Tarnished Concert Preview, New Videos, And More From Sault Michigan!!

After publishing six posts in six days last week, things have crashed back to Earth more or less in terms of news and notes, but if you're interested in new content from the Sault Michigan-area, then today's post will be up your alley! It includes a surprise lineup departure, new videos, and a preview of a concert this weekend, so here's what you should know!

With news slowing down again in the wake of the Kewadin Casino schedule announcement and the beginning of Stage 2 in Ontario, I'm opting to post this weekend concert preview slightly early to ensure that steady content on the SMS is maintained. That said, if you're in the Eastern Upper Peninsula, look for Sault Ste. Marie hard rock trio Tarnished back at their recent favourite local venue (Hulbert House Bed & Breakfast in Hulbert Township) THIS SATURDAY NIGHT! This is a special concert tied into an American Veterans motorcycle gathering that you can get full details on via the Facebook event page, and there are events relating to that all weekend, including a bonfire and unspecified separate musicians on Friday. Hulbert House did not announce if Tarnished's show on Saturday would be outdoors or indoors, but again, if the weather's good, why not take advantage of their proper stage?

Admission is $50 for the weekend and includes camping priviliges at the Hulbert House site, and while Tarnished's concert is included with admission, inquire within if you want to ask about attending just the concert itself. I assume they'd prefer attendees be related to AMVETS or motorcycling, but you never know! Tarnished will be on at 7:00 PM on Saturday, and if you are up for a trip over the Mackinac Bridge, they will also be playing in Mackinaw City on Friday night, so click here for more details on that. See above for more information on their Hulbert gig on Saturday, and for a preview, here's some new videos of Alex, Nathan, and Josh from their set in Grand Marais this past Saturday! While not promoted much on Facebook, this outdoor show two hours west of the Soo was filmed for two 45 seconds-long videos posted on Tarnished's Facebook page, so what can you see here?

These videos show covers of Bob Seger & The Silver Bullet Band's "Old Time Rock & Roll", and as embedded below, Van Halen's "Ain't Talkin' Bout Love", which I chose to embed as it's both a heavier cover and it's filmed in a normal landscape orientation. Both are well done covers that put Alex's strong melodic singing to good use, and it's just a shame that the filmer wasn't closer to the stage (let alone filming vertically for the Seger cover). Give both videos a look above and below, and don't miss Tarnished in Hulbert on Saturday if you're attending the AMVETS gathering!

Next up, here's a new video from Heavy Lies The Crown guitarist Ted Olson's YouTube channel, this time of a short new instrumental original track named "Kitten Cat Shark Attack"! Well, Shark Week is coming up, perhaps this is getting an early jump on things? Despite the thumbnail, there's no kittens or sharks to be seen, it's just Ted playing a very heavy progressive metal song with his headless guitar. I'll admit, this is one of my favourite of Ted's solo tracks so far, the brutal technicality is great, and the new lighting/camera setup works to it's advantage! Give Ted's new video a watch below!

Finally, we have some surprising news out of Sault Michigan, as new local hard rock quartet Rhythm & Brews have surprisingly parted ways with bassist Chris Leask before they could even debut at The Rapids Lounge this past weekend. The band did not elaborate on their Facebook page, but Chris revealed on his personal Facebook page that he left for medical reasons that will impair his ability to play bass, though it is nothing life-threatening. Given the non-public source, I won't elaborate here, but Chris has been a frequent presence in our Sault Michigan coverage with bands like Power Slug and Highway 63, and hopefully his condition improves so he can return to the stage down the road! A new Facebook photo posted by the band from their debut weekend shows the bassist they brought in at least for those gigs, and I may be wrong on this, but he looks like Brett Blackwood, who played in guitarist Chris Hubbard's prior hard rock band 415E from 2019-2020. 

In any event, Rhythm & Brews have not publically confirmed a permanent replacement for Chris, let alone acknowledged his departure in writing, but they don't have any other Kewadin Casino gigs advertised in 2021, so there may not necessarily be a rush either. We'll keep you posted when more rolls in from Rhythm & Brews' camp, but that's all for today, and stay tuned for this month's Defunct Local Band Profile next, barring any late notice concert announcements! Thanks everyone!

March Into Regression Updates, A New Solo Recording, And This Week's Classic Video!!

