The Ethereal Tomb Concert Preview, A Surprise Upcoming Album Release, Pillory Updates, And More!!

Keeping things moving on the SMS, let's begin a very busy string of concert previews with a special Wednesday night metal show, while also looking at a surprise upcoming album release, a new full concert set video, and more assorted updates, so here's what you should know on this Tuesday morning!

If you want something a little heavier than what Rotaryfest is offering this weekend, you may want to consider hitting up Soo Blaster TOMORROW NIGHT, as three touring metal/hardcore bands will take the stage there for a special Wednesday nighter! The bands in question are Barrie/ doom metal outfit Ethereal Tomb, Brampton hardcore band Mile End, and Chilliwack, B.C. hardcore punk quintet Smuther, Solid mix of abrasive styles here, with Ethereal Tomb's slow and sludgy originals sure to contrast well with the faster intensity of frequently tour mates Mile End, let alone Smuther, so don't miss this touring trifecta tomorrow! Local support will come by way of crossover thrash quartet Hails in their first show since releasing their self-titled album late last month, and while this may seem like the de facto release party, note that they said on their Facebook page that they are working on physical copies for "Ha!ls", though they didn't give a timeline there.

Also, I wanted to briefly apologize for any erroneous mentions in past posts about the relationship of Hails guitarists Mikhal & Carmen Muto, as they are cousins, not brothers. Thank you to the Rotaryfest program for clearing that up! They debut on Stage 2 on Saturday. Despite teasing that online tickets would go on sale, this Mikhal Muto-promoted concert will instead have a $15 cover charge at the door. It is all ages, and doors open at 6:30 PM. Should be a solid night of hard hitting metal and hardcore action, so visit the official Facebook event page for more details, and here's Ethereal Tomb live!

Next up, here's a surprise impending album release, as defunct local grunge/alternative trio No Arrow are belatedly putting out their unreleased album "Souls For Sale" on Monday! This was announced last week via Mike Haggith's label MorningStar Records' website, in a press release outlining the 2005-2011 band's run & posthumous plans. As you may recall, No Arrow featured singer/guitarist Dann Pichette (later of SBD) and drummer Joe Falco (ex-Faithless Sin) alongside a handful of different bassists, with Harley Syrette (Quite Frankly/ex-Half Past) and Brad Griffith (ex-Bizotic) handling the low end on the "Souls For Sale" sessions. What's unsaid there is that Dann, Mike, and Brad's paths have crossed multiple times over in recent years via those "independent DIY musician promotion" YouTube programs and their related communities, with Dann (Wayek) and Brad (Gortium85) often submitting solo material to the same outlets that Mike does.

In terms of local grunge bands, No Arrow's heyday never crossed the timeline with Mike's eponymous band Haggith (who formed in 2012), but given Mike's work as an indie label head, he is doubly fitting as someone to help get No Arrow's only album finally on sale as originally intended in the late 2000s! Specifics on the release (price, streaming availability, if it will be largely identical to the free demo copy or not) are to be revealed, but Mike has confirmed that it will go on sale on Monday at this link in both CD and vinyl, which may have blown No Arrow's minds had that been a realistic option back then! Very exciting news for Dann, Joe, bassists, and fans alike, so stay tuned for updates on the album as they roll in!

Also, apologies for the delay in this making the site, but a full set video of local death/thrash metal trio Pillory's set opening for Sentiment Dissolve at Jay's Piston Broke Pub on May 19th was posted to drummer Bret Shuttleworth's YouTube channel two days later! In a minor shock, Bret said in the description that this was the first time that Pillory has ever played at the former Roosevelt Hotel, which sounds hard to believe, but I think he's right! One of their last shows with Blair St. John on bass (more on that in a bit), Pillory were seen here playing "End Of Small Sanctuary", "Specimen Of Egotism", "Abhorred Apprehension", "Sculptor Of Cadavers", "The Passing", "A Drop Of Shame In An Ocean Of Guilt",  their cover of Sepultura's "Territory", "The Curse Of Eternal Sickness", and "Exhaustive Incarnation". While re-ordered, this is largely identical to what they played at The Pit at Soo Blaster in April.

The only exception is that they replaced "The Angst Of Existence" with their closing song "Exhaustive Incarnation". Things sound sufficiently brutal and technical to my ears, which is what you want from Pillory, though the Soo Blaster video may be preferable for the lighting and angle of the camera, especially given that that cursed support beam on the stage at Jay's is still there, and frequently blocked Blair from view (Bret said that the camera was placed where it was to avoid distracting fans in attendance). The Pillory logo watermark was well placed given where speakers were! Good stuff overall, so check out Pillory's May concert set in full below!

