Dead In The Van Fundraiser Concert Review!!

It's time for our next concert review at the SMS, and this'll be a long one, as last night's "Dead In The Van" fundraiser concert at The Canadian Nightclub was the largest concert I've attended for SMS purposes in 11 months! Not since the Sewer Swampstravaganja last April have I seen a concert locally with at least 8 bands, but how'd everything shake down? Read on below to find out!

Though things were a bit delayed to get started, the 5:45 PM-ish beginning still left lots of room to rock, and to check out Frightlight's new merchandise as well! Hopefully sales of those helped add to their goal of a tour vehicle along with the rest of the proceeds last night! Attendance rose steadily through the day, though it did have a noticeable drop-off later in the night, which I'll get to later on in this post. The opening act last night was Business Suit Trappers guitarist "Evil" Greg Callaghan in a solo set, but while I was familiar with his work in bands like Terminal, I didn't know what to expect out of his "surprisingly evil" solo work. Basically, Greg's solo set is comprised of acoustic campfire-style punk rock covers with him singing & on guitar, and he played unplugged versions of Misfits, Bad Religion, SNFU, and Ramones songs, among other bands. Greg definitely did these songs justice on guitar, but what surprised me most was his deep singing voice, which fit the punk style well while still flowing with an acoustic performance. I'd be interested to hear Greg front a traditional punk band at some point, but for now, this glimpse at his solo work was definitely pretty good, and I hope to see him back on stage again soon!

Next on the lineup was Desbarats death metal quartet Inhuman Methods, who were making their local concert debut last night! Nice to see them come to the Soo for their first show, but how did they sound? Aside from a two song instrumental stretch, they mostly focused on Lamb of God covers, with songs like "Laid To Rest", "The Faded Line", and "Omerta" among their setlist. The band as a whole do have talent and promise, and both Alex Swain & Wesley Carson shown some nice skills on the guitar last night especially! The instrumentals were proof of that, but I'm curious to hear vocals added to them. For a first show, I won't nitpick them or their stage presence, but there was two things I should address. One, they need a bassist, and two, singer Curtis Moir needs to work on his timing with the music. His death growling is brutal enough, but he was late or out of time with the rest of the band on most of their covers, and (spoken word intro aside) he didn't even perform on their "Omerta" cover. I'm sure they'll work on that though, and they do have visible promise even still, so hopefully when they play at next month's Humane Society Battle of the Bands, Inhuman Methods will improve on this good start!

The Desbarats metal assault continued afterwards with the Canadian Nightclub debut of For All That Is Lost, but did the white masks return with them? Yes, and there was even more this time, as bassist Ben Deslauriers wore one on the back of his head too! Now, I know that the band had some criticisms about their set and sound last night, but just going by what I saw and heard, I enjoyed them! Having just seen F.A.T.I.L. two weeks ago, not a whole lot changed beyond the addition of a new song to their setlist, but they're continuing to improve as a band with every show! Tyler Sperry's stage presence continues to jump higher from when I first saw them, and guitarist Brook Moreau is definitely growing more and more to the point where F.A.T.I.L. might not need a second guitarist if this keeps up! Solid set from this talented quartet, and in my opinion, definitely better than they might have thought yesterday!

The first half of "Dead In The Van" ended with classic metal quartet Late & Loud's return to The Canadian, and they put in a dependably good set of originals and select covers! With songs like "Love Letter Lockdown", "Heavy or Bust", and "Whisper of the Damned" in store, they rocked the stage about as well as you'd expect them too, and with some good energy to go along with it! Like with F.A.T.I.L., nothing too different was in store last night compared to Late & Loud's last show that I saw, but they did throw their all into their set last night, especially with Benn Garside's solid bass work and some excellent leads and solos from Jon Tiberi & Brendan Christie! Late & Loud's biggest gap is still their need for a singer, but their talent is as clear as day, and fans definitely seemed to enjoy their set, and that's what matters most! Solid work all around!

