The Soo's Got Talent Finals, Afroman/Apocalypse Afterparty, And Tarnished Concert Previews!!

A busy yet somewhat quiet weekend for hard rock concerts leads us to tomorrow in particular, with three big shows in their own ways taking place featuring familiar faces out of their usual comfort zones. With all of that said, here's what you should know!

Let's start in Dafter, Michigan as this is a rare Friday matinee event, as local hard rock quartet Tarnished will return to Northern Light Cannabis Co. for their second show at the dispensary TOMORROW! Tarnished debuted at Northern Light on September 30th for a well received Fire Up Fridaze event, and they're coming back just three weeks later, though the circumstances are different, as they'll be the afternoon warm-up for the Take A Drag Show! Rare to see drag performers in the E.U.P. (granted, the population's smaller than up here), but this should be a fun diversion, so follow Northern Light for extra details on that! Refreshments, vendors, and deals will also be a part of Fire Up Fridaze here, and of course, Tarnished's hard rocking covers & originals will draw a crowd in and of themselves! To accommodate the drag show, Tarnished are playing at 1:00 PM tomorrow, so keep the early start time in mind, especially if you're at work/school!

Obviously, this is a 21+ event, while there is no cover charge, and the event proper begins at 12:00 PM. If you're a fan of at least two of hard rock music, marijuana, and/or drag, a trip to 2736 West M-28 should be heavily considered tomorrow, so visit the above links for more detailds, and here's Tarnished live in concert last year!

Next up, let's head north to Sault Ontario for two huge concerts taking place TOMORROW, both at Soo Blaster! This may explain why the first of the events starts so early, as The Soo's Got Talent finals are first up at the Queen Street East venue, where the final six performers will take the stage, with local hard rock/alternative band Handsome Sandwich returning as a house band for all six performers! It's unclear whether they're playing one song with each or more, but if the first two T.S.G.T. events are any indication, finalists get two songs each, one being chosen by the judges. The six finalists competing tomorrow are Ali Nisbett, Amanda Phillips, Colin Gasparelli, Maharlika Joy (or M.J.) Servillon, Nanette Garcia, and Xavier Pelletier Leboeuf. Unless they surprise us or bring up a guest, all are singers only doing covers except Colin, who primarily played guitar also while doing original songs.

Whether Handsome Sandwich are learning songs chosen by the finalists/judges or only offering their own catalog isn't publically known yet, let alone how singer Taylor Emlaw will be involved, but we'll know the answers tomorrow! For reference, none of the finalists are primarily hard rock performers, with all but Colin and Xavier leaning towards pop covers in their prior performances (Colin's originals were acoustic soft rock aside from a Styx cover, and Xavier was all over the map for chosen covers). Aside from the finalists & Handsome Sandwich, three guest performers will take the stage, including judge & ex-Obsession singer Valerie Powley, returning guest judge & local theatre staple Tim Murphy, and in a late confirmation, 2019 T.S.G.T. winner Adrian Sullivan in a rare live appearance without his band The Uncanny Valley. Adrian is a fitting choice to return as he is still the reigning champion of this event!

I haven't seen reference to the winner's prize this year, but Adrian won $1,000 in 2019. An early 5:00 PM start time is in effect at Soo Blaster tomorrow, this is absolutely all ages, and admission is $15 at the door ($10 for kids 12 and under), with proceeds going to the Brain Injury Association of Sault Ste. Marie & District. Given that the Afroman concert has doors opening at 7:00 PM and an 8:00 PM start time, the finals program will likely be brisk and ran on a tighter ship than normal, so keep that in mind too. Visit the above links for full details on The Soo's Got Talent's finals tomorrow evening, best of luck to all six finalists, and here's Handsome Sandwich live earlier in the competition!

Finally, Soo Blaster's busy day TOMORROW NIGHT concludes when Los Angeles alternative rapper Afroman comes to town, with local rap/metal duo The Apocalypse Afterparty among the supporting lineup! Three weeks removed from being the outliers on an otherwise hip hop-centric lineup for the Tech N9ne show at Soo Blaster, co-promoters R-Evolution Media called on the Stanghettas to deliver their party rock stylings in similar confines again, so hopefully The A.A. deliver a similarly fun set among the rap sea tomorrow! Of course, Afroman will be very familiar among local rap fans for his hit single "Because I Got High" and a further two decades of underground rap songs heavily dipping into comedy and cannabis culture, so he should deliver a fun set tomorrow himself! Guelph rapper Robbie G will co-headline tomorrow, as he did at the Tech N9ne show, while local openers also include Conika, MJR League (both also Tech N9ne openers), Sawbe, Ryxnnick, Jaay Sheps, and Illest (OTG).

Surprisingly, this stop on Afroman's Canadian Cannabis Tour is all ages, and doors open at 8:00 PM with a 9:00 PM start time. Tickets run for $35 in advance or $70 for the VIP package that includes a meet & greet with Afroman himself, and you can directly buy tickets through the Facebook event page. This should go over well for the local rap scene, especially with Afroman's lively brand of underground rap, and The Apocalypse Afterparty should make another good impression tomorrow night! Odd that they'd be present the same night as The Soo's Got Talent finals, where they finished third in 2019. See above for more details, and here's The A.A. live!

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

LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (Tarnished & Soundcheck) And Weekend Concert Previews!!

