YouTube Channel Profile Series: panzertera's Channel & Orb Hearthstone

It's now time for this month's YouTube Channel Profiles, where we again shine the spotlight on YouTube channels whose content is at least 50% devoted to local metal, hard rock, and/or punk artists and/or concerts, all randomly selected as usual! This month's installment is of two channels, as the first only had three audio uploads, so a second channel that I could source two distinct videos from was added to fill things out. Here's what you should know in this all E.U.P. installment, of which the same musician coincidentally factors in both channels!

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panzertera's Channel (http://youtube.com/panzertera)

Owner: A member of defunct Sault Michigan metal band Great Bodily Harm (exact identity unclear)

Channel Timeline: Launched on October 15th, 2009; Videos uploaded in March & April 2011

Channel Summary: This is the de facto official YouTube channel for the short-lived Great Bodily Harm, who you may remember seeing at a couple of local gigs in early-mid 2011 (including that year's Lemmafest). Their only extant online footprint of note is panzertera's channel, which features audio demos of their songs "You Don't Even Know", "Cuntrol" (sic), and their most popular track, "Jaw Breaker". G.B.H. featured vocalist Kirk Labadie (ex-Hammerspace), guitarist Doug Reed (ex-Half A Man), and future Power Slug bandmates Chris Leask (ex-Highway 63) and Bob Helsten (ex-I.S.O.M.) on bass and drums respectively. It's a shame that extreme metal bands from Sault Michigan never have a long shelf life, as Great Bodily Harm's very Pro-Pain-esque take on groove metal was very much welcomed 12 years ago, and these songs are all entertainingly heavy with some hardcore touches, but follow members' other bands to see what else they've done in the E.U.P. before and since 2011!

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Orb Hearthstone (http://youtube.com/orb609)

Owner: Prolific local metal musician Bob Helsten, a.k.a. Orb Hearthstone, who you may recognize as a vocalist with bands like Integrated System of Machines, End of Existence, and Mugwort, and as a drummer in bands like Clownsack, Power Slug, and Great Bodily Harm, among others

Channel Timeline: Launched on November 25th, 2006; Videos uploaded from April 2012-December 2019

Channel Summary: A personal use channel, Bob has posted six videos here in the past eleven years, including a gag video of a horse-style laugh, while the other five has his own original solo metal music. In the four latter cases, he uses the songs to soundtrack video game footage that he captured, though not always naming the game (the newest one was Teiravon).

Why You Should Watch: While the channel has nothing from Bob's prior local band work, this will be worth checking out for fans of his metal vocals, as the solo material on offer is reminiscent of I.S.O.M. and End of Existence in style and approach! Odd that he would post most of his new original songs this way though, just as soundtrack fodder for gameplay footage, and not always titled with the song's name (let alone that "Dirty Dingos" was only posted as an excerpt), but gamers may feel differently!

 Our Recommended Videos To Check Out:

Destination: Credited under his I.S.O.M. stage name, Bob's first upload and only song with no video game ties is "Destination", which reminds me of I.S.O.M.'s more melodic material with him not singing in a harsh/extreme style, but adding grit where needed. The song bounces along in a style not unlike something you'd hear out of Sweden, but the thin production is a drawback compared to his band work. Good stuff for fans of his vocals!

I'm not as Eco as I used to be: The most popular video here that isn't of horse laughing, this song is set to video footage from the PC MMORPG game Entropia Universe, and features guest bass from "Refuge MirrorBlack Denied" (no clue who that is). "I'm Not As Eco As I Used To Be" is more of a straight-forward metal song that has a good lively energy and less of the European influence heard elsewhere. Nice change of pace that shows that Bob (a.k.a. "Opeth of Blackwater") can just rock out without going extreme, and Entropia fans seem to like how he edited the gameplay footage too!

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I hope you guys liked this month's YouTube Channel Profile! This series will return on or around July 27th for another two profile installment, as the first randomly selected channel only had two videos from two different events, so I added a single band channel to fill things out with. We're staying in Sault Michigan with YouTube user 2010abstract's channel (featuring two videos of the future Tantrym Tyme) before heading back to Ontario to look at ander101's channel (featuring three performance videos from ex-Bring The Fallen guitarist Andrew Chiarello). Look for those then, and for more news and notes on the site toon! Thanks everyone!

Fyrbird Concert Previews, A New Video, And More!!

Before we begin today's post, I wanted to offer our deepest condolences to the family and friends of  local rock guitar legend Bob Yeomans and veteran local news anchor Karl Sepkowski, who both passed away in the past week. Bob died on Saturday at the age of 74, and is survived by his wife, two children (one being former Ashes To Dust guitarist Liam Yeomans), a step-son, and a large extended family. Read Bob's SooToday obituary at this link. While not a hard rock/metal musician, Bob was a prominent mainstay of the local scene in bands like Zak's All-Stars, The Vendettas, and The Amen, as well as serving as an instructor at the Thomas Walls School of Music. Nationally, he and fellow Saultite Tim Ryan had success in the 1970s pop rock band Jackson Hawke, who first recorded hit songs like "You Can't Dance" & "Set Me Free", and Bob later worked musically in Nashville before returning home in 1985.

For Karl, he passed away on Monday at the age of 81 in Newmarket after a battle with lung cancer, and he is survived by his wife, three children, five grandkids, and his extended family. Read more on Karl's life & career at this link. While not a musician, Karl was "the authoritative news voice in Sault Ste. Marie" for decades, becoming CKCY's news director in 1963 after starting there in 1959, and he later worked on camera for CJIC and MCTV, returning to the radio in the 1990s with WSOO, and moving to Rock 101 as their news anchor in the fall of 2005. Karl's tenure at The Sault's Rock Station appears to have been relatively brief, as he disappeared from their website's staff page circa March 2006, as per Internet Archive Wayback Machine backups, but this is still a notable for being (as far as I can tell) his final stop as a local news anchor.

From what I've read about both Bob Yeomans and Karl Sepkowski, they were kind and honest men who loved their work and the Soo, and there's a lot of kind words being shared for the both of them online (if you're Facebook friends with Mikey Hawdon, he posted some nice remembrances about Bob as a music instructor). Bob and Karl definitely made their positive marks on the community, and they'll definitely be missed. R.I.P.!

