One More Weekend Concert Preview, Plus A New Spades GT Interview Video!!

In this post, we're wrapping up this weekend's concert previews with a special event featuring a band reunion, but the rest of this post references one of the performers' current group, so here's what you should know!

Here's one more weekend concert preview for TONIGHT, as a bunch of familiar faces will join forces at The Dive Gastro Pub! Advertised by the venue as the "jam night for Joy" (the Facebook event page treats it as a normal concert), this special event is the culmination of today's celebration of life for Joy MacMillan, the late mother of Spades GT/ex-Haggith guitarist Daniel Horton, whose support was clear and instrumental throughout her son's local band work in the 2010s, as his friends and bandmates will be well aware of. Joy passed away in late November, but after a GoFundMe campaign, her celebration of life proper takes place today at the Holiday Inn Express (the former Days Inn) from 2:00-6:00 PM, but the concert portion takes place at around 9:00 PM with an advertised reunion of Mike Haggith & The Din, albeit their 2013-2014 acid jam/improv incarnation featuring Daniel alongside Mike & Curtis McKenzie.

It will be nice to see 3/4ths of the core Haggith lineup back for a night, albeit under sad circumstances, and hopefully they recapture early Din sets well in Joy's memory! Curt will also play a solo set tonight (presaging his full solo gig there next week), while Dan's former Jack Spades bandmate Rob Speers will also bring his acoustic solo act there tonight, fresh off playing at The Dive on Thursday. This special 19+ concert has no advertised cover charge, as well as refreshments and a cash bar, though seating will be limited. Visit the above links for more on what should be a special night for Daniel and his family, here's the original Din live, and R.I.P. Joy!

Next up, let's pivot to Daniel's current work in Spades GT, so what are the local/Barrie crossover thrash band up to this year/month so far? You can find out some of that info here, as drummer Tyler Reiner took part in with the Niagara Falls-based music promotion company Sofa City Sounds on January 2nd! This was streamed on Sofa City Sounds' Facebook page, and ignore that the video description says that the interview was with Black Absinthe, they labelled the wrong group. If Sofa City sounds familiar, it's because Tyler and frontman J.D. Pearce were interviewed by owner/host Amanda Schilz (and her son!) back in December 2023, and you can watch that 48 minute video at this link. A year+ later, Tyler flew solo for this remote interview, which starts with Amanda reminiscing on the first time that she saw Spades live and other related topics. We next get hype for Spades GT's first concert of 2025, which saw them play at Walterstock III.

Two days after this interview was posted, Spades joined twenty-three other bands to pay tribute to beloved GTA metalhead Walter Froebrich at The Rockpile in Toronto once again, and this discussion leads to some good personal discussion about connectivity and personal interactions among the metal community there, plus coming and going into music and awareness of it, and having the drive and passion to get your name out there and also support other local-to-you bands. Eventually, Tyler does bring up the band's eventful 2024 and plans to return to the studio next month to record their next studio album, as well as plugging some of the band's radio airplay in Southern Ontario last year, while also opening the floodgates to promoters to book them in 2025, especially in markets that they haven't played at before. Following some more Walterstock promotion, Tyler plugs what they have for sale and what they hope to have to sell soon, especially the new CD.

The band's lineup is credited about 52 minutes into the interview, with the bassist search still ongoing at the time, and J.D. was supposed to take part in this year's Sofa City Sounds interview too but couldn't due to commitments with his day job. Most of the rest of the interview is casual conversation and reiterating 2025 plans for Spades GT, but Tyler does reference how he's not the first drummer of the band, crediting their beginnings in the Soo as Jack Spades in the 2010s, and how appreciative he is to be brought into the fold. While Amanda's son didn't help in the interview this time (though pets stopped by on both ends), this was another fun interview for Spades fans! Most of it was admittedly just Tyler and Amanda talking about the scene at large and personal experiences, and not a lot of ground is covered that fans didn't already know from 2024 postings and interviews, but it's a solid and laid back watch that you can check out below!

That's all for now, but stay tuned for this month's YouTube Channel Profile next! Thanks everyone!

The Soo's Got Talent 2022 Finals Recap (Part 3!!)

We've put this off long enough, let's finally wrap up our finals coverage of this year's The Soo's Got Talent today! Of course, the finals took place at Soo Blaster on October 21st, with the final six performers (all singers with only one playing an instrument too) performing twice for the grand prize: once solo like in prior rounds, and once with local alternative hard rock quintet Handsome Sandwich as their backing band! In our first two finals posts from last week, we looked at each finalist's first performance in this post (along with guests), before checking out the first three finalists' songs with Handsome Sandwich in this post. As before, Passion Video Productions filmed all of these videos for the T.S.G.T. Facebook page, and Handsome Sandwich performed without singer Taylor Emlaw as they had finalists singing instead for the competition, though she did sing with them in the intermission.

