Things have been somewhat quiet as of late, but we are back with a new news post on this Tuesday morning, featuring a few short new videos from each side of the border, and to kick things off, two new albums from regional hard rock musicians, so here's what you should know!
The newest album from Dafter, Michigan solo hard rock musician Ken "SweetKenny" Sutton was released as scheduled this past Wednesday! Entitled "Escape of the Desert Rat", this is his eleventh to be themed as a score for use in other media, though Ken visualizes it as a video game score, even giving it a plot outline on his website. If left up to him, the story is about a United States military colonel who leads an elite strike force team, but has to escape capture by Sudanese rebels, but potential licensees could theoretically adapt it as they wished. "Escape of the Desert Rat" is available for $9.99 on his Bandcamp page, and while it is his first new album release of 2018, remember that we will not be reviewing it this month. Instead, we'll be looking at SweetKenny's August score album "The Dogs Are Watching", as it's material is slightly heavier, so look for that review soon!
Also, while his scores remain his current focus, one new traditional original is now on his YouTube channel, so what should you know on it? Entitled "Bikini", it's a rock instrumental with a 1960s British Invasion vibe that fans of his older material should enjoy! However, I have chosen not to embed it here due to it's featured video (borrowed clips from a rap music video and of bikini models suggestively washing a car), as some of the content may be considered inappropriate or objectifying. Give it a listen if you want though!
Next up, here's another new solo hard rock album to take note of from a local musician, that being Sault Ontario's own Mike McCleary, who put out his surprise EP "Hourglass" on January 8th! This is not a renaming of the previously announced "Weight of the Truth", that's coming in the near future, but Mike noted on his Facebook page that he chose to release "Hourglass" first due to "the timeliness of its message." In particular, this five song EP addresses topics like assimilation, gender inequality, racism, and poverty, and how they are handled in reality. All five songs have previously been shared in varying forms on Mike's Soundcloud page, and if you're missing a favourite, watch for follow-up releases. It should be noted that Mike did release a debut album called "In Ruins" to online streaming services last June (before we discovered him for site coverage), but it has since been pulled from iTunes, Spotify, and Deezer, and was never acknowledged on Facebook, so he may intend to rework that album and/or it's songs.
"Hourglass" is available on Bandcamp for $4.95 and is also on iTunes and Spotify, so consider streaming or buying it through those sites to hear Mike's newest (first official?) release! As for when to expect a review of it... next month is very possible, though if teasers regarding "The Weight of the Truth" prove to see it's release in the coming weeks, we could pick that instead. "In Ruins" wouldn't jump ahead in line as it's not a "new" album anymore, and who knows if it's being tinkered with. In any event, February is very possible for our first ever Mike McCleary album review, so stay tuned for updates!
Also today, here's the latest from local/St. Catharine's grindcore trio Shit Liver, so what's new from their camp? Well, they will hit the road with a Southern Ontario tour run with Owen Sound sludgecore band Cruel Bloom
early next month, which join a previously announced Windsor show
in two weeks where they'll help open that city's thrash band Plague's CD release concert. No word on a local concert return yet, but it's great to see the guys keeping busy! Shit Liver have also been seen in a few news Facebook page videos from late last year, including this 2 second video from New Year's Eve featuring Matt Baic drumming while standing up. Ultra brief, but he's definitely in the zone for those 2 seconds! The other video is a proper live clip from their Hamilton concert at Doors in November where they opened for past local headliners Uncle Ray, as shared from attendee Zixuan Chen's page. While it's also brief (37 seconds), at least we get some solid quality footage from a high camera angle, so give it a look below!
Finally for today, here's some brief new videos from Sault Michigan independent label Werehold Records' YouTube channel, though these aren't your standard postings. Instead, these feature label head/Life's Eclipse guitarist Jason Mills testing five microphones across two videos by playing the same heavy guitar riff. You can see the second part (featuring a pair of MXL microphones) at this link, but embedded below is the longer video comparing three. I think the MXL 990 on the second video has the clearest sound, but the SM57 has a scratchier tone that might work better for a punk song. Compare for yourself above and below!
That's all for today, but stay tuned for more news and updates on The Sault Metal Scene as the week rolls along! Thanks everyone!
As promised, let's round out this weekend's currently announced hard rock concert previews today, focusing on Saturday-only events, but to lead off, we have some LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS, one of a huge scale, the other on SHORT NOTICE, so here's what you should know!
