Another quiet weekend is now passed during our recent quiet stretch (is there a groundhog for the local music scene that saw it's shadow?), but we are back with a new news post on this Monday, so before you check out the solar eclipse, here's a new archive album find, a special Wednesday night concert preview some assorted updates, and first, a LOCAL CONCERT ALERT!
Local classic metal quartet Project 421 will return to The Canadian Nightclub for another headlining concert on Friday, September 8th! Marking just their third concert since their triumphant return to the stage last month, this show comes just under a week following their set opening for Diamond Head on September 2nd, so hopefully they're still riding high from that huge opportunity and deliver a solid night of old school metal renditions! Though ostensibly another toe into the water for The Canadian's return of solo bands on weekends, they will have an opening act, namely alt-punk quartet A Dire Setback, who also opened for 421 last month at the same venue among other bands. Can't go wrong with a punk appetizer, let alone from a band with A.D.S.' already high profile! A cover charge has not been announced for this 19+ event, which has a 10:00 PM start time. Visit the official Facebook event page for more details, and don't miss out on this metal and punk double act next month!
Next up, here's a preview of a special concert going down THIS WEDNESDAY NIGHT at The New American Pub, as Saskatchewan grindcore band Dour will make their local concert debut! Possessing a crust and sludge-infused attack, Dour's brand of power violence should melt many faces at The New A on Wednesday night, so if you're up for some mid-week extreme music, you know where to be! Local support will include death metal standouts The Bear Hunters in their first of two shows in a five night span (look for our Eye of Horus preview on Saturday, in all likelihood), while extreme metal quartet Winkstinger will end their 15 month stage hiatus when they kick off the action on Wednesday! I have no idea where Winksringer have been in the past year, but how will they look and sound compared to their run of shows last spring? Find out in a few nights' time! Co-promoted by Slumshine's Brenton Ellis and Gore Street Cafe owner Nicole Dyble, this 10:00 PM concert has a $7 cover and a 19+ age limit in effect.
Making one of the final stops of their No Sign of Grief Canadian Tour before heading home, Dour should brutalize the stage with their hard grinding and sludgy originals, and with two opening acts you don't see on stage nearly enough anymore, don't bypass this concert if you can help it! Visit the official Facebook event page for more details, and here's Dour live!
Also today, I am proud to say that I have finally purchased a local CD that I've been seeking out for years, and that is defunct hard rock quartet Infrastrate's only EP "Phase I: Commencement"! After years of coming up empty for the long out of print CD, I happened to discover two copies on the front counter of The Rad Zone for around $6, and I of course grabbed one, so what should you know on it? Released in late 2005 after being recorded at Cherry Valance Sound that August with co-producer & current Northwest drummer Marc Santos, "Phase I" arguably marked their final act as a solely local band before moving to Ottawa shortly after sessions wrapped up. In terms of content, the EP has 5 songs, including "Smoke & Mirrors", "Tyrande", "Detached & Tied Down", "Causal Nexus", and "Hindsight", and while all but the middle track had previously been posted on the band's PureVolume page, the copies there of "Tyrande" & "Causal Nexus" were not the EP versions, and I now surmise that they were pre-release demos.
Is a review of Infrastrate's EP imminent on the SMS? Probably not, as the band (including singer Joey Paciocco, guitarist Patrick Webb, and Nick & Ben Ochoski on bass & drums) aren't in any active local bands to tie one in with, though Patrick & Ben have been active recently in Ottawa-area bands. That said, their progressive-tinged hard rock sound and solid chemistry is very present on "Phase I: Commencement", and as someone who very much cares about local music history, it's great to have a copy at last! Give "Detached & Tied Down" a listen below, and hear more from Infrastrate above courtesy of old & new uploads on our YouTube channel!