It is worth noting that Handsome Sandwich did in fact learn the songs they played with all six finalists, rather than offering their setlist only, which must have been a fun challenge. Thanks to guitarist Mitch Sirie for the confirmation! Following finalists Nanette Garcia (Patti Smith's "Because The Night"), Colin Gasparelli (Edguy's "When A Hero Cries"), and Xavier Pelletier LeBoeuf (Pink's "Raise Your Glass"), the fourth finalist to perform twice was Ali Nisbett, who joined Handsome Sandwich for a cover of Blondie's "X Offender". This is early Blondie when they were at their most punk, which works well! Ali has a great stage presence with the full band backing her up, but and she has good energy, but I'm not quite sure that it's the best pick for her vocal range. Still fun, so give it a look below!

The penultimate finalist was Amanda Phillips, whose cover with Handsome Sandwich was of "The Story" by Brandi Carlile (not Belinda Carlisle). Assuming that contestants picked these songs rather than the judges' choice angle of years past, Amanda picked a winner here, as she delivers a very strong vocal performance of this folk rock favourite, and she seems more confident than ever! Interesting change of pace for Handsome Sandwich too, so give their performance a watch below!

Last but not least for the finalists was Maharlika Joy Servillon, who went way off board like Colin did for a full band cover, this time doing "Faster" by the Dutch symphonic metal band Within Temptation. Rare when I can evoke Sharon den Adel on the SMS! M.J. sings this one strongly and hits some good high notes in the process, and the band are a good fit here too (Mitch must love getting to play something like this!) Solid closer to the competitive portion of T.S.G.T., so give it a look below!

Guest performances aside, the next video was the drawing of the winners of the door prize & 50/50 draw that night, before host/co-organizer Barbara Rajnovich announced the winners, as chosen by judges Darren MacDonald, Mike Severin, Valerie Powley, and guest Tim Murphy. As you can see in the reveal video embedded below, the winner was.... Amanda Phillips, and after her closing song, that makes a lot of sense! M.J. Servillon and Nanette Garcia took second and third place each, with both receiving gift baskets for placing on the podium. Amanda's first place prize includes $1,000 and recording time with Mike Severin at his studio Muzicare North. Amanda was quoted in this SooToday article by Darren Taylor about the finals, where she noted that she does hope to record an album, and she addressed her past band work (in the Niagara Falls rock cover band Summerfield, she later moved here).

Darren got photos of each finalist and Handsome Sandwich in the article also, so definitely check those out too! Other videos & photos can be seen on the T.S.G.T. Facebook page, but most importantly, $3,608 was raised for the Brain Injury Association of Sault Ste. Marie & Area, so the charitable aims of this event are alive and well, and hopefully another good organization benefits next year! Give the award presentations a watch below, and congratulations to Amanda on winning The Soo's Got Talent!

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

Haggith - "Dragon Joy Ride" Review!!

Today marks our 40th monthly local CD review at The Sault Metal Scene, and for the first time in 7 months, we're looking at a new Sault Ontario album release, that being local grunge band Haggith's debut album "Dragon Joy Ride"! Released on October 7th through the band's independent label PaperClip Productions, it was recorded there this summer along with material for future planned albums. Haggith were represented on this album by singer/guitarist Curtis McKenzie, lead guitarist/backing vocalist Daniel Horton and drummer/producer Mike Haggith, with Curtis & Daniel handling bass duties in lieu of Caleb Cachagee, who joined the band after sessions ended. Songs on this album were generally wrote by Curtis and/or Daniel, though Curtis' brother Travis has writing or co-writing credits on three songs. "Dragon Joy Ride" can be purchased online at this location for $5, with physical copies available by request through the band's online pages and in person at their concerts. It's also available to stream for free on YouTube at this link (each song title below is linked there), but please support the band and buy the CD in some form!

Featuring 9 songs clocking in at around 33 minutes of music, let's kick off this review with the first song "Wanko"! By far the shortest song on "Dragon Joy Ride", the song kicks off with a fast paced almost swing/southern-inspired riff with very the singing filtered in an echo style in between the music that is somewhat hard to hear. It's a well done little track for it's style, and it ends before it can get repetitive, but the vocal effects do dampen the experience compared to live versions of this song. Second is "The Married Massacre", which opens with a softer and darker bass-heavy opening before building to a mid-tempo rocker with softer verses that contrast fairly well with Curtis' more aggressive singing! With no effects, I can tell that his grungier singing voice fits their sound pretty good on this type of material, and the guitar melodies are complimentary and effective for the most part! I'd like to see the structure of the song shaken up a bit, and maybe include a better ending, but this is an effective grunge rocker that improves on the album's opening song!

Next on the CD is "No Cure For Insanity", a quicker hard rocker that launches with a heavy and fairly catchy groove and nice melodic singing from Curtis, but the backing vocals on the verses here seem out of place and too low for the energy. The drumming here is also somewhat muffled in the music, which is otherwise well played, and I like the effects and riffs at work here! The lyrics work well too, but the choruses are too repetitive. For a heavier alt-rock original, "No Cure For Insanity" packs a solid wallop into it's short length, and fans of early 1990s grunge and alt-rock should enjoy this track fairly well! Then we have the album's longest track "Sandman", which starts slowly with a solitary guitar line before the other instruments join in, though Curtis' singing seems too heavy and out of place for the song's early pacing. Maybe it'd play better if Mike sang the first half? By midway through the track, the intensity of the song builds and gets heavier while keeping the slower timing, and that's when "Sandman" peaks, but the instrumentation's good throughout, and the guitar work stands out well! I just wish the vocals better matched the song's moods.

