Here is this month's "Where Are The New Albums?" post, as we continue our monthly look at announced and (at least partially) recorded albums from local metal, hard rock, and punk artists, in order to see where they are and when we might see them go on sale! This month's installment features 12 entries (4 with updates, as noted with their title in
italics), while one album has been removed following their project's move to our inactive band links. So, where are the new albums? Read on below to hopefully find out!
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A Dire Setback's debut album
Rumoured Songs: "Wasting Away", "Kicking & Screaming", "Faded", "Catastrophe", "Forget This Memory", "Everlasting Despair", "A Dire Setback"
Background: Though discussion of a
debut album had been ongoing throughout 2017, local alt-punk trio A Dire
Setback only announced that their first CD was in the works in March of
this year. To help fund the recording sessions, A
Dire Setback launched
a Patreon page
to allow fans to help financially back them and the album, with
exclusive content and perks promised for backers on there, though public
content on
their Facebook page
has also been released. Around that same time, the guys began setting
tempos and recording click tracks for the album, with Pointless
bandmates Bill Priddle & Dustin Goodall handling production and
mastering, at least partially at Dustin's own Unsalted Audio. Full
recording sessions began with drum tracking in May, as noted on
Facebook, with bass sessions ongoing as of September 17th. The band posted
this photo on Facebook in that could be the possible cover art, while
this Rotaryfest teaser features a drum-heavy track that may be included.
Current Release Status: I couldn't
begin to guess, but A Dire Setback are doing all the right things to get
buzz online for the recording sessions, and it'll be interesting to see
how influential the Patreon campaign is towards it's completion,
especially considering the limited success of past crowdfunding
campaigns from local musicians. Keep posted for updates!
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The Bear Hunters - The Dead Testament
Rumoured Songs: "The
Void", "The Omen", "Neckbreaker", "I Fear No God", "Servitude",
"Transcend Judgement", "For Glory", "The Wrath Of Angmar", "The Dying
Den", "The Dead Testament", "Deception" (bonus re-recording),
"The Forest of Forests" (bonus track)
Background: In tentative planning
since 2014 under this title, local death metal quintet The Bear
Hunters have been playing songs intended for their second full length CD
for a few years now, but only fully began recording sessions for "The
Dead Testament" on October 2nd, 2015. Following a brief fundraising campaign
and the gradual unveiling of song titles, the band has been working
with producer Dustin Jones at
Mission Control Studios, and have shared
sporadic updates on
their Instagram page. Like on 2014's "Eternal
Hibernation", rhythm guitarist Josh Stephney has recorded parts
for the album despite living in Southern Ontario, but it's not yet clear
on how bonus tracks will be handled.
Current Release Status: The Bear
Hunters haven't given any firm timetables for when to expect "The Dead
Testament"
in stores, but recording sessions are reportedly complete, as are the mixing and mastering processes, as of August 5th (
source here.)
The band is
aiming for a more professional sound and release for
their sophomore effort, and to go along with that, artwork and physical
distribution plans are ongoing, as are "a ton of cool ideas for stepping
our media game up." Keep an eye out for updates on "The Dead Testament"
when
and if they come in!
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Electric Church's debut album
Rumoured Songs: "Muddy Waters", "Ain't Got None", "Carey Baby", "Take Me Away", "Cross the Line"
Background: Fast rising young
blues/hard rock trio Electric Church evolved from Jimi Hendrix covers in
2016 to primarily original material in 2017, and punctuated that on May
12th of that year when they announced on
their Facebook page
that they were "working up some new songs... for the album!!!" It was
confirmed around that time that they were recording material at Mission
Control Studios with producer Dustin Jones, who shared a picture on
their Facebook page
confirming Electric Church's presence. However, few direct updates have
followed publically, aside from scattered reminders that they are still
working in studio, and that they "are really excited about all the new
projects we have planned."
Current Release Status: No clue,
but Electric Church are a very talented band who play beyond their
years, and no matter how long this takes, the album should be of solid
quality when it finally comes out! At last word, the band noted on New
Year's Day that they were "looking forward to finishing up in the studio
this year", though note that frontman Spencer Pine's commitments with
Jesse Merineau's solo band and their own CD release may be a partial factor in Electric Church delays. Stay tuned!
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The Elements'
debut EP
Rumoured Songs: "Liar", "G20", "Triple H", "The Rut", "I Need A Friend"
Background: Arguably better known
for their funk, ska, and hard rock covers, local quartet The Elements
have been adding original material to their sets since 2015, and
have since publically confirmed earlier teases that they are working on a
debut EP. Frontman Rob Speers has confirmed in personal conversations
in early 2016 that they have been working in studio on the release,
which will have at
least 5 tracks, and I believe it's being self-recorded, but further
public updates are minimal at best. It's also not known if they'll
employ any guest performers, such as saxophonist Josh Norling, a frequent presence in recent
months.