Now, this post (possibly our last news post of the month) has a new video to check out, but first, here's a pair of concert previews for this weekend, as Manistique, Michigan hard rock duo Fyrbird will return to The Rapids Lounge at the Sault Ste. Marie Kewadin Casino for concerts TOMORROW & SATURDAY NIGHT! As revealed on Kewadin's entertainment page, these will be Fyrbird's first E.U.P. stops of 2022, after making their casino debut last year, but now that event advertising has their name spelled correctly, we won't miss these ones for the SMS! If you want to learn more about Jamie & Rikk's music and live schedule, visit their Facebook group, which confirms that they will also be back in the E.U.P. for a show in Paradise (just outside of our coverage range) on February 4th. Fyrbird's hard rocking minimalist sound has won them a good following in the Upper Peninsula, so don't bypass them!

As usual for Rapids Lounge concerts, tomorrow and Saturday night's shows have 9:00 PM start times, no cover charges, and 21+ age limits. Of course, please respect and follow any posted or recommended public health measures at the lounge/casino to ensure everyone has a safe time. Visit the above links for more details, and here's Fyrbird live!

Finally, here's a new video from local hard rock/progressive guitarist Mike Cliffe's YouTube channel  from last week! While the video does feature Mike playing on an acoustic guitar, it's primarily a product review for Tree Picks, a company that sells wooden guitar picks made out of real trees. For each order, the company will plant a real tree, and you can customize the picks with your own logo or label (Mike got the Audiofumes logo on his). A sustainable non-plastic pick that plays good may appeal to guitarists and bassists who see the video, and Mike's a fan, so check it out to see what you think! Hopefully Mike has some new performance videos to come!

That's all for today, but stay tuned for this month's CD review on the site next! Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERT (The Wyld Stallyns), A New Local Band, And Much More!!

I was not expecting to have a news post today (more likely Sunday), but with a SHORT NOTICE LOCAL CONCERT ALERT for TONIGHT, I had to rush this one. That said, we can get the postponed Mike McCleary story from yesterday back up, as well as some assorted updates from an upcoming festival and some recent news and notes, but let's start with a new addition to our band links directly tied to that new show, and check out last month's poll results and this month's new poll in the post below this one!

We have a new-ish band to add to our active band links, and they are The Wyld Stallyns, a.k.a. the two man acoustic hard rock act from Elements frontman Rob Speers and guitarist Jesse Cook! Yes, it appears that the Bill & Ted homage is 100% their official name now, though remember that they were previously called The Kariokeheads and Rob & Jesse, depending on who was advertising their concert online. This band is nothing new locally, having debuted back in November, but The Wyld Stallyns only just launched their Facebook page today, hence the delay for making our band listings. Their bio indicates that Rob's wife Christina is a permanent member of the band now, and while their cover photo features Rob's Jack Spades bandmate Daniel Horton, he's not listed in their official lineup. The page indicates that they play "rock from the '60s to today", and can customize setlists for specialized gigs, and have encouraged crowd involvement at past shows.

Primarily seen at Room 21, your next chance to see The Wyld Stallyns will actually be TONIGHT,  as they'll play a rare hard rock show upstairs at The Upper Deck Bar & Grill above The Canadian Nightclub! Profuse apologies for the short notice, this show was only announced this afternoon via it's official Facebook event page. This will be their venue debut, and it will have an early-ish 9:00 PM start time with a 19+ age limit and no announced cover charge. It's great to see Jesse and the Speers' finally expand their online presence, and hopefully the phone booth trip to The Upper Deck doesn't have any hang-ups! Don't miss their unplugged cover action there TONIGHT, and here's The Wyld Stallyns live at The Rockstar Bar earlier this year!

Next up, here's the latest from local hard rock solo musician Mike McCleary, who was once pencilled in for yesterday's weekend's concert previews himself, as he had advertised recently that he'd be playing a special acoustic set today at the local New Democratic Party office on Queen Street East in the lead-up to the provincial election. Mike cited "the unpredictable nature of politics" for the set being put on hold, as per his Facebook page, but he teased that updates will follow. If you can get past the political nature, it'd have been a unique setting! Leading from that, Mike's Soundcloud page strongly hints that his next solo album will be entitled "The Party Album", based on a preview playlist there featuring 5 songs, including an intro, a title track, "Superstition", "Rain", and "The Great Musical Landscape". This presumed cover artwork is also online, which features the colours of the NDP, Liberal, Conservative, and Green Parties. Is Mike's aim to release this on or around the provincial election on June 7th? Time will tell!

We'll keep you posted when more comes out on it, but Mike has two new videos on his Facebook page to close with! One from this past Saturday is a lyric video for his "Hourglass" song "Lest Ye Be Judged" (which is about the West Memphis Three, and features extra information about the trial and case), but embedded below is something a little lighter, namely a solo acoustic rendition of title track from his "Weight of the Truth" album, featuring a cameo appearance from his son. Solid casual performance, and it's cute to see father and son like this, so check out Mike's new videos above and below, and stay tuned for more on "The Party Album"!



Also today, here's the latest updates for the second annual Oh!No concert festival in nearby Leeburn, Ontario on September 8th, so what's new to report there? Well, there have been two lineup alterations, as the aforementioned Elements have been added as an 18th act for their second appearance at this event, while the still drummer-less Vol. have been replaced by frontman Steve Edwards and guitarist Mikaela Murtonen's duo project Mik & Steve, who fans will have seen at the Steves concert at LopLops earlier this month. Nice to see Steve and Mikaela still on the bill, and hopefully The Elements deliver a fun set once again! This poster was unveiled last week on the Facebook event page to add The Elements, and revised on Monday to replace Vol.. The poster also confirms admission fees and ticket availability for Oh!No II, as tickets will jump from $25 last year to $35 (which is unfortunate, but remember, there are 5 more bands this year.) Tickets are reportedly on sale at both Case's Music and The Rad Zone, and presumably through promoters Six, Two, Oh. and perhaps some of the local openers.

Also, while doors open at 11:00 PM, a full setlist has not been confirmed at press time. That said, the poster does list the out of town bands (including the relocated Shit Liver) above the locals, and if the band placement is intentional, does that mean Peterborough doom rapper Garbageface is headlining? Time will tell, but this is an immense lineup for Oh!No 2018, so visit the above links, and get your tickets A.S.A.P.!

