LOCAL CONCERT ALERT (Incredible Woman), The Faps Concert Preview, And Much More!!

Here's another news post for your Saturday morning reading, so what's contained in this one? A few assorted recent notes, some new videos, and a special Monday night concert preview, but first, here's a LOCAL CONCERT ALERT for early next month!

St. John's, Newfoundland post-punk quartet Incredible Woman will make their local concert debut on Saturday, November 4th when they headline at LopLops Lounge! A unique band whose sound ranges from aggressive noise punk to indie and new-wave inspired melodies, these guys should deliver a fun set at LopLops in two weeks, in the second show of their Canadian tour next month, so keep this one mind! No opening bands have been announced at press time, and it's unclear if any will be added. A 9:00 PM start time is in effect for Incredible Woman's local stop early next month, you must be 19 or older to attend, and a $5 cover charge is likely. This should be a solid concert for punk fans to take in, and is it wrong that I detect a Smiths influence on some of their originals? Don't miss out on all of the action as Incredible Woman hits LopLops on November 4th, and stay tuned for potential updates on this concert if they roll in!

Next up, here's our preview of a special post-weekend concert taking place THIS MONDAY NIGHT, as Saskatoon noise/punk duo The Faps will return to our area for a headlining concert at The New American Pub! An unusually quick encore, this show comes just under two weeks after Skyler & Blair opened for K-Man & The 45s here, but this will mark their first local headlining date since their 2014 stop at The New A. Whether you saw The Faps here before or not, they're worth a listen for a blast of minimalist noise, garage, math, and punk intensity, so don't bypass them on Monday if you can help it! Opening bands were quietly confirmed for this concert just over a week ago, and they will include extreme death metal quartet Winkstinger and Destroilet co-lead singer Brenton Ellis' Slumshine project, though the latter still has no public hints as to genre and sound yet online. Come out to The New A on Monday to hear Slumshine for yourself, plus some of Winkstinger's brutal original onslaught for good measure!

Promoted by Six, Two, Oh. (who also put on The Faps' two prior local gigs),  this 19+ concert has an early start time of 8:00 PM due to the Monday scheduling, and while the cover charge is listed at $5, a "pay what you can" model is also being advertised. Visit the official Facebook event page for more details on this stop on The Faps' Good Tour, and here they are live!



Also today, here's the latest from local hard rock band Halfway Loaded, who we have reverted to that name in our band links, as their announced name change to The Twin City Saints has had no public follow-through. If the name does publically change in the future to that or another name, we'll switch it back! After taking September off from public postings on their Facebook page, Halfway Loaded resurfaced with two new videos last week courtesy of guitarist Shane Biron, including this 10 second clip of him playing a pentatonic riff (it's really solid, albeit short!), but embedded below is a longer black & white video of him covering  Bon Jovi's "Wanted Dead or Alive". Shane and/or the band are "thinking of giving this one a go", and while I'm not a Bon Jovi fan, he plays this one well and with a good tone, even in monochrome! Give Shane's new videos a look above & below, and stay tuned for more from Halfway Loaded when it rolls in!


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

• Bear Hunters guitarist Mitch Sirie is looking for production companies or people that can press physical CDs for smaller or local bands, preferably ones in the Sault Ste. Marie area. While one presumes this search is meant for The Bear Hunters' sophomore album "The Dead Testament', Mitch wasn't specific in the posting. If you want to help, message Mitch at this link or via his Musicians Wanted Facebook group post from Wednesday!
• In another Musicians Wanted group posting from Thursday, Obsession drummer Steve Porco  noted that he's looking for one or two guitarists (preferably one with vocal ability) for a new acoustic band that he's working on, with acts like Bob Seger, Collective Soul, and Kiss cited for covers. Steve has a female lead singer, bassist, and drummer already enlisted, and he doesn't want someone with an ego. No word on if this is an Obsession side project or entirely separate, but if you're interested, message Steve at this link!
• Today's ninth annual Soo Zombie Walk does not appear to be featuring music as a main component for the first time since year #1. While live music of some kind will take place at The Pita Pit mid-walk, the Facebook event page no longer lists music in the pre-walk activities, there's no advertised afterparty again, and the Pita Pit performer(s) have not been announced publically. Disappointing, but hopefully the walk is a hit as usual, and that the zombies get their fill of brains! For what it's worth, Sykotyk Rampage (who played the last 6 Zombie Walks) curiously haven't made a public statement since December of last year.

That's all for today, but stay tuned for much more on The Sault Metal Scene over the coming days! Thanks everyone!

Lots Of Theatre Of Night Updates, A New Video Find, And More Recent Updates!!

Here's another new post for your Tuesday morning, so what can we find out today? Alongside some shorter recent stories, we have another recent video find that hadn't previously been shared here, and leading off, some long overdue news on a local metal band's surprising resurgence of activity, so here's what you should know!

We'll start today with some intriguing news from Sault Michigan classical metal project Theatre of Night, who are teasing a Christmas tour run to take place at some point over the winter! When you consider that this band's only public concert (that I'm aware of) took place back on Memorial Day 2013, this revelation four & a half years later is even more surprising! Keyboardist Craig Harrison has been teasing the planned tour in Facebook page posts since last month, with specific updates slowly making their way online in the ensuing weeks, and while a potential local date isn't confirmed yet, one comment reply implied shows would take place in the Grand Rapids area. Craig & guitarist Steve Giles have enlisted five extra musicians to join them on tour, and they include singers Jordan Flesch & Stacie McCarthy, former Elipzis guitarist Chris Webster (great to see him working with a local band again!), and bassist Scott Andringa of the Holland blues rock band Shame on Susan.

Finally, the lineup is rounded out by prolific Grand Rapids-area rock drummer Erik Sales (replacing the long-departed Greg Giles), who has performed with Stacie in some recent ventures there. How's that for a massive lineup? No word on if they're all official band members now or if they're just touring performers, or if Germany's Gaby Koss will still perform on studio material with Theatre of Night, but this all sounds very encouraging! There are precious few details on the tour proper at press time, but there are a decent amount of preview videos uploaded or shared to Theatre of Night's Facebook page of tour preparations, so here's what you should know on those! All comprised of Christmas carols in a symphonic metal style (remember their "Christmas Night" CD?), the videos include a preview of a studio version of "O Holy Night" with vocals, Craig playing "Silent Night" on the keyboard, and Jordan singing "Away In A Manger" in two videos (linked here & here). All are abbreviated previews, but you get a skilled sampling of what's to come!

The other two videos are of the full septet rehearsing in Holland, though "Away In A Manger" also serves as the preview carol in both. One video is a montage of Snapchat-style clips of rehearsals & preparation therein, but embedded below is a fuller video showing the band in action, though Craig and Chris don't play at this point, and Stacie is obscured from view. There is more to share from Theatre of Night unrelated to the tour, but for now, this is all very interesting to hear, and this will spice up the holiday season with some partially local T.S.O.-style action! Stay tuned for updates on the band & tour as they roll in, and give all of these videos a look above & below!

