AlgomA/Chronobot Split Pre-Release Promotion, A New Song, And Much More!!

In possibly our last news post before we post this month's CD review, today's post will lead off with details on what will likely be next month's CD review topic, as it's getting a lot of online press coverage and promotion this month! Alongside, we have a new-to-us song from a recent addition to our band links, and some assorted recent notes, so here's what you should know!

The forthcoming split EP from local doom metal trio AlgomA and Saskatchewan doom metal band Chronobot (which comes out THIS FRIDAY) is the subject of some advance media coverage, so what should you know on it? Parker Folse from the metal website No Clean Singing previewed the split for this article from March 20th where they officially unveiled one track from each band's half of the release, so if you want to hear the studio version of AlgomA's "Phthtisis" or Chronobot's "Red Nails", see the above links, or visit the featured Soundcloud page! Without giving too much away (as this split is very likely for next month's CD review), Parker reviewed "Phthisis" as a "raw, vicious onslaught" for those "in the mood to be trampled", among other graphic depictions. Given the genre, this should be taken as a compliment! Then on Thursday, the metal blog Doomed To Darkness Zine gave the split an 8/10 score in this review, positively reflecting on AlgomA as "a very great sounding mixture" of their subgenres.

Also featuring in-depth thoughts on both bands' talents and sounds, it's a solid review for the lead-up to the formal release on Friday, so give it a look at this link and more above! Most recently, AlgomA bassist Kevin Campbell and Chronobot keyboardist Darius Simonot were separately interviewed by Jill Girardi for this article from their label Dead Beat Media (who are releasing this split), so what should you know from that? In the interview, Kevin is asked about how the two bands hooked up for the release, the recording process for AlgomA's half of the split, the meanings of their contributed songs, the concept of the album art, why they opted for a vinyl release, future plans for their next split with Hooded Menace, touring plans, how the band formed, and much more, while Darius got basically the exact same questions concerning Chronobot. These interviews are solid reads for fans of both bands, so be sure to check out the full interviews above or at this location!

In terms of scoops, Kevin did note that Pixo Control/Id Iota bassist Dustin Goodall helped mix and master AlgomA's songs, "exciting news" regarding their second full length CD will apparently come later this year, and he revealed that "The Electric Fence" is apparently their first original where a character in the lyrics survives the story within. This is a big week for fans of AlgomA and Chronobot, so see above for more promotion of this split disc, stay tuned for details on it's release on Friday! Lastly, AlgomA posted their debut CD "Reclaimed By The Forest" in full on their YouTube channel yesterday, so stream it free above & below as we await the split's release!



Next up, here's a new/old original song from new local experimental hard rock solo project The Coyote Speedfreaks! It's new to us via a share on their Facebook page last week, but Chase actually uploaded this to his personal YouTube channel in July 2014, so that's at least how long this project has been in the works before their public reveal a few months back. Entitled "One of Many", this techno-influenced number isn't as heavy as the Speedfreaks' later material, but it's well composed and creative, so give it a listen below!



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

• Local classic/hard rock veterans Havadder have quietly parted ways with guitarist Jamie July, as per his recent removal from their Facebook page's lineup. A reason for his departure hasn't been announced, but Jamie (who joined Havadder upon their late 2013 reunion) increasingly only played with them during summer gigs, so it hasn't been uncommon to see them play as a trio. Hopefully the split was amicable in any case, so best of luck to Jamie in the future, and stay tuned for more on Havadder's show this weekend when our next concert preview post goes up!
• In another musician search from ex-Bear Hunters guitarist Mike Vincent, he's now looking for a bassist for what appears to be his band Troubled Mind (alongside fellow Skull After Betrayl alum Adam Brett), which he describes as "weird metal and fucked up rock". Mike has jam space, the band only plays originals, and both guys provide vocals, but they aren't opposed to having a new bassist sing as well. If you're interested in trying out, message Mike at this link or via his Musicians Wanted Facebook group post from Thursday!
• SooToday's coverage of last week's VM Radio Battle of the Bands final round was posted online on Friday, where Donna Hopper mostly covers indie rockers K.I.C.K.'s victory, and includes remarks from K.I.C.K.'s Simon Shearsby & Kevin D'Orazio, where they talk about the experience, Kevin's addition to the band, and their plans to use their winnings to record a debut EP. Sadly, only one photo is included with the article, and Donna was unable to cover the semifinal rounds live, but it's a good write-up of the event, so give it a look at this link, and stay tuned for her Tuned episode on the battle!

