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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

LOCAL CONCERT ALERT (The Wyld Stallyns), Surprise New Album Announcements, And More!!

Bit of a surprise new post on this Friday, but if I wanted to cover a new LOCAL CONCERT ALERT before we were a week and under until it occurred, I had to get this out today. Along with this new event, we have the surprise announcement of new albums from an inactive group, and some assorted recent updates, so here's what you should know!

Local funk/hard rock cover quintet The Wyld Stallyns will headline a special fundraiser concert for the Entomica Insectarium at their current homebase at the Canadian Bushplane Heritage Center on Saturday, August 21st! Surprisingly only just announced on Wednesday given the scope and unique aspects of it, this is the first Bushplane Museum concert we've covered on the site since in over two years, but being attached to the Entomica bug lab is a new one for us. Entomica do great work in educating everyone about insects, and hopefully this "Let's 'Mis-Bee-Hive', Come Out & Jive" social will help the cause and entertain a local audience at this late(?) stage of the pandemic! The Wyld Stallyns (plural) will close the night at 11:00 PM as the only hard rock-leaning band on offer, but the lineup does have a mini-Rotaryfest feel to it, plus lots of food/drink vendors and kids entertainment, but who else can you expect next Saturday?

Veteran local entertainer Tim Murphy will do a host segment at 10:30 PM, heavily implied to be doing so in drag as Ms. Beehive (get it, "misbehave"?), which fits along with many of his other live stage and hosting work, so expect some humour here! Classic rock veterans Mustang Heart (who do cover hard rock on occasion) will take the stage at 9:30 PM, while local country musician Jeffrey Wright will hit the stage at 8:30 PM. If you're not familiar with Jeffrey, he only just launched his Facebook page last month, but he is a talented multimedia artist! The opening two acts get extended 90 minute timeslots, including Rotaryfest veterans The Northern Jazz Ensemble at 6:45 PM and the confusingly named Josh Norling Jazz Ensemble (led by the prolific Blues Harvest saxophonist) kicking things off at 5:00 PM. This is an all ages event with admission by a $5 minimum donation.

And as usual with the pandemic, please respect and follow any social distancing and public health guidelines being enforced at the Bushplane Museum/Entomica to ensure everyone's safety. Now that we're finally seeing some multi-band concerts in Sault Ontario at a scale reminiscent of what we saw locally before the pandemic, hopefully the "Let's 'Mis-Bee-Hive', Come Out & Jive" social fundraiser is a hit for all parties, and stay tuned for more in our next weekend concert previews! Visit the official Facebook event page for more details, including on all of the vendors!

Next up, have you been waiting for details on Mike Haggith's next solo album release and new original material? Well, here's a swerve, as his defunct local power pop/hard rock trio The Din have announced a couple of posthumous album releases for later this year! After a series of surprise teasers on Thursday (the fifth anniversary of it's release), the band announced on their Facebook page that they will be re-releasing their debut mainline album "Give In To The Din" in a deluxe edition with eighteen tracks! For reference, the original 2016 release only had nine songs, so are these all rough demos of what made the cut, or are these properly unreleased, perhaps including songs only heard in live recordings? Time will tell! The second album will be called "Technically Live", and it will comprise their full set from the "Give In To The Din" CD release party at the auditorium at The Tech (the former St. Mary's/Lakeway Collegiate site) from August 12th, 2016!

Now, the latter isn't completely unheard material, as Shaw TV filmed The Din's set that night for the premiere episode of their OnStage series, where they played the entire "Give In To The Din" album, plus two non-album tracks (Mike's solo song "Of Cars & Criminals" & their unreleased original "Differences"), but a smattering of outside covers were not included in Shaw's broadcast. Will those be present on "Technically Live", and will the audio be proper soundboard recordings, or come from Shaw's cameras? Follow The Din on Facebook to get further updates as they roll in, and it's great to see Mike, Tammy, and Brandan have some more fuel in the tank!

