Concert Lineup Updates For The Next Two Weeks, Including Lemmafest!!

Hey guys, I'm back with some more local metal news, and the topic of today's post is concert lineups! We have new bands and lineup news for a bunch of upcoming concerts, so let's get straight to that, going in chronological order, starting with TOMORROW'S 21st Roosevelt Hotel metal night! The Bear Hunters are in fact playing tomorrow night in their record 10th appearance at a Thursday night Rosie metal show! Dismembertainment confirmed the addition on their Facebook page earlier today, in what is also just the second all-local Rosie metal night with 4 bands. This confirms The Bear Hunters' earlier Facebook postings that they'd be playing tomorrow, though they weren't initially confirmed for the show when announced. Sounds good to me, this show should be awesome! Check the above links for more details on this show (also featuring Shit Liver, Winkstinger, and Bring The Misery), and stay tuned tomorrow for our preview of this show!

Next, we transition to LemmaFest at Dondee Lanes on Saturday, which is the first annual music festival in honour of the late Michael Lemma. Firstly, to the band changes, as local metal band Hammerspace have apparently dropped out of their planned 3:00 PM set. I haven't heard why, but note that their Facebook page hasn't been updated in a month, and they were recently coming off of a short breakup when they were initially announced for LemmaFest. Hopefully they haven't re-broken up, they're too promising to go away! Replacing them at 3:00 is Minus Everyone, a Petoskey-based solo project from musician Kenneth Harris, who plays solid rock music on guitar and bass accompanied by backing tracks. It's better than it may sound, he has talent, and he should leave a good impression on Saturday afternoon! The rest of the changes are all to performance order, so here's what we know. Local acoustic duo Fallen Heroes were moved from 8:00 PM to 1:00 PM (a previously vacant slot), and as such, night-capping acoustic bands 2PumpChump & Electric Motor Fish were bumped back an hour to 8:00 & 9:00 PM respectively. However, a recent update on the LemmaFest page indicated that local metal supergroup Great Bodily Harm are now playing at 8:00 PM instead, though whether 2PumpChump will replace them at 2:00 PM isn't currently known.

The rest of the night's bands (The Hixx, River Witch, Scofflaw, Bucksaw, and Infathom) are still on for their original set times, so click here for all current lineup details! Other notes: Great Bodily Harm are gonna cover some Pro-Pain songs (that's awesome), folding chairs are recommended for attendees (it is outdoors), and it is an all ages event for sure as well! Also, make sure you're at the Dondee at noon sharp if you want official LemmaFest t-shirts! And apologies for missing this, but the organizer of LemmaFest was apparently interviewed on Rock 101 on Monday, I hope it went well! The more press, the better! Stay tuned for updates over the next few days!

Next up, here's some more details on a concert taking place THIS SATURDAY in Sault Ontario! As you may remember, Kitchener hard rockers The Saigon Hookers are coming back to The Rockstar Bar once again on Saturday night, and if you missed their last local show in March, then definitely come on out! Details appear to be mostly the same as the March show though, which is good news if you missed them then, and that even includes the openers, as local punk supergroup Brad Example & The Role Models will indeed be back supporting at this show! This band, led by Brad "Example" Lacell of Inner City Surfers & Room 206 fame, featured longtime bandmate Dave Bahun, Lion Ride's Marco Pedalino, and veteran local drummer Phil Greco in their lineup in March, but according to their new MySpace page, "the cast of characters is always changing". Will we see a different lineup on Saturday? Time will tell! I imagine this show will have a 19+ age limit, 10:00 PM start time, and $5 cover, similar to their last show, but some new Saigon Hookers songs and older classics may find their way into the setlist! I'll absolutely be there, and hopefully you guys will be there too! For more details, check the Facebook event page, and stay tuned for more in our concert preview post tomorrow!

And finally, we come to lineup news for July 2nd's return of Lion Ride to Sault Ontario! Convenient, isn't it? Some more details have been released for this show, which is part of a short "Summer Kick-Off Tour" starting on June 30th in Peterborough and ending at The Rockstar Bar next Saturday for their first local show in almost three months! The band launched a general event page for the three shows at this location, featuring a short comical "interview" with frequently asked questions about the tour, band, and shows. Nice sense of humour! A second event page was launched by The Rockstar Bar's Hayley Warnock, which confirms a 10:30 PM start time and the second band on the bill, that being local folk/roots duo The Boot Hill Crooners, featuring the Jaaskelainen brothers (of Wild Turkeys fame.) Another interesting choice to open the show, but it's clear that with Lion Ride, they pick openers based on talent and friendship, not the best musical match, which is cool in itself! I should note that The Rockstar Bar's event page lists The Boot Hill Crooners first, not Lion Ride, but I can't see them being the headliners, given Lion Ride's prominence. Sounds like a great time, stay tuned for updates as they come in, and check the above links for more on this show!

That's all for today, but stay tuned tomorrow for weekend concert previews, and we have more news to come from Rotaryfest, Half A Man, and more very soon, so stay tuned for all of that! Thanks everyone!

