Details On Brand New Albums From Spades GT & Jonesy Land!!

Today's post is devoted to two brand new album releases from this week, both from punk-adjacent acts led by very familiar faces, so here's what you should know about each one before you give them a whirl!

Online page-less local folk/punk solo project Jonesy Land's debut album "Zoom - Out" was released as planned on Wednesday, so what should you know here? Recorded at Mission Control Studios and released through Tidal Records, the album was mixed by Kyle Whittaker at Strange Pumpkin Studios in St. Catharines. This is the first completed album from veteran local musician Dustin Jones since his non-local punk supergroup The Conspirators' self-titled 2020 album, though three standalone Jonesy Land songs were put out in 2021 & 2022 which are not on "Zoom - Out". SooToday's Chris Belsito spotlighted Jonesy Land and the album in this article from Wednesday, where Dustin noted his songwriting process as he gets older, the recording process, inspirations for the songs & themes therein, how the album name was conceived, and much more, and it's a good read to see how everything came together over the last few months!

Notably, Dustin co-produced the album with Lake Effect frontman Frank Deresti, who appears throughout. The final album cover can be seen above, following lots of promotional images that turned out to be just that and not the final product. The Indiana Jones font is timed well to both match Dustin's last name and the release of Dial of Destiny later this month! Eight songs made the cut for "Zoom - Out", which is described as "a singer-songwriter record" focusing primarily on more mature, folk-leaning styles with less of a punk or drinking song influence compared to his prior local band work ("Moral Blackout" and Jonesy Land's mid-2021 live dates acknowledged). Frank aside, guest appearances on the album include singer Shannon Moan on "Keep Trying" (not "Old Man", as it turns out), and Dustin's Bookclub bandmates Al Watson (drums) on "Ode To The Boys" and Erin Antonello (trumpet) on "Superior Sons".

Surprisingly, Dustin's old Surfers and Tide bandmates do not appear, at least not publically. You can now stream "Zoom - Out" in full on Spotify, YouTube, Apple Music, and Amazon, among other sites. Yes, you can buy the album through Amazon and Apple on mp3, with Amazon copies running for $9.49. Be advised that this image shows a lot of website/application logos, implying that the album is available on hosts like TikTok, Snapchat, and Twitch, so take that with a grain of salt. Personal Facebook postings suggest that bigger plans are afoot for the release beyond just dropping online, but I'll wait for public word on that front. With new albums from No Funeral and Handsome Sandwich beating it to market, I have "Zoom - Out" pencilled in for an August review on the SMS, but buy or stream it at the above links, and check out the new lyric video for "Old Man" courtesy of Tidal Records' YouTube channel below! Uploaded on Tuesday, the video was made by Loathing Hearts Productions.

Without reviewing the song (I'll hold comment until August), the video features slowly rotating images and scenes of musicians and beachfront scenery, with some of the latter being familiar from social media teasers for the album. Well made and nicely layered, so give the video a watch below, and stay tuned for more from Jonesy Land soon, especially if they finally launch a social media page beyond Dustin's personal Instagram page. Alas, Bookclub and The Cover-Up don't have one (yet) either, but neither of them have a brand new album to hype up!

Finally for today's post, another new punk-related local album was released as promised earlier today, namely local/Barrie crossover thrash quintet Spades GT's studio album "Sewer City Radio"! While the local press hasn't as big for this one yet (moving to Barrie arguably didn't help in that respect), you can now stream the eight included songs on Spotify, YouTube, Apple Music, and Amazon Music, possibly among other services. Oddly, there's no visible sale point through Amazon, but the album is on sale through iTunes for $7.92, which is the same price as "Zoom - Out" there. Released through bassist James Roy Daley's imprint Books Of The Dead Press, this is Spades' first album since the former Jack Spades took part in 2015's "Fed Up!" split, and their first album with every band member aside from frontman J.D. Pearce. No word yet on the music video for "Final Girl", but you can hear the studio copy below while you wait!

Guest appearances come from guitarist Daniel Horton's Fast Life bandmate Andrew Moorehouse on "XS" and Anvil frontman Steve "Lips" Kudlow on a yet-specified song (though you can easily pick it out once you hear it). No word yet on the teased physical release of the album, but if ready, your first chance to buy it in the Soo will likely be at the Josey Scott's Saliva concert in three weeks. I'll hold comment on the album for now pending our planned review of "Sewer City Radio" in September, but buy or stream the whole thing above and below, and stay tuned for this month's "Where Are The New Albums?" post on the site next! Thanks everyone!

Handsome Sandwich CD Release Party Review!!

It's time for our admittedly belated review of Saturday night's Handsome Sandwich CD release party at The Loft at the Algoma Conservatory of Music! This is the first concert of a remotely heavy persuasion that I know took place at The Loft, so what is it like to attend a show there? First off, the Conservatory is located in the old St. Mary's Paper office building at the end of Huron Street right by St. Mary's River, right beside The Mill Steakhouse. The Loft is on the third (and top) floor of the Conservatory, and being inside the building honestly reminded me of being at the courthouse downtown, especially the stairs. Yes, there is an escalator too, something I didn't know about until when I left the show. As a concert venue, The Loft is very nice with good acoustics, a unique layout, and neat sightlines, especially with the slanted roof and industrial beams. Pictures make the space look bigger than it is and obscure the layout a bit.

While photos on The Loft's website show thick seating, these are movable & were pushed against three walls to varying thicknesses to allow for a proper floor section. Rooms are adjacent to The Loft for the connected recording studio, and the bar section for anyone wanting a potent potable was well in view from the main door. Yes, HD video cameras were rolling, seemingly for both bands, and I did notice a camera slowly panning left to right beside the drumkit on the stage, though what we'll see and when, I don't know. My biggest issue with The Loft was the lack of air conditioning, and if that's not practical, at least turn the fans up! Regardless, it's a very nice space for concerts, and I hope more local bands take advantage of it!

The openers were local alternative/indie rock quartet Man Feelings, who were lucky enough to get an hour long set, which is impressive for a support band! As such, they played a lot of unreleased songs, plus material from their "City Friends" EP like "Modest Spouse" and "Long Winter's Night". I don't believe that I've seen Man Feelings live before, and when listening to them, comparisons to The Black Keys came up often, if that band had more instruments and variety to their sound. While bassist Tyler Willson handled most lead vocals, all of his bandmates got turns to sing, which is encouraging from an original band in terms of giving everyone an identity. Not a heavy band, but they have good songwriting, and everyone made the most of their instrumental roles, with B.J. Swire's keyboard work adding an extra element throughout, and Paul "Gabby" Gabrylewicz had some strong guitar melodies!

I will say that Man Feelings were slow to engage the crowd at first, and they had a few too many songs that just... ended, without a big finish. Not really abrupt endings so much as anti-climactic ones. Still a solid set that helped set the tone for the handsomeness to follow, and of course, how fitting is it that Man Feelings opened for Handsome Sandwich, thereby swapping roles from Man Feelings' CD release show last year? Also, shout-out to Ricky the juggler, who even got to "perform" for a song!