I
have one more very cool archive album find to share on here soon once I
get the tape converted (you read that right), but finally for today, here's three assorted shorter news items from the last while! As usual, these are in alphabetical order by artist name:
I have changed the link for local film production company 62nd Chamber Productions from their website (which was taken down earlier this year) to their YouTube channel, which is still up, but hasn't seen new content in three years. Ran by AlgomA frontman Boyd Rendell, 62nd Chamber was a prominent source of content from both local concerts and from short film production (remember "The Last Strand"?), and hopefully we see more from them soon in addition to much more from AlgomA & Six, Two, Oh.!
I have moved local pop punk solo project Anthems vs. Oceans to our inactive band links, as the former For July have not posted a public update referencing their music since July of last year via their Facebook page (though, for full disclosure, posts have been made on non-musical subjects as recently as May.) Dave's a talented musician, and hopefully we hear some new updates on Anthems vs. Oceans material in the future!
Just as a belated house-cleaning note, I have removed HMV from our linked pages entirely due to the now-closed music store chain's website now being reduced to an image and text about their final closures in April, a state that likely won't be reversed given the entire chain folding. HMV was a useful and reliable store when it lasted, but don't bypass Sunrise Records in it's old Station Mall location for your CD, vinyl, and DVD needs!
That's all for today, but stay tuned for this month's YouTube Channel Profile and more this week! Thanks everyone!
Before I head out to this year's Sewer Swampstravaganza, here's our first post of the day, and it's this month's Defunct Local Band Profile! As always, this monthly feature looks at one or two inactive or broken up local metal/hard rock bands, with information on their run, material, biography, and some thoughts on them and their sound! Never hurts to be refreshed on old local bands, after all. This month's band hit a lot of success in the mid-2000s in both of their home bases, even if their full material is hard to find, so read on below for this month's Defunct Local Band Profile!
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Joey Paciocco, vocals
Patrick Webb (Benjamin Wilks, Source Amnesia), guitar
Nick Ochoski, bass
Ben Ochoski (Shanahan, Benjamin Wilks), drums
Audio/Video: No live concert videos are known to be publically available from their run, but four songs of theirs are streamable on their PureVolume page! Two ("Hindsight" & "Smoke & Mirrors") were recorded at Cherry Valance Sound in August 2005 towards their debut and only EP "Phase I: Commencement" (which is unavailable in full online), while the other two ("Causal Nexus" & "Tyrannade") were likely recorded at Audio Valley Studios in Perth, Ontario in 2006 towards their unreleased second CD. I uploaded them to YouTube last year, and I've embedded "Hindsight" from their EP below, but give their songs a listen, and if you have or can find a copy of "Phase I: Commencement", let me know!
Info/Analysis:Launched locally in 2003, Infrastrate rose to solid prominence in the live Sault Ontario scene with numerous local concerts and original material during their first two years together, including shows at The Canadian Nightclub, Oddfellows Hall, and a slot at the June 2005 Heatwave outdoor concert at The Roberta Bondar Pavilion. They recorded their only EP "Phase I: Commencement" that August, and collectively relocated to Ottawa later that month to attend Carleton University, where they remained for the rest of their run. Their Ottawa tenure saw them play a number of concerts, sign with London label Laris Records (owned by Saultite Chris Rancourt), and begin work on a new album in 2006, but it was never released before they fell inactive by mid-2007. Though they moved from the area at their peak, Infrastrate blended metal, alternative rock, and progressive sounds to create an accessible but heavy sound with a lot of unique qualities, reminding me of bands like Sense of Truth, and it's a shame they didn't last longer! Solid musicians all around, with nice melodic singing from Joey Paciocco especially, so check out Infrastrate above and hopefully we'll learn more on them at some point!
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I hope you guys liked this month's Defunct Local Band Profile! For the first time since May, next month's installment of this series will feature two bands due to the first band we randomly selected having only minimal public info, so next month, we'll be looking at defunct Sault Michigan hard rock quintet Blind Baby (featuring current members of Powerslug & Scofflaw) and late 2000s Sault Ontario experimental metal project Squirrelboy & The Smiling Giraffes (featuring local solo musician Chase Wigmore), so look out for that on or around September 10th! That's all for today, but stay tuned for upcoming concert previews tonight and our Swampstravaganza review tomorrow! Thanks everyone!