New Videos From Woods of Ypres, The Dayglo Abortions, And More!!

Computer issues suck, I'll just say that right now. I'm this close to bringing it to Staples to fix the overheating issue, but I need it for personal and SMS projects too much to risk a lengthy absence of it, so I'll try and make due. Today, just to make sure this gets up quickly without anymore of a delay, we'll focus mostly on videos, including new videos from Woods of Ypres, more Dayglo Abortions fallout, and this week's classic video, so let's get things going!

Woods of Ypres' latest tour vlog is now online on frontman David Gold's YouTube channel, and if you missed the longer single-show-specific vlogs from the "Green Album" release tour, then good news! There's over 40 MINUTES of tour vlog action now online, all revolving around their show last month in Saint Paul, Minnesota, so here's what you should know! Part 1 basically details the leadup to the concert, including lengthy driving shots, what the band ate on the road (and where it was stored), their seemingly unimpressed Iowa stopover, and in a new twist, a lot of footage of their Saint Paul soundcheck! Interesting to see that for a change! Actual performance footage from the concert is limited (an opening band gets some clips in though), but Part 2 is loaded with concert footage from start to finish, though some footage of Evan Madden from the soundcheck is overlayed at parts. Nice quality video, definitely check out Part 2 linked above for 14 minutes of solid live Woods of Ypres footage!

Part 3 concludes with "motel madness" from after the concert, including such happenings as David's promise to the band concerning lodging and food, the amenities at their Super 8 hotel, the quest for laundry detergent, the band's middle of the night meal, Shane Madden's workout, and more driving footage, among many more assorted happenings from Saint Paul! It's apparent that this show was big on their "Pain & Piss" tour, and the vlog, though long, is entertaining, so check it all out at the above links! To start, here's Part 1, but if you want live concert video, check Part 2!



Now to some more fallout from last Thursday's Dayglo Abortions concert at The Roosevelt Hotel! Firstly, former BeeFMoutH/Nullified Youth member Kevin Campbell has uploaded a couple more videos from The Dayglo Abortions' set onto his YouTube channel, those being of the songs "Acting Like Black Sabbath" & "Scared of People", so check them both out at the above links! Quality wise, they're basically the same as Kevin's other three Dayglo videos, but they're different songs obviously, so definitely give them a look! Great quality and atmosphere! Because it's longer, I've embedded "Acting Like Black Sabbath" below, but continue rocking with this heavy punk/thrash assault at the above links!



While we're on the subject of The Dayglo Abortions, I know I'm badly late for this, but better late than never! SooToday's own Donna Hopper was in attendance on Thursday for this concert, and has posted a review & photo album onto SooToday on Friday, which you can check out at this location! The review includes interview excerpts with booker Rich Moreland, who talks a bit about the shows he books with Dismembertainment and what to expect at The Rosie on Thursday nights! Nice to see the press, though there isn't a lot of detailed discussion on the concert itself. A great photo album was posted as well which you can check out at the above links, featuring 21 photos (including the main article picture), including 8 of The Dayglo Abortions, 4 of Skull After Betrayal , 6 of Frightlight, and 3 of the crowd, though none were posted of Shit Liver or Sativa Rose's sets. Their absence aside, the only complaint I have is that they're all in black and white, but they're still awesome quality and well taken, so that's minor! Check out the above links for much more, and here's hoping Donna has some more concert photography in the works!

And finally, here is this week's classic video! With LemmaFest approaching this weekend in Sault Michigan (I have more updates on it too coming up later), I wanted to tie in this week's video with a performer at the event, so I chose Electric Motor Fish drummer Tony Rogers. You likely know that he's an accomplished local metal bassist, and one of his past bands is the inactive Sault Michigan hard rock quartet Shift, who rocked the area from 2006-2010 before taking a hiatus early last year due to frontwoman Amy Beairl's pregnancy. This talented quartet rocked Sault Michigan establishments with many hard rock covers during that span, and though online information is limited, they did have two videos on their MySpace page! One is an incomplete cover of Linkin Park's "One Step Closer", and in that video, you can see that Tony is in his Slappy outfit from Clownsack (which isn't a secret, but I like to keep the mystique about them!) The video features the band's most recent lineup, including Amy on vocals, her husband/Wild Fate bandmate Joey Beairl on guitar (also known from Krosswalk & The Guitar Studio rock camp), Tony on bass, and original Bad Side drummer Mike Vollman, who is the main attraction of the second posted Shift video that actually leads into the Linkin Park cover!

It's of Mike delivering a nice (but short) drum solo right before the band played "One Step Closer"! Though the two videos are concurrent, they were shot separately, so there's a tiny break when watching back to back. Both of the original videos, shot circa June 2009 at what I think may be The Satisfied Frog, were uploaded onto Shift's MySpace page on June 24th of that year at http://myspace.com/shift06/videos. Because MySpace isn't as widely seen for videos as YouTube, and to help expose Shift to a larger audience, I combined the two videos (with a fade-in to merge them) and uploaded them to our YouTube channel! NO COPYRIGHT INFRINGEMENT IS INTENDED!! I mean no harm with this upload, Shift were an entertaining band, and this is a good performance, though hearing a female singer do Linkin Park is a bit odd at first. Really talented overall, and Joey's backing vocals added really nicely to the song! I wonder why Shift never resurfaced last year? (At least, not that I've heard.) Still, check out all of the above links for details on Shift, and here's their Linkin Park cover & Mike Vollman's drum solo!



