LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (Fyrbird & Nate's Chow) Plus More Recent News & Updates!!

Before we begin this post, I wanted to apologize for missing a concert on Saturday on here that ended up being called off anyway. New local hard rock quartet 5 Dollar Bribe were supposed to play a free hour-long set outside of Long & McQuade that day at 3:00 PM for the McDonald Avenue chain music store's customer appreciation day (beginning at noon), but the store's Facebook page confirmed that it was postponed due to the unpredictable weather, and it did indeed rain heavily at points on Saturday afternoon. Hopefully Long & McQuade do indeed reschedule this event for fans and customers alike! Now, here's some recent assorted updates, and kicking things off, two LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS in the E.U.P.!

The Sault Michigan hard rock cover band once known as Unfortunate Sun will end their recent break by headlining at The Islander Bar in Hessel on Friday, August 7th! This show comes five months after frontman Skip Parish stepped away from the band, and after teasing a name change to simply "Unfortunate" in April as part of their effective relaunch, they have settled on Nate's Chow, combining the names of Unfortunate Sun and their predecessors Fake Chow. "Nate" is the AI-generated beaver in their recent promotional images, implying that he will be their mascot going forward (for better or worse, Unfortunate Sun embraced AI art for their concert posters and schedules, and unlike the name, that hasn't changed). Unless "Nate" is representing a mystery lead singer to be announced, their Facebook page lists the band as a trio, with Jody, Brett, and Jason all credited on vocals.

How will the new look Nate's Chow fare at The Islander Bar in two months, especially as they haven't played there since December? Time will tell, but hopefully this is a successful return/relaunch! This 21+ concert will take place at 8:00 PM with no announced cover charge, and while it takes place the night of the Les Cheneaux Islands Car Show On The Bay, that will be based out of nearby Cedarville. Visit the above links for more details!

Next up, let's take the half hour drive southwest from Hessel to St. Ignace, where Manistique hard rock cover duo Fyrbird will return for a special Thursday night concert at The Driftwood Sports Bar on September 17th! Like with the previously-covered Tarnished show on Friday, September 18th (that Saturday will have DJs), Fyrbird are returning to Mackinac County for that weekend's Richard Crane Memorial Truck Show. The Driftwood are happy to book bands on St. Ignace vehicle show weekends this year, with Fyrbird already playing during/after Bronco The Mac and also during next week's car show, so clearly this tie-in is working! Like their other Driftwood shows this year, Jamie & Rikk will rock out at 9:00 PM that night with a 21+ age limit and no cover charge, so visit the above links for more on Fyrbird's St. Ignace shows ahead! While we're on the subject, three videos from Fyrbird's Bronco The Mac weekend show were posted on The Driftwood's Facebook page!

Alas, the videos are all vertical, around 12 seconds long apiece, and filmed distantly from the stage, with attendees at the bar more prominent than Fyrbird themselves. They're just background noise in this clip, while this video appears to show them covering Rage Against The Machine's "Killing In The Name", but they're not focused on compared to bar patrons. The best of the three (featuring their cover of AC/DC's "Highway To Hell") at least zones in on dancing fans near the stage, and you do get Jamie singing on it. What we hear sounds good and tight for their duo setup, but if only these videos were longer, closer, and horizontal! Give them a watch above and below!

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

 