Finally for today, here's three assorted shorter news items from the last while, and as usual for these short form story blocks, these are in alphabetical order by artist or program name:

• This doesn't bear directly on the local radio market, but The Bob & Tom Show returned to Northern Michigan last fall after Black Diamond Broadcasting moved the syndicated morning drive radio show from Classic Rock: The Bear (now at 95.3 FM) to 106.3 Mac FM in Onaway, coinciding with that station's move from adult contemporary to classic hits. Read more on the changes at this link. It's great to see that Bob & Tom weren't off of the Northern Michigan FM dial for long, and 106.3 FM arguably gets much better reception here than The Bear's post-Newberry signals ever did, so keep their new local-ish home in mind!
• After a couple years of uncertainty and rumours to this end, The Gore Street Cafe will close by the end of June, as per this photo of the letter received from property owners advising of the rental agreement ending, as shared to the laundromat's Facebook page. I won't elaborate further here, give the negative feelings and personal details in the thread, but I hope business is strong in the final weeks! Nicole's done great work for the community with the unique events and concerts, "pay what you can" meals, and local engagement done there, and hopefully she stays busy in related ventures after June 30th, even if a new cafe isn't imminent!
• I have replaced the link for former local concert/marijuana culture festival Hempfest in our concert festival links, as it's website's domain name has expired and been adopted by a women's clothing seller (there's no visible connection whatsoever to hemp or any fest.) It's new link here is it's Facebook page, which is teasing details on the forthcoming 2018 return after a year's hiatus and ownership change, but it remains to be seen if it will remain in Moonbeam, return to Ophir, or move elsewhere entirely. If we hear anything locally relevant, we'll let you know!

That's all for today, but stay tuned for more news and notes on the site in the coming days! Thanks everyone!

A New Local Solo Project, New Video Finds, And More Assorted News & Notes!!

As we continue our busy stretch of posts this week, here's another new post for your Friday morning, which includes some assorted recent updates, a pair of new video discoveries, and leading off, here's a new local solo project!

We have a new local solo artist to add to our active band links, and he is Mike McCleary, who you may see performing live TODAY at Sault College's reunion concert! Though I was unfamiliar with Mike until yesterday, he has a lot to talk about, so what should you know? First posting audio material onto his Soundcloud page in May, Mike launched his Facebook page last month, and has already hyped plans to release a solo EP and a music video for his song "The Working Poor", so how's that for a fast start? Actually, Mike's been a self-taught musician since he was 15, as noted in his extensive Facebook biography, where he indicated that he played in some bands while in high school, but he took a break from music for a while due to "the responsibilities of adult life" and starting his family, though he credits music for inspiring him during that time. With his wife's encouragement, Mike has restarted his music career, but how does Mike sound so far?

Inspired by everything from political punk bands to hard rock/metal acts, and even some roots and blues rock, Mike is a talented musician who seems adept at handling multiple genres, whether it's the hard rock bite of "Fire & Fury", the funkier "Weight of the Truth", or emotional ballad "Aylan", and many more (including some early covers), and while his singing voice fits more rock-based material better, I like where he's going! Mike says that he wants to write thought provoking songs that "evoke a response", and you get a sense of that lyrically in many originals. Solid work so far, so check out Mike McCleary at the above links!

Next up, here's one more archival That's Chester video that I came across on YouTube, courtesy of user Robin Joanisse's channel, as filmed when the inactive local classic/hard rock cover quintet took a road trip out to Hawk Junction (15 minutes east of Wawa) to play at the community's homecoming reunion event in August 2008! Robin was a co-organizer of the reunion, and also uploaded this video of a remembrance ceremony there that same month. In terms of That's Chester videos on YouTube, this will be extra notable as it may be the only one publically viewable one featuring then-singer Jim O'Leary, who also brought the other band he fronted at the time (Flat Stanley) to Hawk Junction for the festivities, as cited here. The video features That's Chester and a guest harmonica player covering Lynyrd Skynyrd's "Sweet Home Alabama" with some occasional lyric changes to suit the locale, and while it's a solid cover, loud cymbals can get in the road, and much of the song was cut from the final copy.

Also, you get a long stretch of Gabe Tessaro talking to the crowd before the song proper begins, but overall, this is some fun and light action from That's Chester Mark II's run in the late 2000s, and I wish that there were more videos of this lineup online! Jim was a good fit, as we later saw with Griphook, and he can adapt his voice to many genres well! Unfortunately, the video was uploaded with settings blocking it from being embedded on external websites, but definitely give it a look at the above links!

Also today, here's a new video of Sault Michigan classical metal project Theatre of Night's rehearsals for their upcoming Christmas tour, this time courtesy of their YouTube channel on Tuesday! This exclusive video features guitarist Steve Giles rehearsing numerous familiar carols for the tour in quick cuts, like "The Little Drummer Boy", "Carol of the Bells", and "What Child Is This?", among others. Featuring pre-recorded tracking audio with recently added performers, this is a solid sample of what's to come, despite the vertical camera angle, and again, nothing too substantial is being given away pre-tour! Check it out below, and stay tuned for more from Theatre of Night!



Finally for today, here's three assorted shorter news items from the last week or so, and as usual, these stories are in alphabetical order by artist, station, or event name:

• Sault Ontario doom metal trio AlgomA have unfortunately pulled out of their upcoming split release tour with Shit Liver due to "some unforeseen medical circumstances", as per the band's Facebook page yesterday. This may be related to the same medical occurrence that scuttled their Toronto show in April, but the band hasn't elaborated other than to say that "it's (not) in our best interest" to do the tour, but will be back "in no time." Shit Liver will still headline the tour in full and sell the "Trading Faces" tapes, and while there has been no direct confirmation or denial yet, we'll let you know if AlgomA can still play the local stop at The New A!
• Classic Rock: The Bear (which gets fringe reception here at WCHY 97.7 FM in Cheboygan) has officially dropped the syndicated Bob & Tom Show in favour of a new local morning drive show from former KLT hosts Steve “Omelette” Normandin & Rick Coates. Music & branding aside, this cuts the last tie to what aired on The Bear's 2002-2010 local affiliate in Newberry (WIHC 97.9 FM), with Bob & Tom having been a constant on The Bear's network since the late 1990s. It's great to see Omelette & Friends back on the radio, but hopefully Bob & Tom return to a regional FM dial elsewhere!
• Sault Ontario promoters Choose Maxx announced on their Facebook page yesterday that the annual Toystock fundraiser concert will return for it's sixth installment (and third at the Northern Grand Gardens) on Sunday, November 26th, and to private message them if you or your band are interested in playing! No word yet on who might be playing Toystock VI, but remember that this Christmas Cheer event features 10 (typically covers-centric) bands in 10 hours, and lineups largely don't stay the same year to year, with only Bone Yard and the inactive Lucky 13 playing Toystock three times to date. Stay tuned for updates as they come in!