Eclipse frontman Curtis McKenzie will return to The Vape Escape on MacDonald Avenue for another solo concert TOMORROW NIGHT! Apologies for the short notice, the show was only announced via it's official Facebook event page on Tuesday, and it was held for our second preview post due to it's relatively later scheduling among shows over this stretch. This will be Curt's fourth solo appearance at the new e-cigarette/vaping lounge behind Tim-Br Mart, and first in over a month, though he has played a pair of solo concerts elsewhere in the interim. That said, this show will be different from his prior Vape Escape sets, as he'll have a special guest on hand, namely former Haggith bandmate Caleb Cachagee, who is advertised to be playing a set on bass. It's not 100% clear whether Caleb is opening for Curt or is backing him up for one set, but it's great to see them back on stage together, so come out TOMORROW to see how this shapes up!
Like his prior Vape Escape shows, TOMORROW's event is a 7:30 PM affair with no announced cover charge, and you must be 18 or older to attend. Curtis' resurgent solo project has been impressing fans all over again locally, and it's clear that The Vape Escape has been a favourite venue for his solo sets in recent months, so definitely consider attending this one for some solo hard rock cover action! See above for more details, and here's Curt live!
Next up, here's one more huge show before our Destroyer preview, as Six, Two, Oh. are hosting the Oh!NO 2017 Music Festival on Saturday, September 9th! We waited to plug this on the site, as the venue was originally somewhat ambiguous, but we can now confirm it's taking place in Leeburn, Ontario (near the Bruce Mines town limits) at Robbie's Church near the Highway 638 & Center Line Road turnoff, though I don't know if this is a formal active church or just the name given to it. Sort of a distant spiritual successor to Das Bunkerfest, this concert will see twelve musical acts playing all day, including 5 out of town attractions, so who all can you expect? In no particular order, the touring bands will include Sudbury punk trio Lightmares, Barrie all-female punk quartet Beaver Slap (fresh off of their Rockstar Bar show last month), Toronto country/indie rock quartet Run Coyote, Hamilton garage punk rockers Artificial Dissemination (who opened for K-Man & The 45s here last fall), and Thunder Bay "desert rock" quintet The Franquilizers (who opened for 1971 here last summer.)
The roster of local bands at the Oh!NO Festival will include punk/metal quintet Jack Spades, doom metal trio (and Six, Two, Oh.'s own) AlgomA, a debuting local band named Slumshine (no word on their lineup, sound, or online pages at press time), alt-punk quartet A Dire Setback, reunited extreme metal quartet Winkstinger (in their first public concert in well over a year), new local indie/hard rock trio Vol. (featuring Pixo Control and Aldous alumni), and a solo set by Treble Charger guitarist Bill Priddle. How's all of that for a stacked lineup? I admittedly can't find any details yet on Slumshine, but it's great to see Winkstinger back on stage after a lengthy hiatus (they're back in our active band links), and it'll be interesting to hear how each band sounds! Also, just for clarification, Run Coyote no longer feature ex-Caddy Street Avenue drummer Andrew Dal Cin in their lineup, in case you saw the name and assumed he'd be back home for this event.
Six, Two, Oh. will be filming bands at the Oh!No Festival, which takes place at 11:00 AM until 2:00 AM with no stated age limit, and admission is $25, though this includes pick-up & drop-off at The Station Mall parking lot in a rented bus (a'la 2013's Big Loonie Bus Show), so if you'd rather not drive an hour, you have an alternative! Camping, a bonfire, and food vendors will be available on site, and tickets are now available at The Rad Zone, Case's Music, Northland Music, Coch's Corner, Big Guns Barbershop, and maybe The Gore Street Cafe. This concert is shaping up to be a huge event to help ring in the fall, so visit the official Facebook event page for current & upcoming details!
Finally for today, we'll wrap up this weekend's currently known hard rock concert previews, as Windsor-based Kiss tribute band Destroyer will make their long awaited return to Sault Ontario with a headlining gig at The Rockstar Bar TOMORROW NIGHT! Making their fourth local concert appearance on record tomorrow, this will be Destroyer's first trip north to the Soo in over two years, and for fans clamoring for Kiss classics on a a local stage again, this tribute should deliver the visual and auditory goods! You wanted the best, so here's the next best thing to the best! Unlike their May 2015 show here (opened by the now-inactive Griphook), Destroyer have no advertised local acts kicking off the evening tomorrow. This 19+ event has a 10:00 PM start time, and while official sources oddly aren't publicizing prices for tickets (available at The Algonquin Hotel's front desk), 2015's show saw $12 advance ticket sales that jumped to $16 at the door. Visit the official Facebook event page for more details, and here's Destroyer live!
