Another Local Metal/Punk Video Showcase!!

For our final news post of 2020, we're looking at some recent video uploads from a bunch of familiar faces from the local scene, including a few more belated Christmas-themed performances, and we'll start with a new old video from Sault Michigan classical metal quintet Theatre of Night in concert! Of course, their fourth annual Christmas concert tour did not take place in 2020 for painfully obvious reasons, but in a presumed Christmas Eve olive branch for fans on their YouTube channel, they did post a new-to-us video of them playing their set-opener "What Child Is This?" during the tour finale at The Park Theatre in Holland (40 minutes west of Grand Rapids) last year! If you want to see the whole concert from this night, click here, but this is from a separate camera that's closer to the stage. This is a very proficient and grand rendition from Theatre of Night that should help put you in the Christmas spirit, even 4 days late, so give it a watch below!

Next up, let's head north to Sault Ontario for new videos from three familiar punk musicians, starting with Northwest guitarist Greg Callaghan, who was the special musical guest on a performance video uploaded by the Toronto-based podcast series Backyard Variety Tour's YouTube channel on Christmas Eve. Sadly, Greg couldn't host his usual Christmas Open Mic event at Coch's Corner this year (we all know why), but maybe this will help make up some of the difference! Introduced by podcast host Ian Pozz, Greg plays an 18 minute set of four Christmas deep cuts here, so if you don't want to hear the same old carols, this should do the trick. In order, Greg covers Tom Waits' "Christmas Card From A Hooker In Minneapolis", John Prine's "Christmas In Prison", Gordon Lightfoot's "Song For A Winter's Night", and to fill out the punk quota, The Pogues' "Fairytale Of New York" with his girlfriend Amanda Kemp joining in on vocals.

Greg offers some context about the first three songs in between, and I do like that he didn't do the same old carols here, even if some are decidedly darker than you'd expect! The close camera angle from a low angle is a little odd, and the audio quality on this camera isn't amazing, but Greg sings and plays capably on these covers, and he and Amanda harmonize well! Give it a look below, and here's hoping for a better year for Northwest & Greg ahead!

Also, here's a new video of former Brain Tuel guitarist Zach Reid playing an instrumental cover of Nat King Cole's "The Christmas Song", via an arrangement by Bruce French, as uploaded to his YouTube channel last week. Soft and intricate performance from a tight camera angle, this should put readers in a belated Christmas spirit, so give it a watch below!

Finally, let's close things on a non-seasonal note via a new song from Inner City Surfers bassist Brad Example's YouTube channel! While Brad's solo material has largely been of an acoustic folk rock bent, this song does feature his long-time Surfers/Role Models bandmate Dave Bahun, and this does share some thematic similarities with softer Surfers songs. Entitled "Girl Next Door" and set to footage of a shadowbox theater with lyric track, this song works well pairing Brad's raspy vocals and Dave's strong melodic guitar licks, so fans will want to give it a listen below!

That's all for today, but stay tuned for our 2020 year-in-review post by Thursday! Thanks everyone!

New Facebook Performance Videos From Northwest Members & The Isolation Sessions!!

Today's post is devoted just to recent Facebook videos from familiar local musicians stuck at home, and we're leading off with 2/5ths of indie punk quintet Northwest in their own separate performances! First off, let's talk about this video of frontman Wayne Watkins covering Brown Brigade frontman Chuck Coles' solo song "Bottom of a Well", as posted to Northwest's Facebook page yesterday morning. I wasn't familiar with the song going in, but Wayne's raw and direct take is well performed, so fans will want to give this acoustic rendition a watch below!



Next up, many readers may be familiar with Northwest guitarist Greg Callaghan's lengthy run as a solo musician and open mic night host, which largely diverts from his punk band work into a widely varied general playlist. Leading from that, Greg has teamed with Northern Superior Brewing Co. (where he has performed multiple times in their Taproom) to play a regular series of "Songs & A Six-Pack" live-streamed concerts that the brewery is sponsoring. Greg didn't specify what kind of schedule these will drop on, but the first one was streamed on Greg's Facebook page last night, and there are a few punk songs included! Running for 2 hours, Greg covered Raffi's "Baby Beluga", Bruce Springsteen's "Atlantic City", Bill Withers' "Lean On Me", Tom Petty's "Wildflowers", The Wonders' "That Thing You Do!", NSYNC's "Bye Bye Bye", The Outfield's "Your Love", Spirit of the West's "Home For A Rest", Tom Petty's "I Won't Back Down", The Band's "The Weight", ...