Before we begin previewing this weekend's known hard rock concerts, just a heads up of a cancellation of a show we hadn't even gotten to yet, as a late notice Wyld Stallyns show at Shooters Downstairs Lounge tomorrow night is not taking place, as per the venue's Facebook event page. This appears to be 100% due to a scheduling conflict, as The Stallyns will be down by The Machine Shop for Oktoberfest concurrently with the planned Shooters timeslot. An unidentified DJ will replace them at Shooters tomorrow, and we'll have more on Oktoberfest night #1 in a bit. Now, let's dive into the first half of the weekend previews, with Tym Morrison & night #2 of Oktoberfest to follow in tomorrow's post!

We'll start today with LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS, specifically SHORT NOTICE ones, as local classic/hard rock cover quartet Soundcheck will return to Reggie's Place on Queen Street East for concerts TOMORROW & SATURDAY NIGHT! Apologies for the short notice, these dates were only announced on the venue's Facebook page yesterday, and while the band's Facebook page has not plugged them yet, drummer Glen Thomas did mention them on his personal page. As best as I can tell, this will be Soundcheck's first stop at the original downtown Reggie's since a one-nighter in June, with Reggie's West appearances (including tonight's usual open mic hosting duties) being far more frequent in the third quarter of 2022. Hopefully a decent crowd turns out both TOMORROW & SATURDAY for Soundcheck's country tinged classic and hard rock cover selection!

Note that Soundcheck singer/guitarist Cameron Oliver will be playing a solo matinee set at Reggie's on Sunday afternoon too, as per the Reggie's Facebook page, but I believe his solo gigs are more country centric. Still good to see him tripling up too, as he typically does not take part in the Thursday open mics. TOMORROW & SATURDAY'S shows have 19+ age limits, no cover, and 9:00 PM start times. See above for more details, and here's Soundcheck live in concert earlier this summer!

Next up, let's head to Sault Michigan, as local hard rock quartet Tarnished will return to The Rapids Lounge at the local Kewadin Casino branch for concerts TOMORROW & SATURDAY NIGHT! These will be Tarnished's first shows in the Soo since rocking The Rapids Lounge almost two months ago, and will be their first anywhere since their Northern Lights Cannabis Co. show in nearby Dafter on September 30th. Speaking of which, the band has newly announced that they'll be returning to the local marijuana dispensary for one night only on Friday, October 21st, so clearly their first show there went well to warrant an encore just three weeks later! As before, expect this Fire Up Fridaze event to have a 4:00 PM start time, 21+ age limit, no cover, and the same cannabis deals/offers, vendors, refreshments, and more that are staples of Fridays at N.L.C.C., live bands or not. Yes, I am aware that an outdated, Isaac-less band photo is on the poster.

Before then, Tarnished's modern brand of old school influenced hard rock can be enjoyed at The Rapids Lounge for typical & presumably cannabis-free entertainment tomorrow and Saturday night at 9:00 PM, also with 21+ age limits and no cover. Should be a good time this weekend and next Friday alike for Alex, Nathan, Isaac, and Josh (and their fans), so visit the official Facebook event page for the Kewadin gigs and the above links for more details, and here's Tarnished live!

Finally for today's previews, we'll head back north to Sault Ontario for the reason why local funk/hard rock band The Wyld Stallyns dropped out of their Shooters gig tomorrow, as they're taking part in Outspoken Brewing's second annual Oktoberfest, with The Stallyns part of both TOMORROW & SATURDAY NIGHT's live music slate outside of The Machine Shop! Picking up where LopLops left off pre-pandemic, Outspoken debuted their Oktoberfest last fall, and with a year under their belts and the pandemic much less of a concern, things are much bigger in scope this year, including full live music slates both nights, plus a wide array of entertainment both for adults hoping for beer or for those just wanting to have some family activities. Everything takes place at The Rink at the Canal District, transformed this weekend into a Munich biergarten. Click here for non-musical details!

We'll focus on tomorrow's bill today with Saturday's to follow in tomorrow's post. Three bands play tomorrow night at The Rink, with The Wyld Stallyns and frequent guest saxophonist Josh Norling playing in the middle 8:00 PM timeslot, sandwiched between headlining R&B/soul sextet The Hustle Brothers at 10:00 PM and traditional German supergroup Nein German Guys with a more traditional Oktoberfest sound at 6:00 PM. Tomorrow's festivities are 100% 19+ and heavily themed around alcohol as such, so if you want to bring the kids, wait until Saturday (more on that day's band lineup in our next post, but of tomorrow's bands, only The Hustle Brothers aren't pulling double duty). Admission tomorrow will run you $45, or $70 for a full weekend pass, and if you buy a ticket in advance, you'll get a free Oktoberfest mug and 20 oz. draught. Buy your tickets online at this link!

Everything properly begins at The Rink at 5:00 PM tomorrow, for the record. The Wyld Stallyns are comparatively the outliers on the Friday bill, but their varied & often heavy cover rock stylings should go over well with the Oktoberfest attendees, and they should have some songs primed for a drinking crowd given all of their nightclub sets! Visit the above links for much more on this year's Oktoberfest, stay tuned for our preview of Saturday's lineup tomorrow, and here's The Wyld Stallyns live!

