Mike Haggith - "All The Best In All You Do: Rose Edition" Album Review!!

It's now time for our 174th monthly CD review at The Sault Metal Scene, as we're finally taking a look at local/Barrie alternative hard rock musician Mike Haggith's 52nd canon solo album "All The Best In All You Do"! Released through his own MorningStar Records imprint on July 13th in conjunction with his dislocated knee-abbreviated set at Rotaryfest, this is Mike's first album released after moving from Thompson, Manitoba to Barrie in late 2022, though work on the album began beforehand. Like his last two albums since he resumed primary work as a solo artist, this is a concept album with Mike on all instruments except for a guest guitar solo on one track. You can stream "A.T.B.I.A.Y.D" on major streaming services like Spotify, while you can also buy it for $10 on Bandcamp, and physical copies are on sale for $10 on CD and $40 on vinyl at this link. Albums are also available when Mike plays concerts in town, though no word on if The Rad Zone or other retail stores carry copies.

Five bonus songs (four originals and a cover) are also included in the limited-run "Rose Edition" of this album, sold in a DVD case with a pressed rose inside each. If you were unable to buy one of those for $20, fans who buy "All The Best In All You Do" on Bandcamp will also get the bonus songs, but Mike does not plan on posting them for sale with the album on other platforms, so they are not freely streamable at press time. This review will look at the complete "Rose Edition", as bought on Bandcamp. With 15 songs running for 53 minutes (10 songs for 37 minutes if you just have the normal album), let's begin our last album review of 2023!

Conceptually, the 10 base songs of this album outline a personal story of Mike moving from a toxic relationship into happiness and fulfillment in his current one, and in that respect, it feels like a sequel to 2020's "If Ever Comes The Day" even moreso. Bookending the 10 songs are split title tracks in reverse, starting with "All You Do", which leads off the story by outlining relationship issues and trying to make sense of one's partner's increasingly hostile and unfriendly behaviour. A darker and ominous instrumental track here is contrasted with Mike singing in full voice, and he makes good use of duplicated vocal tracks to make it sound like four or five Mikes are singing at once! That said, I do think that the singing and instruments don't mesh terribly well, and I'd have either made this much heavier or had Mike sing in a more reserved tone. Not a bad song to start the story all the same!

"All You Do" directly leads into track #2, "Twist Of Fate", basically serving as its extended introduction. In this song, the tables have seemingly turned as the toxic partner going on the town and engaging in embarrasing behaviour, with the final straw seemingly nearing. This is among the heaviest songs that Mike has released since the end of The Din in 2017, with a steady driving rhythm and good melodic vocals that are on level with the opener but far more suited to this style of song. The symphonic bits at the end of choruses felt thrown in, and the percussion should have been let up a bit on the bridge, but this is a fun track that will definitely be to the liking of Din fans who missed his in-your-face power pop!

The continuing structure of the album maintains by leading directly into the next song, "Hot & Cold". The longest song on any version of this album, it is basically an extended breakup song where Mike explains why he is dumping the woman in question, and like "Twist Of Fate", it has gotten good mileage in concert this year. Very 1980s feel to the verses with the synth influence and programmed drums, and between that and the twinkling keys on the choruses, this song sounds very different to what you may have seen out of Mike & crew live. Structurally, this song is still a rock number, if not as heavy as "Twist of Fate", but it has a directness and edge to it that I think is somewhat lost with the synths and keys. What does help things are the guest guitar solos by Southern Ontario-based metal guitarist Hetriani, who adds a strong added feature here without feeling too far out of place with the song as is!

Ultimately, I think "Hot & Cold" works better live than it does in studio, as it seems a little overproduced in studio to make a grand epic, and to a point, I think Mike's local-era symphonic material balanced that line a little better. As a composition, its certainly well thought out though! Fourth is "If Only You Could Hear Me", one of Mike's older tracks to finally make a studio album appearance here. Lyrically a reflection about being alone and hoping that his now ex would return in spite of everything, this is basically an acoustic folk rock song, if a little optimistic and upbeat given the lyrics, and with some synth backing coming into focus late. The musical positivity and the prominent drum track present another contrast in styles that I wouldn't have made given the introspective lyrics, but Mike's clean singing gets a good showcase, and this song is easily stripped down to a one-man unplugged setting, as longtime fans know!

The first half (third if you have the Rose Edition) of the album ends with "Carousel", and if you subscribe to the five stages of grief, this would be "acceptance", with the carousel in the title being referenced as both getting off of it (the relationship) and being given the run-around in the first place. Of the opening five tracks, this feels the most like something that could have been on Mike's Thompson-era CDs, with his expressive yet deep vocals carrying the song overtop of soaring yet rock tinged music. While it'd be easily downscaled to acoustic, the music and lyrics click well to better match the storyline compared to some of the earlier cuts, so this is an early highlight for me! Song #6 is "I've Seen It Before", which basically flips things from where "If Only You Could Hear Me" was, now with Mike refusing to take his ex back, no matter what she says, as he has literally seen it all before and doesn't want to go through this again.

This album's second and final 5+ minute track, it again contrasts the lyrical message with the music, this time with another upbeat, optimsitic nature which sounds like a happy indie rock song without the edge of the lyrics. Mike gets good mileage out of the chorus vocal effect again on the choruses, and the symphonics are well layered with the music (if at the expense of the guitar), so it succeeds musically despite the lyrical dissonance! We start the turn towards the brighter, optimistic future next with "Love Will Light The Way", which is the shortest song on any version of this album. Lyrically about depression and sadness always having a light (and love) at the end of the tunnel, this 99 second track just features Mike at a piano with some backing vocals, and feels kinda churchy.

It's not a very substantial track on its own, though it is pretty enough for fans of Mike's more reserved side. Still, it serves a purpose to bridge the album from it's darker lyrical places to the brighter final three songs, which seem to very clearly reflect his relationship with his now-wife Tianna (whose hand is lighting the rose on fire on the album cover). Eighth on the album is "The Start Of Something Real", which seems to be about meeting her and realizing that this is truly the beginning of a positive relationship with long-term prospects. Another very 1980s-inspired song here, especially thanks to its drum intro and plonky keyboard backing that reminded me a bit of Bruce Hornsby's "The Way It Is" (I hope that's a fair comparison)! As such, this song is very laid back and relaxed, if oddly not as happy overall as some of the earlier songs came off (lyrics aside), but it works well enough for what it is!