That's all for now, but stay tuned (hopefully) later tonight, as we have news from LemmaFest, Half A Man, and the upcoming Lion Ride & Saigon Hookers concerts, plus maybe more? Stay tuned!

Foothill Road - "Seventy" Review!!

Hey everyone, it's time once again for our 24th monthly CD review at The Sault Metal Scene! Because no brand new metal albums came out in the past month, and with the guitarist of this band rocking The Vibe Lounge earlier in the month with his current band, I've decided to finally take a look at "Seventy", the debut EP from defunct local hard rockers Foothill Road! Released circa 1994, it was recorded at Satellite Sound Studios with producer Bob McLeod. The album features Foothill Road's original lineup, including former Spy Vs. Spy frontman Ken Luxton, ex-Sneaky Pete guitarist Mario Carlucci, bassist Ron Pyette (now a scout for the NHL's Pittsburgh Penguins), and drummer Rick Bain. Though the album is long since out of print, you can probably score at least the mp3s to this (and other) Foothill Road albums by contacting Mario directly at this location (he's how I got my copies!) For convenience sake, I have also uploaded the whole album to the Sault Metal Scene's YouTube channel so you can stream it there too! Just search for "Seventy" in the search field. The song titles below are hyperlinked to my uploads of the tracks for convenience too. With six tracks at around 24 minutes in total of music, let's start with the first track, "Centerpiece"! (Updated on September 28th, 2012)

"Centerpiece" starts off the EP with a good guitar riff and some light drumming before we hear some very Billy Corgan-esque vocals from Ken Luxton, which pick up in energy and harshness in the chorus. The song has a nice groove to it but it sounds empty, like it needs a second guitarist (which was remedied in the self-titled follow-up EP.) The song does also get a bit repetitive with reserved verses and more energetic choruses, but it's a catchy little song, especially from Ken's vocals! Rick Bain's drumming seems a bit too cymbal heavy, and the bass isn't terribly audible either, but it has a catchy quality going for it. Mario's guitar work is good too! Solid opener with a lighter groove, but it still rocks regardless! "Adam Ate Evil" follows it on the EP as the longest track of the six, and the opening screams Pearl Jam a lot. Just hear it, you can tell that was at least a vocal inspiration. In the verses though, Ken's singing is great, I like how he's using his range to keep a melodic rock tone throughout. The song, though not as heavy as "Centerpiece", sounds fuller than "Centerpiece", and the music has sort of a dreamlike quality underlying the singing. Rick's drumming is improved too, and Mario's guitar solo helps add some rock to the later stretches of the song. It's close, but I think I do like "Adam Ate Evil" more than "Centerpiece", but cause it sounds like a more complete song, with Ken's great range on full display!

Third is "Sow", which starts with a slow bass line and drumming before the guitar kicks in a slower interesting sounding riff. Ken's singing is at it's heaviest so far on this song, with a gritty slowness perfectly suited to the material! The chorus isn't as good as the verses though, with a low grungy sort of style that seems to take away from the harsher mood of the rest of the song. Solid song, it has a unique sort of sound compared to the rest of the EP! Mario's playing really well on here, though his solo is way too short, and Ron's bass work is at it's best so far! This is followed by "The Edge", which has a great experimental sounding opening before getting into some nice fast riffing! I really like the melodies in the early portion of the song, but the energy seems sucked out during the verses. Odd when Ken's singing is so good though, you think everything would be punched up! What a range he had, why isn't he in any bands nowadays? The latter half of the song helps build heavier and heavier, with a nice guitar solo and more aggressive drumming, though it ends way too abruptly. This is definitely a standout of the album, especially the last half of it, showing all of their strengths as a hard rock outfit very well!

"Accomplice" starts out fifth with an odd jazzy start, well played by Ron and Rick, with nice drumming and some solid bass work! In a flip from earlier songs, Ken's singing is more reserved than the music, returning to a Smashing Pumpkins-eqsue tone and a low key approach. The chorus picks up vocally though, while the music keeps on the same level, which honestly gets repetitive. The song is very well played and doesn't sound generic, but the instrument players don't change things up enough. I like the song, especially the choruses, but it needed something extra to boost it. "Seventy" ends with the shortest song on the EP, that being "Sword Fight", which starts rather softly despite it's title. When it kicks into gear, it's fast paced but not very heavy. Similarly to "Centerpiece", it's paced well and has aggressive singing, but it sounds empty and the bass is mixed too low. Ken's singing's on form, and I like the introduction of harmony vocals on the chorus, while Mario's guitar work is as good as it was on earlier tracks! It's catchy like "Centerpiece" too, and it's fitting that two songs so similar bookend "Seventy"! I would say "Sword Fight" is a bit more unique, and though it has issues (like another abrupt ending), it's a solid closer to Foothill Road's debut album!