That's all for today, but stay tuned for the rest of this weekend's hard rock concert previews tomorrow! Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERT (Project 906), More Weekend Concert Previews, And More!!

(Updated at 5:51 PM) One more post before we end the month, and with a matinee show today to preview, let's not dilly dally before it gets too late! Along with remaining hard rock concert previews for this weekend, a new video, and some assorted updates, we're leading off with another SHORT NOTICE LOCAL CONCERT ALERT, so here's what you should know!

Local blues/hard rock quartet Project 906 will return to The Merchants Bar for one night only TOMORROW NIGHT! Apologies for the short notice, this show was only announced on their Facebook page on Saturday, with a Facebook event page only following yesterday. Fresh off of a well received show in Eckerman this past Saturday, TOMORROW'S concert will be Project 906's first show in memory at the 108 West Spruce Street nightclub, which only sporadically hosts heavier bands but did welcome Tarnished (more on them in a bit) earlier this year. Always good to see 906 in Sault Ste. Marie city limits, and hopefully their hard rocking covers find a solid downtown audience TOMORROW! Expect a 9:00 PM start time, no cover charge, and a 21+ age limit. Visit the above links for more details, and for a preview, here's a brand new live video (well, one of them) of Project 906 at The Strongs Tavern in Eckerman this past Saturday night!

Two videos from the same filmer were actually shared on the band's Facebook page earlier this week (one posted there outright, one shared from guitarist Joe Jenkins' personal Facebook page), and they include a minute of the instrumental jam from Lynyrd Skynyrd's "Free Bird" and as embedded below, a full cover of Don Henley's "The Boys of Summer", complete with more of a guitar solo than the original song had. I'm more of a fan of the Ataris cover myself, but 906 put their own spin on this classic rock staple with good energy, and the filmer had a nice and close angle of the band on both videos! Give them a look above & below, and don't miss Project 906 at The Merch TOMORROW!

Next up, let's preview two shows taking place TONIGHT that had lots of advance notice, starting with local hard rock quartet Tarnished's debut at Northern Light Cannabis Co. in nearby Dafter! Concerts at cannabis dispensaries are not common for the SMS to cover, but this isn't completely out of left field, as Tarnished had teased possibly playing there in July. Tonight's show coincides with Northern Light's existing weekly Fire Up Fridaze celebration, including an open consumption lounge, board games, and product discounts, so definitely keep all of that in mind if you are a marijuana user who also happens to like Tarnished's hard rock covers & originals! The first tribally owned cannabis provisioning center in the state, Northern Light Cannabis Co. is located at 2736 West M-28 in Dafter (15 minutes south of the Soo). This is obviously a 21+ event (you must show valid photo ID), and there is no advertised cover charge.

Official advertising gives a 12:00 PM start time, but that reflects Fire Up Fridaze specifically, not Tarnished's set, which the band has confirmed will begin at 4:00 PM (still a matinee though). Note that the Facebook event page credits "Gene Check" as also appearing today to provide information on the cannabis industry in the E.U.P., so crediting him thusly implies that he'll be speaking on stage before/during the band's set. It will be very interesting to hear how things go for Tarnished at a very atypical venue, but a lot is planned with and aside from the music, so see above for more details, and here's Tarnished live!

Finally for this weekend's known hard rock concert previews, let's jump north to Sault Ontario, where local rap/metal duo The Apocalypse Afterparty will hit Soo Blaster TONIGHT as mildly surprising openers for American underground rap icon Tech N9ne! Last seen at Glambition in June, tonight's show will return The A.A. to their old Soo's Got Talent platform with their locally distinct brand of drum-and-bass rap rock, and hopefully they set the tone well! In fact, they're one of many local openers on the final poster that has been circulating on local rap Faebook accounts, more in a second. Of course, Tech N9ne is the featured attraction here, a hip hop legend from songs like "Face Off" & "Like I Ain't" whose hardcore stylings and skilled rhymes should not be bypassed by genre fans tonight! Tech N9ne's fellow Strange Music rapper King Iso and Guelph MC Robbie G will also open this show, and both are ALSO talented artists!

The other advertised local openers include Strangers, MJR League, Conika, Lumberjack Pat, and Bold Noize, and while I don't know some names, look for some fast rising local hip hop to start the evening! A co-presentation of The Diamond Mine Agency, this 19+ show has an 8:00 PM start time, and tickets run from $51-$57 7 on Eventbrite or at the door, with VIP packages also available at this link. This is more of a rap show than a rock one, but The Apocalypse Afterparty will inject a little of that flavour into the proceedings before ceding the stage, and this should be a fun time for anyone into hip hop, especially given Tech N9ne's profile! See above for more details, and here's The A.A. live a couple of years ago!

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:

• Local cybergrind/gorenoise solo project Malignant Neoplasm have revealed that they have a by-demand compilation of their eight (or ten) albums now on sale on a "pay what you can" model, as per their Facebook page on September 16th. No word on future activity otherwise, as they haven't been up to a lot publically since releasing "Hugz" in April of last year, but hopefully Tyler has some more music up his varied sleeves, and contact him if you want the MxNx compilation!
  
