Chase James Wigmore - "We Are All Going To Die" Album Review!!

It's time for our 163rd monthly CD review at The Sault Metal Scene and first one of 2023, as we're taking a look at local extreme metal/folk punk musician Chase James Wigmore's newest album "We Are All Going To Die"! Independently released to his Bandcamp page on November 19th, this is the twenty-sixth album of his to go on official sale there, though he has more albums that stalled as free postings elsewhere. Perhaps Chase's penultimate solo album if you believe some of his teasers last year, "We Are All Going To Die" (formerly named "Is This The End Of...") was recorded at his home studio last year, and credits Chase alone on all instruments. You can buy this album for $7 on Bandcamp, where you can also stream it for free, but consider a purchase to support Chase's work! With 12 songs running for about 45 minutes, let's begin this review!

The opening song is "What Really Matters", which is basically the calm before the storm, serving as a reserved instrumental guitar/bass performance with no vocals, percussion or obvious effects. As the effective intro, it gets the job done, but it may have served better for contrast if Chase had recorded this unplugged? Next is "Spiritual Casualties", which continues the metal-leaning album's build-up with an ominous, but still not full-bore, song that introduces more (but not all) of the full band experience. Chase delivers slow & cryptic vocals as the background effects build around his instrumentation, and aside from some industrial beats in later stretch, drums are not heard again. As a longer track that feels more like a proper song, this is an improvement as "We Are All Going To Die" continues getting built up! Drumming finally appears on track 3, "You're Dead", as do Chase's harsh vocals, if in a backing role.

The steady upward metal progression continues here, as the song is more aggressive, yet in the background, with the band approach is done more in an unplugged style (if still plugged in). Chase lays down a good guitar solo, but this song got somewhat noisy and jumbled at parts, feeling oddly spare at points when you don't expect it to, so it's inconsistent for me. Fourth is "Don't Worry, We Have A Plan", which is a techno instrumental piece not unlike Chase's old Black Lodge Masters work, featuring an assortment of instruments and effects, including what sounds like a synthesizer riff out front. Honestly, this sounds like video game music, which isn't entirely a bad thing, but it is definitely a tonal shift, if one that will intrigue progressive rock fans. Neat diversion, but fans of Chase's intense extreme metal may not take to this the same.

Next on the album is "Psycherosion", which returns to more of a traditional structure with vocal & guitar input (at first), with more of a dark ballad before dipping back to electronica for the bulk of the runtime, including scratchy background noise, though Chase's guitar and percussion tracking does recur.  The song directly runs into track #6, hence the abrupt ending, but why not smush them together, especially when "Psycherosion" feels unfinished? The direct follow-up, entitled "Without You", is the album's shortest song, and it really marries the earlier dark & ominous overtones with the electronic music here, pacing the mid-tempo singing with some very game-inspired samples and a nice (if somewhat too layered) guitar solo. Is it bad that some of Chase's singing and lyrics here remind me of slower Static-X material? I like the style contrast here, and this song is a definite highlight from the first half of the album!

Song #7 is "The End Part One: Loss", which is the only song on the album to exceed 5 minutes in length, and here, Chase finally lets loose with a full on extreme metal fury! However, he warms up to the aggression with low spoken word layered under post-production effects, including some audible clipping (at least to my ears). This song jumps in tone dramatically at points, but it's a good change of pace, and it shows his knack for programming while still showcasing his heaviest work, and some of his late guitar riffing has a nice funk element to it, so the album is on an upward swing for me! Of course, "The End Part Two: Ender" follows, though the two songs don't share a ton of musical similarities on surface level. This song is more techno-driven, with Chase's low, ominous spoken word returning in the mix, but the drum programming peeks through, and Chase does deploy some very grindcore-esque harsh vocals as well.