That's all for today, but stay tuned for more news and notes on the Sault Metal Scene in the near future! Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERT (Gianni Gagoots), New Sault Michigan Videos, And More!!

At last, here's our first news post of November 2016 that doesn't feature weekend concert previews! Below, you'll find some assorted recent news and notes, and a pair of videos that will be relevant to Sault Michigan-area readers, but first, here's a LOCAL CONCERT ALERT for year's end!

New local improv hard rock/funk quintet Gianni Gagoots will cap off 2016 as one of the featured performers at Six, Two, Oh.'s Holiday Funk Show at The New American Pub on Friday, December 30th! Last seen opening for Castle in September, this will be Gianni Gagoots' third local concert appearance, and their second with their current lineup, and they'll be on an eclectic & wildly varying bill that will call to mind the three-act hybrid shows that Six, Two, Oh. put on in the summer, just on a bigger scope. The advertised headliners are Montreal jazz/funk trio The OM Sound, while the other local opening acts are rapper Mikey Thomas, the debut of a new local rock band named Bizotic (public information forthcoming, but this may be their Facebook page), local comedian Shane McGuigan, and the turntable stylings of DJ Seith. If you liked the Debutaunt show that Mikey and Shane opened in August, definitely keep this one in mind, as there's a little something for everyone!

This show has a $5 cover charge, you must be 19 or older to attend, and there is an advertised 9:00 PM start time in effect. This show definitely has an intriguing lineup, and while it largely doesn't lean to metal and hard rock, Gianni Gagoots will help cover that with their funk and punk-inspired instrumental jams, and it's anyone's guess how Bizotic will sound at this point, but we'll let you know if public information on them is revealed! Circle this show at The New A for your New Year's weekend plans!

Next up, here's a new original hard rock song from the YouTube channel of prolific Sault Michigan metal artist Bob Helsten, a.k.a. Orb Hearthstone! The I.S.O.M. and Power Slug alum is an avid fan of the Entropia Universe MMORPG video games, and he recorded the song "I'm Not As Eco As I Used To Be" for hopeful usage in the game & related ventures, featuring fellow game user "Refuge MirrorBlack Denied" on guest bass. Even if you're not familiar with the game (like myself), the song has a fun hard-driving sound that will appeal to fans of the newest I.S.O.M. album, but if you prefer his harsh vocal work, you may be disappointed. Check it out below!



Also, here's a short new video to hype up TONIGHT'S Bret Michaels concert at The Dreammaker's Theater at the Sault Michigan Kewadin Casino! It's just of Bret reminding fans in the Soo that the show is coming up tonight, and that it will be "an unbelievable party" that will "rock your world", and while it's not that substantive, it's cool to see a major artist film a video specifically tailored to us like this! Give it a look below, and remember, tickets are still available, so get yours A.S.A.P. if you haven't already!



Finally for today, here's three assorted shorter news items from the last while, and as usual, these are in alphabetical order by artist or venue name:

• In their first album recording update in over five months, Bear Hunters guitarist Mitch Sirie revealed on their Facebook page that the local death metal quintet only have 4 songs left to finish recording vocals & lead guitar for their upcoming second album "The Dead Testament", and he cited "finishing touches" for the delay in it's release. Mitch spoke very highly of the recording quality of this album compared to "Eternal Hibernation", noting also that it's "a rebirth" of the band. Sounds good to me, so stay tuned for continued updates!
• We surprisingly haven't mentioned this on the site yet, but the late-notice replacements for one-off Me First & The Gimme Gimmes tribute Hey, What About Us?! at last week's Halloween Party at The Algonquin Pub were a Misfits tribute named The Black Mirrors, whose lineup featured Fitswitch alums J.D. Pearce, Jason Bourcier, Andrew MacDonald, and Chris Thompson. Very cool, hopefully they had a good turnout, and I wonder if this might lead to a full Fitswitch reunion down the road?
• Downtown banquet hall and occasional concert venue The Verdi Hall (later Bucci's Verdi Hall) has quietly changed it's name to The Bridge View Banquet Hall. A reason for the name change isn't available online, but to be fair, I don't believe the Queen Street West location has an active online page anymore. The change was also noted in recent local radio ads. If we hear of any public concerts there in the future, we'll let you know!

That's all for today, but stay tuned for more news and updates next week as we plow into November! Thanks efvveryone!

Saultites In Out Of Town Bands Profile: Gatgas

After a day's delay due to the extra and late notice weekend concert previews, here's this month's Saultites In Out Of Town Bands Profile! As usual, this is our monthly feature series where we profile a band that's based from outside of the Sault Ste. Marie area, but has had at least one local resident in their past or present lineups, so that local readers can get more information on them and possibly become new fans as a result! This month's band was picked in advance of their local debut at a well anticipated show this fall, and they actually feature two familiar names, so read on below for this month's out-of-town profile! (Updated on November 27th)
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Gatgas (London, Ontario)

Lineup: (Saultites in RED)

Jack "D-Ass" Gibbons (vocals)
Brian Gibbons (guitar)
Bob Bromley Jr. (bass)
Garry Ingram (drums)
Corey Shipp (guitar)

Official Facebook page: http://facebook.com/pages/Gatgas/147926505234133
Official Reverbnation page: http://www.reverbnation.com/gatgas
Official MySpace page: http://www.myspace.com/gatgas 

Local Info: Two Sault area natives and former local musicians handle the rhythm with Gatgas, those being bassist Bob Bromley and drummer Garry Ingram! While there isn't a lot of widespread details on their local music work before relocating to London, Bob was notable as the bassist for the early-mid 1990s hardcore band The Harsh Heads, and Garry produced the 1994 studio sessions at Dysentery Studios that led to their posthumous CD "First Hated Then Forgotten". By the 2000s, both had moved from the area, but Bob & Garry are still more than active musically!