...The Beatles' "Norwegian Wood", Bruce Springsteen's "Dancing In The Dark", NOFX's "Linoleum", Bob Dylan's "Changing of the Guards", Johnny Cash's "I Walk The Line", Toto's "Africa", Radiohead's "Creep", Billy Joel's "She's Always A Woman", Neil Young's "Heart of Gold", Jack Johnson's "Better Together", Oasis' "Wonderwall", Creedence Clearwater Revival's "Have You Ever Seen The Rain", Leonard Cohen's "Hallelujah", Bill Withers' "Ain't No Sunshine", The Tragically Hip's "Boots or Hearts", Jodi Benson's "Part of Your World", and Lagwagon's "Razor Burn". Sponsorship-wise, Greg does promote Northern Superior's selection of beer at certain points between songs, as well as off the top, and click here for details on the brewery's delivery services during the pandemic. Largely covering songs requested by fans and live viewers, Greg has a strong handle on a wide variety of covers, and his distinctively deep singing adds another dimension to the songs on offer!

Of course, it'd be nice to hear more punk tunes, but requests were a huge component, so if you want to influence the setlist in that regard, tune in next time Greg breaks out a "Songs & A Six-Pack" live-stream... maybe this coming Friday? Time will tell, but stream Greg's full set below!



Finally for today, here's a new video from new local acoustic hard rock project The Isolation Sessions, as uploaded to their Facebook page on Thursday! A cover of Fuel's "Bad Day", this audio-only cover had it's parts recorded separately by Jordan & Arthur due to social distancing, and they were combined in post (albeit with a free trial video program.) The guitar sounds a little distorted, but the cover is well done with solid vocal emotion, and it's great to see the guys adapting to the odd times! Give it a look below!



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

LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (Soo Zombie Walk & Mourning Wood) And Sault Ontario Weekend Concert Previews!!

Let's get back into the swing of things with the first of this weekend's concert previews, including SHORT NOTICE LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS, including a big returning event! Sault Michigan previews and any even-later notice concerts will come in out next post, either tonight or tomorrow, so don't worry, they are coming! Now, here's what you need to know!

Local classic/hard rock cover quartet Mourning Wood will return to The Rednecks Saloon for one night only TOMORROW NIGHT! Apologies for the short notice, the band only announced the show via their official Facebook event page earlier this week. Playing at the former Nicolet Tavern for the first time since last month's Garth Brooks tribute afterparty, Mourning Wood has indicated that "the full band" will be back for TOMORROW'S show, implying that their last few gigs there were shorthanded (though I thought all 4 members played last month.) No word on why this is a one-night-only concert though, which is reasonably unusual for them, though if it's due to a Saturday night booking elsewhere, it hasn't been publically announced. You can take in Mourning Wood's varied and often heavy blend of covers TOMORROW at 10:00 PM, there's no announced cover charge, and you must be 19 or older to attend. See above for more details, and here's Mourning Wood live!



Next up, the musical contingent for this year's Soo Zombie Walk afterparty has finally been announced, as local alternative punk/blues veterans Sykotyk Rampage, Northwest guitarist Greg Callaghan, and Stereo North frontman Andrew Pucci will be rocking out at The Canadian Bushplane Heritage Center THIS SATURDAY prior to the walk! Apologies again for the short notice, organizers didn't publically confirm any performers until Tuesday on the Facebook event page, much later than usual. For this eighth annual local Zombie Walk (and fourth straight at the Bushplane Museum), local zombies of ALL AGES will patrol downtown for brains and to combat the resistance, so click here for full details on events in regard to the walk proper and how to get involved! This year's music lineup will be familiar as well, with Sykotyk Rampage and Greg making their sixth & fourth straight appearances at the annual Halloween season event, with Sykotyk Rampage's involvement being especially notable as this will be their first public local concert since last year's Zombie Walk! Only Andrew is new, and if you're familiar with Stereo North, you'll know his vocal & guitar talent!