• I have moved Sault Ontario death metal quintet Bardos (née Bardo) to our inactive band links. The Them spinoff (led by Heavy North Entertainmnent promoter Tyler St. Amour) have not posted on their Facebook page for reasons other than plugging H.N.E. events since October 2024, a few weeks after their sole gig opening for Selias at the former Soo Blaster. They had a promising lineup, and hopefully we hear more from Tyler, Danielle, the Christophers, and Travis in due course! As their public activity largely predated their name change, they'll be listed in our inactive links as Bardo, but I'll re-add the S if they come back with that name.
• Local hard rock cover band Half Past have parted ways with drummer Johnny Amendola, as per their Facebook page on May 21st. Since their most recent gig at Beck's Bar on New Year's Eve, Johnny has joined both Soundcheck and Separate Wayz, and even if things are 100% amicable with Half Past, that obviously eats into his availability. Half Past are looking for a new drummer that is able to rehearse once a week and perform "a handful of times per year", and has means of transportation. If you're interested in trying out behind the kit, message Half Past above, but kudos to Johnny for helping Jordan, Al, and Art in their return as a live act since 2023!
• Also newly moved to our inactive band links are Half Past's acoustic side project The Isolation Sessions, who last updated their Facebook page to thank everyone for seeing them at the Helping Hearts For Helping Hands fundraiser at the Grand Gardens Downtown in March of last year, which was both their public concert debut and the reason for their public revival after a three+ year hiatus. This pandemic-birthed unplugged act always had promise given their Half Past ties, and hopefully we see Jordan and Al back at it soon! 
• After four years of only opening for private and specialty bookings, The Rockstar Bar has properly re-opened, as per recent social media marketing! Their Facebook page notes that the patio is open for the summer, and that they are currently running with a live DJ on Saturday nights. No word on when/if they'll resume hosting bands on any semblance of a regular schedule, but it is great to see the upstairs nightclub at The Algonquin Hotel back in action after such a long & mostly dormant period!
• Regarding the aforementioned Soundcheck and Separate Wayz, Soundcheck singer/guitarist Travis Sharpe appears to have guested with their sister band during Separate Wayz' Reggie's Place concert on Friday, as per a new photo from their Facebook page featuring all five combined band members on stage there (Travis was on guitar with Nicole singing). Assuming that this isn't an old Soundcheck concert photo from an "epic crossover" gig, it is neat that Travis was available for at least one song with Nicole and their mutual bandmates! This weekend's shows were always advertised on social media as being Separate Wayz gigs only.
• If you're wondering why we didn't cover the WestFest talent show at Beck's Bar last week to determine the day's opening band, it's because the event was cancelled "due to unforeseen circumstances", as per the West Village Renewed Facebook page. Alas, whether for ticket sales or band sign-ups, "unforeseen circumstances" usually means "we didn't foresee that turnout would be this low". As such, organizers confirmed that "we are choosing our opener", which would have happened if there wasn't a talent show anyway. The lineup is being gradually announced on social media, and we'll let you know when the entire bill for WestFest II is unveiled!

 

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

The Latest Updates & Album News From The Realignment Project!!

Let's talk about local industrial metal solo project The Realignment Project in this single-topic post today, so what have they been up to since we last left off with them in November? Well, on the 7th of that month, project leader Matt Hicks revealed that their fourth EP would be called "Let You Fall", which he had already finished recording at that point (remember, T.R.P. released three EPs last year alone). On November 10th, Matt confirmed both the final album cover and the release date of January 2nd (this past Friday!), with the track listing following on the 16th, notably specifying that "Scatterbrain" was retitled from "Nitwit" for one reason or another. You can see "Scatterbrain", "Where Did You Go?", and "By Myself" from that album being tracked in vertical videos linked here, here, and here from their Facebook page that same month. In a surprise announcement on November 24th, Matt announced that The Realignment Project had signed a label deal!

As teased in this video, he is working with East London Recordings, a British indie label that help independent artists release physical albums, and they have released T.R.P.'s first two 2025 EPs "Afterthought" & "The Frustration Sessions" together on vinyl, one EP on each side! East London uses a print-on-demand method from ElasticStage for making albums, which is also what Mike Haggith's MorningStar Records utilizes for physical album pressings, but I have no idea if Matt was aware of that prior. It does appear that ElasticStage's 12'' vinyl records have a 23 minute limit per side, which affects "The Frustration Sessions". Rather than drop a song, Matt opted to edit down four of its songs to fit ("Minor Outburst" alone is chopped down by 50 seconds). Keep that in mind before buying, but if you want some local industrial rock on vinyl, it costs $43.90 at this link!

This would imply that their third EP ("War Songs") & "Let You Fall" will be similarly combined for a vinyl release, but if East London does release them thusly, note that both EPs exceed 23 minutes, so expect edits on both sides. "Let You Fall" was successfully released on Friday, and if you believe promotional postings, it is "available everywhere". Definitely not true, as it isn't even on Amazon Music at press time, among other services, but you can currently stream it on YouTube (with lyric video postings ongoing), Apple Music, Spotify, Boomplay, and KKBox, and it is buyable on Bandcamp (name your price) and iTunes ($5.94). Given our ongoing album review backlog, The Realignment Project are currently pencilled in for April, as No Arrow, Sykotyk Rampage, and Handsome Sandwich all had albums that beat the yet-to-be-reviewed "War Songs" to market.

In the event that "War Songs" and "Let You Fall" get a joint vinyl release by April 30th, I would review both at once, as that would be a singular local album release, but if this was a one-and-done, we'd just review "War Songs". Either way, I'll be looking at new music from The Realignment Project in the spring, and Matt never stops, as he was already working on his fifth EP as of December 13th! Also last month, Matt was interviewed about The Realignment Project by David Oman of the British blog PlayedByDavid, where David interviews various indie musicians, seemingly all being posed the same questions. In Matt's interview, he outlines his musical background, favourite original songs, his songwriting and recording process, favourite musicians, future plans, and more, and he gives some good detailed thoughts on the topics at hand! In terms of scoops, the biggest one is that he's planning to release T.R.P. CDs.