• Local/Barrie punk/metal band Spades GT will open for Montreal hardcore punk legends The Ripcordz and Hamilton punk band Artificial Dissemination (both of which the former Jack Spades have opened for in the Soo) tomorrow night at The Queens Nightclub in Barrie! Shame this isn't local, it's been too long since The Ripcordz played here. Spades GT have revealed on Facebook that tomorrow's show will be their last of 2022 before apparently hitting the studio, which should be exciting, so stay tuned for updates!
  
• This entirely slipped me by during our Rotaryfest coverage, but local funk/hard rock quintet The Wyld Stallyns & guest saxophonist Josh Norling were photographed by The Sault Star's Brian Kelly for two photos shared online at this link, alongside pictures from fellow Thursday performers Flathead Ford and The Northern Jazz Ensemble. Solid pictures, too bad there weren't more shared of the bands! Give them a look above, and don't miss The Wyld Stallyns at Shooters TONIGHT!
   

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

LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (Tarnished & Tym Morrison), Slumshine/Ghostly Hounds Preview, And More!!

Before we begin today's post, yet another concert cancellation to take note of, this time for a short notice gig we hadn't yet covered on the SMS. Local classic/hard rock cover quartet Soundcheck were supposed to return to the A&W at 659 Great Northern Road tomorrow as part of the planned Cruisin' The Dub charity car show, but it was reportedly cancelled due to tomorrow's poor weather forecast, as per drummer Glen Thomas' personal Facebook page. Truth be told, 9&10 News are currently calling for thunderstorms all day, so clearly this is a "better safe than sorry" approach, especially given how Soundcheck were rained out after an hour the last time they played an A&W car show gig.

Look for Soundcheck back on stage next week, but as for today's post, we have the rest of this weekend's hard rock concert previews (one being a SHORT NOTICE LOCAL CONCERT ALERT), and we'll start there, as local acoustic classic/hard rock musician Tym Morrison will return to Reggie's Place on Queen Street East for a matinee concert TOMORROW! Apologies for the short notice, Tym only announced this show via its Facebook event page earlier today. If you want an indoor respite for some live cover action on TOMORROW, this will do the trick, with this being Tym's first announced show since his apparent 2022 finale at The Mike Case Memorial Stage last week. Should be a solid concert for fans of his unplugged classic and hard rock covers, so don't miss this Sunday matinee despite the late notice! This show has a 3:00 PM start time, no cover charge, and a 19+ age limit. See above for more details, and here's Tym live!

Next up, here's one more LOCAL CONCERT ALERT for later this month, as Sault Michigan hard rock quartet Tarnished will make their debut at Northern Light Cannabis Co.(?!) in nearby Dafter on Friday, September 30th! Not every day you hear of a local band playing at a marijuana dispensary, but this is hardly a new proposition for Tarnished, who had previously planned to play there back in July, only for the show to be cancelled without ever being 100% publically finalized. How a live band will go over at Northern Light (Michigan's first tribally-owned provisioning center) is to be determined, but the show coincides with the dispensary's Fire Up Fridaze events, including an open consumption lounge, board games, and product discounts. Located at 2736 West M-28 in Dafter (15 minutes south of the Soo) this 21+ event has no cover charge, and I'm unsure when exactly Tarnished's set begins given the event timeframe of 12:00-8:00 PM.

That seems inflated to match the Fire Up Fridaze timeframe, and Tarnished's solo gigs usually have them blocked for four hours, so I'd expect this to be a 4:00 PM matinee, but we'll let you know if that was an incorrect guess. Given the venue, this show will surely play more towards active marijuana users than people who don't partake, but it'll definitely be a unique locale for Tarnished's hard rocking covers & originals at month's end, so visit the official Facebook event page for more details!

Back to Sault Ontario now for one last weekend concert preview, this time with plenty of advance notice, as local acoustic punk solo project Slumshine will open for British Columbia folk solo project Ghostly Hounds at Dryer Fire's temporary rental venue at 285 Wilson Street TONIGHT! This is effectively a sequel to a September 2017 concert that both acts played at the former Gore Street Cafe, so it is neat to see Brent and Francesca pairing up on a local stage with Nicole promoting once again! Unlike there, Ghostly Hounds are a solo act now, and their darker, highly personal brand of folk rock should fit the Dryer Fire oeuvre well tonight! Slumshine had just returned to the stage for the first time in well over two years at the Sault Ste. Marie Museum during Fringe North, but attendance was highly restricted over pandemic safeguards there, so hopefully Brent's ski mask-clad originals find a solid audience here!

Tonight's all ages concert has a 7:00 PM start time, and admission runs for $15 in advance at this link or $20 at the door (a sharp increase from 2017, where it was a $10 or "pay what you can" affair). Not the heaviest show out there, but Ghostly Hounds honest and affecting originals and Slumshine's unplugged punk stylings should keep Wilson Street rocking tonight, so visit the Facebook event page for more details, and here's Slumshine live!

Finally for today, here's the latest from revived local hard rock quartet Half Past! After seven months of public dormancy aside from a couple of picture uploads, they posted the Facebook video embedded below on August 28th, giving us our first new audio of the band's current lineup, here covering Chevelle's "Joyride (Omen)". It's not an overly polished cover, but Jordan Rains handles the vocals well, and new drummer Jamie Labreche fits in throughout! Nice hearing a local band covering Chevelle too, you don't see them tackled a lot. Be advised that a Facebook page surfaced last week for a different band featuring Jamie and bassist Arthur Lacasse named Fade Out, with them joined by singer Drew Borchardt and former Fitswitch guitarist Lee Slater. That band's Facebook page was launched after the Half Past video went online, so I don't know if Fade Out is an entirely separate project or if Art & Jamie left.