So how do I grade Foothill Road's debut EP? Well, it's a solid hard rock release with a lot of grunge and early 1990s influences that help shape it's sound! The band was very talented, from the really good range of Ken Luxton to Mario Carlucci's catchy riffing, while Ron Pyette and Rick Bain shone as well on the included tracks! Seeming to take a lot of cues from bands like Pearl Jam, they still carved out their own sound that stood on it's own in the local scene from the early and mid 1990s! Without comparing to their next EP, I will say that "Seventy" had flaws. The production doesn't help the material in terms of heaviness, and a few songs sound empty, almost like they were written with a second guitarist in mind. Rick's drumming seems too cymbal-oriented, and I can't make out Ron's bass work more often than not, though his talent was ever present! Plus, the songs do seem dated to the time, and don't sound too unique if you're familiar with grunge and similar genres. The right pieces are present on "Seventy" for a great album, and they delivered a fun and very listenable EP that they would hopefully improve on with their self-titled follow-up a few years later! Don't let this 1990s gem slip you by, give it a listen at the above links, or contact Mario to get this (and other) Foothill Road albums!

So there's this month's CD review, and what will we review next month? Well, if anything new comes out before July 27th, it will be a new release from a local band, and if two (or more) come out, we'll go by band prominence. The only exception would be a potential new Woods of Ypres CD, as it's too soon from when we reviewed "Woods I". If nothing new comes out, we will likely review Gates of Winter's 2008 full length album "Lux Aeterna", as it ties in well with keyboardist Brian Holmes' scheduled concerts next month with his progressive rock band Machines Dream. So whether we review "Lux Aeterna" or something new, stay tuned next month for our 25th monthly CD review! That's all for tonight, but stay tuned for a new news post tomorrow! Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (Shit Liver, Titans Eve, And Fatality) And New Dayglo Abortions Videos!!

Hey metalheads, we have some big news to share with you guys tonight from the realm of Dismembertainment! Yes, the prominent local metal booking agency is hard at work bringing us more brutal metal shows, and as such, we have some LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS tonight! Aside from the first one (we're going in chronological order), the lineups are NOT fully confirmed aside from out of town headliners, so keep that in mind, but the shows were announced on their Facebook page. Event pages are forthcoming once booker Rich Moreland gets his computer working. They're coming though! Afterwards, we have brand new videos from a major recent Dismembertainment show, and yes, our Foothill Road CD review is still on for tonight, but first, here's the new shows!

Firstly, it's the 21st Roosevelt Hotel metal night taking place THIS THURSDAY! Hyped as being Rich Moreland's fiancee April Fogal's birthday show, three local bands are confirmed for this Thursday, including Shit Liver, in their record third straight Thursday metal night appearance! Nice to see them back again, they're fitting in well at The Rosie, so get ready for a night of drunken grimecore from this aggressive local trio! New local death metal band Bring The Misery will make their second ever live appearance on Thursday as well, where they'll be looking to answer a few questions, like how will they sound without Dan Souliere on guitar? (no word on a replacement yet.) Also, will they have improved from their debut earlier this month? Will they still have no shoes on? We'll find out on Thursday! The other confirmed band is local extreme metal quintet Winkstinger, in just their third ever Thursday night Rosie concert, and first in over five months! Their fast and aggressive music will be a welcome sight, hopefully they get lots of pits going! I should note that The Bear Hunters announced that they'd be on this show in three separate postings on their Facebook page, but they were not confirmed by Dismembertainment yesterday, so don't get your hopes up.

As is usually the case for all locals-Rosie concerts, there is no cover charge, you must be 19 to attend, and everything starts at 9:30 PM or later. Check the above links for more details! Sounds like a fun night of metal, maybe I can make it out! I'll keep you posted if updates come in!

Now to the other shows that Rich officially confirmed on the Dismembertainment Facebook page, and first, we have a show conveniently taking place on July 4th (our fourth anniversary!) It's just a coincidence, but it's an awesome coincidence, as Vancouver thrash metal band Titans Eve are hitting The Roosevelt Hotel for a Monday night of metal mayhem! I've been aware of this show for a while now, but Dismembertainment only just announced the show yesterday. Local openers, a likely cover charge, and a start time are not known yet (or at least public), but the 19+ age limit is probably a guarantee, as this is a bar. I am really high on Titans Eve, they have a nice brutal thrash sound with modern and groove influences, and they'll be sure to rock the stage on July 4th! You can bet your bottom dollar I'll be there on July 4th to rock out with Titans Eve for our fourth anniversary (which I have more news on coming up.) Stay tuned for updates on the Titans Eve show as they come in! I can't wait for this one!

