The Sault Metal Scene would also like to offer our deepest condolences to the family and friends of local metal musician and rapper Austin McCrea, who just passed away in the past week, as per a number of personal Facebook postings. He was just 30 years old. This didn't cross my radar at the time, but Austin (a.k.a. Jayrald Micky) had been in hospital since September due to pancreatitis, and endured a number of devastating medical setbacks in the ensuing months, which you can read more about via this GoFundMe campaign that was launched on his behalf by his sister two weeks ago. As a local musician, Austin is arguably best known as the frontman of the goregrind/death metal band Brutally Fatal (once intentionally spelled "Brutaly Fatal"), who had two different incarnations between 2012 and 2019, and had brief and more mainstream turns under the names Re-Born and The Revolution.
Austin was a co-founder of the local goregrind/death metal/rap label Blood Shed Productions alongside his late-era Brutally Fatal bandmate Tyler Gibson, and his bands turned up multiple times at Blood Shed-affiliated concerts in the 2010s, be they late-era Oddfellows Hall concerts or house parties, while they also performed at the 2014 & 2015 Swampstravaganzas. Austin also dabbled in hip hop in the early-mid 2010s, rapping under the handle Miracle Man. While Austin primarily provided vocals, guitar, and bass in his best known bands, his most recent public music work was as the original drummer for local hard rock band Far From Fine (née Ravencore), performing with them at the 2022 Toystock and helping on their original material for their unfinished album, but he left that band by June 2023. Austin was also tapped to drum with Frightlight at The Northern Vibe Festival in 2023, but the horror punk band dropped out of that event and fell inactive afterwards.
I didn't know Austin well, but he was a talented and improving multi-instrumentalist who played the music he wanted to play without apologies, even if the imagery & lyrics weren't always to a wide audience's taste. When we profiled Brutally Fatal on the SMS four years ago, I linked to much of their known public music, including their demo EPs, while you can hear the originals he was working on with Far From Fine (albeit after he left) via their Lopstock 2023 set linked here. Losing someone over the holidays, let alone after this prolonged fight, is something I can't even imagine, and our thoughts are with the McCrea and Nadon families at this time. When details on services go public, I will let you know. R.I.P. Austin!
It's now time for this month's Defunct Local Band Profile, where we look at one or two randomly selected inactive local metal, hard rock, or punk bands, in order to spotlight their run and accomplishments for modern day readers! This month's choice is kinda sorta two bands, as they had a confusing split timeline and name changes to account for in 2014, but as both used the same name and shared a common frontman (and the original version's pages were closed), I'll address both here, hence why this profile is longer than normal. With that said, here's what you should know about this month's band(s)!
Brutally Fatal (the original version of the band intentionally misspelled their name as Brutaly Fatal from 2012-2014; They were also known as Re-Born in early 2014 and as The Revolution from mid-2014 until their 2015 breakup)
Hometown:Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario
Genre: Death Metal/Alternative Rock (as Re-Born)/Doom Punk (as The Revolution)
Lineup: (Members who were in The Revolution and not Brutally Fatal are in italics)
Rainey Vincent, bass/guitar Jordan Leach (Haggith, Pillory), bass Bret Shuttleworth (Pillory, The Issues), drums Tyler St. Amour (Them, Bring The Misery), drums Brandan Glew (Re:Born, The Din), drums
Audio/Video:Brutaly Fatal's initial 2013 releases included a solo demo named "Acidic Sky's" and a split "Brutally Crucified" demo with labelmates Crucify The Whore, and songs from them are available to stream on Blood Shed Productions' YouTube channel, as well as live concert and jam session videos of this period and during their change in sound. As The Revolution, a handful of live videos from Oddfellows Hall gigs can be seen via our Facebook page, but they only finished one studio track in 2015 for "Get High With Me" towards their unreleased EP "Roll Call". In their mid-late 2010s revival, they released one paid release "The D.P.E.P." on their Bandcamp page in 2015 alongside the free "Blood of the Devil" in 2017, alongside some assorted 2015 performance videos on the Blood Shed channel and from our Facebook page. Here's Brutaly Fatal playing "Stomp Your Feet" that year!
Info/Analysis: Blood Shed Productions co-founder Austin McCrae launched Brutaly Fatal as a death metal solo project in 2012, and they were a launch act for the label. Blood Shed-affiliated house parties aside, Brutaly Fatal debuted at The Oddfellows Hall that October, and added Tyler on drums by year's end. In this duo form, Brutaly Fatal played another Oddfellows Hall set in January 2014, changed their name to Re-Born (no relation), and shifted to clean-sung alternative rock music, but updates ceased within a month. Austin relaunched Brutaly Fatal in March due to popular demand, but the new version would also drop death metal in favour of a doom metal/punk hybrid sound with a three-piece lineup. Austin, Rainey, and Brandan debuted at the Swampstravaganza in May 2014 and they soon renamed themselves as The Revolution, leaving Blood Shed for PaperClip Productions.
The Revolution were also seen opening for Anciients and Havok at The Oddfellows Hall that June, and began recording an unreleased debut EP "Roll Call" in July, but (confusingly) Brutally Fatal reunited separately in August 2014 to open for Archspire at The Oddfellows Hall, with the return of a death metal sound, Blood Shed affiliation, and Tyler on drums, as well as a new Facebook page, while finally spelling "Brutally" correctly. The Revolution were last seen opening for Endast that same month, and despite switching to Jordan Leach on bass, the group disbanded in February, days before a planned set at The VM Radio Battle of the Bands. The reunited Brutally Fatal were primarily seen live via house parties in 2015, though they did play at the final Swampstravaganza at The Canadian Nightclub that May, and were usually active via sporadic updates for their studio album recording plans.
After the "Blood of the Devil" release in February 2017, Austin & Tyler last surfaced with a new album teaser on Facebook in May 2019, and have not been heard from since. Regarding Bruta(l)ly Fatal's Blood Shed output, it's an acquired taste as usual thanks to the minimalist instrumentation, provocative lyrics & album art, and short song lengths, if more accessible with less pig squeal grindcore vocals, but they did refine their sound and Austin's confidence as a live performer over time. The Revolution had promise despite a somewhat awkward blend of genres, and they seemed to have the right tools to make some local noise. Genre fans should give the band(s) a listen to see what they brought to the table! ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I hope you guys liked this month's Defunct Local Band Profile! Next month in this series, we'll complete another 2-1-3-1-2-1 cycle between the Twin Saults with quite a notable band, as our next random selection will be late 2000s Sault Michigan hard rock quartet Nixxon Dixxon! Look for this on or around November 10th, and stay tuned for more news and notes on the site soon! Thanks everyone, and just in case, Happy Thanksgiving!
