Sykotyk Rampage - "WYRD Radio 3: The Midnight Horror Show" Album Review!!

It's now time for our 200th monthly CD review at The Sault Metal Scene, and I wanted to briefly thank everyone for following along this long for us to get to that milestone number after over 16 years of reviewing one local metal, hard rock, or punk album every month! As our extensive backlog of new album releases continues being rifled through, review #200 is of local "blue Chinese metal crash punk" quartet Sykotyk Rampage's 71st album "WYRD Radio 3: The Midnight Horror Show"! Independently released to their Bandcamp page around August 10th of last year but given a September 1st release date by the band, this was the only album of 2025 for this prolific veteran group, and their third concept album based around programming on the fictional WYRD radio station. As always, this album was recorded in their usual improvised nature at River Front Recreation Studios.

"The original crash band" are represented by singer/drummer Paul Becker, his brother Dirk on guitar and vocals, guitarist Shane Kokis, and bassist Tony Briglio, with former bassist/Paul's son-in-law Brian Cattapan guesting on one track. "WYRD Radio 3" is on sale on Bandcamp for $15, and while you can stream the whole album for free there, consider buying it to support Sykotyk Rampage's work! With 30 tracks (a double album if released on CD) running for over 2 hours and 22 minutes, let's begin this lengthy review!

While I have yet to review the first "WYRD Radio" album from 2015, I did review the sequel "Kype The Jesus Boots" in 2022, and the concept nature carries over via the loose format of this being alleged on-air programming for the station, featuring Tony and synthesized robot voices recording bumpers and DJ segments. While "WYRD Radio 2" ended with a teaser that next week's show would be about alien abductions, the third album of the series is not the realization of that claim. Here, your "DJ" is named Zara, and the album opens with the spoken word track "WYRD Witch A1", which is set up as if we're in for 2 hours of progressive jazz from a band named Bebop Devoe, but before the first song can play, the station is hijacked by some kind of supernatural beings led by an "orange demon" (also a speech synthesis voice), who takes over the station and plans to devour our souls!

The demon substitutes the jazz for his own evil music (re: new Sykotyk Rampage originals), and the first one is "Succubus", which is 9 minutes long, and that's not even the longest song here! A slow, bass-led jam track with Paul on vocals (plus the ominous female voices threatening to kill us that first popped up in the opener), this is well played but it meanders for way too long on the same trajectory without a major change in tempo or structure, and I'd have chopped this one at least in half before compiling the album. The second proper song is "What You Gave Away", a much shorter but still almost 6 minutes-long track that is a little more lively while still having a sludgy jam essence. Not a bad showcase for Dirk & Shane on guitar, and it drives along well, but if you like their more freewheeling crash rock stylings, the album doesn't start off in such an upbeat way.

Fourth up is "Warlock", running for an album-long 9:11, and this is very reminiscent structurally to "Succubus", but it is at least more animated for Paul's vocals, and it does build in intensity with shouted vocals at the midpoint, though they do come off a little over-processed. Tony's steady bass work keeps things driving along, and there is more of an animated vibrancy to the riffs and pacing, including a late guitar solo, if layered under vocals. Definitely an improvement from "Succubus" for this album's two 9+ minute songs, but this again could have been heavily edited down. We take a brief pause from the music for to return to WYRD Radio via "WYRD Weather A2", where we get a weather report, and if you remember that an orange demon is enslaving the planet and killing us all, you can imagine that it'll be hot out! Tony appeared to voice the meteorologist for this segment.

Apparently, Sykotyk Rampage are partially known in this album's story as "Frankie Flesheater & The Burning Cowpat", who are the orange demon's favourite band, so now you know! The next "hardcore ditty" is named "Krazy Dragon Krossing", which is a fuller composition and nowhere near as long or drawn out as the previous, but it feels too tinny and processed, like they caked it in effects in post. The original raw recording would have been preferable, but it's a good mid-tempo rocker that is ticking things a little closer to how I like my Rampage! The dragon phase of the album continues with "Dragons At Wing", a more laid back rocker that has a bit of a funk essence to it, and it does pick up a bit in tempo and energy in the back half, with the closing bridge giving me "Called In Dead" vibes. It's good to see some more of the freewheeling Sykotyk Rampage late, and Paul's drumming works well, so it's an early highlight on the album!

The final dragon-themed song is "Castle Of The Dragon's Teeth", and despite is relatively short length compared to the proper songs before it, this is another measured rocker that doesn't get too wild and raucous. The processing and filtering is taken way too much of here, as I can barely hear Paul's singing and the song just has a fuzz to it that really impairs everything except the bass. Definitely a low point for the songs so far, as it just plods along in a haze. We pause for a commercial break next via "WYRD Cobra A3", which runs for an album-low 98 seconds. This has "The Crimson Nipple" (a British TTS voice) endorsing the Iron Cobra, the ideal vehicle to drive in Hell, and it's laid over a brief Sykotyk Rampage song that is otherwise not on the album without the copy. It's sad, because the "Iron Cobra" song was really promising and heavy, and I'd have recorded an extended & clean version here!