Finally for today, here's three assorted shorter news items from the last while, and as usual, these are in alphabetical order by artist name:

• In their first Facebook page posting in 17 months, Sault Michigan hard rock quartet 415E shared a photo on July 20th of a drumkit & speakers with the caption "Time to jam". Them returning to activity at this stage of the pandemic makes sense, but guitarist Chris Hubbard & bassist Brett Blackwood debuted their very similar new band Rhythm & Brews at The Rapids Lounge earlier that same month, and that band hasn't posted online since July 3rd. Have Rhythm & Brews thrown in the towel already & reverted to the 415E name, or will both bands continue forward? Time will tell, but 415E are back in our active band links!
• Following my decision to drop the planned Defunct Local Band Profile on them earlier this week, I have removed mid-2000s all-female hard rock trio Apocrytha from our inactive band links due to a complete and utter lack of surviving public information on their official online accounts (re: just their MySpace page, whose photos all no longer work). Follow members' later bands like The Freshwater Sirens and The Danger Cats to hear what the ladies have been up to!
• Almost a year & a half after his prior search on the Musicians Wanted Facebook group, local guitarist, singer, and drummer Jayrald Micky is looking to join something and is "dying to jam and get back out there". He did note that he has stage experience, but I'm not familiar with public band work of his. Message him at this link or via his group post from Wednesday for more details!

 

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

The Din - "Give In To The Din" CD Review!!

Let's help remedy our recent slow period with with our 86th monthly CD review at The Sault Metal Scene, as we're taking a look at local alternative/hard rock trio The Din's debut studio album "Give In To The Din'"! Released on August 12th during their CD release show at The Tech, this is The Din's first studio album, but it does follow a live acoustic demo from earlier this year, plus a few free "albums" during their acid/jam beginnings, though no songs on this album are held over from the free releases. Recorded with one exception at Pretoria Hill Productions over the past year with producer Daniel Schmidt (guitarist Tammy Hill's father), The Din are represented here by frontman Mike Haggith on vocals, bass, and keyboard, Tammy on guitar, and Brandan Glew on drums and backing vocals. Copies of "Give In To The Din" are available at The Rad Zone, directly via band members, and in concert for around $10, and while the band has yet to announce full online availability, three songs can be heard at their Bandcamp page, and song titles are linked to public streaming copies where available. With 9 songs clocking in at around 38 minutes, let's begin with the opening track!

This CD begins with "In Search of the Perfect Moment", which has a fun, upbeat sound that calls to mind The Foo Fighters a bit, though the timing on the intro sounds a little off compared to live concerts. Mike's singing shows more of a light range than he's often showed live, where the choruses had lower vocal keys, which is an adjustment on first listen, but it's not a problem afterward. This is a good showcase of The Din's talents and songwriting skill, with the lyrics bearing some clear personal ties, and Tammy has a nice solo as well,and it's a solid sing-along number to kick off this album! That's followed by "Flux" (notably named by Brandan from a random thesaurus page), and this is a slightly harder edged song that showcases The Din's musical talent a little more in-depth, and I like the vocal melody! The constant cymbal percussion through the chorus isn't really needed (it sounds like someone's ringing a bell in the background), but Brandan gets a solid drum solo before the chorus, and the song should appeal nicely to fans of the members' heavier music backgrounds!

Third is "Alleyways & Apartments", which was notably recorded at Mission Control Studios with producer & Tidal Records founder Dustin Jones, and yes, the song is suitably well mixed and recorded! A softer and more mid-tempo song than what preceded it, this is strongly done with Mike's vocals coming through very crisp, and the same goes for his bass playing, while Tammy gets a strong, if abbreviated, guitar solo to boot. I like the instrumental layering here too, and though I do prefer their faster and heavier songs, this gets the job done! Fourth is "Out Of My League", which is a re-recording of a song from Mike's 2015 and latest solo CD "The Warinside". (which you can read our full review of at this link.) Compared to the original, The Din's version is less symphonic, heavier, better recorded, and less melancholy, helping the new version stand out on it's own even more, and I do prefer it! Dropping the twinkly closing stretch doesn't hurt either. Tammy has her best guitar solo yet, and The Din did a good job making this a fun, top listen on the first half of the album!