75 straight days of Sault Metal Scene posts, now there's a neat milestone! My 31st birthday is tomorrow, and while I am planning to take the day off from the SMS as usual on May 31st each year, I may keep the streak going with an auto-post of some kind. In the meantime, we have some new videos from across the river, some assorted short stories, and some long overdue coverage of a local internet radio station, so here's what you should know!
I have slacked long enough on recent on-air appearances and rotation from local hard rock and punk musicians on new local internet radio station The Borderline Radio, so let's look at what they've been airing in this regard! Earlier this month, The Borderline added Mike Haggith's new album "If Ever Comes The Day" in full to their rotation (before it's release date, even), and Mike was interviewed by Mike Severin on Sev's Cellar on May 12th. Similarly, A Dire Setback's self-titled debut album got a full playback premiere on The Borderline late last month, though I don't believe they were interviewed on air. On May 19th, Jack Spades frontman J.D. Pearce (credited under his Frightlight stage name Johnny Pints) was interviewed for an episode of Sev's Cellar, while Fluid 5ive frontman Colin Nelson was interviewed by "driver" Mike Robillard on The Taxi Passenger Revue on April 13th. Of course, visit the Mike's Lunch Music Facebook group for more episode and playlist descriptions from this year.
Of course, the heavily local-centric rotation on The Borderline is a huge calling card for it, and if you love the idea of local music almost 24/7, you will definitely want to tune in at this link! In fact, they just played a song by defunct hard rock quartet Redefined on there (I still have to find a copy of "Risk & Uncertainty" one of these days.) Unfortunately, the station still doesn't have an outlet for on-demand copies of old shows, and I don't believe they're on a TuneIn Radio-esque service yet, but maybe in time.
Next up, let's head across to Sault Michigan to look at the last hard rock cover videos on Paradise Excuse frontman Mark Bowen's YouTube channel that we hadn't looked at yet! Last August, Mark uploaded a whopping thirteen videos of his eponymous Mark Bowen Band playing outdoors at the Wood-Dock Music Festival in Mackinac Island. This newspaper clipping from a later event seems to confirm that Mark is joined here by his Paradise Excuse bandmate Jason Haske, plus drummers Donny Sorenson (on the full kit) and Matt Myers (on the hand drums). Their wildly varying set on this day included renditions of Maroon 5's "Moves Like Jagger", The Stray Cats' "Stray Cat Strut", The Eagles' "One Of These Nights" & "Hotel California", Bob Seger's "Night Moves", Van Morrison's "Moondance" in two chunks (seen here & here), Pery Ribeiro's "The Girl From Ipanema", Dean Martin's "Sway", Journey's 'Don't Stop Believin'", Gnarls Barkley's "Crazy", ...
...James Brown's "I Feel Good", and as embedded below, Greta Van Fleet's "You're The One I Need". It's a shame that there's not more of a consistent crowd near where the band's set up, but the filmer did get some different angles of the guys in action, and the audio's nice and clear! While this isn't an optimal showcase for fans of Mark's heavier side, the performances are solid overall and very fan friendly, so give these a watch above and below!
Lastly from Mark's heavier videos we haven't looked at yet, he posted this video of him "shredding with low gain" back in August 2018. If you're only familiar with him fronting cover-centric bands, this nicely controlled guitar solo is a nice showcase of his skills, and it'd be interesting to see him post more clips like this! Give it a look below!
Finally for today, here's three assorted shorter news items from the last while, and as usual, these are in alphabetical order by artist name:
I have moved Sault Ontario death metal duo Brutally Fatal back to our inactive band links, as they have not issued a public update since (self-deprecatingly) promoting an album release on their Facebook page on May 26th of last year, which has been their only public update of any kind since releasing their free "Blood of the Devil" album in February 2017. Hopefully we hear more music from Austin down the road, but follow Tyler's ongoing prolific work at Blood Shed Productions to see what he's working on!
In their first Facebook page post since hyping a live-stream in March that never came, local punk/metal quintet Jack Spades announced on May 18th that they have "got some lineup news coming, and we are stoked!" They have not offered specifics yet, but note that Tiffany does still live out of town, and I have read personal Facebook postings in the past week alluding to another band member moving from the area. We'll let you know what's changing in the Spades camp when it goes public!
Former Caveman Morrison/Half Past bassist Ryan Disano (Bryan Dychanno on Facebook) is looking to join or form a local band with a regular practice schedule, as per his Musicians Wanted Facebook group post on May 18th. I won't get into any social distancing arguments here, but he is a solid bassist, and if you're interested, message Ryan at this link or above for more details! Note that comments there asked if he'd be interested in rejoining a reunited Winkstinger, but that band has not publically returned otherwise.
That's all for today, but stay tuned for a new news post either tomorrow or on Monday! Thanks everyone!
It feels like too long since our last post without concert previews or monthly feature content, so let's tackle some recent stories and postings on this Tuesday evening! Here, we have some assorted shorter topics, the latest from a prominent solo project, and leading off, here's some new video postings from a pair of local doom metal acts!
We'll start with 40 minutes of live concert action, courtesy of the return set from local doom/sludge metal trio AlgomA at the Dopethrone concert at The New American Pub last week! Appearing to capture their entire set, the video is entitled "Seven Old Favourites", reflecting their set's inclusion of only prior originals from their catalogue. In order, the video features Kevin, Boyd, and Jamie playing "Tertiary Syphillis", "Fell Down A Well", and "Bedsores" from their "Reclaimed By The Forest" EP, before tackling "Electric Fence" from their split with Chronobot, the yet-unreleased "The Longest Swim" & "Brazen Bull", and finally, "Failed Stunt Fatality" from their split with Hooded Menace. Allegedly filmed by "I've Seen Worse Moving Pictures", the video was heavily filtered in post-production, so what we get here is monochrome, high contrast footage complete with simulated CRT scan-lines and song titles.
While not a stationary camera, the angle filmed here is often too high, and the filtering is mostly to Jamie's visual detriment, but the music is crystal clear and will definitely appeal to fans of AlgomA's slow, doomy, and deliberate onslaught! No word on when "The Longest Swim" & "Brazen Bull" will get studio releases, but these will do for now, and AlgomA haven't lost a step after their 19 month stage absence! Give their set from last week a look below, and go to individual songs via the links above!
Next up, here's a new/old video of inactive doom/death metal band Giwakwa from a jam session back in November 2012! This appears to have been uploaded to the band's YouTube channel at the time, but after 6½ years, Chris finally made it public for fans to check out. Just as a referesher, Giwakwa were the band featuring Bring The Fallen, Lead The Dead, and Fitswitch alumni that was primarily active from mid-2012 through mid-2013, and this video features guitarist Chris Page, drummer Chris Thompson, and then-bassist Nolan Rainville, with original singer Josh Stephney not present for this recording. Audio quality on this original song named "Smoker" can be fairly scratchy here, but this is a solid jam that helps capture more of their doomier side, and you get some good closer views of the guys in action! This was plugged on their Facebook page on Saturday, marking Giwakwa's first post there in over four years, so is this a sign of public activity resuming for the band in 2019?