The "whoas" in the choruses are overdone, but this song does feel sufficiently different from what came before, so keep that in mind! After all, this has a flute solo, how many local musicians can say that? Ninth is "To Be With You", which is an original song and not a Mr. Big cover! It's lyrically about appreciating his new love and their future, and wanting to be with her, and continuing the vibe of the album changing its themes as the lyrical mood changed, this has more of a electronic/synth rock vibe to it that calls to mind a band like Imagine Dragons or Awolnation, and honestly, that's not a good thing for me. However, the song doesn't vocally sound like those type of bands, and still feels very Mike Haggithy, with his direct and passionate clean singing still firmly in the foreground, so fans won't be too far removed from his old material! Still not a favourite track of mine, especially thanks to the repetitive chorus.

We come full circle for the main album with song #10, "All The Best", which is basically about trust in this new relationship as they head into the future together while Mike gives his best and his all. Of the final four songs in this phase of the album, this feels the most traditional for Mike's post-2017 solo material, with a more subtle but still '80s-influenced synthy backing track, soaring vocal melodies (Mike's range is at its height here), and a tighter structure, if still with repetitive chorus vocals. Of the final four "current relationship" songs, this is the best and its a good way to end the album... unless you bought the Rose Edition! Just as a heads up, the four bonus originals don't have lyrics (at least not via Bandcamp), and curiously, their runtime steadily decreases as the track order progresses. First of the bonuses is "Unforgotten", which opens with plonky synths that remind me of Star Light Zone in Sonic the Hedgehog 1!

More of a reserved ballad backed with the '80s sound of multiple tracks on offer, it's not a bad song and has a relatively tight dreamy essence to it without coming off as too repetitive, but if you like Mike's more rocking songs, this may leave you wanting a bit. Next is "Requiem", which is another softer track, reminiscent of "Love Will Light The Way" but longer and without percussion, though sound effects of water are added to bookend the song. I'd have dialed the singing back a bit to better match the mood, and I do prefer more rock-based songs, but Mike sings with passion regardless, and it has the maturity you expect out of his ballad-leaning material! Third of the bonus tracks is Mike's cover of Bruce Springsteen's "Atlantic City", which he has performed live and you can hear thusly at this link even without owning the Rose Edition proper. Shorter than the original, the song is about a couple moving to Atlantic City, albeit with the man joining the Mafia to repay his unspecified debts. 

I'm not a massive fan of Springsteen, but if you've been wanting something more rock-based out of the bonus tracks, this will fill the gap, and while Mike doesn't differ greatly from the original's structure (length aside), it is a good change to hear him sing in a relatively lower register for the bulk of it. Also, Mike didn't add in the synths and keyboard parts to this cover, which are a different kind of '80s than a Bruce Springsteen cover really needs! The penultimate song is "I'd Do It All For You", which immediately begins with Mike singing and has no lead-in. This song feels like it would work well as a campfire jam if stripped down, but it still has some atmospheric backing and a percussion track. Relatively light and sunny track with good melodic vocals, it works for what it is, but it ends way too soon and it fades out too abruptly. The Rose Edition ends with "Horizons", which is the album's only instrumental.

A soft folk/indie rock song with atmospheric elements, it's basically a coda to the preceding album that perhaps was intended as Mike's flight into the future, and given his day job, I can totally picture that being intentional music to fly to. Not much of a standalone track for rock fans, but it serves a clear purpose to cap off the complete album!

So, after 5½ months, what are my final thoughts on "All The Best In All You Do"? Overall, while it's not the heaviest album in Mike's back catalog, it continues his storytelling and personal slant very well, and it succeeds as an artistic statement with quality songs to match! As his last album "Bridges" was postponed to make way for the more recently recorded "If Ever Comes The Day", that album (largely about a failing relationship) definitely feels like the spiritual predecessor to "All The Best...", but with the key addition of the symphonic and keyboard backing that was heard on "Bridges" and his late-era local material in the mid-2010s. That gave much of the album a very 1980s feel, which was neat to hear at times! On the reverse, this won't be the cup of tea for fans who got into Mike based on his local band work, as aside from "Twist Of Fate" and "Hot & Cold", the songs on offer wouldn't overtly fit in Din setlists.

My big issue with this album is that, given the arc of the songs from a relationship at its end stages to a happier new one, the songs didn't really fit musically as much as they did lyrically. Many of the songs where Mike is outlining how bad things are are sung at a contrastingly happy and upbeat tone, and while the album does shift for the last few songs, it's mostly towards experimental styles. Some songs played live also get more of a synth/key backing than fans may be used to from Mike's local gigs last year, and given how I'm not a fan of Imagine Dragons-type bands, the backing on "To Be With You" wasn't my thing. Still, this album delivers for fans of Mike's wide ranging music abilities, with "Carousel", "Twist Of Fate", and "All You Do" being my favouites! The Rose Edition tracks are welcome inclusions, if not 100% essential for casual fans, with my favourite being the "Atlantic City" cover.

"All The Best In All You Do" is a strong album where Mike pours his heart out for good and for bad, but it ends on the right note to go along with his happy marriage, and fans of his should find multiple songs to like on this album! Be sure to give it a listen (or buy it on Bandcamp for all 15 tracks) at the above links, and I hope you guys liked our last CD review of the year! To start 2024, we'll continue our now 15 month string of new album reviews by looking at local rapper Tristan "Bold Noize" Goslow's debut punk album "God Save Me", which was released back in August! Look for that next month, and for our 2023 year-in-review post next! Thanks everyone!

The Din - "Give In To The Din: Deluxe Edition" CD Review!!

It's now time for our 148th monthly CD review at The Sault Metal Scene, but in a sense, it's part 2 of our 86th, as we're taking a look at defunct local power pop/hard rock trio The Din's "deluxe edition" of their 2016 debut studio album "Give In To The Din"! Originally released as a 9 song independent LP on August 12th of that year, The Din announced on it's five year anniversary that they'd be posthumously reissuing it through frontman Mike Haggith's own MorningStar Studios imprint with an equal number of bonus tracks, and the deluxe edition came out on October 23rd. The old and "new" tracks were largely recorded locally at Pretoria Hill Productions with producer Daniel Schmidt (save for "Alleyways & Apartments" at Mission Control Studios with Dustin Jones), and all feature the band's classic lineup, including Mike on vocals, bass, and keyboard alongside former Steeletown Girls guitarist Tammy Hill & current Re:Born drummer Brandan Glew.

