Defunct Local Band Profile Series: Rotopsy

It's now time for this month's Defunct Local Band Profile, as we kick off another year of spotlights of local metal, hard rock, and punk acts from the past, as randomly selected from our band links! As we lead off 2025, we're taking a trip back to the 2010s for a look at a band that will be an acquired taste for many, but definitely left a big impression despite their duo lineup, so here's what you should know on them!

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Rotopsy

Hometown: Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario

Genre: Grindcore/Goregrind/Punkgrind

Lineup:

Dylan Taylor (Legitly Logic), vocals
Tyler "Ringsnaps" Gibson (Crucify The Whore), bass

(Rotopsy were one of multiple one-two man metal bands to crop up in the Soo in the 2010s. They never had a permanent guitarist, and they utilized a drum machine for percussion in studio and in concert.)

Audio/Video:  Long-time staples of Tyler's independent label Blood Shed Productions, Rotopsy (pronounced "raw-topsy") were frequently featured in the label's demo CD releases in the early-mid 2010s, and have four surviving releases on their Bandcamp page, including a self-titled 2014 EP and a full-length album from 2015 named "Sexual Assault Rifle". They also featured on two split releases (one with two other bands, one with ten) from the mid-2010s, though only their contributions are streamable there. Songs of theirs can also be heard on their Reverbnation page. A number of videos from their live dates can be seen online, with the SMS filming them for our Facebook page at multiple Oddfellows Hall dates, while videos and song uploads are common on the Blood Shed YouTube channel and select other channels there. Here they are live in March of 2015!

Info/Analysis: Originally launching under the name Spitneck in 2012, Rotopsy relaunched on social media a year later, and made their public concert debut at the former Oddfellows Hall in October 2013. Fans of late-era Oddfellows shows will recall seeing Dylan & Tyler open for bands like Thekillingfield, Bookakee, and Archelon in their heyday (often at shows promoted by Heavy North Entertainment), while also opening at major multi-band concerts like Dank Fest, Swampstravaganza IV, and Das Bunkerfest, and numerous house parties. The guys even hit the road for a couple of out of town dates in 2015 in Sudbury and Cochrane. Band updates began slowing down after 2015, and despite teasing a new EP for 2018 named "A Worthless Collection Of Aggressive Noises", it was never publically released. Rotopsy played their final public concert at an all-local metal show at the former New American Pub in February 2019, and quietly fell inactive later that year.

Honestly, a band like Rotopsy is critic-proof, given their often quite adult & provocative lyrics, song titles, and imagery, let alone the minimalist lineup and short songs (their 32 songs on Bandcamp average just 1:49 in length), but they were slightly more accessible than C.T.W. are. "Cops N Moms" would be where I'd start casual fans on, given that it didn't have death metal growling and it became a popular sing-along track live. From seeing Rotopsy live, even sans shoes, they had a fun live energy that definitely appealed to their core fanbase, and they were clearly having a lot of fun, so hopefully we see Tyler and Dylan back at some point! I do still think that the 1-2 man Blood Shed bands could have formed one great full band though.

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I hope you guys liked this month's Defunct Local Band Profile! We'll be doubling up for next month's installment, as our first randomly selected band only briefly existed, so we randomly picked a second band in a similar state to round things out. Both bands did put out an album, namely noise rock duo No Funeral and Free Beer/Id Iota interim group Habitat Shuffle, so look for these profiles on or around February 10th. That's all for now, but look for our full coverage of 104.3 FM's massive overhaul on the site either tomorrow night or on Monday! Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERT (Scarkazm), New Album Updates, And More!!

In what may be our final news post of 2021, I have lots of updates from a trio of December album releases from local bands (one brand new, two with new details), plus a new music video of sorts, but leading off, we have a concert preview/SHORT NOTICE LOCAL CONCERT ALERT to take stock of! Here's what you should know!

A relatively quiet New Year's concert weekend for heavier bands in the Soo area will still net a couple of gigs in Sault Michigan TOMORROW & SATURDAY NIGHT, as Traverse City metal trio Scarkazm will end 2021 and ring in 2022 at The Rapids Lounge at the Sault Michigan Kewadin Casino! Apologies for the short notice on SATURDAY'S New Year's Day show, Kewadin never advertised it on their entertainment page for The Rapids Lounge, but Scarkazm confirmed that they are playing twice this weekend as usual via their Facebook event page for the latter. Venue advertising seems to focus on the New Year's Eve party trappings tomorrow, and given that December 31st is a Friday this year, that would normally bode well for partying to send the year out! Alas, we're not in a normal year, so if you do come out tomorrow (or SATURDAY), please use common sense and follow the casino's public health guidelines.

Last seen at The Rapids Lounge in October, Scarkazm's brand of original metal and covers should be a fine way to celebrate the holiday, so don't miss out on the party tomorrow or the more relatively standard concert on SATURDAY! Both shows have no cover charge, 21+ age limits, and 9:00 PM start times. Visit the above links for more details, and here's Scarkazm live!

Next up, we have another new local album release to take note of on the SMS, as defunct Sault Ontario hard rock/power pop trio The Din's third live album was released yesterday on their Bandcamp page! Entitled "Technically Live", this is the almost complete set that The Din played at The W.W. Baldwin Auditorium at The Tech on August 12th, 2016 as part of their release party for their debut studio album "Give In To The Din", and now that the album is out, I can confirm that the audio was a soundboard recording and not taken from Shaw TV's video of the concert. As previously teased in his live-streamed concert last month, the album features all nine songs from the original release of "Give In To The Din", plus the usual live "75" intro "Leamington, Ontario", the then-unreleased "Differences", and four outside covers. The live album does not feature frontman Mike Haggith's solo song "Of Cars & Criminals", which directly preceded "Flux" in the concert proper, but you can watch Shaw TV's footage of it at this link.

No word on why "Of Cars & Criminals" didn't make the cut, but an acoustic version was on their first live CD, 2016's "The Din Does Laundry". On Bandcamp, you can buy "Technically Live" on a "name your price" model (if you so desire, you can download it free), but CD copies will run you $10 on Kunaki, which has been Mike's go-to service for physical albums this year. As I just reviewed the deluxe edition of "Give In..." on the site in October, I can't review another Din album until April at the earliest due to my 6 month anti-bias buffer rule, but a review is in the cards for the second quarter of 2022! Buy or stream "Technically Live" at the above links!