It's been way too long to see Sykotyk Rampage back on a local stage, so if you've missed them in 2016, be at the zombie walk on Saturday for their crash music! No word though on if their set will be acoustic again or not. Also, there are no online references to an afterparty for this year's Zombie Walk, and if there is no afterparty, it would mark the first walk without one since the inaugural event in 2009. For reference, last year's afterparty took place at Coch's Corner, which also hosted 2010 & 2013's afterparties, and it featured the same music lineup as the pre-walk festivities had. If anything is confirmed regarding an afterparty, we'll let you know! Sykotyk Rampage are on last on SATURDAY at 5:00 PM, with Greg and Andrew playing at 4:30 & 4:00 PM respectively, and their sets sandwich children's and adult's brain eating contests. After orientation and rules, the walk itself will take place from 6:00-7:00 PM, with award presentations following upon return to the museum.

Admission to this year's Soo Zombie Walk is $3 with a canned good donation (kids under 10 only need a canned good), while click here for full details on waiver and registration forms, particularly if you're underage. While the music announcements are on short notice and with some lingering questions (re: the afterparty), there's a fun lineup in store, including the long awaited local concert return of Sykotyk Rampage, so whether you're hungry for brains or just want to enjoy some live punk music, be at The Bushplane Museum on Saturday! For a preview, here's Sykotyk Rampage live!

Finally, we'll close with prolific local hard rock singer/guitarist Tym Morrison's previously announced concerts, as he is scheduled to return to Gliss Steak & Seafood for three more acoustic solo concerts TONIGHT, TOMORROW, and SATURDAY! With the month of October winding along, Tym's three-peat of weekly concerts at The Quality Inn's restaurant should be another reliable and reserved attraction for fans this weekend, so keep Tym's latest unplugged shows in mind for some acoustic hard rock cover action! Remember, he is playing at Gliss next weekend, in case you want some Halloween weekend plans. As usual for Tym's long-term arrangement at Gliss, tonight, tomorrow, and Saturday's shows are 6:00 PM matinee events with no announced cover charges or age limits, but remember where these are being held. Visit the official Facebook event page for more details, and here's Tym Morrison live a few years back!



That's all for today, but stay tuned for Sault Michigan weekend concert previews and more next! Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERT (X-Mess 2), A New Interview, And Much More!!

Before we get to this post, here's another apology for a missed Mourning Wood concert, as they plugged Reggie's West shows for Friday night & last night on their Facebook page, but they didn't confirm a day for the shows in the first post, and we had no time plug the latter on here once we heard about it. Our sincere apologies, but don't miss them TODAY at Toystock! Now, here's one more post before we head to Toystock (and take care of concert reviews from the weekend), including assorted updates, new videos, and a LOCAL CONCERT ALERT, so here's what you need to know!

Local concert promoter J.D. Pearce will host a second annual X-Mess acoustic punk concert on Saturday, December 20th at The Algonquin Pub! Some of you guys may remember that this event originated at the LopLops Lounge last year (no word on why it moved this year), but like then, there will be a number of unplugged punk-leaning acts playing for the Christmas season, and after last year's positive reception, it's no surprise that we're getting a second go-round! Two performers are currently confirmed for X-Mess 2, including Northwest guitarist "Evil" Greg Callaghan (who played last year) and a presumably one-off band named Sleigher (formerly Mistlechode), whose lineup will be comprised of yet-identified Jack Spades members. Could they bear similarities to drummer Johnny Belanger's recent acoustic sets, just an unplugged Jack Spades set with seasonal music, or something else entirely? Find out on December 20th!

At least one more act is to be confirmed, but for reference, the artists last year included Greg, The Danger Cats, Bankshot alum Lucas Schmiedendorf (as "Dr. Sal Velinus"), and a one off band named The Debts featuring Jay Case, Jake Rendell, and Ryan Seabrook. This show has a 10:00 PM start time on the 20th, there's a $5 cover charge, and you must be 19 to attend, though no word yet on if there will be a recommendation to wear ugly Christmas sweaters again. For more details, visit the official Facebook event page, and stay tuned for more info on this intriguing second X-Mess!