Band Bio: Gatgas are a hardcore punk band that launched online pages in August 2010, after previously jamming together since at least 2008. Quickly building a solid reputation in Southern Ontario, Gatgas have shared the stage with the likes of The Ripcordz, Alcoholic White Trash, and fellow Sautlite-infused bands like Repetitions, Maximum RNR, and Violet Fuse. The band began recording a debut album in February 2012, and though I can't verify if it came out as planned, Gatgas have made appearances on regional split releases and compilations, such as this album from It's Trash! Records. Still playing frequently in Southern Ontario, Gatgas made their local debut on September 13th when they opened for Random Killing at Hardcore Homecoming concert at The Rockstar Bar, garnering a strong reception in the process! Fans of bands like The Dayglo Abortions or locals Destroilet should take to their hardcore punk intensity, and they have the requisite punk attitude to go along with it!

I'll admit that Jack Gibbons' vocal style (which reminds me of Tom Waits at times) can be somewhat of an acquired taste, but everything fits well after further listening, and their songs have a familiar groove that should appeal to punk and hardcore fans equally! Bob and Garry also handle their roles well, and Gatgas' battle-tested sound delivers the goods, so don't miss them in September! You can check out Gatgas media (mostly original songs) at the above links, though there sadly isn't much in the way of online videos of theirs. Here's the guys playing their song "Back To The Asylum" at Hardcore Homecoming earlier this year!


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I hope you guys liked this month's Saultites In Out Of Town Bands Profile! Next month in this series, we'll be taking a look at Toronto classic hard rock quartet Public Animal, who I just recently learned features former Rhythm Rats and Kite Eating Maples drummer Ryan Gassi in their current lineup! Thank this SooToday article for connecting the dots that I couldn't, and we'll mention this article more in-depth in an upcoming news post (and go see them live TONIGHT at The Rockstar Bar!) That's all for now, but stay tuned for a new news post either tonight or tomorrow! Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERT (Powerslug) And Some New Videos!!

Well guys, last night's Sault Humane Society Battle of the Bands is in the books, and I have a recap (not a review, per say) coming tomorrow. Why tomorrow? Because the videos I filmed are taking forever to upload, but don't worry, it'll be a good one, and you can check out the videos from earlier bands last night and the results at our Facebook page if you wanna until then. So to keep things rolling here (and because of a SHORT NOTICE LOCAL CONCERT ALERT), we've got a post with some recent news today, including new videos, so here's what you need to know!

Sault Michigan hard rock quartet Powerslug are playing at Golanka's Bar (a.k.a. The Bird) TONIGHT! I apologize for the short notice, but guitarist Chris Gurnoe only just announced the show this morning on his personal Facebook page. This has become a common occurrence with the band formerly known as River Witch for about a year now, since their former Facebook page fell into disuse, as I've only tended to hear about their non-Kewadin shows late or on short notice. I'm doing my best to keep on top of things though, so bear with me! This will be Powerslug's second straight Saturday night concert at The Bird, and though I've yet to hear media of them in action, members' pasts in their predecessor band Blind Baby indicate a solid sound, so don't miss them TONIGHT! Admission should be free, you must be 21 to attend, and there's likely a start time of 10:00 PM. For what little I can gather about this concert, get more at the above links! Hopefully Powerslug knock it out of the park again this weekend, and go check them out tonight for some hard rocking across the river!

Now to some new videos, starting with a new song from prolific local solo guitarist (and judge at last night's battle) Mike Cliffe! Entitled "Nose Hair Sweater", it was uploaded to his YouTube channel last Wednesday, and it's definitely one of Mike's harder rocking and more upbeat instrumental tracks! Employing lots of time signatures and some interesting vocal samples & visualizations, Mike did note that it was "quite unfinished", but complimented how fun it was to play. It's a really cool track as it is, and has lots of creative heavy parts, so check it out below!




Also in new songs is a new solo track from Wearwithal frontman and veteran Sault Michigan singer/drummer Bob "Orb Hearthstone" Helsten! The former voice of bands like I.S.O.M. and End of Existence posted a new original solo song named "Destination" onto his YouTube channel on Tuesday, and it's pretty catchy! Completely clean sung, it's got a nice groove to it with solid melodic vocals, and if this is the direction is solo material is going now, I definitely wanna hear more (though with some harsh singing too, of course.) Very nice, so check it out below, and hear more from Orb's recent band work at the above links!



Finally for today, I'm sharing this last because it doesn't work in the United States, so it has a limited view range. Two weeks ago, former Swayze Train guitarist Scott Savoie uploaded a video of him covering the Devildriver song "Not All Who Wander Are Lost" onto his YouTube channel, but it was blocked in the United States shortly after on copyright grounds by WMG (probably because the original song was in the background.) That said, it was not blocked in Canada, creating the odd scenario of a video by a Sault Michigan guitarist that only Sault Ontario metalheads can watch without an IP switching tool. If you can see it, you'll get a very proficient and well played cover, and Scott's on high form here, but maybe he should redo it without the backing track for American fans? Check out Scott's newest solo guitar cover below if your country allows it!



That's all for today, but stay tuned tomorrow for my recap of last night's Sault Humane Society Battle of the Bands, and also, tune in to CBC Radio One (89.5 FM in the Twin Saults area) at 5:00 PM TODAY to hear Garden of Bedlam's song "New Rain" on the CBC Radio One program "Bandwidth", which is all about Ontario music! Not sure if they're just being played or if anything else will come up, but listen in at 5:00! Thanks everyone!

Friday The 13th New Music On Werehold Records (Part 2)

As promised, here's the second half of our look at the Friday the 13th song uploads by Eckerman, Michigan label/studio Werehold Records from their roster of local bands and artists! As uploaded to their YouTube channel on Friday, we already mentioned the posted material from Life's Eclipse, East Branch, The 1,000,000,000s Who Died, and Palaver, but four more songs by four more local metal-relevant acts remain to share on here (and there's vocals to hear on most!) For the sake of fairness, we'll go in alphabetical order by band/artist name for the remaining videos. Read on below for all you need to know, and check out the first half of our look at the Friday the 13th uploads at this location, and check out the post below this one for the latest David Gold/Woods of Ypres stories!