We're back with another news post on this Friday afternoon, and while we're still mourning Andres' loss (remember to attend his services The O'Sullivan Donnelly Funeral Home on Sunday afternoon!), the news continues rolling in, so what's in today's post? We have our latest Christmas surprise song uploads, as well as a memorial note for a sad anniversary being remembered today, but first, here's previews of this weekend's only known Sault Michigan metal concerts!
Charlevoix classic metal trio Peril are returning to Sault Ste. Marie for concerts TONIGHT AND TOMORROW NIGHT! These will be their last shows at any location of 2012, and the last heavier shows in the area that I can 100% source for this year, so if you're up for some metal, head on down to The Rapids Lounge at the Sault Michigan Kewadin Casino tonight or tomorrow! Peril's heavy metal cover assault is sure to entertain local fans once again this weekend, so don't miss Jeff, James, and Brooks in their last shows of the year! Admission should be free for these 21+ concerts, and I'd expect both to have 10:00 PM-ish start times. For more details, check the above links! If you're in Sault Michigan this weekend, don't miss Peril, as they are certainly local favourites with their entertaining classic metal sound, and for a preview, here they are covering Ozzy Osbourne' "Crazy Train" a few years back!
Next up, we need to address a sad anniversary, as it was one year ago today that we lost Woods of Ypres frontman David Gold, at just 31 years of age. As you may remember, David's passing deeply shook the local metal scene and beyond, especially considering his talent, success, and promising future with Woods of Ypres and his other projects, and I hope over this holiday season, his family takes solace in the love and respect many of us had for him and his music. 2012 was poised to be Woods of Ypres' biggest year yet, and posthumously, it was in many ways, thanks to their highly rated final studio album "Woods V: Grey Skies & Electric Light" and the well regarded tribute shows both here and in Toronto this past spring. Personally, I wouldn't consider "W5" to be my favourite of their albums (I'm still partial to "Woods III"), but it's important, well performed, very emotional, and a fitting close to Woods of Ypres' 10 year run. I hope that somehow, somewhere, David knows the impact he left and how much he's regarded and missed locally, in Ontario, and beyond. As he said in "The Will To Give", "there is no destination, there is only the journey." Like with the Duchesne family, keep the Golds in mind over what's sure to be a bittersweet holiday season. R.I.P. David, and stay tuned soon for our first taste of next year's Woods of Ypres tribute album!
And finally for today, here's our third of five surprise Christmas song uploads, those being four songs from defunct Sault Ontario hard rock quartet Infrastrate! Active from roughly 2003-2007, they made a solid name locally before relocating to Ottawa in 2005 for school, and they are sure to be fondly remembered during their mid-2000s run here and there! Infrastrate's lineup featured singer Joey Paciocco, guitarist Patrick Webb, and Nick & Ben Ochoski on bass & drums respectively, and this is the same lineup that recorded their debut EP "Phase I: Commencement" in August 2005 at Cherry Valance Sound. The following year, the band began work with former Laris Records owner & Northern Rocks Magazine founder Chris Rancourt on a full length album at Audio Valley Studios in Perth, with the CD to be released in 2007, but only a couple songs from their 2006 sessions made it online before they quietly dissolved, and the members are largely not in music currently from what I can tell.
Their EP is one of the most elusive recent local albums that I've ever tried to find, with few leads for a physical copy & only two songs ("Hindsight" & "Smoke & Mirrors") from it available for streaming, but at least some extra songs from Infrastrate's 2006 output are online, those being "Causal Nexus" (a better quality re-upload on our channel) & "Tyrannade", so I thought I should post what I had online for Christmas, and in the hopes of gaining some leads to finding "Phase I: Commencement in full". Infrastrate were talented, with a melodic hard rock sound and longer well stocked originals that suited their talents, including solid vocal work and nice guitar melodies! The 2006 songs are arguably better for skill and recording quality, but all four tracks are worth checking out, and hopefully down the road, the guys will turn up again (or at least publicize more old tracks.) Check out "Hindsight" below, and stay tuned for our last Christmas surprise uploads (hint: they're two full albums) on Sunday and Tuesday!