Well, Chris Page has dropped hints on his personal Facebook page towards Giwakwa reuniting and/or still being active for some time. That said, if the only sign of life from a band is personal remarks or postings, I don't count that as a source unless given explicit permission. It'd be nice to see Giwakwa back in some form, they had a lot of promise, but give this 2012 jam clip a look below to see what they brought to the table back then!
Also today, let's cover some long overdue updates from local goregrind solo project Crucify the Whore, and I apologize for the delay in much of this content! Back on February 19th, the Tyler Gibson-led act released a new digital EP named "Crucifiction Inquisition" to their Bandcamp page, which features 5 songs running for just over 11 minutes, which, track for track, is relatively long for a C.T.W. release. Intentionally recorded in a low-fi manner, I won't share the cover artwork here to avoid potential offense with some readers, but the lyrical content, minimalist recordings, and pig squealing vocals remain acquired tastes if you're not already a goregrind fan. Things sound a little more aggressive this time out, and with a "name your price" model, Blood Shed diehards should be right at home with this release! In his latest updates, Tyler noted earlier this month on C.T.W.'s Facebook page that CDs have been printed for his 2016 release "The Beautiful Sounds of Nature".
After some quiet months from C.T.W. and Blood Shed Productions, 2019 is looking very much like a return to form for Tyler's minimalist metal pursuits, and he's definitely ambitious and bold, if sonically provocative! Buy or stream C.T.W.'s recent solo material above, and here's hoping there's more in the works from the Blood Shed camp over the summer!
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 Facebook page posting since 2016, local death metal duo Brutally Fatal (featuring the aforementioned Tyler Gibson) revealed on Monday that they have a "new album coming this summer", though they self-deprecatingly tempered expectations right afterward. We last heard from Tyler & Austin when they posted a free "album" on YouTube in February 2017, and it's great to hear that Brutally Fatal are back after a 2+ year hiatus, so they are back in our active band links!
Almost two years after a fire in an upstairs apartment forced the closure of Queen Street East nightclub/venue Reggie's Place, the fan favourite concert venue is expected to re-open this week! The news was broken in this SooToday article, where owner Reggie Daigle notes that the bar will look more or less the same as it did before the August 2017 fire. While not a regular venue for our coverage, the country-leaning tavern has hosted Soundcheck and predecessors Mourning Wood in the past, so might they pop up there again now? Stay tuned, but congratulations on the re-opening!
I have reluctantly removed defunct local indie/hard rock band Vol. from
our inactive band links due to the quiet deletion of their Facebook (and
only online) page in recent months. Featuring alumni of The Pixo
Control and Mik & Steve, Vol. had a promising local run in 2017 with
some high profile appearances, but "rad things" in 2018 were superceded
by lineup departures, and they disbanded in June of last year. I wish
they hadn't deleted their page, but hopefully Steve, Shane, Mikaela, and
Matthew surface again soon!
That's all for today, but stay tuned (if all goes according to plan) for this month's CD review tomorrow! Thanks everyone!
Here's a new news post for your Tuesday morning delectation, so what's on the docket today? A band moved to our inactive links, a new concert video, and a new album release, but we'll lead off with a LOCAL CONCERT ALERT for next month, so here's what you should know!
Toronto-based AC/DC tribute band Who Made Who will return to Sault Ste. Marie for another headlining concert on Friday, April 6th at The Rockstar Bar! Though not yet advertised online that I have found, this poster at the venue proper confirms the show, which takes place the same day as Shit Liver's release tour stop downstairs at The Algonquin Pub, so keep that in mind as well for the 6th. Fans will recall seeing Who Made Who's faithful sounding and looking tribute to AC/DC at The Rockstar Bar last April, and numerous times prior in the early 2010s, so their brand of high voltage rock & roll has definitely found an audience in the Soo, and here's hoping their return next month provides more of the same! This 19+ concert will likely have a 9:00 PM start time, and while admission fees have not yet been announced publically, note that last year's Who Made Who show had $10 tickets that you could buy at The Algonquin Hotel's front desk. Both floors of The Algonquin will be rocking on the 6th, so see above for more details on this concert!
Next up, we have a surprise new album release to note on here, as local instrumental black metal solo project Abhorrent Forest have posted their third EP online, in their first public act since releasing their second ("Ethereal") last fall! Entitled "To See Eternity", this was posted to the project's Bandcamp page yesterday, and marks a return to Old Man Wyrn's black metal roots after "Ethereal" dove head first into ambient compositions. This EP is currently on sale on Bandcamp for $10, but you can stream all four tracks for free there as well. It's great to see Abhorrent Forest active and recording, even if we only seem to hear from them when they release a new album on us! That said, when can you expect a review of "To See Eternity" on the SMS? Not this month, as this is the last month of our 6 month anti-bias buffer since reviewing "Ethereal", and with Shit Liver's new album pencilled in for next month, I'm targeting May for it. Assuming nothing screwy happens, look for it then, and stream all of Abhorrent Forest's studio material above!
Also today, here's the first of the public videos that have turned up from Saturday night's Archelon concert at The Rockstar Bar, as drummer Keith Zwicker posted this video of the Sudbury groove metal quintet playing their song "Cut & Run" to his personal YouTube channel yesterday! Ostensibly filmed by someone on Archelon's crew, this video has a great close angle from the far corner of the stage, and while the audio's a little muffled, their brutal aggression is captured well enough! Check it out below, and stay tuned for more from Archelon and the other bands in an upcoming post!
Finally, we have an addition to note to our inactive band links, that being local death metal duo Brutally Fatal. While there have been no firm announcements regarding their status, they haven't posted a new public update since releasing their free "Blood of the Devil" "album" last February, though for what it's worth, label Blood Shed Productions have been very quiet in the past year as well. Active off and on since 2012, Brutally Fatal was an early flagship band for the Blood Shed label from co-founder Austin McCrae, who put out a few album-formatted releases of an often provocative nature, while also performing at scattered concerts in the mid-2010s as both a solo act and later alongside C.T.W.'s Tyler Gibson on drums. These notably included the final Swampstravaganza in 2015, and a number of Blood Shed-affiliated Oddfellows and house party events. Note that this is not the same band as The Revolution, which Austin launched in 2014 as a second version of Brutally Fatal during the original's brief punk turn as Re-Born (no relation.)
