Mike McCleary - "Weight Of The World" Album Review!!

It's now time for our 110th monthly CD review at The Sault Metal Scene, as we're taking a look at "Weight of the World", the recent re-packaging of two albums from local hard rock solo artist Mike McCleary! We chose this album over other recent hard rock/punk album releases from the likes of Redundant, SweetKenny, and Sykotyk Rampage due to it's earlier release, as it won't be "new" much longer. Independently recorded since last year and released to his Bandcamp page on March 11th, this release unites the 2018 revamp of his debut studio album "In Ruins" with his second release/first EP, January's "Hourglass", making this review a 2-for-1 package, complete with one exclusive track! However, Mike has stated that he saw "In Ruins" as the sequel to "Hourglass" despite it's earlier initial release, and it is appropriately placed on "Weight of the World". Featuring Mike on vocals and all credited instruments, "Weight of the World" is available on a "name your price" model at the above links, a change from earlier priced copies.

Given that this album was separately released as two different albums, you can buy them apart with the same pricing structure, though remember that you won't get the closing song "Bismarck" if you buy them this way. Also, I'm not reviewing the original version of "In Ruins" here, for 3 reasons: Mike took it down and heavily changed it on purpose, this review's gonna be long enough already, and with only 3 surviving songs from the original copy, it's basically a different album now as a result. With 14 songs running for over an hour in total length, let's begin our review of "Weight of the World"!

This album begins with the five songs on Mike's "Hourglass" EP, whose lyrics and themes focus on contemporary social issues as a warning to civilization. The first track is "Be Us", which revolves around gender & racial discrimination issues like assimilation and the refugee crisis. A hard rocking number that builds nicely to the choruses, the song has a good edge to it, and Mike's melodic singing is a good match! The song's well performed, but aside from the bridge, there isn't a lot of variance to this song and it's structure once you get past the first chorus. The song is a solid rocker if you don't mind that though! Second is "Carousel", which alludes to the cycle of trying to survive with a low income despite constant inflation, though the song's name plays into the music proper, taking on a carnival music theme in the verses, complete with some more progressive guitar riffing. Points for creativity, though the choruses are a little too talky as Mike tries to fit in the lyrics.

"Carousel" is a fun listen, especially with the lyrics contrasting well with the music, but if you like radio hard rock, the experimentation here may lose you. Then we have "Fire & Fury", which is about if global conflict is necessary, complete with audio samples of political speeches by three American presidents (one of which providing the source of this song's name.) This track has two basic themes, with the verses taking on a low morose structure before Mike suddenly amps up the aggression and intensity on the choruses, and while jarring at first, it's effective! The song is well composed and the tonal shifts work well, and while this is an early highlight, less politically minded listeners may not take to the minute-long sample bridge.  Fourth up is "Lest Ye Be Judged", inspired by the West Memphis Three murder trial in 1993 and how that case was handled. While the lyrical stretches maintain a mid-tempo, serious vibe, Mike's extended guitar solo is arguably the best I've heard from him yet, showing his technical skill very nicely!

While this song is worth a listen for the guitar solo alone, the verses and choruses work well in their styles, and for someone who's followed the case and Damien Echols' art & writings, it's nice to see a local musician show their support for the West Memphis Three and the injustice they dealt with! The original EP's title track & closer "Hourglass" follows the preceding number in it's themes about looking to blame someone rather than actually finding a solution, and how the former can lead to negative consequences. The longest individual song on "Weight of the World", this song runs for it's first 5:30 as a slower, deliberate song exploring the politically charged message, with Mike's serious low singing a good match for the draw out guitar work, but he does let loose on guitar for a heavier faster close to the song, possibly a thematically reference to global conflict ahead of the sequel. Not my favourite song on the "Hourglass" half just for it's largely downbeat mood, but it ends well!

The seventh song is also the first on the March 2018 re-release of Mike's 2017 debut album "In Ruins", which was heavily re-worked from it's original form, with only 3 returning songs on the now-canon reissue. Thematically, this album reflects "the aftermath" of the events warned on the "Hourglass" EP, and it starts here with with "Interlude", which originally was part of the next song "Lost", but was broken into it's own mini-track for "Weight of the World". Running for an album-low 66 seconds, this just has various simplistic notes being played, some reminding me of a xylophone. This all suggesting a ticking clock, possibly following the global conflict alluded to on "Hourglass", and while it's not much of a song on it's own, it sets the mood for the oncoming full songs well enough!