We'll start with a new song from the Eckerman/Strongs metal quartet Moss, in what amounts to their first new song posting since the deletion of their old PureVolume page! The recently reactivated band featuring the Mills brothers of Life's Eclipse fame made this original song tentatively named "Call Me Nothing" for the Friday uploads, and though it's not complete (it's an instrumental demo), it has promise as a hard rock number! It's a bit slower paced and not as blistering as some of the new Werehold songs, but I like it's sound well enough, and hopefully a complete version makes it online at some point! Check out Moss' new song "Call Me Nothing" below, and the next three tracks have vocals, I promise!



Next up, one of the new songs on Friday came from veteran local musician Bob "Orb Hearthstone" Helsten! The former I.S.O.M. singer and ex-Clownsack/Elipzis drummer has been quiet on the local scene since leaving End of Existence in February, and while his solo project's MySpace page hasn't seen a recent update, this song is credited to him alone, so it's good to see him still doing music, and allied with Werehold Records! That said, this song is actually a solo rendition of an earlier End of Existence song named "12.21.12" from their debut album that came out in February (yes, the review's coming soon), and with this being written by Orb, a solo cover does make sense! The backing music sounds very simplistic and artificial compared to the End of Existence version of this track, which alludes to the Mayan apocalypse theories on December 21st, but Orb's singing voice is on brutal form from what I'm used to, and hopefully we hear more from his solo work soon! Check out Orb's new solo version of "12.21.12" below!



Our second last song from the Werehold Records Friday the 13th spree is a short new song from Strongs metal trio Swampghas (featuring members of other Werehold bands), and it's a solid metal number named "Struggle"! Presumably to be on their debut album "The Raco Tower Incident" (whose pretty cool album cover was posted onto their Facebook page yesterday), this is a dirty and straight forward metal track with some nice aggressive singing, and it lives up to their earlier posted originals well! I'm curious to hear more from Swampghas, but if you're in for some quick and heavy aggression, give "Struggle" a listen below, and stay tuned for more from Swampghas as it comes in!



Finally, this is a song called "Minion" by a newer local metal act named Wearwithal. This band features the aforementioned Bob Helsten on vocals & drums, along with Swampghas/ex-Half A Man drummer Doug Reed (also of Drayton Fever) on guitar, but fans may recognize the two musicians as former bandmates in the short lived local metal band Great Bodily Harm! When shared on Werehold's Facebook page, Wearwithal were described as "the half of Great Bodily Harm that decided to continue on" (ex-GBH members Kirk Labadie & Chris Leask are not a part of Wearwithal), but it's good to see Bob & Doug still making music together! "Minion" keeps on the same groove metal path as Great Bodily Harm's originals did, though maybe with less of a hardcore influence, and the vocals flow really well with the very heavy riffing! Solid first track from Wearwithal, and hopefully we hear more from them soon, so check out their song "Minion" below!



I hope you guys enjoyed the songs and postings from Werehold Records' Friday the 13th blitz of new material! I needed two posts to do the wide array of bands' and songs justice, and hopefully these acts are gaining some more fans and attention as a result! That's all for today, but stay tuned for more news, last month's poll results & this month's new poll, and much more shortly! Thanks everyone!

End Of Existence & Dead In The Van Lineup News, Plus The First Stryper/Slaughter Videos!!

Greetings from Detroit! I'm gonna try and get more than just this news post up by the time we get back home on Wednesday (I have this month's CD review already typed up for an auto-post then too), but for now, we have some big news relating to an upcoming fundraiser concert, the first videos from a recent major show, and leading things off, an unexpected lineup change relating to a partly local band, so here's what you need to know!

Sault Michigan/Grand Rapids metal quintet End of Existence have surprisingly parted ways with singer Bob Helsten, just days away from the scheduled release of their debut album. A full reasonfor the move wasn't disclosed, but the band's statement that they released yesterday to various Facebook pages (including ours) hinted at Bob's own personal issues as a partial cause, and the band felt that dismissing him was "the only solution". Despite Bob's departure, the release of End of Existence's debut album is still lined up for Wednesday, with planned online releases on iTunes, Amazon, and in physical copies as well. However, the above statement implies that End of Existence will be changing their name following it's release and the addition of a new frontman, and they don't have plans to re-record this album's material with their new singer. This is really surprising news, as Bob (a.k.a. Orb Hearthstone) has been a perfect fit for End of Existence's style since their 2009 inception, and the timing of the move is very odd, what with the planned album release on Wednesday. Bob's a very nice guy, but if the band's statement rings true, hopefully he can work out whatever's going on personally!

That said, if you are interested in singing for End of Existence (or whatever their name ends up being), e-mail them A.S.A.P. for details at endofexistenceband@gmail.com! While the name change and implied downplaying of older material seems drastic, hopefully the guys have things in hand for the future, and I'm curious to see who they find (be they local or from Grand Rapids) to fill the vocal void! Stay tuned for updates as they come in, and stay tuned for the End of Existence album release on Wednesday!

Next up, the first videos from Friday night's Stryper/Slaughter/Lynch Mob concert are now online! On Saturday, YouTube user soundsunlimiteddj uploaded five videos from this major Dreammakers Theater concert onto his YouTube channel, and though one is of Slaughter, let's start with the Stryper videos! Four songs were filmed by soundsunlimiteddj at this show (among other Stryper concerts from other Michigan venues dating back to 2009), including Stryper playing their songs "Sing-Along-Song", "Reach Out", "Calling On You", and (as embedded below) "More Than A Man" at Kewadin Casino on Friday, so click each link to check them out! I'm not an ardent follower of Stryper's material, but the video quality on these videos is great! They don't sound too far off their 1980s peak, the view is clear and centered, the audio's not scratchy at all, and I'm impressed all around by these videos! The camera that soundsunlimiteddj used did a great job, and after hearing some non-preachy heavier stuff in here, I may have to give Stryper more of a listen! Check out their rendition of "More Than A Man" on Friday in Sault Michigan below!

Also new from soundsunlimiteddj's channel is one video from Slaughter's set, and it's of them playing their classic ballad "Fly To The Angels!" I was sort of hoping to hear a heavier track of theirs (it's that material that sold me on Slaughter when they played Sault Ontario in 2008), but it's good to see Mark Slaughter dedicate this song to fallen soldiers! The video quality's exactly the same as on the Stryper videos, so it's excellent, but this definitely isn't a favourite of mine from Slaughter's catalog. Still, give this video a look below, and if I hear of any more notable fallout from this past Friday, I'll be sure to let you guys know!

