LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (The Golers & The Bear Hunters) & Sault Ontario Weekend Concert Previews!!

Keeping with our busy recent news, today's all-Sault Ontario news post is divided into two halves: previews of this weekend's metal/hard rock concerts (Sault Michigan previews will be tomorrow to spread them out a bit), and LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS for two big and differently notable metal shows in Sault Ontario next month, so here's what you need to know! (Updated at 1:45 PM)

Less than a week after rocking The Roosevelt Hotel, Vancouver crossover/thrash quartet The Golers will return there on the Fourth of July for their second local show in two weeks! Their show last Thursday was a hit to be sure, and their hardcore & punk hybrid sound should definitely be welcomed back in open arms next Thursday for local promoter J.D. Pearce's 7th Thursday night concert at The Rosie since last spring! Two local opening bands have been signed, including local grunge/alternative rockers Haggith (in their first Rosie appearance since last year), which comes just days after their private Goulais Mission concert for Canada Day, which I'll touch on a bit in an upcoming post. The other confirmed local opening band is local punk trio The Northern Tragedy in what (I think) is their Rosie debut and their first announced show since the Rockstar Bar Battle of the Bands, so it'll be good to see more of a punk angle for The Golers' next show! Also, I swear I saw Sykotyk Rampage briefly advertised as an opening band, but if I'm right, they've since been removed, so that may have been a premature addition. At least one more band is to be announced though!

Admission will be a lower $7 for this 19+ concert, and doors open at 9:00 PM once again, so check the Facebook event page for more details! This is shaping up to be another can't miss show, especially for another hit of The Golers and some different local openers who aren't frequent Rosie sights, so if you missed The Golers last week, you have a makeup date! Stay tuned for more as it comes in!

Also in new concerts, local metal singer/guitarist Josh Stephney will say goodbye to Sault Ste. Marie with Oddzfest 2013 Metal Mashup, a special ALL AGES concert headlined by his local bands The Bear Hunters & Giwakwa that will take place at The Oddfellows Hall on Friday, July 26th at 6:00 PM! As announced at the Striker concert on Thursday, Josh is moving out of town later this summer to pursue other ventures, and he's throwing this party next month to repay his friends, colleagues, and fans for their support in recent years, though he stressed on the Facebook event page that both The Bear Hunters & Giwakwa will continue on without him. As part of the gratitude, Josh is providing FREE ADMISSION if you wear local band merchandise to the show (any band works), though a $5 admission charge will be in effect you can't wear/don't have any. Local death metal notables Crimson Crusade & Shit Liver are among the local openers, with one more band to be announced, and we'll of course let you guys know when they're confirmed. For all current details on the Oddzfest 2013 Metal Mashup, check the above links!

This is sure to be a bittersweet day, as while the metal will surely be awesome, it will be sad to see Josh go, especially with how prominent and successful he's been in the local scene in the past 4 years with his current bands, plus Bring The Fallen & March Into Regression. I'm sure he's making the best choice for him right now by moving, and of course, we wish him the best of luck no matter what happens, and hopefully he stays active in music! Note that The Bear Hunters are playing the night after this event at The Algonquin Pub with Frightlight, but I don't know yet if Josh will play that show too or not. Stay tuned for updates as I hear them!

We'll close today's post with previews of this weekend's metal concerts in Sault Ontario, starting with what was gonna be quite the unique all ages concert TONIGHT at The Oddfellows Hall, as it would have featured no less than three two-man bands, including Vancouver experimental grind/crust duo Ahna and Montreal grindcore project Powercup, but both have cancelled for unannounced reasons, as per promoter Jamie Vincent on Facebook this morning. A replacement local band was sought, but none has been signed, so instead, the show will be headlined by an open jam session, so if you wanna play, bring your gear! I assume the previously announced acts are still on, including a new local project named Bad Back (no online pages yet), whose only sound description is that they're "grungy". Their lineup features the aforementioned Jamie Vincent and a musician named Nathan (possibly Lion Ride alum Nathan Sauve?), but I know very little else. I'll let you guys know when I hear more!

The show's opening band is the aforementioned Crimson Crusade in their Oddfellows Hall debut, so be there to hear their exciting Death-inspired sound, and pick up their EP as well if it's on sale! Admission will be $5 for this ALL AGES concert, which starts at or after 7:00 PM tonight. For more details, visit the official Facebook event page! I normally wouldn't post this without full info given the band dropouts, but this is already later than I'd have liked, so I'll edit this when/if band details come in relating to a replacement act. There should be some good all ages noise going down no matter what, so keep it in mind, and for a preview, here's Crimson Crusade playing their song "Here We Lay" earlier this month!