Whether you spelled "Brutaly" with one L or two, Brutally Fatal were a fittingly brutal band at their height, and while the minimalistic extreme sound wasn't for everyone, they did showcase growth and originality during their run! I don't know if Brutally Fatal are lying dormant while Blood Shed continues their quiet period or if they're effectively done, but hopefully we hear more from Austin and Tyler musically soon in this or other projects! That's all for today, but stay tuned for more news and notes on the site as the week continues! Thanks everyone!
It's now time for this month's YouTube Channel Profile, our randomly selected look at 1-3 (one this month) YouTube channels whose content is at least 50% devoted to local metal, hard rock, and/or punk artists and concerts! This month's random selection is of the channel of a local indie label whose content isn't for all tastes, visually or sonically, so bear that in mind just in case. That said, they have a loyal fanbase, many talented musicians within, and are celebrating their fifth anniversary this year, so read on below for this month's YouTube Channel Profile!
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Blood Shed (http://www.youtube.com/channel/UC_Dw5V-Z54Mc2NNVv6sbDhQ)
Channel Timeline:Launched on November 13th, 2012; Videos posted from that day through November 2016.
Channel Summary:The official YouTube channel for local independent grindcore/horror rap label Blood Shed Productions, this is one of the most prolific channels for uploaded content from local musicians, featuring (at last count) 227 individual videos! While some live performance videos have been included from jam sessions and concerts alike, including select performances from non-label acts, most content (especially earlier uploads) has been of audio content from released demos. About 2/3rds of the channel focuses on Blood Shed metal projects (largely projects featuring Tyler), with the remainder focusing on the label's rappers.
Why You Should Watch:While the divisive lyrical content, cover artwork, and presented metal subgenres will definitely not be to all readers' tastes (tread lightly if easily offended), the Blood Shed Productions channel will be essential viewing for long-time fans of the label, not to mention horrorcore rap, goregrind, and death metal, especially if you like your metal bands to have 2 members or less! It's very hard to single out individual videos on a channel this big, so if you're a fan, you'll have a good time combing through this one! That said, while the label is still active, 2017 has been a quieter year for the Blood Shed, and that has helped lead to no new uploads on their YouTube channel yet this year.
Our Recommended Videos To Check Out
Crucify the Whore - People These Days: The most viewed video on Blood Shed Productions' channel (and 6 of their top 10) comes from C.T.W.'s debut demo, though all of these songs have names and an album cover subject that may offend some readers, so I've chosen not to embed them here. Instead, here's the channel's most popular video with more a more benign title & visuals, and it's the October 2013 upload of C.T.W.'s song "People These Days", posted to preview the goregrind solo project's 2014 release "Welcome to Earth". This is quintessential C.T.W., with Tyler's brutal guitar work meshed effectively with programmed drums and pig squeal vocals, and while Blood Shed loyalists will be right at home, this will definitely not be all readers' cup of tea. The full album can be heard on this channel as well, but be warned that some song titles and the cover artwork may be offensive.
Rotopsy - Cops N Moms ( Uninvited Uninvited ): Most concert videos on the Blood Shed channel come from Oddfellows Hall concerts or house parties, but this video is featured here due to it's improved lighting and stage set-up, giving us a better look at goregrind/death metal duo Rotopsy playing their fan favourite original "Cops 'N Moms", inspired by noise complaints at a house party set of theirs. Filmed at The Primavera Hall during their set at November 2014's Sault Band-O-Rama concert, this song is one of Rotopsy's more accessible originals, with shouted vocals from Tyler and lead singer Dylan Taylor rather than growling, but it's an amusing number that easily gets a good response during Rotopsy sets! The studio version of this song has also been uploaded to this channel, courtesy of the label's 11-way split release in 2015, as have other live renditions.
Brutally Fatal - Stomp Your Feet (Live):
I would be remiss if I didn't acknowledge Blood Shed Productions
co-founder Austin McCrae in this profile, given his own deep roots with
the label as rapper Miracle Man and via his work in two different versions of his death metal
project Brutally Fatal (initially spelled "Brutaly"), though each version's brief runs as Re-Born & The Revolution aren't
documented on the channel. Otherwise, Austin's Blood Shed work is well
represented here, including via jam session and live videos of both
versions, with Austin on vocals & guitar or bass, and Tyler joining
on drums for two stints with Mk. I. This video comes from a basement jam at label-signed rapper Phat Boii's residence in June 2015, capturing more of a punk-flavoured original that has lots of aggression and a unique side-stage angle! Videos of C.T.W. and Rotopsy have also been uploaded from this event, albeit with different camera angles.
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I hope you guys liked this month's YouTube Channel Profile! Next month in this series, we'll be taking a look at another randomly selected YouTube channel, and that random choice will be ForAllThatIsLost Fatil, better known as the official channel for the defunct early 2010s Central Algoma death metal band For All That Is Lost! Sticking with death metal here to kick off the fall, so look for that on or around September 26th, and stay tuned for more news and notes soon! Thanks everyone!
(Updated at 5:25 PM) Before we begin today's post, I wanted to send our deepest condolences to the family and friends of Kittie bassist Trish Doan, who suddenly passed away earlier this week at the age of 31. Further details on this sad news can be found on Kittie and metal websites. Local fans will recognize Trish best from her appearances with Kittie at both of April 2012's tribute concerts in memory of late Woods of Ypres frontman David Gold, including the Ypres Metal Fest at The Canadian Nightclub, as well as the "Woods V: Grey Skies & Electric Light" release party in Toronto, both shortly after she rejoined the band. Kittie fans in general will recognize her from her two stints with the all-female London metal quartet since 2005, including appearances on two of their studio albums. Trish was a key member of Kittie for the better part of a decade, and fit in nicely during their local show five years back (as the packed crowd will attest), and I'm sure fans won't forget her any time soon. R.I.P. Trish!
Now, today's post covers some other recent news updates, including a new "album" posting and more updates, but to lead off, we have some big news on a major upcoming concert in the E.U.P.. Here's what you need to know!
Though we are less than two weeks away from showtime, there has been a surprising lineup change for the Pop Evil-headlined concert at The Dreammaker's Theater at the Sault Michigan Kewadin Casino on February 26th, as Ohio hard rock quintet Red Sun Rising have dropped out of the remainder of the Rock 'n Roll Now Tour. The reason for their exit is somewhat vague, yet varies depending on the source. Red Sun Rising say they were removed from the remaining dates and it was out of their control, local promoters Allstar Promotions say that they removed themselves but were unsure of the circumstances, and Pop Evil haven't acknowledged R.S.R. at all since, though you can delve into fan-posted rumours there if you want. All I know is that it's definitely disappointing to see Red Sun Rising drop out, especially with their rising profile and two #1 rock radio hits, but hopefully they come back to the Soo at some point in the future! Replacing them for the rest of the tour & on the 26th are female-fronted Detroit hard rock quintet Kaleido, while Los Angeles hard rock quartet Badflower have been promoted to the middle slot.