The expanded reissue is available on most major streaming or mp3 download platforms accessible at this Distrokid link. Notably, mp3 copies will run you $10 on Bandcamp (song names linked below come from there) or $7.99 on Amazon, and you can order physical CD copies at this link for $10, with the nine bonus tracks included on the album's second disc. Now, as I have already reviewed "Give In To The Din" on the SMS when it first came out, I will not be re-reviewing it here, but I will lead off by recapping my general thoughts, and I will compare these new alternate versions to the original/final copies when necessary. To read my original review, click here.

In that review, I praised the album for The Din's chemistry & talent, the catchy and up-tempo sound that adapted well to different moods, and the solid production quality, with songs like "Flux", "75", and "Potato (Should've Known Better)" among my favourites in their selection. On the flipside, I did find the somewhat constant dinging effect on the cymbals to be overdone, the emptiness of the drawn out "A Drive Through The Peninsula" wasn't to my taste, and I did acknowledge at the time that this album felt a little short, as The Din had more originals/holdovers from Mike's solo career that they played live but didn't include on the album proper, which only had 5 songs that originated with The Din. Still, as a debut indie release, this was a solid first effort that showed what The Din were all about from the get-go!

The opening song on disc #2 is one of two brand new tracks for the deluxe edition, namely a studio demo of their previously unreleased song "Differences", which was played at this album's initial CD release party, the live cut of which will be released on The Din's upcoming "Technically Live" album. A mid-tempo rocker that makes good use of Mike's melodic yet deep vocal range, it strikes me as a simpler song than some that did make the cut in 2016, which may be why they left it off at the time despite the album's short length. There is a nice extended solo in the bridge, but it feels tacked on and doesn't flow with the song as well as others did from the original release. Despite being labelled as a demo, the recording quality isn't bad, it just sounds more like they were recorded off the floor during a jam session.

"Differences" isn't a bad song, and will deliver for fans who like seeing The Din's heavier side, but it's not the instrumental showcase that some other tracks proved to be. Next is the first of two newly released versions of "Flux", starting with an "alternate version", so what's different from the original? This is basically the same song, but slightly slower and less enthusiastic, and the recording just feels emptier than the final version. "Flux" is one of my favourite Din songs, but aside from maybe crisper quality on Brandan's drum solo, there's nothing here that wasn't improved on for the album proper. That's followed by a demo of "Remember", which was more of a campfire ballad if with more production value, but this demo is more stripped down, intimate, and a little faster, which actually suits it pretty well! Production's obviously not as good, but I do prefer this demo take overall!

The next five songs are early mixes for songs from the original album, including "first mixes" of "Potato (Should've Known Better)" & "In Search of The Perfect Moment", plus "instrumental mixes" of "75", "Flux", and "Potato" again. Instrumentally, these early takes are identical as the final copies, and the differences come from the mixing process & vocals (or lack thereof). Comparing back to back, the obvious tell is that the preliminary mixes are quieter and less dynamic, but Mike's singing does come through flatter on the first two songs, and backing vocals on "Potato" are completely gone. The instrumental versions are interesting, but once you're so used to hearing these songs with vocals, they do feel somewhat empty. This doesn't affect the album, but I feel like The Din missed the boat by not posting lyrics for the instrumental mixes, thusly allowing fans to have Din karaoke!

The deluxe edition of "Give In To The Din" closes with it's second & final new "song", namely a 98 second spoken word track named "Our Place In Tbe Scene". In it, Mike amusingly compares The Din to the creepy relative no one talks about in the "family" of the local music scene, with Mike even name-dropping other (mostly) contemporary bands at a hypothetical gathering. Tammy is present, mainly reacting to Mike's comparisons, but Brandan wasn't in on this one. Amusing listen, even if Mike heavily undersells The Din, and it's a fun bonus to end the deluxe edition with!

So, what are my final thoughts on the second disc/bonus tracks for "Give In To The Din"? I think these are a neat bonus for long-time fans, but unless it's comparable or easier to buy this over the original, I don't think you have to go out of your way for the extras. It's great to hear a studio version of "Differences" finally, "Our Place In The Scene" is funny, and I do prefer the "Remember" demo as a piece of music to the final version, but the "Flux" demo is easily inferior, and the preliminary mixes are likely more of interest to diehard fans who want to catalog the progress of individual songs. It's hard to say what else (if anything) is left from the 2016 recording sessions that could theoretically have made the cut here, so I won't speculate, but opening the vaults like this is something I wish more local bands would do! I wonder if we'll see The Din do something similar for "Suburban Dream" in the future?

If you haven't bought "Give In To The Din" yet, or haven't heard it in a while, this would be more than enough reason to catch yourself up, and you can stream or download it at the above links! I think casual fans will be just fine with the original 9 songs/disc #1 though. I hope you guys liked this month's CD review, but what are we looking at on the site in November 2021? I'm not 100% sure yet, but here's what I can say. Our 6 month buffer period to avoid showing a bias or preferential treatment towards specific acts is still in effect, which means I can't look at Molten Imp's new digital single until 2022, while The Din's upcoming "Technically Live" (release date not yet known) will not be hitting the site until April at the earliest. The Inner City Surfers and (if they suddenly released something new) Slumshine or Late & Loud are also out next month no matter what.

The elephant in the room is arguably Mike Haggith's upcoming solo album "Bridges", which is supposed to come out before the end of the year, and as his solo project is distinct from The Din, it can be reviewed upon release, but could it be next month? Time will tell, but stay tuned for the identity of our next album review in any event, and for more news and notes on the site soon! Thanks everyone, and have a Happy Halloween!

A New Local Album Re-Release, Plus More Buckcherry Videos!!

Things have been quiet lately, but the SMS will be busier in the home-stretch of October 2021, and that starts with a new news post on this Sunday morning, including more new videos from a recent notable concert and leading off, a new album re-release, so here's what you should know!