That's all for today, but stay tuned for more news either tonight or tomorrow morning! Thanks everyone!
Before we kick off our weekend concert previews, just a heads up that LopLops Lounge's website lists an unplugged concert from The Din as taking place there on Saturday night, even though The Din (as far as I can tell) have not acknowledged it publically. Given the lack of promotion from the band, I'm inclined to believe that this show was an old & cancelled plan, but if we are wrong, we'll let you know! Now, let's dive into hard rock concerts that we can confirm for this weekend, and a big update for an upcoming show, but we'll start with a SHORT NOTICE LOCAL CONCERT ALERT!
Eclipse frontman Curtis McKenzie will play his third solo concert at The Vape Escape at 677 MacDonald Avenue TOMORROW NIGHT! Apologies for the short notice, the show was only announced via it's official Facebook event page on Tuesday. In case you're not familiar, The Vape Escape is a new lounge and events venue geared towards e-cigarette users that opened last month inside the old Style Studio location at the Dulux Paints-anchored strip mall behind Tim-Br Mart, complete with paid membership available for diehard vapers. I actually lived in the apartments across the road from this complex as a kid (back when the paint store was Bandito Video), and it's nice to see a new business with buzz opening there! The Vape Escape has hosted a few live performances there from DJs or acoustic artists, with Curtis' solo show TOMORROW actually being his third there in the past 5 weeks, having previously played solo matinee concerts there on May 20th & June 9th.
Profuse apologies for missing those, the venue is still unfamiliar to me for coverage, and Curt's solo project had been dormant for a long while before he started playing (regular?) solo gigs there. Suffice to say, expect similar song choices from his band work TOMORROW, and in a personal Facebook video, he's seen breaking out the old Project 421 standby "Breaking the Chains" (by Dokken), so expect some acoustic hard rock action! Whether you vape or not, this show has no cover charge, it has an early 7:00 PM start time, and there is an 18+ age limit. See above for more details, Curt is back in our band links, and hopefully some solo videos turn up publically!
Next up, we'll move to previously announced concerts with two more acoustic shows, courtesy of prolific local hard rock singer/guitarist Tym Morrison's ongoing weekly run of shows at Gliss Steak & Seafood TOMORROW & SATURDAY! As his matinee unplugged shows at the Quality Inn's house restaurant march into yet another weekend, fans should expect more quality hard and classic rock renditions over the next two evenings, so don't miss out if you like Tym's solo music or haven't seen him lately! Note that a personal Facebook posting by Tym confirmed that he's going back to thrice weekly gigs at Gliss in the near future (adding Thursday matinees again), as well as taking a vacation weekend off, but we will wait for public confirmation on both before noting either in our listings. Tomorrow & Saturday's shows are at 6:00 PM with no announced cover charge or age limit, but remember the location. Visit the Facebook event page for more details, and here's Tym live!
In a brief detour to Sault Michigan, fans there can take in the return of Traverse City classic metal trio Peril as they rock The Rapids Lounge at the Sault's Kewadin Casino TOMORROW & SATURDAY NIGHT! Now, we had listed these shows as being for Peril's sister metal band Scarkazm, as varying band and venue sources had contradicted each other regarding which of the two bands was playing this weekend, but Peril are promoting playing this weekend, so my most recent information was either incorrect or changed again. Apologies for any mix-up, I've had to field confusion on these shows since February, but they are 100% now Peril gigs, not Scarkazm! As such, this will be Jeff, Adam, and Brooks' first Rapids Lounge weekend of 2017 (last playing there 9 months ago), so if you've missed their classic covers since then or didn't get to St. Ignace 3 weeks ago, here's your next best chance! If you're dead-set on seeing Scarkazm, they will be at this venue next month.
As usual for Peril's Kewadin gigs (the only ones they seem to play anymore), expect 9:00 PM start times, no announced cover charges, and 21+ age limits. Check the above links for more details, and for a preview, here's Peril live!
