R.I.P. Austin McCrea (1995-2025)

The Sault Metal Scene would also like to offer our deepest condolences to the family and friends of local metal musician and rapper Austin McCrea, who just passed away in the past week, as per a number of personal Facebook postings. He was just 30 years old. This didn't cross my radar at the time, but Austin (a.k.a. Jayrald Micky) had been in hospital since September due to pancreatitis, and endured a number of devastating medical setbacks in the ensuing months, which you can read more about via this GoFundMe campaign that was launched on his behalf by his sister two weeks ago. As a local musician, Austin is arguably best known as the frontman of the goregrind/death metal band Brutally Fatal (once intentionally spelled "Brutaly Fatal"), who had two different incarnations between 2012 and 2019, and had brief and more mainstream turns under the names Re-Born and The Revolution.

Austin was a co-founder of the local goregrind/death metal/rap label Blood Shed Productions alongside his late-era Brutally Fatal bandmate Tyler Gibson, and his bands turned up multiple times at Blood Shed-affiliated concerts in the 2010s, be they late-era Oddfellows Hall concerts or house parties, while they also performed at the 2014 & 2015 Swampstravaganzas. Austin also dabbled in hip hop in the early-mid 2010s, rapping under the handle Miracle Man. While Austin primarily provided vocals, guitar, and bass in his best known bands, his most recent public music work was as the original drummer for local hard rock band Far From Fine (née Ravencore), performing with them at the 2022 Toystock and helping on their original material for their unfinished album, but he left that band by June 2023. Austin was also tapped to drum with Frightlight at The Northern Vibe Festival in 2023, but the horror punk band dropped out of that event and fell inactive afterwards.

I didn't know Austin well, but he was a talented and improving multi-instrumentalist who played the music he wanted to play without apologies, even if the imagery & lyrics weren't always to a wide audience's taste. When we profiled Brutally Fatal on the SMS four years ago, I linked to much of their known public music, including their demo EPs, while you can hear the originals he was working on with Far From Fine (albeit after he left) via their Lopstock 2023 set linked here. Losing someone over the holidays, let alone after this prolonged fight, is something I can't even imagine, and our thoughts are with the McCrea and Nadon families at this time. When details on services go public, I will let you know. R.I.P. Austin!

Where Are The New Albums? (March 2024 Update)

It's now time for this month's "Where Are The New Albums?" post, as we again look at the current release whereabouts of upcoming announced metal, hard rock, and/or punk albums, CDs, and EPs from local acts! This month's entry has some substantial updates, including a newly announced album and one with updates (both are noted with their titles in italics), and a removal due to a band breakup, so keep all of that in mind. So, where are the new albums? Read on below to hopefully find out!

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Chase James Wigmore - The Chaotic Rite

Rumoured Songs: "A Song For The Apocalypse", "The Speciesist", "The Cities Alive & It's Angry", "From Beyond The Clouds"

Background: Ever the prolific artist & songwriter, local folk punk/extreme metal musician Chase Wigmore has been working on an extensive rock opera for years (once claimed to be a 33 part work), originally named "A Story About A Kid Named Todd". Worked on in between his other unrelated solo albums, released for sale or otherwise, Chase posted a lengthy elaboration of the rock opera in 2022, now titled "The Chaotic Rite", outlining its concept, recording plans, and long-term release timeline. Clips of songs have surfaced on his Facebook page, as have full songs not explicitly tied to the album, and the final artwork. In recent promotion, Chase has hinted that "The Chaotic Rite" might be his final eponymous solo album as part of aims to focus on his personal life more than his historically prolific rate of original studio material. Regardless, the final product has been pared down to 25-30 minutes.

Current Release Status: Your guess is as good as mine for when this will finally come out, but remember that Chase is very prolific and varied in his musical interests, and not every album of his has seen a formal paid release, either by finishing it's lifespan as a demo, or by being released online for free. Regardless, he has been working on the rock opera for years to ensure a quality product, so stay tuned for updates from his camp!

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Fort Creek's debut EP

Rumoured Songs: "Hammer Down", "Battlefield"

Background: Local southern/hard rock quintet Fort Creek have sporadically teased plans to record an EP since February 2020, and while the pandemic lockdowns may have gave them more time to record, they wouldn't release any samples until almost two years later when they shared this snippet of their single "Hammer Down" on their Facebook page, later posting this 72 second clip. The guys debuted it at their headlining concert at Soo Blaster in June 2022, and have played it live regularly since, but they have yet to release any full tracks online. The band has been working in studio throughout 2023, revealing that "it's coming along" in a Facebook post on March 22nd, and teasing new recording sessions following earlier "learning experiences" there in May. A new original named "Battlefield" was teased in this picture from studio sessions in September, and they confirmed that they made "big progress in the studio" as of December.

Current Release Status: Fort Creek revealed in a comment reply on their Facebook page on April 17th that their originals are "set to be released this fall", which follows their unrealized plans to release an EP in "late summer", then "late 2022", all obviously since passed. There are a lot of unknowns either way, especially given the 3+ years of production time and that this is a band primarily known for their work on the weekend cover circuit (though some members do have experience in name original bands, especially Tony). It will be interesting to see how things develop, so stay tuned!