As promised, defunct local power pop/hard rock trio The Din released the "deluxe edition" of their 2017 debut album "Give In To The Din" on multiple digital platforms yesterday, so what should you know about that? Early promotion for the re-release indicated that there would be 18 tracks, double the amount on the album in it's original form, and whether you expected this would comprise of an alternate version of each song or completely unreleased material, you'll be partially right on both fronts. Two of the nine songs are new in studio form, namely a demo version of the previously unreleased original "Differences" and a 98 second spoken word track named "Our Place In The Scene". The rest are pre-release variants of songs that did make the cut for the album, including an alternate version & instrumental mix of "Flux", first and instrumental mixes of "Potato (Should've Known Better)", a demo version of "Remember", ...

...a first mix of "In Search Of The Perfect Moment", and an instrumental mix of "75". You can stream all 18 songs, new & old, on Spotify and Bandcamp, while the album will run you $7.99 on Amazon or $10 on Bandcamp in mp3 format. Full links for it's streaming/download locations can be found on The Din's Distrokid page. I won't comment on the deluxe edition yet, as this will very likely be reviewed on the SMS this week, but give the whole album a listen/purchase above, and stay tuned for news on when The Din's teased live album "Technically Live" will come out, let alone frontman Mike Haggith's first live-streamed solo concert in over a year tonight on his Facebook page!

Next up, here's the rest of prolific local concert filmer Christopher Paci's videos from Tuesday night's Buckcherry concert at Soo Blaster! Chris started uploading these on Wednesday night, well after his first Bad Chug video was uploaded that morning, but too late for me to include in our last news post on Thursday, which was auto-posted at midnight and completed the previous day. Starting with the headliners, Chris filmed five videos of the Anaheim hard rock quintet playing their set-opener "54321", "Hellbound", "Rain's Falling", "Sorry", and as embedded below, the end of their cover of Bryan Adams' "Summer of '69", followed by their own song "Crazy Bitch", which was extended to over 10 minutes via frontman Josh Todd introducing the band, bantering with the crowd, and covering a bit of Creedence Clearwater Revival's "Proud Mary" before the final chorus. This is all fairly common for this song live, FYI.

While I personally am not a Buckcherry fan, it's great to see them finally make up their May (and November) 2020 date here and tour Canada successfully without any visible illnesses throwing a spanner in the works! I'd have liked to have seen more masks on fans, especially given how packed the floor was for Buckcherry's set, but remember, vaccine passports were mandatory to enter Soo Blaster for this one. Audio has it's scratchier moments, but Chris had a good angle of Buckcherry, and they were on form compared to their Kewadin gigs from the 2010s, so check out all of their videos from Tuesday night above and below!

Chris also filmed three videos of opening local punk trio Redundant's first public concert set in over two years, including of them covering Johnny Cash's "Folsom Prison Blues", and an abbreviated 1:40 version of The Ramones' "Blitzkrieg Bop", but embedded below is them playing their own original "What Will You Do". Nice to see Justin, Andrew, and Rick back on stage after far too long, and they seem happy and in their element on these strongly done tracks, though note that Chris was on the opposite side of the stage for their set. Give these a look above & below as well!

Finally, Chris had one more video of local/Ottawa hard rock quartet Bad Chug to upload that didn't go up at the same time as his prior song of theirs, so here it is! Also featuring Aaron on lead vocals, it's a slower number (but still heavy) compared to their first upload from Tuesday night, and appeared to feature Jacob using a talk box for backing vocals, which you don't see here too often! Like before, I couldn't make out enough words to tell if this was an original or a cover. Chris' vantage point of the stage was better here, so Aaron is much easier to make out, but this is at the expense of Kyle, who was at least very active! Give Bad Chug's second video a look below, and hopefully we hear more from them soon!

That's all for today, but stay tuned for our recap of the aforementioned Mike Haggith's revived live-stream concerts tomorrow, but remember that you can tune in tonight at 7:00 PM EST on his Facebook page to watch it live first if you are so inclined! Thanks everyone!

SBD - "Sonic Experiments: Mulligan Edition" Review!!

Well guys, it's time for our fourteenth monthly local metal CD review, and this month, we take a surprise turn to an album that I hadn't forecasted getting a copy of until just last week! Yes, this month, we'll take a look at the second & final CD from inactive local experimental grunge trio SBD, entitled "Sonic Experiments: Mulligan Edition"! A do-over of the original pressing of "Sonic Experiments" (only sold at their debut concert in May 2010), this album, lovingly wrapped in tinfoil, was officially launched at their show at what's now Coch's Corner on August 28th, and features more songs along with a few removals and adjustments to improve the quality. It was self-produced and recorded from 2009 to earlier this year, and features the band's classic lineup, including singer/guitarist Dann Pichette, bassist Brad Griffith, and drummer Shane Triplett. "Sonic Experiments: Mulligan Edition" is not out of print, but you could attempt to contact the band through their official Soundclick page to get a copy! Nine of the featured songs, be they the form on the new CD or otherwise, can be streamed there as well. This CD features 12 songs clocking in at over 75 minutes of music, let's begin this review with the first song, "Ess"! (Updated on September 28th, 2012)

"Ess" is an instrumental track which deftly mixes the experimental nature of their sound with some good musical abilities! Starting with a bouncy bass line and some nice drum work, the song features a lot of distorted guitar playing from Dann Pichette that ranges from psychedelic to melodic to heavy! This song actually sums up SBD's musical style pretty well with how it meshes their styles together! The song slows down a touch in the middle, but it never loses it's pacing. The various guitar solo sections aren't highly technical, but have nice melodies, while Shane Triplett's drumming really stands out, and Brad Griffith shows off some nice bass lines throughout! "Ess" is never boring or predictable, only really lagging at the end, which seemed to drone on and on before it actually came to a close. But as an opening song, it gives a great insight into how SBD will sound, sans vocals of course!