Also, this is more cleaning up the obvious from two other new album releases from this month, as both defunct local punk band Room 206's newly re-released 1994 album "2 Innies & 1 Outie" and St. Ignace, Michigan metalcore quintet Heavy Lies The Crown's full-length self-titled album are available to buy in mp3 format, with expanded ways to hear them on streaming services too! I alluded to these in yesterday's review of the former on the SMS, but I haven't discussed these in a proper post yet. If you're too late to buy a vinyl copy of "2 Innies & 1 Outie" or don't buy/collect vinyl records, you can still hear the remaster on Spotify, YouTube, and Amazon Music, while digital download copies are for sale on Amazon for $9.49. Heavy Lies The Crown's new album was on Spotify from the get-go, and while it's not presently streamable on YouTube, it is also on Amazon for the same price!

Yes, you can stream the H.L.T.C. album on Amazon Music also, but that digital download version on the Amazon store is what unlocks it for our first album review of 2022! I don't historically review free stream-only albums, and if physical copies aren't imminent, there has to be at least the option to pay for downloadable files, rather than exploit a streaming service and hope for a good ad revenue return. As only one of the two has a full YouTube stream, here's Room 206's album opener "My Trip"!

Finally, here's a Christmas surprise from local independent label Blood Shed Productions' YouTube channel, namely a music video for 2012-2019 grindcore duo Rotopsy's fan favourite song "Cops N Moms"! The label's first upload in seven months, the video syncs up the typically (for them) song with assorted clips of Dylan & Tyler performing live at both concerts and jam sessions. Nothing is stated regarding a possible Rotopsy reunion, for the record, and the song proper is from 2014. Not badly edited, and this is definitely one of Rotopsy's more accessible tracks, so fans will wanna give it a watch below!

That's all for today, but barring any more late notice New Year's weekend shows, we'll end the year with our 2021 retrospective post, so look for that tomorrow! Thanks everyone!

Another Inactive Band, New Videos, And More Assorted Updates!!

We're back with a new post on this rainy Friday, and it includes some shorter stories from the last little while, new videos from this month, and leading off, details on an apparently inactive band. Here's what you should know!

I have moved local gore/punkgrind duo Rotopsy to our inactive band links. The band has not made a public update since sharing a song for an unrelated project on their Facebook page one year ago today, before their page was besieged by irrelevant hacked posts throughout the first quarter of 2020. An enduring staple of guitarist Tyler "Ringsnaps" Gibson's independent record label Blood Shed Productions and their run of mid-2010s concert bookings, Rotopsy debuted under the Spitneck name in 2012, and quickly settled into a prolific groove with many demo CD recordings, often with a decidedly un-PC bent. Arguably the best known of the mid-2010s grouping of local two-man bands, readers may recall Tyler, vocalist Dylan Taylor, and their drum machine opening for bands like Bookakee, IDNS, and Reanimator, as well as playing at events like Swampstravaganza IV, Das Bunkerfest, and numerous house parties, and even touring a bit in the summer of 2015.

Rotopsy updates slowed to a crawl after 2016, but they did sporadically work on new studio material, and they hosted a New A concert in February of last year. Like their sister band Crucify The Whore, their minimalist nature, often indecipherable vocals, and controversial imagery made Rotopsy an acquired taste for many, but their live concerts had a bouncy yet heavy appeal, and Tyler & Dylan were clearly having fun doing what they wanted, even without shoes! Hopefully we see Rotopsy back at it down the road!

Next up, here's some new videos, starting with local classic hard rock quartet The Uncanny Valley's first full-length studio-recorded song "Middle Man", as per their new YouTube channel two weeks ago! Apologies for the delay, I've had a lot going on personally this month. The video description publically confirms that the guys are in fact working on a studio album, which is somewhat surprising given their age and minimal live appearances to date, but the talent's there, and fans of their retro-influenced sound will take to "Middle Man"! Give it a listen below, and stay tuned for updates on The Uncanny Valley's debut CD when they roll in!

Also, here's a new vocal cover of Guns N' Roses' "Patience" (more specifically, Chris Cornell's posthumous cover) by ex-Sense of Truth frontman Cory Murchison! Uploaded to his YouTube channel yesterday, this is a well done rendition that has a little extra grit to it, but keep in mind that this is a cover of a cover, and I'd be curious to see how Cory would tackle the original song. Give it a watch 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 name:

• Local alternative/hard rock solo artist Mike Haggith's song "The Best You Never Had" was spotlighted in The Permanent Train Press' "Under The Radar" feature last month on new independent song releases that the site recommends readers check out. Contributor Natalie Dee complimented the song's lyrics, themes, and 1980s-inspired power pop sound, and it's a nice plug for new listeners! Give a it a look at this link!
  
• Local hard rock musician Mike McCleary quietly resurfaced in February with re-releases of his old original songs "Date Night With Darkness" & "What You've Done To Me" on his Bandcamp page! Both are for sale on a "name your price" model, and include additional information about their mental health-inspired composition. The latter definitely sounds pumped up a bit compared to it's copy from it's eponymous album, and it's great to see that Mike was back in action earlier in the year!
  
• In a presumed follow-up to his Musicians Wanted Facebook group posting from January, Mustang Sally guitarist Mikhal Muto is looking for a bassist between 14 & 20 years old to join his new punk band, now named Vanity. Songs the group plays include covers of bands from Green Day & NOFX to Rage Against The Machine and The Foo Fighters, among others. Vanity already have a bass cab and head provided, and candidates must be available to jam once a week. Message Mikhal at this link or above for more information!
  

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

LOCAL CONCERT ALERT (Dustin Jones & The Rising Tide), Blood Shed Concert Preview, And A New Video!!

In today's post, we have an extended preview of an upcoming metal concert happening slightly earlier than expected, plus a new video from an artist playing that show, but first, here's a LOCAL CONCERT ALERT for next month!

Local Celtic/punk quintet Dustin Jones & The Rising Tide will make their first public concert appearance of 2019 when they headline a St. Patrick's Day weekend concert at LopLops Lounge on Saturday, March 16th! Last seen at the same venue on December 27th, this holiday-timed show is nothing new for The Tide, who are known for playing live concerts on or around St. Patrick's Day in recent years, though they haven't played a seasonal concert of this nature in the Soo since their March 2015 tour, typically playing in Sudbury instead. It's great to see Dustin and company bring their Celtic punk attack back to LopLops next month, and one assumes green beer will be flowing if that's up your alley! No word yet on potential openers, we'll let you know if any are confirmed. Given their reputation and the seasonal nature, this concert is expected to sell out, and tickets are running for $15 at this link or presumably at the venue in advance and/or at the door.