This would be through ElasticStage (no word on if he'd be combining them like on vinyl), and while Matt is not planning on playing live in this project, he hasn't ruled it out either. It's great to see The Realignment Project staying exceedingly productive, and hopefully 2026 sees more quality music from them, so stay tuned for more from Matt soon, and here's the lyric video for the opening/title track from "Let You Fall"! Thanks everyone!

The Realignment Project - "The Frustration Sessions" EP Review!!

It's now time for our 194th monthly CD review at The Sault Metal Scene, and as our current backlog of new local metal/hard rock albums plods into a new month, we're actually jumping a couple months back in the timeline to look at local industrial metal solo act The Realignment Project's sophomore EP "The Frustration Sessions"! Independently released to major streaming services on April 28th, the four month delay for our review was due to it coming out just three months after their debut EP "Afterthought", which we reviewed in February. I have long had a self-imposed buffer period of six months between album reviews from the same project (to avoid showing a bias), hence why we didn't look at this EP in the spring. The Realignment Project is still led by former Dirty Virgin drummer/Riverin frontman Matt Hicks without extra credited performers. You can buy this EP on mp3 format on Bandcamp on a "name your price" model or on iTunes for $5.94.

Meanwhile, it can be streamed on Bandcamp, YouTube Music, Amazon Music, Spotify, Apple Music, and KKBox, but consider buying it to support Matt's work! Song titles are linked to their Bandcamp copies. With six songs running for about 25 minutes, let's begin our look at "The Frustration Sessions"!

The EP leads off with "Rocketship", which is about taking off on a rocket to live on a new world after humanity stripped Earth of its resources. This song definitely leans way more to industrial than metal, with a steady percussion beat, synth instrumentation, and a melancholy pace that rarely deviates from the initial trajectory. Matt's low melancholy singing does get across the bleakness of the song's message, but it's just not that varied and lively for my preferences, and definitely not a rocker. Interesting change of pace to start though! Next up is "Minor Outburst", which contrasts kinda dance rock verses with intense hardcore screaming on the choruses, at a level of aggression that I don't remember "Afterthought" having! The pointed lyrics feel like this might as well be the title track for the EP given the varying frustrations on display, but the techno beat on the verses is too much of a contrast, and the whispered bridge was hard to discern words in.

Still a big improvement for metal content, and it'd be neat to hear Matt scream like this more in T.R.P. originals! Third here is "Static",  with the title referencing static in outside pressures, hatred, and distractions in life. A little more aggressive and pointed then the opener, but this is definitely more reserved and ominous as a constant whole than on "Minor Outburst". Not a bad composition, and it has an eerie ambiance a little more vocal diversity, but the lyrics are very repetitive, especially given its runtime. I didn't mind it though!  The second half of the EP begins with "Fireside", which has more pointed commentary and anger to it, with screamed choruses and more of a traditional rock song structure while still having an electronic ambience. Again, this song has repetitive lyrics, but I like the pacing, the bass line, and intensity that contrasts well with the industrial effects, so it's a welcome diversion for fans of the project's heavier side!

The longest song on offer is the penultimate cut, namely the 6+ minutes long "Stupid", which is basically about how humanity is stupid for letting corporations and personal jealousy and greed get in the way of improving our world. In tonal structure, this feels like "Rocketship" with the choruses of "Minor Outburst" for the first half, but there is an extended bridge that feels very Rage Against The Machiney, albeit with industrial instrumentation laid in. While a little too long, the verses are more substantial here, and there's good aggression where needed here, so this is a late highlight! The final song is its shortest, the 2+ minute "Medicated (A Spade Is A Spade)", which calls out the perceived over-medication, brainwashing, and control over the populace. This is basically one lengthy extended verse with lots of rhyming before the subtitle is invoked when shouting the chorus over and over. I appreciate the direct messaging, but this song doesn't feel finished.

Making this basically a poetic rant didn't leave a lot of room to make a standalone song beyond having a dark industrial essence, but it fits in line with other Realignment Project offerings on this EP, and it was well put together despite being so cramped! So, how is Matt's second solo outing? Similarly inconsistent for my preferences, but the songs have definitely evolved, and you do get a sense that Matt was in a different place when writing these songs, with a darker feeling and more social commentary about society's ills, as opposed to the more personal material on "Afterthought". While the songs are not uniformly heavy, he puts aggressive screamed vocals to more effect on choruses here, and is making more of an effort to sing on verses. Everything is well composed, and Matt has a good ear for techno and industrial effects, so fans of his solo work dating back to the Riverin days will like how things are coming out!