Finally, here's a big update for the kickoff show for the Kewadin Shores Casino's summer concert series in St. Ignace on Saturday, June 24th, as Halifax hard rock legends April Wine have been forced to drop out of this show and other surrounding dates due to frontman Myles Goodwyn falling ill. Very disappointing to hear, but hopefully Myles gets well soon, it would have been fun to see them here again! As revealed earlier this week in this SooToday press release, former Runaways guitarist Lita Ford has been promoted to the headlining slot for the concert, while April Wine have been replaced by Jack Russell's Great White,
the 2011-launched version of the Los Angeles hard rock quintet best
known for hit songs like "Once Bitten, Twice Shy" and "Call it Rock 'n Roll". Fans may remember seeing Great White at the Soo Kewadin in January 2009, but they've since had an L.A. Guns-like split in two, with frontman Jack Russell reforming his own version of the band separate from the original group.
While I'm sure there are some fans that would prefer seeing the original band with Mark, Audie, Michael and Scott back, this is still Great White with their original frontman, plus classic-era bassist Tony Montana. They should deliver a solid night of tunes, including many familiar songs from Jack's last local stop eight years ago, so keep the new lineup in mind for one week from Saturday, and get your tickets (or inquire about refunds if you were set on seeing April Wine) at this link for $18 or $28! That's all for today, but stay tuned for our Electric Church/Speaker concert preview and more news & updates next! Thanks everyone!
This was a quiet weekend regarding the SMS, but we are back with a new news post on this Monday night, so what's on tap? A lot of assorted notes, mostly regarding cleaning up our own links, but we do have some big updates for a major concert this weekend, and to kick things off, a surprise album release, so here's what you need to know!
Are you an Inner City Surfers fan? Did you think that the defunct local punk quartet only had three studio albums? Well, think again, as a fourth album was put on sale via iTunes in May! Posted at the same time as their other released CDs for sale there (as well as on Spotify and Soundcloud), the album is called "Time To Travel On", and while it's actual recording date isn't given, Spotify lists it coming out between 2002's "Laughing On The Outside" and 2007's self-titled CD, though I have never seen it referenced as an album release prior to May of this year. Even official links and posts don't reference the back story of "Time To Travel On", but it's 10 songs are not shared with other Surfers albums. My theory is that the album just didn't get released for one reason or another, was shelved indefinitely prior to recording their last album in 2007, and was released posthumously as a fan bonus this year. If so, kudos to the guys for finally sharing it! With all of that said, it is a paid album release ($9.90 on iTunes), so when might we review it?
As we didn't find out about "Time To Travel On" until just recently, it's no longer a "new" release (assuming it didn't have a limited release run at the time), so now, precedence would go to their debut self-titled album from 2000. Surprisingly, we have yet to review an Inner City Surfers album on here, which definitely has to change! Check out "Time To Travel On" via the above links for more of The Surfers' energetic punk originals, and hopefully we see them back on stage in the future!
Next up, here's some late updates concerning THIS SUNDAY'S fifth annual Toystock charity concert at the Northern Grand Gardens! As per the new Facebook event page, local Christmas-themed punk outfit The Rude-Offs have quietly dropped out of this year's Toystock for unannounced reasons. Hopefully it's as simple as a band member being unable to attend, it'd have been fun to see them back! However, guitarist Greg Simpson will still pull double duty on Sunday, as his acoustic rock duo Guitars & Tequila (listed on the event page as Tequila & Guitars) will replace them in their own Toystock debut. Greg plays in this act alongside That's Chester bandmate Gabe Tessaro, and their mellower blend of covers should be a solid attraction in their own right, especially if you've missed That's Chester in recent months! With that said, the lineup has been almost completely overhauled, with country rock cover quartet Bone Yard (now the only returning band from any prior Toystock) the only band to retain their old time. Check the image on your left for the new order!
The same picture (which is the Facebook event page's cover photo) also newly confirms that there will be cotton candy, some type of appearances from the Elf on a Shelf and (Disney?) princesses, plus a play center on site, adding to the family-friendly vibe of past years. Toystock V is shaping up to be a fun event, especially with the varied and largely different lineup from past years, and remember, entry is via Christmas Cheer donations! Stay tuned for our full preview of this year's Toystock this weekend!