That's likely all for today, but stay tuned for this month's CD review and weekend concert previews in our next two posts, if all goes according to plan! Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERT (The Pixo Control), More Toystock Videos, And More!!

Before we tackle a busy weekend for hard rock concerts, here's one more news post for this Wednesday night, but be sure to check out this morning's Defunct Local Band Profile on Half Past below this post! Tonight, we have some more recent CD reviews, more videos from a recent benefit concert, and first, a LOCAL CONCERT ALERT for the end of the year, so here's what you need to know!

Local alternative/grunge trio The Pixo Control and post punk/garage quartet Gnaeus will return to the stage for a end-of-year show at Cafe Natura on Tuesday, December 30th! Specifically taking place in the Elgin Street whole foods restaurant & venue's basement for unannounced reasons, this will be The Pixo Control's first Cafe Natura set in over 6 months, while it will be Gnaeus' first show anywhere since August's Emergency Festival. Look for both to have some exciting newer originals as they end 2014 with a bang! This show's advertised headline act is local folk musician Chris West's Great Chamberlain solo project, while local blues rock quartet The Frasiers will reunite over four months after their announced breakup on December 30th as well, so if you've missed them, you're in luck! Promoted by Frasiers bassist Brenden Fitzgerald, this show has NO COVER CHARGE, no announced age limit, and time slots to be announced. For more details, visit the Facebook event page!

This should be an entertaining concert, especially as all but The Pixo Control haven't played a publically announced show since the summer! Keep tabs on it over the holidays for a varied mix of sounds from Lopstock and Emergency Festival acts, and as they've now hosted two distinct shows with hard rock or punk acts, we're now listing Cafe Natura in our active Sault Ontario concert venue links!

Next up, here's some more videos from last month's third annual Toystock charity concert at The Canadian Nightclub! First, Bone Yard/That's Chester drummer Ric Datson uploaded this compilation of clips from the day's acts onto his YouTube channel last week, so what can you catch in the 9 minute+ video? In order, we have The Stumpy Coldwater Trio covering The Steeldrivers' "Guitars, Whiskey, Guns, and Knives" & a song that I can't place, followed by Robert "Killabeatz" Drolet beatboxing, the arrival of Santa & Mrs. Claus, Lorrie Lynn & The Sinners playing "Swear When I Pray", The Pixo Control playing "Land of the Moles" & clips of two later originals, Thin Ice covering Jason Aldean's "The Only Way I Know", Domina covering Pat Benatar's "All Fired Up" and clips of four later covers, Mourning Wood covering Bon Jovi's "It's My Life", Mannapool playing their song "Mayday", and closing with five assorted clips of Bone Yard playing various covers, so click each band's name to see them!

Note however that Ric did not film Mike Case's Junior All Stars or Lucky 13 (at least, not in clips included below) for unannounced reasons, though we'll have more from the former in an upcoming post. Solid footage overall at varied angles, despite Ric's lack of zoom on the clips, though the filmer for his band Bone Yard's footage did go closer to the stage. I wonder if the longer footage of The Pixo Control & Domina's sets is a sign of confidence for both bands' success and talent? Though most of the footage is from each band's first song (a'la Mike Caruso's videos), Ric did a solid job getting these clips, so see them below, and stay tuned for more!



Also from Toystock, here's the last of the aforementioned Mike Caruso's videos from the event! Uploaded to the Sault Online correspondent's own YouTube channel last week along with the videos we shared on Saturday, the last three videos that Mike shot are of prog-rockers Mannapool playing their first original song (credited on their setlist as "Chaos", but that's likely not it's full name), country headliners Bone Yard covering Brantley Gilbert's "Country Must Be Country Wide", and embedded below, classic/hard rock trio Mourning Wood covering Joe Walsh's "Rocky Mountain Way". Like with Mike's other videos, these have washed out colours due to the auto-brightening filter, and sometimes have quality jumps due to camera switches, but they're solid all around, and fans should enjoy these videos if you're a fan of the respective genres! Give Mourning Wood's video a look below, and see more via the above links!