Fifth on "Dragon Joy Ride" is "Yesterday Frustration" (shouldn't it be "Yesterday's"?), which opens heavily with solid guitar work from Curt & Daniel before quieting down for the verses and chorus, taking on a lighter feel with more reserved singing, while still rocking. While the softer approach fits the song better, the choruses are partially buried within the music, and it'd be nice to hear them at least approached heavily like the song's opening and closing stretches. The song's well played, but it needed a better mix, a less abrupt ending, and more aggression, but Mike's drumming stood out well! That's followed by "Livin' It On The Run", which opens very softly with the quietest vocals from Curtis yet, before the chorus builds into a heavier alt-rock sound that recalls some of their earlier tracks on this album, and the contrast works well here! Though somewhat rigidly structured, the guitar solo was welcomed, and the guys handle the softer verses and heavier stretches equally well without too much instrument burial, so it's a late standout track!

Track #7 is "I Am", which takes on a slower aggression that sounds like it could be adapted well to a harder edged acoustic track, and Curtis' singing sounds both deeper and more controlled to benefit the track overall! The guitar riffing is heavy while still being paced well, but the drums are somewhat buried again, particularly in the verses. If anything, the song is somewhat repetitious, mainly in the choruses, but this shows Haggith playing at their best in terms of the slower/softer material on "Dragon Joy Ride"! Then is "Rage Train", and this longer number doesn't start with a lot of rage, opening with a melodic lower style before building into some nice heavy riffing prior to the verses. Familiar to some earlier tracks, the song has harder edged choruses and softer but darker verses that work well for their sound, and I like that Curtis' singing matches each tempo better! The guitar solo from Daniel is well done too, and it's a bit longer than some others on the album, which I welcome! This is another entertaining track that showcases Haggith's talents well, and it's one of my favourites on the album!

"Dragon Joy Ride" closes with a reprise of the opening song "Wanko", which is over double the length of the original and has a different overall sound. In fact, the first 45 seconds is full of banter between Daniel, Mike, and Curtis over top of some minimal guitar work, which is somewhat amusing! The basic structure and lyrical content have carried over from the original song, but it's slower (aside from the last few seconds), heavier, and leaves out the echo vocal effects, so despite the slowdown, I like this version better than the original! It maintains a solid groove and aggression that the original was lacking despite it's speed, and it ends this album on a good note! So, what's my final assessment of Haggith's debut album? From what I've heard, it's a very solid first release from this new local band, and a lot of promise is evident! Grunge is a tough genre to break through locally with, but this should turn some heads for it's musical quality, and the members are all visibly talented! Curtis McKenzie & Daniel Horton's guitar & bass work was heavy and melodic when need be, and their riffs and leads called back to the 1990s in happy ways more than once, while Curtis' vocals complimented their heavier songs nicely, especially late in the album!

Mike Haggith's drumming was also effective for the most part, and while I'm more familiar with his singing/guitar work, he is more than capable behind the skins! They also have an audible chemistry, which is nice to hear from a band so soon after their formation, but the album isn't a flawless debut. While the production is similar to Mike's solo releases and good when compared to other band-produced/recorded material I've heard, the band can be muddled at times, with the drums in particular often being hard to hear. Curtis' singing was mostly effective, but early on the album, his vocals on softer/slower material tended to be more aggressive than the song needed. Some songs also ended abruptly or had repetitive stretches, but for a self-recorded/produced album, I'm happy with the finished product! Songs like "Rage Train" & "No Cure For Insanity" are signs of their talent and chemistry, and hopefully Haggith have much more grunge and alt-rock material to come at future shows & albums, so pick up their debut album at the above links!

I hope you guys liked this month's CD review! So, what will review on the site next month for our 41st CD review? It WILL be a new album, and in all likelihood, it will probably be of Haggith drummer Mike Haggith's brand new solo album "Neighbourhood Watch" that also came out earlier this month! I haven't finalized it as our next album review simply because if anything else new comes out by late November, I might bump "Neighbourhood Watch" to December just for the sake of spreading things out and avoiding a bias, as even though Haggith & Mike Haggith are separate projects, there are a lot of visible similarities. That said, as I've heard nothing concrete on either side of the border yet for a November local metal/hard rock album release, Mike's new album is very likely for next month, so watch out for this review in the next 4 weeks or so! That's all for today, but I'll see you guys at The Rockstar Bar TONIGHT for The Rad Zone's birthday bash with Garden of Bedlam! Thanks everyone!

A New Local Album Release, More Inactive Bands, And More News!!