I can't say that "Part Two" works as a song as well as "Part One", as it's not as heavy and mixes its genres less distinctly, but it's not bad for what it is! Next is "The Guilt & Shame Of Being", which will be a familiar idea if you best know Chase from solo acoustic performances (in concert, Facebook, or otherwise). It starts with him in campfire ballad mode, if very downbeat and morose about it, but the last stretch of the song sees him go haywire with some unplugged shredding buoyed by some background echo effects. This is the tale of two songs, but I do like Chase's solo stuff when done like both halves, so fans will be into it if they're prepared! Tenth up is "Everybody Now Apparently", an oddly jazzy song that's spiced up by an overly loud drum track, layered effects irreverent dialogue (some about the Soo), and primarily harsly sung lyrics, contrasting sharply with the music.

Definitely an eclectic song, and never boring, but I can't help but assume that the pieces would be accentuated better if the song proper was heavier (it can still have a jazz influence, just pump things up a bit!) The penultimate song on offer belatedly completes the trilogy with the album's title track, "The End Part Three: We Are All Going To Die", which doubles down on any techno influence of earlier songs for a full-on industrial noise collage to start before mellowing with spacier effects, layered spoken word, a some more funky guitar soloing late, and some anguished screaming at the end. Of the three "The End" tracks, I'd put this in the middle for enjoyability, as it had a better balance of styles than "Part Two", but wasn't as heavy and intense as "Part One", punishing industrial opening acknowledged. The album ends with "The Crisis That Became The World", which is something of a softer coda at first.

While always layered with effects and background noise, things end on an extreme metal note with Chase's harsh screaming vocals (if mixed low) along with more of his trademark guitar excellence, and the increasing piling-on of effects and music ends the album on a fitting note, so fans of Chase's heavier side will like the ending! As for the whole album, this is definitely a stylistic departure from his prior 2022 album "Sonic Apocalypse", heavily influenced by techno and industrial genres, something that he was more known for including in Awokest and Black Lodge Masters material rather than eponymous stuff. Hr knows he's doing to make audio collages with samples, effects, and dialogue layered on top of each other, and I can't imagine the work it took to put some of the more complex songs together, but this may come at a cost for fans of Chase's more metal and folk punk-leaning material on past albums & videos.

He hasn't really made a true folk punk album in a while now, and the full-on extreme metal sides were used sparingly here, often in partial form to contrast with more reserved or electronic-themed material. I can get behind "We Are All Going To Die" conceptually, and there are standout tracks here, like "The End Part One" and "The Crisis That Became The World" for the metal quotient, while "Without You" and "The Guilt & Shame Of Being" struck a good balance, especially for the darker overtones! That said, some of the songs' mixes could be a little muddled compared to others, his vocals were sometimes inaudible as such, I'd have combined "Psycherosion" & "Without You" into one track, and I get the sense that this album had an overarching theme and story that could have been explained more beyond Facebook posts. Overall, Chase delivered some more intriguing stuff here, and diehard fans shouldn't bypass it!

Buy or stream "We Are All Going To Die" at the above links, and I hope you guys liked this month's CD review! Look for our review of one of Sykotyk Rampage's late 2022 studio albums on the site next month, and stay tuned for weekend concert previews on the site tomorrow! Thanks everyone!

Abhorrent Forest - "To See Eternity" EP Review!!

With news quiet this week, let's break the silence with our 107th monthly CD review on the SMS, namely our review of local black metal solo project Abhorrent Forest's third EP "To See Eternity"! Released to their Bandcamp page on March 11th, this release is a return to their primary genre after the ambient-focused "Ethereal" in September, and is described on Bandcamp as "an EP made in the late winter nights". Once again, Abhorrent Forest is represented on this self-produced and independently released album by Will "Old Man Wyrn" Tholberg (or just "Wyrn") on all instruments, and the project remains an instrumental effort. As was the case with "Ethereal", "To See Eternity" is available for $10 at the above links, and while you can stream it free there as well, consider buying it to support Old Man Wyrn's work! Featuring 4 songs running for about 22 minutes total, let's begin this month's CD review with it's opening and shortest track, "Plague"!