Lastly for today, local metal cover trio Caveman Morrison will make their first Roosevelt Hotel appearances in almost two months TOMORROW & SATURDAY NIGHT, so let's preview those as well! Coming off of their successful Soup Kitchen Gala set at Mill Square, it'll be great to see Tym, James, and Johnny back at it for another weekend of hard hitting and varied metal & hard rock renditions, so don't miss the Caveman onslaught this weekend! As usual, these shows have 10:00 PM start times and 19+ age limits, while like their past shows at The Rosie, there is no cover charge. For more details, visit the official Facebook event page! Caveman Morrison's lengthy and always entertaining cover sets are sure to draw a crowd, so don't miss their Rosie return this weekend as you make your plans, and for a preview, here's the guys covering Judas Priest's "The Ripper" at The Rosie a couple of years back!



That's all for now, but keep an eye out for details on what band (if any) will replace Ahna & Powercup at The Oddfellows Hall tonight, and for this month's Saultites In Out Of Town Bands Profile on Caste of Shadows tonight as well! Thanks everyone!

Striker & Locals Concert Review, Plus Bear Hunters & Frightlight Lineup Notes!!

In our second post of the day, we have our review of last night's Striker-headlined metal concert at The Roosevelt Hotel on the site, but of course, check out our LemmaFest recap/videos post immediately below! Medium attendance at best yesterday, sad to say, but it was a Tuesday night, and I know many people have to work. As for the 1980s costume contest, the winner (as chosen by Striker themselves during their set) was April Fogal, who won a signed show poster and some extra Striker merchandise, so congratulations to April for her win! Now, let's touch on each band!

Opening last night's concert was local stoner/death metal quartet Giwakwa in their fourth local concert appearance, and they put in another solid effort with their hard hitting original sound! Their set included their original songs "Stoned To Death", "Winter's Hunger", "Endless Bummer", and "Iron Lung", and an opening instrumental, and the guys handled each well, though the abbreviated set length and lack of covers does hurt compared to other bands they share the stage with, and I think they could be helped by filling out their set. Musically, the guys sounded as solid as ever, with singer Josh Stephney's vocal brutality on full display, and Chris Page's riffs powerful as ever, but Nolan Rainville really seemed restricted in movement due to last night's stage setup. I'd still like to see some more melodic touches with Giwakwa's live show, but they have a good thing going, and hopefully despite a major imminent change (more in a second), they'll get bigger and bigger in the coming months!

Before I talk about local death metal quintet The Bear Hunters' set, I wanted to note that during it last night, singer Nik Deubel revealed that Bear Hunters rhythm guitarist/Giwakwa frontman Josh Stephney is moving out of town later this summer. While Nik announced that last night's set was their "last official show" with him, that was a premature announcement, as I'll touch on in a post tomorrow. This definitely was an "endless bummer" to hear, as Josh is a talented singer & guitarist, but hopefully Josh succeeds at whatever's next for him, and we'll cover his actual last concert with his local bands in our next post!

As for The Bear Hunters' set, it was great to see them back in familiar ground at The Rosie, and their set attracted a large crowd (compared to the other local bands) with a lot of good responses! They played seven original songs (including "Bloodthirst", "Succumb To Eternity", and "Collapse The Sun"), along with their set-opening rendition of "Teddy Bear's Picnic" and a surprise return of the crowd favourite "Squirrel Buddy", and they seemed to be on form from their most recent live gigs! Nik Deubel's growling was as brutal as ever, Mitch Sirie & Josh laid it down hard on guitar, and Justin Lam's bass work was as skilled as ever! I'd still like to see them severely cut down the end of "Render This Void" (it's way too drawn out), and I think Mitch's guitar in particular was a bit low, but The Bear Hunters were as good as ever, and stay tuned tomorrow for news on their last concert with Josh next month!

Co-headlining last night was the return of Frightlight after an 8 month concert hiatus, and it was good to see their horror punk/metal hybrid back after so long! However, their lineup looked slightly different, as Redundant/Caveman Morrison bassist James White (a.k.a. Slim Cadaver) filled in for the absent Eddie Fright (no word on where he was, though he has attended college out of town in recemt months.) Aside from his lack of backing vocals, James/Slim filled in well on bass, and don't miss him with Frightlight when they open for The Creepshow in August either! Frightlight played six originals last night along with covers of Misfits, G.G. Allin, and Fitswitch songs, and they generally haven't lost a step musically, but they weren't as lively as they were at some 2012 dates, and Johnny Pints' vocals did tire a bit later in the set. As Frightlight play more shows again, things will get back to normal, but it's just good to see them rocking the local scene again, and don't miss them at The Algonquin Pub next month!