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

 

• In a late lineup addition for the first annual WestFest at Anna Marinelli Park on July 26th, local classic rock duo Frankly Speaking have been added to kick off the day's musical entertainment at 1:45 PM, as per the festival's Facebook page on Wednesday. As such, Frank & Frank will be the only act at WestFest that has never played at Rotaryfest Stage 2, though they did play at Stage 1 last year. See above for more on this debuting Jamestown/Steelton-area community festival next Saturday!
• After going this long without listing their full lineup in text on social media, we can now confirm that local classic/hard rock cover quintet Headrush's lineup is rounded out by Fusion alum Frank Mannarino on rhythm guitar/keyboard and veteran local musician Gino Pulente on drums. Credit to the 2025 Rotaryfest program (as delivered in local mailboxes last week) for finally filling in the blanks for fans who haven't been out to see them live yet. Don't miss Headrush as the closing band on Stage 1 this Saturday!
• The aforementioned Pillory have reportedly welcomed back Devon Lucier on bass, replacing Blair St. John, as per a quiet update to the intro on their Facebook page. A reason for Blair's departure was not announced, but things are definitely still amicable, as he still plays with Pillory frontman Robert Sartini in the cover rock trio All Over The Map (among other varied projects, so you'll see him around!). Best known as the frontman of 2010-2013 death metal band Crimson Crusade, Devon was a member of Pillory at the end of their original thrash run in 2014, and it will be neat to see how he factors back in with Robert & Bret after 11 years!

 

That's all for now, but stay tuned for the beginning of our Rotaryfest concert previews next! Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (Ethereal Tomb & Go Skateboarding Day), Plus New Sault Michigan Videos!!

Here's another news post to check out before another weekend concert preview cycle begins, and it includes new videos from the E.U.P. and two interesting LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS for Sault Ontario fans, so here's what you should know on this Wednesday night!

The tenth annual local celebration of Go Skateboarding Day goes down on Saturday, June 21st at Queen Elizabeth Park outside of the John Rhodes Center, and for a ninth straight installment, there will be live bands! In a big change from past years, the advertised promoter this year is local punk/metal guitarist Mikhal Muto, with Dustin Jones/Tidal Records nowhere to be found on the Facebook event page. No public word as to why Dustin isn't visibly involved with this year's local Go Skate Day, but Mikhal has loads of promotional experience to keep the free and all-ages skateboarding action going! Like in past years, there will be contests, prizes, and snacks from sponsors and supporters. Local crossover thrash quartet Hails will play Go Skate Day for a third straight year on the 21st, joining The Cover-Up as the only bands to play this event three times, though all members but Carmen also played there in 2022 with different bands.

Two bands new to Go Skate Day will hit the stage atop the big ramp on the 21st, namely death/thrash metal trio Pillory in a rare outdoor concert from them, as well as newer local space rock duo The Spaceship Opening (featuring ex-Redundant bassist Andrew MacDonald), who still don't have a known online page. As well, Shane "DJ Seith" Erickson will bring his turntable mixes back to Go Skate Day for the first time since 2016, so don't miss his skilled tunes as well! This is a FREE & ALL AGES event, skaters do not need to register to take part in that way, and things run from 1:00-5:00 PM. Weather permitting, this should be a fun time, so visit the above links for more details!

Next up, Ha!ls have one more show announcement to take note of, this time indoors at Soo Blaster on Wednesday, July 16th, where they will open for a touring trifecta of metal bands! Making their local debuts on this night are Barrie/Toronto doom metal band Ethereal Tomb, Brampton hardcore quartet Mile End, and Chilliwack, B.C. hardcore punk quintet Smuther, which presents an interesting style contrast with all three bands having distinct sounds that may not gel with all listeners, though Ethereal Tomb & Mile End do play together often. Stoner and screamo fans will find a lot to like here, let alone with Hails' locally tested fury as they continue the lead-up to the Ripcordz show late next month! Another Mikhal Muto-promoted concert, this is all ages as usual for Soo Blaster, with doors opening at 6:30 PM and an admission fee of $15 at the door or via online tickets to be revealed. Visit the Facebook event page for more on this intriguing concert!

The second half of today's post takes us to Sault Michigan, starting with lots of new videos of local hard rock quartet The Nameless at The Merchants Bar on Saturday night! These were first uploaded to new drummer Jamie Costner's personal Facebook page on Sunday, with the band sharing them publically a couple of hours later. The five videos are all included in a batch post, though lengths are inconsistent. Therein, you will see The Nameless covering Kenny Wayne Shepherd's "Blue On Black" (the only one of the five shot vertically), The Red Hot Chili Peppers' "Dani California" and "By The Way", Nena's "99 Red Balloons" (perhaps the Goldfinger version?), and Wolfmother's "Joker & The Thief". "By The Way" is embedded below as it is the longest of the five videos, and notably, frontman Joshua LaCoursiere just sang on the Chili Peppers covers without playing guitar, which is true to the Peppers' lineup.