Full music returns with "Arc Of Darkness", which has an extended feedback-heavy intro including some hard-to-decipher female vocals (which resurface at the midpoint), but when the song fully gets going, it again suffers from having the recording being layered in effects or filters, as I can't make out Paul well again. The song is clearer and more defined though, with Dirk and Shane's guitar soming through in sections, but it kinda comes and goes in clarity like a radio station reception. The raw performance would be ideal, but even then, it wasn't at the rollicking levels I best like from them. Afterwards is "Harpies Bring Your Death", which doesn't really reinvent the wheel from the songs heard so far. Better and much cleaner post-production, and Paul's vocals are much more distinct, so it is a better song than we've recently had, but it does nothing I haven't heard before on the album.

On "Lich Queen's Sextoy" (they titled it, not me!), this has more of a trancey, psychedelic vibe while still being unquestionably sykotyk. Paul is on vocals here, but we again have the layered filtering taken to the nth degree here, as this song may as well be an instrumental with how quiet he is! The song is at least a change of pace that lets the guys show off some more diverse influences, so it works on that basis (the last 45 seconds is raw banter after the guys recorded this song in studio). Next is "Wicked This Way Comes", which has spacey beeping and hard-to-decipher spoken word (is that Shane?) laid in with a spare, deliberate composition. Paul does sing on this track late, but again, it's muddy background vocals that I can barely hear, and I don't know why they're leaning on that so much. Some creative aspects to this track add some zest, but this isn't a driving rocker like what works well for the guys, at least for me.

Next is another station break via "WYRD Traffic A4", as "Professor OCD" (another synthesized British voice) is delivering the traffic report, and given that demons and zombies are wreaking havoc across the planet, you might want to stay at home! The second half of "WYRD Radio 3" begins with "Rich Demon", and this is a down-and-dirty blues rocker that thankfully lets us actually hear Paul's singing. Tony shines on bass here, and I appreciate the more direct lyrics, but it's not the carefree punk-influenced rocker like I best enjoy from the masters of the crash. "Young Power Of Yung" follows with a scratchy funk rock guitar line that is a fun little shake-up for the album as a whole, but it's all that this song really has going for it. Paul's vocals are again heavily buried in the mix, the other instruments don't play a prominent role, and not much happens in its runtime. This honestly feels like an unfinished song, and I'd have worked on it more.

Track #17 is "Cruel Soul", which is a leisurely paced blues rocker that at least has clear vocals from Paul, strong bass, and a distinct structure that doesn't overstay its welcome. While well performed for what it is, I do wish that this apocalyptic, planet-destroying concept album had more intense hard rock numbers! Then we have "Dreamspell", a fitting name for this slower and more ethereal (by their standards) track, and in that respect, Paul's vocals being too layered and inaudible helps! I get how it might fit the album theme, but if you've come for "crash rock", this is too much of a diversion, and it just lies there. After being sent to Hell during the events of "WYRD Witch A1", actual station DJ Zara returns on "WYRD Crisps A5" as subservient to the orange demon, where she introduces the next songs from Sykotyk Rampage, but not before running a commercial for Zombie Brain Crisps.

Let's just say these aren't the chips you're used to seeing at the store! The next proper song is "Steam God's City", which is the first song on this album featuring Dirk on vocals, albeit sharing with Paul. It's good to hear Dirk's quavery punk snarl trading off with his brother here, and everyone's clear and in the foreground, but the song itself isn't too musically involved and has a spare, empty quality. Not my favourite composition but the vocal variance is noted! After that is "Giants", a 6 minute jam rock number that has Paul singing about the invading giants. Nice direct and suited lyrics for the album concept, but the song itself gives no horrific vibes to match, as it's just a repetitive blues rock number that moves along one track without ever shifting gears. The penultimate station break is next, entitled "WYRD Resistance A6", where an ogre battalion resistance leader (another British TTS voice) calls on humans to stand up and fight.

The resistance has reclaimed WYRD Radio from the demons and killed the invading DJs, but can mankind defeat the orange demon and the rest of his minions? This announcement is oddly played twice, once with the echoed effects used for "Zara" on "WYRD Crisps A5". The next three songs are allegedly the resistance's battle cry (though still Sykotyk Rampage), starting with "Ogres Hunt Trolls", and this is similar in pacing and structure to "Giants", but it has a little more in the way of guitar flourish. Nothing shocking to report here, if you like what the Beckers and crew have been up to far, you'll like this, but it's not peak SKR for my preferences. Next is the longer "Sword Of The Dreamlords", which is a drawn out and (dare I say) proggier composition that, while not heavy or speedy, does let the guys stretch their legs a bit.