Is it better than "Afterthought"? I think that EP was a little more lively as music, and had less repetitive lyrics, but Matt did expand his range as a singer here, and it is heavier at its peaks (especially on "Minor Outburst" and "Fireside"). I think I like it a smidge more, but industrial fans should be eager to check both out at the above links! I hope you guys liked this month's album review, and we get back to our chronological timeframe for new reviews next month when we look at local emo/folk punk solo project Agnosticism's June 2025 EP "Atticcore Fornication". Watch for that in September, and for more news and notes this week! Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (Tym Morrison), New Album Updates, And More!!

For this final post of the month, we have updates on upcoming albums featuring local metal talent, but first, here's LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS for he months ahead!

Local classic/hard rock singer/guitarist Tym Morrison will make his way to the newly opened Beck's Bar at least thrice in mid-2025, with Sunday matinees booked for May 11th, July 20th, and August 31st! His show there on the 11th will be his first gig at the former Vibe Lounge in about fourteen years, back when his band Caveman Morrison were in full force, so this has been a long time coming even if it's now solo! Beck's live music schedule is slated to feature live bands on Saturday nights with matinee performers on Saturdays and Sundays, both at the slightly unique start time of 3:00 PM, but all three of Tym's dates here are Sunday affairs, with the August 31st show falling on the Labour Day long weekend. Hopefully Tym gets a strong reception at this new-ish Goulais Avenue venue in two weeks and beyond! All three dates are 19+ affairs with no cover charge. Visit the official Facebook event page for more details!

Next up, here's some news on two new/upcoming local metal albums, starting with a brand new release, as local industrial metal act The Realignment Project released their new EP "The Frustration Sessions" on Monday! According to their Facebook page, it is "now available everywhere", and by "everywhere", they mean Bandcamp once again, as well as YouTube Music, Amazon Music, Spotify, Apple Music, and even the Taiwanese streaming service KKBox, all of which now host T.R.P.'s debut EP "Afterthought" as well. "The Frustration Sessions" can be bought in mp3 format on Bandcamp on a "name your price" model, and on iTunes for $5.94, so consider buying it to support Matt's work! As well, the first song "Rocketship" got a lyric video for the project's official YouTube channel, as four songs from "Afterthought" also got at the time. Matt had also teased a lyric video for "Static" in this Facebook "Reel", but it has yet to be made public.

Given the close timeframe since The Realignment Project released "Afterthought" in January, a review of "The Frustration Sessions" isn't imminent. I reviewed their debut in February, so with the buffer period of six months that I enforce to space out reviews of the same act to avoid showing a bias, I currently have this new EP slotted in for a review in August. That said, fans of industrial rock and Matt's old band Riverin will definitely want to check out "The Frustration Sessions" at the above links, and give the "Rocketship" lyric video a watch below!

Also, here's the latest from Sault Michigan metal solo project X's & Y's, who have confirmed that their second studio album "Ruination Coactive" will be released to major streaming services and in limited CD copies on Friday, June 13th! The track listing reveal from last month may have hinted towards this release timeframe, as one song is named "The Gemini Machine". Technically, the album's name is "Яuiᴎдтюᴎ Koдcтive" given the faux Cyrillic, but spell that at your own peril. To go along with the impending album release, X's & Y's have launched a BigCartel page to sell extant CD copies of their debut album "The Obsidian Dream", stickers of both albums' cover artwork, and even "Ruination Coactive" keychains. Keep all this in mind to support X's & Y's and original E.U.P. metal! Yes, the URL references Werehold Records, project leader Jason Mills' old indie label that he used as an imprint for "The Obsidian Dream" (hint for future plans?)

We'll know more on "Ruination Coactive" in about a month & a half, and a formal album review should be in order for the SMS this summer, but here's a new teaser video from X's & Y's' Facebook page on April 2nd featuring Jason "dubbing some stuff (that he) wasn’t happy with the first million times". The 23 seconds-long clip has him riffing on a guitar, albeit not hooked up to an amplifier, so it sounds like tinny acoustic strumming. No point commenting on it yet, but it's an effective teaser at the studio metal material ahead, so give it a watch for yourselves below!

Finally, here's the latest from Sault Ontario crossover thrash quartet Hails, who are on a new CD release of their own! While its official public on-sale date is June 7th, the cross-Canada compilation album "Punk Canada Vol. 4" (featuring covers of domestic Canadian punk bands) is available early from Ha!ls members for $20, and it features them covering Toronto punk legends The Almighty Trigger Happy's song "Meathook". As best as I can gather, this cover isn't available yet for streaming, but if you want to hear it, former Saultite Ash Richtig's Windsor band Avoid The Comment Section, and more right away, give Hails a shout! In terms of an embeddable video to send things out with, guitarist Carmen Muto is the focus of this new video from Ha!ls' Facebook page of him playing some sweeps on his guitar for 14 seconds. Why this horizontal landscape video was uploaded in pillarboxed vertical dimensions, I don't know, but Carmen shows his skills nicely here!