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Handsome Sandwich's first EP

Rumoured Songs: "Without You", "Party Fuel", "Change A Bit", "No Idea", "All Done Now"

Background: Before even releasing their full-length debut album "Deconstructed" in May, local alternative/hard rock quintet Handsome Sandwich revealed that not all of their existing originals would be on that album, with plans to instead release them and some brand new songs on a forthcoming EP. On September 13th, they began recording this EP (which will reportedly have seven songs) with producer Greig Nori at the Algoma Conservatory of Music, with bass & drum tracks complete as of September 29th, and Mitch Sirie was finishing guitar parts as of December 21st, with vocals still to go. At least five of the seven songs have had their names revealed in concert setlists. After only contributing to the packaging on "Deconstructed", bassist Rafael Medina will perform on this EP, and a "Reel" of him recording in studio was posted to the band's Facebook page, though the song was unclear. It's also not clear if new guitarist Brandon Ruch will be involved in the recordings or not.

Current Release Status: To be determined, and while they're not recording this EP at the same place as "Deconstructed", note that the sessions for that album at Unsalted Audio wrapped up four months before the album release. If the timeline is similar, than we wouldn't see Handsome Sandwich's EP until at least mid-2024, but it will be interesting to see how things progress in the coming months!

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Mike Haggith's "Face To Face" live album

Rumoured Songs: "MorningStar", "The Best You Never Had", "Into The Setting Sun", "Come On Home", "I've Seen It Before", "If Ever Comes The Day", "Suburban Dream" (The Din cover), "Out Of My League" (The Din cover), "Potato (Should've Known Better)"

Background: In the lead-up to the staging of his joint storytellers "Face To Face" concert with local folk/country musician Brian Tremblay at The Art Hub on Spring on May 26th, local/Barrie alt-hard rock musician Mike Haggith announced plans on his Facebook page to release a live album from this event through his indie label MorningStar Records, including a vinyl pressing. If this comes to fruition, it's not clear if Brian's half of the concert (he and Mike alternated songs), let alone the stories, would be included on the final product, which would necessitate at least a double album on vinyl. In any event, you can watch the entire "Face To Face" live-stream at this link.

Current Release Status: Little has came out about the "Face To Face" live album plans since first announced, and while that show went off without a hitch for Mike (unlike Rotaryfest), it understandably wasn't his first musical priority last summer, with his new studio album "All The Best In All You Do" being released as planned in July. We'll let you know when/if more comes out on this live album in any form!

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The Uncanny Valley's debut album

Rumoured Songs: "The Uncanny Valley", "Glowin'", "Middle Man", “This Love is Psychedelic”, "Stuck In Rotation", “Sweet Like Sugar”, "Fumbling Through", "The Village"

Background: The new classic hard rock band from 2019 Soo's Got Talent winner Adrian Sullivan, fans will have seen original material of theirs right from the start, as The Uncanny Valley debuted their own songs in their first live concert at The Canadian on New Year's Eve 2019. Live concert & jam session videos have followed on their Facebook page featuring their own material as well. After posting a teaser audio clip of "Sweet Like Sugar" in September 2020, they posted the full studio version of "Middle Man" that October, finally confirming there that they are working on their first album. The guys did record a studio version of "Stuck In Rotation" at Unsalted Audio for the Clusterfolk Music Festival and a related compilation album in April 2022, but whether that exact recording will be included on the band's own album is unclear. After an 8 month public break, the band released a music video for their song "The Village" in June.

Current Release Status: No clue, which isn't helped by The Uncanny Valley's age and relatively unfamiliar profile for many readers, and their 9 months away from new updates may be concerning for some as well. That said, they are a talented group who seemed to be taking the right steps for the future, and hopefully more updates on The Uncanny Valley's debut album follow in some form or another when ready!

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Vanity First - Identity Crisis

Rumoured Songs: "Off With Their Heads", "Get Out"

Background: In a surprise announcement on their Facebook page on Friday, local punk trio Vanity First revealed that they had recently been working on their second album, named "Identity Crisis", with cover artwork also unveiled and a new single named "Off With Their Heads" released to major streaming services. Details on the recording sessions weren't publically revealed, but Mike Haggith reportedly "played a small part in bringing the album over the finish line", as per his Facebook page. It's not clear if Vanity First's 2022 single "Get Out" or their re-recorded version of "Playboy Magazine" (which was recorded with producer Dustin Jones at Mission Control Studios) will be a part of the new album or not. This will be Vanity First's... first album since singer Andrew Beggs took over bass duties in lieu of the departed Nick McClelland, and their first since tacking "First" to their name.

Current Release Status: The guys plan to release "Identity Crisis" to major streaming platforms next month, specific date unclear, but expect it on Spotify, Apple Music, Amazon Music, Bandcamp, and YouTube, the services where they released "Off With Their Heads" to on Friday. No word on a physical release, but their "Vanity" demo was sold on CDs in 2022. Despite the complete lack of prior word that Vanity First were recording an album in recent months, fans should welcome this album when it comes out, so stay tuned for updates over the coming month+!

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As well, an album has been removed from this series due to its now-unlikely release status given the band-in-question's breakup, so here's what you should know on it: 

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Far From Fine's debut album

Rumoured Songs: "Relapse", "This Way Again", "Poison In My Mind", "Broken", "Whiskey Dick"

Background: The recent punk/hard rock band from former Suicide Kings bandmates Mike Gaetano & Mitch Sirie and ex-Gnaeus bassist Matt Fronzi, Far From Fine signalled that they wanted to record a debut album as early as their debut gig (under their original name Ravencore) at Toystock in November 2022, as hyped on SooToday. The renamed group went public in April and outlined their early plans on their Facebook page, including the names of four original songs. Far From Fine were recording at Mission Control Studios with producer Dustin Jones from (at least) May 26th-30th, sharing videos of Mitch and Matt tracking material there. It's not clear whether ex-drummer Austin "Mickey" McCrae or his replacement Blair St. John would have factored on the final product, but you can see Blair & company playing ten original songs at Lopstock III in July at this link, albeit mostly not introduced by name.