It's good to see some new videos of The Nameless in concert (they had only uploaded two of their own to Facebook prior to these), and they have a good handle on all five songs on offer here, with the Chili Peppers covers having an extra aggression to them that adds to both songs! Jamie slots in well behind the drumkit, and Mike has some solid guitar work in particular here, so don't miss these new Nameless clips at The Merch above and below!

Finally, here's an advance single from local metal solo project X's & Y's' upcoming sophomore album "Ruination Coactive"! Uploaded to their YouTube channel yesterday, this video is for the album's opening track "Arrival", with the song set to spacey yet cubist visualizer effects. I won't comment on the song yet, as I plan on reviewing "Ruination Coactive" on the SMS this month, assuming it is released as planned on June 13th, but check out X's & Y's newest song for yourselves below!

That's all for now, but another busy round of weekend concert previews begins next! Thanks everyone!

Another Local Metal Video Showcase!!

With Super Bowl Sunday behind us, let's get back into the swing of things with some new local metal news and updates in the form of some new videos! Today, we have some cool press and new video footage from a local band's recent out of town show, new material from a formerly local metal act, some new jam footage related to a local band, and a cool new cover song, so let's get things rolling!

I'm having trouble trying to order these videos by content, so let's go in alphabetical order instead, starting with the newest video footage of Frightlight! The Toronto horror/music web series Tomb TV & their host Tomb Dragomir were on hand for The Misfits' headlining concert at The Phoenix Theater in Toronto on October 26th, which notably featured Frightlight (and debuting drummer Chris FreaknStein) as an opening band, and footage from said concert made it into their newest episode on Friday! At 2:06 into the video below, about a minute of footage cut from assorted Frightlight live videos and some horror movie segments is set to their song "Fright Night" from their "It's Alive" EP, and it includes new shots from their Toronto performance! Not a long amount though, with much of the included clips being taken from local concert videos (including one I shot, but I'm not complaining!) The audio's not completely synched with the video footage either, but hey, small press is better than none, and it's cool to see Frightlight making new fans in Southern Ontario! Check out Frightlight's appearance on Tomb T.V. below, as well as footage from The Misfits' and Juicehead's sets that night, and assorted other clips, cartoons, and segments!



Also for new videos is a pair of new audio recordings posted by Brimley metal quartet Half A Man onto their YouTube channel last week! We've already covered both songs on the SMS from their earlier postings on other pages (both of which featured their Erik Rintamaki-fronted lineup), but they're new to YouTube, so it makes sense to mention them again! One is their original song "Die In Disgrace", while the other is a cover of Black Sabbath's "Sweet Leaf", and that's posted below to check out as it has more to look at (thanks to an included sideshow of 3/4ths of their current lineup.) Both are very heavy, and though I appreciate how they adapted "Sweet Leaf" to their grittier sound, I probably prefer "Die In Disgrace" for it's groove and intensity, but check both out at the above links! Give their "Sweet Leaf" video a look below though, and stay tuned for more Half A Man news as it comes in!



Thirdly today, here's the first video footage in 6 months from the formerly local extreme metal band Sue Inside! As you may remember, they were based out of Sault Ontario in the late 2000s, and are surprisingly the only surviving band to have competed in either the Skid Row or YMCA Battles of the Bands from 2008 & 2009. Since their mid-2009 relocation to Oil Springs, band material has occasionally popped up online, and yesterday, frontman Shane Lipsit-Fraser uploaded two new solo performance videos under the Sue Inside name to his YouTube channel! Like much of their recent material, these are acoustic originals, though both are instrumentals, and they're of songs named "Let Us Out" and "Falling". Both are well performed, and I like the more varied guitar work on "Let Us Out", but it'd be cool to see some new plugged-in stuff like in the local days from Sue Inside. Still, it's awesome to see Shane and Sue Inside still making new music, and hopefully there's more to come! Check out "Let Us Out" below and more at the above links!



And finally, here's some new video footage of local extreme metal band Winkstinger! This video comes courtesy of drummer Jonas Gasperas, who posted this onto his YouTube channel yesterday, and it's an 8:30 long video of "new garbage"! More specifically, it's of Winkstinger members jamming two newer original songs (including Jonas on his old Soldiers of Misfortune kit), although the camera is only pointed at him, and it's partially behind a wall for some reason. Now, if you were hoping this would give clues as to who's replacing Alan Wells on vocals for the band, this video won't help, as the songs are instrumentals at the moment, but they're promising and very heavy! I just wish the camera was set-up better, as almost a third of the video is blocked off. Check out Winkstinger's new jam session footage below, go see them next Thursday at the 42nd Roosevelt Hotel metal night, and stay tuned for possible word on their new singer!



That's probably all for today, but stay tuned for more news and notes later this week, along with this month's Defunct Local Band Profile on Shift on Friday! Thanks everyone!