A post a day must keep the doctor away, as our recent posting schedule is working fairly well! In today's news post, we have some assorted news stories from the last little while, and no less than three notes on likely inactive local hard rock bands, but first, we'll start with some big news from a local band, and if you've missed new album releases in the past year, you'll wanna hear about this, so read on below for all that you need to know!

For the first time since "Woods V", a new Sault Ontario hard rock/metal album has been released, and it's "Dragon Joy Ride", the debut album from local grunge quartet Haggith! Keeping with their latest release date announcements, it was officially launched for digital download via their brand new Bandcamp page at midnight today (no word yet on a possible Reverbnation release, a'la drummer Mike Haggith's solo work.) Physical copies on CD and cassette (yes, cassette) have also been made up, but all are available for the low and very reasonable prise of $5, so picking up a physical copy wouldn't be a bad idea, especially for the same price as the digital copies! CDs & cassettes can be bought from band members directly or on Facebook, and presumably at their next live concerts, but if you just want the mp3s, click here! You may also notice the new album cover, which the band was debating changing in the past week, and I will admit to liking the new design better! Haggith have also uploaded a new Facebook photo album featuring the compilation of the album's CD copies and liner notes, along with assorted other recent photos, so check the above links to give it a look!

After the recent lineup concerns and turmoil, I'm very glad to see Haggith get "Dragon Joy Ride" out and available for fans to pick up! They've been quick off the draw since their debut, and hopefully this is just the next step in a successful run in the area! With that in mind, I'd like to announce that "Dragon Joy Ride" will be our 40th monthly CD review at the SMS this month, and we will review it by Halloween (hopefully earlier), so keep an eye out for it in the coming weeks, and pick up "Dragon Joy Ride" at the above links!

Next up, I've got some more bands to reluctantly bump into our inactive band listings, the first being Sault Ontario hard rock band Half Past. While not at a year's inactivity yet (they were last visibly active in February after their brief advertisement for a Late & Loud concert), they have offered no formal band updates since, with two of their final three members now active in newer primary bands like Skeyes of Seven & Frightlight. Nothing else I've heard since indicates that they're active at present, but if I'm wrong, I'll happily retract any assumptions! Half Past had been a talented sight locally since their 2008 formation as Fingerbone, but they didn't really take off until they became Half Past the following year, where they played a number of notable concerts from late 2009 through mid-2010, including debuting three original songs & briefly launching plans for a debut album. Later activity was more sporadic & dotted with a couple lineup changes, with the band last playing live almost a year ago. It is disappointing to see Half Past fade into inactivity, as they were an entertaining hard rock band whenever they were seen on the local stage!

I enjoyed all of Half Past's incarnations, with all three of their singers providing their own sound and style that furthered them as a local band, and the originals that Half Past played with ex-frontman Luke LeBlanc were really catchy in their own right! It is a shame that their last show ended on a down note, but I don't wanna rehash what happened, as they had so many positive concerts to look back on. Best of luck to Jordan, Alain, Chris, Arthur, and all of their other ex-members in the future, and maybe Half Past will pop up again down the road!

Another band that we're now counting as inactive on the SMS is young Sault Michigan hard rock quartet Free Refill. Last seen at a talent show at Sault Area High School in February (where they placed second), official updates have not followed since, but online postings are indicating that they're likely done. According to some online research, members Betsy Lehman & Mike Pascoe have both moved out of town for college following their graduation (former guitarist Tyler Wall did the same after graduating himself), and guitarist Devin Anderson had referred to the talent show in February as their "last talent show" on his personal Facebook page, so all of this might be the closest we get to an official confirmation of their breakup. Free Refill had been a frequent sight at local events and festivals since their 2007 inception (including the Kewadin Casino 25th Anniversary Festival & a number of Sugar Island Festival appearances), and while not commonly seen during the school year, they were very visible in the summer seasons with their diverse hard rock covers.

Free Refill had talent for their age, and they improved rapidly to add to the impressive roster of female-fronted hard rock bands across the river by the early 2010s! Maybe we'll see them or the members down the road, but best of luck to Mary, Devin, Betsy, Mike, and Tyler in the future, and hopefully they'll all stay active in music in some form!

And finally for today, here's three assorted shorter stories from the last little while (including one more inactive band note), and as always, these are in alphabetical order by band, series, or event name:

• I'll likely be moving Bear Hunters guitarist Mitch Sirie's solo project April Eyes to our inactive band links next week due to a year's inactivity, having last updated their MySpace page on October 13th, 2011. Previously named Animas & By The Gods, Mitch had worked on April Eyes material off and on since at least 2009, but he's worked on other bands more frequently lately, including the yet-revealed Sorrow Fields. Mitch's solo work has a lot of plusses, so hopefully he revisits April Eyes or something similar in the future!
• In some minor updates to our Defunct Local Band Profiles, I edited our profile of The White Knights to replace Caveman Morrison with Fitswitch when mentioning drummer Rick White's other band work (as he was with Fitswitch longer.) Stay tuned for more updates to our feature profiles in the coming weeks!
• The Halloween Party at The Algonquin Pub on October 27th (featuring Frightlight & others) will be one of three stops on a Halloween Pub Crawl from Sudbury promoters KC Events & Promotions that night, also featuring stops at Madison's Pub & The Canadian, plus The Rockstar Bar (upstairs from The Algonquin.) This costs $25, and will ensure no cover charges at any venues, along with free food & drink specials, so if you're up for some pub crawling along with your metal & punk, click here for details!