Finally for today, here's some more reviews of local sludge/doom metal trio AlgomA's debut CD "Reclaimed By The Forest"! Last week, Marcos Garcia from the website Metal Temple reviewed the album, giving it an 8/10 rating ("Excellent" on their scale), calling it "a savage Sasquatch on a furious attack", even praising Mark Rand's mix of the tracks, and praised them as having "a very good future". Nice review, so give it a look at this link! The Tumblr page Doomed & Stoned also reviewed "Reclaimed By The Forest" yesterday, where they called it "well-crafted doom" and "a crushing listen" in a brief review, though they did tag it as one of their best metal albums of the year. Short but well stated, so give it a look at this location! Lastly for now, AlgomA made a cameo in MetalSucks' article on the best metal albums of the year (as chosen by various metal musicians), where Hooded Menace frontman Lasse Pyykko ranked AlgomA's CD as his 9th favourite album of 2014, joining such bands as Pallbearer and Godflesh, among others.

Solid all around, so see more of the rankings here, and stay tuned for more from AlgomA! That's all for now, but stay tuned for weekend concert previews TOMORROW! Thanks everyone!

A Newer Local Hard Rock Band, Plus New Videos & CD Reviews!!

Our steady news stream continues today with new videos from a local band, reviews of the new CD of another, and leading off, a new-ish band to add to our links on the site, so here's what you should know!

We have a new band to add to our Sault Michigan band links, and they are Highway 63! Essentially the successors to Jager/Monkey's Uncle, Sir Charge, and RamWagon, the band originally formed and made their live debut in March, but the wait to add them to our listings came because they originally identified as a country rock band, though they've since shifted their focus back to a Monkey's Uncle-esque set. Currently, their lineup features Henry Switzer on lead vocals and guitar, alongside his son/frequent bandmate Nathan on guitar, Power Slug's Chris Leask (the only non-Monkey's Uncle alum) on bass, and Ron Suchey on drums, while their original lineup featured Nathan on bass with his & Ron's RamWagon bandmate Ryan Kitzmiller on guitar. Named after the H-63 highway in the Easter Upper Peninsula, Highway 63 played some test sets at The Rapids Lounge in the spring before taking the summer off to round out a full cover set.

The band returned with shows at the Dondee Lanes in October, and have since played a Halloween show at The American Legion as well as new gigs at both the Soo and St. Ignace Kewadin Casino branches, most recently at The Rapids Lounge this past weekend, though upcoming gigs have yet to be announced. It should be noted though that Highway 63 are much more active on Facebook than Sir Charge ever were, so that's great news for fans! In terms of their sound, we do have samples of it via some Facebook video posts and shares, which include videos of them covering The Outfield's "Your Love" in St. Ignace, and from this past weekend, covers of Shinedown's "Save Me" and (as embedded below) Bad Company's "Rock 'N Roll Fantasy", while Black Sabbath and Foreigner covers have been teased in status updates. If you were a fan of Henry's past local cover bands, you should have a similar enjoyment for Highway 63, who at this point are showing a unique cover selection of their own!

The new band sounds good and tight so far, with the guys' old Monkey's Uncle-era chemistry carrying over to Highway 63, and Henry has highly praised the new band in recent days as well, so be sure to keep an eye out for them in the area! No word on what Chris' involvement means for Power Slug's status, as they haven't posted on their Facebook page in almost a month, and haven't played very much over the fall, but hopefully we hear more soon. Check out Highway 63 above, and here they are this past weekend in the Soo!



Next up, here's some more new videos from Sault Ontario grunge/alternative trio The Pixo Control! Courtesy of Gnaeus drummer Brendan Garlick's new YouTube channel, these come from their set at Lopstock at LopLops Lounge on June 28th, and feature The Pixo Control playing their songs "The Great Salute To Radio Edits", "Reasons", and as embedded below, "Sixty Extra Chances Called Minutes". All filmed by attendee Jason Lloyd (who also filmed this Gnaeus video at Lopstock), these are great quality live videos, and capture some songs that haven't gotten the same amount of filmed attention from their sets, so give them a look above and below for some nice and grungy original action from The Pixo Control!