Kaleido have a fun, pop-influenced modern rock sound that should be a nice addition to this show, so make sure to be there early for their set! Also regarding this huge concert, Kewadin Casino posted this 90 second commercial promoting the show onto their Facebook concerts page last month, which clips together portions of music videos for each band alongside concert-related graphics, including an Allstar Promotions logo that I've never seen elsewhere. Obviously, this is outdated now, given the presence of Red Sun Rising, but it's well done, so give it a look below, and click here to get tickets for just $23.50, which are still available from the seventh row and back on the outside sections!
Also today, Sault Ontario death metal duo Brutally Fatal have finally posted what they're calling their new EP onto the Blood Shed Weekly YouTube channel yesterday! "Blood of the Devil" had been in the works since March but various delays forced it to be cut down to a 15 minute release with 9 songs. As you'd expect from a Blood Shed Productions metal act, these songs tend to be very short, and most of the titles have names I won't repeat here, but it's worth noting that vocals are seemingly used more sparingly than we've seen on past Brutally Fatal recordings, and when we do hear them, they're shouted, not growled. That might appeal to fans of Austin McCrae's old band The Revolution, so keep that in mind! Oddly, the description notes that they "can't remember" who played bass on the tracks, though whether they said that in jest or not is up for debate. Also, keep an ear out for train whistling on the song "Chugga Choo Choo".
No word on when/if this will see a paid and/or physical release, but fans of Brutally Fatal's minimalist metal should be happy, so listen to "Blood of the Devil" if you want below, but keep in mind the provocative song titles!
Finally for today, here's three assorted shorter news items from the last while, and as usual, these are in alphabetical order by artist name:
In news unrelated to this month's Pop Evil show, Allstar Promotions noted on their Facebook page that they confirmed a new show on Friday, which is apparently "one of the biggest shows (they) have done", and Rock 101 will announce the show on Tuesday, with tickets going on sale at Kewadin next Friday. Intriguing, and we'll let you know when it's announced! Also, they are gauging support on Facebook toward potentially bringing British post-grunge quartet Bush (of "Glycerine" & "Machine Head" fame) to Sault Michigan, so if you'd like to see that show, voice up there!
Novelty/clothing retail store chain Spencer's Gifts is coming to The Station Mall, as per their website! Though not directly linked to what we cover at the SMS, I mention it here for two reasons: They sell a large amount of music and band merchandise (metal & punk among them), and there is some speculation on social media that they are taking over HMV's location after they close for good by the end of April. In any event, it's great to have Spencer's opening in Sault Ste. Marie, as it's a fun store full of odd and creative novelty items, so keep watch for it at The Station Mall in the coming months! Also, HMV's liquidation sales are now up to 40% off.
Sault Michigan classical metal project Theatre of Night has posted a new instrumental song to their Reverbnation page entitled "The Drowning", and this is a fuller original with a dark & ethereal ambiance, strong guitar work from Steve Giles, and an orchestral bite that long time fans should easily take to! Give it a listen at the above links, and stay tuned for more from Theatre of Night!
That's all for today, but stay tuned for weekend concert previews next! Thanks everyone!
Today's post will see the last of our weekend concert previews, barring any late notice confirmations, but first, we have some LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (including SHORT NOTICE ones), so here's what you need to know!
Local classic/hard rock cover quartet Mourning Wood will return to The Esquire Club for a pair of headlining concerts TONIGHT & TOMORROW NIGHT! Apologies for the short notice, the band only just announced these shows yesterday via their Facebook event page. Last seen at The Rednecks Saloon two weeks, ago, this will be the first concert weekend for this veteran fan favourite band at The Esquire Club since early February, so keep these shows in mind if you've missed this union of Hollow, Suicide Kings, Rainhorses, and Flat Stanley alumni at the Second Line West venue lately! As usual for Mourning Wood's local concerts, there are 9:30 PM start times in effect, no announced cover charges, and 19+ age limits. For more details, visit the above links, and here's Mourning Wood live earlier this year!
Next up, here's a pair of newly announced shows with lots of advance notice, both at The New American Pub, starting with the local concert debut of Vancouver post punk quartet Blessed on Saturday, May 21st! Fans of Northwest or Gnaeus should dig this band, whose indie-tinged punk originals have taken them to a strong following in recent years, and with a new EP in tow, don't miss out when they hit The New A next month! Local openers will include Brash Gash, a newer local band who you may recognize from a set at the Fishbowl Festival at The Gore Street Cafe. Honest Job's Drew Armstrong is in their lineup, and you may remember them as the band with the elaborate fish mask, but we don't have any other details on their lineup or sound as of this writing. We'll let you know when/if anything is announced! The opening act will be local acoustic punk/grunge solo project Telephone & Address, and Chris should have some strong unplugged originals in store in three weeks' time!
A presentation of Six, Two, Oh. (whose next punk rock bingo installment will be covered in our next news post), this 19+ show has a $5 cover charge, 19+ age limit, and 9:00 PM start time. This should be a fun time for indie and punk fans, so visit the official Facebook event page for more details, and stay tuned for more from Six, Two, Oh. soon!
Also, one of the two recently teased Blood Shed Productions-promoted metal shows has officially had it's venue confirmed, as Winnipeg punk trio Grave Party will make their local concert debut on Monday, June 20th at The New American Pub! This skate punk trio have a lot of fun songs that should attract a good audience at The New A next month with originals from their newest EP "For Dummies", so be sure to give them a listen to see what Grave Party have to offer! Though they are the nominal headliners, Coyote Speedfreaks mainman Chase Wigmore is listed to play after them in a solo set, marking his long awaited return to the stage, and it'll be good to see him back in June! Blood Shed co-founder Tyler Gibson's two local grind/death duos (Rotopsy & Brutally Fatal) lead the opening lineup, with the latter playing their first announced concert of the year in the process, while rap sets from Mikey Thomas and (jointly) Phat Boii and Miracle Man will precede them.
The show will be opened by Jacob "Shit Creek Survivor" Quarrell with a set of folk/indie rock numbers, so come early for his set too! A $4 cover charge is in effect for this 19+ concert (a rarity for a Blood Shed-presented concert event, which are usually all ages), and a 9:00 PM start time is in effect at The New A on June 20th. This should be a fun concert for fans of Blood Shed's goregrind, rap, and alternative acts, with Grave Party delivering some solid skate punk as well, so visit the official Facebook event page for full details!