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

Haggith & Late And Loud Updates, Plus Woods Of Ypres' Alumni News!!

Keeping up with the news posts, we have some updates from three bands with local ties, including a fundraising campaign for the next album of one that is familiar to Woods of Ypres fans, what we know about a local classic metal band's current status, and leading off, what's went on with another local band over the past day, so here's what you need to know!

(EDIT, 8:22 PM) We had originally led off this post with updates relating to the local grunge band Haggith, specifically covering the announcement yesterday that they had parted ways with lead guitarist Daniel Horton, and as a result, would be shelving the release of their debut album "Dragon Joy Ride" in order to re-record most material and produce a new debut album with some new tracks. In case you missed the reports on that front, they are still on Haggith's Facebook page as of this evening. Well, Haggith announced on Facebook tonight that they have decided to regroup with Daniel and settle their creative differences in the name of their "public image, sound, and the release of 'Dragon Joy Ride'." A Facebook video was also posted with the update featuring Daniel talking about his brief departure, saying that they'll see how things go in the next couple weeks, while also complimenting the group and their sound, and apologizing for any inconvenience over the last little while. I can't embed Facebook videos here, so click the above links to check it out and the latest statement!

As a result of Daniel's return, Haggith have restored plans to release "Dragon Joy Ride" as it was originally intended, which is now scheduled to come out for paid release THIS SUNDAY! The release was postponed a bit before the last day's events over some cover art concerns, if I remember correctly. This means that the 6 added songs from their brief new album plans ("Safe on the Outside", "Public Enemy", "Leon The Janitor", "If You Get Out Alive", and the yet-unheard "August 5th, '08" & "75") will likely be postponed to future releases, of which we'll hopefully hear more on in the near future. It's great to see Haggith reuniting with Daniel, and hopefully the release of "Dragon Joy Ride" helps boost their local profile even further, so stay tuned for updates and news from Haggith as I hear it!

Next up, here's the latest updates from Late & Loud... wait a minute, didn't they break up? Since their last concert on August 31st, any indication from most of the members has mentioned them as broken up or on an indefinite hiatus (such as Brendan Christie's singer search for a new band & a September 23rd Facebook page comment reply by Josh Hatherley), but in the past couple of days, their Facebook page has been increasingly updated by guitarist Jonathan Tiberi with hints towards some type of future plans. These include updates to their Twitter page, this new psychedelic-inspired band logo, plans for something called "Operation Heavy Thunder", and indications of  "important stuff soon" & "unfinished business". Postings on Jon's personal Facebook page also indicated that he didn't consider the band inactive, just in hibernation, so what's going on in the L&L camp? A formal EP release? A band resurrection, possibly with new members? Something completely different?

Judging by what the majority of the band has said, a full on Late & Loud reunion seems a ways off (if ever) but Jon's updates are giving fans some hope, and I know I'm not the only person who'd love to see new Late & Loud anything, so when news & updates come up, I'll be sure to have it here!

Also today, I wanted to cover some updates from a band that, while no longer having a direct local connection, still has a lot of familiarity. As you guys may remember, late Woods of Ypres frontman David Gold was the drummer in numerous side projects, and one of the most prominent was Thrawsunblat, the Fredericton, New Brunswick black/folk metal project led by Woods of Ypres' final lead guitarist Joel Violette. We've already mentioned on here that final Woods drummer Rae Amitay has replaced David on drums in Thrawsunblat, but now they've also enlisted the remaining member of Woods of Ypres' final lineup (bassist Brendan Hayter) to join Thrawsunblat as well! Very fitting, and it's great to see Brendan a part of Joel & Rae's next musical projects! While none of the three are from the Soo, they'll always be known as Woods of Ypres alumni, which gives their plans for their new concept album "Thrawsunblat II: Wanderer on the Continent of Saplings" some extra local weight, so what should you know?

A press release for the album was posted on Facebook, which indicates the album's planned sound & influences, including confirming that the tracks for the album were recorded this summer with mixing & mastering by "Woods V" producer Siegfried Meier, but they are also looking to raise funds to release "Thrawsunblat II" with a fundraising project (a'la Kickstarter) to pay off studio costs & make it and a physical release of it a reality next year. Click here for information on how you can donate, and what rewards you will get for donating to the cause, or watch this video about the "Thrawsunfundraising", which includes some previews of the album's sound and some background on the leadup to this album & fundraising from Joel & Rae. I sure hope that "Thrawsunblat II" becomes a reality, and the guys deserve some major successes from their work! Without David & his labels around to help, a fundraising campaign will help tremendously if it takes off, and in a way, this is as close as we're going to get to a "Woods VI", so I'd follow Thrawsunblat's fundraising and check out Joel & David's first album "Canada 2010" (pictured) via the above links, and best of luck all around!