And finally, your headliners were Edmonton heavy metal quintet Striker, and just to pit mildly: they were awesome! They brought a blistering traditional heavy metal assault to a very lively crowd that was go from note one, and while I'm not one to rank and rate musicians compared to one another, frontman Dan Cleary is by far one of the best singers I've ever heard at a local metal concert! Just soaring, and with great falsettos and a heavy edge, his singing was a perfect compliment to Striker's very fast and heavy sound, which saw them play original songs like "Full Speed or No Speed", "Feed My Fire", and "Can't Stop The Rush" among numerous others! Despite the lower than hoped attendance, fans ate up every song, and with awesome riffs and solos from Tim Brown and Chris Segger all night, you can see why! I would have liked maybe some more crowd interaction, but other than that, I can't complain, as Striker put in an awesome set last night that was metal to the core and back, and hopefully they'll turn up in the Soo again down the road!

Overall, this was another home run of a concert from Johnny Pints, and kudos to Bear Hunters drummer Johnny Belanger for providing great sound throughout the night! Of course, I did get a bunch of photos of each band, so click here to check them our or visit our Facebook page, and as for videos, I got one original song from each band, so here's Giwakwa playing "Endless Bummer", The Bear Hunters playing "Deception", Frightlight playing "Dead Town Anywhere", and Striker playing "Terrorizer"!









That's all for today, but stay tuned for two news posts tomorrow, including new concert announcements & Sault Ontario weekend concert previews in one, and this month's Saultites In Out Of Town Bands Profile on Caste of Shadows in the other! Thanks everyone!

A New Local Metal Band, Gates Of Winter News, And Much More!!

After a couple of days off from new news posts, we've got some big new stories to address on this Monday morning, so what's on tap? We have a prominent singer addition for a newer local band, the latest news from one of the biggest local metal bands of recent years, and more assorted notes, but first, here's a new local metal outfit you should take note of!

First up today, we have a brand new local metal band to add to our Sault Ontario band links, that being Hydra! (Or is it "The Hydra"?) Though active for a few weeks via their Reverbnation page, activity only just picked up today there and on their new Facebook page yesterday. This new band's lineup features Late & Loud guitarist Brendan Christie and bassist Benn Garside alongside guitarist Talon Risto, a former St. Joseph Island resident and good friend of the L&L members. You may recognize him as the guitarist in the Deep River metal band Torture For Pleasure, who have some great classic metal material of their own, so click here to stream some Torture For Pleasure songs! No drummer or singer is secured yet, but I believe Hydra is the same band that Brendan was looking for members for on the Musicians Wanted Facebook group, so if you can sing power metal or drum, give them a shout! As of right now, the only real Hydra updates come from instrumental demo uploads on their Reverbnation page, including tracks named "The Hydra", "Bombs Away", and "Into The Hollow", so click here to check them out!

There's still a lot of unknowns for Hydra (i.e. who'll finish their lineup, live concert statuses with Talon out of town, what their existence means for Late & Loud's future), but I like what I'm hearing from them so far! Their songs show classic heavy metal promise, but these demos would sound more complete if they had even placeholder singing from Brendan and some computer drum tracks. I'll keep my eye out for more Hydra news, so become a fan above, and I've added them to our Sault Ontario band links!

Next up, here's the latest updates from local progressive death metal standouts Gates of Winter! Updates from their camp have been slower than recently usual over the fall, but on Saturday, frontman Lee Maines posted a status onto the band's Facebook page which noted recent & new stuff relating to their future. Lee addressed the status of their planned third CD, saying that it won't be coming out in December as was previously announced, but he did confirm that progress is ongoing for it, while also adding that it will now have just 6 tracks and be of EP length (like their original demo), and will likely be renamed from the previously announced title "Perihelion". He explained the delays were due to personal commitments (i.e. family, education, and work) and the members' distance from each other (only Lee currently lives in the Soo), but he did note that the three current members still hope to finish this album A.S.A.P., as well as calling a return to the stage "an inevitability." Lee closed by saying that when the EP is finished, it will be "much more heavy, fast, and sophisticated", and will be "perpendicular" to their 2000s output. Check the above links for the full statement!