Second is "Rio Bravo", the first song on this CD with vocals, and it starts with a nice galloping bass solo from Brad that actually calls a Western movie to mind, a'la the title! When the song picks up, it does lose that Western feel to their more hard rocking sound, but it still gives the feel that you're moving or riding ahead as you listen. Dann's vocals have a nice grungy tone to them, a'la some of No Arrow's better songs, but they're not mixed terribly high, and I found myself missing certain words underneath the riffing. I also found it unique that the choruses tended to be a bit softer and slower than the verses, when usually, it's the other way around. That being said, the band are playing some great stuff during the verses, which continues it's galloping heavy sound for the most part! Though a touch repetitive, I really like this song, except for the last couple of minutes. It almost brought to mind the end of the charge, so to speak, if we're gonna talk in Western movie terms. "Rio Bravo" just gradually got slower and really started to drone on and on. So, aside from the endings of both, the first two songs are scoring high!

Third is one of my personal favourite SBD songs, "It Just Won't Work", which I've been a fan of for months now! And I think one of the reasons I like this song is the sheer unpredictability of it. It starts with a bouncy psychedelic verse with softer melodic singing, and then WHAM! The song picks up in speed and heaviness at a VERY fast and moshable rate while Dann repeatedly yells, what else? "It just won't work!!" The whole song has that slow/fast mentality, like they pushed a "Rapid Fire" button right before each chorus. The lyrics are pretty entertaining too, and though the chorus is very repetitive, it goes by so fast and at such a pace that you don't notice. I love this song, but I think a guitar solo (placed at an unpredicatable spot) would really push it over the edge. Still, it's a standout track on "Sonic Experiments: Mulligan Edition" that you'll wanna check out!

Next, we have "Delchgobah", which clocks in at 9:42, and believe it or not, there are two songs longer than this on the CD! This is another instrumental, and it starts slowly with some guitar distortion effects, a slow but effective bassline, and some nice drumming. It's varied enough to hold my interest, but it could stand to be chopped down a bit. After about 90 seconds, Dann plays some more normal bouncy guitar melodies and solos, but the song goes on at about the same rate. It's never boring, but it feels stretched out too far. Only after 3:30 does it start to adjust it's sound, as Brad and Shane become more prominent before the song gets very isolated and quiet about midway through, staying that way throughout. It has a very deliberate sound, but not terribly exciting either. The last couple of minutes pick up as the guitar playing gets a bit faster and more varied, helping end the song on a high note! This is another good song, with lots of creative experimental touches, but it feels overly long, and I think it could easily be cut to 5 minutes and still accomplish the same goals.

The fifth song on the CD is "Kick In The Crotch", and it starts with a solo drum section followed by repeated singing of the song's title along with some bass licks that sound very 1970s, if that's appropriate. This is one of the most offbeat songs on the album, with Dann's vocals alternating between very "interesting" spoken word passages, and saying "Kick In The Crotch" repeatedly, as the same backing instrumentation accompanies this. Then, the song changes completely as it gets way more experimental and insane, with relentless drumming, loads of guitar distortion, and a complete removal of the vocals we had heard. Not everyone will appreciate that turn, but I liked it, it felt like chaos was ensuing! The last 90 seconds are another change in sound, with slow guitar distortion, a low bass riff, and constant drumming taking center stage in a more orderly, but still experimental fashion. This song also falls into the same complaint area I had a few times earlier, an ending that just dragged on and on, but this song still works on an amusing and unpredictable angle, especially the chaotic center!

Track six is "Sliced Bacon Delivers", a short but relentlessly heavy number that packs loads of metal into an awesome 1:47 stretch of music! The song grabs you and doesn't let go, with Dann's voice holding up well to deliver harsh singing with some rangier portions! The guitar is actually so heavy and loud that it sounds distorted by accident, so it's actually hard to hear at points. I think they should have mixed the guitar down to counter that. The guitar solo also sounds a touch off too. Only after 80 seconds does the band tone things down a bit, getting a touch slower with some softer singing, but it doesn't last long before it unloads the heaviness to cap the song off! I definitely love this song, it's heavy as hell and pulls no punches, but the overly loud guitars do hurt it a bit. It's followed by another instrumental, "Into The Unknown", which begins with a nice drum solo from Shane before slowing down into a very mysterious sort of opening, with deliberately slow paced & spaced out riffing and rhythm sections, almost ominous at points. It maintains this sound for most of the song, with guitar effects and a low bass line common throughout, but Shane is the star of this song to me. Early and late in the song, his drumming is fast, varied, and technical, and he helps give the song energy it was otherwise lacking. I appreciate it's pacing, and it has sort of a feel like you're in the "unknown", but aside from Shane's drumming, it's not one of my favourites.

Eighth on the CD yet another instrumental, "Boxology", which starts with another drum solo from Shane, before settling into a slower bass-driven section. Eventually, Dann took prominence on guitar with some nice guitar effects, adding to the slow experimental nature of this song. Nothing about "Boxology" screams of heaviness, this is a straight up experimental track that works to set it apart from earlier songs, which each had a level of "rock" to them. The ending, while long and drawn out, doesn't drag as much as on certain earlier songs, using some nice guitar playing and drumming to keep things interesting. This song works on it's chosen level, but if you're expecting heaviness, you won't find it here. Ninth is "The Seventeen Minute Song", which is very appropriately titled, because it does clock in at a little over 17 minutes in length, easily the longest on the album! It'd be impossible to concisely detail the entire song, but I'll say that it's another instrumental, and it ranges from a slower bass-heavy first couple of minutes to a very heavy stretch about midway through the song that's as chaotic as it is entertaining! It's not hard to sit through this song without trailing off, because it's so varied and creative, and certain patches do drag, but not for too long. Effects are used liberally, the drumming is awesome, and they show their creativity here nicely to fill out a 17 minute song! My biggest recommendation: Vocals, sections of this song could use them, but overall, it's a good, if ambitious number!

The tenth song is "Explanation Of The Universe", which is also a super long instrumental, with a run time of 16:37! Compared to "The Seventeen Minute Song", this one has a spacier feel to it, though it does start differently with a normal soft guitar opening. Once it picks up, the song makes good use of guitar effects alluding to science fiction-esque sounds, and retains that quality for most of the song! Especially in the middle, Dann makes great use of effects, with Brad and Shane keeping up with their own solid work throughout! That being said, while it's more unique than the the last song, it's also, in my opinion, not as good. It's an entertaining listen, but it's not as heavy on the whole. Also, the latter part of the song drags, except for some spacy guitar work. It mostly stays on the experimental path, and I like the song, but I do prefer "The Seventeen Minute Song" on a personal basis. And again, this song could use some vocals, cause I imagine some weird trippy sort of singing about the universe could add to the feel!