That's all for today, but stay tuned for weekend concert previews and likely some more news tomorrow morning! Thanks everyone!

Haggith, Ashes To Dust, And AlterWhite News, And Much More!!

Happy October, everyone! The last quarter of 2012 is upon us, and after our quietest month at the SMS since the spring of 2010, hopefully this news post will be the first of many through Halloween. That said, there's no fallout from the Evans Blue show at Kewadin Casino yet (I expect some stuff to be forthcoming), but today's post does feature new videos and songs from some Sault Ontario hard rock projects, a bunch of assorted news items, and leading off, some Haggith updates, so here's what you need to know!

Sault Ontario grunge quartet Haggith have kept fans updated with more recent uploads and statuses, most recently including the cover of their forthcoming debut album "Dragon Joy Ride"! Seen on your right, it was posted on Facebook yesterday, and while I really like dragon/yin yang design, the font used for the title seems too generic & slapped on. A formal paid release of this album is forthcoming, so stay tuned for updates on that front! In another recent note, drummer/producer Mike Haggith indicated on the Facebook event page for the Soo Zombie Walk's pre-party on October 20th that the band are looking into securing a busking permit so they can play their planned third album "Apocalypse" from front to back outdoors during the zombie walk itself, which would be interesting to see & hear, so hopefully that works out for them! Finally for Haggith news today, they shared this photo on Facebook last month hinting towards a future concert at Algoma University, presumably referring to The Speak Easy. Nothing's been hinted at since, but stay tuned in case we hear more on that and other Haggith developments!

Next up, here's the latest updates from young local hard rock quartet Ashes To Dust! We haven't heard much from them since they made their non-Superior Heights debut at the second Sewer Swampstravaganza in July, but they do have some recent news to cover, starting with some lineup changes. At some point recently (I'm guessing last month), the band parted ways with bassist Kyle Breckenridge for unannounced reasons. Disappointing, but I remember that he did need some work on his bass skills, so hopefully he'll come back stronger in a new band down the road! As a result of his departure, singer Noah Morden has taken on bass duties as well in the band, and Ashes To Dust have since enlisted Liam Yeomans as a second guitarist. I'm not familiar with Liam musically, but it'll be interesting to hear how two guitarists impact Ashes To Dust's sound, and hopefully Noah's bass skills work well for them going forward as well!

That said, footage of their new lineup isn't online yet, but some newer videos of their original lineup are, courtesy of their YouTube channel. Uploaded in late August, these include a short blooper video with some cute moments, and as featured below, a new jam session video of Ashes to Dust covering Judas Priest's version of Joan Baez's "Diamonds & Rust"! Featuring multiple camera angles & some visual effects, it's a solid cover that's familiar from their live concerts, and though it's not quite the best song for Noah's vocal style, the guys had a good handle on it! Check out Ashes To Dust covering "Diamonds & Rust" below, and stay tuned for more updates from them as they come in!



Also in the news, here's the latest updates from local metal project AlterWhite! Last week, singer/drummer Mike Matthews uploaded no less than 12 new original songs onto the band's YouTube channel, though curiously, they're credited under his name and not the AlterWhite banner. I don't know if he's phasing out the name for his original music, but it does look like he might have split with guitarist Kevin McCarthy, judging by the lack of mentions on the new videos and a recent posting on the Musicians Wanted Facebook group, where Mike referred to looking for a drummer for a rock band. I'm to assume (if this is for AlterWhite) that Mike's moving to other instruments in Kevin's absence, but best of luck to Kevin in the future if he is indeed gone, and if you're interested in trying out as Mike's new drummer, message him at this location! That said, Mike/AlterWhite's new songs are entitled "Broken Window", "When You Left Me", "Too Late", "Connected By Light", "What Is Sane?", "Pray", "Consider", "World of You", "Play Still", "That's Rude", "Wasted", and "Don't Cry For Me", so click each link above to check these songs out!

Seemingly grouped in album format (judging by the "Connected By Light" title on each video's image), these songs are showing gradual improvement from past AlterWhite material, and there's some welcome diversity and energy on these songs! Mike's singing is slowly becoming less of a James Hetfield copy, and the songs tend to be fairly heavy with some catchy beats! I'd like to hear these songs (and the older AlterWhite songs) done with a fuller band, but Mike's improving each time we hear his original material, and his stuff is worth a listen, so here's the first song "Broken Window", stream the rest at the above links, and stay tuned for more news from AlterWhite as I hear it!