Reason For Removal: While a public statement never came as to their breakup, Mitch revealed last month in a personal Facebook comment about band submissions for this year's Northern Vibe Festival that "we're no longer a band". This came following 5 months of public silence since their last set at the Ripcordz concert in September. Historically, a band breaking up is a bad sign for the prospects of releasing an album that they hadn't released yet, hence why this album is being removed from the series, and it is a shame that their sessions in May have been put on the shelf, but hopefully they surface in some form down the road!

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I hope you guys liked this month's "Where Are The New Albums?" post! This series will return on or around April 2nd, while our next monthly feature post will be this month's Defunct Local Band Profile, which is projected to hit the site on Sunday. That's all for now, but look for more news and notes in the coming days! Thanks everyone!

News & Updates From Treble Charger, Mikey & His Uke, Handsome Sandwich, And Far From Fine!!

Let's tackle some big recent news and notes on this Saturday morning for a punk-leaning post focusing on some notable Sault Ontario bands. With all of that said, here's what you should know!

We have some big news from local alternative hard rock band Handsome Sandwich, namely the addition of ex-Generations guitarist Brandon Ruch to their lineup. He's a solid guitarist, and is known to the band already via his graduating from Algoma University's music program alongside bassist Rafael Medina (click here for SooToday's article on that), so hopefully he fits in well! The announcement was made in this "Reel" on their Facebook page on Thursday where they otherwise thanked fans for seeing them on their recent tour dates out of town and for getting them to 1,000 Facebook followers. The "Reel" was shot by drummer Johnny Belanger, and also features input from Taylor and Rafael (who is "back" after missing their tour last month), but conspicuous by their absences are guitarists Jesse Cook and Mitch Sirie. Remember, Brandon had filled in for Mitch during their shows last month (as seen in this "Reel" from their impromptu jam night set).

That video aside, we haven't seen either guitarist in new official band materials since late last year, and the band hasn't 100% confirmed whether one/both of Mitch & Jesse have left or not, but we'll keep you posted if they say anything! Lastly from Handsome Sandwich, they were briefly spotlighted and plugged on the Ottawa internet radio station White Water Rocks following their show in Ottawa last month, and while we don't hear the band in any facet in the 8 minute clip posted at this link, it's a good bit of promotion, even if their name gets as much love as their music! Stay tuned for more from Handsome Sandwich when it rolls in!

Next up, I have a band to move to our inactive links on the SMS, namely local punk/hard rock quartet Far From Fine. While we're not at our typical one year inactivity threshold, guitarist Mitch Sirie revealed that "we're no longer a band" in a comment reply on a personal Facebook post on Monday by Northern Vibe Festival Forest Stage curator J.D. Pearce concerning the search for bands for this August's festivities in Ophir (click here for more details). I normally wouldn't go off of personal postings like this, but this may be all that we get re: an confirmation of their status, especially as the band has been dead silent on social media for the past 5+ months. In any event, a reason for their dissolution was not publically announced. Debuting as Ravencore at Toystock in 2022, Far From Fine united Suicide Kings and Gnaeus alumni for four high profile gigs last summer (Northern Vibe, Rotaryfest Stage 2, Lopstock, and opening for The Ripcordz).

I have no idea what happened to Far From Fine after such a big initial run of concerts, but if they had to only play five gigs, these aren't a bad five events to have sets at! Their album sessions from last spring did seem decently far along too, and hopefully those songs see a public release at some point. Given their existing talents and Mike & Mitch's prior Suicide Kings chemistry, their take on punk rock was definitely a welcome addition, but hopefully we see Mike, Matt, Austin, and Blair back at it soon, and don't miss Mitch with Handsome Sandwich(?) and The Bear Hunters!

Also today, here's a new promotional video for local/Toronto indie/punk veterans Treble Charger's reunion concert at The Machine Shop on March 7th! The 14 seconds-long clip was posted to the Algoma University music program's Facebook page on Wednesday, and features the band hyping up the Thursday nighter upstairs, with singer/guitarist Greig Nori even noting that we can "relive the '90s" at this show (granted, their biggest hits were in the early 2000s). Note that they're in The Loft at the Algoma Conservatory of Music for the video but the concert is 100% at The Machine Shop. Interestingly, their new rhythm section (bassist Frank Deresti & drummer David Peredun) are featured in the video, but whether this is a nod to the Algoma music program ties or if they're 100% band members for a larger reunion, I couldn't say at this point (I don't ever recall their 2010s session bassists/drummers featured like this though).

Not every video of this length will have this much stuff to say about it, but after all, Treble Charger are the biggest punk band that ever came from the Soo (even if they've only actually been based here since their reunion). Hopefully this concert is a huge hit for Greig, Bill, and crew, plus the Algoma music program, so click here to get your tickets, and check out the promotional video below!

