Foothill Road - "Seventy" Review!!

Hey everyone, it's time once again for our 24th monthly CD review at The Sault Metal Scene! Because no brand new metal albums came out in the past month, and with the guitarist of this band rocking The Vibe Lounge earlier in the month with his current band, I've decided to finally take a look at "Seventy", the debut EP from defunct local hard rockers Foothill Road! Released circa 1994, it was recorded at Satellite Sound Studios with producer Bob McLeod. The album features Foothill Road's original lineup, including former Spy Vs. Spy frontman Ken Luxton, ex-Sneaky Pete guitarist Mario Carlucci, bassist Ron Pyette (now a scout for the NHL's Pittsburgh Penguins), and drummer Rick Bain. Though the album is long since out of print, you can probably score at least the mp3s to this (and other) Foothill Road albums by contacting Mario directly at this location (he's how I got my copies!) For convenience sake, I have also uploaded the whole album to the Sault Metal Scene's YouTube channel so you can stream it there too! Just search for "Seventy" in the search field. The song titles below are hyperlinked to my uploads of the tracks for convenience too. With six tracks at around 24 minutes in total of music, let's start with the first track, "Centerpiece"! (Updated on September 28th, 2012)

"Centerpiece" starts off the EP with a good guitar riff and some light drumming before we hear some very Billy Corgan-esque vocals from Ken Luxton, which pick up in energy and harshness in the chorus. The song has a nice groove to it but it sounds empty, like it needs a second guitarist (which was remedied in the self-titled follow-up EP.) The song does also get a bit repetitive with reserved verses and more energetic choruses, but it's a catchy little song, especially from Ken's vocals! Rick Bain's drumming seems a bit too cymbal heavy, and the bass isn't terribly audible either, but it has a catchy quality going for it. Mario's guitar work is good too! Solid opener with a lighter groove, but it still rocks regardless! "Adam Ate Evil" follows it on the EP as the longest track of the six, and the opening screams Pearl Jam a lot. Just hear it, you can tell that was at least a vocal inspiration. In the verses though, Ken's singing is great, I like how he's using his range to keep a melodic rock tone throughout. The song, though not as heavy as "Centerpiece", sounds fuller than "Centerpiece", and the music has sort of a dreamlike quality underlying the singing. Rick's drumming is improved too, and Mario's guitar solo helps add some rock to the later stretches of the song. It's close, but I think I do like "Adam Ate Evil" more than "Centerpiece", but cause it sounds like a more complete song, with Ken's great range on full display!

Third is "Sow", which starts with a slow bass line and drumming before the guitar kicks in a slower interesting sounding riff. Ken's singing is at it's heaviest so far on this song, with a gritty slowness perfectly suited to the material! The chorus isn't as good as the verses though, with a low grungy sort of style that seems to take away from the harsher mood of the rest of the song. Solid song, it has a unique sort of sound compared to the rest of the EP! Mario's playing really well on here, though his solo is way too short, and Ron's bass work is at it's best so far! This is followed by "The Edge", which has a great experimental sounding opening before getting into some nice fast riffing! I really like the melodies in the early portion of the song, but the energy seems sucked out during the verses. Odd when Ken's singing is so good though, you think everything would be punched up! What a range he had, why isn't he in any bands nowadays? The latter half of the song helps build heavier and heavier, with a nice guitar solo and more aggressive drumming, though it ends way too abruptly. This is definitely a standout of the album, especially the last half of it, showing all of their strengths as a hard rock outfit very well!

"Accomplice" starts out fifth with an odd jazzy start, well played by Ron and Rick, with nice drumming and some solid bass work! In a flip from earlier songs, Ken's singing is more reserved than the music, returning to a Smashing Pumpkins-eqsue tone and a low key approach. The chorus picks up vocally though, while the music keeps on the same level, which honestly gets repetitive. The song is very well played and doesn't sound generic, but the instrument players don't change things up enough. I like the song, especially the choruses, but it needed something extra to boost it. "Seventy" ends with the shortest song on the EP, that being "Sword Fight", which starts rather softly despite it's title. When it kicks into gear, it's fast paced but not very heavy. Similarly to "Centerpiece", it's paced well and has aggressive singing, but it sounds empty and the bass is mixed too low. Ken's singing's on form, and I like the introduction of harmony vocals on the chorus, while Mario's guitar work is as good as it was on earlier tracks! It's catchy like "Centerpiece" too, and it's fitting that two songs so similar bookend "Seventy"! I would say "Sword Fight" is a bit more unique, and though it has issues (like another abrupt ending), it's a solid closer to Foothill Road's debut album!

