Two More Metal Morpheus Episode Recaps From The Borderline!!

Before we fall any further behind on recapping episodes of Metal Morpheus on local internet radio station The Borderline, let's look at two today, including episode #15 from October 10th, where host Josh Amendola returned to metal subgenre-themes after his three week spotlight on guitarists, so what did he look at that week? Technical death metal, in what you could generously call a follow-up to the death metal episode from August, but this takes things into a further, more progressive category. The 62 minute episode begins with Virginia tech death metal band Arsis with their song "Looking To Nothing" (1:10), followed by Montreal death metal legends Quo Vadis (who Gates of Winter opened for on tour) with their song "Silence Calls The Storm" (5:40). Fellow Montreal death metal band Beyond Creation follows via their song "Coexistence" (11:15), and Josh noted that he opened for them live with a (presumably not local) band of his named Karmageddon.

The trip to Montreal ends with Vengeful's "Forsaken" (19:35), and Josh next spotlights German technical death metal band Defeated Sanity's song "Verblendung" (24:35) to end the first half of the episode. We head back to Canada next to spotlight Mitochondrion's lengthy original "Parasignosis (29:20), before next looking at Quebec death/thrash metal group Martyr's song "Endless Vortex Towards Erasing Destiny" (37:15). This episode's local content follows, courtesy of defunct London metal quintet Papa Fogals Chair, whose lineup was comprised entirely of Soo and Thessalon natives but were never properly based here. While not a technical death metal band, Josh does note that they had intricacies to their sound, which you can hear in their on-air song, "Disgust" (41:35). Next, we go back to Montreal, starting with Augury's "Alien Shores" (46:15), and like with P.F.C., this song is not on Spotify.

The Montreal quotient of the episode wraps up with Cryptopsy's "Slit Your Guts" (51:15), and the episode proper ends with the legendary Death's slow instrumental "Voice of The Soul" (56:40). While the episode is heavily dictated by Josh's time living in Montreal based on what bands he picked, that is a good sign. After all, the episode comes from a genuine love and appreciation of these bands & this sub-genre, and you'll get your brutal and technical fill from this episode without too many obvious selections, so give it a listen at the above links!

As for episode #16 from October 17th, that episode was also on a metal subgenre, specifically on crossover thrash, so if you're a fan of punk and/or thrash metal, this episode will straddle both lines and hopefully please both fanbases! Given the shorter song lengths, more bands are crammed into this episode, starting with The Dirty Rotten Imbeciles' classic "I Don't Need Society" (0:45), followed by subgenre pioneers Beowulf & their song "Lost My Head" (2:45), which is not on Spotify. Iconic sludge metal band Corrosion of Conformity follow with "Loss For Words" (6:15), which comes from their pre-Pepper days playing hardcore punk in the 1980s. British punk stalwarts G.B.H. are next with "Sick Boy" (11:10), followed by hardcore punk/thrash legends Suicidal Tendencies and their fan favourite track "Send Me Your Money" (14:05), featuring Metallica's Robert Trujillo on bass.

New York thrash band Carnivore (featuring late Type O Negative frontman Peter Steele) are next with "God Is Dead" (18:40), followed by songs from two very notable New York hardcore bands, including Agnostic Front's ultra short "Victim In Pain" (23:55) and The Cro-Mags' "Age of Quarrel" (24:55) to end the first half with. California crossover thrash band Excel's song "I Never Denied" (30:40) comes afterwards, preceding the legendary Nuclear Assault's song "Game Over" (36:10). English anarcho-punk band Antisect's song "They (The Eternal Myth & Paradox)" (39:10) is played next, but it isn't on Spotify either. The last non-local band is the killer thrash quartet Sacred Reich with "Death Squad" (45:25), and Josh closed that week with three songs by 1999-2004 local punk band Downshift (later Burn The Past), all coming from from their 2000 debut album "Before You Knew Me..."!