Starting with brutal and devastating instrumentation that completely reverses course from "Ethereal", this song has a very ominous guitar riff that almost sounds like a villain's theme music in an epic video game. The drums aren't as varied as they could be, but I love the guitar work and the bass is a very solid match to it. This is a song that's begging for better production values and perhaps vocals, but as it stands, it's definitely a highlight of this EP! This song sounds like it ends abruptly, but it appears to flow right into the second track "Asunder", which moves from the grandiose dramatic feel to more of a traditional black metal vibe with rapid fire drumming and drone-like guitar work, while still maintaining a steady aggression. The song changes pace to a slower, more deliberate rhythm late, and this will definitely please black metal loyalists more than "Plague". Myself, I find the instrument mix is muddier here, and while this is well in range, I do prefer the opener overall.

"Season of Death" comes third, and I'd be lying if I didn't say this gave me a "Black Sabbath" vibe (as in, the band's self-titled song.) The cadence of the guitars, the ominous thunder sound effects, the deliberate pacing, it's all there for the first half. The song varies in the second half with a faster groove, and starts to diversify itself to good effect, with solid bass and drumming all around, though the latter use of the thunder effects feel thrown in, and the abrupt ending doesn't do much for it. The first half feels too derivative, but the second half helps bring it home! The EP's title track "To See Eternity" closes things, and at a whopping 9:07 runtime to boot! This lengthy track starts with more black metal intensity a'la "Asunder", but it sounds cleaner and heavier all at once, if that makes sense. The marching eerie sound is a bonus, and Wyrn's straightforward heavy guitar riffs are always a plus! At the same time, similar instrumental sections are extended to lengths that get very repetitive, without much structural variance.

This especially strikes me as a song that could have been severely chopped down without losing anything substantial, which doesn't take anything away from Wyrn's solid performances and the brutality on display! I just find that the song would work better if it was shorter and less repetitive, but fans of Abhorrent Forest's black metal material will definitely enjoy the closer!

So, how do I sum up Abhorrent Forest's third EP? Well, it's definitely a return to form for black metal fans, and pound for pound, their strongest overall release to date! I especially loved "Plague", which showcases Old Man Wyrn's musical diversity very well with a grand, ominous sound that shows a lot of potential beyond just black metal and ambient compositions! In more traditional black metal territory, the rest of the album delivers the good with strong guitar work and assaulting riffs and drum tracks, and I liked that the cymbals were toned down from "The End of Life" too. That all said, the title track dragged on too long without any major changes in tempo or structure, "Season of Death" is almost too Black Sabbathy in it's first half, and I am still curious to hear how this material would sound with vocals. Abhorrent Forest are on an upward trajectory for sure, and I'm very curious to hear what Wyrn has in store next, so buy or stream "To See Eternity" at the above links!

I hope you guys liked this month's CD review! Next month, barring a sudden huge album release, I am planning to keep with new CD reviews via looking at defunct local alt-hard rock trio The Din's posthumous live album "Suburban Sendoff", which was released in February but held until this point due to our 6 month anti-bias buffer (having just reviewed their last studio album in December.) Look for that at some point next month, and stay tuned for weekend concert previews next! Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERT (Who Made Who), A New EP Release, And Much More!!

Here's a new news post for your Tuesday morning delectation, so what's on the docket today? A band moved to our inactive links, a new concert video, and a new album release, but we'll lead off with a LOCAL CONCERT ALERT for next month, so here's what you should know!

Toronto-based AC/DC tribute band Who Made Who will return to Sault Ste. Marie for another headlining concert on Friday, April 6th at The Rockstar Bar! Though not yet advertised online that I have found, this poster at the venue proper confirms the show, which takes place the same day as Shit Liver's release tour stop downstairs at The Algonquin Pub, so keep that in mind as well for the 6th. Fans will recall seeing Who Made Who's faithful sounding and looking tribute to AC/DC at The Rockstar Bar last April, and numerous times prior in the early 2010s, so their brand of high voltage rock & roll has definitely found an audience in the Soo, and here's hoping their return next month provides more of the same! This 19+ concert will likely have a 9:00 PM start time, and while admission fees have not yet been announced publically, note that last year's Who Made Who show had $10 tickets that you could buy at The Algonquin Hotel's front desk. Both floors of The Algonquin will be rocking on the 6th, so see above for more details on this concert!