Current Release Status: At this
stage, I have no idea, but Rob sounded like things were going well in
studio. That said, these were largely personal conversations over a year ago,
and the band hasn't acknowledged album recording sessions publically in
recent months, so we'll have to see if updates come out on it in 2018!
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Gates of Winter - Perihelion
Rumoured Songs: "The Stars Call My True Name", "Edin Na Zu", "Dimensions", "Time Warp", "Wormhole Mechanics", "Prometheus", "Eta Carinae"
Background: Despite
a hiatus from live concerts lasting over 9 years, Gates of
Winter never broke up, and are slowly working on their follow-up
to 2008's "Lux Aeterna". Updates have sporadically been made
since early 2010, via numerous uploads, teaser postings, and general
hype for the recording sessions, though prior release forecasts haven't
been realized, it was retracted from CD to EP length, and most preview
media has since been taken down as the band perfected the CD's final
content. While Sault
native Jon Morrison
was announced as the album's drummer in late 2010, it has since been
confirmed that "Perihelion" will feature programmed drums. After taking a
over a year off from public activity, Gates of Winter resurfaced
in July 2017 with new band artwork and hints that they have "been making
incredible strides, and are very excited to pull back the curtain."
Current Release Status: Personal
commitments and the like have slowed
things down incredibly, but the band has repeatedly acknowledged
continued work towards the release in scattered postings throughout the
2010s. The band's Facebook page was admittedly taken down in
mid-2018, despite a personal Facebook video of members jamming from
April, but given their already measured public updates and prior
year-long public hiatus from 2016-2017 without dissolving, I am hesitant
to make a judgement on their status. If still alive, remember that good
art takes time, and
Gates of
Winter won't want to release this until
everything's perfect and to their high standards. Keep an eye out for
potential updates!
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Id Iota's full length second CD
Rumoured Songs: "Happy Sailor", "Intro To American Literature", "Seas Envy Skies", "Long D", "Cop Drama", "Deep Empty", "Blind Spots"
Background: Not long after their
successful Ontario tour with Mike Mikus in late 2016, Id Iota began
recording sessions for their second album, though public confirmation
that a full length CD was currently in progress didn't occur until
guitarist Dustin Goodall announced it on his studio
Unsalted Audio's website
early last year. Scattered postings and hints have followed, but
nothing else has came out beyond performances of newer originals in
concert through this spring. For reference,
this photo got shared a few times on
Id Iota's Facebook page
last year, but it's unclear if it's intended to be the album's cover
artwork. It is not clear whether new bassist Robert Sartini
and/or his predecessor Dan Linklater will be on the final product, or if
any collaborations with RedD Monkey alum Pete Mozarowski will make the
cut.
Current Release Status: No idea,
especially with the alternative/hard rock quartet keeping fairly mum on
it's progress (not to mention their bassist change), but with the
guys back on the local stage after a lengthy hiatus, hopefully things
are winding closer, so stay tuned for updates!
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Mike Haggith - Bridges
Rumoured Songs: "From The 55th Parallel", "Over Indecision", "The Nature of The Times","An
Act of Strength","The Catalyst", "Dangerous
Town", "Come on Home", "Blue Highway", "Everything Not Saved Will Be Lost", "Bridges"
Background: After moving to
Thompson, Manitoba in November 2017 for work reasons, prolific
local/Windsor hard/alternative rock musician Mike Haggith relaunched his
dormant solo project, and soon commenced songwriting for a new CD,
which would be his 50th canon studio album and his first since 2015's
"The Warinside" Updates slowly took place across 2018, with
his Facebook page
documenting songwriting sessions and acoustic "home demo" videos of new
original songs, plus occasional solo concerts in Thompson largely
featuring these new tracks. Mike has unveiled the official title as "Bridges", along with it's
cover artwork and track listing last month, which includes all of his Thompson-era originals except "If Only You
Could Hear Me".
Current Release Status: Though Mike
didn't highly publicize the recording sessions on social media, he
confirmed on Friday that the album was "100% recorded", and is soon
going to be edited and mixed, with the cover artwork and (changed?)
album artwork also on their way. As such, I don't expect an imminent
release for Mike's new solo album, but hopefully we'll see it by year's
end, and with Mike's candor and honesty, you know he won't hide anything
regarding it's release!