It's great to see Gates of Winter still slowly plugging away at this CD, and this has to be some cautiously good news for fans, especially given their four year stage hiatus & recent slow activity! A lesser band may have thrown in the towel already, but you know as well as I that Gates of Winter have the necessary talent & drive (even if the time & proximity isn't currently there), so hopefully we see the new disc at some point in 2013! I just wish they didn't discredit their earlier originals so much, as they're still well received by fans to this day, even if they're not as heavy & technical as what's to come. Stay tuned for more Gates of Winter news when it all rolls in!

Thirdly today, here's the latest news from newer local sludge metal band Giwakwa! Yesterday, they confirmed on their Facebook page that they've added Bear Hunters guitarist Josh Stephney to their lineup as their new singer, replacing the already-departed Jason Bourcier. In their most recent Facebook status, the band confirmed that they'd been jamming with Josh for a few weeks, and they plan to begin playing live in the new year. Though best known recently as a guitarist, Josh was well known as the singer for defunct local death metal band Bring The Fallen (who Giwakwa bassist Nolan Rainville was also a member of), as well as a brief vocalist stint with the recently-inactive March Into Regression this summer (are they still together?) It's great to see Josh back as singer in another death metal band, as he was definitely very good at it with his older bands! It's also good to see much of The Bear Hunters staying busy with other live bands while their demo is in progress (such as The Suicide Kings & Caveman Morrison), but hopefully we hear some death/sludge metal from Giwakwa on the local stage shortly, and check the above links for more details!

And finally for today, here's three assorted shorter news stories from the last little while! As usual, these are in alphabetical order by band, promoter, or venue name:

• If you're wondering what ever became of the old Coch's Corner location (under the Days Inn at 320 Bay Street), the whole building was converted into a Holiday Inn Express over the summer, which likely explains the construction there mid-year & Coch's Corner's move to the old Foggy Notions building. The move must still be disappointing to some, but at least Coch's Corner has a new home!
• Local death metal quartet Crimson Crusade have launched their own Twitter page, so follow them at the above link for band updates! Note however that there's no tweets yet, but hopefully soon! (Also, for the record, the band has yet to confirm the full identity of their new guitarist, "Rob #2", but we'll know by Sunday if nothing else!)
• Frightlight/T-Rex Manning frontman J.D. Pearce is apparently now doing some concert bookings for The Algonquin Hotel's two bars (The Algonquin Pub & The Rockstar Bar), as per postings on the Musicians Wanted Facebook group recently! Bookings through December at The Rockstar Bar are being offered (preferably to classic rock bands), but bands downstairs will be more diverse from what I can tell. If you're interested in playing any weekends at the Algonquin, message J.D. at this location!

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

Napalm Death/Foggy Notions News, A Local Band's Return, And This Week's Classic Video!!

Things are certainly picking up news-wise in the local metal scene, so I think I might double up on posts tonight as a result. I have new concerts, videos, and so forth to get to (and weekend concert previews), but those will be tonight or tomorrow so the stories I want to get to first don't get overshadowed. That said, this post features this week's classic video and a local band's return, but first, here's some huge news concerning a major upcoming concert and it's new venue!

THIS SATURDAY'S Napalm Death concert has been moved from The Riuniti Hall to the bar formerly known as Foggy Notions! Yes, the Queen Street East bar will officially re-open for business on Saturday night, under new ownership with a new name and look, and I can confirm that the bar's new name is Feedback! Sounds like a good name, hopefully it sticks with fans! I assume it's safe now to confirm that the new owner of Feedback is Dismembertainment head and local guitarist Rich Moreland, who is also putting on the Napalm Death show, so it's a fitting first concert for the "new" bar! The only other change is that the doors will now open an hour earlier at 5:00 PM on Saturday. Yes, previously purchased tickets are still 100% usable, and it is STILL ALL AGES! The news was broken in an e-mail to concert attendees yesterday, and has since been added to the Facebook event page. No reason was announced for the venue change, but I hope it wasn't due to ticket sale concerns, as you know how huge this concert should be! Check the above links for all current details on both the concert and venue!

I have to say, if there was a way to begin the era of Feedback with a bang, then having Napalm Death, Hallows Die, Wake, Shit Liver, & The Bear Hunters all on one night is the way to do it, and though I'll sadly be out of town this weekend, I know it will be an amazing concert and a great introduction to the local scene for Feedback! Stay tuned for more in the next few days when we preview this weekend's metal & hard rock concert schedule!

