Dopethrone/Tribunal Concert Video Showcase!!

We haven't had a post 100% devoted to Sault Ontario since Wednesday, and it feels like longer given how many posts we've already has this month, so let's continue clearing out the backlog with a post dedicated to videos from a recent concert! In this case, this is one of the three recent SMS-leaning concerts attended by prolific YouTube user Christopher Paci that got backed up in recent weeks, as he was at Jay's Piston Broke Pub for the Dopethrone-headlined concert there on May 25th. While he only filmed seven videos at this Memorial Day concert, all four bands were filmed at least once, with the headlining Montreal "slutch metal" trio getting three videos on the evening. During their first local set in seven years, Chris filmed Dopethrone playing "Snort Dagger" and "Scum Fuck Blues" (featuring Tribunal guitarist Jessica Yang and Shit Liver frontman/promoter Josh Penno on guest vocals).

Embedded below is by far the longest of the three Dopethrone videos, which sees them playing their song "Dry Hitter". If you like your doom (er, "slutch") metal as slow and punishing as possible, you'll be glad to know that Dopethrone haven't lost a step in that regard since their 2019 date at The New A, and they hit all of the extreme notes while keeping things sludgy and low. Solid crowd too, so give Chris' Dopethrone videos a look!

Co-headlining in May was Vancouver gothic/doom metal quintet Tribunal in their local concert debut, and Chris filmed them playing their lengthy songs "A Wound Unhealing" and, as embedded below, "Incardine". Very distinct and eerie yet well layered and orchestral sound from Tribunal, who definitely looked like they left their mark on fans at the former Roosevelt Hotel in May, so give Chris' videos from their set a look above and below as well!

For the two local opening bands, Chris shot a video each, and one was of the one-off reunion of local grindcore trio Shit Liver in their first concert appearance since the Dopethrone show here in 2019. This was just a 15 minute bonus set and not a full reunion (Josh is busy leading The Golden Scoundrels nowadays), so Chris' video constitutes almost a third of this set. Two songs are played here, namely "Evacuation" from their 2018 album "Hitting The Fan" before an abbreviated cover of fellow local doom staples AlgomA's "Fell Down A Well", which Shit Liver covered on 2017's "Trading Faces" split. AlgomA's last show was also at the 2019 Dopethrone gig, so this was a cool nod to Boyd, Kevin, and Jamie in absentia! It is odd to see Josh playing these songs with short hair, but it must have been cathartic for him, Mike, and Matt to revisit their blistering 2010s chaos one more time, and fans definitely ate it up, so give this video a watch for yourselves below!

Finally, the opening band here was a band that Shit Liver know very well in and out of this Korah Road nightclub, as relaunched and renamed local death metal quartet Eden Plague (the former Bear Hunters) played their first show under the new name on this night! Chris filmed them playing most of "Bloodthirst", though unfortunately, he didn't film the minute-long instrumental intro. While not one of the new Eden Plague originals, there is something fitting about seeing Nik, Mitch, Justin, and Johnny on The Rosie's stage, with that infamous pole, playing an early Bear Hunters staple once again all these years later, so give this brutal performance a watch below!

There's more to look at from Chris' channel as of late, but how soon will we have more of his recent hard rock/metal concert videos? Hopefully we'll know more soon, and stay tuned for more news and notes on the SMS this week! Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERT (Dopethrone), A New Local Band, And The Pop Evil Concert Preview!!

Today's post is stacked with big news and notes from the past week, including a very notable LOCAL CONCERT ALERT for extreme metal fans next month, our slightly delayed preview of a big headlining concert on Sunday night, and leading off, a very delayed addition to our Sault Ontario band links, so here's what you should know on this Friday night!

Local metal quintet With Gunfire have finally launched a Facebook page, so we can finally add them to our active band links! Why it took this long, I don't know, especially as their first gig was in July 2024, but better late than never! Originally known as The Sault Side Squad (a parody of The Suicide Squad) before adopting their current name in December, With Gunfire's lineup is (as far as I am still aware) comprised of The B.A.G.'s Spencer MacGillivray on vocals, A Dire Setback/Big Finish Band guitarist Chris Nielsen, former Jack Spades/Sativa Rose guitarist Anthony Orazietti, A.S.D.P./ex-Stoned To Deaf bassist William Wardlaw, and former Soldiers Of Misfortune/Elements drummer Jonas Gasperas, who played with Anthony in Winkstinger. The original Sault Side Squad singer was ex-As It Stands frontman and rapper Justin "Nadj" Pregent, who quietly left this band by September 2025.