Next up, here's another new find from Obsession guitarist Gabe Tessaro's YouTube channel, this time from his old classic/hard rock quintet That's Chester's involvement in the local stage production of The Who's Tommy at The Machine Shop in Sault Ontario back in November 2015! Poignantly uploaded the day of bandmate Eugene Orlando's passing (three weeks after Tommy wrapped it's local run), this is of the early numbers "Captain Walker" & "It's A Boy", and while not heavy songs by any stretch, the guys handle things well on these softer numbers, and Gabe & Eugene have a nice moment where they take center stage to perform together! For reference, there's no sign of frontman Greg Simpson here, who's not visibly performing with the ensemble at this point in the production, but he did play Cousin Kevin and front other songs later on. The video has a nice camera angle from the balcony to show the whole stage, and it's worth a watch for The Who & That's Chester fans, so give it a look below!



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

• I have changed the link for Lake Superior State University's campus radio station The 46th Parallel Radio (WLSO, 90.1 FM) from their website to their Facebook page, as the former was taken down during LSSU website upgrading earlier this year. Though still broadcasting, the Sault Michigan station hasn't had an active online presence this year, had been off air when I scanned it over the summer, and have not visibly commenced their previously stated plans to move all station operations to internet streaming. Hopefully things pick up, but click here for details on the station and/or student volunteering with WLSO!
• As documented in a SooToday article by David Helwig on Friday, Essar Center events manager Robert Santa Maria proposed a new system to create an event development fund so that the Sault Ontario arena can bring in more major touring events and concerts in which up to $1 from every ticket sold be put aside towards bringing more things here, capping at $50,000. Most responses seem to be positive, but will City Council approve the idea? Time will tell, but it'd be nice to have more concerts there beyond Dokken!
• The ninth annual Soo Zombie Walk will return to The Canadian Bushplane Heritage Center on Saturday, October 21st for a fifth straight year, and music will return with it pre-walk once again! Performers have not been announced yet, but for reference sake, dormant blues/crash rock quartet Sykotyk Rampage and Northwest guitarist Greg Callaghan have each played the walk in the past 6 and 4 years respectively. Visit the official Facebook event page for current details on the walk, and stay tuned in case punk or metal music returns next month!

That's all for today, but stay tuned for more news and updates in the coming days! Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (Soo Zombie Walk & Mourning Wood) And Sault Ontario Weekend Concert Previews!!

Let's get back into the swing of things with the first of this weekend's concert previews, including SHORT NOTICE LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS, including a big returning event! Sault Michigan previews and any even-later notice concerts will come in out next post, either tonight or tomorrow, so don't worry, they are coming! Now, here's what you need to know!

Local classic/hard rock cover quartet Mourning Wood will return to The Rednecks Saloon for one night only TOMORROW NIGHT! Apologies for the short notice, the band only announced the show via their official Facebook event page earlier this week. Playing at the former Nicolet Tavern for the first time since last month's Garth Brooks tribute afterparty, Mourning Wood has indicated that "the full band" will be back for TOMORROW'S show, implying that their last few gigs there were shorthanded (though I thought all 4 members played last month.) No word on why this is a one-night-only concert though, which is reasonably unusual for them, though if it's due to a Saturday night booking elsewhere, it hasn't been publically announced. You can take in Mourning Wood's varied and often heavy blend of covers TOMORROW at 10:00 PM, there's no announced cover charge, and you must be 19 or older to attend. See above for more details, and here's Mourning Wood live!



Next up, the musical contingent for this year's Soo Zombie Walk afterparty has finally been announced, as local alternative punk/blues veterans Sykotyk Rampage, Northwest guitarist Greg Callaghan, and Stereo North frontman Andrew Pucci will be rocking out at The Canadian Bushplane Heritage Center THIS SATURDAY prior to the walk! Apologies again for the short notice, organizers didn't publically confirm any performers until Tuesday on the Facebook event page, much later than usual. For this eighth annual local Zombie Walk (and fourth straight at the Bushplane Museum), local zombies of ALL AGES will patrol downtown for brains and to combat the resistance, so click here for full details on events in regard to the walk proper and how to get involved! This year's music lineup will be familiar as well, with Sykotyk Rampage and Greg making their sixth & fourth straight appearances at the annual Halloween season event, with Sykotyk Rampage's involvement being especially notable as this will be their first public local concert since last year's Zombie Walk! Only Andrew is new, and if you're familiar with Stereo North, you'll know his vocal & guitar talent!

It's been way too long to see Sykotyk Rampage back on a local stage, so if you've missed them in 2016, be at the zombie walk on Saturday for their crash music! No word though on if their set will be acoustic again or not. Also, there are no online references to an afterparty for this year's Zombie Walk, and if there is no afterparty, it would mark the first walk without one since the inaugural event in 2009. For reference, last year's afterparty took place at Coch's Corner, which also hosted 2010 & 2013's afterparties, and it featured the same music lineup as the pre-walk festivities had. If anything is confirmed regarding an afterparty, we'll let you know! Sykotyk Rampage are on last on SATURDAY at 5:00 PM, with Greg and Andrew playing at 4:30 & 4:00 PM respectively, and their sets sandwich children's and adult's brain eating contests. After orientation and rules, the walk itself will take place from 6:00-7:00 PM, with award presentations following upon return to the museum.

Admission to this year's Soo Zombie Walk is $3 with a canned good donation (kids under 10 only need a canned good), while click here for full details on waiver and registration forms, particularly if you're underage. While the music announcements are on short notice and with some lingering questions (re: the afterparty), there's a fun lineup in store, including the long awaited local concert return of Sykotyk Rampage, so whether you're hungry for brains or just want to enjoy some live punk music, be at The Bushplane Museum on Saturday! For a preview, here's Sykotyk Rampage live!

Finally, we'll close with prolific local hard rock singer/guitarist Tym Morrison's previously announced concerts, as he is scheduled to return to Gliss Steak & Seafood for three more acoustic solo concerts TONIGHT, TOMORROW, and SATURDAY! With the month of October winding along, Tym's three-peat of weekly concerts at The Quality Inn's restaurant should be another reliable and reserved attraction for fans this weekend, so keep Tym's latest unplugged shows in mind for some acoustic hard rock cover action! Remember, he is playing at Gliss next weekend, in case you want some Halloween weekend plans. As usual for Tym's long-term arrangement at Gliss, tonight, tomorrow, and Saturday's shows are 6:00 PM matinee events with no announced cover charges or age limits, but remember where these are being held. Visit the official Facebook event page for more details, and here's Tym Morrison live a few years back!



That's all for today, but stay tuned for Sault Michigan weekend concert previews and more next! Thanks everyone!

Last Month's Poll Results, Plus Lots Of Assorted Updates!!

Before we begin today's post, I wanted to apologize for missing Mourning Wood's latest Reggie's Place shows on Thursday, Friday, and yesterday for coverage on the SMS this weekend, as they were announced on late notice after our weekend concert preview post, but before we had time for a new post. I wish they'd plug Reggie's shows publically more often, but we did plug the latter two on our Facebook page, and hopefully they were a blast!

