It's now time for this month's "Where Are The New Albums?" post, as we give our monthly update as to where upcoming local metal, hard rock, and punk albums, CDs, and EPs are from Sault Ontario acts! All must have had publically confirmed recording sessions commence, not just songwriting, live performance of new material, or optimistic talk. This month, we have one new entry, so it and the album with updated info have their titles in italics. So, where are the new albums? Read on below to hopefully find out!
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Bone Yard 225's debut album
Rumoured Songs: "F.A.F.O.", "Gypsy Spell", "Fuck!", "Welcome To The ShitShow", "I Took A Pill In Ibiza" (Mike Posner cover)
Background: After months of teasers, local southern hard rock cover trio Bone Yard 225
began releasing their own songs on major streaming services in July
2024, fifteen years after the pre-225 band debuted as a
country cover quartet. Their first three singles (all recorded at their
home studio) were posted online by January 2025, though it took until last May for the band to confirm on their Facebook page
that they were indeed working on a proper album. As of August 11th, it was reportedly "album tracking time", while this video
from three days later shows bandmates Alex D'Ettore & Warren
Reville recording backing vocals for their cover of Mike Posner's
"I Took A Pill In Ibiza". That will be one of "a couple of covers" for
the album, as confirmed by frontman Greg Simpson during recent concerts.
"Fuck!" was renamed "The F Word" on streaming services in December, but
it's not clear if the less explicit name will stick on the album. The
band was still "in the studio finishing shit" as of December 4th, source here, and a new single "Welcome To The ShitShow" was released on streaming services last month.
Current Release Status: In
that Facebook post from May 2025, your local 225 said that "the album
is coming along nicely", but announced release timeframes of "by the end of 2025" and "early 2026" have came and went. While
singer/drummer Greg Simpson did release an EP with his old band
Stiffler's Mom, it's hard to compare the release methods and schedule
given that "The Demo" came out in 2004. It is neat to see that Greg, Alex, and Warren are going all in on a studio album, and stay tuned for updates!
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Chase James Wigmore - The Chaotic Rite
Rumoured Songs: "The Cities Alive & It's Angry"
Background: Ever
the prolific artist & songwriter, local folk punk/extreme metal
musician Chase Wigmore has been working on an extensive rock opera for years (once claimed to be a 33 part work),
originally named
"A Story
About A Kid Named Todd". Worked on in between his other unrelated solo
albums, released for sale or otherwise, Chase posted a lengthy
elaboration of the rock opera in 2022, now titled "The Chaotic
Rite", outlining its concept, recording plans, and long-term release
timeline. Clips of songs have surfaced on his Facebook page,
as have full songs not explicitly tied to the album, as well as the final artwork. In more recent promotion, Chase has
hinted that "The Chaotic Rite" might be his final solo album as part of aims to focus on his personal life more
than his prolific original material.
Regardless, the final product has been pared down to 25-30 minutes.
Current Release Status:
Chase elaborated on Facebook in mid-2024 that the album was 95% done
earlier that year when the files "got trapped on my desktop's hard
drive", and he had been unable to procure a backup of the material or
recover the files as of that post. In any event, three of the full songs
uploaded to Facebook in 2023 were clarified as not being
planned for "The Chaotic Rite", but they could surface on a separate EP.
Fingers crossed that Chase is able to save this album and put it out
when able, especially given the years that he's put into the making of
it!
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Convergence's self titled album
Rumoured Songs: "Gemini",
"The Ebb", "In Bloom", "Breaking News", "It Ate The F&$%ing Moon",
"Kraken Mara", "You Are Not Flesh", "Dead & Dreaming", "Dig Up Your
Ghost", "Glass Statues", "Awake"
Background: After
previously teasing a third instrumental EP named "Gemini" for much of
2024, local progressive/djent metal group Convergence wiped most most
prior media as they retooled as a full
band, now including singer Stephen Gagnon-Ruscio and drummer David
Peredun. Convergence worked in studio last year with
producer Dustin Goodall at Unsalted Audio, documenting the sessions in
Facebook "Reels", eventually confirming in concert that the now-full
length album (then named "In Bloom") is still in progress, with Adam
Roxner mixing the songs in Sweden. A new version of "The Ebb" (from their delisted second EP "Dead And Dreaming") was released to streaming services on Christmas Day, while the song "Gemini"
followed in April. As "Dead And Dreaming" was pulled from streaming,
the possibility of Convergence doing full versions of its
other four songs for this album has been hinted at, and other songs from
that EP have been played live with the full band. Now self-titled, you
can sample the studio sessions for the album in this video.