The next song is "75", which is another re-recording, this time from Mike's earlier grunge band Haggith, who originally recorded the song in 2013 with Mike on vocals & drums for their third album "Deuce" (you can read our review of it at this link as well.) The two versions are similar, though the new version has stronger production, is slightly faster, and the absence of backing vocals actually helps here. Lyrically about taking an aggressive stance against a person who isn't helping you in life, this was a fan favourite with Haggith, and The Din keep the hard edged intensity going here, with a slight pop sensibility, and it's welcome to hear in this tightened form! We return to songs originated by The Din with "Remember", which is by far the softest and most reserved song yet on this CD. Making expert use of Mike and Brandan's vocal harmonies, this song feels like a campfire jam had professional production, if that makes sense, though it ends somewhat abruptly, and I definitely prefer their harder, fuller songs just out of personal preference. It's well done though, especially for fans of Mike's softer side!

Song #7 is "Potato (Should Have Known Better)", which is also a re-recording, this time from Mike's 2014 solo album "A Place of Our Own", where it was titled "This Potato May Be Used As A Flotation Device" (read our full review at this link.) The new version of "Potato" is shorter (an album low, actually), more guitar driven, has cleaner production, and all but drops the heavy keyboard symphonics of the original. This gives the song a punk vibe and more band-suited sound, and I like the vocal melodies and Tammy's strong guitar work, from the opening riffs to her slow but dramatic guitar solo! For my tastes, this is a strong improvement, and always fun to hear in concert! Next is "The Rose", which is the last song on the CD that isn't a re-recording. A slower, more drawn out number, this still has a good energy from Mike's up-tempo singing, plus an extra crunch to the choruses helps break things up. The drawn out nature of the song isn't optimal for my tastes (especially the slow closing minute), but the deliberate melody and impassioned lyrics help this one stand up on it's own!

"Give in to The Din" closes with "A Drive Through The Peninsula", which is also a re-recording from Mike's "Warinside" album from last year. Again, this version dispenses of the symphonic elements of the original, though here in favour of just the core band. While it has stronger production and great guitar work, it maintains the mid-tempo sing along style of the original, but in this case, the song could actually use some filling out as a result, unlike on the other re-recordings. That said, it's actually almost twice as long as the original, with The Din filling out the previously 4:50 song with 3½ of extended instrumental jamming. I don't know whether you'd call it an homage to their acid jam era or not, but it gives a chance for Tammy to really let loose on guitar and show off more of her very clear skill, and both Mike and Brandan have some fun on bass and drums throughout as well, so this is a nice surprise for fans to cap off the album!

So, what are my final thoughts on "Give In To The Din"? Overall, this is a solid debut release for The Din, who put their cards on the table well as a skilled alt-rock outfit with clear chemistry and an entertaining sound that can be hard-edged, poppy, or introspective at will! Mike has really came into his own as a frontman with his deep yet diverse vocal style, his bass work matched up well, Brandan's drumming was steady and dependable, and Tammy remains an excellent find on lead guitar, adding a touch of flair and technicality throughout, and when she gets going, you can feel it! The choice to do re-recordings for almost half the album is somewhat of a gamble, but the new versions are all improvements that suit The Din's sound and themes, and Pretoria Hill Productions made a solid first foray into album production here too! Songs like "Flux", "75", and "Potato" are among my favourites for good reason, as they are in concert with fans, but the dinging cymbal percussion can be a distraction, the last song did sound empty at times, and given The Din's extended repertoire of songs from Mike & The Din's back catalogs, and new compositions, this album did feel a little short.