By no means is this a favourite song (it's wanders and the buried vocals from Paul return here), but it's effective at what it's trying to be! Next is "Bridge Of The Troll", and a fuller sound with good distortion makes this a better track than many on offer, and Paul's singing is a little clearer, if still bogged down in background effects. Just too laid back and casual for an alleged "battle cry", you know? The last station break here is "WYRD End A7", where Zara (freed from her demonic enslavement) returns to thank everyone for listening to the midnight horror show, though specifics on how the orange demon was defeated will have to be deciphered out of song lyrics. Zara sets up "The WYRD Radio Touch Me Softly Music Hour" next featuring romantic songs, and a French AI voice takes over to set up the programming ahead. The album ends with four songs ostensibly from this show.

Of those, the first is "Systemic Shock", which notably sees the return of late 2000s-early 2010s bassist Brian Cattapan (I don't know if Tony is on this track too or not). How "romantic" this song is will be very much up for debate, but amazingly, it took surviving the attempted apocalypse and hellscape to get something more akin to what I most like out of Sykotyk Rampage! Brian's uncle-in-law Dirk sings lead here, and there's good energy and attitude here befitting the title, and while I think the song is way too long, it's fun for long-time fans and easily a favourite track on the album! Next is "Nightmare", which Dirk also handles vocals for, and this is a power pop song that sharply contrasts from his sharp and angry vocals that suit the title theme! If you like songs like "Lowest Of The Low", the vocals are not dissimilar, but the song is very casual and easy going with fun guitar riffs. Not a bad change of pace!

The second-to-last track is also the shortest proper song here, "Francois' Wonderland", which sees Paul return to lead vocals for the last time on the album, and this is more akin to their earlier and better known bluesy rock songs with clear and more melodic singing. Dirk and Shane deliver fun swingy guitar riffs throughout, and while it can be a tad repetitive, it's a short listen. This is a song that would play well live if they ever returned to concerts! "WYRD Radio 3" ends with "Swipe Right To Die" (maybe we should switch dating apps!), and while Dirk is singing lead, this is a more drawn out, reserved song like much of the "midnight horror show" content. The title's threat only really feels matched via Paul's backing vocals. Not a bad composition, but too long and meandering compared to what I prefer.

Having survived the orange demon's attempted annihilation of Earth, what are my final thoughts on "WYRD Radio 3"? Honestly, it's a step down in quality from 2024's "Waerlogas Sagas 1" and reminds me in ways of what might have happened if 2023's "69" had an overarching concept. Sykotyk Rampage's brand of crash rock is not everyone's cup of tea, but I like them best when they're playing energetic freewheeling jam hard rock, and this album had little of that until the midnight horror show story had wrapped up (the three songs before "Swipe Right To Die" were my favourites here). When the demons were on the warpath, this album was often very slow, deliberate, and meandering, not helped by the 23 proper songs having an average length of 5:31. My biggest issue was a sporadic one, but why were Paul's vocals so heavily processed or buried in the mix on many of the included songs?

For such a heightened and evocative sci-fi story, I'd have been accentuating it with clear vocals across the board, let alone more with more forceful and heavy music. I assume the tempo choices were to set an ominous mood, but I rarely felt chaos and despair. It's not a bad album, everyone performs to their strengths, with strong guitar and bass throughout, but I'd have made different tonal and post-production choices. See what you think at the above links, and I hope you guys liked this month's album review! No rest for the wicked with our backlog, as next month's album review will be of alt-hard rock band Handsome Sandwich's sophomore album "Collage"! Look for that and much more next month! Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERT (The Sole Aggressors), More From Them, And A New Album Release!

Before we begin this post, I wanted to note a late concert cancellation from yesterday's rainy weather, as local hard rock/classic metal quartet Tarnished did not perform at American Legion Park in St. Ignace for their planned Music By The Bay outdoor concert. While The Nameless' outdoor show in Goetzville went on despite the forecast, Tarnished confirmed on their Facebook page that their concert was off last night at 6:32 PM, 28 minutes prior to when it would have began (note that they never plugged the show on Facebook prior to then). Disappointing, but Mother Nature can be inconvenient at this time of year. Hopefully Tarnished try again for the Music By The Bay series in 2026!

Today's post otherwise features a new local album release, and leading off, a SHORT NOTICE LOCAL CONCERT ALERT and related band breakup, as Sault Michigan punk trio The Sole Aggressors will reportedly play their final public concert TOMORROW NIGHT! Apologies for the short notice, the band only announced this via their Facebook page yesterday (their first Facebook post since March, though they have played live and plugged shows via Instagram since). The 2023 LSSU Battle of the Bands winners revealed that they are disbanding "due to recent events... before we all part ways for college". While they didn't elaborate on what the "recent events" were, The Sole Aggressors are far from the only example locally of a high school-aged band splitting up due to members moving out of town after grade 12. TOMORROW'S show will take place in the garage at guitarist Brett Siesel's residence, and the address is on the poster.

While the show will technically be all ages, they "ideally" request no alcohol or drugs on the premises. The concert takes place TOMORROW at 7:00 PM, and there is no cover charge, but they will be selling merchandise and taking donations. It is worth noting that The Sole Aggressors were also supposed to play at an outdoor house party concert in Thessalon, Ontario yesterday featuring loads of familiar Sault Ontario names across multiple genres, but even if Thessalon was within our coverage range (it's over an hour from Sault Ste. Marie), it too was rained out. The Sole Aggressors made a solid name in their two year run via their battle win and by being a rare example of an E.U.P. band to play in Sault Ontario (let alone more than once), while also being a pure punk band, which has never been common in Sault Michigan. Even if they never have a reunion, they made their mark in multiple ways, and have a solid sound and quality original music.