Next up, here's a neat new interview with former Woods of Ypres guitarist Joel Violette which features some insights and remarks on his run as the local blackened doom metal band's final lead guitarist! Conducted by phone with the YouTube interview series Behind The Screams (which focuses on metal singers), the interview largely focuses on Joel's current black metal band Thrawsunblat (who feature all surviving members of Woods of Ypres' last lineup), but there are three chunks of the 54 minute interview that Woods fans will be especially interested in! Around 10 minutes into the interview, Joel discusses the songwriting process & his contributions to their last CD "Woods V: Grey Skies & Electric Light" and the band's shift to a Type O Negative-inspired sound, wherein he also noted that he and late frontman David Gold planned to have most of the album ready for live concerts (with "Lightning & Snow" planned as a set opener), but the band obviously never got to that point before David's passing.

About 31 minutes in, Joel indicated that when Thrawsunblat begin playing live (which is an eventual goal), they'll likely play at least one Woods of Ypres song in their set, and he even demoed a black metal version of Woods' doom ballad "Finality" on air to show how it might sound. Lastly, at around 46 minutes in, he addressed when he began listening to Woods and the impact and recognition that followed their signing with Earache Records in 2010. Great interview overall, and it's nice to see Joel open up about Thrawsunblat too and the writing and processes for their albums and next material, so check it out below!

Also today, Theatre of Night keyboardist Craig Harrison has uploaded a pair of new videos onto the band's YouTube channel over the past few days! One video takes fans behind the scenes to the writing process for the Sault Michigan classical metal band, basically showing Craig playing a short solo composition on the keyboard which is presumably for a Theatre of Night original. Well done, though obviously not what the full song would sound like, so give it a look above! Embedded below though is a cover of Bon Jovi's "Bed of Roses" that Craig posted on the band's channel, and it might be of extra note to fans of his old '80s metal cover band Dust 'N Bones! Featuring vocals and keyboard only, it's a well done version of this hair metal ballad with strong vocals (though no word on why it's in black & white) so give it a look below, and stay tuned for more from Theatre of Night!



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

• Local musician Chris Raginskis is once again looking to start a band with him on vocals and/or rhythm guitar. He's focusing on Volbeat, Skillet, and some punk for preferred genres. It'd be nice to see Chris finally get a band going, so message him at this link or via his Musicians Wanted Facebook group post on November 20th!
• Last week, local funk/hard rock quartet The Elements revealed on their Facebook page that they'll be taking a break from concerts so they can write some original songs. That should be cool, and well be sure to welcome them back to the stage when the time is right!
• Newer local grunge/punk duo The Red & Black uploaded a new song to their Bandcamp page last week entitled "Not The Only One"! It's a short and somewhat sludgy original, but it's not yet clear if they plan to include it on their announced debut CD. Check it out at the above links though, and stay tuned fo more!

That's all for now, but I'll see you guys TODAY at Toystock, and remember, our Bear Hunters CD release show review is coming! Thanks everyone!

Soo Zombie Walk 2014 Concert Review!!

Hey guys, it's now time for our review of yesterday's band portion of the sixth annual Soo Zombie Walk, but also be sure to check out this morning's new news post featuring lots of recent updates in the post below this one! In terms of the event itself, this was my first Zombie Walk that I've attended in full since 2011 (I only saw the bands due to a cold in 2012, and scheduling conflicts with The Ripcordz threw a wrench into last year), so I can now attest to how things have changed and grown since the Grand Theatre days. Like last year, the Zombie Walk was held at The Canadian Bushplane Heritage Centre, which opened up the event to a far larger space for activities, which included numerous local vendors selling food, jewelry, art, crafts, and much more along the outer walls. There were games for kids, photo sessions, face painting, and between the bands, Jell-O brain eating contests. I also wanted to mention before we got too deep into the review that there was an official Zombie Walk afterparty last night... it was just far removed from what it used to be.

According to a poster at their booth, one (or maybe both?) of the Wacky Wings' in town hosted this year's afterparty, but it appears to have been strictly an afterparty with a costume contest and free virgin Bloody Marys. No bands that I know of, but Wacky Wings isn't known as a concert venue. Advance marketing for the walk didn't touch on the afterparty, but I apologize for missing it on here!

Opening yesterday's pre-walk music was Northwest guitarist Greg Callaghan (credited online as Greg Calhoun) in his second straight solo appearance at the Zombie Walk, and it's been too long since I've seen him playing an acoustic set like this, so how'd things go? He played a wide variety of covers, ranging from artists like Danzig and Dio to Michael Jackson and David Bowie, and he adapted some decidedly un-acoustic songs to that format with relative ease! All of the songs too dealt with dark and horror themes, going with the themes of the event. If you've seen Greg's solo sets before, you'll know exactly what you got, and his deep singing voice contrasted his guitar talents well, though the crowd was only mildly receptive, though you can't expect a nightclub or crowd reaction given the family nature of the walk. Solid set, and hopefully we hear more from Greg and Northwest soon!