While not a true thrash band (Jack Spades would have been closer to the theme), Downshift sure have the fast punk quota down via their songs "Ground Zero" (50:30), "Hold My Head Up High" (54:00), and "Worth Repeating" (56:10). Josh doesn't elaborate on back stories for these bands as much as he did for the technical death metal episode, but he covers some very fun and intense bands here, and this is another fun episode to listen to, especially with how into the hosting duties Josh has gotten! Check out both of these Metal Morpheus episodes (and more) at the above links, listen to episode #21 live on The Borderline this Sunday, and stay tuned for weekend concert previews next! Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERT (Slaughter), Two Inactive Band Notes, And More SMS Band Link Updates!!

While the snow continues to pile on outside, here's a new news post to check out on this Tuesday evening! We're mostly addressing updates to and removals from our band links today, but to lead off, here's a big LOCAL CONCERT ALERT for later this year!

Las Vegas glam metal veterans Slaughter will make their long awaited return to our area on Saturday, June 29th when they rock Kewadin Casino... in St. Ignace?! Best known from hit singles like "Up All Night", "Fly To The Angels", and "Real Love", this will be Slaughter's first regional concert appearance since opening for Stryper at the Sault Michigan Kewadin in 2012, and their third local gig since 2008, but now they're headlining with their high energy classic hard rock! Pasadena glam/hard rock quartet Autograph (of "Turn Up The Radio" & "Blondes In Black Cars" fame) will open with their own familiar brand of 1980s rock action, so don't bypass their set either! Clearly, the St. Ignace summer concert series did well last year, as this Kewadin branch is booking even more touring bands for 2019, though the Slaughter show appears to be indoors at the casino's on-site event center. The location may be atypical for Kewadin-booked hair metal, but how do $10 tickets sound?

Yes, tickets are that low, and you can buy them starting Friday at 9:00 AM at this link, the Sault Kewadin's in-person box office, the gift shop at the St. Ignace Kewadin, or presumably at 1-800-KEWADIN. This show has no advertised age limits, and an 8:00 PM start time, and is presented by Classic Rock: The Bear (whose 95.3 signal is easily heard in St. Ignace, but only gets fringe reception in the Soo.) It'll be very interesting to see how this show does given the non-Sault locale, but if you love the Hair Scare and 1980s glam rock, you won't wanna bypass this show, especially at this price! See the official Facebook event page and the above links for more details!

Next up, we have regrettably moved local death metal project Life's Eclipse back to our inactive band links. While no public statements have been made regarding their current status, the band has not issued an update to their Facebook page since January 31st of last year, well past our one year inactivity cutoff. The flagship band of local independent label Werehold Records (both led by singer/guitarist Jason Mills), Life's Eclipse reunited in 2011 after a few years' hiatus, and had been active to varying degrees ever since as a studio project. Long-time readers may be most familiar with Life's Eclipse from their regular involvement in Werehold Records' nine Friday the 13th new music posting events from 2012-2017, often featuring songs from incomplete and unreleased albums. It should be noted that Werehold Records proper haven't updated their own Facebook page since 2017, and of their roster of metal/hard rock artists, only Moss remain in our active links.

I know that personal commitments have been at least partially to blame for the slowdown in Life's Eclipse/Werehold updates in the late 2010s, so a resumption of public activity could happen at any time pending availability and scheduling.  Life's Eclipse were a brutal, technical, and well-composed band when firing on all cylinders, and Jason & the Werehold roster had a lot of talent and ambition to go around! Despite not being known for live concerts, they flew the extreme metal flag well for the E.U.P., and hopefully we hear more from Jason, David, Joe, and Casey when the time is right!