And finally, here's the latest updates concerning THIS SUNDAY'S Dead In The Van fundraiser concert at The Canadian Nightclub towards horror punk quintet Frightlight's future tour plans! An eighth band has been confirmed for the lineup, that being Desbarats death metal quartet For All That Is Lost, joining fellow Desbarats rockers Inhuman Methods on the lineup for this massive fundraiser concert! The lineup is now capped at eight bands, and for trivia's sake, this event could serve as a bit of a preview of the Sault Humane Society Battle of the Bands on April 20th, as only punk trio Redundant, solo artist "Evil" Greg Callaghan, and (most of) Frightlight aren't competing at the battle. I just thought that was worth noting! Also in terms of this concert, the official poster is now on the Facebook event page (I haven't seen the full original copy though), and the performance order was also confirmed there as well. Frightlight are headlining, and they'll be preceded by local hardcore quintet As It Stands, Redundant, deathcore quartet The Valentine's Day Massacre, classic metallers Late & Loud, F.A.T.I.L., Inhuman Methods, and Greg Callaghan in that descending order. This is shaping up to be an awesome concert, so check the above links for more details, and stay tuned for more updates!

That's all for now, but stay tuned for more news over the next few days and our review of Sykotyk Rampage's 27th album "Karrs" on Wednesday! Thanks everyone!

SHORT NOTICE LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (Shit Liver & Elipzis), Plus Their New Drummer & Concert Previews!!

Today's weekend concert preview post is mostly Sault Michigan-based, as this weekend is surprisingly light for concerts in Sault Ontario. We'll lead off with some SHORT NOTICE LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS though, including what's going on at The Roosevelt Hotel tonight and a prominent local hard rock band's return (plus news on this band's lineup), so let's get this post started!

There will in fact be a punk night TONIGHT at The Roosevelt Hotel, and yes, there will be some metal content! Local grime/hardcore trio Shit Liver will return to the stage on short notice tonight as the middle band on tonight's lineup! If you wanna enjoy some dirty and crusty death metal with a punk attitude, The Rosie will be the place to be tonight! Headlining this punk night will be last week's opening band, RedD Monkey, whose cello/punk attack is always a welcome sight locally! Note of warning though, you may hear a Motorhead cover, so be prepared for that occasion! Opening tonight will be "The Midnight Meme Makers", who I believe are one and the same as The Night Owl Meme Makers, who opened at the Rebel Spell concert earlier this month which was also from the same bookers. They definitely have a unique sound, very hard to explain, so click on the link above to check them out! Apologies on the short notice of this show too, nothing about it was made official until this morning. As usual, it's a 19+ affair, there's no cover charge, and everything starts at 9:30 PM or later!

For more details, visit the official Facebook event page! Sounds like a fun night of punk rock with a heavy edge, head to The Rosie tonight if you can! Check the above links for more, and for a preview, here's Shit Liver playing their original "(Friendly Old) Uncle Joe" at The Rosie in January!



Also new for this weekend is the return of Elipzis! They're back in Sault Michigan THIS SATURDAY for their first local concert in almost three months! The band were last seen on New Years Eve at The Corner Pub Bar & Grill, and they'll be back there on Saturday for a set full of original hard rock! Apologies for the short notice on this show, I only first heard about it early yesterday on band members' pages. Everything starts at 10:00 PM, you must be 21 to attend, and there's no announced cover charge, but have money just in case if you go! For more details, visit the official Facebook event page! Sounds like fun, it's nice to see them back up here! They don't come up here as often as most other bands, so keep this one in mind! Again, apologies for the short notice! As it's on Saturday, here's a video preview as well, of Elipzis playing their song "Take Me On" in Warren, Michigan this past December!



With that said, there will be one changed element of the band on Saturday, so here's what you should know. Elipzis have parted ways with drummer Bob Helsten (a.k.a. Orb Hearthstone.) No reason for his departure has been given at present, though this could explain his absence from their TV performance in Grand Rapids earlier this month. Bob had drummed with Elipzis from their local debut last year through earlier this month, and it's a shame to see him leave! He's a very nice guy and a talented musician, but at least he's still going in End of Existence and with his solo work! So, who's drumming with them on Saturday night? As it turns out, it's Muskegon based drummer Wally David III, best known for his work in the defunct Muskegon hard rock band One Past Mars, who shared a similar sound to Elipzis. He also appears to be a talented graphic designer and coder, so those skills could be put to use by the band! I haven't heard too much of his work, but the guys in Elipzis know how to pick musicians, so this should work out well! So remember, check out Wally's debut with Elipzis THIS SATURDAY at The Corner Pub, and check the above links for more on all of the Elipzis news!

Now, we move to tomorrow night at The Eagles Club on Trout Lake Road, where Tym Morrison is scheduled to make his return! After the cancellation of his Big Cheese concerts due to outside issues, this will be his first local concert in two weeks, so if you've been missing his acoustic solo work, you know where he'll be next! I should note that Tym hasn't been promoting this show on levels compared to his earlier Eagles Club concerts, giving me a bit of doubt to whether it's "on" or not, but it's still listed on his website, so I'll treat it as if nothing's wrong for now. Regardless, this is his last verified solo show on his website's calendar, so who knows what's up in April and beyond! Friday's show should have a 10:00 PM start time and a 19+ age limit, and there is no announced cover charge. Check the above links for more details! If it does go forward, it should be a good concert with lots of entertaining acoustic versions of hard rock classics, so make it out to The Eagles Club if you can! For a preview, here's Tym covering Extreme's "More Than Words" at The Big Cheese circa November 2008!



Now to the remaining concerts in Sault Michigan, and we'll start at The Rapids Lounge at Kewadin Casino, where local hard rock quintet River Witch will return for their first of four concert weekends this year! They'll take the stage tomorrow night and Saturday night at around 9:00 PM to rock out with what I assume is a covers heavy set, but they haven't posted media or a setlist for me to know either way. Both concerts will have 21+ age limits, and neither have a cover charge. For more details, visit the official Facebook event page! News on River Witch is sparse when we get it (even playing concerts in January that they never publically promoted on band pages), but luckily, we heard about these in advance! I wish I could tell you more about River Witch and their sound, but hopefully in time we'll know more! Check out the above links for more, and check them out this weekend!