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Mike Vincent - For Dear Life
Rumoured Songs: "Nocturnal"
Background: Shortly after releasing
his first two solo albums ("Ultimate Chaos" & "Apocalypse") in
March, former Skull After Betrayl frontman & Bear Hunters guitarist
Mike Vincent indicated that he had begun preparations for a third solo
release. With no public Facebook page for his music at press time, Mike
revealed on his personal Facebook page last month that his third album would
be titled "For Dear Life", with an instrumental demo of it's first song
"Nocturnal" being posted to
his Bandcamp page.
Unlike on his prior releases, "For Dear Life" is expected to feature
vocals on all but one track, in a possible throwback to Mike's singing
work with both Skull After Betrayl and D.O.T.H..
Current Release Status: I don't
know for certain, but given that this version of "Nocturnal" has no
vocals, I imagine Mike is early in the independent recording process. If
this is anything like his prior albums, expect songs to be
incrementally released over time in advance of the final sale posting,
but nothing's finite. Keep tabs for updates in the coming months!
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Northwest - Songs From 2015-2017
Rumoured Songs: "Hangover Habits", "Drinking Games", "True North", "Sorry Sunday"
Background: Following the release
of their debut self-titled digital EP in September 2014, and a lengthy
stage hiatus from late 2016 through early 2017, local indie/punk
quintet Northwest resumed major activity that April with teaser
photos of recording sessions at Mission Control Studios with producer
Dustin Jones (as they had done for their debut) being sporadically posted over ever since then to
their Facebook page.
Confirmation that this was for a new EP, their first with current
drummer Marc Santos, only came in July 2017 via their write-up in last
year's Rotaryfest program.
The cover artwork
and title "Songs From 2015-2017" was unveiled in July, and while the
band never formally signalled the end of sessions, studio copies of
their new originals
"True North" &
"Sorry Sunday" were posted to YouTube in recent months.
Current Release Status: Shortly
after the above photo was shared, Northwest posted a new cover photo
on Facebook that blatantly says that the EP is coming in "Fall 2018", which appears to have been delayed. On September 3rd, the band teased that they would be hosting an EP release party at LopLops Lounge on Saturday, December 22nd, but held back on any extra details for the time being. Nothing else
is public regarding it's content or release formats, but hopefully the December release date holds up so fans can get their new album for the holidays! Stay tuned for updates on the release show when they are announced!
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Pillory's second CD
Rumoured Songs: "Angst of Existence", "Sculptor of Cadavers", "Wasting", "Abhorred Apprehension", "The Passing",
"Exhaustive Incarnation"
Background: After previously
breaking up in mid-2014, local metal band Pillory returned as a trio in
the fall of 2015, trading their thrash metal roots for a heavier death
metal sound, complete with a completely overhauled setlist with no
carried-over originals from their 2013 EP "Cringe At The Cross". In
March 2017, Id Iota guitarist Dustin Goodall's recording studio
Unsalted Audio
revealed that they were in pre-production for Pillory's second album,
with the band indicating that recording sessions were underway a couple
of months later. As of last July, drum tracks were complete, with
editing to follow before recording other instruments, though no updates
have followed. It's not clear who will provide bass tracks on the final
product, between ex-bassist Jordan Leach, his replacement Blair St.
John, frontman Robert Sartini (who played bass on "Cringe At The
Cross"), or a combination therein.
Current Release Status: I have no
idea, and it doesn't help that Pillory have not posted a public update
since July 2017, though their new lineup returned from that hiatus at
July's Rivers of Nihil concert That said, Pillory are no strangers
to releasing an album
amidst lineup uncertainty, and with their increasingly brutal and
technical sound, hopefully they can get this album complete down the
line!
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Skeyes of Seven - Stare at the Sky
Rumoured Songs: "Enough", "See The Truth", "Fallen Faith", "Pretend", "Cognitive Dissonance", "Crawling Back From Reality"
Background: Already no strangers to
the studio after recording two songs as
singles in the mid-2010s, local modern hard rock quartet
Skeyes of Seven hit the studio to record their debut EP in 2015,
though they only publically confirmed that an EP was in the works in January 2016. Sessions took place at
Deluca Sound Productions,
who have shared videos of band members tracking material for the EP,
the title of which being unveiled later that year. In January 2017, all six songs
were posted to
their YouTube channel,
including the new instrumental "Crawling Back From Reality", while also
excluding their older originals "Destination Unknown" & "No One
Cares". New guitarist Kyle Sweet is not visibly on the EP, having joined
Skeyes of Seven after sessions concluded.