Now, today's lead story is the results of last month's poll, which asked this question: "When attending a concert that doesn't solely feature bands, what kinds of entertainers would you most want to see?" The poll sadly only got 4 voters, and only 1 chose to vote for two options (we tried a multiple choice method last month), and the only choice to win 2 votes was solo musicians and/or rappers. One vote each went to open mic/jam performers, stand-up comedians, and "I just want to see live bands", while no one chose DJs/turntablists, spoken word/poetry, performance art, bingo/live audience games, "Indifferent/no opinion", or "Other". Obviously, with such a low voter turnout, it's hard to gauge this as a representative sample of readers, but you do most often see solo artists alongside bands over the other choices, and while their sound is usually more reserved (C.T.W. aside), their talents often speak for themselves. This all adds to a nice variety at local concerts, but thanks to everyone that voted!

With that said, I am reluctantly putting our regular monthly polls on hiatus due to increasingly low voter turnout. I 100% intend on continuing with our "favourite ____ of 2015" polls, but regular monthly polls aren't attracting the attention that they once were, and admittedly, there have been times where I struggled to come up with a new topic that we hadn't previously tackled. As a result, I'll likely shift our Defunct Local Band Profile to the 14th of each month just for balance, but might our Saultites In Out Of Town Bands Profile return in the near future? Time will tell, but look for our year-end polls in a few months, and who knows, regular polls may come back down the road!

To close this Sunday morning post, here's six assorted shorter stories from the last while, and as usual, these are in alphabetical order by artist, event, or show name:

• If you had noticed that the short-lived 7L arts/music podcast had re-emerged via the restoration of it's Soundcloud page, that appears to have been temporary or reversed, as the page is down again. That said, host Teddy Syrette has since moved to Southern Ontario (no word on if that is a direct reason for 7L's apparent end or not), and the 7L Facebook page is being used to promote a reading he's doing in Toronto at the "Salon 203" event next weekend, notably at ex-Gore Street Cafe owner Sam Decter's new place. Sounds like a good time, hopefully it goes well!
• Local alternative/hard rock trio (and debut 7L podcast guests) The Din have posted three studio songs from their debut CD "Give In To The Din" to their Bandcamp page! Though The Din have opted not to post a full downloadable copy of the album there yet, fans can stream "In Search of The Perfect Moment", "Alleyways & Apartments", and "Potato" there to their hearts content in the meantime, so don't bypass it! This was briefly mentioned in our review of the album proper, but not in a news post, in case you're wondering why it's being covered twice.
• In a minor update to our "Other Local Metal Links", we have switched the link for local event promoters Maxx Entertainment from their website (which is down) to their Facebook page. Also, a planned amalgamation of their graphic design wing Maxx Graphix into the entertainment page under the "Choose Maxx" name won't affect our links unless the Maxx Graphix page is closed, though new customers would want to do their business on the combined page. Stay tuned for more from them, particularly regarding Toystock!
• We have removed local hardcore punk band Programmed To Fail (formerly The Transjenners) from our band links due to the quiet deletion of their Facebook and Soundcloud pages in recent months. The band didn't expand far beyond a pair of demo recordings and their name change, but they seemed to have some potential. Hopefully we hear more from Craig & Justin in the future!
• The eighth annual Soo Zombie Walk will return to The Canadian Bushplane Heritage Centre on Saturday, October 22nd for a fourth year at the downtown museum, and bands will be a part of the pre-walk entertainment again at 4:00 PM! No word yet on who to look for, or if there will be an afterparty, but visit the official Facebook event page for details when they come in! For reference, last year's entertainment at both the walk & afterparty were an unplugged Sykotyk Rampage, Sudbury's Aggressive Acoustic, and Greg Callaghan.
• Speaking of Sykotyk Rampage, the veteran alternative/blues rock quartet have posted a new free "album" to their Reverbnation page! Entitled "50 Amazing Tales", it'a a greatest hits re-recordings package that would be 4 CDs in length if released in that format, split among a faux-live album, drinking songs, "blue Chinese" songs, and "metal crash punk" songs. This is a fun release that all Sykotyk diehards should check out, especially if you want to hear studio recordings of older songs with Tony Briglio on bass! However, note that it loads very slowly due to it's size.

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

The First Of This Weekend's Concert Previews, Including The Soo Zombie Walk!!

With the Halloween concert season fast approaching, let's touch on the first of this weekend's hard rock concert previews, including two joint events from an annual seasonal event for you brain eaters! Note that our preview of Saturday night's Ripcordz-headlined "Fed Up" split release party will come in our next post, along with likely late notice show announcements, so stay tuned for that! Now, here's what you should know for this weekend!

We'll start with local hard rock singer/guitarist Tym Morrison, whose usual weekly concerts are advertised to continue this weekend, including matinees at Gliss Steak & Seafood TONIGHT, TOMORROW, and SATURDAY, and more typical nighttime shows at The Harp Bar & Grill TOMORROW & SATURDAY NIGHT! As is sometimes the case, these shows have yet to be confirmed via Facebook event pages, but all five are among the extensive concert listings on his website's calendar. As Tym's lengthy runs at the Quality Inn's restaurant and the former Madison's Pub march on, look for more entertaining hard rock renditions in an intimate setting at both venues this weekend, and if you're up for some unplugged action, you have lots of options this weekend! As usual, the Gliss shows are 6:00 PM events with no announced cover or age limits (but remember, it is a restaurant), and the Harp shows are at 10:00 PM with no announced cover, an a 19+ age limit. Check the above links for more details, and here's Tym live at The Harp!



Next up, let's head across the border to St. Ignace, Michigan, where Kinross classic/hard rock trio Banned are scheduled to rock The Northern Pines Lounge at the St. Ignace Kewadin Casino TOMORROW & SATURDAY NIGHT! After taking the month of September off, this will be the second of four St. Ignace concert weekends from Banned in a five month span, and while they're certainly no strangers to their Kewadin branch, don't miss out on this weekend's concerts if you can't see them next month! And remember, Alex, Wayne, and Don's annual Halloween show will be at the Kewadin Casino in Manistique next weekend, so keep that in mind if you might be out there. Like Banned's past and future Kewadin Casino concerts, this weekend's concerts take place at 9:00 PM, there's no announced cover charge, and you must be 21 or older to attend. For more details, visit the above links, and here's Banned live earlier this year!



Heading back to Sault Ontario, let's touch on the seventh annual Soo Zombie Walk, which goes down THIS SATURDAY at The Canadian Bushplane Heritage Centre for a third straight year, and we'll see bands (the exact same bands, in fact) in both the daytime lineup and at the afterparty! As usual, bring your best zombie costumes for the annual brain-hungry walk downtown, which begins an hour later at 6:00 PM this year, but the pre-walk activities (including games, face painting, photos, contests, and vendors) have been cut down from 3 to 2 hours, with everything beginning at 4:00 PM. For full details on non-musical events and the downtown zombie walk itself, visit the official Facebook event page. This year's acts will include headlining local "blue Chinese metal crash punk" quartet Sykotyk Rampage (marking their fifth straight appearance at a Zombie Walk concert), reunited Sudbury unplugged hard rock band Aggressive Acoustic (fronted by ex-Sykotyk Rampage bassist Brian Cattapan, though we're unsure of the new lineup's composition), and Northwest guitarist Greg Callaghan (in his third straight Zombie Walk set.)