Hails will play their first show of 2025 on May 8th (one week from tomorrow!) when they open for The Dayglo Abortions at Soo Blaster, so stay tuned for our preview of that and much more from Ha!ls as this year rolls along! Give the new "Sweepman" video a watch below (and Brent, I'm sorry!)

That's all for now, but weekend concert previews are on the way next! Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (Tym Morrison, Dodge This, And The Isolation Sessions!!)

A busy final concert weekend for March 2025 is upon us, so much so that I'll have to hold our previews of this weekend's previously announced Generations and Headrush concerts for our next post. Don't worry, they are coming, but this post is 100% devoted to LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS, mostly on SHORT NOTICE, so here's what you should know, starting with a surprise band reunion at a special charity event!

Local acoustic hard rock band The Isolation Sessions are back and will play their first ever public concert at The Grand Gardens Downtown (the former Queen of Hearts Club above Shooters) TONIGHT! Apologies for the short notice, the band's involvement was only confirmed via the official Facebook event page on Thursday. The event in question is Helping Hearts For Helping Hands, a fundraiser being held by Sault College's social service worker program's 2025 graduating class for Sault Ste. Marie Helping Hands, a local non-profit that donates basic and household items for those in need. For this special event, a dress code of red, pink, and white is suggested, and there will be food from The Grand Gardens on offer, as well as live music. The Isolation Sessions (a side project of hard rock quartet Half Past) had been inactive for the past four years after only previously offering up at-home covers from 2020-2021 during the first year of the pandemic.

No word on how their lineup will look, but Half Past singer Jordan Rains and bassist Arthur Lacasse (on guitar) should still be involved. In their original run, they were joined by guitarist Todd Kidd (who isn't in Half Past) and the late Chris Thompson on drums. TONIGHT'S other musical performers are DJs, namely Shane "DJ Seith" Erickson and DJ "Dark" Mark Millington (last seen on the SMS at Toystock last fall), who is in the social service worker program himself. Cash only activities will also be offered TONIGHT, including a silent auction and door prizes. While there is an early 6:00 PM start time in effect, this is sadly a 19+ event. Admission is via $15 tickets at this link and presumably at the door, while $10 support tickets for those who are unable to attend in person have sold out. Sounds like a great event is in store for supporters of both Helping Hands and the SSW program, so keep it in mind for TONIGHT!

Gotta be honest, I didn't have an Isolation Sessions reunion on my 2025 bingo card (their original run seemed like something that only the early pandemic could have fostered, and members focusing on full live bands since made sense), but kudos to Jordan and Art (and crew?) for supporting these worthy causes, and hopefully there's more in store from The Isolation Sessions in the months ahead! Visit the above links for more details, and for a preview of TONIGHT'S Helping Hearts For Helping Hands, here's Jordan & Art from The Isolation Sessions in their original run!

Next up, local classic/hard rock cover duo Dodge This will bring their acoustic live show back to The Water Tower Pub TOMORROW NIGHT! Again, apologies for the short notice, this concert was only announced on the band's Facebook page on Tuesday, and the venue has not posted a March concert calendar on social media that I have found. Last seen two weeks ago at the Up & Down Lounge on Second Line West (at least TOMORROW'S show got a few days' notice!), this will be Dodge This' first show at The Water Tower Pub since early February. Hopefully things go smooth for Jason and Jamie (and Jeff?) as they rock this popular central venue again TOMORROW! You can enjoy Dodge This' often heavy range of covers TOMORROW at 8:00 PM with a 19+ age limit and no announced cover charge. Visit the above links for more details, and for a preview, here's Dodge This live!

Finally for this post, local acoustic classic/hard rock musician Tym Morrison will return to The Fraternal Order Of Eagles Club at 246 Wellington Street West for three more solo headlining matinee gigs THIS SATURDAY and then for two more Saturdays on April 19th & May 3rd! Apologies again for the short notice on SATURDAY's concert, all three were only announced via their batch Facebook event page on Tuesday. Tym had just debuted his solo unplugged show at the Eagles Club two weeks ago, and clearly that show went well for him to get re-booked there thrice, including the April 19th show over the Easter long weekend. If you want to see Tym somewhere other than Misty's Fifties, maybe a trip to Steelton for his talented covers on SATURDAY or beyond will do the trick! All three of the new shows at Aerie #3991 are at 2:00 PM with no cover or announced age limit. See above for more details, and here's Tym live!

That's all for now, but stay tuned for our Headrush and Generations previews (and more) next! Thanks everyone!

Defunct Local Band Profile Series: The Isolation Sessions

To keep the stream of normal posts going thanks to our current backlog, let's double up with this month's Defunct Local Band Profile as a second post today! This monthly feature looks at randomly selected local metal, hard rock, or punk bands who are defunct or functionally inactive for a year+, in order to spotlight them and their run for modern readers! This band was very much a product of their time, if full of familiar faces playing familiar hard rock hits, so here's what you should know on them!