Second yesterday was the original crash band, Sykotyk Rampage, marking their return to the stage after 5 months away! Despite this being their first show back since the unveiling of their newest "albums", their set was more themed around zombies and the family friendly themes of the event, so they eschewed adult language and beer references in their songs, instead adapting lyrics for most to reflect zombies, brain eating, and so forth (i.e. "Drinking on the Weekend" became "Eat Brains on the Weekend"). That's par for the course for Sykotyk Rampage Zombie Walk sets, but now that I've seen them play to the pre-walk family crowd, I can tell that their live show loses a lot of energy when they can't be their usual 19+ selves. Musically, the guys sounded good though, and while guitarist Dirk Becker didn't take any lead vocal spots, bassist Tony Briglio did channel his inner Lemmy for a surprise cover of Motorhead's "Killed By Death", and even brought his brand new stand-up bass for the first few songs! Good stuff overall, but for the real sykotyk experience, come see them on Halloween!

And headlining the band portion of the pre-battle events was local grunge/alternative quartet Haggith in their first set of the fall, and true to form, their set was themed around songs from their 2012 album "Apocalypse" and it's sequel, which is still planned to come out on Tuesday (no, advance copies weren't available yesterday.) Their 10 song set featured six tracks from the first CD (like "Red Car" and "Days") plus four from "Apocalypse II", including all previously unveiled songs from their YouTube channel and the brand new "Hands of Death". Most of these songs aren't commonly heard at recent Haggith shows (fans may be most familiar with "If You Get Out Alive"), but if you know the "Apocalypse" series well, you'll know that these songs are more intricate, simplistic, and downbeat, but the guys handled them well, and it was nice to see Curtis and Daniel in zombie/Joker makeup!

Also, this was the first time I've see Haggith since James White replaced Caleb Cachagee on bass, and he fit in just fine with the guys, but I'll get a fuller sense of how he fits in when the guys play other common originals at The Oddfellows Hall on Thursday. Though I prefer Haggith's heavier and more lively songs, it was nice hearing some older tracks again, and stay tuned for updates on the "Apocalypse II" release! As for the Zombie walk itself, we all left the Bushplane Museum and went down Bay Street until hitting Russ Ramsay Way/Brock Street, then heading down Queen Street (passing the old Zombie Walk home, The Grand Theater, in the midst of their anime/cosplay convention), before finishing on Pim Street back to the museum. The zombie resistance gathered in the lawn outside of the library to take on the zombie horde, and it's safe to say there was some good battles! I will concede however that the walk seemed shorter than it did when it started at The Grand (but that could just be my adjusting to the format), and the earlier timeslots did take away from the ambiance, as the walk seemed to be cooler when it was at night.

The walk ended with prizes awarded to the best costumes for zombies and resistance fighters (kids and adults alike) which included custom trophies and skull candy dishes, and congratulations to the Big Bird zombie above for winning the adult zombie prize! Myself, I went as a zombie hipster (no offense to the hipster culture was implied, it was all in good fun!), and it was fun to get back into the walk again after three years! As for the bands, they were all solid and fit the themes of the day, but I will say this: Something is lost when you move punk and hard rock bands from a 19+ post-walk afterparty to a pre-walk family-friendly event. I have a feeling that all of yesterday's bands would have been better served to headline a proper afterparty like the Zombie Walk had from 2010-2012, but also have music and bands before the battle too so that there's entertainment for the families. Basically, let us have our cake and eat it too! I do hope to be back at next year's Zombie Walk, but I'm already debating whether to be a zombie, or join the resistance... time will tell!

Check local news media for fallout from the walk itself (we'll let you know if anyone covered the bands), and the zombie/resistance photos above are courtesy of Kenneth Armstrong's SooToday article on the walk. We got plenty of photos of the bands that you can see at this link or at our Facebook page, and as for videos, here's Greg Callaghan covering Warren Zevon's "Werewolves of London", Sykotyk Rampage playing "Zombie Hunter" ("Disbeliever" with zombie lyrics), and Haggith playing their new song "Hands of Death"! (Note that the embedded videos below still work when clicked on, I don't know why they don't show a thumbnail image right now. Just in case, I've labelled each.)