And your headliners were local alternative hard rock quintet Handsome Sandwich in their release party at least seven months in the making! True to prior teasers, their set comprised of their entire debut album "Deconstructed" in album order, with an intermission separating the main program from a six song mini-set including four newer/omitted original songs like "No Idea", and two covers: Tones & I's "Dance Monkey" and an encore cover of Stevie Wonder's "Superstition" featuring solo spots by all four instrumentalists. While I have seen the original three-piece, covers-only Handsome Sandwich live, this is the first time that I've seen the version relaunched in 2021, and they definitely have a crowd-pleasing set that rarely sticks to one style for too long, including glimmers of funk, hard rock, punk, indie rock, jam rock... basically anything that they want to play, and the audience was here for it!

Frontwoman Taylor "Tea" Emlaw brought a very unique stage presence to The Loft on Saturday, with lots of unpredictable movements and an infectious enthusiasm that was great to see! Her vocals remind me a lot of the American jazz/blues singer Beth Hart (listen to "Stay" to hear what I hear), and that alone helps this band stand apart from the local pack. Rafael Medina proved that his Algoma University music program training was well utilized on bass, the twin guitar attack of Jesse Cook and Mitch Sirie never hurt (even if I'd have liked to have seen more soloing), and drummer Johnny Belanger kept the rhythm as well as you'd expect, while also filling in the gaps for crowd banter, helping keep things in a loose and carefree spirit despite the anticipation and setting of this concert. Good stuff all around, and if this is the kind of show fans can expect from Handsome Sandwich, then who knows how far that they'll go?

Overall, this was a fun show aided by the unique and high-end locale, and on a kinda-related level, it was awesome to see Mitch & Johnny finally get to have a proper release concert like this after their old death metal band The Bear Hunters' planned release show for their higher quality second album "The Dead Testament" never went through due to the pandemic and the band's own decline in activity after 2017, leading to it getting a digital-only release on Bandcamp in 2020, and only one further live set. 2+ years later, they finally had their big moment, and hopefully Nik and Justin get theirs in some form! You can check out our photos from the show at this link or at our Facebook page, and I shot a video from each band, namely Man Feelings playing "Bring Me Home" and Handsome Sandwich playing "Better Off"!

Due to the length of this review (which went longer than normal already), I'll hold comment on Handsome Sandwich's newly released "Deconstructed" album for an upcoming post, but I did buy a CD copy on Saturday night and it will be reviewed on the SMS in due course! That's all for now, but a new news post will be hitting the SMS later today! Thanks everyone!

The Full Rundown Of Mike Haggith's Live-Streamed CD Release Concert!!

As was well publicized on social media, local/Thompson, Manitoba solo artist Mike Haggith released his 50th canon studio album "If Ever Comes The Day" yesterday, complete with a live-streamed release concert on his Facebook page! Of course, we all wish this could have been at LopLops with a full band, but the ongoing pandemic had other plans, so at least Mike found a way to make due! This live-stream also doubles as #LockdownLive VII, breaking from the Saturday pattern this week, but we are covering it on a Saturday, for what that's worth. Unlike past installments, this was filmed at "a top secret location" that may or may not be in Thompson, and you can tell that the spot is dolled up like a full concert stage. Before the set proper begins, Mike announced a contest for live viewers where the person who shared the live-stream the most times will get to request any song for Mike to cover next Saturday, and he has to cover it!

While this is not Mike's first live-stream to focus on the songs from "If Ever Comes The Day" (that'd be #LockdownLive II), this installment is very different in setting and approach, as you'll see across it's 2+ hour runtime, notably by narratively scripting much of the set, rather than going by the album's track listing. The set proper begins with Mike discussing the August 2019 local concert at Outspoken Brewing on the trip that kickstarted the album, before covering "Girl From My Dreams" by local folk musician Jacob Quarrell, who co-headlined that show and would have played guitar in Mike's backing band tonight if not for COVID-19. After jokingly turning off the nonexistent drummer, Mike plays "Take Back The Moon" from the new album, as tied into anecdotes about playing the song at the local show. He next covers Tears For Fears' "Everybody Wants To Rule The World", which folds right into his rendition of the album's title track, "If Ever Comes The Day".

Mike next covers Death Cab For Cutie's "I Will Possess Your Heart", which had a similar impact on Mike personally as the Tears For Fears cut. That is followed by the original "Into The Setting Sun", before Mike takes a call from ex-RedD Monkey cellist Pete Mozarowski, who recorded the instrumental track "This Page Intentionally Left Blank" for the new CD, and plays it on speakerphone held up to Mike's mic. These obviously isn't the ideal conditions, but it's nice to hear Pete's thoughts on the recording! In concert and on the album, this leads into "Back Away Slowly", followed by "Morningstar", and an old Din original that he played on August 10th, "Missing". The second half of the live-stream begins with another caller, namely Re:Born/ex-Din drummer Brandan Glew, and their conversation is just as irreverent as you may expect from his regular #LockdownLive commentary, if not moreso! Mike then covers Tears For Fears' "Shout", allegedly Brandan's 9th favourite song.

The personal emotion of the original material returns with "The Best You Never Had" and "Visual, Descending For The Field", before talking about local internet radio station The Borderline, who recently interviewed Mike on air and have featured his album in full (we are behind in talking about the station, stay tuned for more on them next week.) The set resumes with "Communique", which folds right into a surprise cover of Prince & The Revolution's "Purple Rain", before discussing the album's symbolic 8 & 10 second blank tracks, and then playing the last song on the CD, "2145". The final 20 minutes of the live stream include Mike playing Bruce Cockburn's "Lovers In A Dangerous Time" and his troll rendition of Lynyrd Skynyrd's "Free Bird" (bookended by a story of his Windsor trip in the winter), followed by closing thoughts and thank yous to everyone who watched, though I did not catch if he announced who won the contest for most shares.

Kudos to Mike for making lemons out of lemonade with this release concert, wherever it was held, and we got a nice selection of original songs and covers with a unique presentation, and the balance between the emotional and personal lyrics and the humorous conversations with live-stream viewers was done pretty well! Time will tell how #LockdownLive VIII looks next week, let alone the rescheduled local release concert in November, but support Mike's new album and the work he put into it by buying or streaming "If Ever Comes The Day" watch the whole thing below, and stay tuned for more news and notes on the site tomorrow! Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERT (A Dire Setback), Info On Their New CD, And This Month's Poll!

We're back with a new news post on this Saturday night, which is devoted to two topics: Our first 2019 retrospective poll of the year, and leading off, a LOCAL CONCERT ALERT concerning an upcoming CD release concert, and all of the pertinent details on the album in question! Here's what you should know!