Finally, here's our last announced concert preview for this weekend, as Calgary hardcore punk quartet The Motherfuckers will make their local concert debut TOMORROW NIGHT with a headlining set at The Oddfellows Hall! This veteran outfit should lay waste to the stage with their fast paces, attitude fueled punk attack during this stop on their Classless Society Tour, so don't miss out tomorrow! The Motherfuckers are on at 10:00 PM, while local punk/metal quintet Jack Spades will return to the stage as co-headliners at 9:30 PM (just a half hour?), as they continue to jack the planet! Local/St. Catharines' grindcore trio Shit Liver will come back home for their first local concert appearance of 2016 when they rock The Oddfellows Hall for the first time in about two years, as they continue the early stretch of their Number Two Tour, so be sure to welcome the guys home in time for their 8:30 PM set! Reunited local extreme metal quartet Winkstinger will play their first show in almost three years tomorrow night with a set at 7:45 PM, which will also see the debuts of new singer Keith Gagnon and new bassist Andrew MacDonald, so don't be late so you can welcome Winkstinger back! The planned late openers were to be new local death metal quintet Kaepora Gaebora, but they were quietly removed from the Facebook event page on Wednesday for unannounced reasons. Hopefully nothing bad happened, as they sound very promising! They've been replaced by the aforementioned Rotopsy in their first Oddfellows set in over a year, so be ready for their goregrind attack tomorrow! Moved from The Algonquin Pub due to ongoing renovations there, this now-ALL AGES event starts at 7:00 PM, and it has a $10 cover charge. This should be a great show, so check the above links for more details, and for a preview, here's The Motherfuckers live! That's all for today, but stay tuned for our review of AlgomA & Chronobot's vinyl split EP next! Thanks everyone!
Today's post largely clears out a bunch of shorter and assorted recent news items, and we'll kick things off with some new videos, starting with a new webseries by Blood Shed Productions, entitled "BreakingSh!tWithBloodShed"! The title implies what you think it implies, with label performers and staff (namely, Blood Shed founders/Brutally Fatal bandmates Tyler Gibson & Austin McCrae, plus rapper Jean-Paul "Phat Boii" Archambault) breaking assorted objects on camera. Two episodes of the series are now on the Blood Shed Weekly YouTube channel, and they include the second episode where a pool table is broken, and the one embedded below where the guys break five chairs. If you're wondering what these have to do with music (aside from who's breaking everything), then you'll want to know that both videos feature new Brutally Fatal songs from their forthcoming CD "Blood of the Devil" as backing music, so fans of the goregrind intensity will like that! The videos themselves are escapist fun, and presumably good stress relief, so check them out above & below!
Next up, here's a new solo acoustic cover from RedStone Riot/ex-Elipzis bassist Ryan Harrison's YouTube channel from Saturday, this time a rendition of Prince's "Purple Rain", in tribute to the music legend following his death last week. Fittingly played "in the key of purple" (and even tinted that colour), it's a strong cover that Prince fans should like, and Ryan's voice is in top emotional form here! Give it a look below!
Finally for today, here's six assorted shorter news items from the last while, and as usual, these are in alphabetical order by artist, event, station, or website name:
Local doom metal trio AlgomA's split vinyl EP with Saskatchewan's Chronobot received a new review from Kai Ellerman of the German metal website XXL-Rock in recent weeks, though it is in German, so you'll need a translator to read it if you don't know that language. Receiving a rating of "L" (keeping with their motif of scoring by clothing sizes, basically meaning a 4/6), Kai favorably recommended the split to fans of Eyehategod and Neurosis, and said that AlgomA's half is "somewhat messy, but has charm." Give the full review a look at this link (but have a translator ready), and stay tuned for our review of the split very soon!
This is more of a housekeeping note, but we had pencilled in a formal write-up today to roll in 2012-2013 local rock band Lazer Queen to our inactive band links finally, as they honestly should have been in our full coverage long ago given their membership & sound, but I discovered yesterday that their Facebook (and only online) page has been deleted. Featuring 3/4ths of Late & Loud alongside The Danger Cats' Kate Drew & Pillory's Bret Shuttleworth, Lazer Queen were a talented band that sadly didn't last too long, but be sure to follow members' more recent work!
The closure of local news/video website Local2 and it's subsequent merger with sister website SooToday was finalized on Monday via this press release, which notes that existing Local2 links will now redirect you to SooToday, and that it's video programming (including Tuned) will largely continue under the SooToday banner, with archive videos also available there. It's a little sad to lose the former SooNews & LTV News after a lengthy run, but this makes sense as SooToday continues it's growth, and we have removed Local2 from our "Other Local Metal Links" as a result!
Local grunge/alternative band The Pixo Control's headlining set on May 5th at the Sky's the Limit mental health fundraiser concert at The Tech will be an acoustic set sans drummer Keeghan Rosso, according to the band's Facebook page last night. A reason for the change wasn't announced, but hopefully it's just as simple as Keeghan not being available that night. This should still be a fun set for fans of Michael's unplugged sets, so keep it in mind for next Thursday, and stay tuned for more on the openers!
The planned Summer Bash! concert at The Rockstar Bar THIS FRIDAY has been indefinitely postponed, as per Gnaeus frontman Aaron Alessandri on the official Facebook event page on Monday. He cited "unforeseen circumstances" and the ongoing renovations at the venue for the postponement, which seems to imply that there's more going on at The Algonquin Hotel than just the downstairs bar (however, note that Kamloops folk band The Decoys are playing there on Saturday, so the "unforeseen circumstances" may be more to blame.) Hopefully Gnaeus, K.I.C.K., and DJ Fuels get a new date soon for the Summer Bash!
Lake Superior State University's campus radio station WLSO (90.1 FM) announced the results of their recent naming contest for their forthcoming online station on their Facebook page on Monday, with the (oddly unidentified) winner's suggestion being The 46th Parallel, referencing the latitude circle that Sault Michigan lies on. It should be noted that the post mentioned that "our station name" will change to that next semester, implying that the FM station will also get the new name, but an extension past the new internet station hasn't been otherwise confirmed. We'll let you know if this is elaborated on at all!
That's all for today, but stay tuned for weekend concert previews on the site tomorrow! Thanks everyone!
Before we get into today's post, we have an apology for a missed concert, as local funk/hard rock quartet The Elements played a special acoustic set at The Sault Theater Workshopthis past Friday as part of a fundraiser to help get the cast & crew of the live stage play Frozen (featuring frontman Rob Speers' wife Christina in a lead role) to the annual Quonta Drama Festival in Sudbury later this week. Though promoted publically in advance, Rob only confirmed The Elements' involvement in a personal Facebook posting on Wednesday that we regrettably missed. Our apologies, we'd have plugged it had we known, and good luck in Sudbury! Now, we have lots of assorted notes and new videos today, so here's what you should know! Remember how defunct local horror punk/metal band Frightlight released their only CD "It's A...Live!" in October 2010? Well, the whole thing is now on YouTube to stream for free! Bassist Mike Gingras (a.k.a. Eddie Fright) posted it on his YouTube channel in May of last year, and it compiles all 6 songs from the live EP, which was recorded at Coch's Corner that July and produced by Nick Jackson at Spacehouse Studios in England. Featuring their then-quartet lineup of Mike/Eddie alongside current Jack Spades frontman J.D. Pearce (or Johnny Pints), guitarist/current Redundant drummer Rick "Styles" White, and ex-Caveman Morrison drummer Jeff "Shrek Ogre" Richards, the EP features the songs "Fright Night", "Rust Angel" (a re-appropriated Fitswitch song), "She Screams", "Dead Town Anywhere", "They All Float", and "C.H.U.D." Frightlight's only album still holds up for fans of their horror punk hybrid, with crisp production and familiar fan favourites!