Time for some more news on the site, and after a day full of Sault Michigan news and this month's YouTube Channel Profiles from this afternoon (in the post below this one), we have some more overdue news from Sault Ontario to get to! Tonight, we have this week's classic video (overdue, I know, but I wasn't in town half the week) and a new audio upload from a local musician, but first, here's some more big news relating to a recently reunited local metal band!

In case you guys didn't see my late notice post on our Facebook page yesterday, local death metal band March Into Regression made their return to the stage last night at the F.A.T.I.L. Gathering in Laird! As such, it was the band's first concert since their name change from Unleash The Blackened Sky and their first official live show since the Shaw TV-filmed 21st Rosie metal night last June, when they were known as Bring The Misery. It's great to see them back after such a long hiatus, and hopefully they can build on their slow start last summer and show their real potential! As such, they've also been announced as the third band at next Thursday's 47th Roosevelt Hotel metal night, where they'll open for The Valentine's Day Massacre (featuring their former singer Steve Rhodes) and local hardcore quartet Changing Waves. My source is that show's Facebook event page. Nice addition, and I definitely intend to head to The Rosie next Thursday to check out their first Sault Ontario show in over a year! That said, how does their lineup look? Their Facebook page still only lists guitarist Ray Cowan and drummer Travis St. Amour (both holdovers from last year's lineups) as being in their incarnation, but some other recent Facebook postings have indicated other members!

According to a comment on the Facebook event page wall for their next show, the band's new second guitarist is named Christopher Neveau, and I'm not familiar with him musically at all, but hopefully he's got the chops to hang with the rest of the guys in March Into Regression! Former guitarist Dan Souliere (who played at their first show last June before initially leaving) is back in the band as well, though he's now M.I.R.'s bassist, and from what I know, he'll do just fine in that role! Christopher also credited "Josh" and "Jeremy" as band members, but I don't have 100% confirmation if they're in, who they are, or what they play. Bear Hunters guitarist Josh Stephney would make the most sense for the former, given his singing past with Dan and Travis in Bring The Fallen, but I've seen nothing concrete crediting him or anyone named Jeremy as being in March Into Regression. I'll keep you guys posted as I hear more, but I'm not entirely surprised the lineup isn't updated yet, as Unleash The Blackened Sky were slow to announce lineup changes last summer too. Even still, I'm curious to hear how M.I.R. sound after a year's absence and retooling, so stay tuned for updates on their lineup and more as they come in, and don't miss them at The Rosie next Thursday!

Next up, here's a new audio track from ex-Sneaky Pete guitarist Mario Carlucci! Entitled "The Fury", it was uploaded to his YouTube channel earlier today, and it's a solid instrumental composition! Heavier without being too fast, it's got a nice melodic pacing and his talent is well used, though the backing drum track is way over done. It sounds like he put in double the hits than a song of this style needs, but it's nice to see Mario keeping busy while we wait for his next band project, so check out "The Fury" below! (Also, on an ironic note, did anyone notice that this guitar-driven song shares the same name with the old local band The Fury, who had no guitarists? Just thought that was worth mentioning!)



And finally, here's this week's classic video! With LemmaFest and the F.A.T.I.L. Gathering going down this week, it made sense to focus on one of the bands playing at either event for this week, and we actually found ourselves drifting back to March Into Regression again for a connected video this time around (more specifically, drummer Travis St. Amour.) Years before re-entering the local scene, Travis was gaining a strong local name as the drummer for the young local metal band Fountain of Betrayal during their late 2000s run, alongside his brother/sometimes bandmate Tyler (now of Social Suicide) on vocals & bass, and guitarists Chris West and one I can't 100% verify (first name possibly Ryan?) They peaked with a victory at the 2008 Case's Music Battle of the Bands, but this classic video comes from a later set from Fountain of Betrayal at a December 21st, 2008 Case's Music event with other bands formed and linked to Case's Music's Rock Camp. Two videos were filmed during their set by attendee Kelly Godson, and while one was of their cover of "The 12 Days of Christmas" (fitting given when this event took place), this video is of F.O.B. covering The Beastie Boys' "(You Gotta) Fight for Your Right (To Party!)", and for their ages then, it doesn't sound too bad!