Local alt-punk trio A Dire Setback will release their long awaited self-titled debut CD on Saturday, March 28th at a release party concert at LopLops Lounge! This will be A Dire Setback's first show of 2020, and of course, this will be your first chance to buy their album before it goes on general sale the following day. Albums will be on sale for $15 on March 28th, with online copies on CDBaby currently advertised at $9.99, though local store availability is to be announced. It's great to see Chris, Matt, and Nick's hard work finally paying off! This is the cover artwork, as included on the Facebook event page and the album's CDBaby page. The originally announced openers were planned to be a one-off reunion of The Din, returning the favour after A.D.S. opened for their 2018 "Dinunion" at LopLops, but they had to withdraw for unannounced reasons (remember that Mike now lives out of province.) Instead, "no genre" trio Handsome Sandwich will open on March 28th!

Fresh off of their return to the stage last week, they should provide an intriguing compliment with their diverse array of covers and sense of humour, so don't be late for their set! At least one additional opening act is to be confirmed. This self-promoted event will feature sound by Crank Sound Distributions, plus Shaw TV's Christian Lemay will be filming (presumably for an OnStage episode), while CD producer Dustin Goodall will be recording the show live, purpose not yet clear. The concert proper will be a 19+ affair with a 10:00 PM start time and a $10 admission fee, though if you pay $20, you will get a $5 discount on the album and CD combined. Tickets can be bought online at this link and at the door where available. As for the album proper, CDBaby features preview samples of all 9 tracks, which include their self titled song, "Everlasting" (no "Despair"?), "Kicking & Screaming", "Drop Dead", "Catastrophe", "Faded", "Forget This Memory", "Endless Dream", and "Nightmares".

Conspicuous by it's absence is "Wasting Away", despite still being in their live setlists. As one of their earliest and most recognizable originals, it would have been nice to hear a studio copy! I'm not 100% sold on the cover art, but this is an exciting time for A Dire Setback, so follow the above links to get more details on the album and CD over the next two months! Before we move on, the guys shared the full studio copy of "Drop Dead" to their YouTube channel on Wednesday, marking our second full look at an album track. Bouncing VU meters aside, this is just a still image. I'll hold thoughts pending our full CD review in the spring, but check out "Drop Dead" below!



We'll close today with our first "favourites of 2019" poll, as we dust off our voting booths for another year! As usual, we will start with this question: What was your favourite new local metal, hard rock, or punk band of 2019? Last year was relatively lean for newcomers in our covered genres, but enough notable names turned up to keep this poll worthwhile! To be included, bands must have made their public launch and played their first local concerts in the 2019 calendar year, which notably excludes St. Ignace's Heavy Lies The Crown and the now-defunct Sault Ontario death metal project Black Cloud, who both launched in 2018 (plus, H.L.T.C. have only played live downstate.) As has always been our criteria for show announcements, open mic nights do not count as live concerts, so Fort Creek did not make the cut either, but you can vote for these or other new-ish bands via selecting "Other". Now, here are your final choices in this month's poll!

The Guitar Gangsters: Local fans were surprised in the fall when this new Volbeat tribute band debuted in time for J.D. Pearce's annual Halloween Party, with a star studded lineup including a non-Belleau reunion of Garden of Bedlam alongside Jack Spades and Papa Fogals Chair alumni. Their one local show to date was very well received, as was their Sudbury trip in late November, but was this enough to win the poll to you?

Mackinaw Trail: One notable yet familiar sight in the E.U.P. was Mackinaw Trail, an originals-focused side project from 3/4ths of existing classic/hard rock cover veterans Highway 63. While ostensibly a studio act, Mackinaw Trail do play live sporadically for bookings when H63 guitarist Nathan Switzer is busy with Heavy Lies The Crown, leading to their live debut at The Rapids Lounge in October. Have Mackinaw Trail piqued your interest the most here?

The Sick Sons: Arguably the highest profile new act of these 5 based on concert scale alone, punk supergroup The Sick Sons made a huge splash by opening for Random Killing & The Ripcordz in their first two concerts, before playing two big holiday season sets at LopLops last month. Featuring Bankshot, Downshift, Northwest, and 12 Gauge Ready alumni, The Sick Sons have all the tools to make a further impression, but would you vote for them?

Stoned To Deaf: Though in existence since 2018, the band has yet to launch a public online page, so their May debut concert (opening for Poison Girl at The Rockstar Bar) is enough to qualify them here. A Rage Against The Machine tribute from Elements bassist James White, they seem to have went over well in their first outing, but they've been publically AWOL since. Were you there to vouch for them in this poll over the other bands?

Tarnished: The most prolific of last year's heavier newcomers, Sault Michigan hard rock band Tarnished succeeded frontman Alex Traynor's prior group Banned last summer, and soon followed with lots of acoustic sets at unconventional locales (primarily Biggby Coffee) and select full band electric gigs, even hitting the road for Mount Pleasant and Toledo along the way. Tarnished have the dates under their belt, but would they earn your vote?

Other: Did another new band get your attention more? Would you side with 2018 newcomers who only played their first gigs last year, like Heavy Lies The Crown or Black Cloud? Did Fort Creek do it for you despite not playing a formal scheduled show yet? Maybe you prefer a band who hasn't played live at all, isn't metal, hard rock, or punk, or isn't even local? Or did I miss a heavier band here? If your preferred choice isn't listed, vote for "Other"!

VOTE TODAY! You have until February 18th to cast your votes, and hopefully we have some decent totals to kick off this round of 2019 retrospective polls, in spite of the lean rookie class. That's all for today, but stay tuned for more news and updates on the site soon! Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERT (Fluid 5ive), Northwest & Highway 63 Updates, And Much More!!

Here's a new news post for this late Sunday night, including some assorted shorter stories, big lineup updates, and full details on a recent album release, but let's lead off with a LOCAL CONCERT ALERT for at year's end... literally!

Local classic/hard rock cover quintet Fluid 5ive will end 2018 with a bang when they headline The Rockstar Bar's New Year's Eve party on December 31st (a.k.a. next Monday!) This will be the first show from this talented veteran group since last month's Habitat For Humanity Builders Bash, and their first at this venue in just over a month, and this should be a prime opportunity for New Year's Eve revelers to get a solid dose of hard rocking hits next week! The Monday night timing is unfortunate, but if you can swing a trip out, this should deliver the heavier goods! As usual for The Rockstar Bar's New Year's celebrations, this event has 8:00 PM door opening times and a 19+ age limit, and while admission is at $10, remember the holiday ties and the drink specials and party favours that are expected at such a bash. Visit the Facebook event page for more details, and stay tuned for more on New Year's weekend hard rock concerts in the area as they roll in!