In this re-issued form, "Lost" immediately begins with Mike singing in a sinister carnival barker style (anyone else getting a "This Is Halloween" vibe?), with the choruses shifting abruptly into a more musically driven, standard format. The politically charged, socially conscious lyrics continue in full force here, and while the verses will be an acquired taste for many listeners, Mike does showcase his guitar skill for an extended period, and the drum track is a good match on the choruses! Then we have "Naive", which is one of the hold-overs from the original "In Ruins" album. A mid-tempo, downbeat studio track aside from a heavier bridge late, this is one of Mike's better overall compositions on this album as a pure musician, with some shining guitar melodies in the instrumental stretches, but there seems to be a vocal effect that makes his singing sound too muffled and processed. Still, fans of Mike's less aggressive music should be right at home on this one!

Track #9 is another track that survived the "In Ruins" reboot, namely "Childish Leaders", a double meaning name referencing both the conduct of major global heads of state, and how we could be better off if children were leading governments. A shorter and harder edged song, this song has a catchy vibe and what sounds like a funk inspiration on the riffing, but that flute effect in the backing instrumentation is woefully out of place, and the music cadence sometimes struggles to accommodate some of Mike's lyrics. The softer last 30 seconds ends things on a happier note, and while this song isn't consistently on point, the heavy nature (musically and thematically) works well! Next is "Aylan", inspired by the death of 3 year old Syrian refugee Alan Kurdi, which was highly publicized in news media in late 2015. The third and final returning song from "In Ruins" 1.0, this sees Mike dive into an upbeat punk sound, which is an interesting contrast to the serious lyrics.

As a pure musical composition, this song gives Mike a nice showcase at a different side of his range, and he could definitely handle punk music on a more frequent basis! His scream at the end is also well placed, but the song fades out far too abruptly, and a more distinct chorus would have helped. Next up is "Disavowed", which is a heavier and darker song overall in it's first half and closing stretch, but the vocals don't go along with that, as Mike sings in a lower, monotone register throughout. I don't find that matches up well here, but Mike's extended guitar solos do give this song an added jolt, and are predictably well performed. I'd have had more forceful, heavier singing for a song of this tone, but the music holds up really nicely! Another heavier song follows with "Introspection", which has a steady grinding sound and better suited vocals, with the bass track particularly working well here, as does another really solid guitar solo!

While not musically ambitious compared to some earlier tracks, this delivers the hard rock goods and feels more like a complete song with all the parts falling into place nicely, and this is definitely an album highlight! The last song on the separate version of "In Ruins" is "Bad Hand", which has a more simple, laid back instrumentation in the verses, but Mike varies his singing into a more upbeat, melodic nature, albeit with more direct political references to specific world leaders, with poker references used heavily in the choruses. Another interesting contrast from lyrics to music here, this is a fun song if you can look past the political imagery, but the ending is too abrupt, and I tend to go for Mike's more aggressive music overall. "Weight of the World" ends with it's exclusive track "Bismarck", which reflects armed conflicts of World War II that Mike found interesting, though this is strictly thematic, as it's the album's only instrumental ("Interlude" aside.)

With no lyrics to worry about, this is honestly Mike's best showcase as a pure musician on "Weight of the World", with each intended battle (as seen here) getting it's own distinct musical approach, from heavy and fast to slower and dark, and the guitar, bass, and drum tracks all get moments in the sun! As such, this hardly feels like it's almost 7 minutes long, and it has a little something for everyone (except vocals), so I'd definitely get this album for this song if you have the choice!

So, what are my final thoughts on "Weight of the World" and it's original source albums? Overall, this is a solid effort with well written lyrics and some excellent musical passages, and it's great to see someone expressing themselves politically and socially in this manner! No everyone will agree with Mike McCleary's opinions on the included songs, but his opinions and stances are clear as day, and they tend to lend themselves well to hard rock music, especially with songs on the "In Ruins" re-release, which I found to be stronger pound-for-pound than "Hourglass". Mike seems to let his guitar skills fly more on that album, but as this is a combined re-release, you don't have to take sides. Songs like "Lest Ye Be Judged", "Aylan", and "Introspection" worked best for my musical tastes, while "Bismarck" is too good to be relegated to just a re-release bonus! That said, some songs struggled a bit to match Mike's well written lyrics with the music naturally, and others faded out too abruptly for my taste.

My biggest note is that some songs have too much dissonance between the serious lyrical themes and the more upbeat/casual nature of their music, and if there was intentional irony in that, it wasn't overtly obvious. We haven't heard much from Mike McCleary musically this summer, but he's a very talented and socially conscious musician, and this album continues his progression upward from the preceding CD "Weight of the Truth", so be sure to check those and his more recent albums at the above links! I hope you guys liked this month's CD review, but what's coming next month? I don't 100% know, but it will be a new album review! At this juncture, three different albums are in the running (Sykotyk Rampage's "Live at the Paris Hilton", SweetKenny's "Management", and Redundant's self-titled debut EP), and while I'm currently leaning towards the original crash band based on earlier release date, Redundant would jump ahead in line if they had a September concert lined up.