Fifth on the bill last night was local death metal quartet The Valentine's Day Massacre (formerly View To A Kill), and though there was a delay to set up Kyle Umgeher's electric drum kit, they still tore it up last night! Along with select covers, they unloaded original songs like "Vampiric", "My Sweet Delilah", and "Make Death Wait" for fans, and I was most impressed with their raised energy compared to their show last month at The Rosie! I know illnesses took their toll last month, but this time around, there was no stopping these guys, and it showed with Steve Rhodes' stage presence! He was all over the place and sounded very brutal on vocals in the process, while Andrew Angelic's guitar work was on fire as we've come to expect! The fake blood that some members sported was an interesting touch, but overall, The Valentine's Day Massacre are showing more and more improvement and brutality, and if their mid-set announcement of recording an EP soon rings true, we'll be sure to pick it up!

Following them was local punk trio Redundant, and though their sound was a bit of a diversion from the metal that preceded it, they delivered a solid set of punk covers for fans! Frontman Justin Langlois apologized pre-set for possible vocal issues due to an illness, and while he did sound a bit weaker than I'm used to, he had no major screw-ups either, so it all worked out! Their set featured covers of everything from Green Day to Weezer to Johnny Cash, and we seemed to enjoy it all pretty well! James White's bass work is solid as ever, and his brother Rick's drumming fit everything well enough as well, so if you like punk rock, you'd have enjoyed Redundant's set! Notably, this was both Redundant's first show of 2012 and their first show since Woods of Ypres frontman David Gold passed away in December. Justin Langlois was a very good friend of David's, and in his honour, the band covered a song by David's pre-Woods local band Proposition 86 at the end of their set, which was a cool surprise! I'd have filmed it if I wasn't low on battery life, but hopefully at next month's Ypres Metal Fest, I'll get a chance! Solid set overall, and hopefully we'll be seeing Redundant again shortly!

The penultimate band last night was hardcore quintet As It Stands, who (if memory serves me correctly) were playing at The Canadian for the first time in almost four years! Myself, I haven't seen As It Stands live in almost eight months, but this was a good way to get back into the swing of things, as they were definitely on form from how they sounded last summer! With originals like "Conception", "Big Problem, Little Lock City", and "Everything Terrible" blasting for their fans, they had perhaps the biggest reception and crowd numbers of the night, and with an energy filled metalcore assault, it's easy to see why! Justin Pregent's screaming was about as good as I expected, and both he and Angelo Huckson unloaded a lot of energy and enthusiasm during their set, along with some awesome drum work from John Mignacca to boot. It's good to see As It Stands again, but the fact that many people left after their set was very disappointing, especially given the early timing of the concert and headliners Frightlight's talent and prominence. Still, for an exciting and very heavy set of original songs, As It Stands delivered on all accounts, and hopefully I'll be seeing them again quicker than 8 months from now!

And finally, your headliners last night were the very band who the proceeds of last night's show went to, horror punk quintet Frightlight! Though this show was their first with new drummer Chris FreakNStein in almost four months, their full lineup still wasn't present, as rhythm guitarist St. Mayhem was absent for unannounced reasons. Disappointing, but Frightlight's 2009-2010 run was as a quartet, so they handled the set very well regardless! Their set was full of their classic horror-influenced punk and metal songs, like "She Screams", "Fright Night", and "They All Float", along with Fitswitch, Misfits, and G.G. Allin covers, and the crowd that was left was clearly in favour! Lots of fans were singing along with the band, and the members sounded as good as you'd expect, from Rick Styles' guitar shredding to Johnny Pints' aggressive punk/metal singing! Chris' drumming was welcome to see again as well, he's a good fit with some of his old Fitswitch bandmates in Frightlight! Though the crowd had died down, Frightlight's set was a success, and they raised a few hundred dollars (including $2.50 from an As It Stands-auctioned F.A.T.I.L. mask) that should help cover their tour van! Awesome end to this concert, and hopefully Frightlight are back with a vengeance shortly!