"Give In To The Din" is a very entertaining debut studio release from this fast-rising trio, and I'm sure they have even bigger material to come for round #2, so be sure to follow the band for details on their next shows, material, and more, and buy it A.S.A.P.! I hope you guys liked this month's CD review, and next month on the site, we will look at a new album of some description, likely either the now-defunct Long Shot's debut EP, or a recent SweetKenny album, though maybe a surprise new release will come along in the next month too? Stay tuned for more next month, for this month's YouTube Channel Profile later this week, and for more news and notes shortly! Thanks everyone!

The Din CD Release Concert Review, Plus More On The CD!!

It's now time for our review of last night's "Give In To The Din" CD release concert at The Tech, so what should you know about the festivities? This was the first concert that I've ever attended at the former Lakeway Collegiate/St. Mary's College site, and while I didn't get to explore the venue, the bands' merchandise tables were set up outside of The W.W. Baldwin Auditorium, where the show itself took place. However, things took an unexpected turn before the auditorium doors opened, as a fire alarm went off in The Tech, resulting in everyone being evacuated from the building as a precaution, with the Fire Department called down to inspect the cause, for what became a 20 minute delay. Din frontman Mike Haggith told me that a loose fitting was rumoured to have set the alarm off, but I can't verify that otherwise. The show went on though once given the all clear, and once in the auditorium proper, you had a good sense of how nice and spacious it was, reminding me of The Grand Theater with permanent seating! Sadly, the balcony was cordoned off.

From my close, sixth row seat in the auditorium, I had a good view of local post-punk quartet Gnaeus for their opening set, where they largely played songs from their own new CD "Meditations", with originals like "The Edge", "Circles", and "Fire" (ironically) attracting the notice of fans! However, Gnaeus did have two non-album tracks in their set, including their standard cover of "Hang Me Out To Dry" and a very new original song named "Electricity" that sounded very promising and true to their style! Gnaeus were on form from past concerts, with Aaron Alessandrini's vocals and guitar work strong as ever, and Brad Irwin's synth work was very clear in particular, though the guys could have moved around a little more and explored the stage more than they did, especially given it's size and expanse. Overall, Gnaeus delivered a solid set to kick things off last night, and I'm sure we'll hear more from them in short order!

With their entrance announced via a vintage TV displaying band footage, headlining local alternative/hard rock trio The Din hit the stage next in grand fashion with dramatic entrances (Tammy Hill even entered through the crowd!), and the band didn't disappoint with a strong set loaded with originals from their debut CD like "Out Of My League" and "Flux". The Din also gave us some non-album originals and live favourites, plus a smattering of covers from the likes of The Foo Fighters, The Barenaked Ladies, and The Beatles. Making good use of the stage's confines, Mike Haggith's vocals and bass work were on point, and his amusing banter with drummer Brandan Glew kept the fans laughing between songs, while Tammy's excellent guitar work continues to show her talents and potential! The Din's entertaining, often poppy, and hard charging originals definitely had attending fans giving in, and hopefully there's much more to come from The Din in the near future!

Overall, this was a fun concert with two very talented & fast rising local bands giving it their all, and despite the fire alarm early, maybe it was a sign that the bands would heat up the stage? Shaw TV's Christian Lemay (also of Id Iota) was on hand to film both bands' sets, so be sure to look for a likely feature or two on channel 10 when ready as well! As for our media, you can check out our album from the release show at this link or via our Facebook page, and while the dark theater wasn't the best friend of flash photography, I got some cool shadow shots of the bands, so keep that angle in mind! Now for our videos, so here's Gnaeus playing "Exercise of Self-Awareness" & The Din playing "In Search of the Perfect Moment"!