Of course, best of luck to Brett, Calvin, and Isaac (and Henry) in whatever lies ahead for them, but send off The Sole Aggressors in style TOMORROW NIGHT, and for a preview, here's one of three full concert videos from their YouTube channel that we have yet to feature on here! How I've been slacking on their YouTube channel in the past year, I don't know, but I'll get to all of their uncovered videos there soon, and we'll start with their set opening for Dick Texas at a Serious Business-promoted concert at Pickles Bar & Grill in Brimley in November of last year. The 39 minutes-long set was actually filmed by Dafter solo musician Molly Escherich and her mom Tiffany, and in order, the guys played "Down By The Bay", "State Of The World","Teenage Guide", "Kill Thy Neighbour", "False Hope". "Fast Punk For Fast Food", "Time To Commercialize!", "Reject", "Melted Plastic", "Hypocrite", "Kill A Celebrity", "Ventilation", ...

... "Tale Of An American Hero", "Fool", and "Heil Artificiality". While re-arranged in the order, every song from their set at Pickles in August 2024 is featured here, alongside "Tale Of An American Hero" & "Heil Artificiality" as new additions. Camera angles are all stationary here, but the Escherichs did move it a few times, particularly closer for the last two songs. Not a packed house but there's some loyal fans on the floor throughout. Maybe they're blocking the camera a bit, but The Sole Aggressors have a strong and in your face punk sound that comes through really well in this full set video with a slowly improving stage presence. Give it a look below, and go see The Sole Aggressors one last time in the Soo TOMORROW NIGHT!

Finally for today, here's a surprise album release, as Sault Ontario "blue Chinese metal crash punk" quartet Sykotyk Rampage released their 71st studio album onto their Bandcamp page last week! Entitled "WYRD Radio 3: The Midnight Horror Show", this is a thematic sequel to their prior "WYRD Radio" albums from 2015 & 2022, themed around the pretense of the songs being played on a fictional radio station. While the end of 2022's "WYRD Radio 2: Kype The Jesus Boots" hinted at their next "broadcast" being about alien abductions, this album has a fantasy epic theme not unlike last year's "Waerlogas Saga 1: Konfysion Of Fyck", though not sharing that storyline or multimedia comic book spinoff. As usual, "WYRD Radio 3" was recorded at The Cave completely improvised, and was mastered at their own River Front Recreation Studios, with singer/drummer Paul Becker, guitarist/vocalist Dirk Becker, guitarist Shane Kokis, and bassist Tony Briglio all back here. The album is well over 2 hours in length with 30 tracks.

While this may seem like a lot for a local hard rock album, remember that "WYRD Radio 2" had 40 tracks and would need three CDs if sold thusly. While Sykotyk Rampage have a presence on major streaming services, I believe the new album is currently a Bandcamp exclusive, though note that they officially list "September 1st" as the release date there. In any event, you can buy it on mp3 there for $15 or stream it for free. Without ongoing backlog of new album reviews on the SMS, "WYRD Radio 3" is currently pencilled in to lead off 2026 on the SMS, so look for that in January, and check out the album above! That's all for now, but stay tuned for more soon! Thanks everyone!

Sykotyk Rampage - "WYRD Radio 2: Kype The Jesus Boots" Album Review!!

It's now time for our 157th monthly CD review at The Sault Metal Scene, and easily the longest album yet I've looked at in this series, namely local "blue Chinese metal crash punk" quartet Sykotyk Rampage's sixty-fifth album "WYRD Radio 2: Kype The Jesus Boots "! Depending on its sale location, the title is extended, but this is just what's on the cover art. Officially released on June 1st, this is just their fifth album since their last live concert date in 2016, but despite some long dormant periods, the masters of the crash never disbanded outright. A sequel to 2015's "WYRD Radio" in loose format but not much else, "Kype The Jesus Boots" was recorded locally at River Front Recreation Studios as usual, with their tried-and-true method of improvising the songs on the fly, and it features their current lineup, including singer/drummer Paul Becker, his brother Dirk on guitar and vocals, guitarist Shane Kokis, and bassist/vocalist Tony Briglio.

"WYRD Radio 2" is on sale for $25 on Bandcamp or $9.99 on Reverbnation (yes, you can stream it for free too), and the high Bandcamp fee is justified when you consider that this is a triple album with forty tracks and a run-time of over two & a half hours! As such, to rein in the length of this review, I'm going to be more succinct with the song reviews to try and keep this post at a more manageable length (famous last words), but note that about ten of the tracks are spoken word announcements. Between the Reverbnation and Bandcamp postings of this album, track titles are sometimes not identical across both platforms, so I'll lean towards using the Reverbnation titles (which are laid out cleaner) unless there's a massive discrepancy that Bandcamp can fill, so look for brackets. Also, for readers of a more religious/Christian faith, be advised of the subversive and not always family friendly basis of the lyrics & concept.