The other newly announced show breaks new ground for Dismembertainment, as it's the first time since officially launching that they've ever held a concert at The Canadian Nightclub! This show, which will take place on Sunday, July 10th, has two out of town headliners, those being Toronto "heavy thrashfuck metal" quartet Fatality and Ottawa blackened death metal quintet Immersed! Interesting mix here, but both bring exciting brands of metal to the table, including everything from old school thrash metal to relentless modern death metal, so everyone should find something to like. Fatality's vocals need to grow on me, but both bands are really talented, and I live right near The Canadian, so I'll be here for this show for sure! As with the Titans Eve show, there's no details as yet on local openers, cover charges, and start times, but a 19+ age limit is to be expected. Sounds like a brutally heavy time though, I hope to see you guys there, and stay tuned for updates!

And finally, sticking with the Dismembertainment theme, here's some new videos from this past Thursday's Dayglo Abortions concert! Veteran local musician Kevin Campbell (of BeeFMoutH & Nullified Youth fame) was in attendance at The Rosie for this awesome concert, and he got some videos of his own, as uploaded to the BeeFMoutH YouTube channel! Filmed with his own camera from behind the floor (probably the safest close spot), he got three videos, those being of The Dayglo Abortions playing their songs "My Girl" & "Dog Farts", "Argh Fuck Kill", and "Inside My Head" & "Used To Be In Love"! Nice quality, you hear the crossover thrash sounds of The Dayglo Abortions well, and the crowd activity is welcome to see from this angle as well! Audio's nice and clear too, Kevin got some good footage here! Hopefully there's more floating around! Because it's the longest of the three videos, I embedded the video with "My Girl" & "Dog Farts" from Thursday night below, but check out all of the videos that Kevin shot at the above links, and stay tuned tomorrow or Wednesday for more Dayglo Abortions show news!



That's all for now, but stay tuned for my review of Foothill Road's 1994 debut EP "Seventy" later tonight! Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (Splitshot), Our New Monthly Poll, And This Month's CD Review!!