Finally, let's cap off with the fourth song in Mikey & His Uke's thirtieth anniversary series of covers of Green Day's seminal album "Dookie"! Just six days out from the local punk standout's remotely filmed all-star cover of "Chump", track #4 from "Dookie" was uploaded to the project's YouTube channel on Thursday, this time a cover of "Longview", which is the first single from this album in track listing order. While Mikey (on guitar as usual and ukelele at first) is joined again by ex-Goldfinger drummer Darren Pfeiffer, this rendition has a different bassist (Pennywise's Randy Bradbury), so Andy Plafoot is not the house bassist for the "Dookie" project. Vocals here are provided by Tilt frontwoman Cynthia "Cinder Block" Morgan, marking the first female performer in these Green Day covers. The performance is pretty straightforward but fans of Green Day's will be happy with it, especially as a more popular single!

Lots of little Green Day nods throughout, plus allusions to watching TV given the lyrics/original video, and some good post production effects, so there's a lot to see (and yes, Darren is wearing another different hockey jersey for his clips). With new covers dropping 6-8 days apart now, look for Mikey & His Uke's cover of "Welcome To Paradise" likely dropping between Wednesday and Friday, and much more to follow, but for now, check out everyone tackling "Longview" below!

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

Where Are The New Albums? (February 2024 Update)

It's now time for this month's "Where Are The New Albums?" post! This second installment of 2024 again looks at the current release whereabouts of upcoming albums, CDs, and/or EPs from local metal, hard rock, and/or punk artists who have publically confirmed that recording sessions for one have commenced,  but we're largely in a holding pattern this month, as only one entry of the six has updated info (its title is in italics). So, where are the new albums? Read on below to hopefully find out!

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Chase James Wigmore - The Chaotic Rite

Rumoured Songs: "A Song For The Apocalypse", "The Speciesist", "The Cities Alive & It's Angry", "From Beyond The Clouds"

Background: Ever the prolific artist & songwriter, local folk punk/extreme metal musician Chase Wigmore has been working on an extensive rock opera for years (once claimed to be a 33 part work), originally named "A Story About A Kid Named Todd". Worked on in between his other unrelated solo albums, released for sale or otherwise, Chase posted a lengthy elaboration of the rock opera in 2022, now titled "The Chaotic Rite", outlining its concept, recording plans, and long-term release timeline. Clips of songs have surfaced on his Facebook page, as have full songs not explicitly tied to the album, and the final artwork. In recent promotion, Chase has hinted that "The Chaotic Rite" might be his final eponymous solo album as part of aims to focus on his personal life more than his historically prolific rate of original studio material. Regardless, the final product has been pared down to 25-30 minutes.

Current Release Status: Your guess is as good as mine for when this will finally come out, but remember that Chase is very prolific and varied in his musical interests, and not every album of his has seen a formal paid release, either by finishing it's lifespan as a demo, or by being released online for free. Regardless, he has been working on the rock opera for years to ensure a quality product, so stay tuned for updates from his camp!

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Far From Fine's debut album

Rumoured Songs: "Relapse", "This Way Again", "Poison In My Mind", "Broken", "Whiskey Dick"

Background: The new punk/hard rock band from former Suicide Kings bandmates Mike Gaetano & Mitch Sirie and ex-Gnaeus bassist Matt Fronzi, Far From Fine signalled that they wanted to record a debut album as early as their debut gig (under their original name Ravencore) at Toystock in November 2022, as hyped on SooToday. The renamed group went public in April and outlined their early plans on their Facebook page, including the names of four original songs. Far From Fine were recording at Mission Control Studios with producer Dustin Jones from (at least) May 26th-30th, sharing videos of Mitch and Matt tracking material there. It's not yet clear whether ex-drummer Austin "Mickey" McCrae, live fill-in Blair St. John, and/or a future/session hire will factor into the final product, but you can see the band & Blair playing ten original songs at Lopstock III in July at this link, albeit mostly not introduced by name.

Current Release Status: No idea, and we don't even have a released Suicide Kings album to compare timelines with, but Mike aside, everyone in Far From Fine has released local albums with separate bands. It'll be interesting to see how things shake out for Far From Fine in general, but see them live to hear what they have in store originally!

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Fort Creek's debut EP

Rumoured Songs: "Hammer Down", "Battlefield"

Background: Local southern/hard rock quintet Fort Creek have sporadically teased plans to record an EP since February 2020, and while the pandemic lockdowns may have gave them more time to record, they wouldn't release any samples until almost two years later when they shared this snippet of their single "Hammer Down" on their Facebook page, later posting this 72 second clip. The guys debuted it at their headlining concert at Soo Blaster in June 2022, and have played it live regularly since, but they have yet to release any full tracks online. The band has been working in studio throughout 2023, revealing that "it's coming along" in a Facebook post on March 22nd, and teasing new recording sessions following earlier "learning experiences" there in May. A new original named "Battlefield" was teased in this picture from studio sessions in September, and they confirmed that they made "big progress in the studio" as of December.

Current Release Status: Fort Creek revealed in a comment reply on their Facebook page on April 17th that their originals are "set to be released this fall", which follows their unrealized plans to release an EP in "late summer", then "late 2022", all obviously since passed. There are a lot of unknowns either way, especially given the 3+ years of production time and that this is a band primarily known for their work on the weekend cover circuit (though some members do have experience in name original bands, especially Tony). It will be interesting to see how things develop, so stay tuned!