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The Isolation Sessionsr

Hometown: Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario

Genre: Acoustic Hard Rock

Lineup:

Jordan Rains (Half Past), vocals
Todd Kidd (8ight Past Nine, King Misfit), guitar
Arthur Lacasse (Half Past, The Soo Fighters), guitar/bass
Chris Thompson (Fitswitch, Frightlight, Half Past), drums

Audio/Video: The Isolation Sessions never played live, partially due to publically forming at the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, but a handful of covers featuring just Jordan and Arthur were posted on Art's YouTube channel, including two takes of Three Days Grace's "Never Too Late", plus one of Seether's "Plastic Man". That song is the only surviving video on their Facebook page, also their only publically posted media with the full band (if not visually), so give it a listen below! Staind's "Epiphany" and Fuel's "Bad Day" were among now-deleted covers posted to Facebook.

Info/Analysis: Former (and future) Half Past bandmates Jordan Rains & Art Lacasse formed The Isolation Sessions in March 2020, with the name and their initial setup capitalizing on the real isolation that everyone was dealing with during that initial pandemic lockdown. Once things opened up a bit that summer, they added fellow Half Past alum Chris Thompson and Windsor native guitarist Todd Kidd to form a full lineup, but only that "Plastic Man" cover in October and the aforementioned YouTube videos in January 2021 followed. By March of that year, Art & Jordan had joined the new local hard rock band Dealing Without, who gave way to the Half Past reunion that fall, with The Isolation Sessions falling by the wayside regardless. The Isolation Sessions hit at the right time with the right approach to make an impact, but it wasn't meant to be despite best intentions.

Prior Half Past chemistry helped, and they played to Jordan's vocal strengths, but I'd have liked to have seen The Isolation Sessions do some live-streamed concerts or somesuch to really seize the moment they were born out of. Perhaps this served its purpose as a laid back creative outlet before Jordan & Arthur could get a full normal band going, so look for more from Half Past soon, hopefully we hear from Todd again, and R.I.P. Chris!

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I hope you guys liked this month's Defunct Local Band Profile! We'll jump across the border for a Sault Michigan-area project next, namely Heavy Lies The Crown guitarist Ted Olson's inactive solo project, as randomly selected from our links! Look for that on or around July 10th, and for more news and notes on the site soon! Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERT (These Magnificent Tentacles), New Videos, And Much More!!

Late news post to check out on this Friday night, including some new video discoveries, a few shorter assorted notes, and leading off, a somewhat unique LOCAL CONCERT ALERT for next weekend!

Local alt-punk duo These Magnificent Tentacles will play their first public concert of 2022 when they open for surf rock trio The Dynowaves on Saturday, May 21st at the return of promoters Dryer Fire's temporary venue! In this case, Dryer Fire have been renting space at 285 Wilson Street (off Bruce Street, near The Breakfast Pig), and they're celebrating their recent growth with an open house featuring the aforementioned live bands, and even refreshments from the Sweet Aisle Candy Store that's also set up at this building. It is worth noting that in their promotion of the concert, These Magnificent Tentacles said on their Facebook page that this will be "our first show as a full team", so did their teased search for new band members prove fruitful? In any event, frontman Brenton Ellis will be selling his own art on this event on a pay-what-you-can basis, which you Slumshine fans should like!

The open house proper has a 1:00 PM matinee start time, no cover charge, and is definitely all ages, which goes with the community art/candy sale aspect well too! This should be a fun change of pace if you're up for some Saturday afternoon concert action next weekend, and between T.M.T. and The Dynowaves, you'll get some diverse musical entertainment! Visit the above links for more details on this unique matinee concert!

Next up, here's two new videos from local southern hard rock quintet Fort Creek at their Soo Blaster concert last week! Filmed by attendee Eddie Hernando, one is another acoustic interlude just featuring singer Justin Grayson and bassist Robin "Bones" Lee on acoustic guitar covering Luke Combs' "Beautiful Crazy". I'm not a country guy, but it's a solid rendition! Embedded below is the full band clip of Fort Creek covering Lynyrd Skynyrd's "Simple Man", and it's a well done version that builds in the instruments well, and fans on the floor definitely appreciated dancing to it, so give both of these a look above & below!