Overall, this was a fun (though obviously long) concert with lots of local/Algoma talent, and if the rumblings I've heard about a second "Dead In The Van" show are true, then I definitely hope to be there! If you missed it, you missed out! I did get photos, so click here to check them out, or visit our Facebook page (which also has this concert's "Tag Yourself!" crowd photo.) And I got a video of each act, though I apologize ahead of time for the fact that they're a lower quality than my other recent concert videos. I had to shoot them in standard definition to ensure I had space for this amount of videos, given the size of the concert. So (in chronological order), here's "Evil" Greg Callaghan's cover of The Misfits' "Skulls", Inhuman Methods' cover of Lamb of God's "Hourglass", F.A.T.I.L.'s original "Viscosity of Blood", Late & Loud's original song "Fast As A Bitch", The Valentine's Day Massacre's song "Make Death Wait", Redundant's cover of Johnny Cash's "Folsom Prison Blues" (preceded by a portion of their cover of Metallica's "For Whom The Bell Tolls"), As It Stands' song "Oh Herm, Herm Delish", and Frightlight's song "They All Float"!

















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

LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (Tym & Caveman Morrison), More "Woods V" Reviews, And Lots More!!

It's time for another news post at the SMS, and if you're a fan of Tym Morrison and his band projects, you'll find a lot of news and updates related to them today! Also on tap is some new "Woods V" reviews and this week's classic video, but let's launch things with some Tym Morrison-related LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS!!

Caveman Morrison frontman Tym Morrison is staying very busy with his acoustic solo concerts, thanks to another weekly concert arrangement being added to his schedule! According to a new Facebook event page, Tym will bring his unplugged sets of hard rock covers to The Rockstar Bar "every Thursday" starting next week on March 8th, with new shows likely for the following weeks. Assuming that his Saturday afternoon arrangement at Bossy's Pub N' Grub is alive and well, this will be the first time that Tym has ran two weekly concert arrangements simultaneously since last summer's brief run at both The Service Grill & The Tilt'n Hilton in Hilton Beach. Like usual for his non-Bossy's shows, Tym will be on at The Rockstar Bar at 10:00 PM on Thursdsay, you must be 19 to attend, and I'd bring cash for a cover just in case. Check the above links for more details! It'll definitely be interesting to see Tym solo at The Rockstar Bar, but hopefully these shows gain a following similar to his other weekly arrangements, and maybe the nighttime setting will encourage larger crowds! Stay tuned for more on his next solo shows at Bossy's, The Rockstar Bar, and elsewhere as I hear of them!

Also in new concerts involving Tym Morrison, his band Caveman Morrison are returning to the live concert stage at the end of the month! This talented metal trio will make their 2012 debut for a full weekend set at The Nicolet Tavern on March 30th & 31st, over three months after they last rocked the stage, which isn't as long of a wait as some others have been! Notably, these shows will feature the debut of their new lineup, but I'll have more on that in a bit. Admission is likely free for both the Friday & Saturday shows, you must be 19 to attend, and a 9:30 PM start time is listed for both concerts. For more details, visit the official Facebook event page and the band's newly relaunched Facebook group! It's great to finally see Caveman Morrison back rocking the area, and hopefully there's a lot more in store beyond this month from them! While Tym's acoustic shows are always fun, the plugged-in metal onslaught of Caveman Morrison is always a welcome sight, and it's nice to see them back at it locally!

That said, their lineup will look different from it's late 2011 incarnation, as Caveman Morrison have welcomed Bear Hunters drummer Johnny Belanger back to the fold, replacing Rick White. A reason for Rick's departure wasn't publicized, though I heard from both Rick & Tym earlier this year that he'd left amicably. I just waited for official word from band pages to plug it here, which came via the band's Facebook group yesterday. This ends Rick's brief second tenure with Caveman Morrison, but it's great to see Johnny back! He had originally been Caveman Morrison's drummer in late 2010 after replacing Jeff Richards, but didn't play with them long before Willie Bellerose replaced him the following year. He was a good fit with Tym and company, and he'll surely be back rocking it with them later this month! Notably, Johnny's return also reunites him with his former Browbeat bandmate James White, and they had chemistry together themselves, so hopefully Johnny's return pays off all around, and don't miss Johnny's return to Caveman Morrison at the end of the month!

