Wanted Facebook group post on Wednesday! (Note that she's not to be confused with recent Haggith guest vocalist Kristi-Lee Marshall.)

That's all for today, but stay tuned for some Tesla concert videos and more news tomorrow! Thanks everyone!

Hallows Die Concert Review!!

Finally, here's my review of last night's Hallows Die-headlined metal show at The Canadian Nightclub! Nice to be back there, even if the attendance was lower than was hoped, but given that it is the holiday weekend more or less, that might not have helped in that department. So, what went down last night? The first band up was the only local band of the evening, that being melodic death metal quintet The Bear Hunters, and they sounded very good as I've come to expect from them! They played a slightly abbreviated set from what they usually have in store, but with songs like "Bloodthirst", "Dominate", and "Render This Void" in their set, they delivered from bell to bell! The only real difference I can add for their set was it was the first time I've seen their full lineup live since they opened for Fuck The Facts at The Canadian last month, and Mitch Sirie's guitar volume was definitely louder, so it was a better set overall! Plus, I like that they didn't include the songs that used to include clean vocals, as I wasn't reminded that those songs could use clean singing during their set. With such a reliable death metal band, it's hard to find complaints, and it's a shame the crowd turnout was so low early last night for their performance!

Next up last night was North Bay death metal band Buried Out Back, in their first local appearance, and fans seemed to enjoy their set well, as did I! A newer band compared to the others last night, they delivered a more straightforward take on death metal, but they were very brutal and had a lot of promising original songs, all of which seemed to be titled "The ______". I liked Nathan Shore's aggressive harsh singing, and the whole band seemed to have nice energy and stage presence! Kevin Lachance and Empyrean Plague's Dave Strba unleashed some awesome shredding guitar work, though I would have liked to have heard more guitar solos from them too. Nick Ianiro's bass work was also really impressive, adding to their entertaining set, but compared to the later bands, they need to find more ways to stand out going forward. Good first start though, and I can't wait to see them again hopefully in the area!

Third last night was young Sudbury black metal band Before The Black Gates, and it's definitely good to see them here finally! You'd think they'd have been here before now, but they delivered a solid (and longer than expected) set of death metal-inspired material that fans definitely seemed to enjoy! James Bok has a nice brutal voice, and Jacob Tyler's drum work stood out well, while Tamara Ryan proved up to the challenge on bass throughout their set! I liked some of their lyrical themes too, and B.T.B.G. definitely seemed to enjoy being up on stage, but I will say that James needs to work on his stage presence. He let guitarist Alex Hunter do most of the speaking and crowd banter, and he seemed uncomfortable at times when not singing, but during the song, he's got it nailed down! And, like Buried Out Back, I was hoping to hear more guitar solos, but the guys (and girl) have a brutal thing going, and hopefully we'll see them again locally in the future!

Fourth were Sudbury improv/comedy metal band 85 Pound Poutine, and they delivered a light and humorous (though abbreviated) set of improvised Canadian death metal! They never play the same song twice, so you may be honoured to know that we heard songs with titles like "Bacon Fuck" and "Bath Salts Bukkake" live?! Honestly, a lot of the humour of their set (beyond their amusing on stage attire) may have been lost on some fans for the sole fact that not everyone can decipher death metal growling, but if you could hear some of the lyrics that Gravy Smith (a.k.a. Wolven Ancestry's Mark Howitt) was singing, you'd definitely have been amused! Even besides that, their music suited their aims and was very brutal, but the set ended in slight deja vu, as just like at Wolven Ancestry's set at the Ypres Metal Fest, they were the second last band with a visibly abbreviated set due to time constraints (even resulting in a whole bag of unused props.) I was entertained by 85 Pound Poutine for sure though, and I'm definitely up for seeing them again locally!

And your main event band last night was Toronto death metal standouts Hallows Die, and despite deja vu in the form of another abbreviated set just like at the Ypres Metal Fest, fans were happy to hear more than 2 songs this time around, so things worked out better! Now that I got a glimpse at their fuller set beyond one original and one cover, I was definitely impressed by Ryan Boisvard's brutal vocals and Pat Rogers' blistering guitar riffs and solos on songs like "Fall From Heaven", "A Serpent In Judecca", and "In This Emptiness", and they definitely drummed up the best crowd response of the night to end their set with! They also really seemed to enjoy being back on stage in the Soo, and you'd be hard pressed to find someone there who didn't think they were killer from bell to bell! Though I think we'd all like to see a longer set from them again, Hallows Die delivered well, and I don't think we've seen the last of them in Sault Ontario!

Overall, this was a fun and brutal concerts (despite the time & attendance concerns), and if you missed it, you missed out! I've posted photos from the show onto our Facebook page at this location, so check them out if you wanna, and as for videos, I got The Bear Hunters playing "Bloodthirst", Buried Out Back's song "The Prostitute", Before The Black Gates' song "Am I Dead?", 85 Pound Poutine's set opening tracks "Bath Salts Bukkake" & "Lactating Moose Knuckle", and Hallows Die's new song "A Serpent In Judecca", so check them out below!











That's all for tonight, but I'll hopefully you guys at The Rockstar Bar shortly for Maximum RNR (and maybe an opening band?) Thanks everyone!

Two New Local Bands, A Band Looking To Play Here, And Shit Liver Updates!!