Greg Callaghan - Werewolves of London

Sykotyk Rampage - Zombie Hunter (a.k.a. Disbeliever)

Haggith - Hands of Death

That's all for today, but stay tuned for more news this week as we approach a stacked Halloween weekend for concerts! Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERT (Soo Zombie Walk) & Haggith Updates!!

Barring some more late notice show announcements, we'll close this weekend's hard rock & punk concert previews today with a SHORT NOTICE LOCAL CONCERT ALERT concerning a well anticipated annual event's band lineup for this year! At the end of the post though, we also have some added updates from one of the bands at said event, so read on below to get caught up for the weekend!

The band lineup for this year's sixth annual Soo Zombie Walk TOMORROW has finally been officially announced, so now we can detail this year's musical entertainment! Apologies for the short notice, organizers only just detailed the bands this weekend on the walk's website, and we held our announcement of them for this weekend's previews. Like last year, the Zombie Walk (which will see many Saultites dressed as the undead and roaming downtown for brains) will return to The Canadian Bushplane Heritage Centre, and once again, bands will be rocking out pre-battle at the museum as part of the expanded event schedule at it's current location. If you liked last year's zombie walk bands, you'll enjoy this year's lineup, as every act (save for James Watterworth) is returning to entertain the zombies, with local grunge/alternative quartet Haggith returning for their third straight zombie walk set, and first public concert appearance of the fall!

With this talented band's upcoming CD "Apocalypse II" nearing release, look for more zombie-themed originals from that and it's predecessor in their set! Also, local "blue Chinese metal crash punk" quartet Sykotyk Rampage will join them for their fourth straight zombie walk set, and their first local concert appearance in 5 months! The Beckers and company should entertain with their crash rock sounds, and they have plenty of new material to source from for their set, so don't miss their first set of the fall tomorrow! Northwest guitarist Greg Callaghan (again credited as Greg Calhoun) will also return from last year for a solo opening set, and while it remains to be seen if his set will be "evil" like in some past appearances, he should have some entertaining covers in store to kick things off! According to a conversation with Sykotyk Rampage's Dirk Becker, they and Haggith have switched places from the announced timeslots, so Haggith are apparently headlining at around 4:00 PM, with Sykotyk Rampage on at 3:00 PM & Greg Callaghan on at 2:00 PM.

For the rest of the schedule (which includes brain eating contests, food, vendors, face panting, photos, and games) from the 2:00 PM opening until 5:00 PM, click here, while the walk itself will take place from 5:00-6:00 PM on Pim, Queen, Brock, and Bay Streets, starting and ending at the Bushplane Museum (click here for the full map.) Admission will be $2 plus a non-perishable food donation, while kids 12 and under just have to bring a food donation to enter. For more details, visit the above links! It should also be noted that no official Zombie Walk pages for this year make mention of an afterparty, so it's looking like this will be the first year since the inaugural walk in 2009 where there wasn't an afterparty, which admittedly took a back seat to the new expanded afternoon lineup after the event moved from The Grand Theater last year. The Zombie Walk is always a fun addition to the Halloween calendar, and I just hope organizers have worked out the kinks from last year after all of the changes (particularly the confusion regarding when the walk itself actually began.)

As last year's walk moved to the Halloween weekend, it conflicted with the Ripcordz concert that night, so I only went to the one event, but as it's back on the weekend before J.D.'s party this year, I can definitely return for the zombie walk tomorrow! It will be great to join the walking dead once again, and to take in some artists I haven't seen in a while too, so I hope to see you fellow zombies there, and for a preview, here's Haggith live last month!



Closing today's post, we'll touch on some more news from the aforementioned Haggith, including news on their upcoming CDs "XIV" and "Apocalypse II"! At this point, it's looking like the latter concept sequel album will be out first, as the band revealed on their Facebook page last week that it will be released this coming Tuesday (October 28th) for $5, and copies can be pre-ordered via their online store. Additional streaming media and sale availability is to be announced, but I'm a bit surprised that they aren't rushing the release for tomorrow given their Zombie Walk involvement and the CD's zombie themes (maybe there's a surprise in store?) The release date for "XIV" (whose name refers to it's release this year, thanks Curt!) is to be determined, but the store above referenced an October 14th date that has since came & went, though whether or not drummer Mike Haggith's recent personal break was a factor isn't stated. Given it's impending release, is "Apocalypse II" next for a CD review on the site?