Fourthly today, let's share some more reviews of Woods of Ypres' final recorded album "Woods V: Grey Skies & Electric Light" today, seeing as there's many more of them to touch on! On February 10th, "Steel Druhm" from the metal blog Angry Metal Guy gave "Woods V" a 4.5/5, calling it "emotionally crippling" and referring to how unusual it was to review given the lyrical content and frontman David Gold's passing, but praised it's simplicity and did call it their best album to date. Nice review, but you can definitely see the struggle in reviewing it, so check it out at this location! Also last month, Doc Godin from the website Metal Storm declined to give "W5" a rating, but still reviewed it positively. He called it a "pretty decent" album, but criticized those who tend to overrate it due to David's death, and he did point out some recycled melodies and boring stretches among some very heartfelt moments. It's good to see a more honest & critical (yet still positive) review of "Woods V", so click here to give it a read! And finally, "GyZ" from the music blog Noise Shaft gave this album a 9.3/10, praising the band for their brand of "underground retro gloom" and calling it a "pleasant surprise", though the review on the whole is written differently from most reviews of this album I've seen. Visit this link to check it out, and stay tuned for more "Woods V" reviews soon!

And finally, here's this week's classic video, and I know this is fairly late in the week, but better late than never! To help spread things out a bit, we're going with a video not tied in with a band playing this weekend, as this week, we're focusing on Shit Liver! The local grime/crust death metal trio haven't been seen on a local stage at all yet this year, but their following is still noticeable, and fans should like this week's classic video of their cover of Dystopia's "Backstabber"! Not a recent sight in their setlists, this comes from (I think) the 5th Roosevelt Hotel metal night on January 20th, 2011. You may have seen a clearer and closer video of this same performance via the band's official YouTube channel last year, but it never hurts to get a different angle on a song! Shit Liver fans will definitely like this video, but as usual, their sound can be polarizing, and non-fans probably won't see this video on the same level. The camera work is shaky and dark too, but I did lighten the quality after uploading this to YouTube. This video was filmed by an attendee and was later posted to Facebook by drummer Matt Baic on January 24th of last year, with the original video still visible at http://facebook.com/video/video.php?v=495497494822.

NO COPYRIGHT INFRINGEMENT IS INTENDED!! All credit for this video goes to Shit Liver and the original filmer, I'm just trying to share this video with a wider audience like it deserves! I appreciate Shit Liver's sound and approach, and fans are bound to enjoy this Dystopia cover, so give it a look below, and watch out for their return no later than next month's Ypres Metal Fest!

Battle Of The Bands Rewind Mini-Series: The Skid Row Battle Of The Bands

Hey guys, it's time to launch a new mini-series at the SMS, as for the next seven Fridays, we're flashing back to some of the notable battles of the bands in Sault Ontario between 2008 and 2010! What's the background of them? What was at stake? Who competed, and where are they now? I hope to answer those questions for at least 7 weeks leading up to the April 20th Humane Society Battle, and though I know this isn't comprehensive, e-mail me at robertfigures@hotmail.com if you can fill in any blanks for any missing battles in either of the Twin Saults, or if you have any corrections or additions! I'm formatting the posts in this series differently then how our monthly features tend to look, including more videos and less personal reflections (out of fairness, as I wasn't at all of these events), and it took a bit of tinkering to look right, but hopefully you guys enjoy this first entry! Let's flash back almost 4 years to kick off this mini-series, so here's what you need to know/remember! (Updated on February 8th, 2016)
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The Skid Row Battle of the Bands (April 26th, 2008)

Background: The Algoma University Student Union & The Superior Community Skatepark Association joined forces to host a battle of the bands at The Speak Easy at Algoma University on April 26th, 2008. All proceeds from the battle went to construction of Sault Ontario's permanent skate park at The John Rhodes Community Center. Each band would get to perform 3 songs, with judges picking three bands to play in the final round, where each act played two more songs before the prizes were handed out. Musical ability, stage presence, originality, and crowd reaction were among the criteria being voted on by the judges, and Crank Sound Distribution handled sound at the event.