That's all for today, but stay tuned for this month's YouTube Channel Profiles TOMORROW, and for more news this weekend! Thanks everyone!
Typically I wouldn't mention a metal-based movie here, but seeing as this was being screened at a local concert venue, it seemed only fair to mention, especially with the lack of metal shows at The Grand since last spring! After all, when's the last time a heavy metal band played at Galaxy Cinema? Looks about the same as it did from the previous concerts I've seen there, just with the fancy tables back out on the floor to accommodate moviegoers. No popcorn for sale, but they did have pop, alcohol, and chips, so we weren't emptyhanded! I chose the balcony to see the movie, it seemed more "normal" compared to looking up at the screen from the floor. What surprised me was when we were waiting for the movie start, a nice lady from the staff came around and gave everyone there a free bowl of pretzels! And, cause the movie was on a Blu-Ray disc, there wasn't 20 minutes of trailers! Don't see either of those at Galaxy, do you? However, the crowd was very small, if there was a dozen paid moviegoers there, I'd be surprised.
As for Anvil itself, what a good movie! It was, as you may know, a documentary about Toronto metal legends Anvil, who influenced numerous metal bands in the early 1980s, yet never became mega-stars. It primarily focused on founding members Steve "Lips" Kudlow and Robb Reiner, who, through it all, still love to play their music and continue striving to achieve their dreams of making it big, even while entering their early 50s. Now working normal day jobs, they still play to diehard, but small, crowds as often as possible. The movie details how they went on an extensive European tour that turned into a comedy of errors, later exploring Steve and Robb's daily lives, what went wrong in their careers, and their efforts to make a new studio album with star producer Chris Tsangarides, finance it on limited income, and shop it to mostly uninterested record labels. While the movie has a lot of humour and great music, it also has a lot of sad moments. You can tell that the members of Anvil love their music, and would do whatever it takes to get back to their old glories. From the faults of their tour, to the smaller than hoped crowds, to the band's internal struggles, you feel it when they pour their heart out or get into a spat over their music and career. Though I'm not the best person to say this, it really does show the effort and drive it takes to make it in music, even when no doors appear to open in your favour.
It doesn't hurt either that I like Anvil as a band, but even if I didn't, I'd still like and appreciate Anvil! The Story of Anvil. Part of me did expect more humour, but what was presented was genuine, and you really felt like you knew the guys in the band at the end. Like how I don't grade CDs or concerts, I won't grade the movie, but to copy Siskel and Ebert, I will definitely give this movie a thumbs up! Buy this if you see it in stores!!! And if a movie comes back to The Grand that may interest you, check it out, they really are nice there, and you may get free pretzels too!
Now, back to local metal bands, or in this case, one musician! I have a new local act to add to the band listings on the SMS, and like 20 Pack of Marshmallows from yesterday, this act is one I've bypassed in previous months for not being sure of their metalness. Do you know of Sault Michigan death metal band Slackjawed Rats? Well, as you may know, their frontman Mike Libertoski has wrote and recorded solo material (you may remember him as part of the lineup on a Half Stupid concert last year!) And as it turns out, a lot more of it is metal than I'd figured! While his concerts tend to skew more towards acoustic prog rock, he has released no less than SIX SOLO ALBUMS that feature a high dose of heavy material! On his MySpace page, he mentioned that he aims to include songs of all genres on his solo material, which is good, diversity is always welcome! And you did hear that right, he has at least 6 albums, the most recent of which (I think) is "In The Arms Of The Condemned" from last year! His solo albums are primarily instrumental, though one, 2007's "The Great Movement", did feature vocals.