In any event, stay tuned for that next month, and for more news and notes on the site this week! Thanks everyone!

New Albums From Shit Liver & Mike McCleary, Plus A Dire Setback's Album Plans!

We're back with a new news post for your Friday morning reading, and we're almost entirely focused on new albums today, including 2 (well, 3-ish) new albums on sale this week, plus one more now underway, so here's what you should know on those and related topics!

Local/St. Catharine's grindcore trio Shit Liver released their second full length album "Hitting the Fan" as scheduled on Tuesday! Yes, this fan favourite metal group have finally unveiled their sophomore studio effort via their Bandcamp page, and you can now buy it there for $5, while vinyl record copies of the album are also now on sale via mail order! They have 550 hand numbered discs in red vinyl stock, with a poster and lyric sheet in the package, and they are taking orders before they hit the road. "Hitting the Fan" on vinyl costs $20 + shipping, so e-mail shitliverbooking@gmail.com if you must have a copy of the album before (or if you can't attend) their tour! The album proper includes 10 songs, namely "Evacuation", "Makes Me Sick", "Just Take It", "It Won't Change", "Liverated", "Cirrhosis", "Matt Got Beat Up By Cops", "Livin' In Shit", "Wait", and the title track, which just about covers their remaining original material that hadn't made it to their debut CD!

Also, belated apologies for erroneously indicating that "Unabomber" was their own song, it was originally by the band Macabre. You can also buy "Hitting the Fan" on vinyl at The Algonquin Pub on Friday, April 6th during their local tour stop, but there has been a lineup change, as local indie/hard rock quartet Id Iota have quietly replaced Vol. on the bill for unannounced reasons, though note that Vol. never publically acknowledged this event. Hopefully all's well in Vol.'s camp, and Id Iota's addition maintains the widely varying genre spread for this concert, so see above for more details on it! Speaking of which, Shit Liver also announced the entire run of tour dates in support of "Hitting the Fan" on their Facebook page yesterday, which confirm that they will kick off the tour right here on April 6th, before heading out west to British Columbia, then across country to the Maritimes, before finishing up in Quebec and Peterborough in mid-May, with only Newfoundland and P.E.I. not covered among the 10 provinces.

Note that if a Soo encore was to be scheduled, it'd have to take place on April 26th between their planned Thunder Bay and Timmins dates, but that is strictly a hypothetical scenario on my part. It's surprising that they don't have a St. Catharine's date on the tour (granted, they tend to play there more often enough), but it's great to see everything shaping up well for "Hitting the Fan" and their upcoming cross-country trek! See above for more details, and look for our CD review next month!

Next up, here's another new album release of sorts, namely local hard rock solo artist Mike McCleary's revamped debut album "In Ruins"! Originally released in June 2017 to streaming services before being taken down for revisions (including re-recordings, new cover art, and track removals), this self-produced and recorded album now features the songs "Lost", "Naive", "Childish Leaders", "Aylan", "Disavowed", "Introspection", and "Bad Hand". Of these songs, only "Naive", "Disavowed", & "Aylan" were on the original version of "In Ruins", unless Mike renamed certain tracks, with the other songs (including all acoustic variants) being removed or shifted over to his prior full length album "Weight of the Truth." Despite being his original first album, Mike noted on his Facebook page that he considers "In Ruins" to be a sequel to his January EP "Hourglass", and as such, has released the two albums in a special combined release called "Weight of the World" also!

That release also contains one bonus track not on either prior album, an instrumental named "Bismarck" that Mike teases is a preview of styles to expect on his next album after these. "In Ruins" is now on sale on Bandcamp for $5, with "Weight of the World" going for $8 (which is cheaper than buying it's source albums separately), and you can stream both there as well! That all said, don't expect a review of either album until August at the earliest due to our 6 month anti-bias buffer, but "Weight of the World" is my preference for it's amount and exclusive track. Mike's working at a fast pace on his new material, so check out his talented array of music above!

Finally, I can't put this off any longer: Local alt-punk trio A Dire Setback have begun pre-production for their debut album, and YOU can help make it a reality! The guys have launched a Patreon page to help crowd-fund the album, but unlike Kickstarter, the aim isn't necessarily for one goal, but to support ongoing creative work, with exclusive perks and content for paying regularly each month (Theatre of Night attempted a page there back in 2015.) A.D.S. indicated on Patreon that Treble Charger guitarist Bill Priddle is producing the album, and all proceeds from Patreon will go toward mixing and mastering their debut, with individual song releases expected when ready, plus they implied that help will be needed when picking album artwork and making music videos. If you donate even $1 a month, you'll get exclusive content on Patreon, but giving up to $30 could get you first crack at tickets, autographed merchandise, exclusive offers, name credit in the liner notes, and more.