Second last on "Sonic Experiments: Mulligan Edition" is "Space Filler", and the name is fitting, cause it does feel like that. It's well played, but it drones along for five minutes of slow placed low tuned music, and it doesn't feel like it accomplishes much. It's another instrumental, and it really doesn't engage me on the whole. The only parts where it doesn't seem to glide along low notes is in some noisy guitar sections that seem to crash around more than keep a melody. This is definitely the lowpoint of the CD, but maybe the band realizes that. After all, it is entitled "Space Filler"! The album ends with "Rubber Hose/Throwing Pies", which clocks in at an album low 57 seconds, and if you were hoping for an up tempo closer, then you'll likely be disappointed. It's a folksy soft song that finally returns singing to the album, with Dann playing guitar and singing about some very "interesting" subjects in a low clean tone that sounds slightly odd. Glad to see a non-instrumental, but this plays more like an intro than an album closer.

So how do I grade SBD's "Mulligan Edition" of "Sonic Experiments"? Well, I have to say, I liked a lot of it, but it's not a perfect album. There's good stuff on here, from the unpredictable heaviness of "It Just Won't Work" to the relentless nature of "Sliced Bacon Delivers", SBD showed that they can be as heavy as they are unique, while they let their music do the talking on instrumentals like "Ess" and "The Seventeen Minute Song"! I know people who don't know SBD very well will want to compare them to No Arrow, but on most songs, it's inaccurate. Yes, you have Dann and Brad there, but there's a lot more trippy experimental fare than No Arrow ever thought of having. Dann makes great use of guitar distortion, and they make use of a lot of unique riffing, solos, and effects to make each song different and unique! Brad's an underrated bassist, he knows what he's doing and can make some really nice lines! But to me, the biggest surprise of the three band members was Shane Triplett, who drummed with a lot of ferocity and speed on most songs, and his energy was constant, even on a slower song like "Into The Unknown"! When they were on, they were on, and they gave a unique twist to what could have ended up as familiar material in other hands, so kudos in that respect! Note that if you're not into experimental stuff with weird structures and effects, then this won't be your cup of tea.

As I said, it's not a perfect album. Too many songs had a dragged out ending that never seemed to wrap up quickly enough, and a few songs, notably "Delchgobah", felt overly long. I was surprised by the lack of songs featuring vocals as well. Only 5 songs feature Dann's singing, and they amount to around 16 minutes of the album. The rest of it was completely instrumentals, and though I'm not opposed to that, I missed hearing Dann's voice! Most of the instrumentals are solid, but they really started to trail off late. After "The Seventeen Minute Song", the excitement level seemed to get gradually lower, and ended the CD on the wrong note, when they could have moved a faster paced song to the end to close the album on a high. That disappointed me a bit, because they had so many moments earlier when they successfully wowed me with their unpredictable experimental far melded with grungy hard rock, and yet it ended so flat. It also would have been nice to see some live favourites like "Rock Paper Scissors" or "Pow! Right In The Kisser", but hey, they could be on a future album! So, while I have obvious reservations, SBD is as SBD does! I did enjoy "Sonic Experiments: Mulligan Edition", which has a lot of unique music that you don't get locally, and some songs are likely to get you moving, one way or another!

And there's my SBD review, do check out their CD and see what you think! So, what's my next review? Well, for the first time in four months, I know exactly what my next review will be, as I will take a look at Sykotyk Rampage's brand new 23rd studio album, "Bella Disgusta"! This promises to be another unique addition to the local metal scene, so watch out for that review in the coming week! The new release season is off and running, and there's much more in store for the next few months, so be here throughout the fall and beyond for more local metal and hard rock CD, EP, and album reviews! That's all for today, but stay tuned for the new review, our "Where Are The New Albums?" update post, a review of Thursday's Endast show, and much more in the very near future!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERT (Caveman Morrison), SBD Concert Review, And Our Next CD Review!!

Well guys, I'm back from last night's SBD concert, and today's post is mostly dedicated to reviewing it! Also stay tuned after for the identity of this month's CD review and a few assorted news and notes from the past little while! But first, here's a LOCAL CONCERT ALERT!!!

With Caveman Morrison back in the full swing of things with their new lineup, the bookings keep coming for the local metal cover trio, as they've scheduled another date for this fall! This time, they'll be back at The Vibe Lounge for a show on October 8th, their first time there since earlier this month! There is no announced cover charge, there is a 19+ age limit, and the announced start time is 10:00 PM. Get full details on this show at the official Facebook event page! This should be another fun night of hard rock and metal covers, so make it on out for this one if you can! If not, you have chances to see them next month, starting with their supporting set at the Tony Lee XXX Hypnotist show at The Outback a week from Saturday, which is also their debut show with new drummer Johnny Belanger! I'll keep you posted with more Caveman Morrison details as I hear them!

Now, onto our SBD concert review! The band started around quarter to 11, a bit late, but the fans in attendance didn't mind! Actually, the crowd was pretty small, usually floating around a dozen concert-goers, but I'll say this much: Those who came were devoted fans, and it showed! At varying points, some SBD fans were either moshing, yelling requests, or partaking in some very "unique" dancing to certain songs. I even noticed that during "Pow! Right In The Kisser", there was some choreography going on for it with the dancing fans! It was a small crowd, smaller than SBD deserve, but to be fair, the show was announced on very short notice. Now, onto the music! I have to say, it's good seeing Dann Pichette back on stage again, I know I said that at Downtown Showdown, but it's true. I miss seeing No Arrow, but this works! Musically, SBD are hard to pinpoint soundwise. They can definitely have a No Arrow vibe, but their sound brings a whole new experimental edge that counters and/or adds to the grunge feel. For example, they had a keyboard on stage, Dann took time during a couple of songs to apply distortion effects at the speakers to some songs, and you should have counted the number of guitar pedals and switches Dann had at his disposal!