Next up, local indie punk quintet Northwest's second EP "Songs From 2015-2017" was successfully released last night at their release party concert at LopLops Lounge, and it's also now on sale via their Bandcamp page, so what should you know on their sophomore effort? Recorded since mid-2017 at Mission Control Studios with producer Dustin Jones, the EP was later mixed and mastered by Kyle Whittaker of the St. Catharines-based Strange Pumpkin Studio, who had previously worked with fellow locals K.I.C.K. and Brendan Hodgson on their own studio releases. Mirroring their 2014 debut, "Songs From 2015-2017" features four songs, namely "Swayze Train" (no relation to the defunct Sault Michigan band), the previously unveiled "Sorry Sunday" & "True North", and "Hangover Habits", with their prior unreleased original "Drinking Games" nowhere to be found. Also, the album artwork was provided by photographer Keith Descoteaux.

I cannot speak for the physical distribution of the EP from LopLops last night, but Bandcamp copies run for a $4 minimum, and yes, you can stream the whole thing for free there.I've heard good things from the release party, and I'm glad to see that Northwest gave their second album a successful launch, so be sure to pick it up or stream it at the above links! And yes, "Songs From 2015-2017" will end 2018 as our last album review of the year, so look for that at some point later this week, definitely by Monday!

Also today, here's the latest from Sault Michigan classic/hard rock veterans Highway 63, who returned after a year+ long hiatus from the stage at Dondee Lanes' own Double D Bar & Grill on Saturday! As revealed at that night's Christmas party (and on their own Facebook page), we can now confirm the full identities of the band's two new members, so who's now in the fold? Now on bass is George Belleau (replacing Chris Leask), who fans may recognize from playing in the preceding rock cover bands RamWagon & Full Throttle with existing Highway 63 guitarist Nathan Switzer. The other new addition is the band's first ever permanent keyboardist, namely Brian Drumheller, who previously played in popular local cover acts like The Hixx and The Mamas Boys (the latter alongside Highway 63 frontman Henry Switzer.) George and Brian are both talented musicians with existing chemistry with the Switzers, and hopefully the new lineup rides this momentum well into 2019!

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

• In October, Sault Ontario grindcore solo project Crucify the Whore announced plans to record an EP named "Crucifiction Inquisition" (complete with cover artwork), and shared said post anew on their Facebook page earlier this week. No other details were given, but Blood Shed diehards will want to follow C.T.W. above for details! 
• Veteran local drummer Jeff Stuckenbrock is looking for a keyboardist with backing (or perhaps lead) vocals for his new "hard rocking" band, albeit one that is "not metal". Acts like Alice Cooper, April Wine, and Grand Funk Railroad were cited as bands they're tackling in some form, and he would prefer videos if you have them. If you're interested in trying out, message Jeff at this link or via his Musicans Wanted Facebook group post from December 9th!
• The True North Talent Entertainment Christmas concert at Soo Blaster on Thursday (featuring Winkstinger) now has a confirmed MC, namely "ShakaDoctor", who I know nothing on. If we hear anything, we'll let you know! This was confirmed on a new event poster, which curiously doesn't credit some of the openers, namely The Dynowaves, Trace Prince, DQ, and Sawbe. If that was on purpose, we will again let you know later this week!

That's all for today, but stay tuned for more news and updates as Christmas week progresses! Thanks everyone!

AlgomA/Shit Liver Concert Review!!

Hey guys, it's finally time for our review of Monday night's Shit Liver split release tour finale at The New American Pub, so what should you know about this one? Surprisingly, this was my first ever concert at The New A, so I should start with some thoughts on the venue as a whole. Overall, it's cozy (especially before organizers moved tables out of the way), and the bar's placement in the middle of the building took some adjustments, but it looks like it's fairly inviting and would be of good use for downtown patrons, complete with a few modern flourishes! Also, how many other bars have a popcorn machine? In terms of the "Trading Faces" cassette tapes, I got mine upon entry to the Bay Street venue, and this is a high-res recreation of the album cover in it's physical layout (I haven't found one via official sources.) Aside from dedications in the liner notes, there's no missing information that isn't already given on Bandcamp, but there is something satisfying about holding a newly released cassette tape in 2017! I just wish that the tape itself wasn't green, and perhaps had a track listing on each side.

Before getting to the bands, I did listen to the tape on a Sharp surround sound system from the 1990s, which seemed appropriate given the retro format, and it sounded great, though AlgomA's half seemed a little quieter than Shit Liver's. As the synthesized woman's voice said at the end of side A, "All I know is that it's good!"

The concert started with a set by local death metal favourites The Bear Hunters, who were up to their usual tricks with a brutal set of old and recent originals alike! Playing originals like "The Omen", "I Fear No God", and "The Dying Den" (though curiously not ending 'er with "Render This Void"), everyone sounded great, even frontman Nik Deubel, who noted being under the weather and having a rough voice to the crowd. Luckily, it didn't show, and he delivered another ferocious performance, with Mitch Sirie's solid lead guitar and Justin Lam's skilled bass work complimenting everything to a T! The only real surprise of the set was their Amon Amarth cover, trading "Guardians of Asgaard" for "Free Will Sacrifice", as a teaser for their upcoming tribute band turn at The Halloween Party under the name Mount Doom on Friday the 27th. Nik told us that they'll be playing the Amon Amarth album "Twilight of the Thunder God" front to back during their Halloween tribute set.

The other new public announcement is that The Bear Hunters have enlisted Jack Spades & Eclipse guitarist Daniel Horton to play rhythm guitar in "Mount Doom", marking a very rare instance where they've enlisted a guest guitarist rather than play as a quartet with Josh out of town. This will all  be very interesting to witness in a few weeks, but as Amon Amarth have two guitarists, this makes their set more true to the original band. Watch for Mount Doom on October 27th at The Algonquin Pub, and Monday night's tune up show was a good one for The Bear Hunters!

Next up were local extreme metal quartet Winkstinger, in the first time I've seen them since their latest reunion this summer, so what's different? Well, they've had more change than just the vocalist position, as it looks like former bassist Ryan Sherman is back in their lineup, replacing Andrew MacDonald. A reason for Andrew's apparent departure hasn't been publically announced, but keep in mind that the band's Facebook page is barely updated. Hopefully nothing bad happened, but it's great seeing Ryan back in the fold, assuming I have him identified correctly! This was also the first time that I've seen Winkstinger with Twistory's Josh Amendola on lead vocals, giving the band their most death metal-influenced vocals yet. Josh's vocal style suits the material, but it could be a little more distinct. That said, his stage presence was enjoyably chaotic & hard to photograph, and Josh was more at ease on stage than Keith was last spring, so he's off to a good start!

Of course, band mainstays Jesse Cook and Jonas Gasperas were on form, and while Jesse laid down some great solos as usual, he seemed a little restrained compared to some recent sets of his. One visible difference from Winkstinger's run of spring 2016 shows is that they seemed to play more originals than they did last year, with covers put on the back burner, so fans of Alan-era Winkstinger will appreciate the setlist. There's more polish to put on the wheels, but it's great to see Winkstinger back (again), and hopefully we hear more new stuff from them soon!