This is absolutely a 19+ show, and a 9:00 PM start time is advertised. If you're up for some seasonally appropriate punk rock from this talented quintet (complete with presumed new material from their forthcoming CD), a LopLops trip to see The Rising Tide may not be a bad idea on St. Patrick's Eve! Visit the official Facebook event page for more details!

Next up, here's our preview of a special grindcore/death metal concert at The New American Pub THIS TUESDAY NIGHT, which will definitely be up the alley of long-time followers of Blood Shed Productions! As best as I can tell, this show was quietly moved up from Thursday the 28th to Tuesday, apologies for missing the apparent date change. Promoted (and headlined?) by resurgent local goregrind duo Rotopsy, this will be a return to form in many respects for the Blood Shed roster of minimalist death & grind bands, following a very quiet 2018, and it will be great to see everyone back at it! Previously announced solo projects on Tuesday will include Rotopsy bassist Tyler Gibson's goregrind act Crucify the Whore, the previously announced experimental metal project Awokest (in their first show since releasing "Enter The Nightlands"), and new local death/trance metal solo project Black Cloud, so if you like one-man extreme metal, here's a trifecta for your Tuesday entertainment!

Two previously unlisted bands are now advertised on the Facebook event page, including the surprise reunion of Awokest frontman Chase Wigmore's 2013-2014 grindcore duo This Is Your Band On Drugs after a 5+ year hiatus! I haven't heard anything specific on the return, or if Nick will be back on vocals, but Chase had been including T.I.Y.B.O.D. recordings in his recent discography compilation work, so this could stem from that. In any event, this should be intriguing for Blood Shed loyalists, and they're back in our active band links! The other advertised band/performer was listed under the moniker "PCxFascist", but they were quietly replaced or renamed on the Facebook event page with the project name "Full-Send". Same act or not, I know nothing on PCxFascist and/or Full-Send, but we'll let you know if anything comes out! A 19+ show, entrance at The New A on Tuesday will be via donation under a "pay what you can" model, and an early-ish 8:00 PM start time is advertised.

While unfortunately not at The Oddfellows Hall (despite what the Facebook event page's cover photo may suggest), this is a nice throwback event for fans of Blood Shed Productions & Heavy North Entertainment's heyday, and might this be just the start of a 2018 resurgence for the label? See above for more details on all of Tuesday's local extreme metal action at The New A, and for a preview, here's Rotopsy live!



We'll close today with a new video from the aforementioned Chase Wigmore's solo Facebook page, as uploaded there on Thursday! A solo instrumental performance in black & white, this is an excellent showcase of Chase's guitar abilities, complete with some progressive flourish, and it's heavy enough to appeal to fans of his metal work without scaring unaccustomed listeners. Excellent shredding here, so give Chase's new video a look below, don't miss Awokest on Tuesday, and stay tuned for more news and updates on the site later this week! Thanks everyone!

White Cowbell Oklahoma Concert Videos And Much More Recent News & Notes!!

Today's post is largely one to play catch-up on recent news and updates, including details on a national music contest, some assorted update, and a new metal song, but let's begin with some new videos from a recent show!

A handful of videos are now online from the White Cowbell Oklahoma show at LopLops Lounge last month! Christopher Paci was on hand to film seven videos of the Toronto southern hard rock veterans in action for his excellent YouTube channel, and these include their songs "San Antone", "Cheerleader", and "Shot A Gamblin' Man", plus their cover of Frank Zappa's "Magic Fingers", a longer song that I can't identify off-hand, and this clip of frontman Clem Clemsen using a flamethrower (you read that right!) Embedded below is their set-closing original "Put The South In Your Mouth", complete with angle-grinding action at the end. Solid videos for fans of their country-tinged hard rock sound, and the fans are clearly into everything! W.C.O.'s crowd favourite and high energy songs are always welcome around here, and you can relive that concert above & below!

Next up, CBC Music's annual Searchlight competition begun it's voting period yesterday, and at least two local acts are in the running! The ultimate prize this year includes the Allan Slaight Juno Master Class, a trip to next month's Juno Awards in London, a week of recording time at the National Music Centre in Calgary, and a chance to perform at this summer's 2019 CBC Music Festival, with airplay and exposure on CBC stations along the way. Compared to the last time Searchlight had a major thumbprint on SMS coverage (2015), things seem very streamlined, with artists seemingly in the same national pool, and you can only search by province or territory for entered bands. You can vote once per day, no registration needed, at this link, and the top 100 acts (50 by CBC's selection committee, 50 by fans) after Valentine's Day will proceed to the next stage on February 20th. As best as I can tell, only two local bands have enterted, so who can you vote for in this contest to find the next great Canadian music act?

As expected, one is local indie/punk quintet Northwest, who are looking to better their 2015 Northern Ontario region semifinal run, but new indie rockers Man Feelings (featuring Bizotic alum B.J. Swire) are also in, as is London musician and former Saultite Andy Chillman, potentially among others with local ties. Not having a CBC Music (formerly CBC Radio 2) station in the market doesn't help for contest advertising locally, but it'd be great to see a local act make a deep run, and you can do your part to help by voting at the above links! Best of luck all around in this first round!

Also today, here's the latest song from local experimental/death metal solo project Awokest's Facebook page, entitled "Machine God of Hate"! Inspired by the Harlan Ellison sci-fi story "I Have No Mouth, and I Must Scream", it's not clear how this fits into Awokest's/Chase's prolific album plans, but this will appeal to fans who like his more brutal and aggressive metal material! This has a black or noise metal quality with solid shrieking vocals, and is worth a listen for genre fans, so give it a listen below!