Note that an advertised fourth performer, ex-Phlashback guitarist Terry Becker (brother of Sykotyk Rampage's Paul & Dirk Becker) has quietly been removed from event advertising for unannounced reasons, but hopefully nothing bad happened, it was encouraging to see him listed given his recent health issues! In a unique double booking, all three acts will head to Coch's Corner (in the former Foggy Notions building) later that night to take part in the sixth annual Zombie Walk afterparty, which returns to the site of it's 2010 & 2013 installments after spending last year at Wacky Wings and without live music. As you may know, Coch's Corner has been an acoustic-only venue since it moved to 708 Queen Street East, so to fit that and keep things simple given the double booking, both of Sykotyk Rampage's sets will be acoustic on Saturday, which will be interesting to hear! This will be their first set at the afterparty since 2012, while Aggressive Acoustic headlined the afterparty in their own right in 2013.

The Zombie Walk entertainment at 4:00 PM (and the walk proper) are both ALL AGES with admission via a canned good donation and $3 (kids under 10 only need the canned good), while the afterparty will be at 9:00 PM with $2 admission & a canned good, and it's definitely 19+ there. For more details, visit the above links and the afterparty's Facebook event page! It's great to see bands rocking out at the Soo Zombie Walk (and afterparty) again, so whether you'd rather see the bands in the day at the Bushplane Museum or at night at Coch's, especially if you also plan to hit the Ripcordz concert, you have options! For a preview, here's Sykotyk Rampage at last year's walk!



That's all for today, but stay tuned for more weekend concert previews next! Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERT (Soo Zombie Walk Afterparty), New Videos, And More!!

Now's a good time to get our first full news post of the month on the site, and within, we have some assorted recent notes, two new videos from two familiar local bands, and first, a LOCAL CONCERT ALERT for a familiar yet distinct Halloween season concerts! Here's what you should know!

The musical entertainment at this year's Soo Zombie Walk will see an unplugged encore, as the acts playing at The Canadian Bushplane Heritage Center on Saturday, October 24th will head to Coch's Corner that same night for the afterparty! After spending last year sans music at Wacky Wings, the afterparty returns to it's 19+ roots at the site of it's 2010 & 2013 incarnations in three weeks time, but like in 2013, all performers will be acoustic, going with Coch's Corner's focus since moving into the former Foggy Notions building. As recently (and quietly) confirmed on the Facebook event page, all four acts will pull double duty on the 24th, including alternative blues/hard rock quartet Sykotyk Rampage (in their first afterparty set since 2012), Sudbury cover hard rock band Aggressive Acoustic (who headlined 2013's afterparty), and solo musicians Greg Callaghan & Terry Becker, so if you'd rather see the bands at nighttime in a bar setting, or in the day before the walk with a family audience, you have options!

Sykotyk Rampage frontman Dirk Becker has also confirmed with me in a recent conversation that Aggressive Acoustic have not broken up (though there have been lineup departures), and Syktoyk Rampage's daytime pre-walk set will also be acoustic, which does sound easier given the double booking. This year's afterparty has a $2 cover charge (plus a canned good), it goes down at 9:00 PM on October 24th, and you must be 19 to attend... but never fear, you can see all four acts at 4:00 PM at the Bushplane Museum too! Check the above links for more details, and keep both of these Zombie Walk shows in mind for when the undead prepare to roam downtown!

Next up, we at last have confirmation: The Bear Hunters are in studio recording their second full length CD "The Dead Testament"! Details on progress are forthcoming, but the fan-favourite local death metal band confirmed on their Facebook page that sessions began yesterday, and they have posted two short videos to their new Instagram page of drummer Johnny Belanger tracking drums at Mission Control Studios (more on them in a bit), with the video embedded below crediting the song as "The Void". Both clips don't actually show Johnny, instead Dustin Jones at the controls during the tracking. Photos, and more videos, are planned to go up on Instagram in the coming weeks, but this is a great sign for fans of The Bear Hunters, so check out the other video at this link, see more above, and here's Johnny laying down drum tracks for "The Dead Testament"!

A video posted by The Bear Hunters (@thebearhunterscanada) on Oct 2, 2015 at 6:20pm PDT

Also today, here's the newest video from local alternative hard rock trio Mike Haggith & The Din, which gives us our first glimpse at their new guitarist! Posted to their Facebook page yesterday, it's of the new lineup playing Mike's solo original "Out Of My League", but perhaps intentionally, the new guitarist is filmed from behind, and aside from the long blonde hair and purple guitar, there are no dead-giveaway markings to their identity. I have a guess, but let's wait for the band to confirm the new axeslinger themselves, be it online or at the Speak Easy Battle of the Bands next month! In any event, it's a solid rendition, complete with post-production filters, so check it out below, and stay tuned for more from The Din!



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

• A concert event in remembrance of late local country musician & Case's Music founder Mike Case is in the works for July 9th of next year, and organizers are looking for bands to take part. It would be a 2:00 PM-2:00 AM event, but further details are not known as of this writing. This very well may be a special and huge occasion given Mike's outreach as a musician & instructor, so message co-organizer Christine O'Hara at this link or at her Musicians Wanted Facebook group post from September 15th for more info!
• A Facebook page has finally been launched for the aforementioned Mission Control Studios, the local recording studio ran by Dustin Jones & Tidal Records, and the site where a number of local bands are either recording or planning to record new studio material, like The Apocalypse Afterparty & The Pixo Control. The setup and reputation is all very professional, so check the above links for more info on Mission Control Studios, which are now in our "Other Local Metal Links"!
• After previously looking for a drummer in August, local musician Rob Charlebois is looking for a guitarist for his "fresh" new band. They have originals and covers, ranging from alternative to classic rock, and practice at night. If you're interested in trying out, message Rob at this link or via his Musicians Wanted Facebook group post from September 25th!

That's all for today, but stay tuned for another new news post tomorrow! Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERT (Soo Zombie Walk) & Integrated System Of Machines Updates!!

A new month is upon us, and before we know it, a new season will be too, so let's kick off September 2015 in style with a new news post on this Tuesday morning devoted to two topics: A major recent concert set by a returning local band, and a LOCAL CONCERT ALERT for next month, so here's what you should know!

The band lineup has been announced for next month's seventh annual Soo Zombie Walk, so what should you know for this year? Returning to The Canadian Bushplane Heritage Centre for a third straight year on Saturday, October 24th, the musical entertainment will once again rock out there prior to the walk itself, but things are now both later and condensed, with pre-walk activities taking place from 4:00-6:00 PM rather than 2:00-5:00 PM. The lineup will be familiar from last year though, with listed performers including local "blue Chinese metal crash punk" quartet Sykotyk Rampage headlining in their fifth straight Zombie Walk set, so look for more zombified originals from these crash favourites in their third show of the year! Sudbury unplugged hard rock band Aggressive Acoustic (fronted by ex-Sykotyk Rampage bassist Brian Cattapan) are listed as co-headlining, which is a bit of a surprise given that the band apparently parted ways in December, as per their Facebook page.