Next up, we have a surprise new album release to note on here, as local instrumental black metal solo project Abhorrent Forest have posted their third EP online, in their first public act since releasing their second ("Ethereal") last fall! Entitled "To See Eternity", this was posted to the project's Bandcamp page yesterday, and marks a return to Old Man Wyrn's black metal roots after "Ethereal" dove head first into ambient compositions. This EP is currently on sale on Bandcamp for $10, but you can stream all four tracks for free there as well. It's great to see Abhorrent Forest active and recording, even if we only seem to hear from them when they release a new album on us! That said, when can you expect a review of "To See Eternity" on the SMS? Not this month, as this is the last month of our 6 month anti-bias buffer since reviewing "Ethereal", and with Shit Liver's new album pencilled in for next month, I'm targeting May for it. Assuming nothing screwy happens, look for it then, and stream all of Abhorrent Forest's studio material above!

Also today, here's the first of the public videos that have turned up from Saturday night's Archelon concert at The Rockstar Bar, as drummer Keith Zwicker posted this video of the Sudbury groove metal quintet playing their song "Cut & Run" to his personal YouTube channel yesterday! Ostensibly filmed by someone on Archelon's crew, this video has a great close angle from the far corner of the stage, and while the audio's a little muffled, their brutal aggression is captured well enough! Check it out below, and stay tuned for more from Archelon and the other bands in an upcoming post!

Finally, we have an addition to note to our inactive band links, that being local death metal duo Brutally Fatal. While there have been no firm announcements regarding their status, they haven't posted a new public update since releasing their free "Blood of the Devil" "album" last February, though for what it's worth, label Blood Shed Productions have been very quiet in the past year as well. Active off and on since 2012, Brutally Fatal was an early flagship band for the Blood Shed label from co-founder Austin McCrae, who put out a few album-formatted releases of an often provocative nature, while also performing at scattered concerts in the mid-2010s as both a solo act and later alongside C.T.W.'s Tyler Gibson on drums. These notably included the final Swampstravaganza in 2015, and a number of Blood Shed-affiliated Oddfellows and house party events. Note that this is not the same band as The Revolution, which Austin launched in 2014 as a second version of Brutally Fatal during the original's brief punk turn as Re-Born (no relation.)

Whether you spelled "Brutaly" with one L or two, Brutally Fatal were a fittingly brutal band at their height, and while the minimalistic extreme sound wasn't for everyone, they did showcase growth and originality during their run! I don't know if Brutally Fatal are lying dormant while Blood Shed continues their quiet period or if they're effectively done, but hopefully we hear more from Austin and Tyler musically soon in this or other projects! That's all for today, but stay tuned for more news and notes on the site as the week continues! Thanks everyone!

YouTube Channel Profile Series: MrJohnveale's channel

It's now time for this month's YouTube Channel Profile, our monthly look at 1-3 YouTube channels featuring at least a 50% concentration of local metal/hard rock-relevant videos! After a packed look at David Gold's channel last month, we're keeping with another randomly selected channel with a good amount of videos this time, one that fans of classic metal and deathcore should appreciate if you regularly hit up local shows in 2010 & 2011. Read on below for videos, information, and recommendations from this month's profiled channel!

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MrJohnveale's channel (http://www.youtube.com/mrjohnveale)

Owner: John Veale, father of former Sativa Rose/Valentine's Day Massacre bassist Adam Veale

Channel Timeline: Launched on July 29th, 2010; Videos posted from then until March 2013

Channel Summary: John's channel largely focuses on videos that he shot of his son Adam's local music work in the early 2010s, including 14 live videos from Sativa Rose concerts in 2010 & 2011, two from a Valentine's Day Massacre show (when they were still known as View To A Kill) in December 2011, and two videos of Adam covering 1990s rock songs on vocals & acoustic guitar from the past year. The concert videos come from assorted local venues (including a Ratt cover at The Oddfellows Hall in January 2011), though 9 of the 16 came from shows at Foggy Notions/Feedback (now Coch's Corner.) Note that one of John's videos is of a February 2011 pre-game ceremony during a Brock University Badgers women's hockey game, and it has no direct musical connections.