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

• Local Celtic punk quintet Dustin Jones & The Rising Tide are recording a music video for their upcoming single "Lost & Found"! Two teaser photos were shared to their Facebook page from the shoot, which confirm that young local filmmakers Avery Obeng and Matt Hroch are behind the camera for this video, The Tide's first since "A Day Will Come" in 2012. It'll be interesting to see how this video stacks up to their prior ones, and stay tuned for updates!
• In their first Facebook post of the year, local promoters Six, Two, Oh. announced that they are already working on the third annual Oh!No concert festival, which will have some "deadly out of town acts", and will also feature co-organizing roles from fellow promoters Dryer Fire and Batchewana Bay mobile record store Oosik Records. No word on further details, but I have no reason to believe that Oh!No III won't be back at Robbie's Church in Leeburn in early September. Stay tuned for more on this fast rising festival!
• Local goregrind duo Rotopsy have announced another new concert via this Facebook event page, which will take place on Thursday, May 16th, venue to be announced (though note the Oddfellows Hall crowd shot as the cover photo.) Described as "a little shindig with music and other sounds claiming to also be music", the event name is "Degenerate Bastards Vol. 2", which seems to imply that Crucify the Whore and Chase Wigmore will at least be playing on this night, though is that it for connections to their prior split? Stay tuned!

That's all for today, but stay tuned for more news and updates on the site soon! Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (The Elements & Rotopsy), Plus New Videos!!

I was planning to have this month's "Where Are The New Albums?" post today, but with a SHORT NOTICE LOCAL CONCERT ALERT, I have bumped that to tomorrow, so don't worry, it's coming! In fact, you'll get a preview of a new album addition in today's post, plus a new song upload (kind of) and one more new show for later this month as well, so here's what you should know!

Local funk/hard rock quartet The Elements will return to The Rockstar Bar for a concert TONIGHT! Profuse apologies for the short notice, this concert was only just announced last night as an emergency replacement for the planned debut of Sociables Speed Dating, which was cancelled following a sudden staffer relocation. Kudos to The Elements for stepping up late, and hopefully the speed dating event's March 1st rescheduling goes off without a hitch! The Elements will be hitting the stage TONIGHT for the first time since their karaoke-infused show at the same venue two weeks ago, and might this serve as a preview of sorts for their Joni Radford memorial concert set next month? Fans should hear a few punk covers TONIGHT in any event! Presented by Maxx Entertainment, this concert has a 19+ age limit, no announced cover charge, and a 10:00 PM start time. Visit the Facebook event page for more details, and here's The Elements live!



Next up, fans of Blood Shed Productions might want to head to The New American Pub on Thursday, February 28th, where five extreme metal acts will take the stage for a night of brutality! The event was created by local grindcore duo Rotopsy, which heavily implies that they'll be playing in an increasingly rare set at a formal concert venue, so if you've missed Dylan and Tyler's bouncy minimalist brutality, head to The New A at month's end! Firmly advertised performers include three local death metal solo projects, including Tyler's own Crucify the Whore, experimental project Awokest (in the de facto "Enter the Nightlands" release party), and in their public concert debut, new local death/trance metal project Black Cloud. It'll be interesting to hear how Tyler, Chase, and Peytan handle things in this trifecta of minimalist extreme metal action, so don't miss any of them on the 28th! The other advertised band is labelled as "PCxFascist", and I have no information on them at press time.

If anything surfaces publically on PCxFascist, we will let you know! This 19+ concert has a "pay what you can" model for entrance fees, and an early 8:00 PM start time is advertised, presumably in acknowledgement of the Thursday night scheduling. This all-local event is a nice throwback to Blood Shed's peak run of Oddfellows Hall events, and while not taking place there, this should please fans of one and two man extreme metal! See more details at the Facebook event page, and stay tuned for possible updates!

We'll close today with new videos, starting with the first teaser of local Celtic/punk quintet Dustin Jones & The Rising Tide's fourth studio album! In their first Facebook page post of 2019, the guys confirmed that they are indeed back at Mission Control Studios to record their new CD, which will be their first album in 7 years, and their first with second guitarist Liam Seymour & drummer Chris Johns. As a teaser, The Tide shared this 22 second teaser video onto Facebook of the album's planned first single "Lost & Found", and while there's not much to go on yet, existing fans should be right at home with this clip! Give it a listen below, and keep posted for updates!



Finally for today, here's a surprise solo video find from Skeyes of Seven frontman Cory Murchison's YouTube channel! First published in 2016 but only coming to our attention today, this is an original song that he calls "SillyMe", but is actually a rearranged and rewritten version of a song by his 2007-2011 hard rock band Sense of Truth. The video proper amusingly features Cory's daughter Lyric "playing" the instruments, among other assorted footage, and this adds a cute angle to the well recorded song! Sense of Truth were a solid band, and hopefully we hear more from Skeyes of Seven soon, but give Cory's new-ish solo track a listen below!



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

LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (Toystock VI & Banned), Plus Rotopsy Updates!!

I know I said that this month's YouTube Channel Profile was coming next, but when compiling it, another SHORT NOTICE LOCAL CONCERT ALERT hit my Facebook notifications, so we're postponing our feature post one last time to tomorrow morning. It is coming next, I just don't want to let these new shows go uncovered! To fill things out, we have another new show for next month with a huge lineup, and some news from a local metal project, so here's what you should know!

Kinross, Michigan classic/hard rock trio Banned will return to The Northern Pines Lounge at the Kewadin Shores Casino in St. Ignace for concerts TONIGHT & TOMORROW NIGHT! Profuse apologies for the short notice, these shows were only announced via their Facebook event page this afternoon, with Banned even noting on their Facebook page that this was a "last minute booking". For what it's worth, Kewadin's entertainment page does not list any Northern Pines Lounge bookings until December, so it's not clear if they're specifically replacing anyone that may have dropped out. Continuing their recent string of Kewadin Casino concerts, TONIGHT & TOMORROW'S shows will be their first since rocking Sault Michigan three weeks ago, and their first in St. Ignace in over a month. Also, while they didn't acknowledge Halloween in their postings, Kewadin branches will be holding costume contests tomorrow, so click here for details on that!

Assuming the last minute announcement was out of their control, it's great to see Banned fill in on short notice, so look for their hard rocking covers TONIGHT & TOMORROW at 9:00 PM with no cover charge and 21+ age limits. Visit the above links for more details, and here's Banned live!