Prizes: Originally, just cash, with $500 going to first place, $250 to second place, and $125 for third place. However, an added prize for the first place band was added two weeks before the battle, that being an opening slot at a major headlining concert at Runway Park on June 28th of that year, which was to have been headlined by Skid Row, the Tracii Guns-led version of L.A. Guns, and Enuff Z'Nuff. That added prize was thanks to Hitman Productions, who were promoting the Skid Row concert.

Competitors: The lineup included 7 bands playing a wide array of styles. Punk was the most prominent style of music at this battle, including indie punk quartet The Blockade (in their only show under this name that I can confirm), hard hitting punk rockers The Scary Uncles, and popular ska punk outfit Free Beer. Only two metal/hard rock bands were on the lineup, including debuting hard rock quartet Sense of Truth and extreme metal duo Sue Inside. The lineup for this battle was rounded out by indie rock quartet Terminal and Red Hot Chili Peppers cover band Sikamikanico.

Results: Four bands (rather than three) were picked for the final round, those being The Blockade, Free Beer, The Scary Uncles, and Sense of Truth. In the end, Sense of Truth made the most of their local concert debut, claiming the $500 first place purse and an opening slot at the Skid Row concert. The Scary Uncles took home $250 for second place, with Free Beer winning $125 for third place, and The Blockade finishing in fourth place. Rankings for the remaining three bands were not publicized.

Aftermath: The Skid Row concert was cancelled on June 25th (just three days before it was to take place) after sponsors dropped out. Despite this, Sense of Truth rode the momentum of their victory to numerous high profile concerts over the following years, including opening for bands like Econoline Crush & The Trews, and recording material towards an unreleased debut EP in 2010, though they broke up after a lengthy inactive period in the fall of 2011. The Scary Uncles & Free Beer also maintained their successes through the late 2000s, playing numerous notable punk concerts in the area, and recording their own original material. Free Beer changed their name to M.O.B. in 2010 before going inactive (save for one-off sets) before briefly returning in full under the name Sarah's Valley in mid-2013, while The Scary Uncles' increasingly sporadic concerts continued until they disbanded in December 2010. Sikamikanico & Terminal continued to play a number of headlining gigs in the Sault area through the summer of 2008, after which both bands quietly went inactive. The Blockade do not appear to have played any other gigs under that name following this battle, though 3/4ths of the band rocked local venues as Talk Shit through 2009, and the bands may have been connected. Finally, Sue Inside relocated to Oil Springs, Ontario the following summer, and remained sporadically active in that area with varied material through the spring of 2012.

Some Notable Performers' Newer Bands (Metal or punk bands in italics):
Id Iota (Christian Lemay & Dustin Goodall from Free Beer)
Jack Spades (Jesse Cook from Sikamikanico)
Northwest (Wayne Watkins from The Blockade and Mike Yakasovich & Greg Callaghan from Terminal)
Redundant (Justin Langlois from The Scary Uncles)
Skeyes of Seven (Cory Murchison from Sense of Truth)
The Small Town Rivals (Wayne Watkins from The Blockade)
Talk Shit (Marc Lafrance, Ian Robinson, and Adam Sauve from The Blockade)
The Thrill Junkies (Justin Langlois from The Scary Uncles) 
The Wild Iris (Steve Myers from Sense of Truth)
Winkstinger (Jesse Cook from Sikamikanico)

Trivia:

• The judges for this battle were veteran local guitarist Keith Conway, Hitman Productions owner Stephane Guindon, and Speak Easy manager Tony Boniferro. Keith himself saw some battle of the bands success as a performer the following year, when his band Blues Harvest made the finals of the Kiss Battle of the Bands in December 2009.
• Around 220 fans were in attendance for this battle, with over $1,600 raised towards the Sault Ontario skate park, which was successfully opened to the public the following summer.
• Despite not being able to open for Skid Row like was hoped, Sense of Truth made the most of it by playing a concert on June 28th anyway at The Canadian Nightclub with fellow local hard rock band Driving Dave Home, who were to have played the Skid Row concert as well. Driving Dave Home guitarist Ron Baxter joined Sense of Truth himself the following year.
• Sense of Truth followed up their win at this battle with a run to the Kiss Battle of the Bands Finals on December 2nd, 2009, where they lost to Garden of Bedlam. Their lineup was noticeably different than during their Skid Row Battle win, with frontman Cory Murchison now on vocals only, the aforementioned Ron Baxter on rhythm guitar, and Curtis Beauchamp (ex-Fitswitch) on bass in place of Patric Belanger, who left Sense of Truth in late 2008.
• Two other bands from this battle competed in similar later events. Sue Inside competed in another 7 band battle held by the YMCA in March 2009 at The Grand Theater, but results repeated themselves, as Sue Inside did not make the top 4. Also, the relaunched Free Beer (then named Sarah's Valley) competed at the Rockstar Bar Battle of the Bands in April 2013, but they finished third in their semifinal match, and did not make the finals.
• Despite their fourth place finish, The Blockade's Wayne Watkins & Adam Sauve would see greater battle success in the coming years in their later band Nebraska Arms, who finished 2nd at the Sault College/Scotties Tournament Battle in February 2010, as well as making the Kiss Battle finals in December 2009
• The Scary Uncles almost got a chance to build on their success at this battle the following year, when they were slated to be a part of the Algoma University Battle of the Bands in December 2010, which was also held at The Speak Easy, but they had to pull out due to scheduling conflicts. Despite that, they were later chosen to open for The Inner City Surfers at their show there on December 22nd, 2010, which was one of the first place prizes at that battle already.
• Sikamikanico drummer Jesse Cook had far greater battle success as a lead guitarist with his later metal bands Operation: Killdozer and Winkstinger, who finished fourth at the 2009 YMCA Battle and in first place the 2012 Battle For The Blood respectively. These join earlier successes that he had with Soldiers of Misfortune, who he won at least one battle with.
• Sikamikanico bassist Alex White almost returned to a local battle of the bands at the Sault Humane Society Battle of the Bands on April 20th with his later indie rock trio Cowboys & Indians, but they dropped out after he couldn't make the event.
• Sense of Truth guitarist Steve Myers returned to a local battle of the bands at The Rockstar Bar in April 2013 with his current indie/jazz rock quartet The Pesto Shirts (now named The Wild Iris), who rode a wild card berth to a third place finish in the final round.
• Three performers at this battle (The Blockade's Wayne Watkins and Terminal's Mike Yakasovich & Greg Callaghan) saw greater collective success at Viva La Battle at The Canadian Nightclub on November 13th, 2013, where they finished in second place with their new indie/punk quintet Northwest.
• Battle of the bands action returned to The Speak Easy on March 5th, 2015 when the venue hosted their own battle event. Like the Skid Row Battle, this event featured 7 acts and cash prizes for winners, but 2015's Speak Easy Battle was a fan voted affair, and no one that competed in 2008 was on the lineup seven years later.

Videos:
Clips of each band from SooToday's YouTube channel
Sense of Truth's set from frontman Cory Murchison's YouTube channel
Sense of Truth video from SooToday's YouTube channel





Sources/More Information:
Pre-battle coverage by SooToday
SooToday review & photos by Donna Hopper
Superior Community Skatepark Association post-battle coverage
Battle photos by Curt O'Neil
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I hope you guys liked this first entry in our new SMS mini-series! Our next entry in the series will be next Friday (March 9th), when we look at the 2008 Case's Music Battle of the Bands from May 2008, which wasn't the only battle held by this popular local music store, but it's the only one well documented online that we can cover equally in this series at the moment. Stay tuned for that next week, and much more news over the weekend! Thanks everyone!