Why Should You Watch: Mainly, you should watch because this is the best source for live Sativa Rose concert videos, including some of their only public footage with guest singers (like Tym Morrison and Rich Moreland), and videos of some of their earlier solo dates! John's video quality was always really good, and the View To A Kill videos maintain that trend, so fans of Adam Veale & longtime bandmate Andrew Angelic's local music work will want to check out this channel! Note however that John didn't upload any videos of Sativa Rose or View To A Kill's original songs, and there hasn't been a concert video uploaded there since since December 2011, so no videos of the renamed Valentine's Day Massacre are featured.

Our Recommended Videos To Check Out:

Sativa Rose Live Talk Dirty To Me: With over 4,600 views, this live video of Sativa Rose covering Poison's "Talk Dirty To Me" is easily the most viewed on John's channel! Filmed at their headlining concert at GLOW on Gore Street from September 18th, 2010 (notably the last metal show at this venue to date), it was uploaded along with clips of Sativa Rose covering Dokken's "Dream Warriors" and Pantera's "Cowboys From Hell" at this show. Featuring their original lineup of guitarist Andrew Angelic, bassist Adam Veale, and drummer Alex Palmer on all three, the Poison & Pantera covers also feature ex-Havadder frontman Jason Roy on guest vocals, who is a noticeable improvement given how much Sativa Rose needed a permanent singer (a'la Late & Loud.) The lighting is inconsistent, but the videos are a nice glimpse into Sativa Rose's peak months, especially at a missed local venue!



Bark At The Moon by Sativa Rose: John's last Sativa Rose videos came from their last show at The Roosevelt Hotel on November 29th, 2011, when they were among the openers for Toronto punk trio The Unbelievers. Now featuring The Hydra's Teeth's Anthony Orazietti on second guitar, this show marked their only live appearance with singer Marisa Valois & guest drummer Steven Flint (now of The Suicide Kings) in lieu of Alex Palmer, who was out of town. John's videos featured Sativa Rose covering Iron Maiden's "Aces High", Van Halen's "Panama", and (as embedded below) Ozzy Osbourne's "Bark At The Moon", and while Marisa's vocals are also an improvement on Adam & Andrew's, she doesn't seem 100% comfortable on heavier material. I'd be curious to hear how they'd sound had she played with them longer, but this is the fullest Sativa Rose have ever sounded, so these videos are a good way to go out on!



View To A Kill covers Black Label: Prior to Sativa Rose's dissolution, Andrew Angelic & Adam Veale joined forces with State of Misery frontman Steve Rhodes and Andrew's ex-Chillum bandmate Kyle Umgeher in late 2011 as the new deathcore band View To A Kill, who John filmed at their headlining gig at Feedback (now the current Coch's Corner) on December 3rd, 2011. John's last concert videos to date, the clips are covers of Parkway Drive's "Carrion" and (as embedded below) Lamb of God's "Black Label", which are generally faithful to the originals, very brutal, and a nice precursor to their improved early-mid 2012 shows as The Valentine's Day Massacre, and Steve & Andrew's current work in the London death metal band D3athcharg3r!


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I hope you guys liked this month's YouTube Channel Profile! Through completely random selection, we're sticking with a single Sault Ontario-area channel next month, as we're profiling former Durera guitarist A.J. Biron's YouTube channel next! This one's loaded with CASS Cafe hard rock performances and some solo performances, so look out for this profile on or around September 22nd, and for previews of this weekend's hard rock concerts later today! Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (For Those About To Rock & Tym Morrison), Sault Ontario Weekend Concert Previews, And More!!