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Handsome Sandwich's first EP

Rumoured Songs: "Without You", "Party Fuel", "Change A Bit", "No Idea", "All Done Now"

Background: Before even releasing their full-length debut album "Deconstructed" in May, local alternative/hard rock quintet Handsome Sandwich revealed that not all of their existing originals would be on that album, with plans to instead release them and some brand new songs on a forthcoming EP. On September 13th, they began recording this EP (which will reportedly have seven songs) with producer Greig Nori at the Algoma Conservatory of Music, with bass & drum tracks complete as of September 29th, and Mitch Sirie was finishing guitar parts as of December 21st, with vocals still to go. After only contributing to the packaging on "Deconstructed", bassist Rafael Medina will perform on this EP, and a "Reel" of him recording in studio was posted to the band's Facebook page, though the song was unclear. At least five of the seven songs have had their names revealed in concert setlists.

Current Release Status: To be determined, and while they're not recording this EP at the same place as "Deconstructed", note that the sessions for that album at Unsalted Audio wrapped up four months before the album release. If the timeline is similar, than we wouldn't see Handsome Sandwich's EP until at least mid-2024, but it will be interesting to see how things progress in the coming months!

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Mike Haggith's "Face To Face" live album

Rumoured Songs: "MorningStar", "The Best You Never Had", "Into The Setting Sun", "Come On Home", "I've Seen It Before", "If Ever Comes The Day", "Suburban Dream" (The Din cover), "Out Of My League" (The Din cover), "Potato (Should've Known Better)"

Background: In the lead-up to the staging of his joint storytellers "Face To Face" concert with local folk/country musician Brian Tremblay at The Art Hub on Spring on May 26th, local/Barrie alt-hard rock musician Mike Haggith announced plans on his Facebook page to release a live album from this event through his indie label MorningStar Records, including a vinyl pressing. If this comes to fruition, it's not clear if Brian's half of the concert (he and Mike alternated songs), let alone the stories, would be included on the final product, which would necessitate at least a double album on vinyl. In any event, you can watch the entire "Face To Face" live-stream at this link.

Current Release Status: Little has came out about the "Face To Face" live album plans since first announced, and while that show went off without a hitch for Mike (unlike Rotaryfest), it understandably wasn't his first musical priority last summer, with his new studio album "All The Best In All You Do" being released as planned in July. We'll let you know when/if more comes out on this live album in any form!

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The Uncanny Valley's debut album

Rumoured Songs: "The Uncanny Valley", "Glowin'", "Middle Man", “This Love is Psychedelic”, "Stuck In Rotation", “Sweet Like Sugar”, "Fumbling Through", "The Village"

Background: The new classic hard rock band from 2019 Soo's Got Talent winner Adrian Sullivan, fans will have seen original material of theirs right from the start, as The Uncanny Valley debuted their own songs in their first live concert at The Canadian on New Year's Eve 2019. Live concert & jam session videos have followed on their Facebook page featuring their own material as well. After posting a teaser audio clip of "Sweet Like Sugar" in September 2020, they posted the full studio version of "Middle Man" that October, finally confirming there that they are working on their first album. The guys did record a studio version of "Stuck In Rotation" at Unsalted Audio for the Clusterfolk Music Festival and a related compilation album in April 2022, but whether that exact recording will be included on the band's own album is unclear. After an 8 month public break, the band released a music video for their song "The Village" in June.

Current Release Status: No clue, which isn't helped by The Uncanny Valley's age and relatively unfamiliar profile for many readers, and their 8 months away from new updates may be concerning for some as well. That said, they are a talented group who seemed to be taking the right steps for the future, and hopefully more updates on The Uncanny Valley's debut album follow in some form or another when ready!

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I hope you guys liked this month's "Where Are The New Albums?" post! This series will return on or around March 2nd, while our next monthly feature post will be next week's Defunct Local Band Profile. That's all for today, but stay tuned for more news and notes on the site soon! Thanks everyone!

Where Are The New Albums? (January 2024 Update)

For our first post of 2024 that is actually about 2024, here's this month's "Where Are The New Albums?" post, as we once again look at the current release whereabouts of upcoming albums from local metal, hard rock, and/or punk artists! This month's entry is largely the same as last month's with no albums added or removed from last time out, but two have updated entries, as noted with their title in italics. So, where are the new albums? Read on below to hopefully find out!

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Chase James Wigmore - The Chaotic Rite

Rumoured Songs: "A Song For The Apocalypse", "The Speciesist", "The Cities Alive & It's Angry", "From Beyond The Clouds"

Background: Ever the prolific artist & songwriter, local folk punk/extreme metal musician Chase Wigmore has been working on an extensive rock opera for years (once claimed to be a 33 part work), originally named "A Story About A Kid Named Todd". Worked on in between his other unrelated solo albums, released for sale or otherwise, Chase posted a lengthy elaboration of the rock opera in 2022, now titled "The Chaotic Rite", outlining its concept, recording plans, and long-term release timeline. Clips of songs have surfaced on his Facebook page, as have full songs not explicitly tied to the album, and the final artwork. In recent promotion, Chase has hinted that "The Chaotic Rite" might be his final eponymous solo album as part of aims to focus on his personal life more than his historically prolific rate of original studio material. Regardless, the final product has been pared down to 25-30 minutes.

Current Release Status: Your guess is as good as mine for when this will finally come out, but remember that Chase is very prolific and varied in his musical interests, and not every album of his has seen a formal paid release, either by finishing it's lifespan as a demo, or by being released online for free. Regardless, he has been working on the rock opera for years to ensure a quality product, so stay tuned for updates from his camp!