To start, "WYRD Radio" is Sykotyk Rampage's fictional radio station (no link whatsoever to the actual WYRD stations in South Carolina), with station IDs read by Tony (I think) and on-air DJs being synthesized computer voices. As revealed in "Announcement 1" (a.k.a. "Intro), the female robot DJ (named Lisa) informs us that we'll be listening to a rock opera of the three gospels according to Paul (each of the three "albums" reflects a stage in the life of Jesus Christ), with Sykotyk Rampage pulling a Chris Gaines by playing these albums under the band name Kype The Jesus Boots. Unlike the DJ (who doesn't shy away from content to be heard in the albums), the actual gospel narrator is a straight-laced British male voice who plays it 100% straight and doesn't (initially) let on about any of the ribald or violent lyrics ahead, starting with "Book 1" on the gospel of Jesus' birth. If you wanted a Sykotyk Rampage Christmas album, here you go!

The first true song is "Place Of My Own Creation",  which is actually a re-recording from their 2016 album "Kock Block Rock". A standard bluesy hard rocker that Sykotyk Rampage fans will be very accustomed to, it also has a long bass intro & some spacey effects. but Paul's vocals only come in late and more spoken than sung. Solid opener for fans! Next is "Donkey Saves The Day" (complete with bookended donkey noises), which keeps with their usual M.O. with a bluesy hard rock base and brisk tempo, though Paul is really buried on vocals. Fun jam rocker with trancey guitars, if not a sonic jump from their best known originals! "Influence Of The Innovator" concludes the trip to the manger, and this is the only song on the first two books with Dirk Becker's quavery punk snarl on lead vocals, if very buried in the mix. This track is a long and slow stream of consciousness piece that does meander a little too much for my liking on the whole.

Strong drumming, but the quiet vocals and deliberate pacing do interrupt the album's prior flow for me. "Announcement 2" (a.k.a. "Birth of Jesus") follows with a word from our sponsors, namely the audio of the infamous Flintstones TV commercial for Winston cigarettes, before the narrator sets up events in the manger immediately after Jesus' birth. The next actual song is "Star Shine", which has more of a slow, ethereal beginning before the usual Sykotyk tropes fall into place, and while the speed ebbs and flows, it gets into the usual chaos in time! Paul's vocals are also very prominent here, and vary well as the mood changes, but I prefer their songs that are more full-bore heavy. "The Sky Is Burning Bright" follows with a spacier fuzz guitar motif underneath their standard Paul-fronted crash music intensity, and while the song is fun for fans, the extra static from the effects doesn't help for clarity (despite a VERY clear guitar outro).

An album-low 13 seconds long intro track follows, namely "Announcement 3" (a.k.a. "Jesus Travels"), with the narrator setting up the voyage of the Three Wise Men. The next proper song is "See Right Through Me", which is a mid-tempo rocker that has some fun extended guitar solos, but the extended progression is very simple and kinda flat, and for me, it's just not as interesting as their heavier and faster originals. The relatively short "We Three Kinks" (sic) is next with the return of the spacey effects of "The Sky Is Burning Bright", but this is a quicker, more free-wheeling driver of a song, and it's fun while it lasts aside from Paul being nearly inaudible on vocals. No, this isn't a cover of "We Three Kings". Then we have "Give You Anything", and things fall together for what I like out of Sykotyk Rampage here, with a clear listen to them delivering up-tempo bluesy hard rock!

The extended bass-and-drum bridge lets Tony show his stuff well too, and without extra effects or processing, Paul's crystal clear vocals add to the experience, so fans will be right at home here! Shame about the abrupt fade-out though. The last song of the first "album" is "Jesus Boot Boogie", a fast dancey song that sticks to Sykotyk Rampage's wheelhouse, if in a hazier, less clear recording style. Hard to hear Paul's singing again, but the guys don't do anything out of the ordinary as pure musicians, so it's a fun closer to the nativity portion of the album(s)! "Announcement 4" (a.k.a. "Jesus Gets Laid") has "Lisa" recapping her amusingly oblivious thoughts about the prior songs and Jesus' early life, before setting up "Book 2" about the life of Jesus in his 20s. A commercial break comes next, with audio from classic 1960s cereal commercials for Cheerios (with Bullwinkle), Beep Beep (with the Road Runner)...

... and Alpha Bits (with Bugs Bunny & Elmer Fudd). The narrator finally returns to introduce the second album about the gospel of Jesus' life, starting with John, chapter 9, where Jesus encounters a blind man and helps cure his eyesight, leading directly into the first song of this book, "Jesus Left You Blind (On Purpose)". This song doesn't reinvent the wheel for the masters of the crash, with the bluesy hard rock you've come to expect, but the guitar riff is extremely repetitive and aside a couple of choruses, it never lets up. Still a solid clear rocker for fans! Next is "Kype The Jesus Boots", after the band name Sykotyk Rampage have taken on in the album's universe, but don't expect a shift in sound here. A driving rock song with a more varied structure, this is another one to really muffle and layer the vocals, but beyond that, the fun riffing and bouncy music will appeal to fans! We even get a drum solo from Paul late, which is neat!