So how do I grade Foothill Road's debut EP? Well, it's a solid hard rock release with a lot of grunge and early 1990s influences that help shape it's sound! The band was very talented, from the really good range of Ken Luxton to Mario Carlucci's catchy riffing, while Ron Pyette and Rick Bain shone as well on the included tracks! Seeming to take a lot of cues from bands like Pearl Jam, they still carved out their own sound that stood on it's own in the local scene from the early and mid 1990s! Without comparing to their next EP, I will say that "Seventy" had flaws. The production doesn't help the material in terms of heaviness, and a few songs sound empty, almost like they were written with a second guitarist in mind. Rick's drumming seems too cymbal-oriented, and I can't make out Ron's bass work more often than not, though his talent was ever present! Plus, the songs do seem dated to the time, and don't sound too unique if you're familiar with grunge and similar genres. The right pieces are present on "Seventy" for a great album, and they delivered a fun and very listenable EP that they would hopefully improve on with their self-titled follow-up a few years later! Don't let this 1990s gem slip you by, give it a listen at the above links, or contact Mario to get this (and other) Foothill Road albums!

So there's this month's CD review, and what will we review next month? Well, if anything new comes out before July 27th, it will be a new release from a local band, and if two (or more) come out, we'll go by band prominence. The only exception would be a potential new Woods of Ypres CD, as it's too soon from when we reviewed "Woods I". If nothing new comes out, we will likely review Gates of Winter's 2008 full length album "Lux Aeterna", as it ties in well with keyboardist Brian Holmes' scheduled concerts next month with his progressive rock band Machines Dream. So whether we review "Lux Aeterna" or something new, stay tuned next month for our 25th monthly CD review! That's all for tonight, but stay tuned for a new news post tomorrow! Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (Splitshot), Our New Monthly Poll, And This Month's CD Review!!