Next up, here's a Sault Ontario show with lots of advance notice, as the lineup has been released for the sixth annual Toystock charity concert at The Northern Grand Gardens on Sunday, November 26th! As revealed by promoters Maxx Entertainment on the Facebook event page earlier today, this year's installment of the Christmas Cheer fundraiser event will once again see 10 bands in 10 hours, though this year's features more returning bands than usual, with five bands returning from last year's Toystock lineup, and just three making their festival debut next month. The band order presented on this poster is subject to change, but top billed there are local country cover quartet Bone Yard in their record fifth Toystock appearance, while their blues rock sister band Mojo will also hit the Toystock stage as just the third band to play the event three times, and they'll feature guest singer Annette Bouchard during their set. Three more bands will return from last year's Toystock, including classic/hard rock cover quartet The 3 Day Millionaires, 1960s-themed classic rock veterans The Peace Vibe, and unidentified Case's Music students.

Toystock VI will also welcome back blues/country veterans The Algo Rhythms from 2015's installment, while pop rock cover quartet Cherry Crush (performers from the inaugural Toystock in 2012) will finally return to this event five years later, and it's great to see Taryn and company back at it! The three new bands on this year's lineup include classic/hard rock cover quartet Soundcheck (though predecessors Mourning Wood played Toystock twice in the mid-2010s), blues rock singer/guitarist Paul Dellavedova & his solo band, and "Jeff & Jeff", a presumed country duo that will feature local radio DJ Jeff McNiece. Solid lineup, and more familiar than ever for regular attendees! As usual, Toystock is a fundraiser event for Christmas Cheer, with all admission fees being via donations in canned goods, toys, or money, which is an excellent cause for the holidays! The Stuff-A Bus will also be on site, as will Santa and Mrs. Claus, so bring the kids!

Expect more prize draws, food and drinks from the Grand Gardens, and more on November 26th, and as usual for Toystock, this is absolutely ALL AGES with a 12:00 PM start time, and one band every hour until 10:00 PM. Things are shaping up well for another year of seasonal entertainment at Toystock VI next month, and with loads of talented musicians (including some hard rock via Soundcheck and the Millionaires), fans won't want to miss out on their familiar covers! See the above links for more details, and stay tuned for continued updates as they roll in!

Finally for today, here's the latest from local goregrind duo Rotopsy, who (much like sister project C.T.W.) have been relatively quiet in 2017, but new activity is being teased on their Facebook page! In August, the band teased that jam sessions were coming after they "found some drum tracks", later teasing on Tuesday that "the wait is over", curiously sharing a picture of an epsom salt bag when posting that. Their long-hinted at EP "A Worthless Collection of Aggressive Noises" will apparently be released "soon", but in the interim, a new video of theirs was put onto Facebook on Wednesday, featuring an apparently now-short haired Tyler Gibson jamming a bass track. The Blood Shed Productions camp has been oddly inactive for most of the year, so it's great to see Tyler and crew back in action at last, and hopefully a live return isn't far off either, so check out Rotopsy's new video below!



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

YouTube Channel Profile Series: Blood Shed

It's now time for this month's YouTube Channel Profile, our randomly selected look at 1-3 (one this month) YouTube channels whose content is at least 50% devoted to local metal, hard rock, and/or punk artists and concerts! This month's random selection is of the channel of a local indie label whose content isn't for all tastes, visually or sonically, so bear that in mind just in case. That said, they have a loyal fanbase, many talented musicians within, and are celebrating their fifth anniversary this year, so read on below for this month's YouTube Channel Profile!
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Blood Shed (http://www.youtube.com/channel/UC_Dw5V-Z54Mc2NNVv6sbDhQ)

Owner: Blood Shed Productions co-founder Tyler "Ringsnaps" Gibson, also well known from his vocal and multi-instrumental work with label-signed grindcore and metal projects Crucify the Whore, Rotopsy, Brutally Fatal, and Malignant Neoplasm, as well as bands like The Noochin' Lanterns, Tomgrindy, and T.E.N.

Channel Timeline: Launched on November 13th, 2012; Videos posted from that day through November 2016.

Channel Summary: The official YouTube channel for local independent grindcore/horror rap label Blood Shed Productions, this is one of the most prolific channels for uploaded content from local musicians, featuring (at last count) 227 individual videos! While some live performance videos have been included from jam sessions and concerts alike, including select performances from non-label acts, most content (especially earlier uploads) has been of audio content from released demos. About 2/3rds of the channel focuses on Blood Shed metal projects (largely projects featuring Tyler), with the remainder focusing on the label's rappers.

Why You Should Watch: While the divisive lyrical content, cover artwork, and presented metal subgenres will definitely not be to all readers' tastes (tread lightly if easily offended), the Blood Shed Productions channel will be essential viewing for long-time fans of the label, not to mention horrorcore rap, goregrind, and death metal, especially if you like your metal bands to have 2 members or less! It's very hard to single out individual videos on a channel this big, so if you're a fan, you'll have a good time combing through this one! That said, while the label is still active, 2017 has been a quieter year for the Blood Shed, and that has helped lead to no new uploads on their YouTube channel yet this year.

Our Recommended Videos To Check Out

Crucify the Whore - People These Days: The most viewed video on Blood Shed Productions' channel (and 6 of their top 10) comes from C.T.W.'s debut demo, though all of these songs have names and an album cover subject that may offend some readers, so I've chosen not to embed them here. Instead, here's the channel's most popular video with more a more benign title & visuals, and it's the October 2013 upload of C.T.W.'s song "People These Days", posted to preview the goregrind solo project's 2014 release "Welcome to Earth". This is quintessential C.T.W., with Tyler's brutal guitar work meshed effectively with programmed drums and pig squeal vocals, and while Blood Shed loyalists will be right at home, this will definitely not be all readers' cup of tea. The full album can be heard on this channel as well, but be warned that some song titles and the cover artwork may be offensive.



Rotopsy - Cops N Moms ( Uninvited Uninvited ): Most concert videos on the Blood Shed channel come from Oddfellows Hall concerts or house parties, but this video is featured here due to it's improved lighting and stage set-up, giving us a better look at goregrind/death metal duo Rotopsy playing their fan favourite original "Cops 'N Moms", inspired by noise complaints at a house party set of theirs. Filmed at The Primavera Hall during their set at November 2014's Sault Band-O-Rama concert, this song is one of Rotopsy's more accessible originals, with shouted vocals from Tyler and lead singer Dylan Taylor rather than growling, but it's an amusing number that easily gets a good response during Rotopsy sets! The studio version of this song has also been uploaded to this channel, courtesy of the label's 11-way split release in 2015, as have other live renditions.