I'd have to say it's not going to be reviewed next, mostly because it's a sequel to a prior concept album, so it'd be a disservice to the story to cover them out of order. That said, the original "Apocalypse" from 2012 isn't new and doesn't have precedence in our queue for that reason, so Northwest's new EP is still most likely for November. However, if the non-concept "XIV" comes out next month, then that's likely next, but I'll keep you guys posted in any case! We'll leave you guys with this short 12 second cell phone video from Haggith's Facebook page on Saturday of singer Curtis McKenzie singing his track from one of the band's upcoming originals. Sounds good, but stay tuned for more updates as the weeks progress!



That's all for today, but stay tuned for a new news post tomorrow, and of course, we'll see you guys at the Zombie Walk tomorrow! Thanks everyone!

The Crusade Review, Plus A Band's Surprise Debut, And A Concert Cancellation!!

Hey guys, it's time for my review of last night's cancer fundraising concert The Crusade, but first, we have a notable concert cancellation, as next week's Brains/Frightlight show has been cancelled. Promoter/opener J.D. "Johnny Pints" Pearce cited scheduling and routing for the cancellation on his promotion agency's Facebook group, but he hopes to bring The Brains back during their next tour run. This is definitely disappointing, especially as the show would have marked Frightlight's return after 7 months off of the stage, but we'll still see Redundant at The Oddfellows Hall next week, and hopefully horror punk and psychobilly fans will get a makeup date soon! However, J.D.'s most recent concert was last night, and it was announced that at least $300 was raised for local cancer charities at the event! (However, there were no vendor tables that I could tell, beyond Haggith's merchandise area.) The crowd was sort of sparse, but on a school night at the end of the holiday weekend, that may have been expected somewhat. Also to note, the lineup order was almost completely shuffled, with one band replacement, but we'll approach everything as we go, so here's my reviews and thoughts of each of last night's acts!

Opening last night's concert was returning local death metal quartet Crimson Crusade in their first live concert appearance in six months, and if there was some stage rust, it didn't really show! Their set included original songs like "Here We Lay", "Pillage", and "For Him" (among others), plus covers of Death's "Pull The Plug" and "Crystal Mountain", and like their last show, the Death influences were clear as day! Devon Lucier's vocal resemblance to Chuck Schuldiner is still impressive, and their full lineup had lots of talent and shining moments! Robert Sartini and Devon compliment each other well on guitar, Robert Crossley's drumming here is arguably better than it ever was with Inhuman Methods, and Riley Marshall's bass work was solid and fit their style throughout! Crimson Crusade have a lot of promise, and they don't sound like other local death metal bands, but they need momentum on their side to attract a bigger following (the planned EP and the Skeletonwitch show should help with that), and they could be a bit livelier on stage. I like where they're going though, and I can't wait to see what's next!

Next was former Terminal & Business Suit Trappers frontman Greg Callaghan in an acoustic solo set, and if you've seen his "evil" solo concerts before, you'll probably know what to expect. He played a mix of punk and rock covers, with his suitably deep vocals and clear guitar skill complimenting each song nicely (despite a mid-set broken string issue, I believe.) Covers included renditions of everything from Bad Religion and NOFX to Johnny Cash and Bruce Springsteen songs, and though the crowd wasn't crowding the floor, they did recognize and appreciate his talents! I still think he should front a full band locally again (perhaps with more of a punk base than Terminal had though), and his deep clean vocals would be a unique added element if he did, but his solo sets are fun for what they are, and hopefully his next one has a larger turnout!

Third on the bill was Rockstar Bar Battle of the Bands winners The Suicide Kings in their first Canadian Nightclub appearance of the year, and the momentum from their recent successes propelled them through an entertaining mix of originals & covers! Songs including "Way Out of Hell" and their upcoming EP's title track "King of the World" were joined by System of a Down & Rage Against The Machine covers, plus the return of their assorted covers medley from the battle, and throughout, their talents and chemistry matched up nicely! Mike Gaetano's heavier singing is still a nice fit for their style, but it's not as consistent on softer & cleaner sections, so I tended to like their more aggressive tunes the best. It also says a lot when Steven Flint and Mitch Sirie can switch guitar and bass duties on some songs, and neither misses a beat in the process! I'd still like to see a bit more crowd engagement, but overall, The Suicide Kings are on a hot streak, and hopefully they keep it up as we creep into the summer!