Have they reformed, will this be a solo performance by Brian, or is there an error? We'll let you know if we hear anything, but it'd be nice to see Brian back home again! Two local solo musicians will open things, including Northwest guitarist Greg Callaghan (in his third straight Zombie Walk set) and ex-Phlashback/Kick Start guitarist Terry Becker (brother of Sykotyk Rampage's Paul & Dirk Becker), which is awesome to see, especially given his recent health battles, so don't bypass his set! Other pre-walk activities will include zombie face painting, a photo booth, games & contests, local vendors and merchants, and more, so visit the official Facebook event page for full details on what to expect before the walk! Zombies will take to the streets for the walk at 6:00 PM, with prizes and the closing ceremony at 7:00 PM. Also, the 19+ afterparty will return to Coch's Corner after spending last year at Wacky Wings, but given the post-2012 shift of the main musical entertainment to the pre-show, don't expect much for live bands there beyond possible acoustic acts, though we did get a few there in 2013.

Admission is $3 + a canned food donation for attendees, while kids are FREE with a canned good, and check the above links for more details! It's great to see the Zombie Walk back, and at a slightly later time (and still on the week prior to Halloween) to boot, though local metal and punk fans may find themselves pulling double duty given that night's Ripcordz concert just down the road at The Algonquin Pub. Keep this fun annual family event in mind for your Halloween season plans, especially if you love Sykotyk Rampage and related bands, and stay tuned for updates!

We'll close today with some excellent new footage of the recently reunited Integrated System of Machines from their return show at July's P.O.D. concert at the Sault Michigan Kewadin Casino! Filmed by Wayne Kozeyah at W.K. Media and uploaded to his YouTube channel on Thursday, this follows earlier rough cut samples from the show that he uploaded, but none were labelled as being of the local epic metal quintet, hence why we didn't know about them at the time. Apparently the first time that Wayne and/or W.K. Media have been on hand to film a full concert set like this, three camera angles captured the show, including a drum-cam (possibly a GoPro) on Bart Rennels, giving a unique first person view to much of it! In order, the performed songs include "Screams", "Patterns", "Stays The Same", "I.S.O.M.", "The Writer", "Last Time", "Prison Farm", and a short song whose title isn't given. Long time fans should know that "Patterns", "The Writer", "Prison Farm", and the closer were not on their prior CD "Apocalyptic Vision", so give those an extra look!

Now, you may notice that frontman Orb Hearthstone indicated during between-song banter that they had a CD (and t-shirts) on sale during this show, and the songs they played during their set were on the album in order, so it looks like the current lineup re-recorded four songs from "Apocalyptic Vision", but as you can tell from this video, there are two major differences. Obviously, there's no keyboardist anymore (Craig Harrison didn't return and wasn't replaced for the reunion), and Orb's growling is far less utilized than in their original incarnation, which fans will notice when comparing the old studio versions of these songs ("I.S.O.M." aside, which didn't have growling originally.) I have no idea yet whether this CD is a fully packaged and pressed release, or just a loose demo like Elipzis and Half a Man distributed at concerts, but I would be very curious to hear these songs in studio form!

In any event, copies would likely be available at future concerts when announced, though no word on if Grooves Music would have stock of it. Of course, if the band had new online pages to plug their shows and recordings, that'd be an obvious plus, but no word on if a new online presence is imminent. The video itself is excellent, albeit without as many camera angle switches as it could have used, and the new I.S.O.M. lineup sounds great! Solid work all around, so give WK Media's full I.S.O.M. concert video a look below, and stay tuned for more from the guys when announced!



That's all for today, but stay tuned for this month's "Where Are The New Albums?" post tomorrow! Thanks everyone!

Soo Zombie Walk 2014 Concert Review!!

Hey guys, it's now time for our review of yesterday's band portion of the sixth annual Soo Zombie Walk, but also be sure to check out this morning's new news post featuring lots of recent updates in the post below this one! In terms of the event itself, this was my first Zombie Walk that I've attended in full since 2011 (I only saw the bands due to a cold in 2012, and scheduling conflicts with The Ripcordz threw a wrench into last year), so I can now attest to how things have changed and grown since the Grand Theatre days. Like last year, the Zombie Walk was held at The Canadian Bushplane Heritage Centre, which opened up the event to a far larger space for activities, which included numerous local vendors selling food, jewelry, art, crafts, and much more along the outer walls. There were games for kids, photo sessions, face painting, and between the bands, Jell-O brain eating contests. I also wanted to mention before we got too deep into the review that there was an official Zombie Walk afterparty last night... it was just far removed from what it used to be.

According to a poster at their booth, one (or maybe both?) of the Wacky Wings' in town hosted this year's afterparty, but it appears to have been strictly an afterparty with a costume contest and free virgin Bloody Marys. No bands that I know of, but Wacky Wings isn't known as a concert venue. Advance marketing for the walk didn't touch on the afterparty, but I apologize for missing it on here!

Opening yesterday's pre-walk music was Northwest guitarist Greg Callaghan (credited online as Greg Calhoun) in his second straight solo appearance at the Zombie Walk, and it's been too long since I've seen him playing an acoustic set like this, so how'd things go? He played a wide variety of covers, ranging from artists like Danzig and Dio to Michael Jackson and David Bowie, and he adapted some decidedly un-acoustic songs to that format with relative ease! All of the songs too dealt with dark and horror themes, going with the themes of the event. If you've seen Greg's solo sets before, you'll know exactly what you got, and his deep singing voice contrasted his guitar talents well, though the crowd was only mildly receptive, though you can't expect a nightclub or crowd reaction given the family nature of the walk. Solid set, and hopefully we hear more from Greg and Northwest soon!

Second yesterday was the original crash band, Sykotyk Rampage, marking their return to the stage after 5 months away! Despite this being their first show back since the unveiling of their newest "albums", their set was more themed around zombies and the family friendly themes of the event, so they eschewed adult language and beer references in their songs, instead adapting lyrics for most to reflect zombies, brain eating, and so forth (i.e. "Drinking on the Weekend" became "Eat Brains on the Weekend"). That's par for the course for Sykotyk Rampage Zombie Walk sets, but now that I've seen them play to the pre-walk family crowd, I can tell that their live show loses a lot of energy when they can't be their usual 19+ selves. Musically, the guys sounded good though, and while guitarist Dirk Becker didn't take any lead vocal spots, bassist Tony Briglio did channel his inner Lemmy for a surprise cover of Motorhead's "Killed By Death", and even brought his brand new stand-up bass for the first few songs! Good stuff overall, but for the real sykotyk experience, come see them on Halloween!

And headlining the band portion of the pre-battle events was local grunge/alternative quartet Haggith in their first set of the fall, and true to form, their set was themed around songs from their 2012 album "Apocalypse" and it's sequel, which is still planned to come out on Tuesday (no, advance copies weren't available yesterday.) Their 10 song set featured six tracks from the first CD (like "Red Car" and "Days") plus four from "Apocalypse II", including all previously unveiled songs from their YouTube channel and the brand new "Hands of Death". Most of these songs aren't commonly heard at recent Haggith shows (fans may be most familiar with "If You Get Out Alive"), but if you know the "Apocalypse" series well, you'll know that these songs are more intricate, simplistic, and downbeat, but the guys handled them well, and it was nice to see Curtis and Daniel in zombie/Joker makeup!