Brutally Fatal - Stomp Your Feet (Live): I would be remiss if I didn't acknowledge Blood Shed Productions co-founder Austin McCrae in this profile, given his own deep roots with the label as rapper Miracle Man and via his work in two different versions of his death metal project Brutally Fatal (initially spelled "Brutaly"), though each version's brief runs as Re-Born & The Revolution aren't documented on the channel. Otherwise, Austin's Blood Shed work is well represented here, including via jam session and live videos of both versions, with Austin on vocals & guitar or bass, and Tyler joining on drums for two stints with Mk. I. This video comes from a basement jam at label-signed rapper Phat Boii's residence in June 2015, capturing more of a punk-flavoured original that has lots of aggression and a unique side-stage angle! Videos of C.T.W. and Rotopsy have also been uploaded from this event, albeit with different camera angles.


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I hope you guys liked this month's YouTube Channel Profile! Next month in this series, we'll be taking a look at another randomly selected YouTube channel, and that random choice will be ForAllThatIsLost Fatil, better known as the official channel for the defunct early 2010s Central Algoma death metal band For All That Is Lost! Sticking with death metal here to kick off the fall, so look for that on or around September 26th, and stay tuned for more news and notes soon! Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (Destroyer & Handsome Sandwich), Show Postponements, And Much More!!

To kick off this post, we have two late clarifications for shows this weekend, including a postponement and an apology. For the former, it came out this morning that Kinross, Michiagn classic/hard rock trio Banned have postponed their Runway Bar concert in Hessel from last night to TONIGHT, as per their Facebook page. A reason for the postponement wasn't announced, but the venue had advertised the show being on Saturday previously, so the band must have gotten mixed up. We went with Banned's advertising for recency's sake, but they have since corrected the date, so keep their Hessel return in mind for TONIGHT! Also, I want to apologize for missing the late notice return of Sault Ontario classic/hard rock cover quartet Soundcheck to The Rednecks Saloon last night, as that show was only publically announced online yesterday evening with an hour's notice, way too late for us to rush a post to cover it.

The show started at an unusually early 7:00 PM as a continuation of efforts by Soundcheck to retain patrons during Rednecks' Friday chicken wing nights, having debuted the concept with an 8:00 PM show earlier this month. I have no idea if the matinee timing is helping with attendance moreso than at The Park Grille's live band experiment, but hopefully it was a great show, and profuse apologies again for missing this show on the site! We'd have covered it in our weekend concert previews had it received more notice!

Now, here's a pair of LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS for the coming months, starting with a trifecta of hard rock and punk music at The Rockstar Bar on Saturday, June 10th as part of their kick-off to the summer season! The bands playing in two weeks are new genre-less (albeit alt/punk sounding) trio Handsome Sandwich in their Rockstar Bar debut, alternative hard rock trio The Din, and reunited hard rock quartet Eclipse, so prepare for a solid night of musical entertainment from these three acts! Notably, this show will also help re-open the venue's outdoor patio for the season, so keep that angle in mind if you've missed it lately! Visibly a co-promotion of Paperclip Productions and The Din, there is a $5 cover charge is in effect for this 19+ concert, which has a 10:00 PM start time, and a merchandise table for all three bands is also being hyped. Visit the official Facebook event page for more details, and don't miss this intriguing union of rising bands in two weeks time!

Also newly confirmed is the return of Windsor-based Kiss tribute band Destroyer, who will make their (at least) fourth local concert appearance when they rock The Rockstar Bar on Saturday, July 29th! Continuing their recent trend of biennial concert appearances, in the Soo, this will be Destroyer's first appearance here in 2 years, last rocking the same venue in late May 2015. As fans will have seen in their prior local gigs, Destroyer bring a faithful looking and sounding tribute to Kiss at every show, so if you want the best, here's the next best thing! As of this writing, there is no advertised opening band, which would be typical, but remember that the now-dormant Griphook opened for Destroyer locally in 2015. Unusually, The Rockstar Bar has yet to acknowledge this show publically on their own Facebook group, but expect an announcement in the coming weeks, I would assume.

This 19+ concert should have a 10:30PM-ish start time, and while tickets don't appear to be on sale yet, note that the 2015 Destroyer show here had $12 advance tickets at The Algonquin Hotel's front desk, while door admission jumped to $16. Again, tickets are NOT on sale yet, and may not even be that price. For more details, visit the official Facebook event page, and stay tuned for updates as they roll in!

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:

• Local doom metal trio AlgomA's third split album has been announced, and it will see them sharing a cassette tape with local/St. Catharine's goregrind trio Shit Liver! The split was first announced via this image on AlgomA's Facebook page on Monday, and it will come out via AlgomA's old label Dead Beat Media, who have put out all AlgomA releases sans the Hooded Menace split. A "summer/fall" release date is currently listed, so stay tuned for this unique retro split as more details roll in! No word though on if this is the teased second album from Shit Liver, or if they are still working on a solo follow-up CD, but stay tuned for updates!
• Local death metal favourites The Bear Hunters and death metal duo Twistory have both been added as openers for the Ruptured Birth concert at The Oddfellows Hall on June 4th (one week from tomorrow), as per promoters Heavy North Entertainment on the official Facebook event page last week! This will be both bands' first shows of 2017, with The Bear Hunters last seen opening for Norilsk in the fall, and Josh & Robert last advertised publically opening for Foam last June. Very solid additions, so visit the above links for full details on this brutal all ages concert!
• June 17th's planned Oddzfest II event at The Oddfellows Hall has been postponed until "later this summer" due to "some minor booking issues", as per promoter Josh Stephney on the Facebook event page yesterday. Josh didn't elaborate further, but with he & the headliners coming from out of town, either of them may have had a scheduling hang-up. Very disappointing to hear, but stay tuned for word on Oddzfest II's new date!

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

LOCAL CONCERT ALERT (The Din), The Next Local Battle Of The Bands, And Much More!!

Originally, I planned to double up two posts on the SMS tomorrow, but with a big announcement regarding the Soo's next battle of the bands, I thought it was prime time to get this on the site while the news is still fresh! Also, you will find lots of assorted shorter news items to cap things off, but first, here's a LOCAL CONCERT ALERT for next month!