Lastly for today, I wanted to acknowledge the contents and interesting notes regarding The Din's debut studio album "Give In To The Din", as I did buy a copy last night! Printed to resemble a vintage CD release from the 1980s, the album's nine songs were largely written & composed by Mike Haggith or the band as a whole, though Brandan Glew did write both "Flux" and "Remember" (with the former notably being titled via a random thesaurus pick), while Tammy Hill is given direct credit for composing the latter. For the song "Alleyways & Apartments" (which was recorded at Mission Control Studios rather than Pretoria Hill Productions), the booklet notes that Mike mixed that song himself, while the album's cover photo was taken by Forrest Heard. The 9 songs run for 38 minutes in total length, with "A Drive Through The Peninsula" closing in at over 8 minutes alone, so prepare for that one in particular! A review of "Give In To The Din" is coming this month, so look for it in the coming weeks, and get your copies A.S.A.P. at upcoming shows, or when online/in-store availability is announced!

That's all for today, but stay tuned for a new news post tomorrow, with more to come still! Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERT (Iskra), Gnaeus & Din Album Updates, And More!!

With weekend concert previews complete, let's tackle some big recent updates in this stacked news post! Today, we have the latest from a veteran local band, big updates concerning two upcoming local alternative hard rock albums, and first, a LOCAL CONCERT ALERT with a familiar touring band coming back to our area next month, so here's what you should know! (Updated at 11:06 AM)

Just under three weeks after their headlining date at The Oddfellows Hall, Victoria, B.C. grindcore quintet Iskra will return to the Soo on Tuesday, August 2nd at... The Gore Street Cafe?! In what may be the heaviest show to ever hit the laundromat, fans of Iskra's brutal crust originals will return for what should be a devastating encore next month, so if you want a second helping (or missed their Oddfellows show last week), be at The Gore Street Cafe on August 2nd! This confirms the earlier teases that Iskra would return to the local stage on this date on the way back during their Canadian tour, but contrary to the original & now-cancelled plans, Blood Shed Productions are not promoting this show anymore. Local openers haven't been announced yet for this month, and while there was a local opening lineup for the original Blood Shed-planned date, don't expect those acts to be carried over verbatim.

As usual for Gore Street Cafe shows, this is an ALL AGES concert, and will operate under the "pay what you can" model, so don't let the admission fee scare you away! It's great to see Iskra finally secure the long hinted return date on August 2nd, and that we'll see them much sooner than the prior 12 year gap, so stay tuned for updates, and visit the official Facebook event page for current details on this grind encore!

Next up, here's the latest from local post-punk quartet Gnaeus' upcoming debut CD "Meditations", so what should you know about it now? Well, according to this shared meme photo on their Facebook page, it will apparently be released on Friday, August 5th! We're under two weeks from the release in other words, and while Gnaeus hasn't publically elaborated further on the release, bassist Matt Fronzi indicated plans for a release show in a personal conversation (which we'll wait for the band to publically announce before covering here.) The full official album cover has also been unveiled, as you can see on the left, and it is indeed one and the same as the original "Loomings" cover, just with Gnaeus' name and new album title in all lowercase with a new and weathered font. Looks good and fitting to their style, though still no word on if the preview image from the Rotaryfest program was ever officially intended to be the cover art.

As a preview for the release, Gnaeus posted a lyric video for their song "Fire" onto their YouTube channel yesterday, which is a rarity alone in the fact that it's a lyric video from a local band! It's yet to be established if the physical album booklet will have printed lyrics or not, but it's nice to have words to sing along with if need be! Check the above links for more on "Meditations" and Gnaeus' upcoming plans, look for the new CD next month, and give their lyric video a look below, and keep an eye out in just in case we have an advance review in store in the next week or so!



Also, here's some of the latest updates from local alternative hard rock trio The Din, who are also nearing the release of their own debut CD "Give In To The Din"! We're badly behind on Din updates so far this month, so let's start rectifying that with this preview of the album artwork & booklet courtesy of CDBaby (where their album is being manufactured), which lets fans get a full 3D look at the front, back, and inside of what you'll get in physical copies! The preview is very tricky to maneuver with a mouse, especially when trying to look inside, but if you buy the album proper, you can avoid any issues! The full CD will have 9 songs, including "In Search of the Perfect Moment", "Flux", "Alleyways & Apartments", "Out Of My League", their cover of Haggith's "75", the newer "Remember", "Potato (Should Have Known Better)", another new song "The Rose", and "A Drive Through The Peninsula". Everything looks good and professional so far, and of course, copies go on sale on August 12th at The Tech!