Also, Mike added some band logos and post-effects to give the songs some visual pop (though curiously, no photos of the band themselves.) Frightlight had a good 5 year run, so relive that by streaming "It's A...Live!" in full below, and apologies for the delay in getting this on the site!
Next up, prolific local drummer Glen Thomas (Mourning Wood, Flat Stanley, The Peace Vibe) posted two metal cover videos onto his YouTube channel last week! Presumably learning these songs for Mourning Wood concerts (though he didn't specifically confirm that), his new covers are of System of a Down's "Chop Suey" and, as embedded below, Metallica's "My Friend of Misery". Glen noted that both aren't perfect, which does show (especially on the S.O.A.D. cover), but it's nice to see him tackle some heavier songs than we tend to see from his solo performance postings, and he's having fun and tackling these with clear skill, so give them a look above & below!
Finally
for today, here's six assorted shorter items from the last while, and as usual, they are in
alphabetical order by band name:
Local death metal duo Brutally Fatal have released the cover art and track listing for their newest planned demo CD, and second with the current lineup, to their Facebook page last month! It will be called "Blood of the Devil", and will feature 18 songs, but due to potentially offensive artwork and song titles, we won't embed either here (though some song names include "Belly of the Beast", "Offensive Track", and "Luck of the Irish".) Good to hear they're still active, so see above for more info if you want!
We have moved local grindcore duo Das Skalpell Kampf to our inactive band links due to a year's inactivity, not having made a band-related posting on their Facebook page
since March 2nd of last year. The mysterious union of Fonzy and Chachi
Grozny notably appeared on Blood Shed Productons' 11-way split CD from
early last year, but that marked the former Scalpel Fight's only major
public activity. Hopefully they turn up again down the road, their songs
were solid for the genre!
Just as a clarification, we can now confirm the full identity of local modern hard rock quartet Eclipse's bassist, as new Facebook postings confirm that his full name is Fred Dunn. The Speak Easy Battle 3rd place finishers had previously credited him as just Fred or Freddy, though either way, I can't find finite info on any past band work. Don't miss Eclipse at the VM Radio Battle of the Bands semifinal on Wednesday!
Prolific local rock/punk bassist James White (Redundant, The Elements, Nikkfitt) is looking for drummers willing to jam with a musical project of his, and to private message him for further details. No word on if this relates to a replacement in one of his active bands, or something new entirely, but message him at this link or via his Musicians Wanted Facebook group post from March 4th for more info!
We have also moved local post-punk/rockabilly duo Orange to our inactive band links due to a year's inactivity, as they haven't posted a public update since a status on their Facebook page on March 9th of last year. The revived project from Telephone & Address' Chris Shoust had planned to release a split album with his other band The Red & Black last year, but aside from song postings on Soundcloud, the band didn't unveil a lot publically otherwise. Chris is talented, and hopefully he and Matt bring Orange back again in the future!
Would you be interested in seeing an all ages Random Killing concert in the Soo this summer? Frontman/Saultite Andrew Kiteley (Dutch Angus on Facebook) was weighing interest in the idea on this local concert Facebook group on Monday, and while there have been affirmative replies since, weigh in above if you want the Toronto hardcore punk veterans to roll back north for another Hardcore Homecoming this summer!
That's all for today, but stay tuned for more news and notes as this week rolls along! Thanks everyone!
Before we launch our new poll on the SMS, here's one more news post on this Monday morning, including some assorted recent notes, new videos from a pair of diverse local artists, and first, a LOCAL CONCERT ALERT for next month! Here's what you should know!
Local classic metal quintet Project 421 will play a solo headlining concert at The Rockstar Bar on Friday, February 5th! Their second solo show without extra bands (but first at this venue), this joins their first solo gig at The Rednecks Saloon this Friday, and it will be their first at The Rockstar Bar since New Year's Eve. It remains to be seen how Project 421's first toe into the solo cover weekend waters goes, but it's good to see this popular band increasing their concert frequency, and hopefully there's a great turnout at The Rockstar Bar in two & a half weeks for their old school metal renditions! There is a $5 cover charge advertised for February 5th, you must be 19 or older to attend, and there's a 10:00 PM start time in effect. For more details, visit the official Facebook event page! This should be a solid concert full of classic metal, so keep it in mind for next month, and don't miss Project 421's first solo gig at Rednecks on Friday!
Next up, here's some new video finds, including the latest from local death metal duo Brutally Fatal! The Blood Shed Productions project from Crucify The Whore and Revolution alumni had been relatively quiet since the summer, but things picked up earlier this month when they revealed on their Facebook page that they'd be recording a new EP of some type within the next two weeks. That was posted on January 7th, but it's not publically clear if any recording sessions have begun yet. They followed that with a video upload of newly remastered versions of two songs from their 2013 release "Acidic Sky's", namely "Cold Pulse" & "Drowning In Poison", so how do they sound now? Similar but louder and cleaner, and fans should enjoy these versions! Just to clarify, remember that Brutally Fatal (then spelled with one L in "Brutaly") began as a solo project from frontman Austin McCrae, hence the minimalist bass & vocals-only sound. Check out more from Brutally Fatal above and below!
Also today, here's a new video of Leaked drummer Nic Buckner that was uploaded to Mannapool guitarist Korey Deluca's YouTube channel in October! Recorded at Deluca Sound Productions, this video is of Nic drumming along to Ryan Holliday's "Blinded" before playing a drum solo with no backing track, and he performs strongly in both settings! The description notes that Nic filmed the videos as part of an application to play with a travelling youth outreach band that would play at American schools, and while I'm unsure if he got that gig, this video is well shot and demonstrates his ability nicely! Give it a look below!
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:
Project 421 bassist Daniel Horton is looking for 3 or 4 bands to play a Valentine's
Day-themed show on Friday, February 12th (venue unclear), with
preference to bands who have "some dance music or upbeat tunes", maybe
even love songs. In case this will have a hard rock presence, I thought
I'd mention it here, so message Daniel at this link or via his Musicians Wanted Facebook group post by the Tuesday deadline if you want in, or if you want to play on any other future shows that he's working on!