Current Release Status:
No clue, and given the complexity of their music yet their independent
studio trappings so far, that could bode a quick or lengthy timeline for
this album to come out, depending on what angle you take. David also
moved out of town late last year to further his own music career, and
while he hasn't left Convergence, that could help explain their slowdown
in activity in 2026. Since their
modern studio cycle commenced in 2023, things have been relatively
steady for Brendan and Jake as a recording act, and here's hoping that
Convergence keep that up for their third offering!
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Eden Plague's third album (and first under that name)
Rumoured Songs: "Primogenesis", "Colony Of Parasites"
Background: Local death metal quartet The Bear Hunters had teased plans to record a "final album" on their Facebook page in July 2024, during the band's long slowdown in activity dating back to late 2017 (which included the unceremonious release of their second album "The Dead Testament" during the pandemic), but they surprised many by relaunching under the new name Eden Plague in May of this year. Nik, Mitch, Justin, and Johnny immediately signalled that they were working on new original music, debuting at least two songs during their mid-2026 concerts. They were recording two singles in studio in July (with Nik seen tracking vocals at Mission Control Studios in a Facebook "Story"), and the guys are currently on break from the stage, as they're "shifting all gears to our debut LP" (as Eden Plague).
Current Release Status: Time will tell, but the former Bear Hunters are no strangers to album recording sessions, and with no pandemic and band activity uncertainty clouding things in 2026, here's hoping that this gets a deservingly widescale release when things are done!
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Fort Creek's debut album
Rumoured Songs: "One For The Road", "Sweet Rosie"
Background: Local
southern/hard rock band Fort Creek have sporadically teased plans to
record an EP since February 2020, but they wouldn't release any samples
until almost two years later when they shared (now-deleted) clips of
their original song "Hammer Down" on their Facebook page.
The guys would play it regularly at concerts from 2022-2023, with
studio sessions taking place in early-mid 2023 as well. After the
departure of bassist Robin "Bones" Lee and drummer
Anthony Fabiano in the fall of 2023, Fort
Creek opted
to start the album over, and
have been working on new material and rebuilding their studio over the
past three years. Their first single
(the acoustic "One For The Road")
was posted online in January 2025, with the band confirming plans to now
record a 10 song album at then-drummer Phil Greco's own Jettison Studios prior to returning to live
concerts. Their new single "Sweet Rosie" was being recorded as of August 31st, and a teaser of the song was posted to their Facebook page
on New Year's Eve. Whether for that song or not, a music video shoot took place last month with new bassist Arthur Lacasse and drummer Sam DeDominicis, but it's not yet clear how involved they (let alone Phil) will be on the album.
Current Release Status:
Prior release timelines for their debut EP reflected their early 2020s
lineup's material, and Justin, Shane, Bill, and crew have largely kept things
somewhat close to the vest prior to putting out "One For The Road".
There are a lot of
unknowns,
especially given the 6+ years of production time and their decision to
basically start over in 2023, and that this is a band
that was primarily known for their work on the weekend cover circuit
before their rhythm section left. It
will be interesting to see how things develop, so stay tuned for
updates!
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Mike McCleary's new album
Rumoured Songs: "Carousel"
Background: Background: A
talented studio hard rock musician who has released multiple solo
albums in the past (albeit almost entirely delisted from streaming
services as his musical approach and personal life changed), Mike announced plans to record an instrumental album in 2023, but
after a year+ public hiatus, he opted to shelve that unfinished album in
2025 in favour of a new album with vocals. He signed with Swedish indie
label Rexius Records,
with plans to put out an 8 song album covering "a variety of topics"
and featuring "some fun, catchy, and energetic rock music for everyone
to enjoy". A teaser video from the sessions was posted onto his Facebook page
on December 6th, and the
planned first single ("Carousel") was released online in June.