Alright, now that my computer issues are finally put on hold for one day (I really need to bring it in for an overheating fix), we can now get back to news, and today we have three main topics: LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS, the return of our monthly polls, and the identity of TOMORROW'S CD review for this month! So let's get everything started! Sault Michigan hard rockers Splitshot have added a new weekend engagement at The Rapids Lounge at Kewadin Casino to their concert calendar! The local quintet featuring half of the old Nixxon Dixxon lineup will now also be playing at Kewadin on July 22nd and 23rd, adding a July weekend to their busy 2011 schedule. Though not announced on their Facebook page, Kewadin's entertainment page lists the shows, which weren't previously included on their Rapids Lounge show schedule. Like with Splitshot's other stops at Kewadin Casino, these concerts should have 9:00 PM start times, no cover charge, and 21+ age limits. Check the above links for more details! These should be entertaining shows, as we know the talent that these guys have, but I still wish I had some audio or video samples at hand to share with you guys. Still, make note of these new shows for Splitshot next month, and stay tuned for band updates as they come in! And now, finally, here's the return of our monthly SMS polls! After the three month March Mayhem tournament experiment, it's back to business as usual for our polls, so here's what you should know for this month! When I was thinking up questions to ask this month, I debated whether to ask a normal poll question involving band comparisons and opinions, and decided to give it a shot this month. Hopefully no one takes it badly or with some sort of bias! We have a great (and growing) local metal scene, but there's a bunch of bands that have broken up or went inactive in recent years that I'm sure many of you guys miss. I wanted to see what bands would garner the best reaction in the event they ever re-emerged on a local stage, so I am posing this question to you guys this month: Which of these defunct or recently inactive bands would you most want to hit the stage again? For this poll, I have chosen 19 local bands that have either broken up, went inactive, or haven't played a live concert in recent months, that you guys might especially want to see back on stage. Hopefully there's no qualms with the choices, but "Other" is present as a 20th choice if you wanna use it. For fairness sake, I didn't include bands that were essentially renamed (like Out Of The Mouth Of Babes or Turner Up) or bands that just recently broke up (like State of Misery or Bring The Fallen), especially when members quickly re-emerged in new groups. Now, let's go over the choices! AtrophiA: This local metal band rocked the area from around 2006-2008, and featured future members of Bring The Fallen, Bring The Misery, and Quite Frankly in it's lineups. With a high energy metal style and good covers, AtrophiA rocked the scene pretty well, but do you miss them enough to want them to reunite? Browbeat: Though I know they only broke up in the spring, Browbeat's inactive periods were much longer than their active periods in recent years, so including them seemed fair. This hard rock trio led by frontman Dutch Vanderploeg kept fans grooving from the mid 2000s through 2011 under different names and lineups. With loads of entertaining and catchy originals for their fans, does the end of Browbeat have you longing for a return? Detroit: From 2008-2010, members of Lion Ride & The Labour Of... grabbed the Soo by the throat with a fast and relentless hardcore attack called Detroit! Despite sporadic live performances, this talented quartet gave us some great live shows and two demo releases before going inactive early last year. Though Brenton Ellis' new band Maximum RNR gives us a similar sound, does the absence of Detroit still bum you out? Dirty Virgin: I'm aware that they just reunited to open for Crued in April, but I've heard nothing to suggest this was anything more than a one-off show, so they fit here...for now. This glam/punk quartet brought a nice classic sound to the local scene from 2008-2009 before a lengthy absence since the spring of 2009 that was only interrupted by two gigs at The Canadian Nightclub. Would you want to see Dirty Virgin back gigging regularly? Driving Dave Home: From at least 2007-2008, this local hard rock band kept fans entertained with a bunch of cool hard rock covers at a number of shows! Though members have moved on to notable bands like Sense of Truth, Fingerbone, The Scary Uncles, Renegades, and Turner Up, do you still miss the solid sounds of Driving Dave Home? Fitswitch: If you're lucky, you can still see an occasional Fitswitch reunion, but most of the band's classic lineup now rocks the local scene in Frightlight. However, Fitswitch's raw alcohol-fueled & Misfits-inspired punk/metal sounds were a local favourite throughout the mid-2000s! I was a big fan of theirs, but what about you guys? Gates of Winter: Last seen on a local stage in the fall of 2008, Gates of Winter soon entered into a year long hiatus before re-emerging to work on a new studio album. With some band members living out of town, new concerts aren't on the horizon, but with new material slowly leaking, there's lots of anticipation in the air for future Gates of Winter activity! Are you hoping for a live return down the road? Infrastrate: Though later based in Ottawa, local hard rock outfit Infrastrate formed in Sault Ontario in 2003. With some major local successes in their run, they later released the EP "Phase I: Commencement" circa 2005, but quietly appeared to dissolve afterwards. A reunion seems unlikely, with members living in separate towns, but they were a talented young band, and would you want to see them reunite? No Arrow: Like Dirty Virgin, I know that No Arrow recently reunited for a show (in February at Foggy Notions), but again, nothing indicates it was more than a one-off, so they count here. Dann Pichette and varying collaborators have brought grunge to a local audience over the past bunch of years with some success, but recent activity has been scattered at best, with their debut CD still unreleased. Do you want No Arrow back on stage for good? Paraside: A local hardcore band from the late-2000s, you may recognize Paraside as the former band for current Changing Waves bandmates Mike & Alex Hagerman. During their run, Paraside opened for everyone from The Imports to The Rebel Spell to Dead & Divine, unleashing hardcore fury in their 2007-2009 local run! Is Paraside a band you wish returned to the stage? Quite Frankly: Former members of No Arrow, Faithless Sin, and D.O.T.H. (among others) joined forces in this local hard rock band from 2009 to early 2010 before quietly going inactive. Powered by the awesome vocals of Jacky Alisat, Quite Frankly made a good local impression in their short life, but do you want them back on the local stage? Renderware: When Tom Waits meets Motorhead, you're left with Renderware, a popular local rock quartet that made their local mark in the mid-2000s with a number of notable concerts! Featuring future members of Nebraska Arms, Talk Shit, and A Fall From Innocence in their lineups, no band sounded like Renderware did, but does their unique style make you wish they came back? SBD: They may not be truly "inactive", but this experimental trio featuring No Arrow, Chintzy Slicks, and Sounds From The Green Room alumni haven't been heard from in six months, with a lone 2011 show being called off. With some notable live show experience and a debut album released, things should be hopping for Shane, Brad, and Dann, but would a local resurgence be something you'd wanna see? Sense of Truth: Is it surprising to note that this prominent (and active) hard rock band haven't seen the stage in 13 months? Work commitments, upcoming EP artwork issues, and the departure of Steve Myers haven't helped matters, but Sense of Truth are still together, and you know that when they do return to the stage, we'll be eager to support them again! Do you want to see the Skid Row battle winners back on the local scene the most? Soldiers of Misfortune: Metalheads from the local scene in the mid-2000s are bound to remember Soldiers of Misfortune! Featuring Winkstinger's Jesse Cook & Jonas Gasperas (among other talented musicians), Soldiers of Misfortune rocked fans with many blistering metal covers at varying shows, including many Oddfellows Hall concerts! I can't be alone in saying I miss them, so do you wish they'd reunite at some point? Stillbroke: Last seen on the local stage in February 2010, all we've heard from this hard rock quartet since has been the band's numerous bassist switches and a new Facebook page with minimal updates. Their absence is odd, especially given their quick rise and talent in the Sault area from 2008 onward. Do you want to see Jesse Frigault and company back for some local shows more than any other band? Sue Inside: Though never broken up, Sue Inside haven't been seen in town since the spring of 2009. Since then, frontman Shane Lipsit-Fraser moved to Oil Springs, Ontario, taking the band with him. Updates and new material have came sporadically since, but no local gigs have taken place since Shane moved. Do you miss their two-piece metal attack enough to want them back gigging locally? Time of Ruin: One of the many metal bands fronted by former Fitswitch/No Arrow bassist Jason Bourcier, Time of Ruin were a solid sight in the local scene in the mid-late 2000s along with preceding (and succeeding) bands like Faithless Sin. Notable for featuring Dismembertainment head Rich Moreland in their lineup, would their brutal metal assault be welcome for a local return? Other: Do you have another local metal band from the past in mind? Wanna go back even further for a band like Amethyst or Carbon Black? How about a newly broken up band that you're still bitter over? Or did I just make an error missing your favourite old band? This is the choice for you! VOTE TODAY, you have one month to get your votes in and make your voices heard! As I am regrettably a day late to get the poll up (my bad), the voting will wrap up on July 19th, before returning to our usual 18th day of the month schedule in August. The voting form is in red on the left of the page, so get your votes in A.S.A.P. and make them count! And finally, if you've followed our CD review schedule closely, you'll notice that this month's CD review is scheduled for TOMORROW! That will stand, my word is good, but what CD are we reviewing? With no new albums released (to my knowledge) in the past month, I've decided to finally take a look at one of the three albums released by defunct Sault Ontario hard rockers Foothill Road! I've promised a CD review of theirs for a while, but with guitarist Mario Carlucci rocking The Vibe Lounge this month with Sneaky Pete, and nothing new in my hands, the perfect time is now to head all the way back to 1994 for this review! It's of their debut EP "Seventy", featuring their original lineup, including Mario, former Spy vs. Spy frontman Ken Luxton on vocals, current Pittsburgh Penguins scout Ron Pyette on bass, and drummer Rick Bain. With six songs, this should be a quicker review, but it's a solid album, so definitely stay tuned for the review tomorrow! For a preview, check out the whole EP at this location, just search for "Seventy", and stay tuned for our next CD review tomorrow!!