"Remember That Girl" (spelled "Grrrl" on Bandcamp) follows with an outsider-ish opening before the full band jumps in, and while the song is slower, bassier, and more discordant than normal for them. The noise rock and abrupt ending alone puts this low on the album for me, but Paul's clear singing does give it some extra points. Next up is "Jesus Booty Call", which is a return to form for Sykotyk Rampage, with Paul's forceful bluesy vocals driving the action, though in this case, the band proper are quieter and more used as incidental backing music. Fun track though, if very risque in theme! "Announcement 5" (also named for the next track on Bandcamp) follows, with "Lisa" introducing a vintage TV commercial for the women's headache/pain relief medicine Cope before the narrator quotes passages from Luke and Mark to introduce Mary Magdalene, who is definitely portrayed as Jesus' love interest here.

For further proof, the next song is entitled "Magdalene Is A Screamer", which is the most punk-based song on the album yet, and while it is a little one note for a 5+ minute song, it's fun hearing the guys rock out like this, and Dirk & Shane's riffing meshes well together! The mid-way point of this triple album is reached with "Jesus Love Potion", a slower plodding blues rocker that isn't energetic or varied enough for my liking compared to many earlier songs, but it is a good lyrical showcase for Paul while it lasts. The second half of "WYRD Radio 2" begins with "Eat Shit Bitch", which is similar in sound and pacing to the preceding track, but it is livelier in structure and lyrics, and the title does hint towards some extra fire and intent in this way! Better song, but I like my Sykotyk Rampage with more rampage. The last song of the second album is "Devil Dance For You", a seven minute song bookended with minute long soundscapes of samples.

Once the band proper is in action, this is another relatively slow track, but very impactful with strong vocals, good effects usage, and a nice energy that helps set it apart from the other recent mid-tempo or slow songs! "Announcement 6" (a.k.a. "Dinner") wraps up the book of Jesus' life, with "Lisa" giving her thoughts about Mary Magadalene, and giving alleged insight into Mary Magdalene's life after this point, before setting up "Book 3", the last third of the triple album about Jesus' crucifixion, death, and resurrection. The narrator then quotes Bible passages relating to the Last Supper and Jesus' betrayal, though here, there are obvious new lines of dialogue relating to what exactly they were eating and Judas' future hopes. The first song of the final album is "Life Without Me", which is a return to form for fans who want more upbeat rock, though the vocals aren't super clear.

Fun rocker that would go over well live, but for fans boring through the whole thing in one sitting, it's nothing you haven't heard before. Next is "Last Supper Whine" (sic), which is a distortion-heavy song that serves more to showcase Paul's bluesy singing, which is back to direct clarity, but you do get some solid bass from Tony and a bit of a fun guitar solo in the background. Not super heavy, but fun for what it is! "By Your Hand" follows with a chugging train-esque riff that never seems to stop, only varying when Paul chimes in with some sporadically timed lyrics and shouts, all fuzzily mixed (and with no drums). Announcements aside, this song is the most like filler on here, and it's almost 5 minutes long! Speaking of which, we have "Announcement 7" (a.k.a. "The Cross") next, which leads off with the audio from a 1960s TV commercial for Chesterfield filtered cigarettes.

The narrator then returns to set up Jesus Christ's crucifixion (albeit with way more off-kilter details not in the Bible), before moving to the quick 2 minute song "(The) 12 Steps Of Rehabilitation". This is actually an instrumental, and it is more of a garage rock song, so it's an interesting change of pace, though whether it fits the lead-up to the crucifixion is subjective. Things return to musical normalcy with "Only 1 Nail To Hang A Picture Of Jesus" (they have a point), which has a bit of a funk rock vibe while sticking to the tried-and-true sykotyk formula! Paul does chime in a bit on vocals late, and someone suggests a smoking break at the end, but this is effectively another instrumental, and it's interesting to see that the guys are opting not to add lyrics at the most dramatic part of the story. Reminds me of Gonzo and Rizzo skipping Stave 4 of The Muppet Christmas Carol. Fun song though!

Track #30 is "Purple Jesus", which ends the album's instrumental break with Paul back on proper lead vocals. A fuzzy and hazy blues rocker, the lyrics do resonate more than some others at this stage, and while it's not a bad song, I do wish it was clearer and more direct. "Announcement 8" (a.k.a. "Life Again") is next to set up Jesus' resurrection with some comically archaic and subversive dialogue about Mary Magdalene discovering that he has returned. The shortest of the thirty actual songs is next, namely the 99 seconds-long "You Changed It All", an against type (mostly) acoustic ballad that lets Paul's distinctively bluesy voice shine, and it's a shame that it's so short! "Save Me From Myself" follows with a return to musical form with a distorted heavy progression, if very muddled, with drums & vocals coming in & out,  a lot of feedback, and some eerie backing vocals. Noise rock fans may dig this, but I'd want structure.