Also, this was the first time I've see Haggith since James White replaced Caleb Cachagee on bass, and he fit in just fine with the guys, but I'll get a fuller sense of how he fits in when the guys play other common originals at The Oddfellows Hall on Thursday. Though I prefer Haggith's heavier and more lively songs, it was nice hearing some older tracks again, and stay tuned for updates on the "Apocalypse II" release! As for the Zombie walk itself, we all left the Bushplane Museum and went down Bay Street until hitting Russ Ramsay Way/Brock Street, then heading down Queen Street (passing the old Zombie Walk home, The Grand Theater, in the midst of their anime/cosplay convention), before finishing on Pim Street back to the museum. The zombie resistance gathered in the lawn outside of the library to take on the zombie horde, and it's safe to say there was some good battles! I will concede however that the walk seemed shorter than it did when it started at The Grand (but that could just be my adjusting to the format), and the earlier timeslots did take away from the ambiance, as the walk seemed to be cooler when it was at night.

The walk ended with prizes awarded to the best costumes for zombies and resistance fighters (kids and adults alike) which included custom trophies and skull candy dishes, and congratulations to the Big Bird zombie above for winning the adult zombie prize! Myself, I went as a zombie hipster (no offense to the hipster culture was implied, it was all in good fun!), and it was fun to get back into the walk again after three years! As for the bands, they were all solid and fit the themes of the day, but I will say this: Something is lost when you move punk and hard rock bands from a 19+ post-walk afterparty to a pre-walk family-friendly event. I have a feeling that all of yesterday's bands would have been better served to headline a proper afterparty like the Zombie Walk had from 2010-2012, but also have music and bands before the battle too so that there's entertainment for the families. Basically, let us have our cake and eat it too! I do hope to be back at next year's Zombie Walk, but I'm already debating whether to be a zombie, or join the resistance... time will tell!

Check local news media for fallout from the walk itself (we'll let you know if anyone covered the bands), and the zombie/resistance photos above are courtesy of Kenneth Armstrong's SooToday article on the walk. We got plenty of photos of the bands that you can see at this link or at our Facebook page, and as for videos, here's Greg Callaghan covering Warren Zevon's "Werewolves of London", Sykotyk Rampage playing "Zombie Hunter" ("Disbeliever" with zombie lyrics), and Haggith playing their new song "Hands of Death"! (Note that the embedded videos below still work when clicked on, I don't know why they don't show a thumbnail image right now. Just in case, I've labelled each.)

Greg Callaghan - Werewolves of London

Sykotyk Rampage - Zombie Hunter (a.k.a. Disbeliever)

Haggith - Hands of Death

That's all for today, but stay tuned for more news this week as we approach a stacked Halloween weekend for concerts! Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERT (Soo Zombie Walk) & Haggith Updates!!

Barring some more late notice show announcements, we'll close this weekend's hard rock & punk concert previews today with a SHORT NOTICE LOCAL CONCERT ALERT concerning a well anticipated annual event's band lineup for this year! At the end of the post though, we also have some added updates from one of the bands at said event, so read on below to get caught up for the weekend!

The band lineup for this year's sixth annual Soo Zombie Walk TOMORROW has finally been officially announced, so now we can detail this year's musical entertainment! Apologies for the short notice, organizers only just detailed the bands this weekend on the walk's website, and we held our announcement of them for this weekend's previews. Like last year, the Zombie Walk (which will see many Saultites dressed as the undead and roaming downtown for brains) will return to The Canadian Bushplane Heritage Centre, and once again, bands will be rocking out pre-battle at the museum as part of the expanded event schedule at it's current location. If you liked last year's zombie walk bands, you'll enjoy this year's lineup, as every act (save for James Watterworth) is returning to entertain the zombies, with local grunge/alternative quartet Haggith returning for their third straight zombie walk set, and first public concert appearance of the fall!

With this talented band's upcoming CD "Apocalypse II" nearing release, look for more zombie-themed originals from that and it's predecessor in their set! Also, local "blue Chinese metal crash punk" quartet Sykotyk Rampage will join them for their fourth straight zombie walk set, and their first local concert appearance in 5 months! The Beckers and company should entertain with their crash rock sounds, and they have plenty of new material to source from for their set, so don't miss their first set of the fall tomorrow! Northwest guitarist Greg Callaghan (again credited as Greg Calhoun) will also return from last year for a solo opening set, and while it remains to be seen if his set will be "evil" like in some past appearances, he should have some entertaining covers in store to kick things off! According to a conversation with Sykotyk Rampage's Dirk Becker, they and Haggith have switched places from the announced timeslots, so Haggith are apparently headlining at around 4:00 PM, with Sykotyk Rampage on at 3:00 PM & Greg Callaghan on at 2:00 PM.

For the rest of the schedule (which includes brain eating contests, food, vendors, face panting, photos, and games) from the 2:00 PM opening until 5:00 PM, click here, while the walk itself will take place from 5:00-6:00 PM on Pim, Queen, Brock, and Bay Streets, starting and ending at the Bushplane Museum (click here for the full map.) Admission will be $2 plus a non-perishable food donation, while kids 12 and under just have to bring a food donation to enter. For more details, visit the above links! It should also be noted that no official Zombie Walk pages for this year make mention of an afterparty, so it's looking like this will be the first year since the inaugural walk in 2009 where there wasn't an afterparty, which admittedly took a back seat to the new expanded afternoon lineup after the event moved from The Grand Theater last year. The Zombie Walk is always a fun addition to the Halloween calendar, and I just hope organizers have worked out the kinks from last year after all of the changes (particularly the confusion regarding when the walk itself actually began.)

As last year's walk moved to the Halloween weekend, it conflicted with the Ripcordz concert that night, so I only went to the one event, but as it's back on the weekend before J.D.'s party this year, I can definitely return for the zombie walk tomorrow! It will be great to join the walking dead once again, and to take in some artists I haven't seen in a while too, so I hope to see you fellow zombies there, and for a preview, here's Haggith live last month!



Closing today's post, we'll touch on some more news from the aforementioned Haggith, including news on their upcoming CDs "XIV" and "Apocalypse II"! At this point, it's looking like the latter concept sequel album will be out first, as the band revealed on their Facebook page last week that it will be released this coming Tuesday (October 28th) for $5, and copies can be pre-ordered via their online store. Additional streaming media and sale availability is to be announced, but I'm a bit surprised that they aren't rushing the release for tomorrow given their Zombie Walk involvement and the CD's zombie themes (maybe there's a surprise in store?) The release date for "XIV" (whose name refers to it's release this year, thanks Curt!) is to be determined, but the store above referenced an October 14th date that has since came & went, though whether or not drummer Mike Haggith's recent personal break was a factor isn't stated. Given it's impending release, is "Apocalypse II" next for a CD review on the site?

I'd have to say it's not going to be reviewed next, mostly because it's a sequel to a prior concept album, so it'd be a disservice to the story to cover them out of order. That said, the original "Apocalypse" from 2012 isn't new and doesn't have precedence in our queue for that reason, so Northwest's new EP is still most likely for November. However, if the non-concept "XIV" comes out next month, then that's likely next, but I'll keep you guys posted in any case! We'll leave you guys with this short 12 second cell phone video from Haggith's Facebook page on Saturday of singer Curtis McKenzie singing his track from one of the band's upcoming originals. Sounds good, but stay tuned for more updates as the weeks progress!



That's all for today, but stay tuned for a new news post tomorrow, and of course, we'll see you guys at the Zombie Walk tomorrow! Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERT (The Brains), New SweetKenny Songs, And Much More!!