Winkstinger & Woods of Ypres Updates, New Local Concert Promoters, And More!

Well guys, it's time for some more news and updates! A new local band's first internet page, some updates from Woods of Ypres, a new local concert promoting team, a local band-related search from a local news site, and a new classic local album I've uploaded online! Here we go, and just as an aside, anyone else still in shock about Ronnie James Dio? I still can't believe it.

New local metal band WinkStinger have finally launched a Facebook page! It looks like it was officially launched on Friday. Already, the band have uploaded eight photos (all of which are from the slideshows in their YouTube videos), and the video for "Fuck The Rest", with the rest of the featured videos linked there from wall posts. According to the various info sections, the band are described as " a fast paced, hardcore metal band" who play "what we want, what a lot of people we no (sic) want to hear and we are ready to hit the stage." The band members have also officially been revealed, and though individual instruments aren't listed for each member, we do know names! The band includes Jesse Cook and Jonas Gasperas from Soldiers of Misfortune (fuck, I miss them!), Jason Ladouceur, Alan Wells, and former Caveman Morrison/Time of Ruin bassist Ryan Disano! Honestly, when I first heard of WinkStinger, I assumed they'd be newer musicians, but I'm really pleased to see some familiar faces in this band! All the more reason to take notice of them, right? Check out more from WinkStinger at this location, and I can't wait to see them play live!

So, have you guys been wondering what's been up with Woods of Ypres since that somewhat-troubling video about the Krankenhaus Records shutdown was posted online? Well, so am I, and frontman David Gold is keeping us guessing with some new status updates posted on the band's Facebook page. He's posted a few cryptic statements on there, starting with this on Saturday: "Forcing things to happen is the Woods Of Ypres way, but we're trying to change our ways, trying to change the ways things have had to be." An hour later, he closed a status with this, in reference to the merchandise sell-off: "Buy this stuff...because I can't take it with me." And lastly, he posted this in a status four hours ago: "More hints... but no explanation." Again, you can read these yourself by clicking here. It looks like David is intentionally keeping whatever he has to announce/do/change concerning Woods of Ypres a secret, posting only vague and specifcally worded statements to either throw us off or keep us guessing. Whatever is happening to Woods of Ypres is obviously major to an extent, because he wouldn't be ending production of the band's merchandise and back catalog if it wasn't, but I can't help but wonder what it means. The parts that say "change our ways" and "can't take it with me" leave me guessing the most, but I won't make any attempts at publicly figuring it out. I had one theory that David disproved a while back, though is that because my idea was wrong, or is it just a temporary diversion until they do announce something?