Brand new content is slim on With Gunfire's Facebook page, but two new "Shorts" videos were shared from Jonas' YouTube channel, including this slideshow with silent live footage set to their studio original "M.F.C." (ignore the AI-generated image claiming a title of "A Hate Supreme"), but embedded below is a performance at the Fist Magnet/Spigots reunion concert at Soo Blaster in December that they opened and debuted their new name at. Some of the vertical videos here were uploaded as plain videos, so I don't know why this is a "Short", but the song here is promisingly thrashy despite some fans being in the road of the camera. Give it a watch below, and stay tuned for more new content from Jonas' channel!

Next up, here's that LOCAL CONCERT ALERT, as Montreal "slutch metal" trio Dopethrone will return to Sault Ste. Marie for a headlining concert at Jay's Piston Broke Pub on Monday, May 25th! Readers may recall seeing this long running doom metal outfit at the former New American Pub on Victoria Day in 2019, and while the same holiday is a week prior this year, it is great to see Dopethrone back after just over 7 years away, and they should keep things down and dirty (yet still brutal) at the former Roosevelt Hotel! Also joining Dopethrone on tour is Vancouver gothic/doom metal quintet Tribunal, a majority-female and cello-infused band that should turn heads with their brutal and atmospheric sound in their local debut, so don't bypass them! While most of this tour is a co-headlining jaunt with Portland black metal project Mizmor, they are not advertised for the Soo date.

The local openers are extremely notable on their own, even without the touring bands, starting with the surprise reunion of local/St. Catharines grindcore trio Shit Liver, whose last concert of their original run was the Dopethrone show at The New A! Concert advertising specifies that they are only playing a 15 minute set, so I'm reading this as a one-off reunion and not the start of anything major (remember, the now-short haired Josh Penno is largely focusing on The Golden Scoundrels nowadays), but this is a fitting way to see Shit Liver (at least) one more time! The other opening band is named Eden Plague, who are the renamed and relaunched local death metal band The Bear Hunters! A reason was not publically announced for the name change, but a fresh start after a year+ hiatus is as good a reason as any. Guitarist Mitch Sirie previously used the Eden Plague name for a short-lived black metal project in 2010 & 2011, distinct from his other solo work.

Of course, Mitch is no stranger to being in bands who had late period name changes (i.e. Stillbroke/Borderline Divine and The Suicide Kings/Beaumont Avenue). No word on if there will be any other changes to the band in sound or lineup, let alone if their 2023 "final album" plans are still around, but we'll let you know when we hear more from The Bear Hunters Eden Plague! A rare promotional effort by the aforementioned Josh Penno, this Memorial Day concert is a 19+ affair at 7:30 PM, and $20 advance tickets are on sale at Jay's and The Rad Zone (the door charge jumps to $25). A nice throwback death/doom metal show will be well worth seeing next month, so visit the official Facebook event page for more details!

Finally for today's post, here's our preview of this weekend's main event, as Muskegon, Michigan hard rock quintet Pop Evil will return to our area for a headlining concert at The Machine Shop in Sault Ontario on SUNDAY NIGHT! Buzz for this show hasn't been as high as I had assumed, but this is notable because Pop Evil have a lot of Billboard rock chart success in the US, get frequent airplay on Rock 101, and have played in Sault Michigan seven times in the past decade & a half, most recently at the Sault Ste. Marie Kewadin Casino just over three years ago. With hit songs like "Footsteps", "Skeletons", and "Waking Lions" in their back pocket, it will be interesting to see Pop Evil on the Canadian side of the border, and hopefully there's a strong turnout for their catchy original rock! Your openers on Sunday are Waterloo hard rock quartet Sierra Pilot (a former band of ex-Spades GT guitarist Jay Sarrazin).

Expect a diverse but explosive set of rocking originals from them in their local debut in three nights' time! This stop on Pop Evil's What Remains Tour is an all ages event at 8:00 PM, and tickets run for $45.20 (plus processing fees) at this link, at the door, or at the in-person box office at Station Mall. If you're curious, the ticket price is comparable to Pop Evil's 2023 show in Sault Michigan after you convert this ticket cost from CAD to USD. Hopefully this show (the third hard rock headlining event at The Machine Shop in less than two months) is a success, so visit the above links for more details, and here's Pop Evil live at Kewadin Casino the last time out!

That's all for today, but stay tuned for this month's Defunct Local Band Profile next! Thanks everyone!