Current Release Status: Given that
the whole EP is online for free streaming, then conventional wisdom
would say that "Stare at the Sky" would be released imminently, but the
band has yet to confirm a paid release date. Hopefully it doesn't stall
at being a free posting, as Skeyes of
Seven are a talented and experienced band, and having been active in
studio more than on stage since launching in 2012, it'd be great to see
them culminate this process with a release concert. Follow along
to see where things go!
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Telephone & Address - "The Early Tapes"
Rumoured Songs: "The Plumbers"
Background: Telephone &
Address frontman Chris Shoust announced on
their Facebook page
in 2015 that he was working on releasing "The Early Tapes", a
compilation of songs from the first 4 Telephone & Address albums
(2011's self titled album, and 2012's "Live", "No. 3", and "Broken
Head"). However, he has
since released
two separate new
studio albums (2016's "Are You Now
or Have You Ever" and February's "Monster"), with no updates on the
"Early Tapes" album publically stated in over three years. The sole
publically confirmed track "The Plumbers" can be streamed on
their Soundcloud page, and albums are likely to turn up on
Telephone & Address' Bandcamp page and on
Interpunk
down the road, assuming this gets released. Unless the tracks are
reworked, new drummer Jackson Reed will not feature on this album.
Current Release Status: Chris
revealed in March
2015 that this album "will be delayed for some time", and though he
didn't elaborate
on
why specifically, work on both of his last two albums (particularly the
very delayed "Monster") could be partially to blame. That said, with an
expanded lineup now, "The Early Tapes" may have fallen further in
priority, but you never know what could come next from Telephone &
Address!
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As well as the above entries, we have opted to remove one due to it's now-unlikely release status, so here's what you should know on it:
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Kraken Mara's self-titled debut EP
Rumoured Songs: "Chimera", "Ishka", "Grand Machinations", "Straus"
Background:
The recent progressive metal project from Late & Loud guitarist
Brendan Christie & Wawa band veteran Jake Valois, Kraken Mara
immediately commenced work on studio material upon their April 2016
launch, though they never assembled a full lineup, let alone played
live. In sporadic updates since on
their Facebook page &
their website,
the band indicated ongoing recording sessions towards a self-titled
EP by posting and reworking original demos to their website and (now-deleted) Reverbnation page, with Reese Wolf working as sound engineer for the
tracks. As well, the cover artwork for the EP was revealed on Facebook
at the end of March 2017, and the band later confirmed plans to record
music videos for all of the planned tracks, but only one for
"Straus" followed that July. Updates ceased after October 2nd, 2017, and Brendan would move out of country again in mid-2018.
Reason For Removal: As long-time readers know, one year without public updates is traditionally our cut-off for designating a band as "inactive", ans that's what Kraken Mara hit today. Brendan's big move doesn't help matters at all, and while Kraken Mara are a studio-only project that's not dependent on location for new material, Brendan didn't front an active musical project during his mid-2000s stint abroad, only launching Kraken Mara after returning home. Kraken Mara were
a promising technical outfit, and after such promise and big plans, hopefully this isn't the last we've
heard from Brendan and Jake musically!
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Info/Analysis: Launching in 2003 and becoming the biggest homegrown metal band of the mid-late 2000s, Gates of Winter were mainstays of local concerts for the next four years, including headlining the first two Second Stages at Rotaryfest and sharing the stage here and afar with notable bands like Quo Vadis, Wolven Ancestry, and Fuck The Facts, along with headlining many shows at venues from The Oddfellows Hall to LopLops to Algoma University. Harbouring a stable lineup aside from their drummer position, the band played their last three local gigs after putting out "Lux Aeterna", all at The Grand Theater in mid-late 2008. Woods of Ypres frontman David Gold joined behind the kit that year, also adding his new bandmates to Woods' lineup. The "Gates of Ypres" era ended for both bands by early 2009, with Gates of Winter going on a year's hiatus, before returning (sans any drummer) in 2010 as a studio-only project.
With Bryan and Steve moving out west, and Brian eventually leaving the band outright, the now three-piece Gates of Winter pushed forward on their follow-up album "Perihelion", but updates on the album (later EP) got more and more sporadic, and the band last updated social media with new activity in 2019. Gates of Winter were the first local headlining band that I ever saw in concert back in early 2005, and they always impressed with their intricate and dark brand of metal that called to mind bands like Katatonia and Amorphis in their original run. Extremely talented group of guys that always operated very professionally and with a drive to improve musically, and it's a shame that the "Perhelion" sessions never reached a public finish line, as they were cranking up their progressive and death metal bonafides on the teased material. Hopefully Lee, Bryan, and Steve resurface when the time is right, they have been missed!