In a mild surprise, local/St. Catharine's grindcore trio Shit Liver hit the stage next rather than the headlining slot for their first local show in a year & a half, and they delivered a brutal assault of originals and covers that got the most packed crowd and mosh pit of the night! Alongside originals like "Sir-Osis", "It's Not My Problem", and "Matt Got Beat Up By Cops" (complete with sampled intro tracks for over half the set), they also played a handful of selections from their side of "Trading Faces" like "Blame It On God", though I was surprised that they didn't play more of it. No one seemed to mind too much, with a punishing onslaught capped off by Josh Penno, Mike Kyle, and Matt Baic' three-pronged vocals, while their punk-tinged death metal originals were as fast paced as ever, often flowing into each other nicely. It's not for everyone, but if you love brutal grindcore, Shit Liver gave you exactly what you wanted on Monday night, and hopefully we see them again soon!

Finally, your headliners were local doom metal trio AlgomA in their sole appearance of the "Trading Faces" tour due to doctor's recommendations following guitarist Boyd Rendell's recent health concerns. As a result, I wasn't sure if he'd appear to be 100%, but he was none the worse for wear during their set, playing his suitably heavy and down-trodden riffs with intensity, and even singing (well, screaming) to his usual standard on a couple of songs! Alongside older originals like "Fell Down A Well" and selections from older splits, AlgomA played their entire side of "Trading Faces" to end their set, which was a nice way to wrap the tour. Kevin Campbell was just fine with his pounding bass and gritty vocals for most songs, and Jamie Vincent's drumming kept the rhythm going at a slow pace, until their faster covers came in, and he transitioned just fine! It was great to see AlgomA back in full force, and who knows what their next album will be! Perhaps another split on a retro format? Maybe get your 8 track players ready?!

Overall, this concert was a crushing good time for fans of death metal, and as a relocated homage to old Rosie metal nights, you have to appreciate this lineup, as you don't see even three of these bands on stage together very much anymore! You can check out our photos from Sunday night at this link or via our Facebook page, and as for our videos, here's The Bear Hunters (or Mount Doom) covering Amon Amarth's "Free Will Sacrifice", Winkstinger playing their original song "From Bullshit To Buzz (Lies = Weed)", Shit Liver covering Dystopia's "Socialized Death Sentence" & Macabre's "Hitch-Hiker", and Algoma covering Kittens' "Great Dane"!









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

The Din CD Release Concert Review, Plus More On The CD!!

It's now time for our review of last night's "Give In To The Din" CD release concert at The Tech, so what should you know about the festivities? This was the first concert that I've ever attended at the former Lakeway Collegiate/St. Mary's College site, and while I didn't get to explore the venue, the bands' merchandise tables were set up outside of The W.W. Baldwin Auditorium, where the show itself took place. However, things took an unexpected turn before the auditorium doors opened, as a fire alarm went off in The Tech, resulting in everyone being evacuated from the building as a precaution, with the Fire Department called down to inspect the cause, for what became a 20 minute delay. Din frontman Mike Haggith told me that a loose fitting was rumoured to have set the alarm off, but I can't verify that otherwise. The show went on though once given the all clear, and once in the auditorium proper, you had a good sense of how nice and spacious it was, reminding me of The Grand Theater with permanent seating! Sadly, the balcony was cordoned off.

From my close, sixth row seat in the auditorium, I had a good view of local post-punk quartet Gnaeus for their opening set, where they largely played songs from their own new CD "Meditations", with originals like "The Edge", "Circles", and "Fire" (ironically) attracting the notice of fans! However, Gnaeus did have two non-album tracks in their set, including their standard cover of "Hang Me Out To Dry" and a very new original song named "Electricity" that sounded very promising and true to their style! Gnaeus were on form from past concerts, with Aaron Alessandrini's vocals and guitar work strong as ever, and Brad Irwin's synth work was very clear in particular, though the guys could have moved around a little more and explored the stage more than they did, especially given it's size and expanse. Overall, Gnaeus delivered a solid set to kick things off last night, and I'm sure we'll hear more from them in short order!

With their entrance announced via a vintage TV displaying band footage, headlining local alternative/hard rock trio The Din hit the stage next in grand fashion with dramatic entrances (Tammy Hill even entered through the crowd!), and the band didn't disappoint with a strong set loaded with originals from their debut CD like "Out Of My League" and "Flux". The Din also gave us some non-album originals and live favourites, plus a smattering of covers from the likes of The Foo Fighters, The Barenaked Ladies, and The Beatles. Making good use of the stage's confines, Mike Haggith's vocals and bass work were on point, and his amusing banter with drummer Brandan Glew kept the fans laughing between songs, while Tammy's excellent guitar work continues to show her talents and potential! The Din's entertaining, often poppy, and hard charging originals definitely had attending fans giving in, and hopefully there's much more to come from The Din in the near future!

Overall, this was a fun concert with two very talented & fast rising local bands giving it their all, and despite the fire alarm early, maybe it was a sign that the bands would heat up the stage? Shaw TV's Christian Lemay (also of Id Iota) was on hand to film both bands' sets, so be sure to look for a likely feature or two on channel 10 when ready as well! As for our media, you can check out our album from the release show at this link or via our Facebook page, and while the dark theater wasn't the best friend of flash photography, I got some cool shadow shots of the bands, so keep that angle in mind! Now for our videos, so here's Gnaeus playing "Exercise of Self-Awareness" & The Din playing "In Search of the Perfect Moment"!





Lastly for today, I wanted to acknowledge the contents and interesting notes regarding The Din's debut studio album "Give In To The Din", as I did buy a copy last night! Printed to resemble a vintage CD release from the 1980s, the album's nine songs were largely written & composed by Mike Haggith or the band as a whole, though Brandan Glew did write both "Flux" and "Remember" (with the former notably being titled via a random thesaurus pick), while Tammy Hill is given direct credit for composing the latter. For the song "Alleyways & Apartments" (which was recorded at Mission Control Studios rather than Pretoria Hill Productions), the booklet notes that Mike mixed that song himself, while the album's cover photo was taken by Forrest Heard. The 9 songs run for 38 minutes in total length, with "A Drive Through The Peninsula" closing in at over 8 minutes alone, so prepare for that one in particular! A review of "Give In To The Din" is coming this month, so look for it in the coming weeks, and get your copies A.S.A.P. at upcoming shows, or when online/in-store availability is announced!

That's all for today, but stay tuned for a new news post tomorrow, with more to come still! Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (Tym Morrison) & This Weekend's Concert Previews!!