In the next song, "Damn Living Again", we tie things back to what Sykotyk Rampage do best outright, with a direct bluesy hard rock structure, solid instrumentation (including a quality guitar solo) and clear production, with Paul letting off some surprising screams at varying points! Definitely a late highlight for me, and not overlong either! Next is "Same Shit Different Day", a more drawn out, deliberate song that lets the guys jam out but isn't as blatantly engaging for fans of the crash side of their "blue Chinese metal crash punk". Well constructed and clear, but it does drag a bit for me. "Announcement 9" (a.k.a. "Jesus Bus") gives us a 31 second narration about the resurrected Jesus and Mary Magdalene taking off in their rock n' roll bus (it makes sense in context), before we get the song called "Jesus Rock N' Roll Bus" next, which finally sees the return of Dirk on lead vocals for the second time.

A chugging rocker with punk influences, Dirk gets his "Lowest of the Low" on for both of his verses, but they're not the primary feature of the song. Not a bad rock number while it lasts, and the non-sequitur turn helps add to the album appeal! We shift gears next for a rare studio cover of theirs, namely of "The Watcher" (titled by them as "Jesus Is The Watcher") by British space rock band Hawkwind. Many of you will know that late Lemmy Kilmister was their bassist in the early 1970s, and he wrote this song and later played it with Motorhead, so it will not surprise Sykotyk Rampage fans to learn that Tony is on lead vocals for their cover. Is the idea that Tony is voicing Jesus singing this song while on tour in the rock n' roll bus? Presented as a faux live recording with a canned audience track, this version hews closer to Hawkwind than Motorhead, and while not mimicking Lemmy's vocals here, Tony gets the job done!

The song proper is a little meandering and out of Sykotyk Rampage's comfort zone, but it's not bad, and it would be interesting to hear them cover more established songs! "Announcement 10" (a.k.a. "End of Show") concludes "Lisa"'s broadcast day, where she sums up reactions to the gospels, sets up next week's "show" about alien abduction cases (if this will be "WYRD Radio 3" or not, I can't say), and introduces the final track, a fan request for a song by Sykotyk Rampage, who sound a lot like Kype The Jesus Boots! This is a re-recording of "White Stallion" from their 2009 album "22", and is again presented as a faux live recording with a raucous crowd added in post. The longest song on this triple album, this is the third and final track on offer with Dirk on lead vocals, and I do remember it from back in the day (impressive given the 900+ tracks in their discography!) The song proper is unchanged, but this is definitely a re-recorded version.

A dark yet punk-infused song that makes great use of Dirk's distinctive vocals, this is a fun closer to the album with strong instrumentation, and while not linked to the Jesus stuff at all, I enjoyed hearing it again! Alright, after thirty songs and ten announcements, what are my final thoughts on "WYRD Radio 2"? It's one hell of a marathon to listen to in a 2½ hour sitting, but pre-indoctrinated fans of Sykotyk Rampage with their environ-mental suits on will be right at home! This is easily the longest album I've ever reviewed for the SMS, so it does help that the Beckers, Shane, and Tony didn't change their existing formula too much, and most of what's on offer delivers the blues-laden improvised hard rock fans know and love, even if the rate of album releases has dramatically slowed since the mid-2010s. The conceptual theme, while perhaps controversial for more religious people, is amusing and I wasn't offended by it.

I haven't reviewed the first "WYRD Radio" (linked to this album only by the radio station conceit), but high concept stuff like this is always impressive to see from local bands, and kudos to them for sticking with it for three albums' worth! Songs like "Give You Anything", "Jesus Booty Call", and "Damn Living Again" capture their original, distinct sound very well, but there's way too much to succinctly sum up. For negative points, my biggest issue was the inconsistent clarity, with too many songs recorded in fuzzy conditions with Paul's vocals buried in the mix. Also, the lyrics could have went even further to tie into the religious subversion themes than they did. For newcomers to the original crash band, I do not recommend starting your sykotyk voyage with this album though, as it's a lot to take in at once. I'd start with either "22" or one of their "Greatest Hits" albums, so you get a feel for their best known songs first.

Plus, fans of Dirk's lead vocals will be disappointed by him only singing lead on 10% of the actual songs, where many of their shorter albums had a higher percentage for his vocal input. Still, if you're prepared for a ribald conceptual marathon of new Sykotyk Rampage music, "WYRD Radio 2" will deliver the goods more often than not, and hopefully they emerge from The Cave with more new stuff down the road! I hope you liked this month's CD review, and we'll have a much, much shorter review in August when we finally look at local indie/punk quintet The Northwest's new EP "All In"! Look for that then, and for more on the site next week! Thanks everyone!

Sandman Concert Preview, Rotaryfest Lineup Updates, And Tons Of Local Album Uploads!!

We have more news and notes to cover on this Friday evening, including one more known & advertised metal concert preview for this weekend, plus some Rotaryfest lineup updates and a wealth of album uploads from a quite prolific local band, so here's what you should know!