Finally for today, here's some long overdue new reviews of local sludge/doom metal trio AlgomA's debut CD "Reclaimed By The Forest"! On November 5th, Chris Wheeler from the Quebec metal site Ondes Chocs reviewed the album, giving it a 7/10 while saying that the guys made "a noticeable impression" with unconventional riff ideas. Solid if brief review, so check it out here! Diego Benedetto from the Spanish metal blog Puro Roido ("Pure Noise") reviewed the CD on November 11th, and while you'll need Spanish knowledge or a translator to read it, Diego called the album a "pleasant surprise", and also praised their guitar riff variances. Hard to read through an auto-translator, but you can tackle it at this link! Lastly for now, the metal blog Wonderbox Metal checked out "Reclaimed By The Forest" on November 12th, where the reviewer called it "a smorgasbord of heaviness, crunchy guitars and bile", praising the album's sludge content and heaviness. Solid review also, so check it out here, and stay tuned for more!

That's all for today, but stay tuned for this month's Defunct Local Band Profile TOMORROW! Thanks everyone!

AlgomA - "Reclaimed By The Forest" Review!!

Now's as good a time as any for this month's CD review at The Sault Metal Scene, our 64th total, as we're looking at local doom/sludge metal trio AlgomA's debut album "Reclaimed By The Forest"! Released last week (October 8th) through the Malaysian independent label Deadbeat Media, this CD was self-recorded & produced at "Das Bunker" in nearby Garden River in April & May of this year, and was mixed and mastered by veteran local musician Mark Rand in Peterborough this summer. "Reclaimed By The Forest" features AlgomA's founding & current lineup, with Kevin Campbell on lead vocals & bass, Boyd Rendell (under his Darby Wigwaas stage name) on guitar & co-lead vocals on two songs, and Jamie "JV" Vincent on drums. Physical copies are available for purchase locally at The Rad Zone and through direct contact with band members for $10, while you can order CDs for a dollar extra via their BigCartel page. You can also get mp3 copies at their Bandcamp page for $8, and a wider North American distribution is planned for the future also.

Featuring 6 songs (which together run almost 42 minutes), each song below is linked to it's individual Bandcamp link, starting with the first track, "Bedsores"! Almost 10 minutes in length in it's own right, the song begins with a sample from the movie "Requiem For A Dream" before kicking into sludgy gear with crushing instrumentation that builds into a full heaviness that's intentionally slow paced, almost running 4 minutes before we hear the first vocals from the band itself after a brief softer bridge. Lyrically, the song is about an elderly woman in a nursing home with no living family or reason to live, points that Kevin emphasizes with clear hate and aggression vocally, with his singing reminding me of Nate Olp from Demiricous, albeit much slower. After the first verse, we also get some Black Sabbath-ish riffing and a slightly faster progression, which roughly maintains until the end.

I'm accustomed to and enjoy the deliberate brutality on display here, and the mid-late stretch is great, but non-fans of the genre may find this song to be too repetitive and drawn out for their liking. The next song is "Fell Down A Well", again beginning with a sample, this time from an interview with Charles Manson. A much shorter song, this still has the sludgy goodness of "Bedsores", but seems to have more of an early impact with it's stop/start riffing, impactful drums, and intense yelling from Kevin in the first person about falling down a well (naturally) and his mental process after said fall. It's not as lyrically strong as it's preceding track, but the music is more varied and faster paced, with Darby's guitar riffs crushing in all forms, and he even joins in for some backing vocals late! Another very solid song that will please existing fans of AlgomA's doomy noise rock!

Third on this CD is the title track "Reclaimed By The Forest", another song from the first person, this time about an injured man facing mortality lying alone in the forest. Some could see this as a more vidid depiction of another local doom metal song about similar themes, Woods of Ypres' "Keeper of the Ledger", but this is it's own animal entirely. Again opening with a sample (from the movie "Gummo"), this song continues with the slow doom intensity of it's preceding tracks, almost taking on a very slow swing in the riffing, while Kevin's vocals actually sound slightly less coherent than on the preceding tracks, though given the situation that the song is presenting, the victim might be delirious and desperate for help. Even being one of the shorter songs on this album, this is actually more repetitive than one might expect, but the crushing slow metal is as constant and in-your-face as ever, and it'll definitely melt faces, if slowly!