Originally posted at http://facebook.com/photo.php?v=105153910261, it's a bit rough around the edges, and the higher tuning makes the song sound jollier than it probably should, but given how young the guys were back in 2008, you can't be too harsh. The guys (especially the St. Amour brothers) have grown a lot as musicians since the Fountain of Betrayal days, but this is still worth checking out for a nice rendition of a hard rock classic, so check it out below, and keep an eye out for Travis & Tyler's current bands!



That's all for today, but stay tuned for more news and notes shortly, including hopefully some LemmaFest fallout, and this month's Saultites In Out Of Town Bands Profile later this week! Thanks everyone!

Battle For The Blood Results & Sault Ontario Weekend Concert Previews!!

Hey guys, here's another news post finally, as I'm very backlogged with stories from the last little while due to my out of town excursion. I return home tonight, so all will be back to a more normalized schedule soon! First though, just a note on last night's Weak Ends-headlined punk/metal show at The Oddfellows Hall, as a seventh band was reportedly added on late notice to the lineup. That band is the Quebec punk/folk quartet Farler's Fury, who are touring with The Royal Red Brigade (also on last night's show) on their current trip across Canada. Promoter Mitch Sirie revealed the news on his personal Facebook page last night, which is my only source. Though not metal, they make great use of bagpipes for a nice Scottish punk flair, and I actually like them a bit better than The Mudmen on first listen, so check them out above, and I apologize for being late on mentioning them here! Now, to the news, including concert previews and first, battle of the bands results!

Local extreme metal quintet Winkstinger claimed victory in the Battle For The Blood on Tuesday night! The talented and entertaining local band won their first ever battle according to fan votes on Tuesday at The Roosevelt Hotel, and will now join The Bear Hunters as local openers for 3 Inches of Blood and Wretched at The Rosie on July 9th! Though fallout from the event hasn't been as large as I expected, I have learned a few things from what happened at the battle, so bear with me in case I'm missing something. According to For All That Is Lost frontman Tyler Sperry on the Facebook event page, the Desbarats death metal standouts finished second at this latest battle (an improvement on their third place tie at April's Humane Society battle), but a 3rd place finisher wasn't publically announced. The performance order, judging by photos from the event, saw Changing Waves open, followed by The Valentine's Day Massacre, F.A.T.I.L., and Winkstinger, and while I know they were slotted at random, hopefully the crowd's voting wasn't swayed by the performance order, as the later bands did place higher. As for promoter J.D. Pearce's punk band T-Rex Manning, they appear to have played after Winkstinger, but I'm not positive if they played during a voting process or after winners were announced.

With their victory, Winkstinger's Jesse Cook & Jonas Gasperas have added to their local battle successes, joining at least one prior victory with Soldiers of Misfortune and their 4th place win with Winkstinger predecessors Operation: Killdozer in 2009, which is nice to see! And the guys rocked out in style on Tuesday, with Jesse and bassist Ryan Sherman turning into Ninja Turtles for their set, which is a radical touch! Also note that guitarist Jason Ladouceur appears to have missed their battle set according to available photos, similarly to their Rosie concert two weeks ago. Whether his band status is in question or not is unknown to me, but if any public clarification can be made, I'll try and get it on the site! It sounds like the Battle For The Blood went off really well, and though the fan voting and lack of prizes beyond an opening concert slot were slightly concerning, it sounds like the event drew lots of fans and interest, and Winkstinger hopefully proved worthy of such a big opening opportunity next month! Congratulations to Winkstinger, and hopefully the next Sault Ontario battle is sooner rather than later, and at a time when I can be in attendance!

Now to concert previews, starting with a preview of TONIGHT'S 46th Roosevelt Hotel metal night! The third since the series' latest relaunch, there's definitely a contrast in terms of experience between the three bands on tonight's lineup, but a clear death metal theme is present, so here's who to watch out for! Headlining tonight are local grimecore notables Shit Liver (replacing the aforementioned F.A.T.I.L.), so if you missed them following their exit from Tuesday's battle of the bands, they'll be at The Rosie tonight to melt many a face! Death metal quintet The Bear Hunters will also grace the stage at the popular Korah Road bar once again for another set of brutal melodic originals and select covers, and you know that these bands (the two most frequent at Thursday metal nights) won't relent for one second with their heavy and explosive material! Opening tonight's show will be Desbarats death metal quartet Inhuman Methods, who'll be making a couple of firsts to open up this event. Not only will this be their first ever show at The Roosevelt Hotel, it will also be their first live gig with new singer Anthony Tverdal, who replaced Curtis Moir in the band in April. Though they still need a bassist, I'm curious to hear how Anthony does with Inhuman Methods, and if he can combine vocal prowess with better timing, he should contribute nicely going forward! As usual for all-local Rosie metal nights, TONIGHT'S show will have no cover charge and a start time of after 9:00 PM, while the 19+ age limit from recent weeks remains in place.