Alright, now that my computer issues are finally put on hold for one day (I really need to bring it in for an overheating fix), we can now get back to news, and today we have three main topics: LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS, the return of our monthly polls, and the identity of TOMORROW'S CD review for this month! So let's get everything started! Sault Michigan hard rockers Splitshot have added a new weekend engagement at The Rapids Lounge at Kewadin Casino to their concert calendar! The local quintet featuring half of the old Nixxon Dixxon lineup will now also be playing at Kewadin on July 22nd and 23rd, adding a July weekend to their busy 2011 schedule. Though not announced on their Facebook page, Kewadin's entertainment page lists the shows, which weren't previously included on their Rapids Lounge show schedule. Like with Splitshot's other stops at Kewadin Casino, these concerts should have 9:00 PM start times, no cover charge, and 21+ age limits. Check the above links for more details! These should be entertaining shows, as we know the talent that these guys have, but I still wish I had some audio or video samples at hand to share with you guys. Still, make note of these new shows for Splitshot next month, and stay tuned for band updates as they come in! And now, finally, here's the return of our monthly SMS polls! After the three month March Mayhem tournament experiment, it's back to business as usual for our polls, so here's what you should know for this month! When I was thinking up questions to ask this month, I debated whether to ask a normal poll question involving band comparisons and opinions, and decided to give it a shot this month. Hopefully no one takes it badly or with some sort of bias! We have a great (and growing) local metal scene, but there's a bunch of bands that have broken up or went inactive in recent years that I'm sure many of you guys miss. I wanted to see what bands would garner the best reaction in the event they ever re-emerged on a local stage, so I am posing this question to you guys this month: Which of these defunct or recently inactive bands would you most want to hit the stage again? For this poll, I have chosen 19 local bands that have either broken up, went inactive, or haven't played a live concert in recent months, that you guys might especially want to see back on stage. Hopefully there's no qualms with the choices, but "Other" is present as a 20th choice if you wanna use it. For fairness sake, I didn't include bands that were essentially renamed (like Out Of The Mouth Of Babes or Turner Up) or bands that just recently broke up (like State of Misery or Bring The Fallen), especially when members quickly re-emerged in new groups. Now, let's go over the choices! AtrophiA: This local metal band rocked the area from around 2006-2008, and featured future members of Bring The Fallen, Bring The Misery, and Quite Frankly in it's lineups. With a high energy metal style and good covers, AtrophiA rocked the scene pretty well, but do you miss them enough to want them to reunite? Browbeat: Though I know they only broke up in the spring, Browbeat's inactive periods were much longer than their active periods in recent years, so including them seemed fair. This hard rock trio led by frontman Dutch Vanderploeg kept fans grooving from the mid 2000s through 2011 under different names and lineups. With loads of entertaining and catchy originals for their fans, does the end of Browbeat have you longing for a return? Detroit: From 2008-2010, members of Lion Ride & The Labour Of... grabbed the Soo by the throat with a fast and relentless hardcore attack called Detroit! Despite sporadic live performances, this talented quartet gave us some great live shows and two demo releases before going inactive early last year. Though Brenton Ellis' new band Maximum RNR gives us a similar sound, does the absence of Detroit still bum you out? Dirty Virgin: I'm aware that they just reunited to open for Crued in April, but I've heard nothing to suggest this was anything more than a one-off show, so they fit here...for now. This glam/punk quartet brought a nice classic sound to the local scene from 2008-2009 before a lengthy absence since the spring of 2009 that was only interrupted by two gigs at The Canadian Nightclub. Would you want to see Dirty Virgin back gigging regularly? Driving Dave Home: From at least 2007-2008, this local hard rock band kept fans entertained with a bunch of cool hard rock covers at a number of shows! Though members have moved on to notable bands like Sense of Truth, Fingerbone, The Scary Uncles, Renegades, and Turner Up, do you still miss the solid sounds of Driving Dave Home? Fitswitch: If you're lucky, you can still see an occasional Fitswitch reunion, but most of the band's classic lineup now rocks the local scene in Frightlight. However, Fitswitch's raw alcohol-fueled & Misfits-inspired punk/metal sounds were a local favourite throughout the mid-2000s! I was a big fan of theirs, but what about you guys? Gates of Winter: Last seen on a local stage in the fall of 2008, Gates of Winter soon entered into a year long hiatus before re-emerging to work on a new studio album. With some band members living out of town, new concerts aren't on the horizon, but with new material slowly leaking, there's lots of anticipation in the air for future Gates of Winter activity! Are you hoping for a live return down the road? Infrastrate: Though later based in Ottawa, local hard rock outfit Infrastrate formed in Sault Ontario in 2003. With some major local successes in their run, they later released the EP "Phase I: Commencement" circa 2005, but quietly appeared to dissolve afterwards. A reunion seems unlikely, with members living in separate towns, but they were a talented young band, and would you want to see them reunite? No Arrow: Like Dirty Virgin, I know that No Arrow recently reunited for a show (in February at Foggy Notions), but again, nothing indicates it was more than a one-off, so they count here. Dann Pichette and varying collaborators have brought grunge to a local audience over the past bunch of years with some success, but recent activity has been scattered at best, with their debut CD still unreleased. Do you want No Arrow back on stage for good? Paraside: A local hardcore band from the late-2000s, you may recognize Paraside as the former band for current Changing Waves bandmates Mike & Alex Hagerman. During their run, Paraside opened for everyone from The Imports to The Rebel Spell to Dead & Divine, unleashing hardcore fury in their 2007-2009 local run! Is Paraside a band you wish returned to the stage? Quite Frankly: Former members of No Arrow, Faithless Sin, and D.O.T.H. (among others) joined forces in this local hard rock band from 2009 to early 2010 before quietly going inactive. Powered by the awesome vocals of Jacky Alisat, Quite Frankly made a good local impression in their short life, but do you want them back on the local stage? Renderware: When Tom Waits meets Motorhead, you're left with Renderware, a popular local rock quartet that made their local mark in the mid-2000s with a number of notable concerts! Featuring future members of Nebraska Arms, Talk Shit, and A Fall From Innocence in their lineups, no band sounded like Renderware did, but does their unique style make you wish they came back? SBD: They may not be truly "inactive", but this experimental trio featuring No Arrow, Chintzy Slicks, and Sounds From The Green Room alumni haven't been heard from in six months, with a lone 2011 show being called off. With some notable live show experience and a debut album released, things should be hopping for Shane, Brad, and Dann, but would a local resurgence be something you'd wanna see? Sense of Truth: Is it surprising to note that this prominent (and active) hard rock band haven't seen the stage in 13 months? Work commitments, upcoming EP artwork issues, and the departure of Steve Myers haven't helped matters, but Sense of Truth are still together, and you know that when they do return to the stage, we'll be eager to support them again! Do you want to see the Skid Row battle winners back on the local scene the most? Soldiers of Misfortune: Metalheads from the local scene in the mid-2000s are bound to remember Soldiers of Misfortune! Featuring Winkstinger's Jesse Cook & Jonas Gasperas (among other talented musicians), Soldiers of Misfortune rocked fans with many blistering metal covers at varying shows, including many Oddfellows Hall concerts! I can't be alone in saying I miss them, so do you wish they'd reunite at some point? Stillbroke: Last seen on the local stage in February 2010, all we've heard from this hard rock quartet since has been the band's numerous bassist switches and a new Facebook page with minimal updates. Their absence is odd, especially given their quick rise and talent in the Sault area from 2008 onward. Do you want to see Jesse Frigault and company back for some local shows more than any other band? Sue Inside: Though never broken up, Sue Inside haven't been seen in town since the spring of 2009. Since then, frontman Shane Lipsit-Fraser moved to Oil Springs, Ontario, taking the band with him. Updates and new material have came sporadically since, but no local gigs have taken place since Shane moved. Do you miss their two-piece metal attack enough to want them back gigging locally? Time of Ruin: One of the many metal bands fronted by former Fitswitch/No Arrow bassist Jason Bourcier, Time of Ruin were a solid sight in the local scene in the mid-late 2000s along with preceding (and succeeding) bands like Faithless Sin. Notable for featuring Dismembertainment head Rich Moreland in their lineup, would their brutal metal assault be welcome for a local return? Other: Do you have another local metal band from the past in mind? Wanna go back even further for a band like Amethyst or Carbon Black? How about a newly broken up band that you're still bitter over? Or did I just make an error missing your favourite old band? This is the choice for you! VOTE TODAY, you have one month to get your votes in and make your voices heard! As I am regrettably a day late to get the poll up (my bad), the voting will wrap up on July 19th, before returning to our usual 18th day of the month schedule in August. The voting form is in red on the left of the page, so get your votes in A.S.A.P. and make them count! And finally, if you've followed our CD review schedule closely, you'll notice that this month's CD review is scheduled for TOMORROW! That will stand, my word is good, but what CD are we reviewing? With no new albums released (to my knowledge) in the past month, I've decided to finally take a look at one of the three albums released by defunct Sault Ontario hard rockers Foothill Road! I've promised a CD review of theirs for a while, but with guitarist Mario Carlucci rocking The Vibe Lounge this month with Sneaky Pete, and nothing new in my hands, the perfect time is now to head all the way back to 1994 for this review! It's of their debut EP "Seventy", featuring their original lineup, including Mario, former Spy vs. Spy frontman Ken Luxton on vocals, current Pittsburgh Penguins scout Ron Pyette on bass, and drummer Rick Bain. With six songs, this should be a quicker review, but it's a solid album, so definitely stay tuned for the review tomorrow! For a preview, check out the whole EP at this location, just search for "Seventy", and stay tuned for our next CD review tomorrow!!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERT (Gunz N' FN' Rosez) & The Garden Of Bedlam Concert Review!!