The month of August brings us another concert weekend to kick off this last third of the summer, so here's most of this weekend's concert previews, and yes, our FireHouse outdoor concert preview is coming in our next post! Also, the "Bro Bash" promoted by Sault Michigan hard rock quartet 415E online is, as best as I can tell, a private event, as they didn't give an address or major details on their Facebook page, and it's definitely not at The Northern Pines Lounge, as 517 are playing there this weekend. If there's clarification to the contrary, we'll let you know, but let's start this post with LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS, including some on SHORT NOTICE! (Updated at 1:56 PM)

As usual, we have a month's worth of Tym Morrison concerts to add to our listings today, as the prolific singer/guitarist is still rocking Gliss Steak & Seafood in his weekly run there! With his triple weekend bookings still on for the foreseeable future, we'll add shows there for TONIGHT, TOMORROW, and SATURDAY, as well as shows from August 11th-13th, 18th-20th, and 25th-27th to our links, while he'll also return to The Roadhouse Bar & Grill on Trunk Road for one night only TOMORROW NIGHT at a regular nighttime slot! Obviously, apologies for the short notice on this weekend's four shows, we again waited for public confirmation of them, which came via their official Facebook event pages (linked here & here) earlier this week. The Gliss shows are nothing unusual for his arrangement there, but his Roadhouse return is his first at his old east end stomping grounds in a month, so if you're interested in his acoustic hard rock action at a more typical time, be there TOMORROW!

As we've come to expect from Tym's long-term run at Gliss, he'll be on at 6:00 PM TONIGHT, TOMORROW, SATURDAY, and all month, and while The Quality Inn's house restaurant has no announced age limits or cover charges, keep in mind where these shows are being held. As for the Roadhouse gig TOMORROW, expect a 19+ age limit, 10:00 PM start time, and no cover. Tym's skilled blend of acoustic hard rock covers should get a solid reception as usual this weekend and beyond, so don't miss out, and here he is live!

Moving to previously announced concerts, let's next head to The Rockstar Bar, where local post-punk quartet Gnaeus will launch their debut album "Meditations" with a CD release concert TOMORROW NIGHT! After over a year of anticipation, the two-time battle of the bands winners will finally unveil the fruits of their labour to fans in this rare Rockstar Bar appearance, so be the first to get your CD copy of "Meditations" tomorrow, and take in some live action too! In a lineup reversal from next week's "Give In To The Din" release, local alternative hard rock trio The Din will open for Gnaeus tomorrow with selections from their upcoming album, while fast-rising indie rock quartet K.I.C.K. will keep it cool as the night's openers, in what is the de facto re-booking of the their and Gnaeus' cancelled "Summer Bash" show from earlier this year. These three bands have all had top two finishes at one of the VM Radio Battles of the Bands, so keep that angle in mind too as you enjoy tomorrow's action!

Tomorrow's CD release show has a $5 cover, 19+ age limit, and 9:00 PM start time, while copies of "Meditations" will be on sale for $10, and will obviously be available online and locally afterwards (even at M&M Meats!) This should be a great show to culminate this album recording journey for Gnaeus, and hopefully there's a huge crowd on hand! It's just a shame that Brendan Garlick moved out of town beforehand, but it would be nice to see him back for it if possible! Visit the official Facebook event page for more details, and here's Gnaeus live last year!



Now let's head to Michigan for this weekend's remaining currently announced shows, starting with the apparent local debut of Manistique hard rock trio 517, who are scheduled to rock The Northern Pines Lounge at the St. Ignace Kewadin Casino TOMORROW & SATURDAY NIGHT! This veteran outfit have been rocking the Western U.P. since 2011, and play at Manistique's Kewadin branch often, so this should be a good opportunity to see the Zentners and Bob in our neck of the woods with their mixture of classic and modern rock covers! Note that 517 do not have a known online page, and we can't find a new plug of this weekend's shows via members' personal pages, but Kewadin's entertainment page confirms their trip east this weekend. As usual for Northern Pines Lounge gigs, this weekend's shows have 9:00 PM start times, no announced cover charges, and 21+ age limits. I admittedly can't find a public video of 517 for a preview (personal Facebook clips aside), but don't miss 517 this weekend!

Finally for this preview post, Kinross classic/hard rock trio Banned will return to The Rapids Lounge at the Sault Kewadin Casino TOMORROW & SATURDAY NIGHT! Playing their last of three Rapids Lounge concert weekends throughout the summer season (they'll be back at the Soo Kewadin in October), these will be their first shows anywhere in 3 weeks, and last before returning to next month's Sugar Island Music Festival. Alex, Don, and Wayne are always a fun band to check out live, and they should rock out well in Sault Ste. Marie this weekend, so don't miss out at The Rapids Lounge tomorrow and/or Saturday night! Like with this weekend's 517 shows, there are 21+ age limits, no cover charges, and 9:00 PM start times. Check the above links for more details, and here's Banned live earlier this year!



That's all for today, but stay tuned for more news, notes, and possible late notice previews next, plus our FireHouse preview! Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (Gnaeus & Project 906), As It Stands Updates, And Much More!!

Here's a surprise second post on this Saturday, as we have a SHORT NOTICE LOCAL CONCERT ALERT to tackle for TONIGHT, with new videos to boot! To round things out, we have one more new show coming up next month, a big posthumous release of an unreleased EP, and some assorted recent notes, so here's what you should know!

We can officially confirm and call TONIGHT'S Project 906 show, as they'll be playing at the local chapter of The Highland Clan Motorcycle Club's annual Summer Bash! Apologies for the short notice, we didn't call this as a show during our weekend concert previews as we weren't positive on if it was a public event, with Project 906 guitarist Joe Jenkins confirming that it was this morning. Taking place at 235 Magazine Street (minutes from The Satisfied Frog), this event follows a poker run from the HCMC that is ongoing as of this writing, so hopefully that's a hit as well, and Project 906 should deliver a solid set at the Summer Bash TONIGHT! While this may seem like an atypical concert for Project 906, remember that Joe's old band Exiled played a few motorcycle club events during their 2014 heyday, including one from the Highland Club. Note as well that the Facebook event page doesn't credit any events going on tonight (let alone Project 906's set), but the band's Facebook page announced their involvement earlier this week.

A 7:00 PM start time is in effect for TONIGHT'S Summer Bash, which has no announced cover charge or age limits, but have both in the back of your head just in case. For a preview, here's three new jam session videos, courtesy of Project 906's Facebook page in recent days! The videos are covers of Nena's "99 Red Balloons", Philip Sayce's "Morning Star", and as embedded below, Billy Squier's "Lonely Is The Night", and they sound good, but Billy's vocals can be hard to make out over heavier stretches, and Joe is often obscured by a pole in the jam room. Solid all the same, so check them out above & below, and don't miss TONIGHT's Highland Clan bash!

Next up, here's another new show, as local post-punk quartet Gnaeus will indeed hold their CD release show on Friday, August 5th when they officially launch "Meditations" with a headlining concert at The Rockstar Bar! A rare appearance for Gnaeus at The Algonquin Hotel, this is a fitting locale for the guys to launch their long-awaited debut CD, and while they have yet to reveal prices for physical copies, have cash on hand to get yours! In a reverse from the following week's "Give In To The Din" release show at The Tech, alternative hard rock trio The Din will return the favour as openers on the 5th, while indie rock quartet K.I.C.K. will open the proceedings on August 5th with their own skilled originals! One could call this a rescheduling of April's cancelled Summer Bash concert that Gnaeus and K.I.C.K. were supposed to play before the venue's renovations scuttled it, but it's not advertised as such.