As another preview, The Din unveiled the studio version of "Alleyways & Apartments" on their YouTube channel on Tuesday, which is notable as the song that the band recorded at Mission Control Studios with Dustin Jones engineering things, though Pretoria Hill Productions' Daniel Schmidt produced the track along with the remainder of the album. We'll hold comment until our review of the album (likely coming next month), but check it out below, stay tuned for more from The Din soon, and don't miss the release show!

Finally today, here's the latest from local classic/hard rock cover quartet Griphook, as per their latest post from their Facebook page last week! The post reveals that frontman Joel Syrette is taking a hiatus from the band while attending Queens University in Kingston, and as a result, he did not play with them at Rotaryfest on Saturday. As a result, bassist Dan Beaupre's former Hollow bandmate Adam King (recently of Mustang Heart) filled in for him, which is a solid and fitting choice, and hopefully Adam performed well last week! It's not clear if he'll join Griphook for future gigs or not, but the band did note on Facebook that their hiatus since January was due to band members "going through some ups and downs", and while they didn't elaborate further on that, they said that they remain "dedicated to keeping rock n' roll alive." It's great to see that Griphook are alive and still kicking, so stay tuned for more on their next shows when announced, and best of luck to Joel in Kingston! Hopefully we'll see him back on the local stage in time!

That's all for today, but stay tuned for more news and updates shortly! Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERT (The Din), Sault Michigan Weekend Concert Previews, And More!!

For our second weekend concert preview post (barring any super-late notice concert announcements), we're touching on two big shows going down in the Sault Michigan area tomorrow, but to round things out, we also have some assorted recent updates, and a LOCAL CONCERT ALERT for Sault Ontario later this year, so here's what you should know!

Local alternative hard rock trio The Din will headline a launch party for their long awaited debut CD "Give In To The Din" on Friday, August 12th at the auditorium at The Tech! After months of anticipation, their debut studio album will finally go on sale at this show taking place at the former St. Mary's College, which may seem like an unusual spot for the release, but remember that The Din previously played there at the Sky's The Limit benefit show, so they have experience there. Local post punk/garage rock quartet Gnaeus will make their Tech debut as openers on August 12th, with their friends at Tidal Records apparently providing some promotional support as well, and they should provide excellent support for the release show! This ALL AGES event will have admission via $5 ticket purchases, which you can get at the venue's box office and/or members of both bands (and presumably at the door), while there is a group rate of $15 for a group of 5. In any event, as this is being held in the auditorium, there is assigned seating, so get yours early for the best seat!

Doors will open at 6:45 PM for this concert, and while there will be albums and other Din merchandise on sale, the band has yet to elaborate on prices for the CD. With a full two months of promotion and hype ahead, this should be a huge show for The Din as they launch their CD, and with Gnaeus in tow as well, fans won't want to miss out on the action! Visit the official Facebook event page for more details, and stay tuned as updates roll in!

Next up, here's this weekend's known Sault Michigan-area concert previews, starting with the local debut of Detroit-based Kiss tribute band Detroit Rock City when they headline at The Soo Theater TOMORROW NIGHT during the venue's Raise The Roof Summer Concert Series! Our first hard rock concert preview there in many years, Detroit Rock City are the second of five bands (and only heavier act) playing at the Ashmun Street theater during this concert series, where The Soo Theater, in association with Moloney's Alley, are putting all proceeds towards reviving the theater as a year-round events & concert venue. Obviously, these are big stakes, so hopefully all of the series' concerts were/are huge hits to help get The Soo Theater in full for both historical and entertainment reasons! As for Detroit Rock City themselves, they'll bring an authentic stge show and sound that Kiss fans will surely enjoy, so if you want to enjoy the next best thing to Gene and company, be at The Soo Theater tomorrow night!