Things have been quite busy for me lately in terms of site updates (blame MySpace, I'll go into details this weekend), but the news keeps plugging on, as we have short notice LOCAL CONCERT ALERT for tomorrow night, previews of two metal-leaning concerts going down TONIGHT & , and a new video from a local metal project, so read on below for what you need to know! (Updated at 5:00 PM)

Have you AC/DC fans missed a local tribute concert to the hard rock legends? Well, the wait ends TOMORROW, as Toronto's own For Those About To Rock will make their first ever local stop for a night of high voltage rock n' roll at The Rockstar Bar! Apologies for the short notice, this was announced last week but slipped me by for coverage until the other day. The first AC/DC tribute show in the area since Who Made Who rocked The Canadian in February of last year, F.T.A.T.R. have their own unique and proficient take on the AC/DC sound, and they have an authentic look & setlist to go along with it, so fans will wanna check this show out on the weekend schedule! Admission will be $8 for tomorrow's show, you must be 19 to attend, and there's a 10:30 PM start time. For more details (including a contest tomorrow to win tickets to a Weezer concert in Toronto), visit the official Facebook event page!

I dig For Those About To Rock from what I've heard, and they have a close sound to the real thing, so don't miss tomorrow's show for a night full of AC/DC hits, and for a preview, here's a 2007 promo video featuring F.T.A.T.R. playing the song they're named after!

The other new show goes down TOMORROW NIGHT, as Caveman Morrison frontman Tym Morrison will return to his favourite recent concert spot (The Roadhouse Bar & Grill) on short notice! This was just announced on his solo project's Facebook group this afternoon, and it more or less replaces both his planned Docks Riverfront Grill debut (which was called off due to weather today as well, likely meaning it would have been an outdoor set), and the Roadhouse customer appreciation night set that was called off to fit the Docks show in. His acoustic metal/hard rock covers should still sound awesome, so don't miss tomorrow's late notice return to The Roadhouse on Trunk Road! This 19+ show has a likely 9:00 PM-ish start time, and there's no announced cover charge. For more details, check the above links! Hopefully Tym will make his Docks debut soon, but for now, a trip to the East End for some hard rocking unplugged covers wouldn't bad, so keep it in mind, and for a preview, here's he and ex-Half Past frontman Luke LeBlanc covering Extreme's "More Than Words" a few years back!

Next up, here's a concert preview for an already scheduled show, as TONIGHT marks local concert promoter J.D. Pearce's sixth Thursday night metal/punk show at The Roosevelt Hotel, which will be headlined by Vancouver crossover/thrash quartet The Golers! Well known from their hard touring and dark humour-infused studio material, their extreme hybrid sound should be more than welcomed to The Rosie tonight, so don't miss out on their local debut! There will be two local opening bands tomorrow as well, both of which are also making their respective Roosevelt Hotel debuts, including local old school hardcore/punk quintet Destroilet (in just their second show since 2011) and newer sludge/doom metal trio AlgomA (in their second ever live concert set), and both should be fitting openers, and fun to see live again! Admission will be $10 at the door tonight for this 9:00 PM concert, and you must be 19 to attend. For more details, visit the official Facebook event page! With plenty of diverse extreme metal/punk sounds to be had, and from three bands that aren't everyday sights locally, this will be a can't miss concert, and it's great to see all three rocking The Rosie tonight!

I hope to see you guys there, as I'm overdue for a Thursday nighter at The Roosevelt Hotel, and a review will follow tomorrow if all goes well! For a preview, here's over 6 minutes of The Golers tearing it up in Vancouver in 2010!



Finally for today, here's the latest from Bear Hunters guitarist/Suicide Kings bassist Mitch Sirie's solo project The Sorrow Fields! Though their Facebook page was curiously deleted for unknown reasons in the last few months, the project is ongoing, and Mitch revealed on their YouTube channel on Monday that he's working on a Sorrow Fields album name "Godlessness", which will be a "monument of bleakness & despair". To that end, he posted this 1:45 sample of the proposed album's title track onto YouTube, and while there's not a ton to say on it yet, it has a dark progressive/black metal feel to it, but it ends before anything too heavy is revealed early (and there's some arbitrary dead air at the end too.) Promising preview regardless, and I definitely wanna hear more, so give this sample of "Godlessness" by The Sorrow Fields a listen below!