I won't go into too much detail on most of their originals because I have a proper review of many of them coming (more info in a second), but their originals ranged from more heavy fare like "It Just Won't Work" and "Sliced Bacon Delivers" to experimental more psychedelic styles like on "Ess" and "Kick In The Crotch". It wasn't uncommon to see things get trippy right after they played something raw and relentless. There was a tinge of No Arrow to certain songs, but this is a whole other animal. There was a lot of long instrumental stretches and a sort of easy going laid back feel to many songs. Also adding to the experimental side of things was a good deal of unique covers, including Syd Barrett-era Pink Floyd songs like "Scream Thy Last Scream" & "Mother Matilda", and Mystery Machine's "Ride". Dann Pichette provided some good grungy vocals, but added some extra quirks and effects where needed to suit the songs, and his guitar playing suited their style well, seeming to switch from raw and unpolished to atmospheric and bouncy whenever needed. Brad Griffith, also a former No Arrow member, was really good on bass, and kept up with each song no matter the feel. And Shane Triplett was awesome on drums, he can go pretty hard, even when cymbals fell and drumsticks broke! He was relentless and it worked well!

I had fun at this show, but SBD are certainly not a band you can easily categorize or compare to other bands. No Arrow would be an easy comparison, but while they fell into the void between punk and metal, SBD are completely off the charts thanks to their experimental qualities. That being said, their sound won't be appreciated by everyone, but I'm a fan! They play a style you don't see here very much, and they play it well! It's raw, yet well put together. It's trippy & danceable, yet heavy & moshable. I hope they keep on playing this style and not making it more commercial, cause people will take notice! If you're among the group of music fans in Sault Ste. Marie who think everything is the same, give SBD a shot! I have a few reservations though, like how some of their instrumentals can drag, and how the guitar and bass can overpower the singing, but hey, that can be worked on. SBD is as SBD does, I don't expect anything less, and I'll definitely be back to see them again!

As you can tell, I got many photos, click here or visit The Sault Metal Scene on Facebook to check them out! And yes, I got a video, so here's SBD playing "It Just Won't Work" last night!



Now, onto details on our next album review! During SBD's first set break, Dann announced that they had CDs for sale! For $10, we could buy "Sonic Experiments: Mulligan Edition", which was a do-over of their original pressing of "Sonic Experiments", which was only sold at their debut show in May. It has some minor differences from the original version in track listing and song versions, hence why it's called the "Mulligan Edition." And you know how I try and get a copy of any local metal/hard rock CD that I can, so I bought one, lovingly wrapped in tinfoil! I felt like wanting to microwave the album thanks to that! This is the cover, and it has 12 songs actually running over 70 minutes long as a whole, so you definitely get your money's worth by quanitity alone! So yes, this WILL be our next CD review, and I will have it for you guys either tomorrow or on Tuesday! And as promised, my review of Sykotyk Rampage's new album "Bella Disgusta" will be after that, at some point during the first few days of September! Also, if anyone has an original copy of "Sonic Experiments", let me know!

That's all for today, but I have some more scattered news stories to share at some point soon! Also, we have some special posts in the near future, including the aforementioned SBD and Sykotyk Rampage CD reviews, a review of THURSDAY'S Endast show, our September update of our "Where Are The New Albums?" post, and more! Stay tuned!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERT (Garden of Bedlam) And My Sykotyk Rampage/Tyler Yuke Memorial Review!!

How's everyone doing on this Sunday afternoon? I was at The Tyler Yuke Memorial Night at The Outback yesterday for Sykotyk Rampage's headlining performance, so I have a review of that coming up, along with a couple of assorted stories! But first, a LOCAL CONCERT ALERT!!

We still don't have a rescheduled date for their fundraiser show in Garden River, but Garden of Bedlam do have another show on the horizon! On April 2nd, it will indeed be a Good Friday as Garden of Bedlam perform at The Canadian Nightclub! This show will be a launch party for their official website, which is now online at www.gardenofbedlam.com! It was created by Melissa McMaster at 3Design Elements, and it looks pretty good! Lots of pictures, bio info, nice page design, and their first E.P. is streamable there too! It may already be online, but the official launch party will be on Good Friday, so save your celebrations until then! This concert will have an opening band to be announced, with Crank Sound Distribution handling the sound and The Rad Zone will also be on hand to sell band merchandise! A cover charge has yet to be announced, and a start time of 11:00 PM is given. The Facebook event page says that this will be their last show in Sault Ste. Marie before hitting the studio, so you'll wanna be out for this one! Confirm your attendance at this location!

Pencil me in for this show, I missed their last concert at Foggy's, I need my Garden of Bedlam fix! I'll keep you posted with any updates I have on this show, and if I find anything out about the rescheduling for their fundraiser in Garden River, I'll have that as well!

And now, here's my review of The Tyler Yuke Memorial Night featuring Sykotyk Rampage! As you may know, these are held yearly at The Outback at Sault College in memory of former Sault College student Tyler Yuke, who tragically died in 2002. Luckily there was little hassle to get in compared to other Outback shows I've been to, and when I arrived, there was a huge crowd, the largest I've seen there since the Gob concert! Now prior to my arrival, internet ads for this show had it starting at 8:00 PM with Sykotyk Rampage playing at 10:00 PM. I arrived a little before 10:00, and Sykotyk Rampage didn't play until closer to 1:30 AM! That's not the band's fault though, I'll get into that. When I got there, Sault College teacher Jerry Zuchlinski led a huge group of many of the night's performers in a group tribute song, which went over well. Jerry became the night's MC, introducing us to acts, talking about Tyler, and even telling a dirty joke!

I knew going in that there would be tons of open mic performers before Sykotyk Rampage stepped on stage, but there was a LOT more than I expected! And with no internet announcements of a performer lineup, I had no clue what to expect (I never did before either, Sault College have never announced performers for the Tyler Yuke memorials.) That being said, I couldn't tell you the names of the majority of the musicians who performed. My apologies if I mis-state anything here!

After the group song, there was a bagpipe player, followed by a solo performance from Tyler Yuke's dad, which was cool! Then there was sort of a drum circle kind of deal with some college students (my buddy Mike among them), followed by two separate solo singer/guitarists. Most of the acts performing had a sort of indie/acoustic sound to them, which definitely isn't my cup of tea, but the crowd seemed to enjoy it! I could tell that things were running overtime, other people were remarking that it was long and some performers said on stage that they had to cut down their sets. After the two solo performers, I got a surprise in the form of former Quite Frankly frontwoman Jacky Alisat! She and guitarist Adam Bertrand player three songs, none "metal", but I really enjoyed their set! I never saw Quite Frankly when Jacky sang, but I saw online videos and was very impressed! She's got a hell of a voice, and she shown it last night, even on an Animals song! Hopefully she gets back into a band again soon!