Song #4 is "Tertiary Syphillis", which is the first on the album to lack a spoken word sample at it's beginning. Also from the first person, the lyrics concern a man's diagnosis and medical downfall after contracting the title disease. Slowly building with feedback for the first minute before Jamie's drumming helps bring in the full music, this is the first of two songs on the album to feature Darby on co-lead vocals, unleashing his high pitched screams that remind me of Alan Wells from Winkstinger at times (again, if much slower), and fans of BeeFMouTH will appreciate his singing here! This song features him and Kevin trading vocals (with the latter handling choruses, a rare occurence for this album), and while said choruses give this song a more conventional structure, this song has many differences from it's preceding tracks without sacrificing any of their integrity or established sound, and it's well worth checking out on it's own merits!

The penultimate and shortest song on "Reclaimed By The Forest" is next, entitled "Go On, Git!", which is also the first that lyrically isn't about a human waiting for or nearing death (instead, an unwanted dog who no one seems to care for.) Opening again with a sample (from the movie "The 'Burbs"), this is the fastest paced song on this album, and shares a lot in common with groove metal from it's guitar riffs, while still retaining the noise rock essence. Is it wrong to think of Down when hearing this at points? Kevin's lead vocals adapt well at a slightly faster speed, and it's a very solid track that will be likely most appealing to listeners who aren't major fans of sludge and doom metal, and may serve as an effective bridge into their more frequent songs!

This CD closes with "Extinct Volcanoes", which closes the album with it's longest song yet, running for over 11 minutes. The only song here that's not about first person anguish and despair, it's instead an indictment of lazy and inactive young people of today, who are compared to the extinct volcanoes of the title. Starting with a strange sample of layered people saying similar phrases that I honestly can't place, the song takes it's time setting the mood before launching into a slow and depressive cadence that has more of a minimalist quality than it's predecessors. The second & final song on the CD with Darby & Kevin sharing lead vocals, the sludgy call & response fits the song's subject matter more, with Jamie keeping up nicely on drums, but be warned, if you didn't like some of the drawn out stretches of "Bedsores", similar pacing recurs here. The song seems to end around 8:30 in, but the guys unleash into a faster paced and harder hitting section before closing the song & CD in their usual sludgy fashion, capping a solid debut!

So, what are my thoughts on AlgomA's debut album? Overall, it's a crushing first effort that captures their doom & sludge metal sound to great effect, and the guys are definitely in their element! Minimalistic, noisy, lyrically deperessive, and sometimes repetitious, but these are hallmarks of this style in many respects, and AlgomA deftly handle it all in a manner that lends itself quite nicely to live moshpits! Kevin Campbell's aggressive vocals (and, when heard, Darby Wigwaas' higher screams) suit the material nicely, and both deliver slow and well-paced guitar & bass riffs throughout, while Jamie Vincent's drumming was strong and without fail! While I am accustomed to and enjoy AlgomA's sound, I'll concede that it's not for everyone, and even I would have liked to have seen a guitar solo or some added experimentation, but once you've acquired this taste, you should love "Reclaimed By The Forest" and highlights like "Fell Down A Well", "Tertiary Syphillis", and the more casually accessible "Go On, Git!", so be sure to pick it up A.S.A.P. via the above links if you're up for some brutal sludge metal!

I hope you guys liked this month's CD review! So, what's coming next month? I'm not entirely sure yet, but it will definitely be a new album of some type. Many might be expecting The Bear Hunters' new album "Eternal Hibernation" to come next, as it will come out at their CD release concert at a venue to be confirmed on November 29th, but given that the month ends that same weekend, there might not be time to fit it in. If it doesn't make sense for next month (especially given the possibility of no new local metal or punk albums in December), things will likely fall to local indie/punk quintet Northwest's recent digital EP, which came out last month, and was admittedly held from our last two reviews on here partly because it isn't on CD yet (at least, not that I've heard.) As of right now, I'm leaning towards Northwest for next month and then The Bear Hunters to end 2014, but things can change, so stay tuned in any event for our next CD review next month!

That's all for today, but stay tuned for this weekend's concert previews and more later today! Thanks everyone!

Ripcordz Concert Preview & CD Release Updates From AlgomA & The Bear Hunters!!