Finally for today, here's six assorted shorter stories from the last while, mostly focusing on updates and deletions from our "Other Local Metal Links" section on the bottom right! As usual, these are in alphabetical order by band or company name:
The teased amalgamation of Stiffler's Mom drummer Greg Simpson's event promotion and graphic design companies Maxx Entertainment and Maxx Graphix under the Choose Maxx banner has taken place, with the former retitled under the new name on Facebook and elsewhere, and the latter deleted as planned, so our links have been updated as a result. Choose Maxx is a clunky name to me, but it tells you what to do if you need an event booked or a logo designed, so it works that way, and don't miss Toystock on Sunday!
Project 421 bassist/Eclipse guitarist Daniel Horton launched a search to find a replacement for singer Curtis McKenzie in at least one of the bands last weekend via a post on the Musicians Wanted Facebook group. He noted that he's looking for someone with stage experience and a high & "fairly large" vocal range, while paid gigs will start in January. No word on which band he means (or if it's for both), but for what it's worth, neither has posted anything on Facebook since Curt's departure and it's immediate fallout. Message Daniel here or above for more details!
We have removed local music management agency Escape Into Music from our "Other Local Metal Links" section due to the deletion of it's Facebook (and only online) page in recent months. This somewhat ambitious attempt to have a local company to manage musicians and assist in their expenses never visibly got off the ground, but best of luck to Stephanie in the future!
In another page deletion from that same section, we have removed defunct local grunge/hard rock quartet Haggith's official online store from our band links, as it's Facebook (and only online) page was also deleted in recent months. The band had still been posthumously selling some merchandise through there after dissolving, and while it's a shame that it's been taken down, message their Facebook page if you want to see if they still have merchandise or albums available!
Also now deleted from the same link section is Pure Sonic Audio, a short-lived concert promotion agency that would have marked Autumn Roots singer Jeremy Hannah's return to putting on concerts in 2014, as he memorably did with Big Voiced Records in the mid-late 2000s. Despite ambitious plans, Pure Sonic Audio's online pages have all been taken down or repurposed for other uses (their Facebook group is now a general use group on the local music scene), but hopefully Jeremy returns to promoting down the road!
One last change to our "Other Local Metal Links" section is to update our links to SooToday's classified sections that are relevant to local musicians, plus their entertainment page, as those received new URLs when the site received it's overhaul and new design earlier this year. Those have been updated and work as normal once again, so give them a look and make use of them if you can!
That's all for today, but stay tuned for more news and notes this week! Thanks everyone!
It's time for another new post in our 15th straight day of updates at the SMS, and we're mostly gonna focus on the local Kewadin Casino branches today, as they've confirmed the upcoming concert schedules for The Rapids Lounge in Sault Michigan and The Northern Pines Lounge in St. Ignace for concerts through June, via each venue's respective entertainment page! Not counting the previously announced shows in April & earlier, the new dates largely don't skew to heavier bands, but via the above links, you can read up on new dates from local solo musicians Jimmie Cowles & Perry Hatch, country rock band Bittermoon (with ex-Monkey's Uncle bassist Jim Belleau), classic rock bands Chump Change (featuring Oddfellow & Bucksaw alumni), Crossorads, and Handsome Sam & The Homewreckers, indie rock quartet The London Gentlemen (with half of Nixxon Dixxon's old lineup), new local rock quartet Toast (featuring Swayze Train & Clownsack alumni; genre confirmation forthcoming), and a yet-unknown band named Sir Charge (let me know if you have any information on them!)
As for the heavier-leaning new concerts, we'll start at The Northern Pines Lounge at the St. Ignace Kewadin Casino, where Cheboygan hard rock trio Driven will return on May 3rd & 4th! I believe these will be their first shows in the region of 2013 (if I missed any, my apologies), and these will also be their first shows since drummer Kurt Beard returned to their lineup, so loyal Driven fans should be sure to welcome him back later this spring! No word yet on any other regional shows (including possible returns to Sault Michigan or Timmy Lee's Pub), but hopefully we hear something on that front soon! Admission should be free for these 21+ concerts, and 10:00 PM-ish start times are to be expected. For more details, check the above links! It's great to see Driven bring their hard rocking cover sets back to the area for two more shows to kick off May, and hopefully their fans are out in full force for their first local show in too long! Stay tuned for more on Driven's next U.P. plans as I hear of it!