Finally for this weekend, Marquette hard rockers Nudge will return to Sault Michigan on Friday night and Saturday night for a short notice weekend of rocking covers at The Satisfied Frog! These concerts are unique in that Nudge will be short a member, as guitarist Tim Prisk will be in California with prior commitments, so things will sound a bit different this weekend. Still, Nudge are proven as an entertaining hard rock band, so they'll do just fine this weekend! Both concerts will start at 10:00 PM, there's no announced cover charge, and you must be 21 to attend. For more details, visit the official Facebook event page! Sounds like these will be some good concerts, Nudge alsways entertain, and a short notice weekend is better than no shows at all! Check the above links for more, and for a preview, here's Nudge covering Ozzy Osbourne's "Mama, I'm Coming Home"!



That's all for now, but I'll have a new news post either tonight or tomorrow night, and yes, our new CD review will be on Saturday! Will it be "Woods I" or something new? Stay tuned! (Also, VOTE TODAY in our first 4 March Mayhem polls, time's ticking!)

Two New Local Bands & Some New Local Videos!!

A day after we launched our new poll (VOTE TODAY!!), we return to the news for today, and we have some notable stuff to share on this fine Wednesday! We have our latest weekly classic video, the latest clips from a once-locally based band, and headlining today's post, two new local band pages! Here's what you need to know!

Almost two months after debuting at the Total Chaos concert, local hardcore quartet Changing Waves have finally launched their own internet pages! I have noticed two, one being a MySpace page, the other a Facebook account. Yes, I said account, not page or group, so you'll have to actually add Changing Waves as a friend, but definitely add them! Their MySpace page (which was launched on January 10th) has more to say at present, and there, it confirms the lineup I had previously mentioned on here, including frontman Benjamin Kallonen, guitarist Mike Hagerman, bassist Devan Lauzon, and drummer Alex Hagerman! You'll of course recognize the Hagerman brothers from Paraside, and Benjamin and Devan from Face First. Crediting "life" as an influence, the band say they sound like "what we want to hear", and they say they're trying to put as much music as they can out there. Not much extra info is present, but you know what is there? Songs, three of them! They're likely recordings from a jam session, and these are rather clear, which is nice to see! I notice that on these recordings, Benjamin's singing isn't as "scream-filled" as I figured it was live, but that's not bad, and the group have chemistry! Can't wait to see their next steps, and definitely check them out at the above links!

The other new band is a new solo project from a prominent local musician! If you've followed the Sault Michigan scene recently, you're likely well aware of singer/drummer Bob Helsten, a.k.a. Orb Hearthstone. Now the singer in End of Existence and the drummer in Elipzis, Orb's carved a good local reputation through singing roles in Integrated System of Machines, Weed, and Mugwort, and for his drum work in Clownsack and Chord On Bluez, among others! Well, Orb's launched another new band, this time, a solo project simply named "Orb"! This project is a completely solo effort, with Bob on each instrument, and he describes his new solo material as a little different than what we've previously seen from him. He's right, as the new songs he has posted on his solo project's MySpace page are lighter and slower than his past death metal work, though there's still harsh vocals to be had on "Dawn of a Dying Day"! "Final Day" is completely softer, but in still sort of a fast sort of pacing, and it reminds me at points of some later Faith No More songs, if that's accurate. Good stuff, definitely different from his usual fare, but just metal enough for the SMS! Check out more from Orb at his solo project's MySpace page linked above, and his new Reverbnation page! And yes, both Changing Waves & Orb are linked in our band links on your left and right!

Now, to new videos, and we'll start with Sue Inside! Yes, the locally-born experimental metal band have resurfaced with a pair of new videos on frontman Shane Lipsit-Fraser's official YouTube channel! One is for an original song named "Hermit", an acoustic instrumental (well, mostly) with an accompanying music video! It's similar in tone to a classic silent film, only with filters, a contemporary setting, and some mostly unintelligible spoken word from Shane in the last section. It's well made, and the guitar work isn't too bad! The same can apply for the second video, of the original song "Green Curry Chicken", which is also a solo acoustic track. It seems to pick up where "Hermit" left off, but is mostly a solo performance, but also in black and white with filters. Not too bad, not really heavy, but well played! And before anyone's like "This isn't metal, why are you talking about this?", keep in mind that many of the posted Sue Inside videos since Shane moved to Southern Ontario have been acoustic, and there are still heavier videos on his channel and on the band's CBC Radio 3 page. Still, it's nice to see Sue Inside are still active, and hopefully some more material comes online soon! Check the above links for more, and here's Sue Inside's video for "Hermit"!



And finally, here's this week's third weekly classic video! Once again, I'm tying in this video with performers at an upcoming concert, and in this case, it's half of local death metal band State of Misery! Bassist Kevin Dorazio & drummer Nick Kainula have joined forces before in other bands, most notably Stealing Kisses in 2009, but that same year, they hit the metal scene in the defunct local band Losing Ground! Only briefly active in late 2009 and early 2010(?), Losing Ground also featured Kevin & Nick's Stealing Kisses bandmate Kevin Koprash on guitar, and current Late & Loud frontman Jonathan Tiberi on vocals and guitar! Is it wrong of me to use puns like State of Loud or Late & Misery to describe Losing Ground? This band never played a live concert, but their Facebook group includes lots of optimistic postings, and there is video footage online of the band in action! This video is one of them, from a late 2009 jam session at Nick Kainula's house, and it features the band (minus Kevin Koprash) covering the Pentagram song "Forever My Queen"! Featuring good quality audio and heavy filter use, it was uploaded onto Jonathan Tiberi's Facebook page in late 2009 at http://facebook.com/video/video.php?v=1309509976165, and because it deserves higher exposure, I ripped it from there and uploaded it to the SMS' YouTube channel!

Remember, all credit for this video goes to Jonathan, NOT ME! NO COPYRIGHT INFRINGEMENT IS INTENDED, I mean no harm!! It's a good performance, and this song suits Jonathan's range, I wonder why Losing Ground didn't last? So, check out our newest classic video below!



That's all for now, but I should have more later tonight or tomorrow, including weekend concert previews, so keep an eye out! Thanks everyone!