In our last anticipated news post of the week, we're tackling big CD release news from two local metal bands (one immediate, one in a few weeks, but all positive), and leading off with a big concert preview in terms of a beloved local store's milestone and the return of touring punk favourites, so here's what you need to know!

A very anticipated hardcore punk concert goes down TOMORROW NIGHT at The Algonquin Pub that will double as the 30th anniversary bash for Wellington Square Mall's resident music/skate shop The Rad Zone! Hard to believe that Paul Muncaster and crew have been running shop since 1984 in the Radical Records days, and what better way to celebrate the occasion then by taking in the local return of The Ripcordz? The Montreal punk favourites will be making their first local stop since headlining promoter J.D. Pearce's Halloween party last year, and will mark their second gig at The Algonquin following their show in April 2013. It's great to have Paul Gott and company back for another face melting night of hardcore punk intensity, so don't miss their return! Local support will come via both of the bands that opened for The Ripcordz last October, those being local punk/metal quintet Jack Spades and local hardcore punk veterans Destroilet (both fresh off of Hardcore Homecoming), while DJ Seith was added as a late notice opener on Monday, so if you're up for some fresh turntable mixes, come early!

Admission will be $18 at the door, but if you buy early at The Algonquin (or know the password), you'll get in for $13, so keep that in mind! DJ Seith will kick off the night at 10:00 PM, and you must be 19 to attend. As well, given the Rad Zone birthday angle, this show is being sponsored by Vans, and there will be free giveaways planned, and possibly more, so diehard fans of The Rad Zone won't want to miss out! I had to miss The Rad Zone's 2012 birthday bash with Garden of Bedlam, but no such absence will occur tomorrow, so I'll see you guys there to mark the occasion! Visit the Facebook event page for more info, and here's The Ripcordz live in Toronto!



Next up, here's a slightly overdue new album announcement to touch on, as local doom/sludge metal trio AlgomA's debut CD "Reclaimed By The Forest" was released on Wednesday! Despite prior indications that Deadbeat Media would be first putting out physical copies overseas given their home base, AlgomA have since confirmed that copies are now at the aforementioned Rad Zone and are also available through physical contact with band members, and we can confirm that copies cost $10 if bought locally. Online, you can buy the album at AlgomA's Bandcamp page for $8 (or more), and CDs can be ordered via their new BigCartel page for $11, with other sites' availability not announced yet, at the very least. Through these postings, we can now confirm that the album has 6 songs, including (in order) "Bedsores", "Fell Down A Well", the title track, "Tertiary Syphillis", "Go On, Git!", and "Extinct Volcanoes", with newer songs like "The Electric Fence" not featured.

Most of the band appear to have dropped their stage names too, with Kevin Campbell and "JV" (Jamie Vincent) credited rather than Marty Chase and Geezer D'Artagnan, though Darby Wigwaus is still going strong. Going along with the actual CD release (coinciding with the hyped "blood moon" on Wednesday), there are some new reviews of the CD online, so what are other media outlets saying? One came via Matt Baggins from the blog Two Guys Metal Reviews, who called "Reclaimed By The Forest" "loud, vicious, and strangely perverse" and "entertaining & strangely beautiful" in a very positive (if brief) review that you can read at this link! Another review came from user "OccultBlackMetal" of the blog Extreme Underground Music Zine, who gave the album an 8/10, calling them "a very great sounding sludge/doom metal band",  but did admit that they can sound similar to other bands at times.

One more came from Stu Tovell at Stu's Music Reviews, who called AlgomA "devastating" & "crushingly heavy", but didn't really elaborate on why the CD only got 7 out of 10. As for our review, when is that coming? Given The Bear Hunters' delay for their new CD, we will tentatively confirm that "Reclaimed By The Forest" will be the subject of this month's review at the SMS, so look for it later this month, and go get your copies A.S.A.P.!