In any event, Fade Out played a private event earlier this month where they covered Weezer's "Say It Ain't So", with Jamie using his Half Past (or "Past Half") drumkit for the gig, and the video is up to watch. Not a bad rendition! Again, no word on what Fade Out's existence means for Half Past, let alone if Fade Out lean heavier in their set, but get the early details above, and give Half Past's Chevelle cover a listen below!

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

Defunct Local Band Profile Series: Swampghas

It is belatedly time for this month's Defunct Local Band Profile, but with a change in artist. Originally, I had randomly selected Dafter, Michigan hard rock solo project SweetKenny for this month's profile of a past local metal/hard rock/punk act, but as it turns out, SweetKenny returned from a two year hiatus earlier this year and has posted new songs online, so look for all of that in an upcoming news post! To replace him, I stuck to formula and went with the nearest alphabetical Sault Michigan/E.U.P. band in our defunct links that I haven't previously spotlighted in this series, and we found a promising one for sure, so here's what you should know!

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Swampghas

Hometown: Eckerman/Strongs, Michigan

Genre: Groove/Death Metal

Lineup (Members not in their last known lineup in italics):

Jason Mills (X's & Y's, Life's Eclipse), vocals/bass
J.R. Johnson (East Branch, Black Market Body Parts), guitar
Doug Reed (Drayton Fever, Tarnished), drums

Audio/Video: Building on an unreleased demo in 2006, Swampghas were working on a debut album entitled "The Raco Tower Incident" at frontman Jason Mills' own Scholomance Studios, to be released through his now-defunct independent label Werehold Records. This never came to fruition, but eight videos of theirs can be found on Werehold's YouTube channel, largely of instrumental audio tracks, be they 2006 demos or new recordings meant for the album. Notably, all of the band's songs run for under 3 minutes, which was done by choice. Here's their music video for "Bog"!

Info/Analysis: Not to be confused with the later Sault Ontario hard rock band Swampgut, Swampghas originally launched in 2001 as a side project from members' then-bands, but fell inactive circa 2003 due to outside commitments, though a demo was recorded in 2006 towards a planned reunion. The band reunited in 2011 as a studio-only project, primarily working on "The Raco Tower Incident" and also submitting songs for Werehold Records' Friday the 13th new music posting events, becoming regularly featured in those through March 13th, 2015. Album plans were delayed by studio maintenance & upgrades, and Swampghas quietly fell inactive before November of that year (as they weren't part of that month's Friday the 13th event), with Werehold proper folding in 2018. As one of the few Werehold acts that was not a solo project and released actual videos, Swampghas were easily one of the most prominent things that the label had going at the time!

While all of Swampghas' surviving "backwoods metal" material is instrumental, they had a crunchy groove metal sound that got in and out without overstaying its welcome, and the guys all performed well on the tracks! Alas, Werehold artists were not known for successfully releasing albums, Swampghas included, but original E.U.P. metal bands were getting scarce by the mid 2010s, so they still stood out. Follow Jason's current project X's & Y's to see what he's been up to as of late!

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I hope you guys liked this month's Defunct Local Band Profile! We're back in Sault Ontario next month to kick off another 2-1-3-1-2-1 cycle between the Twin Saults, and next month's randomly selected band will be 2014-2016 grunge/alternative trio The Pixo Control! Look for that on or around August 10th, and for a new news post on the site tomorrow! Thanks everyone!

Heavy Lies The Crown's New Album, Plus Lots Of New Videos!!

I have a new news post for you guys on this Saturday morning, including new videos from an assortment of artists from a few different locations, but leading off, we have details on a new album release (well, on a free streaming service), so here's what you need to know!

As teased over the past week, St. Ignace, Michigan progressive metal band Heavy Lies The Crown released their self-titled full-length album yesterday on Spotify! As best as I can tell, the album is not available on other platforms, so you can't actually buy it outright (at least not yet), but the final product can be streamed on-demand for free! The 12 song album includes re-recordings of all four songs from their 2019 debut EP "Scatter Brain" (with "Thing #1" renamed as "A Hell Bound Heart"), plus the previously posted new tracks "Every Step Of The Way" & "Voices", and six brand new cuts named "Friend", "Interlude", "Princess", "*69", "Dead Teeth", and "A Sold Soul". It is great to finally see "Heavy Lies The Crown" out for public consumption, and while I'll hold comment pending a possible review if the album goes on sale, their prior studio tracks should get fans suitably hyped! Check out all twelve songs for yourself on Spotify!

Next up, let's head to Sault Ontario for some new videos from local party metal duo The Apocalypse Afterparty, who have had some lighter content to share on their Facebook page this month, like this video where frontman Paul Stanghetta analyzes similarities between songs by Moneen and Boys Like Girls, and this one where he has a minor mishap with a lighter. Their newest video has Paul & Amanda leaving SaultOnline/ONNtv's offices, with Paul heavily apologizing for them exiting from the wrong door, but wait, what were they doing there? The band proper didn't share the video, but Paul was interviewed about the band yesterday during ONNtv's morning show First Local, and the episode can be streamed on-demand on SaultOnline's YouTube channel! The Apocalypse Afterparty segment begins at the 17:26 mark, with co-host Heidi Ivany interviewing Paul for about 5 minutes.