Next, we'll travel north for the only new metal shows in May & June at The Rapids Lounge at the Sault Michigan Kewadin Casino, as Charlevoix classic metal standouts Peril will return to the region for local shows on June 7th & 8th! These will be the band's first Sault Michigan concerts of 2013, and they come over 3 months after their first regional dates of the year at the St. Ignace Kewadin, so either way, we're due for Jeff, James, and Brooks to rock the area with some hard hitting covers! I'd expect 21+ age limits, no cover charge, and 10:00 PM start times to be in effect for Peril's June dates here as well, and like with Driven, check the above links for more information! Peril always deliver a solid weekend of metal classics when they make their way north for some U.P. action, so don't miss their next regional shows in June, and keep an eye out for local-related updates from Peril as they roll in!
Finally for the newly announced Kewadin Casino gigs, we'll head back down to St. Ignace for Powerslug's next Northern Pines Lounge dates, as the Sault Michigan hard rock trio are scheduled to return there on June 21st & 22nd! Their first St. Ignace dates in 5 months, these join the guys' upcoming Sault Kewadin gigs on March 22nd & 23rd, along with whatever shows we hear about in between via personal Facebook pages (they really need online pages to promote their shows.) Still, with members of Toast & Kilacel in their lineup, the talent is there for a solid night of hard rock covers (and perhaps originals?), so don't miss out on Powerslug's St. Ignace Kewadin dates in June, especially with this much advance word! Like the above shows, expect a 21+ age limit, no cover charge, and 10:00 PM-ish start times for both shows. Powerslug have the talent and veteran success to ensure a great show, so circle the June 21st weekend on your calendars, and stay tuned for Powerslug updates as they come in!
Finally for today, here's some assorted updates to links on the site, namely what's been added & replaced. In terms of additions, I've added links to local graphic design company Maxx Graphix (who have done work with and for metal/hard rock bands & shows) and inactive music management agency Escape Into Music into our "Other Sault Ontario Metal Links" section, while I also added The Sault Metal Scene's Twitter account into the new section listing SMS accounts on other music/social media websites. Me and Twitter have a love/hate relationship, and it's not widely used among local metal bands anyway, hence why I've phased out updating it frequently, but feel free to tag and follow, as I still log in to check for occasional Twitter-exclusive news! Finally, I replaced the link for the yet-released Woods of Ypres tribute album "A Heart of Gold", as it's Facebook page was quietly deleted for unknown reasons in the past few months, but it's Facebook group is still alive & well. If we find more links to add, remove, or change, I'll let you guys know!
That's all for today, but stay tuned for more news as the week rolls along! Thanks everyone!
It's time for our first news post of September, and today, we have some intriguing recent news to get to, including new songs from a local metal band, the latest material and updates from a newer local act, and much more, but first, here's a LOCAL CONCERT ALERT!!
New local grunge band Haggith will make their Sault Ste. Marie concert debut next week at The Roosevelt Hotel! The trio featuring local solo musician Mike Haggith alongside Havadder & 20 Pack of Marshmallows alumni will be one of two local opening bands at a punk concert at The Rosie on September 13th (one week from Thursday), in what will be their first proper concert outside of the outdoor Goulais River/Wawa sets they played last month. This show will be headlined by Vancouver pop punk trio Halfway To Hollywood, who have energetic sound that, though definitely not metal, should pull in some interested fans next Thursday! The other local openers will be local punk notables Redundant, who'll be nice to see back on stage following their exit from the Skull Fist show last month, and they'll fit in well with their punk originals and covers! Note that this show is being promoted by Frightlight/T-Rex Manning frontman J.D. "Johnny Pints" Pearce, so despite the Thursday timing, it's not the next Rosie metal night, but if I hear anything on the status of that series, I'll let you guys know! There will be a 19+ age limit and no cover charge, with doors opening at 10:00 PM. For more details, visit the official Facebook event page!
It's great to see J.D. bringing another punk show to The Rosie to help fill in the Thursday gaps, and if you liked the Die Mannequin & Shotgun Dolls shows, this might be up your alley! I'll admit that I'm not high on Halfway To Hollywood, but that's jut out of my personal preferences. Pop punk fans should enjoy them, and Redundant are always entertaining, but how about Haggith? Well, we're not quite done with them for today!