There's no announced cover charges for this 19+ show, which will begin at 9:00 PM on August 5th, but make sure you bring money for both your copy of "Meditations" and for any potential admission fees. It's great to see Gnaeus finally announce their CD release show, and with them and The Din flipping roles for another release party a week following, it's a big month ahead for new local album releases! Visit the official Facebook event page for more details, and stay tuned for updates!

Also, remember how defunct local hardcore quintet As It Stands were recording an EP in July 2011 that was never released prior to their 2014 dissolution? Well, the band has finally unveiled the tracks recorded that year, as per their Soundcloud page, so fans can finally hear what would have been their third & final EP! The apparently self-titled release was recorded at Metalworks Studios in Mississauga with producer Kevin Dietz, and while the posted tracks are raw & off the floor without final mixing, As It Stands felt it was time to finally let fans hear the songs. The tracks are "A Sinking Sinner", "Embay the Terrible", "Oh Herm, Herm Delish", their cover of Blink-182's "Stay Together For the Kids", and "One Less Than Wayne Gretzky", so click each link to hear each song! For reference, this confirms that the songs that As It Stands recorded at Stereo Soul Studios in 2009 and in Stoney Creek in 2010 were not intended for this particular album. This is a FREE posting, and at least at the moment, is not being formally sold.

It's not clear if As It Stands' earlier studio recordings (including their mid-2000s EPs "The Re-Occurring Nightmare" & "Kill The Music, Save The Children") will see a re-emergence too, as the band teased in April, but it's great to finally hear the 2011 recordings in full! These capture As It Stands at full strength and intensity from their arguable peak as musicians, and if you loved A.I.S. during their run, do yourselves a favour and check out their unreleased 2011 EP above, and hopefully there's more to come! Also, here's the Facebook preview video that the band shared prior to the Soundcloud unveiling, featuring a late snippet from "Embay the Terrible"!

 

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

• New local improv hard rock trio Gianni Gagoots have been added as the final openers for the Castle-headlined concert at The New American Pub on September 28th, as per the official Facebook event page. Solid choice for their second live concert appearance, so don't miss them late next month at The New A!
• Ex-Bankshot/12 Gauge Ready guitarist Lucas Schmiedendorf (a.k.a. Sal Velinus) is looking to form a new local band, and while he enjoys melodic punk and ska, he doesn't mind dabbling in folk or country. He has friends in mind for said band, likely a drummer and bassist at the moment, but he'd like to find musicians that could play guitar, horns, keyboard, or perhaps even a female vocalist. If you'd be interested in trying out or jamming with Lucas, message him at this link or via his Musicians Wanted Facebook group post from Tuesday!
• We have regrettably removed defunct local hard rock bands Meant To Last and These Sins of Time from our band links due to the quiet deletion of their Facebook pages, which were their only substantial online pages (both have surviving Twitter pages, but neither has enough to warrant linking them on the SMS.) These were the two recent hard rock bands from local singer Alexa LeClair, who is a talented artist, and hopefully she can get a band going with greater success in the future!

That's all for today, but stay tuned for much more news and notes next week! Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERT (Gnaeus), And Our Review Of Thursday's Id Iota EP Release Concert!!

Today's post was originally going to solely be our review of Thursday night's Id Iota EP release show, but with a SHORT NOTICE LOCAL CONCERT ALERT (and missed concert apology) relating to bands that played that night, let's kick things off there before we fall further behind!

Local post-punk/garage rock quartet Gnaeus will return to LopLops Lounge TONIGHT as openers for Toronto roots rock quartet Sam Cash & The Romantic Dogs, as part of the festivities for the fifth annual Sault Ste. Marie Festival of Beer! In fact, this is the second of a two night local engagement for the headliners, who played at LopLops last night as well with local alternative/hard rock quartet Id Iota opening, which I profusely apologize for missing on here, but we only received public confirmation of their (or Gnaeus') involvement in this weekend's shows yesterday, and the bands haven't promoted them on their own Facebook pages. Hopefully last night's show was a blast if you were there, as a beer aficionado and/or music fan! For reference, Gnaeus played a solo show at last year's Festival of Beer, which also received a short notice public announcement. The Festival of Beer itself will take place once again at the Bushplane Museum today at 1:00 PM, with lots of craft beer available to sample, and admission will be $35. Click here for more details on the festival proper!

As for TONIGHT'S (and belatedly yesterday's) LopLops shows, Sam Cash & The Romantic Dogs have a solid, down-to-earth rock sound that should fit in well, and while the local openers aren't visibly perfect fits, both Id Iota last night and Gnaeus TONIGHT should set the tone very well! Tickets for both nights are/were $10, admission was/is 19+, and 9:00 PM-ish start times are likely. I apologize once again for missing last night's show with Id Iota, and don't miss Gnaeus opening for Sam Cash TONIGHT! For a preview, let's dive into our review of Thursday night's LopLops concert, marking my first ever concert review at LopLops Lounge, believe it or not! Nice venue on the inside, longer than I expected, and if you stopped midway through, you'd assume it was just a restaurant. The "lounge" part of their name is very apparent in the concert stage area, and I like the art on the walls and the heavy presence of concert posters along the upper wall! It's inviting, busy, and vibrant all at once, and a fitting venue for the bands on tap!

After a late lineup shuffle, the aforementioned Gnaeus opened the proceedings in their first local concert of the year, as well as their first local appearance with new drummer Alex Proulx. Maybe it's the added crash course of playing in Southern Ontario before the Soo, but Alex fit right in with Gnaeus, and showed off his own clear drumming talents on existing originals like "Circles", "Lovers", and "The Sound", plus some newer material like "Hail Mary" and their requisite "Hang Me Out To Dry" cover. There seemed to be a timing hiccup on "The Edge", but Gnaeus were otherwise on point from when I last saw them, with Aaron Alessandri's vocals at their raspy-yet-melodic best, and Brad Irwin's synth work added that little something extra as usual! Aaron was admittedly a little muffled early, but it's great to have Gnaeus back, and don't miss them TONIGHT at LopLops either!

Advertised headliners The Pixo Control instead played the middle set with their alternative/grunge hybrid sound, and they got a great reaction from fans, even attracting a few devoted attendees to dance up front for the majority! This was the first time that I've seen The Pixo Control since Id Iota's Dustin Goodall replaced Steve Edwards on bass, and while arguably better known as a guitarist, he is a great addition to the Pixo lineup, and kept up musically and energetically with frontman Michael Mikus, who's ever-shorter hair didn't sap his stage presence at all! On songs like "Scratch", "Reasons", "Growing Pains", and a new song listed on their setlist as "Plastic Vegetables"(?), the guys delivered an explosive set, with Michael set off like a powder keg, and he showed his natural frontman chops more than once! A late reprise of "Scratch" saw instruments thrown and drum sets crashed into, forcing a delay of Id Iota's set, but it was a great capper to a great set!