Here, Paul discusses his musical influences, the connectivity of the local music scene, groups Paul's opened for in his various bands, and his short term goals for The Afterparty. Fun and light interview buoyed with good energy from both Paul and Heidi, so give it (and the whole episode) a look below, especially if you miss Soo-produced local news like this!

Also today, let's check out a couple more YouTube reviews of songs from local/Manitoba alt-hard rock musician Mike Haggith's new album "Bridges", as sourced from the many album reviews shared to his Facebook page in recent weeks! First, I forgot to note yesterday that Mike's song "From The 55th Parallel" was reviewed by Thomas Christ for episode #11 of You Rock! as well, this time as the opening song of the episode (ex-Bizotic frontman Brad Griffith also turned up under his solo handles Gortium85 & Coax Chrome). Strong review of this song here, if brief, but Thomas made up for it in the next two! And as a prelude to Mike's interview with Studio Live Today's Pete Johns from earlier this month, Pete closed episode #76 of his similar YouTube series Your Music Live (where the host listens to & give reviews of independent music) with Mike's song "The Nature Of The Times"!

Yes, Brad/Coax Chrome is also featured in this same episode. Pete called the song "a beautiful way to finish off our show here today", and live-stream viewers seemed to agree, so give the whole episode a look below to hear Mike and a lot more international musicians getting some deserved exposure! "An Act Of Strength" and the song "Bridges" also feature in the next two episodes of Your Music Live, viewable here and here.

Finally today, I have a prolific local musician to move to our inactive band links, namely Dafter, Michigan hard rock singer/guitarist Kenneth "SweetKenny" Sutton. An extremely prolific musician who released dozens of albums in the 2010s, including ten that got reviews on the SMS from 2013-2018, SweetKenny has not posted any music-centric updates on social media since November 2020, meaning we're past our one year cutoff, though Ken is still artistically active as a screenwriter, with his website being redesigned to put his own screenplays ahead of his music. This does flow with his late-period albums all being scores for usage in films and video games, so Ken definitely has an artistic mind being put to use, and he did win Best Script Short at the Accord Cine Fest earlier this month! I hope SweetKenny resumes his music at some point (even if just as scores), as he definitely has talent and a lot of good original ideas!

I did want to end on a seasonal note however, as the last song Ken posted on his Facebook page (as of today) is an original song from last November named "Christmas Snow Is Falling", which he said is "a sad song about a lost love". This is a softer number with just Ken on vocals & guitar, and given the more reserved nature, there's less of an Elvis Presley affect on his singing like you often heard in his heavier pre-score material. Change of pace, but not badly composed, so give it a listen below!

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

New Videos, Plus More Recent News & Notes!!

Sadly, news at this stage of the pandemic remains painfully slow, hence the recent 6 day spans between formal news posts, with features dotted in between to keep our "one post every three days" rule alive. I have cobbled together enough content to keep things relatively active until Thursday,  Today's post is largely comprised of videos (with some assorted topics to end things with), so here's what you need to know!

 

Let's start with new music from Dafter, Michigan hard rock musician Kenneth "SweetKenny" Sutton, and it's been a long time since we've covered him on here! Ken's once-prolific slate of solo albums and scores quietly dried up in the late 2010s, but he has kept active online, and he uploaded four new videos on his YouTube channel this year. Two relate to his old score work, while the other two are of new music of his, including this remote vocal cover of "Sway" by The Pussycat Dolls(!) with South Korean singer An "Jerry" Sohyeon. Ken jumps in late via a picture-in-picture window. Very atypical of his guitar-heavy original songs and his scores, but An is a good singer, and Ken's accompaniment doesn't take anything away! Embedded below is SweetKenny's brand new original song "What If?", which is about growing old together with someone you love. The video features free-to-use stock footage of couples, which fits the theme well enough.

The lyrics feel a little over-detailed to me, but the song is well paced and melodic, and Ken's vocals work with the song without getting too Elvisy as was common on some of his harder edged material. Hopefully SweetKenny has more music in the works, but give "What If?" a listen below!

 

Next up, here's another new original song from Sault Ontario hard rock musician Tym Morrison's YouTube channel on Thursday! Entitled "Living On Mars", this is a song that he wrote back in high school about colonizing the red planet, but he has amended the lyrics since to be about alternate theories, with lyric video and photos to match. Musically, this is a metal song that lets Tym use his lower register singing well on verses, and it has a solid classic riff with some nice soloing, so fans of his past electric metal work will want to hear this song below, and stay tuned for more!

Also today, here's the newest video from local gore/cybergrind solo project Malignant Neoplasm's Facebook page! Uploaded last month in their first post there in over a year, the video features 16 seconds of a promisingly heavy instrumental track on the computer, with no audible vocals. Tyler hints that there's new material coming soon, but will there be an attached album? Time will tell, but give it a listen below, and stay tuned for more from Malignant Neoplasm and the Blood Shed Productions camp! Yes, the video works, I don't know why the thumbnail is white.