Local alternative/hard rock trio The Din will play a headlining concert at LopLops Lounge on Saturday, May 20th! Heading to this popular Queen Street East venue for the first time since their NLFB Meltdown audition set earlier this month, this appears to be just a regular headlining set for Mike, Tammy, and Brandan, so prepare for a full set's worth of high energy alt-rock originals and select covers in a months' time! An opening band is to be announced, and we will let you know when they are confirmed (for reference sake, Mike Mikus is playing at LopLops on Friday the 19th.) The Din's show on May 20th is a 19+ event with a $5 cover charge and a door opening time of 9:00 PM. If you're ready to give in to The Din once again, then keep this show in mind for next month, and visit the official Facebook event page for current details!

Next up, the annual battle of the bands from local concert promoter J.D. Pearce is returning for year #3, but with big changes, so here's what we know so far! After two years as the multi-night VM Radio Battle of the Bands in March, the battle (presented by Tidal Records) has been contracted to a one night event to be held on Saturday, June 3rd, and with Village Media not credited on the Facebook event page, The Rad Zone have stepped in as the battle's new title sponsor. However, the battle will be held at The Canadian Nightclub once again, which is always a great choice! Plans call for a $1,000 cash prize for the winning band (as was the case in 2015), with professional recording time, industry professional feedback, and more on the line. Listed sponsors will include Twin City Sound, photographers RAD.imagery, and Sudbury's CSA International, the promoters behind this June's Rock the Border Music Fest (whose lineup will reportedly be announced tomorrow), among many others. Keep those components in mind come June 3rd!

Details regarding band registrations, individual prizes, audience admission, ticket sales, judges, and more are forthcoming, but for reference, look up the results and recaps from last year's battle for a potential idea of what to expect. A start time of 6:00 PM is in effect, and this will presumably be a 19+ event. Though things have been retooled since last March, the newly titled Rad Zone Battle of the Bands should be a great event with a lot of intrigue, especially given the relative lack of one-night judged battles in the Sault Ontario in recent years, NLFB Meltdown aside! Check the above links for all current details, and stay tuned as updates come in!

Finally for today, here's six assorted shorter news items from the last while and as usual for these short item groupings, these are in alphabetical order by band, company, or series name:

• Memphis hard rock quartet Devour the Day have been added as a second opening band for the Alter Bridge/In Flames concert at the Sault Michigan Kewadin Casino on May 16th, as per promoters Allstar Promotions' Facebook page on Sunday. This is a bit of a makeup date for Devour the Day, who Allstar had previously advertised to open for Shinedown locally in July 2013, but they were on a separate tour and were replaced in the Soo by fellow Memphis rockers Prosevere. It's great to see Devour the Day finally rock The Dreammaker's Theater, so get more details on this expanded concert above, and tickets are still available!
• As per their Facebook page on Sunday, Sault Ontario punk/metal veterans Jack Spades have enlisted former Winkstinger/Sativa Rose guitarist Anthony Orazietti (a.k.a. Tony AO) for their new lineup, restoring them to a quintet for the first time since Tiffany Stocco's departure last summer. It's great to see Anthony back in a local band, he showed skill in his short runs with recent groups, so hopefully he adds well with Jack Spades starting at the CKY concert! Stay tuned for the identity of their new drummer!
• After an 8 month hiatus from public updates, local indie/punk quintet Northwest resurfaced on Tuesday via some photos shared to their Facebook page taken at Mission Control Studios, one with producer Dustin Jones at the controls while bassist Mike Smykacz is playing. This heavily implies that they're recording new material, but is a second album in the works, or is something else afoot? Stay tuned for updates, but it's great to see Northwest back regardless!
• Wondering where local goregrind duo Rotopsy have been lately? Well, the guys revealed on their Facebook page in December that a new EP release named "A Worthless Collection of Aggressive Sounds" is in the works, with a full length release also planned for later in 2017. The planned cover art is even online, and in a surprise, it is safe for work, showcasing Rotopsy at The Oddfellows Hall with a red colour filter and a surprisingly happy crowd. Check out current details at the above links!
• SooToday's music webseries Tuned with Donna Hopper returned after a 2 month hiatus with a new episode yesterday, spotlighting the aforementioned NLFB Meltdown audition/battle at LopLops on April Fools Day, in which Donna was a judge! The video is solely about winning performer M.D. Dunn, who talks about his victory, preparation, and songwriting, and while no other bands are featured, Donna did ask Mark about his thoughts on the night's other bands. Entertaining episode, especially for fans of M.D. Dunn, so click here to give it a look, and good luck in Sudbury! I wonder if SooToday filmed the other bands that night?
• In a related note from our coverage of the former VM Radio Battle of the Bands, it appears that VM Radio proper (Village Media's local internet radio network) was quietly shut down in the past 5 months, as per the closure of it's website, and we have removed their rock station VM Rocks from our links. A reason for it's ultimate demise wasn't given, but VM Radio hadn't been actively promoted for reasons other than battle sponsorship in many months. With the lack of Canadian-produced FM radio in this market, VM Radio seemed to fill a void upon launching in late 2014, but hopefully the concept resurfaces in some form down the road!

That's all for today, but stay tuned for last month's poll results and our next poll tomorrow! Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERT (Project 421), Punk Rock Bingo V Concert Preview, And Id Iota Updates!!

With a stacked Halloween weekend of concerts, and existing out of town plans limiting time for the next few days, let's get our last weekend concert preview up on the site, along with a LOCAL CONCERT ALERT for next month and some overdue updates from a fast-rising local band! Read on for what you need to know, and check out more of this weekend's concert previews in the posts below to get caught up on the Halloween shows in the area!

Local classic metal quintet Project 421 will headline their own solo concert at The Rockstar Bar on Saturday, November 5th (one week from tomorrow!) Fresh off of their Halloween headlining set at The Rednecks Saloon THIS MONDAY, this will be Project 421's first solo show with no openers in a month, and their first Rockstar Bar appearance since opening for The Anti-Queens in July. This 1980s nostalgia mindtrip should deliver another solid night of metal classics next weekend, so if you can't make it on Monday and want some hard hitting metal classics, you know where to be next week! A 10:00 PM start time is advertised for this 19+ show, which also has no cover charge. Visit the official Facebook event page for more details, and keep both this concert and Monday's four-band concert in mind for some classic metal action!