Presumably as it was their local CD release, returning local alternative hard rock quartet Id Iota were promoted to the headlining slot on Thursday, marking their first local concert appearance since June, and the local debut of new bassist Dan Linklater. I wasn't at Id Iota's summer 2015 shows to know how that lineup sounded in person, but the current lineup delivered an entertaining set to close the night! Playing all four songs from their debut EP "Maudlin Fair" (more on that tomorrow) plus newer originals like "Happy Sailor", Id Iota are definitely more reminiscent of their predecessor band Habitat Shuffle than members' past work with Free Beer or The Vertically Impaired, harbouring a little bit of funk, hard rock, punk, and indie for good measure, with Christian Lemay providing solid vocals, plus some songs on guitar and yes, the melodica! Everyone performed well, with Dustin laying down some solid riffs, and the guys attracted an excellent crowd for their set-closing covers, including of Modest Mouse's "Float On" that had a few people literally jumping!

Id Iota are a fun band that closed the night on a high note, so stay tuned for more on their EP in our next post, and apologies again for missing their LopLops show yesterday! This was a great first foray into LopLops for our coverage, and hopefully it won't be the last time! You can check out our photos from the show at this link or at our Facebook page, and as for our videos, here's Gnaeus playing "Mountains", The Pixo Control playing "Alphabetical Order", and Id Iota playing "California Wasted"!







That's all for today, but don't miss Gnaeus TONIGHT at LopLops after the Festival of Beer wraps up, and stay tuned for a new news post tomorrow! Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERT (Brutally Fatal), Bear Hunters CD Release Fallout, And More!!

With concert reviews taking up the last few days, we finally have our first news post of December for you guys today, and yes, this month's "Where Are The New Albums?" post is guaranteed to be next! Today, we have a new guitar video, plenty of updates from a recent CD release and it's launch show, and first, a LOCAL CONCERT ALERT for later this month!

A new house party concert from Blood Shed Productions will take place on Boxing Day (Friday, December 26th), and yes, it's location is publically advertised! Termed a "Bloody Boxing Day Basement Jam", there's a huge lineup currently planned for this event, so who all's playing? The scheduled headliner is Strange Coyotes guitarist Chase Wigmore in a solo set at 11:30 PM, while Blood Shed death metal acts Brutally Fatal and Rotopsy are slated for 10:45 & 9:15 PM. Notably, local metal/rap project The Apocalypse Afterparty will play a local set for the first time since September at 9:15 PM that night, but how will their set look and sound given teased lineup additions and their own recent songwriting? We'll know for sure then! Goregrind solo project Crucify The Whore will take the stage at 8:30 PM, while the 8:00 PM slot is currently vacant, and we'll let you know when it's filled!

The opening four acts are all rappers, including Mikey Thomas at 7:30 PM, Legitly Logic (formerly Dillionaire, a.k.a. Rotopsy's Dylan Taylor) at 7:00 PM, Miracle Man at 6:30 PM, and Phat Boii at 6:00 PM. To be held at 11 Hearst Street (downtown/centrally located) and partly as a makeup for a halted Boxing Day private gig last year, this ALL AGES show has no announced cover charge. For more details, visit the official Facebook event page! Sounds like a stacked event for the Blood Shed, so keep it in mind if you love similar events, especially given the season!

Next up, here's some fallout from The Bear Hunters' CD release party at The Canadian Nightclub on Saturday! The show and release was covered before and after the fact in separate SooToday articles by Donna Hopper, so what's in them? On Saturday before the show, an article went up to hype the event, which featured remarks by guitarist Mitch Sirie on the troubled recording process for "Eternal Hibernation", their work with White Wreckords to complete the album, and why he went the do-it-yourself route to complete the CD. Solid read, if dated now given that it was pre-show! As for after it, Donna's article recapping the event went up on Monday, where she called "Eternal Hibernation" a "powerful 10-song release", and remarked briefly on the event itself. As expected, she got some great photos that night (albeit in black & white), including 15 of The Bear Hunters and 5 of Brampton's Livid & The Bloodthirsty, though sadly, none of Haggith's opening set.

Excellent photos as always, so give them a look above! Also, video cameras from Local2 were on hand, presumably for an upcoming Tuned episode, so we'll let you know when they make it online! As for The Bear Hunters' CDs themselves, here's some info on the contents of each! Both "Eternal Hibernation" ($10) and the prior EP "Collapse The Sun" ($2 in limited quanitites) were released & mastered through Mitch Sirie's new independent company Edge of Eden Productions, and were recorded at White Wreckords with producer James White. Both professionally packaged with album booklets, full lyrics, and artwork by Kevin Powe, "Eternal Hibernation" is dedicated to late original rhythm guitarist Andres Duchesne, who has a tribute photo & message on the inner tray liner. It's booklet includes large individual photos of each band member, along with full credits, shout outs, and thanks to everyone who helped along the way.

Of note for the lyrics, singer Nik Deubel wrote almost every song himself, save for "Succumb To Eternity" (which bassist Justin Lam wrote), while Nik & Justin both wrote "Casualties of War", and Nik & Mitch both wrote "Render This Void", so there's some insight if you didn't know the minds behind the words! As for the "Collapse The Sun" single, that features the studio version of "the title track, a live version of said song, and a 2011 demo instrumental of it, mainly to show how it's evolved since the early days. The live version was recorded at the 3 Inches of Blood concert at the former Roosevelt Hotel (now Reggie's West) on July 9th, 2012, and to my surprise, it's actually a mastered audio copy of the video I shot from their set at that show! I'm not complaining, I'm glad to see that the guys liked it and put it to a greater use! "Eternal Hibernation" t-shirts are forthcoming within the week, apparently, while The Bear Hunters' attention now shifts to new CDs.

According to their Facebook page on Sunday, the guys plan to have an online store up and running in the coming weeks to sell digital copies of their CDs (no word on if it'll be on Bandcamp or not), while tentative plans are to release their "Aftermath" EP (featuring leftover songs from older songwriting sessions) "early next year", with their second studio album "The Dead Testament" following late next year. No word on Rad Zone availability yet, but it looks like The Bear Hunters are well on their way, and it's great to finally have the CD out! Look for our review of it later this month, and stay tuned for more from their camp!

Finally for today, here's a new solo guitar performance video by Exiled guitarist Joe Jenkins! Uploaded to his YouTube channel yesterday, this is of the Sault Michigan-area guitarist jamming his own original compsition "Pitch Black", which he previously demoed on his YouTube channel in March via this link. Shot from below, you get a good angle of his playing with this video, and the song remains a solid hard rock number that would be neat to see fleshed out with a full band! Solidly done, so give it a look below, and stay tuned for more from Joe & Exiled!



That's all for now, but stay tuned for this month's "Where Are The New Albums?" post either tonight or tomorrow, with weekend concert previews and more to follow! Thanks everyone!