We'll close today with info on the aforementioned Bear Hunters' album "Eternal Hibernation", so when can we expect the release of that and it's attached CD release party? The new date for both will be Saturday, November 29th, a postponement of six weeks from the now-cancelled release that was to occur next weekend. The venue for the new date has yet to be confirmed, and while it was to have been The Algonquin Pub, it's not guaranteed to return there next month. Out of town openers Livid & The Bloodthirsty (and Bear Hunters rhythm guitarist Josh Stephney) will both still be able to make the trip from Brampton for the show next month, though like before, the local openers are still to be announced. Tickets remain $5 in advance or $7 at the door, purchases enter you for the door prize draws, and extra packs will be added for every 10 tickets sold, which will include CDs, new shirts, posters, and stickers (Mitch Sirie has even indicated that "Squirrel Buddy" shirts might be available to buy!)

As you can see above, The Bear Hunters have also revealed the final artwork for "Eternal Hibernation", which now features the band's logo and album title. I expected both, but I would have shrunk the logo a bit and put the title in the bottom right. The band's cover photo on Facebook also indicates that their teased single release will come on October 25th, and it will feature the studio version of "Collapse The Sun" in limited physical copies, but further details and a larger copy of the artwork aren't out yet. There's big news afoot, and hopefully everyone can come out at the end of November to take in some death metal brutality! Stay tuned for updates!

That's all for now, but stay tuned for this month's Defunct Local Band Profiles either tonight or early tomorrow! Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERT (Stiffler's Mom), AlgomA's CD Release, And More!!

Aside from this past weekend's concerts, news has been fairly slow over the last while, but let's cover most of our cache today! We have some new searches via the Musicians Wanted Facebook group, a new song, details on an upcoming album release, and first, a LOCAL CONCERT ALERT for later this month!

Veteran local classic/hard rock trio Stiffler's Mom will return to The Rockstar Bar on Saturday, September 27th where they'll take a rare opening slot for an out of town act, that being Britain/Vancouver pop rock artist Kieran Strange! Note that while Stiffler's Mom haven't confirmed this show yet on their pages, Kieran Strange has plugged it among her Canadian tour dates this month via her Facebook page, and the marquee board inside The Rockstar Bar advertises both acts for the 27th. Kieran Strange plays a self-described "nerd rock" style that references nerdy pop culture amongst her techno & pop-inspired rock originals, so while her music isn't "heavy", she has a fun and upbeat sound, so don't pass her by later this month! For Stiffler's Mom, this will be their first public gig in over a month, so look for their hard hitting party rock to set the tone in just under two weeks! A $5 cover is likely, you must be 19 to attend, and a 10:00 PM start time is to be expected. Check the above links for more details, and stay tuned for potential updates!

Next up, we finally have some release details for local doom/sludge metal trio AlgomA's debut CD "Reclaimed By The Forest", so what should you know? According to label Deadbeat Media, the album will officially be released on Wednesday, October 8th, though similarly to Woods of Ypres' later discs, the North American release will apparently come at a later date to be specified, given that Deadbeat Media are based in Malaysia. To hype the release, a teaser video was posted online by the label that features samples of the songs (including the previously revealed "Fell Down A Well") along with a new image from the packaging that we haven't seen before, and a brief clip of AlgomA's set at Dank Fest at The Oddfellows Hall, though the live audio isn't featured. It's also unclear what kind of a release "Reclaimed By The Forest" will have in terms of local in-store availability, or if there will be a proper CD release show, but we'll let you know if we hear anything! Exciting times are afoot for AlgomA, so check the above links for more, and here's the teaser video!



Also today, here's a new ultra-short original song from local goregrind duo Rotopsy! Uploaded to label Blood Shed Productions' YouTube channel on Friday, it's simply titled "No One Gives A Fuck" (they titled it, not me), and at just 7 seconds in length, it's barely needs describing. If you like Crucify The Whore's "Batch Cones", this will be similar! Also featuring four slideshow pictures, check out their new song if you want below, and stay tuned for more from the Rotopsy camp!



Finally for today, here's three assorted shorter news items from the last little while, all via the Musicians Wanted Facebook group! As usual, these are in alphabetical order by artist name:

• Bear Hunters guitarist Mitch Sirie is looking for a local metal band to open for them and Livid & The Bloodthirsty at The Algonquin Pub on October 18th for The Bear Hunters' CD release party, as per his Musicians Wanted Facebook group post yesterday. The selected band would start at 10:00 PM, and would be slotted for an hour at the show's beginning. Sounds like a big opportunity, so if your band wants in, message Mitch at this link!
• Danger Cats drummer "Calico" Katie Maskell is exploring the idea of forming a full ska punk band that would have a horn section, with bands like The Aquabats & Streetlight Manifesto among her influences. With bands like The 12 Gauge Ready and Free Beer split up, we could always use some extra ska around here, so message Katie at this link for more info, or via her Musicians Wanted Facebook group post last week!
• A local musician named Kiefer Barone is looking to jam with other musicians, with 1980s hard rock, heavy metal, and hardcore cited among his target genres. I'm unfamiliar with his music background, but if you want more information, message Kiefer at this link or via his Musicians Wanted Facebook group post from September 7th!