That's all for today, but stay tuned tomorrow for our LemmaFest preview, and if all goes well, our review of TONIGHT'S Golers concert! Thanks everyone!

A Possible Upcoming Concert, Plus News From Half Past & Mark Rand!!

Hey there, metalheads! We have some big updates to get to today before the Total Chaos show, continuing a stretch full of big news stories in the local scene! Today, we have a possible upcoming concert that needs a booking, a bassist switch in a local band, updates to an intriguing concert next month, and the return of a local band's material to the internet, so let's begin today's update! (Edited at 4:17 PM) Yesterday, I recieved an e-mail from Alexandra Raine, who's looking to get a local booking for a pair of Canadian metalcore bands on their upcoming Canadian tour! As you can see on this poster, a local date is penciled in for December 17th (disregard the misspelling of Sault Ste. Marie) on their "WinTour Sucks" tour! The bands that are scheduled for this potential local date are Palms To The Sky and The Breathing Apparatus. Palms To The Sky are a melodic metalcore quintet from Saskatoon who have some hard hitting moshable music in store, while The Breathing Appartus are an experimental breakcore act from Ottawa who throw their own spin into their extreme metal sound with nice melodic sections as well! Check them both out, hardcore fans will be right at home with these bands! Now, here's where you guys come in. Alexandra asked if I could book this show, but because I'm not a booker, I forwarded her some contact info, and I'm letting you guys know as well in case you have interest in helping them secure a local show on December 17th! If you would like to book Palms To The Sky & The Breathing Apparatus for this show, or just want to help the cause in any fashion, e-mail Alexandra Raine at her personal Facebook page! This would be a cool hardcore package, hopefully a booking comes out of this! Stay tuned for updates if I hear them! Secondly, here's some updates on the planned Marky & The Motherfuckers show on December 29th at Coch's Corner! A Facebook event page for this show was launched yesterday, which will feature Lion Ride guitarist Mark Rand (a.k.a. Marky Lion) and some of his local musician friends playing the songs from Marky's solo project live for the first time. Firstly, the band's name has been changed to The Mark Rand Band, as evidenced by the poster on the left. Mark was discussing a possible name change on his personal Facebook page for personal reasons, so that's why there's a new name. It works well enough! Also, the opening bands have been announced, including local punk/metal quintet Destroilet! This will be their first live concert in seven months, and it's great to see them back after such a long break, so expect some raw and aggressive songs from them on December 29th! The other announced opening band is local punk band The Scary Uncles, making their long awaited local return after over a year away from the stage! I've been a fan of theirs for a while, and they feature Quims frontman Justin Langlois & former Fitswitch bassist Andrew MacDonald, so there's some good stuff to be had with them! A 9:00 PM start time is listed, and the 19+ age limit and lack of a cover remain from our past thoughts. Check out the above links for more details on what should be an awesome show! Thirdly, local hard rockers Half Past have announced the return of bassist Arthur "Chicky" Lacasse to the band, replacing Ryan Disano. Arthur announced his return by stating "I'M BACK BITCHES" on the wall of their Facbook page, and has since been re-added to their lineup on there. Of course, Arthur has played either guitar or bass for Half Past from their inception as Fingerbone to his initial departure in July, after which he was replaced by Ryan Disano two months later. A reason for Ryan's departure has not been posted, and though I did hear about why the change was made through personal discussions, I won't publicize anything unless the band does. I have to say, it's nice to see Arthur back! He's a nice guy and a very good bassist, and though I was interested to see Ryan with the band, it's great to see the classic lineup back together! Now, we wait for their live return and their debut album! Check out the above links for more on Half Past!  

 That's all for today, but I have more news to come very soon, along with our "Where are they now?" feature on past bands from our Saultites In Out Of Town Bands Profile Series! Thanks everyone, and I'll see you guys at The Oddfellows Hall TONIGHT for Total Chaos and local metal openers!