Current Release Status: Your
guess is as good as mine, but as this is is a one-man project likely
aimed at streaming services, this album could pop up at any time, and
may be close given that an advance single is was unveiled this summer.
The
Rexius Records connection is a variable, but Mike is a strong
musician with morals and a lot to say about himself, and hopefully this
album comes out successfully in the near future!
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I hope you guys liked this month's "Where Are The New Albums?" post! This series will return on or around October 2nd, while our next monthly feature post will likely be this month's Defunct Local Band Profile, likely hitting the site around next Thursday. That's all for now, but stay tuned for Labour Day weekend concert previews next! Thanks everyone!
The next multi-band concert at the Pizza Hut in Sault Michigan will go down on Friday, October 23rd! Just one day removed from this year's LSSU Battle of the Bands (auditions close on Sunday), this Serious Business-promoted concert will actually feature three touring bands, two of which have been in the EUP in the past. Your headliners here are Detroit experimental/prog rock duo MRKT, while also making the trip to the Soo in two & a half weeks are Marquette art punk duo Bimbo (who headlined at Pizza Hut in May), and Muskegon "weirdo punk" trio Violet Scum, who you may remember headlining at Pickles Bar & Grill in Brimley in May of last year. There's a lot of eclectic sounds from these three bands, so do check them all out for a sampler of what to expect! Local punk duo About:Blank (who opened for both Bimbo and Violet Scum's prior shows in the EUP) will kick off the evening.
Next up, a huge fundraiser concert will take place at Blaster Powerhouse in Sault Ontario on Saturday, November 21st named PetFest! As the name may suggest, this event will be in support of The Sault Ste. Marie Humane Society, with 100% of proceeds going there, so if you wanna help animals in need and the work that goes into their care and adoption, consider coming out! Based on band stature, I'm assuming that the lineup listed on the poster and Facebook event page is the planned running order top-to-bottom and left-to-right, so if that is true, death metal veterans Eden Plague (the former Bear Hunters) are headlining in a rare appearance at the former Soo Blaster. Expect some "life metal" from these brutal local mainstays next month! Sporadically seen alt-punk trio A Dire Setback will co-headline in their second show of the year, and if you know anything about frontman Chris Nielsen's day job, you'll know that they'll be on board with a pet charity concert like this!
Also scheduled next month are hard/blues rock trio Stones & Crows, alt-hard rock quartet The Reeves, blues rock musician (and mayoral candidate!) Josh "The Preacher" McNally & his Jackleg Band, new local pop punk/emo band Homeroom Hero in just their second concert (interesting seeing Larry sharing a bill with A Dire Setback for the first time since he left that band), and talented young hard rock quartet 5 Dollar Bribe. The show will be opened by former Stereo North frontman Andrew Pucci, who is actually promoting this concert, so kudos to him for supporting a great organization and cause like this! Andrew has been slowly re-acclimating into the live scene in mid-late 2026, as fans who recall his wildfire smoke-cancelled open mic appearance at Rotaryfest will be aware, but how does his modern acoustic solo set sound? Find out next month! PetFest takes place eight days before this year's Toystock, in case you were wondering.
Finally, here's some big news for fans of a local venue or two, as Beck's Bar owner Becky Sawyer has bought a second local nightclub, namely Misty's Fifties! The news was announced in this SooToday article by Brandon Walker last week. A reason for Lori selling the 658 Second Line West nightclub after 33 years was not announced, but Becky used to work there, and spoke positively of the memories behind the bar there. Of course, she has done a very strong job with the former Vibe Lounge in the past year+, and Beck's is just a 3 minute drive from Misty's straight down Goulais Avenue, so oversight of the two bars should be simple enough. Misty's Facebook page was last updated on September 1st, and Becky has signalled "that there are some amazing changes coming". One appears to be new signage at the building proper, as that was recently taken down (not the proper street sign yet.)