And finally for today, here's some assorted shorter stories from the last little while! As always, these are in alphabetical order by band name:

• Sault Michigan hard rockers The Hubbard-Menard Band have announced the addition of Jack Slater to their lineup as their new bassist, as per their Facebook page on Saturday. An alum of bands like 7/47, Unleashed and The Highest of Fives, Jack does have bass talent, and I'm curious to see what kind of chemistry he has with Chris & Dave, especially with what appear to be live concert plans in the future! Stay tuned for more band updates as I hear them!
• Eckerman metal quartet Life's Eclipse have quietly re-emerged with a snippet of a new untitled song on mainman Jason Mills' SoundCloud page, and it has a lot of melodic heavy metal promise packed in it's 57 second length, so it's worth checking out! SoundCloud also alludes to it being in the section "The Dark Kingdom", but is that a possible album name? Time will tell!
• I've moved Sault Ontario industrial metal project Riverin to our inactive band links due to a year's inactivity. The band featuring Dirty Virgin alumni Matt Hicks & Matt Clement have not updated their online pages since May 2011, with the last direct mention on members' personal Facebook pages (that I can find) coming on September 29th of last year. Riverin had a unique sound compared to other local bands, so hopefully the Matts bring Riverin back down the road, and check them out at the above links!

That's all for today, but stay tuned for this month's "Where Are The New Albums?" post tomorrow! Thanks everyone!

Haggith Concert Preview & Album Updates, Plus Some Sault Michigan News!!

In the news today at the SMS, we have a concert preview for a punk concert featuring hard rock representation tomorrow night in Sault Ontario, along with that band's latest updates relating to their recent studio work! All of that is supplanted by news from a local radio station and a couple of notes on recent unknown bands at Sault Michigan concert events, so read on below for all you need to know!

The dry spell for metal & hard rock concerts in Sault Ontario will be interrupted TOMORROW NIGHT thanks to Frightlight/T-Rex Manning frontman J.D. Pearce's third Thursday night punk concert at The Roosevelt Hotel of 2012! Though not an official Rosie metal night, harder edged music will be represented by the Sault Ontario debut of local grunge trio Haggith as the opening band! With their debut album fully recorded (more on that in a second) and sets in Wawa & Goulais River under their belts, this first ever proper local concert for Curtis, Daniel, and Mike should be very interesting to check out, along with their wide array of new original material, so if you miss grunge bands in the Soo, don't miss their concert-opening set tomorrow! The concert itself will be headlined by Vancouver pop punk band Halfway to Hollywood, who will bring an energetic and melodic sound to their first ever Sault Ste. Marie stop tomorrow, while the middle band will be popular local punk trio Redundant, who are always an entertaining presence with their fun originals and covers, including some heavier selections, so don't miss them either! Admission will be FREE for this 19+ concert, and bands start at 10:00 PM or later. For more details, visit the official Facebook event page!

This should be an entertaining concert for punk and grunge fans, and with the recent slow pace for new concerts, I'd try and hit this one if I were you! That said, I'm not high on Halfway to Hollywood myself, but pop punk fans should enjoy them, and they are talented from what I've heard, so check them out at this location for media of them! As for the local bands, Redundant should do awesome, and Haggith are aiming high for their first Sault Ste. Marie concert, so be there early to see both, and for a preview, here's their song "Rage Train" from their upcoming debut album "Dragon Joy Ride"!



In other Haggith news, that song (itself an old solo track by frontman Curtis McKenzie) and a reprise of their song "Wanko" were posted onto their HaggithTunes YouTube channel this past weekend, completing the uploads of material from their "Dragon Joy Ride" album! Assuming that this gets a formal release (postings on their Facebook page allude to hopefully by the end of the month), I won't give detailed thoughts on these tracks or the 7 previous ones yet, but I do recommend streaming them at the above links! In terms of other news relating to "Dragon Joy Ride", the band were looking for album cover artists & writers to do their biography for the liner notes (contact them if you're interested!), and the track listing for the album was posted online at this location a few days back, confirming the song order for it & that drummer Mike Haggith was the album's primary producer, likely under similar methods as his solo albums. One more note on the album is that the YouTube uploads for the album list the album as being recorded at and/or released by PaperClip Productions, likely an extension of the "paperclipprojectX" tag used on the URL of bassist Daniel Horton's YouTube channel. Whether this is a new name for Mike's independent label Galactic Records or something different isn't confirmed yet, but stay tuned for more Haggith band updates as they come in, and go check them out TOMORROW NIGHT!

Before we get to today's last story, here's some clarification on two band mysteries from recent all ages events across the river that featured Banned & Tantrym Tyme. First, I believe I've finally figured out who the third band was at the Rock Till You Drop battle of the bands last month at the Chippewa County Fair, that being local acoustic pop duo Missy & Chelsea, as per postings on their Facebook page. Talented girls, though far from metal, but I'd say give them a listen! I'd still like to know who won though. The other note is that the band labeled as "Omega Rock" on advertising for the Sault Riverview Music Festival last weekend was actually OmegaRock (all one word), a new local Christian rock quartet featuring former Abstract guitarist Kyle Burton. Nice to see him staying in music & following his faith in the process, so if you like Christian rock, give OmegaRock a look above!