Also today, here's some videos from former Leaked/Mustang Sally drummer Nic Buckner on his YouTube channel in the last few years! While Nic didn't become a major name as a local rock drummer, he did move to the States to further his career, and his YouTube videos reflect his later musical education! Alongside covers of Maroon 5, Sweet Machine, Michael Jackson, and The Color Black songs, Nic posted a cover of "Rule of Nines" by the Victoria, B.C. metal band Spiritbox in April 2020, complete with an inset second camera showing his foot pedal work. Nic's a very talented drummer and I like how he mixed the backing song with the drums to optimize his performances, so give these a watch above & 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:

 

• I have moved local acoustic hard rock band The Isolation Sessions to our inactive band links. The band has not issued a public update since posting a cover of Three Days Grace's "Never Too Late" on their Facebook page in January of last year, with members Jordan Rains & Arthur Lacasse since focusing on Dealing Without and the revival of Half Past. The Isolation Sessions seemed like a promising stopgap band in worse pandemic times, and hopefully we hear more from Jordan, Arthur, and Todd soon (and R.I.P. Chris!)
• Prolific local metal musician Mitch Sirie is looking for a bassist for a hard rock/alternative metal band that he's working on with a sound comparable in range to The Deftones or System of a Down. The sonic description implies that this is not for The Bear Hunters, Exploring Detritus, or Handsome Sandwich (where he is the bassist), so Mitch is definitely keeping busy as things pick up locally in 2022! Message him at this link or via his Musicians Wanted Facebook group post yesterday for more details!
• A Facebook event page has been launched for the Parabol-headlined concert at Soo Blaster on June 4th, and it happens to feature a new local band as openers named Short & Sweet, who are an acoustic two-man project from former Skeyes of Seven bandmates Cory Murchison & Kyle Sweet (hence the name). I don't think Short & Sweet have an online page yet, but Cory & Kyle should deliver an entertaining set beforehand, and see above for more details on what should be a solid concert!
  

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

LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (Fort Creek), New Videos, And More!!

As you may have gathered by the lack of proper news posts yet this week, things remain slow for local metal, hard rock, and punk activity, which is very atypical for Halloween week (especially with Halloween on a Saturday this year.) Of course, this is not a normal year due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, the provincial and state restrictions on nightclubs, and social distancing & closing time restrictions on the few places that are hosting live concerts. As such, we only have one pair of newly announced shows from the same band to cover here for SHORT NOTICE LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (and for clarification, J.D. Pearce's annual Halloween Party at the Algonquin Hotel is not taking place.) I'm hopeful that 2021 will bring some more normalcy, but hopefully everyone can make the most of a screwy year and have some spooky fun in a way that keeps everyone safe this weekend, and if you bring the kids trick-or-treating, use common sense. Now, here are those new shows and a couple of new videos!

Local southern hard rock quintet Fort Creek will return to Reggie's Place on Queen Street East for concerts TOMORROW & SATURDAY NIGHT, with the latter being the venue's Halloween party! Apologies for the short notice, these shows were only announced on the band's Facebook page on Saturday.  These will be Fort Creek's first dates since rocking Reggie's West two weeks ago, but fans at the re-opened downtown Reggie's will have waited four weeks for their brand of southern-tinged hard rock covers. TOMORROW'S show is business as usual (well, given the circumstances), but SATURDAY'S will indeed have a Halloween costume contest, with attending fans picking the best male and female costumes, plus the scariest costume. Keep all of that in mind on SATURDAY, but be advised that venue rules do not allow Halloween masks that cover the whole face (obviously, COVID face masks are still required.) As such, you may want to get creative if you are entering!

8:00 PM start times, 19+ age limits, and no announced cover charges are in effect for TOMORROW & SATURDAY's concerts, and despite the holiday weekend festivities, capacity limits are still in effect at Reggie's, and don't forget your face mask. Hopefully this weekend's shows are hits for Fort Creek, so see above for more details, and here they are live! Also, note that SooToday's entertainment page lists a band named "40 Creek" as playing a Johnny Cash tribute set on Saturday afternoon at The Moose Lodge. If this is a typo, Fort Creek haven't publicized it (we'll let you know if they do), but Forty Creek is a brand of domestic whiskey.

Next up, we'll close with a couple of new videos, including a new song from local hard rock singer/guitarist Tym Morrison's YouTube channel! His first upload there since his last Motley Market live-stream on September 5th, and his first original song upload since the summer, this is for his song "Together In The End", a ballad about a couple forgiving each other for the sins of their past. Pretty song with a bit of Tym's usual guitar tricks before the bridge, but it can be a little repetitive in structure as it goes. Check this one out below!

Finally, here's a new audio cover from new local acoustic hard rock band The Isolation Sessions' Facebook page on Monday! Now featuring what appears to be their full quartet lineup (complete with Chris on a cajon or equivalent hand drum), this is a cover of Seether's "Plastic Man", and they even set the audio track to a slideshow of relevant images with lyrics. Nice and laid back rendition, but it would be nice to see a video with the full group. This works in the interim, so check it out below!