That said, while metalheads and old Foggy's fans are sure to be buzzing over the Feedback news, there is a more unfortunate side of the story, as was being discussed on SooToday last night, so I feel I should address it. SooToday's Carol Martin posted an article onto SooToday last night called "Foggy's next generation questioned by City Council", which basically outlines how City Council wants the Alcohol and Gaming Commission to consider the concerns of residents in the Foggy's area before transferring a liquor license to the new owners (For the record, the new ownership & name of the bar are not mentioned in the article.) Ward 4 Councillor Rick Niro wants the new owners to address concerns relating to noise, debris, and other issues that came up during the previous Foggy Notions eras, though he was clear in saying he's not against the reopening. Check the above links for the full article. Now, I'm not in a position to comment on what Rich has done with Foggy's/Feedback, but I know that he's following all the rules and taking all the right steps to ensure that everything will go smoothly. Considering that they're planning to reopen on Saturday, most of the work must already be done, and if he was planning to ignore any concerns, do you think it would have gotten this far?

I feel that if you willingly move into a neighbourhood near a bar that puts on concerts with non-acoustic bands, you should be prepared for noise, and should only have a right to call the police over it if they actually violate some noise ordinance. I'm sure in many cases, Foggy Notions was there before a noise complainer moved nearby, and they should have known that before moving into the area. There are other bars downtown that put on loud events near residences, and they don't get brought up at City Council over noise issues. That's just my opinion though, and I hope Rich gets no bad "feedback" over what goes on at Feedback in the future. The bar's in good hands, everyone will see that soon!

Now to some cool news for you Skull After Betrayl fans, as the local hardcore quartet have officially reunited! The band originally broke up in late July after the members parted ways with guitarist Justin Polutanovich and formed a new band named The Dead Kings with some new members, but it looks like Skull After Betrayl are back in action! The band relaunched their Facebook page earlier today, with frontman Mike Vincent confirming that they'll be ready for shows "soon" on his personal Facebook page. Their old lineup (including Justin on guitar) is back together, though bassist Adam Brett is now also listed for some singing, which should be interesting! With all that said, it looks like The Dead Kings have broken up, with their Facebook page deleted, which is disappointing, but hopefully Willis Tholberg & Jacob Cere get back into a new band soon! As for Skull After Betrayl, it's great to see them back, and hopefully the steady improvement we saw from them through the summer will continue when they return to the stage! Stay tuned for details on Skull After Betrayl's next shows as they come in!

And finally, here's this week's classic video! With the Napalm Death show upon us, it made perfect sense to tie in this week's video with one of the local opening bands, and I chose The Bear Hunters, specifically guitarist Josh Stephney! Before becoming a local fixture as Bring The Fallen's singer & The Bear Hunters' guitarist, Josh and his BTF bandmate Dan Souliere joined forces at the "In The Pines" guitar showcase at White Pines Collegiate & Vocational School on May 16th, 2008 to cover Tenacious D's "Tribute"! This was a solid cover with Josh on lead vocals, Dan on backing vocals, and both on guitar, and they mostly have the song down. Besides, it's Tenacious D, you've gotta do them justice! This video was filmed by an attendee of this event and was uploaded by Josh onto Facebook two days later. After uploading the video onto our YouTube channel, I also corrected the lighting to make it brighter and clearer, but you can still check out the original video at http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v=42347370570. NO COPYRIGHT INFRINGEMENT IS INTENDED!! All credit for this video goes to Josh, Dan, and the original filmer, I'm just sharing this video with a wider audience like it deserves! That said, check out Josh and Dan covering the tribute to the best song in the world below!



That's all for now, but I may have another news post later tonight, but if not, I'll have weekend concert previews probably tomorrow, so stay tuned! Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (Caveman Morrison), Band Lineup News, And Much More!!

I'm home! Great to be back in the Soo, on my normal computer, with no exams or Internet Explorer issues to get in the way! Today's post has news on the guitarist situation in two local bands, a possible show that was in need of a booking, and a new sound company, but first, here's some LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS!! (Updated: 2:18 PM Wednesday)

Fresh off of the announcement of their local return, hard rock cover trio Caveman Morrison have announced three more concerts for this summer! Firstly, the band will return to The Nicolet Tavern on June 10th & 11th, one month after their live return at The Nic THIS WEEKEND! Then on July 8th, the band will be among the performers at this year's Goulais River Community Day at what I believe is the McMeeken Centre on Goulais Avenue, though it's only credied as the "Goulais Community Rink" (let me know if I'm wrong!) The Community Day itself is a yearly event with all kinds of fun family activities and events, and bands play each year, though I'm not sure who all else is playing. I'll tell you if I find out! The band has a 9:00 PM start time listed for July 8th, while the Nicolet shows next month start at 10:00 PM. None of the above concerts have announced entrance fees, and while the Nicolet shows are 19+, I'd assume the Goulais River Community Day set would be all ages. For more details, click here for the Nicolet event page and here for the event page for Community Day! Nice to see Caveman Morrison piling on the bookings following their return, here's hoping there's more on the way! Stay tuned for more as news comes in!