------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Far From Fine's debut album

Rumoured Songs: "Relapse", "This Way Again", "Poison In My Mind", "Broken", "Whiskey Dick"

Background: The new punk/hard rock band from former Suicide Kings bandmates Mike Gaetano & Mitch Sirie and ex-Gnaeus bassist Matt Fronzi, Far From Fine signalled that they wanted to record a debut album as early as their debut gig (under their original name Ravencore) at Toystock in November 2022, as hyped on SooToday. The renamed group went public in April and outlined their early plans on their Facebook page, including the names of four original songs. Far From Fine were recording at Mission Control Studios with producer Dustin Jones from (at least) May 26th-30th, sharing videos of Mitch and Matt tracking material there. It's not yet clear whether ex-drummer Austin "Mickey" McCrae, live fill-in Blair St. John, and/or a future/session hire will factor into the final product, but you can see the band & Blair playing ten original songs at Lopstock III in July at this link, albeit mostly not introduced by name.

Current Release Status: No idea, and we don't even have a released Suicide Kings album to compare timelines with, but Mike aside, everyone in Far From Fine has released local albums with separate bands. It'll be interesting to see how things shake out for Far From Fine in general, but see them live to hear what they have in store originally!

------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Fort Creek's debut EP

Rumoured Songs: "Hammer Down", "Battlefield"

Background: Local southern/hard rock quintet Fort Creek have sporadically teased plans to record an EP since February 2020, and while the pandemic lockdowns may have gave them more time to record, they wouldn't release any samples until almost two years later when they shared this snippet of their single "Hammer Down" on their Facebook page, later posting this 72 second clip. The guys debuted it at their headlining concert at Soo Blaster in June 2022, and have played it live regularly since, but they have yet to release any full tracks online. The band has been working in studio throughout 2023, revealing that "it's coming along" in a Facebook post on March 22nd, and teasing new recording sessions following earlier "learning experiences" there in May. A new original named "Battlefield" was teased in this picture from studio sessions in September, and they confirmed that they made "big progress in the studio" as of last month.

Current Release Status: Fort Creek revealed in a comment reply on their Facebook page on April 17th that their originals are "set to be released this fall", which follows their unrealized plans to release an EP in "late summer", then "late 2022", all obviously since passed. There are a lot of unknowns either way, especially given the 3+ years of production time and that this is a band primarily known for their work on the weekend cover circuit (though some members do have experience in name original bands, especially Tony). It will be interesting to see how things develop, so stay tuned!

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Handsome Sandwich's first EP

Rumoured Songs: "Without You", "Party Fuel", "Change A Bit", "No Idea"

Background: Before even releasing their full-length debut album "Deconstructed" in May, local alternative/hard rock quintet Handsome Sandwich revealed that not all of their existing originals would be on that album, with plans to instead release them and some brand new songs on a forthcoming EP. On September 13th, they began recording this EP (which will reportedly have seven songs) with producer Greig Nori at the Algoma Conservatory of Music, with bass & drum tracks complete as of September 29th, and Mitch Sirie was finishing guitar parts as of December 21st, with vocals still to go. After only contributing to the packaging on "Deconstructed", bassist Rafael Medina will perform on this EP, and a "Reel" of him recording in studio was posted to the band's Facebook page, though the song was unclear.

Current Release Status: To be determined, and while they're not recording this EP at the same place as "Deconstructed", note that the sessions for that album at Unsalted Audio wrapped up four months before the album release. If the timeline is similar, than we wouldn't see Handsome Sandwich's EP until at least mid-2024, but it will be interesting to see how things progress in the coming months!

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Mike Haggith's "Face To Face" live album

Rumoured Songs:  "MorningStar", "The Best You Never Had", "Into The Setting Sun", "Come On Home", "I've Seen It Before", "If Ever Comes The Day", "Suburban Dream" (The Din cover), "Out Of My League" (The Din cover), "Potato (Should've Known Better)"

Background: In the lead-up to the staging of his joint storytellers "Face To Face" concert with local folk/country musician Brian Tremblay at The Art Hub on Spring on May 26th, local/Barrie alt-hard rock musician Mike Haggith announced plans on his Facebook page to release a live album from this event through his indie label MorningStar Records, including a vinyl pressing. If this comes to fruition, it's not clear if Brian's half of the concert (he and Mike alternated songs), let alone the stories, would be included on the final product, which would necessitate at least a double album on vinyl. In any event, you can watch the entire "Face To Face" live-stream at this link.

Current Release Status: Little has came out about the "Face To Face" live album plans since first announced, and while that show went off without a hitch for Mike (unlike Rotaryfest), it understandably wasn't his first musical priority last summer, with his new studio album "All The Best In All You Do" being released as planned in July. We'll let you know when/if more comes out on this live album in any form!

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The Uncanny Valley's debut album

Rumoured Songs: "The Uncanny Valley", "Glowin'", "Middle Man", “This Love is Psychedelic”, "Stuck In Rotation", “Sweet Like Sugar”, "Fumbling Through", "The Village"

Background: The new classic hard rock band from 2019 Soo's Got Talent winner Adrian Sullivan, fans will have seen original material of theirs right from the start, as The Uncanny Valley debuted their own songs in their first live concert at The Canadian on New Year's Eve 2019. Live concert & jam session videos have followed on their Facebook page featuring their own material as well. After posting a teaser audio clip of "Sweet Like Sugar" in September 2020, they posted the full studio version of "Middle Man" that October, finally confirming there that they are working on their first album. The guys did record a studio version of "Stuck In Rotation" at Unsalted Audio for the Clusterfolk Music Festival and a related compilation album in April 2022, but whether that exact recording will be included on the band's own album is unclear. After an 8 month public break, the band released a music video for their song "The Village" in June.