Then it went back to the indie-folksy stuff, with a trio of students with some guests performing more of that kind of stuff. The crowd, again, did seem to be having fun, but this stuff isn't something I'd typically see on a normal day. Following them was two singer/guitarists, one of which had a Zakk Wylde custom Gibson Les Paul! And being a Zakk Wylde fan, that got my attention! They covered the Ozzy Osbourne song "Mama I'm Coming Home", and to be completely honest, they were better than the sound guys had it sound. I don't know what the deal was, but there was feedback on the guitar and the tone of it sounded off and slightly muffled. And I can tell it wasn't their fault cause the guy with the Zakk Wylde guitar pretty much nailed it, he deserved better! The singer had kind of a softer voice, I don't think it matched as well for that kind of song. I liked them, but the sound was an impairment. They followed that with another song, after which another guitarist joined them to play some softer stuff, which I wasn't feeling as much.

Two more indie bands followed, and I don't know if it was just my metalhead nature, the length the open mic bands took, or both, but I wasn't feeling either band too much. Don't get me wrong, they were good for their style, they really were! The second band had the singer also playing a violin, which was unexpected, and they had some good covers going! But I dunno, it just started really dragging by this point for me. The bands played a song, then spent a few minutes fiddling with their instruments and talking to the crowd casually. This was well after midnight at this point, and the crowd had slowly been clearing out all night, it just went on and on and on. When the second band finished, the crowd that was left cheered enthusiastically and asked for an encore. This was around 1:00 AM at this point, and I think the organizers said they couldn't, what with the bar closing at 2:00 AM and all.

Finally, things started to pick up when Sykotyk Rampage bassist Brian Cattapan and former Time of Ruin guitarist Rich Moreland took the stage as "7th Edition" for a two song set (which, as they pointed out to me, would have been longer had things not been behind schedule.) They're one and the same as the previously announced "6th Edition" in a sense. Brian's in both bands, but Rich stepped in for the other half of the band, who just moved to London yesterday. They covered Alice In Chains' "Your Decision" and Pantera's "Cemetery Gates", with Rich and Brian both on guitar, and Brian on vocals. "Your Decision" worked pretty well, Brian has a decent singing voice, it's a wonder he never gets a singing part on a Sykotyk Rampage album! And it really is cool seeing Rich on stage again, it feels like forever since I last saw him with a guitar in hand! "Cemetery Gates" didn't work as well for me, it felt like they changed the arrangement too much to have it suit the acoustic instruments and Brian's vocal range. It wasn't bad though, but if I was picking a Pantera song for them to do, I think "Planet Caravan" might have worked better. Still, I enjoyed their two songs, it was a welcome break from the mostly indie stuff we'd heard until then!

And then, finally, after 3 1/2 hours of waiting, Sykotyk Rampage finally took the stage, and by this point, the crowd was just awful in size. Had the show ran on schedule with Sykotyk Rampage playing at 10:00 like previously announced (hell, even at midnight), they'd have had a huge receptive crowd! Now it was just the devoted fans who didn't mind staying up til 2 in the morning. At least they delivered a fun half hour of harsh music for harsh minds for the remainder of us! They played a handful of their classics, like "Treating You Bad", "Drinking On The Weekend", and "Red Ball Jet", with their typical high energy! Paul Becker still sounded as uniquely good as ever on vocals, Brian Cattapan jumped around on-stage with lots of energy and enthusiasm, and the whole band just seemed to be having as much fun as they could with the time the other bands left for them! Given the circumstances, I can't criticize Sykotyk Rampage at all, they performed as well as I would expect them given the time and set length!

So how about my overall thoughts? Well, let me start by saying this: I hate being too critical. I never want to outright say that something sucks or I hated this or wanted to leave during that, that's unfair to the performers and organizers and their talent. But I have to be honest, I wasn't having a lot of fun at parts of this show. This is NOT the bands' fault, they all had visible talent, some were quite impressive! But for a guy who doesn't listen to much indie, folk, or acoustic music, it just got draining after a while. We were under the impression that it all started at 8:00 with open mic stuff, then Sykotyk Rampage would play at 10:00 PM like Facebook said. Never in my wildest dreams did I think I'd be watching open mic for 3 1/2 hours before the headliners got on stage. I was remarking to people I knew that it felt like being at Hempfest without the hemp. Again, this isn't the bands' fault, remember, this isn't my style of music or my typical crowd. It's more the organization of it all. I've never been terribly impressed with how the college handle concerts. Often, the sound needs work (at points last night, it was bad), I had sound complaints at Sykotyk Rampage's show there in October. And I don't know why the show ran behind schedule so much, but they should have been on top of that to give each band their proper times and proper lengths. At least this time, they weren't so restrictive on the entry of non-students!

But above all else, this show accomplished what it set out to, to pay tribute to Tyler Yuke's memory and have some fun showcasing college talent, and it did just that! The crowd that came out enjoyed it, well, what they saw, and when it comes down to it, it'd have been more enjoyable without changing the performers if they'd just managed the schedule and band performances better so that nothing ran later than it should have. Yeah, I admit the bands were mostly not my cup of tea, but this wasn't advertised as a metal show, and I fully expected stuff I wouldn't typically listen to. It just was worse because it dragged on and on into the night. There were some great acts, like the duo who covered Ozzy, and Jacky Alisat's set, and of course, 7th Edition and Sykotyk Rampage, who completely made the wait worth it at the end! It was all in all, a good and effective memorial show, it accomplished what it wanted, but it just ran way too long and needed better organization.

To close today's post, videos! I got two videos last night, of 7th Edition covering "Cemetery Gates" and Sykotyk Rampage paying tribute to Johnny Cash with their original "Called In Dead"! Check them out below!





This post has ran longer than I thought, so I'll leave it there for now, but I have lots of news coming soon, so stay tuned! Thanks everyone! And no offense meant for any negative comments!