Secondly, here's some video footage I'm VERY surprised we haven't seen until now! As you're likely to remember, local hard rockers Garden of Bedlam opened for Kiss (both bands on your right) at The Essar Center in August. That was a huge story for both Garden of Bedlam and the local scene last year, but for over 8 months, publically viewable video footage never popped up online...until now! You may have seen Rick Dellavedova from CML Productions filming the band at a few of their concerts for use in music videos and related projects, and now he has a new YouTube channel which features some cool locally-relevant videos, including one video from the Kiss show! Uploaded onto YouTube on Saturday, this is of Garden of Bedlam playing their song "New Rain", and it looks and sounds good! Nice video quality, the band look good up on the big stage, and the crowd (or who was there that early) seem very entertained! It's great to finally see some video from their biggest show so far, definitely check out Garden of Bedlam playing "New Rain" at The Essar Center below, and stay tuned for some more videos Rick uploaded!

(Note that the original video was removed in favour of a black and white version for unknown reasons, which I re-embedded below!)



Next up, remember on Saturday when we discussed the guitarist departures in two local death metal bands? Well, both situations appear to be resolved, so here's what you need to know! Firstly, The Bear Hunters have announced the addition of Bring The Fallen frontman Josh Stephney to the band as their new rhythm guitarist, replacing Mike Vincent. Josh got the gig through the auditions on Saturday, and has been officially confirmed as the band's newest member on their Facebook page. Josh is of course best known as Bring The Fallen's singer from their 2009 inception through their breakup last month, but many of you know that Josh plays the guitar as well, and you may have seen him join in on guitar occasionally at Bring The Fallen shows. He has the skill to play guitar full time, and The Bear Hunters know talent when they hear it, so Josh should do great, and you gotta figure his growling skills will come in handy if need be! The Bear Hunters are planning to spend May rehearsing and preparing for a relaunch in June, so look out for Josh's debut with the band next month! Sounds good to me, I'll be waiting!

Also in guitarist moves, State of Misery's new lineup configuration has been announced. As newly posted on their Facebook group, the band have quietly updated their lineup to reflect that they are becoming a quartet again. According to the updated lineup, Kevin D'Orazio will move from rhythm guitar to lead guitar in the band, replacing Ray Cowan. As a result, frontman Steve Rhodes will take over on rhythm guitar in addition to singing. This should be interesting to see if it holds together! I knew Steve as a guitarist before I knew about his vocal work, so he should handle this part of the band well, hopefully he can do great on both roles at once! As for Kevin on lead guitar, I'll be curious to see how he compares to Ray, but I do think the band know what they're doing concerning their sound and members! Things could change before their return, still likely a ways off, but I will keep you posted! I've seen a number of postings and statements from the last little while that didn't suggest much optimism for the band's status, but hopefully everything pulls together, and they'll be rocking the scene once again very soon! Stay tuned for updates as I hear them!

Finally, how's about a possible concert that needs a booking? Here's what you fans and prospective bookers need to know! Last week, I received an e-mail from Brendan Doll, the guitarist for the Calgary experimental hardcore band The Promethean Labyrinth. He's looking to book a concert in Sault Ontario on Saturday, July 16th for both his band and fellow Alberta metal band Distant Calm, who are touring with them this summer. I sent Brendan some booker contact info, but I don't know if that will get anywhere, so as always, I'll let you guys know about this possible show! The Promethean Labyrinth are very heavy and have lots of progressive and experimental touches with their aggressive hardcore music, and they'd fit well here, while Distant Calm have a more mainstream with their sound, but they have a heavier sound and nice melodies! If you want to help The Promethean Labyrinth and Distant Calm play a show here in July, shoot Brendon a message at this location, check out both bands at the above links, and best of luck to the bands in getting a show here, it'd go over well!

That's all for now, but stay tuned for a new Woods of Ypres-centric post, our Destroilet EP review, and much more very soon! Thanks everyone!