Admission for this and all other Raise the Roof series events is $15, and while advance ticket sales are no longer available online, you can still apparently buy tickets locally at the theatre or at Moloney's Alley for this and the other shows in the series, which lean toward Michigan indie and folk acts. Sadly, this is a 21+ event, but doors open at 7:00 PM tomorrow. This should be a fun concert for fans of Kiss and Soo Theater restoration supporters, so don't miss the action, and here's Detroit Rock City live last year!

Also for weekend concert previews, local hard/blues rock quartet Project 906 will return to Pickles Bar & Grill in Brimley TOMORROW NIGHT! This one-nighter is the band's first show there since last year's Bay Mills Bands Together fundraiser, and first anywhere since their trip to Strongs two weeks ago. The Ten Kings successors have been on a strong streak in recent months, and I'm sure they'll have another big night of hard hitting covers in store for fans tomorrow in Brimley, so keep this show in mind for after the Detroit Rock City show in the Soo! And remember, Project 906 will be back there for another one-nighter next month on July 16th. There's a 10:00 PM start time for this 21+ show, which has no announced cover charge. Curiously, there's two Facebook event pages, so click here & here for full details, and here's Project 906 live at Pickles!



Finally, here's three assorted shorter news items from the last while, and as usual, these are in alphabetical order by artist name:

• New local death metal quintet Kaepora Gaebora have been added as the final opening band for the Foam-headlined concert at The New American Pub on June 19th, as per the official Facebook event page earlier this week. Solid choices to kick off this show, so don't miss them, Twistory, and Foam a The New A one week from Sunday!
• We have moved local punk/classic rock trio Leaked to our inactive band links due to a year's inactivity. Featuring The Din's Tammy Hill on guitar, Leaked played a handful of Korah Collegiate events in mid-2015, but haven't updated their Facebook (and only online) page since sharing a concert video on June 6th of last year. Leaked were a talented rising band, and hopefully we see them again at some point, but don't miss Tammy with The Din!
• According to personal Facebook postings, local classic metal quintet Project 421 played their set at last weekend's Redneck Rock Bash 2 sans frontman Curtis McKenzie due to illness. As a result, the band played with guitarist Blair Burch on lead vocals for most songs (a'la their original gigs), but Tym Morrison, Mourning Wood's Terry Eaton, and ex-Amethyst drummer Phil Temperao all provided guest vocals for at least one song each. While it's disappointing that Curt had to miss the show, this would be a nice surprise for attendees, and hopefully someone got some videos!

That's all for today, but stay tuned for more news and notes soon! Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERT (Project 421), Din & Id Iota Album Updates And Videos, And Much More!!

While we continue posting videos from last night's Gorod/Bookakee concert at The Oddfellows Hall, here's a packed news post for your Saturday afternoon! It includes some assorted recent updates, videos and cover artwork reveals for CDs from two local alt-rock bands (one currently working in studio, one on tour supporting it's release), and leading off, a LOCAL CONCERT ALERT for next month, so here's what you should know!

Local classic metal quintet Project 421 will return to the stage on Friday, May 13th when they headline at The Rockstar Bar! Personal & health matters have forced these local favourites to the sidelines since their most recent show (at The Rednecks Saloon in January), so fans should be eagerly awaiting their next chance to check out Project 421's old school metal nostalgia trip after their three month+ hiatus, so don't miss out! Their sister band, modern/hard rock quartet Eclipse, are the advertised openers on the poster and video below, and with Curt, Daniel, and Chris flying the live music flag in the interim, it's only fitting for them to play openers next month! Note that this is a one night only event, as AC/DC tribute Hells Bells are playing at The Rockstar Bar that Saturday. Promoted by Project 421 bassist/Eclipse guitarist Daniel Horton, a $5 cover charge is apparently in effect, and there is a 19+ age limit and 10:00 PM start time as well.