For more details, visit the official Facebook event page! This should be an interesting concert with lots of death metal brutality, so definitely consider hitting up The Rosie tonight to partake in this metal! Check the above links for more details, and for a preview, here's Shit Liver melting faces at the Rosie last month with their song "Shift Liver"!

Finally for Sault Ontario metal concert previews this weekend that I know of, a stacked lineup of young area metal bands will descend upon Laird, Ontario (about 45 minutes from here) TOMORROW NIGHT (after a day's postponement) for "A F.A.T.I.L. Gathering"! Battle For The Blood runners-up For All That Is Lost are hosting & headlining a special concert at 436 Neebish Road in Laird (bassist Ben Deslauriers' house) that goes above and beyond any house party-ish notions, including tons of bands, 50/50 draws, food and drinks, ALL AGES admission, and even the option to sleep over if you're too soused to drive home, so tents are welcome! Though the lineup isn't completely final and 100% detailed, here's the bands that I know are playing. Aside from headliners F.A.T.I.L., all three bands from tonight's Rosie metal night (The Bear Hunters, Inhuman Methods, and Shit Liver) will be a part, along with fellow battle participants Changing Waves and The Valentine's Day Massacre, and local metal quartet Borderline Divine in their third concert since their renaming, so that covers bands listed on the event page! As well, local/North Shore metal band Crimson Crusade indicated on their Facebook page on Sunday that they'd be playing as well, which would be their first public gig (outside of CASS & Ho Shin Sool events) since they too parted ways with singer Curtis Moir, but they haven't been confirmed for the lineup otherwise.

As well, the Facebook event page mentions "Others" among the performer lineup, but whether that just means Crimson Crusade or not isn't clear. If earlier event page postings and past similar show trends are indicators, than the "Others" may refer to a band or jam session made up of random musicians, similar to the one-off band Blood Messiah from last August's F.A.T.I.L. event in Thessalon. March Into Regression drummer Travis St. Amour indicated on the event page a few weeks back that a new band he was in were tentatively lined up to play, but whether he meant the former Bring The Misery or not isn't publically known. Even still, this is a great lineup of bands even on it's own, and even if we don't get a final band order, a surprise never hurt anyone! Admission is $10 at the door, everything starts at 5:00 PM tomorrow, and again, this is ALL AGES. Check the above links for more details! This sounds like an awesome concert with a unique atmosphere, and hopefully tons of people make it to Neebish Road in Laird tomorrow night to rock out with some of the area's finest young bands! I just hope the weather cooperates, but bring a tent or a chair or something, especially if you're sleeping overnight! See above for all current details, and for a preview, here's For All That Is Lost outdoors in the Soo in May!

That's all for now, but stay tuned for more news shortly, including Sault Michigan weekend concert previews (LemmaFest included), this month's YouTube Channel Profiles, and more! Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (Haggith & For All That Is Lost), A New Local Band, And More!!

Hey guys, it's time for another news post, and we've got some big stuff to get to, so here's what's on tap! Along with some thoughts on the 2008 David Gold interview we posted on here yesterday, we've also got LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS for shows this month in the area, but first, here's a brand new local band connected to one of the new shows!

Yes, a new SMS-coverable band has launched, and they are a new alternative/grunge outfit named Haggith! As the name may imply, their lineup features prolific local solo artist Mike Haggith, making this the first Sault Ste. Marie-based band he's joined since relocating here in 2010. However, he'll be drumming for this band, rather than playing guitar or bass as in his other projects, but he has the chops to drum from what I know! Haggith's current lineup is rounded out by former Havadder bassist Daniel Horton on vocals & lead guitar, and ex-20 Pack of Marshmallows guitarist Curtis McKenzie (last seen in a Wawa-based solo project) on rhythm guitar. I believe this band is one & the same as the band that Daniel was seen looking for musicians for on the Musicians Wanted Facebook group last month, but the search for a bassist is still ongoing. Haggith apparently formed on May 11th and just launched a Facebook page yesterday, where the guys have already indicated plans to record and release "basement EPs", though what form and availability those will take on isn't clear yet. That said, the aims to play a grunge-centric style of music is clear on their influences & descriptions, so Haggith should be able to fill a local niche for grunge fans!