Current Release Status: No clue, which isn't helped by The Uncanny Valley's age and relatively unfamiliar profile for many readers, and their 8 months away from new updates may be concerning for some as well. That said, they are a talented group who seemed to be taking the right steps for the future, and hopefully more updates on The Uncanny Valley's debut album follow in some form or another when ready!

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I hope you guys liked this month's "Where Are The New Albums?" post! This series will return on or around February 2nd, while our next monthly feature post will be our first Defunct Local Band Profile of 2024 next week. That's all for now, but stay tuned for our first weekend concert previews of 2024 next! Thanks everyone!

Fuller & 20 Musicians Of Christmas Concert Previews, Plus New Northwest Videos!!

With this year's New Year's Eve weekend being busy as ever, especially post-pandemic, we have to break our weekend concert previews into three posts! We'll start today with two upcoming shows at LopLops Lounge, then we'll look at Friday-Saturday nighters elsewhere, before capping things off with New Year's Eve shows proper, so there's a glimpse into the upcoming post timeline, and we also have a YouTube Channel Profile, this month's CD review, and our year-end recap post ahead, so expect some busy times at the SMS to end the year! Let's lead off with those LopLops previews, with some new live videos from there to cap things off with!

For punk and emo fans of the early-mid 2000s, the New Years weekend begins in style TOMORROW NIGHT when Fuller reunite at LopLops for their first public gig in at least seventeen years! On this night, Fuller will be represented by founding singer/guitarist Jamie Vincent (last seen with No Funeral) and late-era bassist Mark Rand (now of Barrie's Cross Dog), with Pointless/All The Tired Horses drummer David Peredun taking over for the absent (and also blonde) Nathan Sauve. It will be great to see Fuller back for the holidays, and hopefully the promise of their jam session teaser videos spill over into tomorrow's set! Local punk supergroup The Gambit (née The Sick Sons) will return to the stage for their second gig as a quintet and under their current name when they take the stage tomorrow, in their first live set in exactly one year. Good to see them back after way too long, and they should have a fun set in store for old school punk fans tomorrow!

The opening band tomorrow is the debuting Honest Work (not to be confused with the defunct Honest Job), who feature the surviving members of Nebraska Arms alongside Rising Tide alum Sheldon Jaaskelainen on guitar. It's not clear who's singing here (Wayne?) or if they will sound similar to Nebraska Arms, but it'd help if they launched an online page! Regardless, they'll be a talented lead-off to tomorrow's SOLD OUT and 19+ concert, which begins at 8:00 PM, though tickets were $20 when still available. This should be a great time for punk and emo fans, especially those around in the 2000s scene, so visit the official Facebook event page for more details, and here's Fuller live back in the day!

Next up, the holiday season program at LopLops ends on FRIDAY NIGHT when many familiar faces take part in the return of the 12 20 Musicians of Christmas! Since we first covered this special concert event on the site two weeks ago, when it was already inflated from the traditional 12 artists to 16, organizers have added four more local musicians to inflate this event to its biggest state yet! As you may recall, The 12 Musicians of Christmas was a holiday season-tradition at LopLops from 2005-2018, where musicians were (at least at the time) given three song sets where they were joined by assorted other participants for some tantalizing one-off supergroups throughout the night. How that format will look with an extra eight people involved is to be determined, but with this performer roster, you won't want to miss out! Unlike in the earlier installments, there are a number of punk and hard rock alumni performing, so who can you expect?

Fans of Dustin Jones & The Rising Tide will be curious to check this out, as Dustin, Mikey Hawdon, Liam Seymour, Chris Johns, and new addition Marshall Jaaskelainen (good to see him back in town!) will all be taking part. No word on if we'll get a mini-Tide reunion or not, but don't bypass their involvement! Readers will also recognize Treble Charger/Pointless guitarist Bill Priddle, Wyld Stallyns saxophonist Josh Norling, and ex-Generations guitarist Brandon Ruch among the roster of performers on Friday. The other twelve Musicians of Christmas are Frank Deresti, Al Wood, Lindsay Pugh, Cliff Alloy, Shannon Moan, Juliana Regan, Hannah Lindsay, Andree-Ann Dechesne, Chris Belsito, and new additions Gabrielle Dumas, Craig West, and Vince Feletti. That is a stacked lineup of local talent covering a wide range of styles, so it'll be very interesting to see who plays what and with whom!

This special concert begins at 7:00 PM on Friday, it has a 19+ age limit, and admission is $50 at the door or in advance (+ processing fees & taxes) at this link. Yes, it's a pricey event, but that is on par with past installments, and look at the value you're getting. While the 20 Musicians of Christmas are gathering four days after the fact, it'll be a big night for fans of local music to see this much talent together for the holidays, so visit the official Facebook event page for more details! Given the nature of the event, I'll forgo a preview video, as everyone is advertised on an equal playing field and it'd be tough to find one video to sum up 20 people!

We'll close today by staying at LopLops, where Honest Work's Wayne Watkins performed on Friday with his primary current indie/punk band The Northwest! Attendee Christopher Paci filmed three videos of their set from their 10th anniversary concert for his excellent YouTube channel, and for the record, I do not believe that Far From Fine (who were advertised as opening in some personal Facebook plugs) played on Friday night after all. A reason for their apparent withdrawal wasn't publically announced, but be advised that the band never confirmed their involvement on social media (granted, The Northwest didn't even promote the show publically on Facebook). Hopefully we see Far From Fine in the new year! Chris filmed The Northwest covering The Who's "Baba O'Riley" and playing their own originals "Unsober October" and, as embedded below, "Walls".