Next up, here's our last concert preview for this stacked Halloween concert weekend, held until now because of it's timing (and the fact that it had advance notice), as THIS SUNDAY NIGHT will see a Devil's Night edition of Six, Two, Oh.'s punk rock bingo series at The New American Pub! After a six month hiatus since April's Black Tremor show, the long awaited fifth installment of this fan favourite event will return with two local metal bands backing up Saskatchewan southern rock trio Johnny 2 Fingers & The Deformities in their local concert debut, and they are named honestly, but Johnny can definitely get a good sound with them! Fans of raw southern rock should take to these guys, but if you crave metal, local doom/sludge trio AlgomA will provide support, fresh off of their set opening for Norilsk tonight! Also, promoters have quietly confirmed that local goregrind duo Rotopsy will kick things off in their first local concert appearance since the summer, though note that they hadn't publically acknowledged the show themselves at press time.

Note that Johnny 2 Fingers & The Deformities will also be playing at LopLops Lounge on November 19th on the way back west during their Eastern Canadian tour, so keep that in mind as well! The bingo itself starts the night at 9:00 PM with caller Brenton Ellis back, so get your dabbers ready to win some random prizes, and there will be a costume contest of some description too! There is a $5 cover and additional fees for bingo card purchases, and this is a 19+ event. Whether you like southern rock, metal, and/or bingo, this should be a fun night for many attendees, so visit the official Facebook event page for details, and here's AlgomA live!

Lastly for today, here's some more recent updates from local alternative hard rock quartet Id Iota, and apologies for the delay in getting these on the site! Last month (prior to their recent Ontario tour run), Shawn Thicke of the music website Bucket List reviewed their debut EP "Maudlin Fair", giving it an 8.5/10 rating, saying that "it is catchy, well-constructed, and fitting of its subject matter", albeit "too wordy" and with somewhat dated production. Overall, this in-depth review is very positive, especially given Shawn's perception of their "underdog" status compared to larger bands, so give it a look at this link! Back in local territory, SooToday briefly included a snippet of Id Iota's Rotaryfest Stage 2 set from multiple camera angles at the beginning of their recap video of the summer festival from July, and while the original audio isn't present, the video quality is fantastic! Also, look for progressive rock veterans Machines Dream near the end of the video.

We can't embed videos from SooToday's video host here, but we can embed this, as Id Iota are featured in this video filmed by Jim Fur-era, the owner of The Grinning Gator in London where they played earlier this month! Shared by the band on their own Facebook page, the 2:17 video's first half is of Id Iota playing an unidentified newer original from a nice camera angle, but the second half (sideways for some reason) features their new original track "American Literature". Everything sounds good, with Id Iota rocking out nicely on this funk-tinged first original and the more laid back second song, but that camera angle doesn't help the viewer experience, and there's often someone standing right in front of Christian in the latter. Still, kudos to Jim for getting this video, so check it out below, and don't miss Id Iota opening for Mike Mikus at LopLops on November 26th!



That's all for today, but stay tuned for this month's CD review next, and more updates in the near future!! Thanks everyone!

Debutaunt Concert Preview, An Inactive Local Band, And Much More!!

Let's keep the line moving with another new news post for your Tuesday afternoon, especially as there's a show to preview TONIGHT! To round things out, we have some new videos from bands on each side of the border, and an inactive band to take note of, so here's what you should know!

A special Tuesday night concert from promoters Six, Two, Oh. goes down TONIGHT at The New American Pub with one of the most eclectic band lineups of the year, with Edmonton pop punk quartet Debutaunt headlining in their local debut! This punk rock outfit should rip up the stage tonight in support of their new EP, and their catchy, fan friendly blend should get a good response at The New A, so come on out as they continue their Road to Nowhere Tour! An extremely varied opening lineup will include local goregrind duo Rotopsy, rapper and fellow Blood Shed Productions artist Mikey Thomas, and stand-up comedian Shane McGuigan, so there truly is something for everyone to enjoy tonight! This 19+ concert has a 9:00 PM start time, and while a $5 cover charge is advertised, the Facebook event page also says this is a "pay what you can" event, so bring $5 just in case, but keep the apparent varying admission in mind. Debutaunt should deliver a fun headlining set, and while the genre smorgasbord of the openers is a risk, hopefully this is a huge hit! See above for more, and here's Debutaunt live!

Next up, we have regrettably moved Sault Michigan hard rock trio Power Slug to our inactive band links due to a year's inactivity, having last posted publically on their Facebook page last July, and not playing an announced live concert since before that. Active since the fall of 2011 when they succeeded the defunct River Witch, Power Slug were a steady sight at local concerts in the early 2010s (even if they often didn't plug them online publically), with the band appearing at a number of special events like LemmaFest and the I-500, as well as taking road trips outside of the E.U.P. on occasion. Power Slug haven't played a public show since a Manistique Kewadin weekend last May, but the guys are still visibly on good terms, with frontman Chris Leask and drummer Bob Helsten playing together since in I.S.O.M. and The Creepy Little Coffee People, though Chris has largely focused on his classic/hard rock cover band Highway 63 in the past year.

Though Power Slug's quiet online presence in their early years was tricky to maneuver when covering them, I always liked Power Slug's gritty blend of hard and modern rock material, including some originals, and they had a fun stage show and sense of humour that made them easy to get into! Hopefully we see Power Slug back on stage down the road so fans can chug a mug with them once again, but best of luck to Chris, Chris, and Bob in the future!

Also today, here's our long overdue coverage of Sault Ontario alternative/hard rock trio The Din's two recent Facebook video postings, in advance of their CD release show THIS FRIDAY at The Tech! Apologies for the delay in getting these on the site, but better late than never, especially with the release show fast approaching. One video was a teaser for their most recent "Cover of the Month" YouTube video last month (a cover of Matchbox 20's "Real World"), with drummer Brandan Glew preparing for the performance by playing just a tad too slow, forcing frontman Mike Haggith to intervene in surprising ways. Cute clip that served as fun promotion for the full cover, so give it a look above! Embedded below is The Din's newet Facebook clip, where they opened boxes containing copies of their debut album "Give In To The Din", with Mike in particular admiring the final product and attempting to cleanly open the second box. Definitely some more good promotion, so check it out below, and get your copies of their CD first on FRIDAY NIGHT!



Finally for today, here's the newest video from Sault Michigan classical metal project Theatre of Night, as per their Facebook page this morning! Shared from keyboardist Craig Harrison's personal Facebook page, its titled "Writing music", and it assembles clips of him and guitarist Steve Giles tracking new music in studio, complete with a cameo from Craig's(?) dog. Not a lengthy look at Theatre of Night here, but it's great to see them still working on new material, so check it out below!



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