A Reverbnation page is also in the works, but for now, I've added Haggith's Facebook page to our active Sault Ontario band links. Since No Arrow fell inactive, I know grunge fans have been craving more than just the occasional live cover, and hopefully Haggith can fill the void well and succeed in the area! The talent's there, but when can you see Haggith live? Apparently, this coming Sunday, so here's a LOCAL CONCERT ALERT!! Their Facebook page is already hyping a debut concert on June 10th at The Canadian Nightclub, where they've hinted they'll also be circulating some form of a demo CD. As far as I can tell, this is definitely an official concert (despite the lack of a bassist), and though full details weren't revealed, a 9:00 PM-ish start time, cover charge of $5 or less, and a 19+ age limit wouldn't surprise me. Check the above links for more details! This news has definitely hit the site suddenly, but I'm definitely curious to hear Haggith live, and see these guys churn out some heavier live material (or live work in general), so keep their planned debut on Sunday at The Canadian in mind!

Also in new concerts.... well, this isn't really "new", but I only recently got enough information to really consider it a concert. Since early last month, some of you guys may have been aware of "A F.A.T.I.L. Gathering", a multi-band event on June 22nd to be headlined by Desbarats death metal band For All That Is Lost at 436 Neebish Road West in Laird (which I think is a band member's home.) Now, Laird is just within our current local range (emphasis on "current"), but I was reluctant to officially call it on here because it looked like a house party, and I tend to shy away from covering those as "concerts" on here (they're only so public, after all.) That said, the guys in F.A.T.I.L. are promoting and supplanting this event to the gills, and to not cover it in full on here would be a continued disservice, so here's all that you should know! Aside from For All That Is Lost headlining, no less than FIVE Sault Ontario metal bands will open this gathering, including local death metal bands The Valentine's Day Massacre, The Bear Hunters, and Shit Liver, local metal quartet Borderline Divine (in just their third local concert) and the recently returned local hardcore band Changing Waves, which makes for quite a solid lineup of area metal talent!

Aside from 6 bands running from 5:00 PM onward on June 22nd, there will also be food & drinks, a fire, 50/50 draws with prizes, and more, so this definitely will have an interesting mix of concert madness, activities, and even camping if you so choose (they even recommend bringing a tent.) Admission will be $10 at the door, and it is an ALL AGES EVENT. For more details, visit the official Facebook event page! Sounds like a unique and interesting night of metal and good times, and it seems similar to the events that F.A.T.I.L. headlined in Thessalon last year, but this show is definitely a lot closer to home. Fingers crossed that I can attend, and keep tuned to the above links for updates!

And finally for today, here's some thoughts on the first of two archive David Gold/Woods of Ypres magazine interviews that I posted on here earlier today, that being his fall 2008 Metal Maniacs magazine interview with Agalloch bassist Jason William Walton. It's nice seeing an interview with a friend and fellow musician, maybe it helped David open up more in the discussion! I was probably most interested with David's opinions on why he was no longer focusing on black metal and the lessons he learned from the genre, especially when you remember that Woods of Ypres' move to a full doom metal sound wasn't as clear then as it would be in 2009. The criticism of the Toronto metal scene is also interesting, I wonder if other musicians would vouch for David's 2008 opinions? I also found it odd that, when discussing his move to South Korea, he never included mentions that he worked as a teacher there, yet he freely mentioned his educational work in later interviews, including his 2010 stint in Kuwait. Not counting future lineup changes & the like, the only real error is that Necramyth's then-upcoming album "Pagans in the East" was renamed "Slaughter of the Seoul" the following year, though I don't know if we ever heard why.

Overall, it's a solid interview from early in Woods of Ypres' local run, and it's definitely worth checking out either at this location or in the post immediately below this one! The other archive David Gold interview that I found (from the May 2009 issue of Windsor Arts & Music Monthly magazine) is definitely gonna be transcribed and posted on the site too, but not right away, just to spread them out and avoid any possible bias. For now, check out this first interview below, and stay tuned for more news and notes shortly! Thanks everyone!