Beyond their forthcoming local concert debut, Haggith have been hard at work on recording sessions towards their debut CD, as we alluded to in our latest "Where Are The New Albums?" post (below this one), but as it turns out, they don't just have one new album in the works... they have three! As it turns out, their debut album will be the aforementioned "Dragon Joy Ride", with an album named "Deuce" second and the album titled "Apocalypse" third. This may seem very sudden & ambitious for a band to be working on three albums after only a few months together, but if you're at all familiar with Mike Haggith's solo output, you'll know that this is par for the course. Just to put it in perspective, he has more recorded albums than Sykotyk Rampage, so the quick early pace doesn't surprise me! With that said, the band Haggith have posted a bunch of new photos and videos from recent recording sessions on their Facebook page, including this lyric writing video and this clip of Mike doing some vocal demos (implying that he'll contribute some singing on future recordings), but those are all Facebook exclusives and sadly unembeddable. However, their newest YouTube channel (do they need so many?) has some videos we can share here, including a pile of studio recordings and some re-uploads from another channel, but to spread everything out, let's start with their newest live video!
Shot during the same sessions as their acoustic version of "I Am", this is of Haggith members Curtis McKenzie & Daniel Horton playing an unplugged version of their song "Livin' It On The Run", as uploaded to their new YouTube channel on Sunday. Similarly to "I Am", there's some grungy alt-rock promise here, and some nice gritty vocals, but I'm curious to hear this in it's full electric glory (and with better lighting.) Check it out below, and stay tuned for much more from Haggith in our next news post!
Next up, here's the latest material from local metal duo AlterWhite! The band featuring local musicians Mike Matthews & Kevin McCarthy are continuing with recent activity with two more song uploads to their YouTube channel from this past weekend, those being tracks named "Taking Back My Life" and "Watch With Eyes Closed". Both are extending on their earlier promise, with the former sounding more like a high tempo thrash number and the latter sounding slower and more introspective while retaining a heavy essence. The overly Hetfield-esque vocals don't work well on "Watch With Eyes Closed", but they do fit better on "Taking Back My Life", which might be one of my favourite tracks of theirs! If they can tone down the singing a bit and get a full band, they'll have a good shot at attracting some big notice around town, but for now, check out "Taking Back My Life" below, and check the above links for the latest videos and updates from AlterWhite!
And finally, here's three assorted shorter news stories from the last little while. As always, these are in alphabetical order by band, company, or venue name:
Local old school hardcore quintet Destroilet appear to be re-emerging from their hiatus! Their Facebook page was recently updated with new band logos, which confirms recent personal Facebook postings by band members alluding to new developments & band work. Fingers crossed that we see them back soon, as it's been way too long since their last show and their quiet EP release last spring, so stay tuned for more updates as they come in!
Are you or your band looking for a manager? Sault Ontario resident Stephanie Desjardins has started a managing company named Escape Into Music, and she's hoping to sign on with local bands to manage them, assist in production and booking, manage expenses, and the like that comes with expanding as a musical act. This could be beneficial for local artists without experience in non-musical aspects of being in a band, so contact Stephanie at this location for more info!
Local concert venue/Algoma University campus bar The Speak Easy has launched new online pages on both Facebook and Twitter, so like or become a fan of each to keep in the loop on events there! Though slower in recent months for metal/hard rock shows, The Speak Easy is always a possibility for some metal, so follow the above pages just in case, and I've replaced our link for it in our local concert venue links section with their Facebook page!
That's all for today, but stay tuned for more news on the site shortly! Thanks everyone!
Next up, here's another new solo hard rock album to take note of from a local musician, that being Sault Ontario's own Mike McCleary, who put out his surprise EP "Hourglass" on January 8th! This is not a renaming of the previously announced "Weight of the Truth", that's coming in the near future, but Mike noted on his Facebook page that he chose to release "Hourglass" first due to "the timeliness of its message." In particular, this five song EP addresses topics like assimilation, gender inequality, racism, and poverty, and how they are handled in reality. All five songs have previously been shared in varying forms on Mike's Soundcloud page, and if you're missing a favourite, watch for follow-up releases. It should be noted that Mike did release a debut album called "In Ruins" to online streaming services last June (before we discovered him for site coverage), but it has since been pulled from iTunes, Spotify, and Deezer, and was never acknowledged on Facebook, so he may intend to rework that album and/or it's songs.