 

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 event name:

 

• Last month, in their first written Facebook page update in well over a year, local hardcore punk quintet Destroilet revealed that they have a new run of official t-shirts coming on sale soon for $20, and to let them know the sizes you want so they can have the right ones ordered. They look good as you'd expect, and it's great to see that the guys are still quietly active during the pandemic!
• I have moved local acoustic hard rock duo Tattoos & Scars to our inactive band links, not having updated their Facebook page since sharing a video from their now-defunct main project Halfway Loaded's page on November 7th of last year. Quietly and sporadically active since the fall of 2018, Tattoos & Scars updates largely tailed off once Justin & Shane formed their current southern hard rock band Fort Creek, so follow that band for their current musical work, including our next post on Thursday!
• The annual Toystock charity concert's Facebook page revealed on November 4th that there is an "announcement coming soon" and that "we finally have something in the works." Details have not followed at press time, but with the pandemic, a normal installment of Toystock IX likely wouldn't be possible. Could this be a virtual concert with Christmas Cheer fundraiser options? Would organizers have 10 bands again (let alone in 10 hours?) Also, the event proper likely would have been on Sunday, November 29th, so will that date mean anything with the likely changes? Stay tuned to the above links for details as they roll in!
  

 

That's all for today, but stay tuned for a new news post on Thursday, barring a massive influx of news! Thanks everyone!

SweetKenny - "Management" CD Review!!

Here's our 113th monthly CD review at The Sault Metal Scene, as we're taking a look at Dafter, Michigan hard rock solo artist Ken "SweetKenny" Sutton's newest paid album, "Management"! Released through Waterfall Records on June 13th, this is the 26th official paid studio album from SweetKenny, as well as the 10th of his that we have reviewed on the SMS dating back to 2012. As has been his primary focus for the past three years, this is yet another instrumental album designed for use as a score in film, TV, or movie productions, with an intended plotline given about a CIA agent named Kenneth (naturally) who must locate and stop a spy in "management" before Russian operatives get the chance. Note that Ken just released another score album named "Monster" to his website earlier this month, but as it's just a free posting at present, I didn't consider it for this album review. Featuring Ken on all instruments, you can buy "Management" on iTunes for $9.99, and you can stream it on Spotify, Apple Music, and his website.

And as recently usual, song names below are linked to their website copies. With 12 tracks running for about 40 minutes in length, let's begin this review with the first song, "Botched Invasion"! A short 96 second composition, this has a grand, American patriotic flavour to it with quick military drum rolls and horn instrument effects. It serves it's purpose as an introduction, but it's not a full "song" in & of itself, and doesn't evoke an invasion of any kind to me.

Second is "Kenneth" (the fictional CIA agent, not SweetKenny himself), which is slightly longer and has more going for it conceptually, with a dark ominous vibe, like Kenneth is covertly on a mission. Simplistic guitars and well timed orchestration help pace things nicely, and the piano at the end is placed effectively too. This felt like it could have been longer, as it felt like it was building to bigger and more dramatic things, but it gets the job done in the story! That's followed by "Management Tower", which goes even more ethereal and spacey with it's instrumentation here, almost as if it should be on Echoes on 98.3 FM on Sunday mornings. Rapid military drumming mid-way through helps disturb the chilled out nature, but the string input adds to the grandiosity. This would be a good song for a long late-night drive, and it's well composed overall, but this doesn't feel all that evocative of it's name.

Next is "Russian Trouble", which immediately takes on a darker and more industrial sound that is far more suited to the theme of the album, and regardless of the enemies' nationality, you know they're making their presence felt! The electronic effects add some zest, but the bassy and deliberate sound keeps things serious and purposeful. I'd have added a subtle Russian music element to enhance the mood, and it does run a little overlong, but so far, this is the best track on "Management"! Then we have "Kenneth's Secrets", which is a piano-driven number that returns to deliberately ominous territory, almost as if the Russian agents are looking for the title secrets at this point. While not as laid back as "Management Tower", this has more ethereal qualities, with isolated piano input and extra effects laid overtop, and while nowhere near as intense as "Russian Trouble", the album is getting better for reflecting the song names!

"The Interrogation" follows next, and this song almost feels like it belongs in a horror movie than a spy thriller, especially with that high pitched eerie note midway through, and as bookended by more ominous and dark performing and effects. If you didn't give me the title, I'd have easily bought this as taking place in a haunted house! Like on the album openers, this doesn't evoke an interrogation room at all, but then again, who knows what kind of "interrogating" is being done. They have to get answers somehow! The second half begins with "Observation", which is more of an electronic number that at times feels like it could be background music in a Super Nintendo game. The higher tempo music somewhat evokes winter and the cold, but it maintains a steady techno rhythm and pace throughout, and has some more industrial machinery tinges late. I don't really get an "observation" vibe here, but for what it is, it gets the job done!

The next two tracks are "Code Name 28 (Arrangement 1)" & "Code Name 28 (Arrangement 2)",  and as you can probably see already, these are different takes on the same song in the score (one assumes 28 is Kenneth's code name.) These continue the electronic path from "Observation", and each has a mid-tempo pacing that eschews most traditional rock elements. "Arrangement 2" differs from the original with harsher and more distorted effects, evoking a more computerized ambiance, but each is the same base composition. Not my favourite song(s) on the album, but techno fans will find something here! I preferred "Arrangement 1" for it's less abrasive sound. Next is "Spies & Dark Women", which is the album's longest track. We return to more ominous and drawn out territory here, with some electronic elements still present, but not nearly as in your face this time. This song seems to go in stages, with things quieting down a bit in the middle before ramping up the drama late, and even returning to SweetKenny's hard rock past for a bit, and I definitely welcome charging guitars here!