With weekend concert previews now taken care of, we can touch on some recent news and notes today, including a pile of shorter items, new media from a regional guitarist, and first, a LOCAL CONCERT ALERT, so here's what you need to know!

Montreal psychobilly quartet The Brains will return to the Soo for a belated Halloween weekend concert on Sunday, November 2nd at The Rockstar Bar! Coming almost a year after their most recent local stop at the same venue, The Brains are fairly frequent sights as out of town bands go, and their unique blend of horror punk and rockabilly should go over well once again in November, so keep this show in mind to end the Halloween season with! Besides, how often will you see a punk band this year with a stand-up bass? Joining them at this show will be fellow Montreal punk rockers Boids, who have more of a traditional punk sound, but will impress with their varied influences and catchy melodies, so don't miss them on November 2nd either! A local opening band is to be announced, and it should be noted that promoter J.D. Pearce was looking for bands different from ones playing the Gob and Halloween Party shows a few days prior that he's also promoting, so we'll have to see who gets added! This will be a 19+ concert, a $10 admission fee is in place (no word on advance tickets yet), and everything is slated to begin at 9:00 PM.

For more details, visit the official Facebook event page! With Gob, The Brains, and Frightlight's farewell now confirmed for J.D.'s Halloween concert slate at The Algonquin Hotel's bars, he's definitely stacking the deck for the season, so be sure not to miss out on this late October spree of great concerts! Stay tuned for updates on all 3 as we hear them!

Next up, we have some new original songs from Dafter, Michigan solo rocker Ken "SweetKenny" Sutton, courtesy of his YouTube channel and a new online page of his! In recent days, Ken has been posting songs on Spreaker, a music networking site that specializes in podcasts and radio shows, but can also host individual music too. New tracks named "Mustang", "Crud", and (as embedded below) "Can It Be (Guitar Confusion)" can now be streamed there or on linked YouTube video uploads, and while it is presumed that they'll be on SweetKenny's upcoming album "Amazonian", this isn't explictly stated. As we hope to review a new SweetKenny album early next year, we'll hold on comments on these songs for the time being, but long time fans should check these songs out for more classic-tinged hard rock! Check out "Can It Be" below, and hear more at the above links!



Finally for today, here's six shorter recent news items from the last little while, and as usual, these are in alphabetical order by band or event name:

• Habitat Shuffle/ex-Free Beer guitarist Dustin Goodall is looking to join or form a band that would play old hardcore and indie music inspired by the likes of Fugazi, Refused, and Brand New. As he described it, such a band would have "eclectic taste that, despite being badass, is completely unmarketable." Interesting plans, but if you're up to jam with Dustin, message him at this link or via his Musicians Wanted Facebook group post from Tuesday!
• Local pop punk/screamo project For July have posted a new song named "The Truth" onto their Soundcloud page! Self-described as a "work in progress", it has the upbeat energy of many of their older songs, and some catchier hooks, so give it a look above, and stay tuned for more updates on For July!
• Local punk (but don't call them that) trio The Fury are officially defunct again, as confirmed in a recent personal conversation with frontman Paul Stanghetta. He commented on musical differences with new members as part of the reason, but you could consider The Apocalypse Afterparty as successors, given that they cover Fury songs live, and that Steve Mozarowski was briefly The Fury's drummer this year. Fans will best remember their high octane bass & drum sets from 2009-2011 compared to their barely launched 2014 reunion, but give them a listen all the same, and best of luck to all former members!
• A drummer named Phil Grecks (possibly a nickname for former Role Models drummer Phil Greco) is looking to form a new original local band that would play heavy, melodic, and sometimes fast songs, citing Nonpoint, Starset, and Nothing More as possible influences. Sounds intriguing, but if you're interested in trying out or getting more info, message Phil at this link or via his Musicians Wanted Facebook group post from Tuesday!
• Local crust/death metal trio Shit Liver are staying busy in their new home of St. Catharines, having played a gig there on Tuesday opening for Killitorous, and being scheduled for another show there on October 3rd where they'll open for Life Problems in a fundraiser for a beloved dog's surgery. Good to see the guys playing often, and hopefully we'll see them back north in short order too!
• This year's sixth annual Soo Zombie Walk will return to being scheduled the week before Halloween on Saturday, October 25th, though it will still be based at the Canadian Bushplane Heritage Centre for a second straight year, as per this year's Facebook event page. What we don't know is whether the expanded afternoon band lineup at the museum will return, or if the afterparty will regain it's prior non-acoustic format in it's place, but when we hear more regarding the band situation this year, we will let you guys know!

That's all for today, but stay tuned for more news this weekend, if all goes according to plan! Thanks everyone!

Another Local Metal Video Showcase!!

Before we get into the meat of today's post, I wanted to apologize for an error in our reporting of Caveman Morrison frontman Tym Morrison's show at The Harp last week. The Facebook event page for it said it took place on Thursday, but despite the date never being corrected there, it was indeed on Friday as usual, as confirmed through personal Facebook posts and on SooToday. I did note at the time that the date seemed unusual and I'd correct it if possible, but I didn't hear confirmation until after the fact, so I apologize for the error, and hopefully there was a good turnout on Friday! Now, today's post is an all-video spree, including recent concert footage, a commercial, a new cover, and first, a video from a new band's first show!

New local/London death metal quartet Saints & Serpents played their first concert on Friday the 13th at The Richmond Tavern in London, and the first video from their set is now online! As uploaded to singer Steve Rhodes' YouTube channel on Saturday, this is of the new band playing "Vampiric", which you may recognize as an early 2012 original from Saints & Serpents' more familiar predecessors The Valentine's Day Massacre! Remember, all V.D.M. members except drummer Kyle Umgeher are in this new band, so there are natural similarities. Filmed by a front row attendee, it's great to see Steve, Andrew, and Adam playing together for the first time in 9 months, and the audio quality's very good too! The lighting isn't hot, but it actually helps the mood and drapes the band in shadow. My only issue is it's cut short, missing the last minute+ of the song, but this is a nice sample of this new partly local metal band, so give their first live concert video a look below!



Next up, here's a new commercial for the upcoming Bret Michaels/Firehouse concert at The Dreammaker's Theater at the Sault Michigan Kewadin Casino on January 18th! Uploaded to the Kewadin YouTube channel on December 5th, this 30 second spot (which might be airing on local TV) features just still photos of the performers, with no video footage, but the presentation is about standard and does it's job! Backing audio of Firehouse's "Don't Treat Me Bad" is sandwiched between snippets of Poison's "Nothin' But A Good Time" and "Every Rose Has It's Thorn" in the ad, but I have to ask, why not use audio of Bret's solo originals, or at least of his solo band playing those songs? Yes, his Poison work is better known, but Poison aren't playing the show, only Bret is. Effective commercial though, so give it a look, and get your tickets A.S.A.P.!



Also today, Ashes To Dust guitarist Alex Hemy's newest solo performance clip was uploaded to his YouTube channel on Sunday, and it introduces some different wrinkles to his cover videos! Along with his recent usual trends of singing and playing guitar, he plays bass and includes talkbox effects and keyboard backing work on this cover of Bon Jovi's "It's My Life", but if you're gonna go this far, why not at least have programmed drums to completely fill it out? Well done again though, albeit with somewhat more reserved vocals, but Alex is definitely a talent to watch, so check out his new cover below!