Also, we have one more band to move to our inactive band links, namely Sault Ontario rap metal/party rock collective The Apocalypse Afterparty. While the band did publically acknowledge that "hibernation is ending" back in October, their Facebook page has quietly been taken down since, which (Destroilet aside) is historically a bad sign. In any event, the band had only posted once on Facebook in the past 15 months, and in lieu of the apparent deletion, they are now linked here via their Wix website. Active since 2014, this eclectic masked group evolved from a duo to a full live and studio band, though concerts were selective, often at private bookings or via short notice "pop-up" gigs. The Apocalypse Afterparty may best be known from their quartet appearance at the 2015 VM Radio Battle of the Bands at The Canadian Nightclub (surprisingly making the finals), while they released their EP "Bufflesnort" back in April 2017.

Whether or not you previously knew of X, Z, x, z, and company's real identities, The A.A. made their mark in the mid-2010s! With a unique stage presence, creative hybrid sound, gender-equal lineup, and imaginative back story, it's a shame that The Apocalypse Afterparty didn't play live more often, but hopefully we see Paul, Amanda, Sara, Sven, Rito, and former band members back out there down the line, masked or otherwise!

Finally, CBC Music closed it's artist page service on November 20th, due to the decrease in traffic and attention to band pages there compared to other social media services (you can read more on the decision at this link.)  This didn't receive the advance notice that PureVolume's closure had, so I unfortunately was unable to back up anything there from local artists, but much like PureVolume, I did recognize how little CBC Music (formerly CBC Radio 2) was used by local musicians in recent years. It was a useful and informative service in it's day, and I'll miss having it around! As of this month, we had only linked four local bands (all defunct) to CBC Music pages, so changes to our links are thankfully minimal, especially as only one didn't have an online band page elsewhere. With all of that said, I changed our links for defunct punk bands The 12 Gauge Ready and Glunk! to their MySpace pages, while replacing Burn The Past (previously known as Downshift) with their Bandcamp page.

The only removal was 2007-2012 local/Oil Springs metal band Sue Inside, who don't have a known online page outside of CBC. It's unfortunate to lose one of the oldest local death metal bands from our links, but hopefully Shane, Adam, and Jeff are still musically active out of town! Hopefully this all clears up the recent link changes, and in lieu of the CBC Music page deletions, maybe they'll bring their FM station here sooner or later? That's all for today, but stay tuned for weekend concert previews next. Thanks everyone!

Meet The (Inactive) Local Punk Bands!! Part 3

It's about time we roll in some more defunct & inactive punk bands to our local band links, so here's our third of this ongoing process to formally add older local punk talent to the site! Today, we're sourcing from punk bands with primary surviving pages on CBC Music and Sonicbids, and while information can be spotty for some, there's clear talent and memorable names throughout, so here's what you need to know! Like before, bands are presented in alphabetical order:

We'll start this punk band feature with defunct local ska punk band The 12 Gauge Ready, who fans are sure to remember from their early-mid 2000s heyday! Surviving information on the band is minimal, and that extends to their lineup, who were only credited by first names & nicknames on their CBC Music and PureVolume pages. Both list bassist "Beano", drummer "Clinto", and string instrumentalist "Lucas" in their lineups, while CBC lists singer "Hayward", keyboardist "Lamar", and "J Monty" as members, and PureVolume credits "Adam", "Scotty", "George", and "Michael" in their place (hopefully we get some clarification at some point!) Active from at least 2002-2006, The 12 Gauge Ready were notable from successful concerts at venues like the former Foggy Notions & Madison's Pub, along with at least one Hempfest appearance in 2003, though updates are hard to find after their exit from Rotaryfest's 2006 Second Stage lineup. Their pages (including on MySpace) feature 5 combined original songs, no videos, and no band photos (hence the Christmas concert poster), but how did The 12 Gauge Ready sound?

The ska and reggae influences come through very clearly in their originals, much more so than other local punk bands, and I presume the short lived Break The Violence were hoping for similar success with the genre! There's enough of a punk sound to go around too with nice faster stretches, and I like the use of nontraditional instruments too! I admit not being the right person to comment on their run (which largely took place before I became a concert regular), but fans will know their reputation, and ska fans should definitely check them out at the above links!