This song is a bit of a piecemeal number, but there are enough strong elements (especially late) to make it worthwhile! The penultimate track is a similarly long number named "The Penthouse", which is more up-tempo while still retaining it's predecessor's dramatic qualities, and at this late stage of the score, you know things have ramped up in intensity! The percussion has catchy qualities, especially when it takes center stage, and the tension is there, but this song has more repetition than I'd like, especially compared to how varied it's predecessor was. Not a bad number, but I'd have cut it down some. The album closes with "Management Trailer Theme", presumably what Ken would use in commercials for the movie this score would be used with if it was up to him. Running for an album-low 73 seconds, this reminds me slightly of the Criminal Minds theme music, only with eerier qualities as it builds. For a CIA thriller film, this would be good background music, and I can picture a chase to it, so it works for what it is!

So, what are my final thoughts on SweetKenny's newest paid score album? Well, having now reviewed five of his scores, I'm at least familiar now with how these kinds of albums go, and I can safely say that while this isn't the best of those five (that's still "The Hitman Files"), this has enough positive qualities to deserve a listen! Fans hoping for a full length follow-up to "In Your Face" will want to look elsewhere for new traditional material (namely his recent singles), but for techno-infused rock instrumentals and atmospheric backing tracks, this has enough going for it in those areas as songs alone. When we last reviewed Ken's "The Dogs Are Watching" score, I felt that it's reliance on dark techno was well suited to it's intended storyline about government hackers, but for a CIA spy thriller, I'm not so sure that the same genre fits as well, and even then, the titles of many tracks were not evocative of the song at all, like "Botched Invasion" & "Interrogation". Of course, if you were to license these songs for a score, you could theoretically use them in other ways, but it's just something I noticed.

Fans of SweetKenny's scores will want to take a listen, as there's enough eerie and ominous techno and rock instrumentals here to find something you like, so buy or stream it (and much more) at the above links! I hope you guys liked this month's CD review, and as for next month, I am tentatively planning to review Northwest's new EP "Songs From 2015-2017", which is expected to be released on December 22nd at their LopLops Lounge release concert, which we will cover on the site later this week. That's all for today, but stay tuned for weekend concert previews on Thursday! Thanks everyone!

Defunct Local Band Profile Series: Bludgeoned

As I'll be on the road for much of tomorrow, here's this month's Defunct Local Band Profile a day early! This monthly feature looks at 1-2 local metal, hard rock, or punk bands who may not be active anymore, but deserve a belated look for current readers, and as usual, this month's selections were made randomly. I had originally planned to look at two bands once again this month, but the first band had more surviving information than I gave them credit for, so they're getting a solo profile, and I'm bumping the second band (Sault Ontario's Foothill Road) to next month. That said, this band should ring a few bells from the early 2000s, so here's what you should know!
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Blugeoned

Genre: Death/Extreme Metal

Hometown: Dafter/Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan

Members: (This lineup information may be incomplete. Let us know if you can fill in any blanks!)

John Rios (From Hell, Flesh For The Beast), vocals
Doug Reed (Drayton Fever, Half A Man), guitar
Erik Rintamaki (Half A Man, Lower S.E.S.), bass
Mikey Bishop (Summon, Half A Man, Sadomasochism), drums 

Audio/Video: Based on the above image on their posthumous Reverbnation page, Bludgeoned may have released an album named "This Flesh These Hands" in or around 2001, but surviving information on the band is too slight to confirm this from online postings alone. Five songs (two being untitled demos) can be streamed on their page, though their extant YouTube videos were deleted a few years ago when Mikey closed his channel. Here's the studio recording of their original "Prophet Of Doom"!



Info/Analysis: Long after Bludgeoned's 1999-2002 run came to an end, drummer Mikey Bishop launched a Reverbnation page for this band, though it contains no biographical information and only a handful of photos, but Mikey did offer copies of their studio material on CD for a time. Personal Facebook postings indicate that they once opened for Corrosion of Conformity in Grand Rapids, and also played at least once at Harpo's in Detroit, so they definitely got around! From what I know of Bludgeoned, they were a respected and brutal band in their heyday, with Mikey's technical drumming complimenting John's brutal vocals, Erik's solid bass, and Doug's heavy riffs very well, and it'd be nice to know more about their original run! John Rios's later Grand Rapids metal bands like Flesh For The Beast and From Hell will share the most similarities with Bludgeoned's sound, but Erik, Mikey, and Doug will be more familiar to long-time SMS readers from their work with the 2009-2013 Brimley metal band Half A Man.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I hope you guys liked this month's Defunct Local Band Profile! Next month in this series, we will finally spotlight Foothill Road as promised, but as I still don't forecast them having enough archive material for a full profile, we'll profile another randomly selected Sault Ontario band to fill things out, and it just so happens to be a very new addition to our inactive band links, namely progressive metal duo Kraken Mara! Look for these on or around November 10th, and stay tuned for more news and updates soon! Thanks everyone!