Well, I can tell you this much though: Woods of Ypres are NOT ENDING...well, at least not in the next two months. That's easy to figure out, because they have a Western Canada tour late next month, of which a new date was recently added for June 25th in Prince George, British Columbia! But now, Woods of Ypres are looking for dates for their East Coast tour! So basically, if you're east of Thunder Bay and want Woods of Ypres to come to your town, e-mail the band at woodsofypres@hotmail.com! The dates would be from July 11th to July 16th, and according to the Facebook status update, they'll be "coming up from the South" for this leg. Would that be a hint towards American shows? Now as for a Sault Ste. Marie date....I'd say if you want Woods at your venue, e-mail David A.S.A.P.! Who knows if he has something set up already, but it never hurts to make sure! Let's bring Woods back to our burial ground, and fingers crossed that if they do, it won't be the last time! Also, I should note that David's still looking to sell off his white Gibson SG guitar (the one that says "UNREST!" on it that he played at their last local show.) He's willing to bargain over it, so e-mail him today if you're interested, and get full details by clicking here!

Next up, have you wondered before who's responsible for some of the major concerts at The Dreammaker's Theater at Kewadin Casino? Well, now's the time to find out! Sault Michigan concert promoters Allstar Promotions have a Facebook page that I came across for the first time today! They appear to be relatively new, but in case you're wondering, they're the group responsible for bringing the Papa Roach and Pop Evil/Evans Blue concerts to Kewadin! They also were the ones to bring us Saving Abel and Pop Evil from last summer, and this September's upcoming Hinder concert! Looks like these guys have a firm grasp on the "modern rock" end of Dreammaker's Theater bookings! For years, it seemed like 90% of metal bands there were at their peak in the 80s, not that that's a bad thing! There's also loads of photos from the Papa Roach and Pop Evil shows, including pics from the meet and greets from both concerts (How do these always bypass me when I report on these shows?) According to Allstar Promotions' newest status update on Facebook, the Hinder show will be their first sellout, and have others in the works! Great to see, here's hoping they book some more heavier acts in the near future!

Now here's a somewhat intriguing open call for local bands that I came across today. SooNews.ca news/video production manager Craig Huckerby posted a topic on the Musician Central forums on SooNet.ca, where he hopes to find an original local band! Why, you ask? Well, according to the topic, SooNews.ca wants a local band with "a commentary sound and original material" to host a TV show in the fall! It would be taped at SooNews.ca's new downtown studios this summer. Now, I don't know what "commentary sound" means, but I figured I'd post this here to see if someone out there might be interested in taking part in this! There's no genre preference, you just need original songs. I'm honestly not quite sure what this entails, having a local band host a TV show, but this could be a big opportunity! If anyone's interested, e-mail Craig A.S.A.P. at craig@soonews.ca, and check the above link for Craig's initial topic on the matter!

Finally for today, I have posted a brand new classic local hard rock album online! This time, it's the debut album from defunct local hard rockers Foothill Road! Entitled "Seventy", it was recorded in 1994 with Bob McLeod at Satellite Sound Studios, and is now out of print. With THE BEST POSSIBLE INTENT, I have uploaded all six songs from the E.P. onto The Sault Metal Scene's YouTube channel, where you can check them out once again! NO COPYRIGHT INFRINGEMENT IS INTENDED! This music deserves an audience again, and that's my goal in uploading this, I mean no harm! A HUGE thanks goes out to former Foothill Road guitarist Mario Carlucci (now of Sneaky Pete) for sending me this album! Of course, for more info on Foothill Road and this album, visit the band's official MySpace page! I will link you guys to track one, "Centerpiece", and click here to check out the rest! Enjoy, and is there more Foothill Road stuff to share? Wait and see in the coming days!



That's all for today, tomorrow's post will include the results from our current SMS poll on feelings concerning our upcoming Kiss concert, a brand new poll to vote in, and maybe a news story or two! Stay tuned for that, plus my review of "Castle Stories", the next profiles of out of town bands with local members, and tons more news and updates! Thanks everyone!