A celebration of life concert for late That's Chester guitarist Eugene Orlando will be held at The Water Tower Pub on Thursday, March 3rd! Though advertised as being headlined by his classic rock band Agave Blue, the Facebook event page notes that it'll feature Eugene's longtime bandmate Gabe Tessaro alongside That's Chester frontman Greg Simpson in a joint acoustic set with special guests. It's odd that this tribute concert is taking place so late after Eugene's passing, but hopefully there's a huge response on March 3rd, and see above for updates as they roll in!
We have moved local experimental metal project The Strange Coyotes back to our inactive band links due to a year's inactivity. A throwback post aside, the band hasn't issued any public updates since December 2014, and hasn't played live since November of that year, shortly into a brief reunion. The Strange Coyotes were an entertaining band that had a lot of promise and creativity, but lineup changes and lengthy hiatuses didn't help matters. Best of luck to Chase, James, and Mike in the future, and hopefully we see them back again down the road!
That's all for today, but stay tuned for much more as the week progresses! Thanks everyone!
The next few days will be devoted to concert previews around here, as one of the busiest concert weekends of the year is upon us, largely thanks to Rotaryfest, but we'll start today with previews of shows largely taking place tonight or tomorrow, with Rotaryfest, Saturday nighters, and possible late notice shows to follow, so don't worry! Let's kick off our previews (including new videos from one of the featured bands), starting with a SHORT NOTICE LOCAL CONCERT ALERT!
Local alternative hard rock trio The Pixo Control will play a pre-Rotaryfest warm up concert TOMORROW NIGHT at LopLops Lounge! Apologies for the short notice, this show was announced on the official Facebook event page on Sunday, but we held it for our previews to avoid a redundant post too soon. A day out from their Second Stage debut on Saturday, this rising young band should have another solid evening of grungy originals in store for fans at LopLops TOMORROW, so don't miss them this weekend before their mini-tour of Southern Ontario! Note that Gnaeus drummer Brendan Garlick hints that the post-punk quartet (and Second Stage headliners) are also playing at LopLops tomorrow on the event page, which the venue liked, but this hasn't been officially confirmed elsewhere. If it is, we'll let you know, but they'd be a natural fit! A 9:00 PM door opening time is announced for this 19+ concert, which doesn't have a listed cover charge, but bring cash just in case. For more details, check the above links, and here's The Pixo Control live at LopLops!
Moving to previously announced concerts, local acoustic hard rock musician Tym Morrison will continue his current weekly concert arrangements with matinees at Gliss Steak & Seafood TONIGHT, TOMORROW, and SATURDAY NIGHT, and shows at The Harp Bar & Grill TOMORROW & SATURDAY NIGHT! Though Tym isn't a Rotaryfest regular, you can get your cover hard rock action at multiple venues this weekend like usual, with his Gliss matinees back for all three days following an abbreviated double header last week, but if you want regular nighttime shows, the former Madison's Pub is where you'll want to be for the longtime Caveman Morrison frontman's entertaining rock classics! Note that, as of this writing, Tym hasn't posted Facebook event pages for his shows this weekend, but all 5 shows are confirmed via SooToday's entertainment page, so Facebook confirmation is likely coming.
As usual, the Gliss shows start at 6:00 PM with the Harp shows at 10:00 PM, the former have no announce age limits and the latter are 19+, and none of them have an announced cover charge, but remember that Gliss is a restaurant. Hopefully Tym has a great weekend of shows, and keep them in mind if you want more music after Rotaryfest! For a preview, here's Tym a few years back!
Also this weekend, local metal promoters Heavy North Entertainment are back for their first public concert in a few months, as Saskatchewan "gutter thrash" quartet The Man & His Machine will headline a public house party concert TOMORROW NIGHT! Harbouring an aggressive, gritty, and brutal sound, T.M.H.M.'s originals should help fans get some solid pits going tomorrow, so don't miss them if you plan on going! They're on at 10:00 PM, while an band to be announced will apparently close the show at 11:00 PM, though we have no confirmation yet (for reference, Crucify The Whore "and more" are listed on the poster, but not the Facebook event page's schedule.) The Blood Shed Productions-heavy roster of local opening acts will include goregrind duo Rotopsy at 9:00 PM, thrash/grind trio Them at 8:00 PM, death metal duo Brutally Fatal at 7:30 PM, and rappers Phat Boii, Miracle Man, and the newer Killah Kai (who has played at least one prior Blood Shed event) splitting the opening set at 6:50 PM.
Located at 124 Anna Street (the site of the Shit Liver house show earlier this year), admission will be via a $2 minimum donation, and yes, it is ALL AGES! This should be a fun show if you love Heavy North Entertainment, Blood Shed Productions, and this younger crop of goregrind and death metal bands, so don't miss out TOMORROW if this is your thing, and for a preview, here's The Man & His Machine live!
Lastly for this first preview post, two more Rotaryfest performers will join forces TOMORROW NIGHT at The Rockstar Bar, when local hard rock quartet Long Shot and local punk quartet Stereo North take the stage once again! The second half of The Rockstar Bar's split sequels to last month's Summer Bash event, this will be both band's last shows before making their Rotaryfest debuts on Saturday afternoon, with Long Shot playing on the main stage and Stereo North hitting the returning Second Stage (and yes, previews of both are forthcoming!) Also of note, this will be Long Shot's first show following drummer Jeremy Ganeulas' presumed return from his overseas trip, so welcome him back in style tomorrow as well! For reference, there's no official confirmation or event page from The Rockstar Bar to confirm this show, but both bands have acknowledged it on their own Facebook pages, albeit with the consequence that I don't know who's headlining.
There's no announced cover charge tomorrow night (but bring cash just in case), you must be 19 to attend, and a 10:00 PM start time is likely. For a preview, we have some newer videos of Stereo North that we've never shared here, and apologies for the delay since March for us to acknowledge them! One comes from their debut set at The Bon Soo Marquee at Mill Square in February, of the end of their set-closing cover of A Flock Of Seagulls' "I Ran", which gives more of an angle of the stage and setup at the new location, and again, the turnout was 100% improved from last year! The vertical cell phone camera angle is what it is, but the audio's solid! The other videos are from their semifinal set at the VM Radio Battle of the Bands in March, including the end of their cover of The Rolling Stones' "Paint It Black" (mainly to showcase drummer Brett Norton's song & set-ending intensity) and, as embedded below, Blur's "Song 2".
These short videos were shot from the stage's corner (so supports and speakers do get in the way), but the audio's nice, and the guys are on form for their punked up covers, so check everything out above and below, and don't miss Long Shot & Stereo North TOMORROW at The Rockstar Bar or SATURDAY at Rotaryfest!
That's all for now, but stay tuned for our extended preview of Rotaryfest's First Stage later today! Thanks everyone!