It's time for some more news, but before we get too much farther, I will wish all the Sault Michiganders well today as the first annual LemmaFest debuted this afternoon at Dondee Lanes! I hope it's a roaring success, and I hope to make next year's when I'll hopefully have long since gotten my vehicle insurance! Now to today's news, and we have a band looking to play here, new Shit Liver updates, and leading things off, two new Sault Ontario local bands, so here's what you should know!

Firstly, we have a new local metal band named AlterWhite, who I've actually heard about for a few weeks now since they launched a now-deleted "personal" Facebook page, but now they have a more general band page, and yes, they are metal! AlterWhite formed in January, and currently only have two members, singer/drummer Mike Matthews and guitarist Kevin McCarthy, neither of which I'm familiar with from recent local bands. According to their Facebook page, they currently play covers, but are working towards new original material. There isn't too much about the band specifically to say yet, but they have two original demos posted! They're of songs titled "Lost Souls" and "Help From Above", and were uploaded via Facebook videos. Both are obviously unfinished (only two members), but there is something promising there! Slower heavy riffs and James Hetfield-inspired vocals are cool to hear, but the production needs some work, and of course, a full lineup (and some solos) would fill out these songs better, which sound empty on their own. I have a hunch we'll hear more from AlterWhite sooner or later, so give them a look and see if you think there's something there! I'll keep you posted as updates come in!

The other new band I have today actually just broke up yesterday, but they also only launched their Facebook page in May, so they're kinda both old AND new! The band's name was T.E.N., which stands for the band members' first initials (a'la SBD.) The band featured singer Eric Weiker, bassist Nick Ritchie, and guitarist Tyler Gibson, who also handled drum programming. These guys appear to be high school students, so I don't think they did much before T.E.N. in local metal circles. This band appeared to be active for about seven weeks (May 10th through yesterday) but they managed to get a lot done in that span! Last month, they finished a demo CD of some type and sold it for $5 or less (I'm unsure of it's form or content), and I believe it was mostly distributed to fans and classmates. Plans were also in place for an EP called "When Play Time Ends" that apparently was close to completion before they abruptly broke up yesterday. Tyler did upload some original material samples onto his YouTube channel, so follow that link to check them out! The posted songs are short, and apparently take on a dark comedy/metal hybrid sound, but the comedy aspects are barely heard due to a lack of extensive singing on the posted songs.

Tyler's guitar work has promise though, but there isn't much to the posted samples. I hope their demo had more substance, It's surprising T.E.N. broke up so fast, though hopefully the members stay in music in some form, I'd be curious to see how far they could take a comedic metal approach locally! Check out the longest T.E.N. original demo below, and check out more on them at the above links!



Thirdly today, we have another band who's looking to get booked for a concert in Sault Ontario! On Thursday, James Bok (a.k.a. Mortis), singer from the Sudbury black/death metal band Before The Black Gates posted on our Facebook page inquiring about booking a show in town. I forwarded him to Dismembertainment, but in the event nothing comes from that, I opted to plug them on here to see if any of you guys are interested in booking them! Sudbury's proven to be a solid base for Ontario black metal (Wolven Ancestry are the best example), and Before The Black Gates sound like a really solid black metal band in their own right! They have some good guitar melodies intertwined with brutal black and death metal vocals, and really good drumming too! James/Mortis didn't specify a date for a local show, so I imagine the band are flexible for a possible local booking. If you're at all interested in booking, helping, or playing with James and Before The Black Gates in their local show quest, give him a shout at this location or the above links! And of course, if I hear anything from them on a local concert, I'll be sure to tell you guys when the coast is clear!

Finally today, here's the latest from local grimecore trio Shit Liver! The band posted no less than eight new videos onto their YouTube channel yesterday, all from Thursday's Roosevelt Hotel metal night, so here's what you should know! The videos are of their originals "Shit Liver", "Survival of the Shittest", "Friendly Old (Uncle Joe)", and "Contribute or Perish", their old band OBCD's song "You Speak of Weak, And We Don't Care", and three newly recorded songs, "You're Scared", "Fabricated Nonsense", and "Hateroleum"! The videos, in terms of quality, are actually worse than the ones they uploaded in January, because the filmer was much further from the stage (why didn't he/she get closer?), and with fans on the floor, the view's often obstructed. I did notice that Josh and Mike flipped spots, which is odd! The audio quality makes up for it though, if you like their sound! As well, all of their original songs (and OBCD covers) were also recorded on audio at this show using a different device and posted on their MySpace page yesterday as well! This includes two originals that went unfilmed ("Sooer Living" and "Drowning in Shit"), and the audio quality is actually really nice, so check out their posted live audio clips from Thursday at this location!

Nice to see new media from these guys, who leave an impression at every show they play with their crusty brand of death metal! Now this will likely be the last time we see Shit Liver on stage until maybe late July or August, as the band said yesterday on their Facebook page "cya guys in a month er so." Though a reason for the hiatus wasn't mentioned, I believe drummer Matt Baic is travelling east next month, though don't quote me, I may be wrong. When they come back though, they'll be out in full force! Check the above links for all the latest Shit Liver shit, and here's the longest of the brand new songs recorded on video, "Fabricated Nonsense"!



That's all for today, but I will see you guys at The Rockstar Bar TONIGHT for The Saigon Hookers! Thanks everyone!