That's all for today, but stay tuned for more news and notes when enough material for a post rolls in, and if all else fails, our next "Where Are The New Albums?" post could be bumped up to Sunday. Thanks everyone!

An Inactive Band Note, New Videos, And Much More!!

I hope all of our Canadian readers had a great Thanksgiving! We're back with a new news post on this Tuesday morning, including some shorter assorted stories, new videos from both sides of the border, and leading off, here's a notable band who have crossed our one year's inactivity threshold!

I have reluctantly moved local doom/sludge metal trio AlgomA to our inactive band links due to a year's inactivity. The band has not issued a public update since changing the business hours on their Facebook page on October 6th of last year, and while the effects of the ongoing pandemic are acknowledged, they have not played a live concert since opening for Dopethrone at The New A in May of last year (itself their only concert since 2017.) Launching in 2012 before debuting on stage at 180 Projects the following March, AlgomA united BeeFMoutH and Fuller alumni into a crushing package, giving the Sault area a much slower and doomier brand of metal that immediately set them apart, as heard on their 2014 EP "Reclaimed By The Forest" and their later splits with Chronobot, Hooded Menace, and the Soo's own Shit Liver. Local fans will recognize them from opening for bands like The Archaics, Beaver Slap, Biipiigwan, Fuck The Facts, and The Golers, often playing at shows under their own promotional banners.

 

As well, AlgomA found a far-flung audience of fans elsewhere in Canada and internationally via concerts in Southern Ontario, Sudbury, Quebec, and even in Europe, with their albums all getting solid press attention in metal news & review websites, partially owing to their label deal with Deadbeat Media. I definitely enjoyed AlgomA's slow and hard hitting brand of original metal, with lots of dark intensity packed into their generally long songs, and it was very encouraging to see local talent get so much exposure and fan support abroad at their peak. Hopefully this isn't the last we'll hear from AlgomA, but best of luck to Kevin, Boyd, and Jamie in the future!

Next up, here's the latest from Sault Michigan hard rock quartet Tarnished, who recently got a third spotlight on 9&10 News' lifestyle newsmagazine program The Four! As you may have seen on channel 10 (Spectrum) or 10.1 (over the air) this past Friday, the guys were seen playing their original "Metalyn" for their third (and final?) appearance on The Four's week-ending Friday Sessions series of music performances by Northern Michigan artists. This was filmed in the same August sessions that gave us prior CBS-aired takes on "Cocaine Riot" & "Shortcut", but neither of those has a mandolin! High quality performances and well shot videos as you would expect, so give Tarnished's third go-around on TV a look at the above links! I cannot embed 9&10 News videos here. In the meantime, Tarnished are filming their first ever music video (also for "Metalyn") with Jay London Photography, as per their Facebook page, which should be interesting to see the final product of! Stay tuned for updates from their camp as they roll in!

Also today, here's some new solo performance videos from prolific local folk punk/extreme metal solo musician Chase Wigmore's Facebook page! While uploaded on September 27th & October 1st, these were allegedly recorded at an earlier point, and serve as "COVID jams" while he can't play normal live concerts. The first video is embedded below, but the second (and much longer) video can be watched at this link. The 36 minutes of content in these videos are along the lines of his intense folk punk work, with rapid guitar work and his usual passion and irreverence, so fans of this side of Chase's music career will absolutely want to watch both videos above & 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: 

 

• New local hard rock band The Isolation Sessions quietly added guitarist Todd Kidd to their lineup on their Facebook page last month, officially making them a quartet. As a result, Arthur Lacasse has moved from guitar to bass, much like he did with their predecessors Half Past. While Todd is unfamiliar locally, he was previously active in the Windsor-area metal bands 8ight Past Nine, King Misfit, and Against All Wisemen, and if you check out his work there, you'll see that he definitely has the chops! Stay tuned for more from The Isolation Sessions when it rolls in!
• Bear Hunters/Skull After Betrayl alum Mike Vincent has again posted searches for band members on the Musicians Wanted Facebook group this month. One post on October 1st was for a vocalist (and perhaps second guitarist) for the pop punk band he has alluded to working on in the past, while the other from last Tuesday was looking for country/southern rock musicians he's interested in jamming with. Message Mike at this link or above for more info!
  
• I opted not to cover local acoustic hard rock musician Tym Morrison's presumed Motley Market show this past Saturday, as it was not promoted in advance by him or the venue on social media. Tym's prior Motley Market booking on Saturday the 3rd was cancelled outright, and he has not signalled that his weekly run there will resume, at least not publically, so I have removed October gigs there from our calendar for now. Hopefully nothing bad happened, but we'll let you know when he plays live next!
  

 

That's all for today, but stay tuned for more news and notes in the coming days! Thanks everyone!