Hey guys, here's my Garden of Bedlam review, finally. You wouldn't believe how hard it was to get my computer to actually come on and stay on today (stupid overheating), and then with the time it took to upload and convert my video, things got badly delayed. Don't worry though, we have a LOCAL CONCERT ALERT to add at the end, which is nicely connected to this show as it is! So let's get the review started! (And apologies for missing the River Witch show last night for SMS coverage, the band never officially announced it and I only just heard it about it late Thursday. I covered it a bit on Facebook though, and hopefully it went well!)

After seven months, it was really nice to see Garden of Bedlam back on stage at The Rockstar Bar, and luckily, everything sounded and looked as they were in November, so there was nothing to worry about in that respect! Their lengthy set last night included 12 originals (only "Shallow" seemed to be left off), including newer songs like "With A Spark" and "Emptiness Without A Name" and plenty of older classics like "The Truth Shall Set You Free" and "New Rain"! Lots of covers were in store as well, including songs from Tool, The Deftones, Volbeat, Disturbed, System of a Down, and even some brand new Metallica covers! These went over well, especially the Tool covers, cause you know when they play "Aenima", people respond! Before I forget, the crowd size was about medium, it wasn't a packed house, which could suggest everything from weekend camping plans to concert overload following The Dayglo Abortions, but hey, next time out, I bet you the crowd will be even larger! And the band sounded just as good as ever, and not just because there wasn't any major sound issues like the last show. Buzz continues to show why he's one of the best singers in Sault Ontario, with a wide range that held up well for over 20 songs, though some of the newer covers didn't really fit with his vocal style.

The rest of the band were completely on form, but after this long of a wait, that's to be expected. Josh Belleau's solos and Evan Belleau's bass lines were clear as day and excellently played, with Derek Turner's drumming as fast and furious as we've come to expect! The crowd ate it up, and they seemed to have a blast being back on stage! Nothing seemed out of place, everything was tight and heavy, and their set-closing cover of Pantera's "Mouth For War" was an unexpectedly awesome way to end the evening! I had a great time at this show, and hopefully Garden of Bedlam will be rocking a local stage again soon! In the interest of fairness, I won't compare the music or experience to the Dayglo Abortions show, as they had different sounds and environments, but both were well worth hitting, and you'll absolutely want to be at the next Garden of Bedlam show! Who knows, maybe it will be the CD release show finally? Time will tell! I of course got a bunch of photos, so click here to check them out, or visit our Facebook page! And I did get a video, so check out one of their newest originals "Emptiness Without A Name" below!



And finally, here's that LOCAL CONCERT ALERT!! If you were at The Rockstar Bar last night (or anytime recently), you may have seen this poster tacked up outside. There, it tells you that Toronto-based Guns N' Rosez tribute band Gunz N' FN' Rosez are coming back to The Rockstar Bar on Thursday, July 7th! The news appears to have broken in early June, and is also listed on their official website, but I only just heard about it at the show on Friday. I don't believe there's been mass advertising for it anyway, but definitely make note of this show, as GNFNR are a really good tribute to Axl and company, and deliver an authentic looking and sounding experience at every show, including many local stops in the past few years! This show should have a 10:00 PM-ish start time and a 19+ age limit, and I'd expect a cover charge of $5, maybe less, maybe more. Check the above links for more details! That should be a good night of music on July 7th, with a likely Roosevelt Hotel metal night also, so there's no shortage of hard hitting tunes that day! Stay tuned for more!