That's all for today, but stay tuned for more news and features this week! Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (The Suicide Kings), Glitch Concert Preview, And More!!

For today's post, we're concluding this weekend's known heavier concert previews, elaborating on some recent local metal album updates, and sharing a new video previewing some new material, but first, here's some LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS for next month!

Rockstar Bar Battle winners The Suicide Kings will return to the site of their live concert debut on Friday, May 16th and Saturday, May 17th for solo headlining dates at The Rednecks Saloon! Fresh off of their second place finish at the Rock N' Roar Battle of the Bands in Spanish, these will mark this talented hard rock quartet's first shows at the former Nicolet Tavern since March of last year, and despite the name change and transition to a country theme last fall, I don't expect Mike, Steven, Mitch, and Ben to alter their established sound and setlist for these concerts, as the Rednecks Saloon still welcomes rock bands (like Griphook this weekend.) The Suicide Kings last played a double weekend set at the former Roosevelt Hotel in January, so the convenience of two nights will be a plus for fans of their modern rock originals and covers, so be at this popular Albert Street West venue next month! Admission is likely free both nights, you must be 19 to attend, and there are 10:00 PM start times in effect. Visit the official Facebook event page for more info, and stay tuned for updates!

Next up, here's the last of our known heavier concert previews for this weekend, as newer Sault Ontario party/hard rock cover quartet Glitch will make their first ever appearance at an unfamiliar venue TOMORROW NIGHT, as they'll be rocking The OLG Casino at 30 Bay Street West! We've never covered the Sault Ontario casino on here for a concert, so I'm unfamiliar with it's setup, but I do know that they have both the Northern Gateway Restaurant and Bivouac Bar on site that could serve as logical host areas for a live band, so keep both in mind if you attend tomorrow. I'm unsure whether this is an early venture into more frequent band bookings, or a one-off agreement, but with a talented lineup featuring Sneaky Pete, Tripod the Dog, and Downfall alumni, the good tunes will be a constant, especially as they continue diversifying their live venue range! No idea on a potential cover charge, but you must be 19 to attend, and everything starts at 10:00 PM. Check the Facebook event page for more details, and here they are at The Rockstar Bar last year!



Moving to some well anticipated album news, local doom/sludge metal trio AlgomA have unveiled some new items relating to their forthcoming debut album "Reclaimed By The Forest", including the complete finished artwork by Adam Geyer! It had previously been leaked online, but it wasn't band-acknowledged, and that copy didn't feature the band's name & album title, so I waited until now. Very detailed in it's imagery, it calls to mind a more graphic interpretation of a song like Woods of Ypres' "Keeper of the Ledger" (look up the lyrics to see what I mean.) While a release date and formats for this album aren't out yet, AlgomA's brand new Bandcamp page features a download copy of their song "Fell Down The Well" from it, and you can buy it before the release for just $1! They even thought to include lyrics, but as is usual protocol for us, we'll hold full thoughts until the full album review. I'll confirm that the production is great though, so stream "Fell Down A Well" above, and stay tuned for news on the CD release!

Finally for today, Theatre of Night keyboardist Craig Harrison posted another preview video onto his YouTube channel on Wednesday to document new music for his Sault Michigan classical metal band! This time, it's of a studio piano piece (presumably for an original song to be completed), as included with assorted GoPro clips of him and bandmates Steve & Greg Giles playing in their jam room, though all fade in and out and use different camera angles, lighting, and post filters. The end of the video promises that new music is coming soon, and while this isn't a finished look, Craig's playing is as solid as ever, so check it out below!



That's all for today, but stay tuned for this month's Saultites In Out Of Town Bands Profile on The Merves TOMORROW! Thanks everyone!