In a nice touch, Chris shot each Northwest video from a slightly different angle, and while I chose "Walls" to embed because of its length, it was also shot from the most central locale of the three. It's also one of The Northwest's punkier originals, and the guys sound good and lively across all three videos, though be advised of very purple lighting for most of the combined runtime. Give these a watch above & below!

That's all for now, but stay tuned for non-LopLops concert previews next! Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (Soundcheck & The Wyld Stallyns) And Weekend Concert Previews!!

The Christmas weekend is upon us, and true to most Christmas holiday seasons, the slate of hard rock concerts has bumped up as people come home/have time off! As such, we have to break this weekend's previews in two, with Saturday's late notice Tym Morrison show coming in our next post, perhaps with more if anything else turns up on the heavier side. Here's what you should know to start the weekend, leading off with some SHORT NOTICE LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS!

 

Local funk/hard rock cover sextet The Wyld Stallyns will return to Shooters Downstairs Lounge for one night only TOMORROW NIGHT! Apologies for the short notice, this show was only announced via the venue's Facebook event page yesterday, and the band has not publically confirmed the booking on social media at press time. TOMORROW'S booking will see The Stallyns replace Tex Riviera & The Ride as the planned entertainment at Shooters, as per the venue's December entertainment calendar, though a reason for The Ride's withdrawal was not publically announced. Worth noting that The Ride actually replaced The Wyld Stallyns at Shooters on November 10th, but I have no idea if they traded dates or if the band switches both ways are coincidental. Regardless, it's good to see The Wyld Stallyns' fan friendly and often heavy cover array back over Christmas weekend, and hopefully there's a good turnout TOMORROW!

 

A one-nighter due to Shooters' continuance of Saturday DJ nights, TOMORROW'S concert has a 19+ age limit, 9:00 PM start time, and no cover charge. See the above links for more details, and here's The Stallyns live!

 

 

Next up, local classic/hard rock cover quartet Soundcheck will return to Reggie's Place for concerts TOMORROW & SATURDAY NIGHT! Again, apologies for the short notice, these shows were first announced on Reggie's Facebook page on Sunday. With TOMORROW & SATURDAY being added to Soundcheck's schedule, that means that they will be playing at Reggie's three times in a ten day span, joining their previously announced New Year's Eve gig one week from Sunday. so if you've missed Soundcheck here since the summer, you have lots of seasonal options! Notably, Soundcheck have enlisted Double Down's Ric Datson as a guest drummer TOMORROW & SATURDAY, as regular drummer Glen Thomas agreed to fill in with pop rock cover band Bourbon Blue this weekend at Jay's before Soundcheck booked this weekend's gigs. Mildly confusing, but Ric is more than capable of handling Soundcheck's set!

 

For the record, Bourbon Blue have parted ways with drummer Brent Royer and are looking for a permanent replacement, so message them A.S.A.P. if you're interested in trying out! Yes, Glen will be present for their Cameron-less jam night hosting duties at Jay's tonight as well, but remember, we don't cover jam/open mic nights as "concerts" due to their in-built unpredictability. TOMORROW & SATURDAY's concerts have 9:00 PM start times, no cover charges, and 19+ age limits. See above for more details, and here's Soundcheck live!

 

 

We'll move to shows that had more than a few days' notice next, starting with local indie/punk quintet The Northwest's return to LopLops Lounge TOMORROW NIGHT! While the band has oddly not promoted this show on their Facebook page whatsoever, and LopLops' own promotion drops the "The" from their name in every case, personal Facebook postings from Northwest band members indicate that this show will be in honour of their 10th anniversary as a band. We haven't seen The Northwest on stage since the Go North Music Festival on St. Joseph Island in July, so it'll be good to see their upbeat heartland rock and punk originals back in city limits tomorrow! Some personal Facebook advertising for this show indicate that local punk/hard rock quartet Far From Fine are scheduled to open tomorrow's concert, but they, The Northwest, and LopLops have not publically confirmed or denied their involvement on social media that I have found.

The lack of public advertising for this show aside from LopLops' batch coverage of their December slate is very odd, but hopefully the personal approach is doing the trick and that everyone is happy with the turnout regardless! This 19+ event has an 8:00 PM start time, and admission is $10 (higher with taxes & processing fees on Eventbrite), and yes, the 10 person "party ticket" with added drinks also exists for $100. See above for more details, don't miss The Northwest (and Far From Fine?) tomorrow at LopLops, and here's The Northwest live!

 

 

Finally for today's previews, we'll head west to The Esquire Club, where local southern hard rock cover trio Bone Yard will take the stage for concerts TOMORROW & SATURDAY NIGHT! Last seen at this Second Line West staple five weeks ago, look for another solid weekend of southern-fried classic and hard rock covers from Greg, Alex, and Warren over these two nights, and as these will likely be their last fully electric shows of 2023, come on down to plug in with the full Bone Yard experience! No word on if they'll have merchandise for sale or not though. Tomorrow & Saturday's concerts take place at 9:30 PM with no cover charges and 19+ age limits. Live music fans have a lot of options locally for Christmas weekend entertainment, but Bone Yard's hard rocking ways and crowd-friendly set should bode well for fans in the west end, so visit the above links for details, and here they are live!

 

 

That's all for now, but look for our Tym Morrison preview (and more) on the site next! Thanks everyone!