Next to add to the site is local/Guelph punk band Burn The Past, who may be more familiar from their earlier all-local run under the name Downshift! Launched in 1999, Downshift were originally a skate punk quartet that rocked the Sault area around the turn of the millennium until moving to Guelph for college in 2001, where they changed their name to Burn The Past, and later took on post-hardcore and emo influences. Burn the Past's last known full lineup featured singer/guitarist Steve Zuppa, guitarist Derek Wyatt, and drummer Mark Zurawinski, with Guelph area bassist Josh Hudman rounding that lineup, while Downshift-era bassists included Adam Turner & Gary Hazelton, and a bassist named Dan (last name not given) played with B.T.P. late in their run as well, not counting the 5 they cycled through before Josh joined. The band released two albums (2000's "Before You Knew Me..." and 2003's "Surviving the Last Day's of Autumn"), with the former retroactively becoming a self-titled Burn The Past CD after their move.

Downshift/Burn The Past opened for bands like A.F.I. Choke, and Moneen locally, and attained their own following in the Guelph area before falling inactive circa 2004, but fans of melodic skate punk will take to these guys, who had a solid talent base and good chemistry! Steve's vocals fit the material, and whether playing a fast song or one with a more indie-rock angle, fans wouldn't have much to worry about! Check out more from Downshift or Burn The Past at their Angelfire, Bandcamp, CBC Music, and PureVolume pages, and here's Downshift at the former Koolie's & Cues during their heyday!

Third to add today are Glunk!, a local alternative/punk trio that was active in Sault Ontario in the mid-2000s, roughly from 2005-2006. Their lineup featured singer/guitarist Angelo Tremonte, former Fitswitch/Scary Uncles bassist Andrew MacDonald, and drummer/current Toronto-area internet radio host Andrew Keachie, who quickly released a debut EP shortly into their run. Information on their live concerts aren't plentiful nowadays, but the guys did play at Madison's Pub with The Regal Beagle in January 2006, and I've found nothing 100% later from their run yet. A varied band who jumped from garage rock to more aggressive punk depending on the track, Glunk! had visible talenton their studio recordings, with solid bass work from Andrew especially, and Angelo's singing altered well to fit different tracks, but there can be some inconsistency in the tone of the members' performances, and the recording quality isn't perfect. I haven't found any videos of Glunk! from their run, but check out material and more from them at their CBC Music and MySpace pages!

Finally for today's punk band additions is the newest of these four bands, that being defunct local indie/punk quartet Nebraska Arms! Active from 2008-2010, their lineup featured singer/bassist Guy Thiffault (The Hangdowns), guitarists Wayne Watkins (Northwest) & Dave Prendergast (Gilmour), and drummer Adam Sauve (Renderware), so they definitely had a solid and experienced roster of local musicians! Runners-up at the Sault College Battle of the Bands in February 2010, fans may remember Nebraska Arms from opening for bands like SNFU, The Populars, and The Artist Life at bars and all ages shows alike, along with making the finals of the Kiss Battle of the Bands in 2009, and recording & releasing their CD "We'll Never Sleep Again" that year. Last seen opening for The Flatliners at Foggy Notions in April 2010, Nebraska Arms had a solid fanbase and notoriety during their late 2000s run, with a sound that was reminiscent of their past local music work, with a poppy rhythm mixed with punk aggression, and you can see some of their sound wore off on Wayne's more recent bands!

Fans of indie punk would be well served to check out Nebraska Arms' posted material at their Sonicbids and MySpace pages, and I think their album's tracks are also floating around online too. I wonder if we'll ever see a reunion down the road? They had a good stage presence and chemistry, and you can see some of that in this retrospective video from last year!



I hope you guys liked this newest post to roll in defunct punk bands to our coverage! Our next one this week will either take from MySpace, Bandmine, or PureVolume, (or a combination therein), but we're not done yet, so stay tuned for that this week, plus more news and such as well! Thanks everyone!