To put it mildly, Mike is a great guitarist, he can play almost anything, and he has a wide skillset! Accomplished guitarist, and he also plays numerous other instruments too! I'd like to see him play some more shows, possibly electric ones too! I'd love to get my hands on his albums, maybe Grooves Music or somewhere online carries them! Check out more from Mike at his official MySpace page and his YouTube channel, or head to his band Slackjawed Rats' page to hear some solid death metal too! Here's hoping one or both play some shows soon! I'll make sure to cover Mike's solo stuff from here on out! And to give you a preview, here's one of his heavier solo songs, "Glasgow Smile"!
Once I found out that Mike Libertoski had so many albums, it jogged my memory as to the local metal albums I'm still on the lookout for. So I figured I'd put out another open call for anyone to help me find these albums to help fill out my local band CD stockpile, or at least get the mp3s from them! IF YOU HAVE, OR KNOW SOMEONE WITH THESE CDS, LET ME KNOW! I'd love to have a copy or the mp3s for future SMS reviews, and possibly upload online to give the bands well deserved exposure! So here's what else I'm still on the lookout for: As It Stands- Kill The Music, Save The Children: Contacting band members about getting their only EP release has been fruitless so far, so I'll put out the call again! Released in 2007, the EP featured 5 tracks, and is out of print. No sites online is actively selling it (The only site that I thought did isn't active), and only one song, "Bush Raids", was streamable online at last search. Any help finding this album would be much appreicated!
Foothill Road- Either of their albums: The locally based hard rock band from the 1990s released two albums: One was self-titled, the other was named "Seventy". And tracking down either has proven to be easier said than done! The songs on their MySpace page are very solid, makes me wish I was old enough to experience them way back when! Anyone know how I could get these albums?
Harsh Heads- First Hated, Then Forgotten: They were a local punk/hardcore band from the early-mid 1990s, though they didn't release their demos into CD form until 2005. I won't say too much about them yet (I haven't even profiled them properly on the SMS yet! That'll be in my next post!) But let me just say this: They're metal enough for the SMS, and I'd love to get this CD!
Infrastrate- Phase I: Commencement: Still have had no luck finding this, the only album release by the originally Sault-based hard rockers Infrastrate. They recorded and released this album after they moved to Ottawa in the mid-2000s, and only some of the album's songs are streamable online. It'd be great to find a copy of their CD, they were a good band!
If you guys can help me get these, or ANY local metal/hard rock CD/album releases, LET ME KNOW! There's likely others I'm not aware of, so if you know of a metal/hard rock/hardcore/grunge album that I don't, TELL ME!!!!!
Speaking of stuff from inactive bands, I've found a real gem of a local metal video to cap off tonight's post! This comes from the YouTube channel of local bassist Mike Mannarino (Tripod The Dog), from one of his old metal bands, Genghis Khan! This clip is of Genghis Khan covering the Racer X song "Scarified" from a show at The Eastgate presumably from the early 1990s! There is audio of these guys online, thanks to drummer Glen Thomas' YouTube account, but this is the first actual video I've seen! And I like what I'm seeing here, this is a hard song to play and they did awesome! You don't see stuff like this often! Check out the clip below, thanks to Mike for the upload!
I'll leave it at that for tonight, my next post will include info on Harsh Heads, a Woods of Ypres update, and hopefully much more! Stay tuned, thanks everyone!
Next up, here's a preview of a special concert going down THIS WEDNESDAY NIGHT at The New American Pub, as Saskatchewan grindcore band Dour will make their local concert debut! Possessing a crust and sludge-infused attack, Dour's brand of power violence should melt many faces at The New A on Wednesday night, so if you're up for some mid-week extreme music, you know where to be! Local support will include death metal standouts The Bear Hunters in their first of two shows in a five night span (look for our Eye of Horus preview on Saturday, in all likelihood), while extreme metal quartet Winkstinger will end their 15 month stage hiatus when they kick off the action on Wednesday! I have no idea where Winksringer have been in the past year, but how will they look and sound compared to their run of shows last spring? Find out in a few nights' time! Co-promoted by Slumshine's Brenton Ellis and Gore Street Cafe owner Nicole Dyble, this 10:00 PM concert has a $7 cover and a 19+ age limit in effect.