That's all for now, but I have a new news post with more LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS coming tonight, so stay tuned! Thanks everyone!

Dayglo Abortions/Metal Night #20 Review!!

Hey guys, it's time for my review of last night's 20th Roosevelt Hotel metal night, headlined by none other than The Dayglo Abortions! How'd it go? I'll tell you in today's review, so let's not waste any time! First things first though, I want to apologize to Shit Liver, as I regrettably got to The Rosie late and missed their entire set. Everything seemed to go wrong in the 9:00 hour in terms of trying to get there, and I'm really sorry. I'll make it up to you guys though! (Edited on June 18th at 6:44 PM)

So when I got to The Rosie (finally) last night, I was pleased to see a huge attendance (bigger than I've ever seen there), and luckily, tables near the stage were cleared out for the masses. Trust me, that was a good move! With Shit Liver already done, the first band I was able to see were local metal quartet Sativa Rose, who delivered another fun and high energy set of classic metal covers! Though I missed hearing their original "Fall From Grace", their assortment of covers ranging from Megadeth & Pantera to Iron Maiden & Motley Crue were well recieved! Patchcord issues for Adam Veale aside, the band were on fire all set long, especially from the blistering solos provided by Andrew Angelic & Anthony Orazietti! Their big flaw is still in the vocal department, but I did notice that on "Bellows of the Beast" and on their cover of "In My Darkest Hour" that, when given the right song, Adam & Andrew can sing in a fitting way! Also good to see Nik Deubel & Rich Moreland back to sing "Cowboys From Hell" with them, and before I forget, give Rich some huge kudos for booking this concert! Great set from Sativa Rose, hopefully they have some more exciting stuff on the horizon!

Next were newer local metal band Skull After Betrayal, who recently switched from a death metal to a hardcore style. How'd they sound last night though? There's good things there, but there's work to be done. Mike Vincent, though a talented guitarist, needs to shake things up vocally. Most of their songs saw him either talking or yelling in a low fashion. He's honestly more suited for death metal singing, but with practice, he'll get better! Adam Brett's bass work is improving too, but he's gotta play with more strings than we've seen from him. Justin Polutanovich and Anthony D'Agostini were really good though, they're nice fits! Though I missed hearing "One In The Chamber", Skull After Betrayal had lots of originals in store for fans that seemed to go over fairly well, though they'll get better with time. Their set capping cover of Slayer's "Bloodline" was really off timing-wise, but again, this should improve as they play more often. They have promise, they really do, but they just need some fine tuning and live experience, and before you know it, Skull After Betrayal will be rocking it with the best of them!

The last local band of the night was, in their Roosevelt Hotel debut, Frightlight! With all the classic makeup and stage decorations to set the mood, this talented quintet launched into another fun punk/metal set that I've missed over the past couple of months! Now seeing that many of the fans in attendance were Dayglo Abortions fans, you know that they'd be in for some high energy punk, and Frightlight brought it, and the best crowd reaction to that point of the night! My only major complaints for their performance are that Johnny Pints' vocals seemed to deteriorate later into the set (especially on "World War Z") and Rick Styles didn't play anything behind his head, which would have been awesome for this audience! Originals like "C.H.U.D.", "She Screams", and "Dead Town Anywhere" kept the crowd going and got some good pits started, while the Misfits and Fitswitch covers were also nice to hear! Great set from Frightlight, whose punk/metal mix is always bound to cause a horrorific good time, and hopefully they're back on stage again soon!

And finally, in their long awaited return, Canadian punk legends The Dayglo Abortions! Without any critique of their sound, I just want to say that the best and most insane moshpit that I've EVER seen at The Rosie was during their set! Holy shit, they were going at it really hard, and it was quite an atmosphere to be around! I'm admittedly not a Dayglo scholar, but I'm well aware and respectful of their status as punk and crossover thrash legends, and they brought an awesome set last night! The Cretin's riffing was loud and heavy, though his voice didn't stack up as well live as it had on studio albums. Very quiet compared to what I've heard, but he kept us entertained and eager for more! Willy Jak's bass work complimented everything well, and drummer Blind Mark (who really is blind) was impressive as a punk drummer, whether he can see or not! Though I know their lyrical content can be controversial, not a soul at The Rosie cared, as they were rocking too hard for us to pick it apart! So much aggression and attitude, and the band looked happy to be playing for such an animated crowd, so hopefully The Dayglo Abortions come back sooner rather than later! Amazing show and environment!

Again, huge kudos to Rich Moreland at Dismemebertainment for this concert, hopefully his next shows (at The Rosie or otherwise) go over huge like this one! I got photos of all of the bands I saw, so click here for my photo album, or visit our Facebook page! And here are my videos, of Sativa Rose covering Ozzy Osbourne's "Bark At The Moon", Skull After Betrayal's original "Dagger To The Heart", Frightlight's covers of The Misfits' "Halloween" and "We Are 138", and three songs from The Dayglo Abortions!









That's all for now, but I will see you guys at The Rockstar Bar TONIGHT for Garden of Bedlam! Thanks everyone!