The next band was a late replacement for local classic metal trio Caveman Morrison, who couldn't make the event for unannounced reasons. Disappointing, but I know we'll see them back on stage soon, and hopefully they'll turn up at The Canadian again at some point! However, drummer Johnny Belanger was on hand anyway, as their replacements were local melodic death metal quintet The Bear Hunters! Solid choice, and as they just played at The Rosie on Saturday, they weren't rusty or ill prepared to jump in, so fans didn't have to worry about them being off their game! Their set had no real surprises, with popular originals like "Dominate", "Karma", and "Succumb To Eternity" attracting some devoted fans & headbangers to the floor! Musically, the guys were all on form, and luckily, Mitch Sirie's guitar levels were higher than I'd seen at some recent gigs! Everyone put in a brutal set and were performing as well as I'd assume (maybe with less energy though), but just wait until they open for Skeletonwitch next month!

The penultimate full band last night was local grunge/alternative rockers Haggith in their Canadian Nightclub debut, and they may have made the biggest impression with their freewheeling, energetic, and fan-engaged set! Originals like "Clifton Hill" and "Rage Train" got their ardent fan base going, along with covers of Jimi Hendrix, Stone Temple Pilots, and "Heavy Metal" soundtrack songs, and the guys definitely seem a lot more relaxed and into the music than they did even last year! Curtis McKenzie's vocals were very strong, his and Daniel Horton's riffing and melodies flowed very well, and Mike Haggith was a wildman all night on drums! Also, the band was joined by backing vocalist Kristi-Lee Marshall throughout their set (as she was on much of their new album "Deuce"), and while she's very good in this role, she was often very hard to hear, and many songs featured her only minimally (if at all, a'la ex-Banned singer Mike Straw.) Haggith are definitely on the rise locally though, and if they keep on this pace, they'll be a must watch band soon!

The headliners (and only band to maintain their original setlist placement) was local punk/metal quartet T-Rex Manning, and they put in another fun set of covers (and one original) for the remaining fans! Their set was largely similar to past T-Rex Manning shows, with covers of The Misfits, The Bloodhound Gang, and The Ramones joining their original "She Banged The Mayor", among many others, and everyone seemed to be on form from past concerts! J.D. Pearce's vocals were as reliable as ever, and Bill Bennett's determined bass work was solid as usual, and even if there weren't a lot of new wrinkes, T-Rex Manning were solid and full of entertaining covers, as expected! I just wish the crowd was better. After their set, Bill and drummer Rick White ceded the stage to Bear Hunters bassist Justin Lam and Asylum Country drummer T.J. Case, as they, J.D., and Tiffany Stocco debuted their new band Jack Spades at the end of the night!

It was just for one song (a cover of Pennywise's "Fuck Authority"), but given the sound, lineup, and what I've heard from J.D., they will play heavier stuff too. I won't judge the band based on this one song preview (which did have some elements that needed work), but with a promising lineup and a high profile set coming when they open for The Dayglo Abortions in September, you won't wanna miss out!

Overall, this was a fun concert, though I bet it'd have drew a larger crowd and more funds raised if not held on a holiday. The bands were all firmly in support of beating cancer, and everyone delivered great sets of original and cover material, so all is good from this show! I got a bunch of photos of the bands (sans Jack Spades), so check them out at this location or at our Facebook page, and I did get videos of most of the bands (sans Greg Callaghan, his heavier covers I only identified when they were in progress.) In performance order, here's Crimson Crusade playing their song "Lost Memories", The Suicide Kings playing their newer original "Beaten Down" (I think that's the name), The Bear Hunters playing "Servitude", Haggith playing their new track "Anthem (I did film it this time, Mike!), T-Rex Manning covering Judas Priest's "Breaking The Law", and the debut Pennywise cover from Jack Spades!













That's all for today, but stay tuned for a major new concert announcement, and big news on a locally relevant tribute album's release, tomorrow! Thanks everyone!