For more details, visit the official Facebook event page, and here's a new preview video for the concert! Uploaded to Project 421's Facebook page yesterday, this edits together assorted live clips with ominous music, as if Project 421 were a returning horror movie villain, before closing with the poster above. Nicely done, but imagine if they'd went even bigger on the theme? Check it out below!



Next up, here's the latest from local alternative hard rock trio The Din, starting with the reveal of the name and cover art for their forthcoming debut CD! As previously teased in this Facebook preview video (of the pixelated cover art set to performance audio), the album will be called "Give In To The Din", referencing a frequently used quote from band promotion, with the cover art basically a posterized version of a recent band photo, as created by fan Forrest Heard. Simple, but it gets the job done! Further details on "Give In To The Din" are to be announced, so stay tuned for them! In terms of other new videos from The Din, their newest clip features frontman Mike Haggith explaining how and why they need to test CDs for quality (hint, they're outdoors), but embedded below is a new concert video from The Din's runner-up performance at last month's second annual VM Radio Battle of the Bands at The Canadian Nightclub, so what should you know on it?

Filmed on a stationary camera and posted to The Din's YouTube channel on Thursday, this is of Mike, Tammy, and Brandan playing their song "In Search Of The Perfect Moment", and while the camera angle would have been better if centered, it's a strong performance with solid video quality, so give it a look below, and stay tuned for much more from The Din!

Also today, here's the latest from fellow local alternative hard rock quartet Id Iota, who are currently in the midst of their "Skate By Day, Rock By Night" tour run with Tidal Records and local favourites The Pixo Control and Gnaeus! In the past few days, the Habitat Shuffle/Free Beer successors have been very busy on their online side of things, with numerous photos and collages from the tour available to check out on their Facebook page, including everything from t-shirt pressing and drive-time shots to sightseeing, and yes, pictures from their concerts in Toronto and Barrie from the last few days. Possibly of the most interest there is this photo that finally unveils the cover art and track listing for Id Iota's newly released debut EP "Maudlin Fair" (a low quality reproduction can be seen on your right), and the four featured songs are named "California Wasted", "Permanence In Pencil", "One Cent Vaudeville", and "Bitter Tea". Remember, local copies go on sale THIS THURSDAY when the tour heads back home to LopLops Lounge!

Four short videos have also been posted to their Facebook page (none longer than 16 seconds, curiously) in the last few days, and they include a live video of Gnaeus' new lineup that we'll separately spotlight next week, this clip of a filmer entering The Hideout in Toronto before their show there, a 10 second slow motion clip of drummer Blair St. John, and as embedded below, new bassist Dan Linklater jamming outside with Pixo Control frontman Michael Mikus on their electric (yet unplugged) instruments. Fun previews of what appears to be a fun tour, so check everything out above & below, and don't miss Id Iota and company at LopLops on Thursday!



Finally for today, here's three assorted shorter news items from the last while, and as usual, these are in alphabetical order by artist or station name:

• Defunct local hardcore band As It Stands posted a new status onto their Facebook page yesterday, where they gave fans two options: Like the status if you want the band to compile past studio recordings as a free download, or share it if you want the band to reunite, write a new record, and return to the stage. Either would be awesome, as A.I.S. have been missed since their last concert in 2012, but will either happen? Voice your opinion above!
• Local grind/thrash band Them revealed on their Facebook page that they're now officially working on their debut EP! It will have 4 songs, and songs from it were debuted at their set opening for Gorod on Friday at The Oddfellows Hall. Good to hear, so stay tuned for updates on that, and for our review of the concert next!
• Lake Superior State University's campus radio station WLSO 90.1 FM (which does occasionally air metal and punk music) is planning to launch an online sister station this fall! Public details are scant at present time, but the reveal was recently made on the station's Facebook page, and a contest for LSSU students had been active to find a name for the station, with a pair of Beats headphones awaiting the winner. It'll be interesting to see how this develops, so follow WLSO at the above links for details on it and their FM station!

That's all for today, but stay tuned for our review of last night's Gorod/Bookakee show next! Thanks everyone!