Toronto-based Metallica tribute band Sandman will return to Sault Ste. Marie for a headlining concert TOMORROW NIGHT at Soo Blaster! This concert is basically a rain date for their previously scheduled Good Friday gig in 2020 at The Canadian Nightclub (cancelled for very obvious reasons), and while The Canadian is currently closed, it's great to see Sandman back at long last at a new venue! You may recall seeing Sandman (featuring Helix alumni Rick Van Dyk, Paul Fonseca, and Brent Niemi) at The Canadian in June 2008 and at The Rockstar Bar in March 2015, so we seem to be on a "once every seven years" pattern for Sandman shows here. Notably an officially sanctioned tribute band by Metallica themselves, Sandman's faithful take on Metallica's classic thrash metal hits will be more than welcomed to Soo Blaster tomorrow night, and local southern hard rock quintet Fort Creek are opening the festivities, as they would have done at the cancelled April 2020 concert!

Had the 2020 show went through, that would have been Fort Creek's public concert debut, so two years of experience & original songwriting will only help things in their return from a month long break! No word on if they'll have another merchandise giveaway tomorrow or not. Tomorrow's concert has a 19+ age limit, 9:00 PM start time, and $20 admission fee (on par with the 2020 date), and you can get yours online at this link or at the door. Sandman were the first band I ever saw at a licensed 19+ concert, so I'll always have affection for them, and it's a good thing that they deliver the thrash metal goods, so expect brutality tomorrow! Visit the official Facebook event page for more details, and here's Sandman live!

Next up, here's some lineup and performer clarifications/updates for Rotaryfest next weekend, courtesy of both online promotions and the physical program that showed up in local mailboxes yesterday! First, there has been a lineup change (confirmed after the program was printed), as new classic rock trio The Sidekicks have dropped out of the Stage 1 bill on Saturday, July 16th for unannounced reasons. Hopefully nothing too serious happened, they have a talented lineup! Replacing them that day at 4:00 PM is a duo set from former Pocket frontwoman (and Stage 1 director) KT Antler and Machines Dream guitarist Keith Conway, who have both played the festival multiple times in other projects. Unexpected pairing, it will be interesting to see how KT & Keith do together! As for program details not documented online, the write-up for local funk/hard rock cover band The Wyld Stallyns implies that they've had two big lineup changes, so what's new?

For one, they have definitely changed drummers, with Garden of Bedlam/Papa Fogals Chair alum Derek Turner replacing Jonas Gasperas. A reason for Jonas' departure has not been announced, but hopefully things were amicable, and that we see Jonas out there again soon! The Stallyns have never listed their lineup on their Facebook page, but Derek apparently played with them at the Great Canadian Roadshow last month, so he's been around for at least that long, and readers should be well acquainted with his ample drumming abilities! However, where one Soldiers of Misfortune alum leaves, another arrives, as the program also lists Alex (or Al) White on bass with The Wyld Stallyns, replacing the already departed Ben Garcia. It's great to see Xander back in a local band, especially teaming up with Jesse again, though with how many of The Stallyns' shows are acoustic, this may not be an every gig arrangement (he's not in their newest live photo).

Also, the program lists Blues Harvest alum Josh Norling as playing saxophone for their Stage 1 set on Thursday night, but as fans will be well aware by now, Josh is definitely a guest performer who only joins them for certain shows. When he's present though, it's usually a big one! Get more on all Rotaryfest bands (except KT & Keith) on the official program online and in your mailbox yesterday, and look for our previews next week!

Finally, here's something I've been waiting for over a week to discuss, and now that it is all public, here is is: All SIXTY-FIVE of local blue Chinese metal crash punk quartet Sykotyk Rampage's albums are now available online, in full, no edits, on their Bandcamp page! If there's hosting limits, they're either not met yet or they're on a premium account. Sykotyk Rampage have hosted albums online on sites like Reverbnation, Soundclick, and elsewhere, but this is the first time that all of their "Syko-graphy" is available to listen to or buy from the same source, from 2000's debut "Baked Brain Tumour On Toast" to their newest effort, 2022's "Wyrd Radio 2 -- Kype The Jesus Boots -- Gospels According To Sykotyk Rampage" (what a title!) Album prices vary from $15-$25 in mp3 format, depending on length, and if you really want the whole enchilada, the sale price for all 65 at once is $788! Yes, the albums are all available to stream for free too.

Given that "Wyrd Radio 2" is the only brand new album ("Hell Bent Heaven Sent" is actually from last year), that'll be this month's CD review at the SMS, and brace yourselves, as it is a concept album about the life of Jesus Christ (given Sykotyk Rampage's track record, do not expect Christian rock) with forty tracks, and if it was on physical CDs, it'd be a triple album! That'll be a marathon and a half, but it is new, so strap in later this month! Be they improvised originals, live tracks, or re-recordings, check out hundreds of blues, punk, hard rock, and psychedelic songs from the masters of the crash above, but you might be there awhile!

That's all for today, but stay tuned for a new news post on the site tomorrow! Thanks everyone!