To close today, here's a new video covering this year's Soo Zombie Walk that features some brief clips of the musical entertainment before this annual brain-eating late October rampage! Uploaded to the YouTube channel of Sault College's digital film production wing on Thiursday, it features a bunch of assorted clips both at the starting location of The Canadian Bushplane Heritage Center, the end location of The Roberta Bondar Pavilion, and the walk itself, as laid over Black Sabbath's "Electric Funeral", but local music fans might be curious to see the brief snippets of the bands early on at the museum! Strange Coyotes bassist James Watterworth's solo set is caught in the video for three separate 5 second segments (at 20, 31, and 42 seconds in), though at least for this portion of the night, he wasn't alone, being joined by bandmate Chase Wigmore and Punch/Project 421's Daniel Horton on guest drums (a role he filled as a guest with their old band Project Legion.) I think members of Haggith appear briefly during the brain eating contests, but they're not playing when seen.

Though James & company didn't appear to wear zombie makeup, at least 2 members of Sykotyk Rampage did (those being Shane Kokis and Paul Becker), as you can see in their close up shots at 1:03 and 1:23 of the video during their set! We don't see a lot (or hear a thing) from their sets, and nothing from Haggith or Greg Callaghan's sets was included either, but this is a well put together video, and I like the rotating camera angles used for a lot of it! Check out this Zombie Walk compilation video below, and keep an eye out early for the band clips!



That's all for today, but stay tuned tomorrow for last month's poll results and our first "Favourite _____ of 2013" poll! What are we touching on this month as we begin our looks back at the past year? We'll soon find out! Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERT (Haggith) And The Rest Of The Halloween Weekend Concert Previews!!

Today's post closes the known hard rock/metal concert previews in the region (i.e. ones I can verify have a heavier band), including the return of two annual & seasonal concert events, but first, here's a LOCAL CONCERT ALERT regarding a prominent local band's surprising announcement about their impending last show.

Local grunge/alternative quartet Haggith have announced a headlining date at The Algonquin Pub on Saturday, December 7th that will apparently be their final live concert, with the band breaking up afterwards. The news was revealed last night via the show's Facebook event page, and though a reason for the impending dissolution has yet to be publically made, I do know it's amicable and related to a band member's personal commitments. Support will be provided by local alternative hard/blues rock quartet Sykotyk Rampage and newer all-female hard rockers The Danger Cats, both of which have shared the stage with Haggith this fall, so they're good lineup additions! This will likely be a 19+ event, but admission costs are yet to be finalized, and the listed start time of 8:00 PM sounds too early to be accurate. Check the above links for more details! This is really disappointing news, especially given how they've grown in prominence and success this year, and knowing the optimistic album plans that they've hyped to me in personal conversations, but hopefully all works out how it should!

At least this won't be the only remaining concert (TOMORROW'S Zombie Walk set and their New American show on November 22nd come first), but we'll of course keep you guys updated on this show and any preceding updates as they come in, and I just hope the guys all stay active in music after December 7th! Keep watch for updates, and note that I don't know what this means for the various other band & solo projects that members are in, but if I find out more, I'll let you guys know!

Now to the rest of our heavier Halloween weekend concert previews, starting with the 8th annual Halloween Party from local concert promoter J.D. Pearce (a.k.a. Johnny Pints), which makes it's first ever appearance at The Roosevelt Hotel TOMORROW NIGHT! After spending last year at The Algonquin Pub and the prior 6 at the old Coch's Corner, this annual tradition hits the West End for what will hopefully be an incident-free night of hard hitting metal & punk music, costumes, and good times! Like past years, there will be a costume contest (the winner gets a VIP ticket for the Fuckface Unstoppable show on December 14th), and while the band count drops back to it's usual amount of three, it will continue from last year in one way, as there will be an out of town feature band, that being Montreal hardcore punk legends The Ripcordz! Making their second local appearance of 2013 following their Algonquin show in April, their hard hitting and attitude fueled set should be a great way to cap off this Halloween party, so don't miss these local favourites in their return tomorrow night!

The local opening bands include hardcore punk quintet Destroilet (in their first appearance at this yearly event) and J.D.'s newer local punk/metal quartet Jack Spades, who are replacing his main band Frightlight at tomorrow's concert due to guitarist Rick White's ongoing recovery from injuries he suffered last month. Had Frightlight played tomorrow, it'd have been their 5th straight set at this event, but Jack Spades (featuring Bear Hunters & T-Rex Manning alumni) will bring a special Halloween-themed set to the proceedings, so no need to worry (and Destroilet's hard hitting sounds will be welcomed as well!) Admission is $10 in advance through local band members and at The Rad Zone, but the price jumps to $15 at the door (or $13 if you come with your Zombie Walk bracelet.) This is still a 19+ event, and doors open tomorrow at 9:00 PM. For more details, visit the official Facebook event page! I haven't missed this event since my first of J.D.'s Halloween parties in 2010, so you know I'll be at this one!

Aside from Jack Spades' Justin Lam and Johnny Belanger, every band member tomorrow was a part of The Ripcordz's local show in April, and you know they all delivered there, so I'll see you guys at The Rosie tomorrow night, and fingers crossed nothing abnormal happens, besides the Halloween happenings! For a preview, here's The Ripcordz tearing up the stage earlier this year at The Algonquin Pub!



Finally for the proven hard rock concerts this weekend is the fourth annual Soo Zombie Walk afterparty TOMORROW NIGHT at Coch's Corner! With the majority of bands shifting to the afternoon before the walk (and the host venue moving to the Bushplane Museum), the afterparty has been downscaled and moved from The Grand Theater back to it's original host venue down the road at 708 Queen Street East. However, unlike the 2010 edition at the former Foggy Notions, the new afterparty will only feature two acoustic acts, as Coch's Corner has focused on all unplugged bands since moving to the Foggy's location last spring. As a result, this is the first concert with hard rock acts at Coch's Corner since February 2012 and at 708 Queen since 2011, so it's been a long time coming either way! The headlining band will be Sudbury acoustic hard rock trio Aggressive Acoustic, featuring former Sykotyk Rampage bassist Brian Cattapan (in his first local concert appearance in over 18 months) alongside fellow musicians Sean Trottier & Angie McBride, and their hard rock covers in an unplugged setting should be a nice change of pace!

A late notice opener has also been secured, as Project Legion bassist James Watterworth will play his second Zombie Walk set of the day tomorrow night (he opens the pre-walk band lineup at 2:00 PM also), so don't be late for his creative & impressive solo originals!  Doors open at 9:00 PM for this 19+ event, and while there is no cover charge with a Zombie Walk wristband, one may apply if you don't have one. For more details, visit the above links! Time will tell if the new Zombie Walk format & date prove to be successes, including the downscaled & all-acoustic afterparty, but it's nice to see Brian back in town & to see hard edged performers at Coch's/708 Queen again, so hopefully tomorrow night is a success! For a preview, here's Aggressive Acoustic covering Down's "Stone The Crow" in Sudbury!



That's all for today, but stay tuned for a new news post tomorrow before the Halloween Party! Thanks everyone!