And finally, do you attend Lake Superior State University in Sault Michigan? Do you love music? Do you want to host a radio show? Then WLSO 90.1 FM is looking for you! Our local college radio station is looking once again for current L.S.S.U. students who are interested in hosting radio shows or working as a DJ in the fall 2012 semester (and perhaps beyond), and I actually missed promoting a meeting that WLSO staffers were having with prospective DJs last night at the Cisler Center that you guys could have attended (my sincere apologies for missing it), but they're still looking for on-air personalities! Of course, 90.1 FM plays a wide variety of music and talk programs year round, and when shows are running during the school year, metal shows can be seen & heard here and there, even if an updated/detailed schedule isn't available. It's the closest we have to a second rock station in the Sault Ste. Marie markets, and I love the diversity of it and connection to local students, so they'd welcome a metal or hard rock program host if anyone new came along! If you're currently a Laker and have any interest as a radio host at WLSO, message Teddy Scott at escott2@lssu.edu or stop by the WLSO studios across from The Galley downstairs at The Cisler Center A.S.A.P.!

That's all for today, but stay tuned for more weekend concert previews (Banned and anything else I hear about) and more news in the next few days! Thanks everyone!

Haggith & Pillory Videos, David Gold Tribute Album Updates, And A Band Looking To Play Here!!

Keeping up with our recent news, we've got more today despite the generally slow recent news and updates from bands and shows in the area, so here's what we've got for this Wednesday morning! Today, we have a band looking to play here later this month, a new video from a new local band, and some updates on a locally relevant tribute album, but first, here's lots of new material from another newer recent hard rock act!

Continuing with our Haggith news from yesterday's post, the new local grunge band have posted a bunch of original song recordings onto their newest YouTube channel! Uploaded over the last couple of days, these include the apparently final recordings of their original songs "Wanko", "The Married Massacre", "No Cure For Insanity", "Sandman", "Yesterday's Frustration", "Livin' It On The Run" (and a radio edit of that track), and "I Am", so click each of the above links to hear them! These will apparently be among the tracks on their debut album "Dragon Joy Ride", and most of these have been alluded to in past band postings & uploads, though a few songs like "Rage Train", "Fin", "Public Enemy", and "Leon The Janitor" (a Mike Haggith solo track previously) are either unposted or will be on later releases. As I'm operating under the premise that they are formally releasing albums in the near future, I'll hold on full critiques yet, but these are pretty well recorded given the nature and independent status of it all, and grunge and alternative hard rock fans might wanna sit up and take notice! As it's the newest revealed track of the ones mentioned above, here's Haggith's new original "Sandman", but check the above links for more, and go see Haggith's Sault Ontario debut at The Rosie next Thursday!



Next up, here's the latest news on the upcoming tribute album "A Heart of Gold: A Tribute to Woods of Ypres"! Sessions for the two CD set in memory of late Woods of Ypres frontman David Gold are ongoing or completed depending on the band, and in one case, a band has been replaced, as Hamilton metal quartet Deathmarch have dropped off of the album for unannounced reasons. Replacing them to cover the "Woods V" song "Lightning & Snow" are Illinois folk metal act Earthen, so watch out for them and the array of other artists that you can learn more about at the above links! From what I understand, songs are due to be sent for mixing by late next week, but deadlines have changed in the past, so keep up to date at the album's Facebook group for info on that front. Finally for recent updates on the tribute album, organizers are looking for fans to submit photos of Woods of Ypres and/or David Gold for inclusion in the album booklet/packaging, and yes, they can include merchandise or yourselves, as long as there's even a minor visible Woods of Ypres connection. I already suggested some of what I have available, but if you want to help contribute, message or contact organizers on the designated comments at the above links, and stay tuned for more on this album as it comes in!

Thirdly today, here's the latest video from new Sault Ontario thrash band Pillory! The band featuring ex-Bear Hunters and Roadkill alumni posted this instrumental cover of Megadeth's "Hangar 18" onto guitarist Robert Sartini's YouTube channel on Monday, which marks their first posted cover, and it sounds pretty good! Not for the camera quality, that's scratchy, but the guys seem to have the song down well after a rough start, and this gives me some hope to hear them tackle more covers! Check out Pillory's latest video below, and stay tuned for updates and news from them as I hear it!



And finally for today, here's a metal band looking for a local concert booking later this month! With the recent slowdown of metal and hard rock concerts in the Soo, this could be appealing for any active local bookers, so here's what you need to know! The other day, we were alerted on the SMS' Facebook page to the search for a show on September 26th here by Montreal punk/metal quintet Trigger Effect, as per their booking agency Galy Records. They're willing to do a door deal, and the hoped date is a Wednesday in between Thunder Bay & Toronto shows. Their sound has a different style, sort of reminding me of a band like Clutch, and they have some solid heavier tunes with a punk flair and some straight forward elements, and they'd be cool to have here! If any bookers or venue employees are interested in bringing Trigger Effect here for a concert in three weeks, give Galy Records or Trigger Effect a shout at the above links, and hopefully a show with them on the bill can inject some life into the season for local metal concerts!

That's all for today, but stay tuned for weekend concert previews and more news by Friday! Thanks everyone!