A Dire Setback have begun work on click tracks and setting tempos for their originals, and while "exclusive video access" for Patreon backers is teased, they did post one public video to their new YouTube channel on Thursday, which features Chris, Matt, and Nick playing "Catastrophe" in studio (and in black & white.) Raw and unpolished, but the guys are on their way and very serious about getting this album complete! It's surprising that they're moving so fast despite playing live just once with this lineup so far, but hopefully this crowdfunding campaign takes off where prior local music ones didn't! See above and below for more on their album plans!



That's all for today, but stay tuned for this month's poll results and our new poll on the site next! Thanks everyone!

New Local Solo Album Releases, Shit Liver Updates, And More!!

Things have been somewhat quiet as of late, but we are back with a new news post on this Tuesday morning, featuring a few short new videos from each side of the border, and to kick things off, two new albums from regional hard rock musicians, so here's what you should know!

The newest album from Dafter, Michigan solo hard rock musician Ken "SweetKenny" Sutton was released as scheduled this past Wednesday! Entitled "Escape of the Desert Rat", this is his eleventh to be themed as a score for use in other media, though Ken visualizes it as a video game score, even giving it a plot outline on his website. If left up to him, the story is about a United States military colonel who leads an elite strike force team, but has to escape capture by Sudanese rebels, but potential licensees could theoretically adapt it as they wished. "Escape of the Desert Rat" is available for $9.99 on his Bandcamp page, and while it is his first new album release of 2018, remember that we will not be reviewing it this month. Instead, we'll be looking at SweetKenny's August score album "The Dogs Are Watching", as it's material is slightly heavier, so look for that review soon!

Also, while his scores remain his current focus, one new traditional original is now on his YouTube channel, so what should you know on it? Entitled "Bikini", it's a rock instrumental with a 1960s British Invasion vibe that fans of his older material should enjoy! However, I have chosen not to embed it here due to it's featured video (borrowed clips from a rap music video and of bikini models suggestively washing a car), as some of the content may be considered inappropriate or objectifying. Give it a listen if you want though!

Next up, here's another new solo hard rock album to take note of from a local musician, that being Sault Ontario's own Mike McCleary, who put out his surprise EP "Hourglass" on January 8th! This is not a renaming of the previously announced "Weight of the Truth", that's coming in the near future, but Mike noted on his Facebook page that he chose to release "Hourglass" first due to "the timeliness of its message." In particular, this five song EP addresses topics like assimilation, gender inequality, racism, and poverty, and how they are handled in reality. All five songs have previously been shared in varying forms on Mike's Soundcloud page, and if you're missing a favourite, watch for follow-up releases. It should be noted that Mike did release a debut album called "In Ruins" to online streaming services last June (before we discovered him for site coverage), but it has since been pulled from iTunes, Spotify, and Deezer, and was never acknowledged on Facebook, so he may intend to rework that album and/or it's songs.

"Hourglass" is available on Bandcamp for $4.95 and is also on iTunes and Spotify, so consider streaming or buying it through those sites to hear Mike's newest (first official?) release! As for when to expect a review of it... next month is very possible, though if teasers regarding "The Weight of the Truth" prove to see it's release in the coming weeks, we could pick that instead. "In Ruins" wouldn't jump ahead in line as it's not a "new" album anymore, and who knows if it's being tinkered with. In any event, February is very possible for our first ever Mike McCleary album review, so stay tuned for updates!

Also today, here's the latest from local/St. Catharine's grindcore trio Shit Liver, so what's new from their camp? Well, they will hit the road with a Southern Ontario tour run with Owen Sound sludgecore band Cruel Bloom early next month, which join a previously announced Windsor show in two weeks where they'll help open that city's thrash band Plague's CD release concert. No word on a local concert return yet, but it's great to see the guys keeping busy! Shit Liver have also been seen in a few news Facebook page videos from late last year, including this 2 second video from New Year's Eve featuring Matt Baic drumming while standing up. Ultra brief, but he's definitely in the zone for those 2 seconds! The other video is a proper live clip from their Hamilton concert at Doors in November where they opened for past local headliners Uncle Ray, as shared from attendee Zixuan Chen's page. While it's also brief (37 seconds), at least we get some solid quality footage from a high camera angle, so give it a look below!



Finally for today, here's some brief new videos from Sault Michigan independent label Werehold Records' YouTube channel, though these aren't your standard postings. Instead, these feature label head/Life's Eclipse guitarist Jason Mills testing five microphones across two videos by playing the same heavy guitar riff. You can see the second part (featuring a pair of MXL microphones) at this link, but embedded below is the longer video comparing three. I think the MXL 990 on the second video has the clearest sound, but the SM57 has a scratchier tone that might work better for a punk song. Compare for yourself above and below!



That's all for today, but stay tuned for more news and updates on The Sault Metal Scene as the week rolls along! Thanks everyone!