Where Are The New Albums? March 2012 Update

It's time for our first of two special feature posts of the day at the SMS, and we're helping kick off March in style with our latest "Where Are The New Albums?" post! As always, we're looking at upcoming albums from Sault Ontario hard rock and metal acts, and the current progress, statuses, news, and release information on them, and when you could possibly see them in stores, and this month, we have one less album to cover following the European release of "Woods V: Grey Skies & Electric Light" earlier this month! We're also deleting an album from this monthly series, and you can read up on it at the end of this post, but the bulk of this entry has info on 11 upcoming albums from 10 local acts, 5 of which have updated info (as indicated by the album's title in italics.) So, where are the new albums? Read on to find out!
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April Eyes - Hollow Hope

Rumoured Songs: "Goodbye", "Left Behind", "The Only Road I've Ever Known", "Fall", "Reflections", "Obsession", Escape", "I Can't Let Go", "Absolution", "Hollow Hope"

Background: The oft-renamed April Eyes (previously known as By The Gods & April Eyes) is the solo project masterminded by Bear Hunters & Borderline Divine guitarist Mitch Sirie. He's been working on solo material for some time now, featuring him on all instruments, including vocals and bass along with the guitar tracks. Over time, Mitch has deleted older audio tracks and blog entries from this project's MySpace page, but continually replaces them with newer material, although some aren't planned for an imminent album release. Blog entries in 2011 have alluded to Mitch recording and releasing a solo concept album named "Hollow Hope", which he claims will be a "shocking" full length album, though it's been set back due to "circumstances". Featuring a mix of progressive & death metal with acoustic folk and indie rock, check out the newest samples of April Eyes/Mitch's solo material at his official MySpace page!

Current Release Status: I have no real idea. Honestly, this might not even get a release where it'd be on sale anywhere, but who knows! Mitch told me in e-mail conversations that he hoped to have a physical release of "Hollow Hope" last year, for what that's worth, but we're obviously past that point. The musical quality and songwriting on his material is very underrated, so I imagine that a release of "Hollow Hope" would get a good reception if it did come out! Though concrete data on it has been lacking for the later half of 2011, I'll keep you all posted if anything new is announced!
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As It Stands' third EP

Rumoured Songs: "Conception", "Big Problem, Little Lock City", "Rise Above", "One Last Chance", "One Less Than Wayne Gretzky", "Big Bucks, No Whammy", "Eeny, Meeny, Miney, Ho", "Everything Terrible", "Oh Herm, Herm Delish", "Stay Together For The Kids" (Blink-182 cover)

Background: Continuing their high success levels since their local re-emergence in 2010, hardcore quintet As It Stands started recording sessions for their third EP with Metalworks Studios in Mississauga in July with producer Kevin Dietz. The sessions lasted just a few days, but from what I hear, a lot got accomplished! You can see some of the happenings from the sessions on their official studio vlog, which features some audio samples and video of some members recording their parts. The vlog also confirmed that their cover of Blink-182's "Stay Together For The Kids" was recorded in Mississauga, and that the songs will be part of an EP, not a full length album as was previously believed. It's currently unclear whether the songs they recorded at Stereo Soul Studios in 2010 and/or in Stoney Creek last year will be featured on the EP in some form. A new track, oddly titled "Oh Herm, Herm Delish" was posted onto SoundCloud in early 2012, with studio copies of "Conception" & "Big Problem, Little Lock City" also being uploaded to their Facebook page this year, both of which you can stream at this location. Mixing is underway locally with Brendan Clace at Dimension Studios, so stay tuned for more news on this EP this year!

Current Release Status: As It Stands seem to have everything under control and well planned for the sessions and their studio work, and though nothing concrete has been explicitly said about it's release, things seem on track. Recent postings on Facebook alluded to a release being postponed for "only a short while", so when might we see this EP? I don't know, but keep an eye out for updates, album information, and so forth, as I'm hearing good things!
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The Bear Hunters' full length demo

Rumoured Songs: "Bloodthirst", "Succumb To Eternity", "Dominate", "Overthrown", "Casualties Of War", "Collapse The Sun", "Render This Void", "Karma"

Background: Local death metal quintet The Bear Hunters formally announced that they'd begun recording for their debut EP "Bloodthirst" on May 10th, just days after adding guitarist Josh Stephney to the band. The news was broken on their Facebook page, but details were extremely scant following that news, and the recording plans fell dormant until January, when the band announced plans to record material towards a full length demo release. Plans are for this demo (which won't be "slapped together") to feature at least 10 songs, with drum & bass recording for those 10 songs finished as of February 16th. This appears to be an independent production towards future better quality recordings, and plans are in place to release official band t-shirts along with the demos when completed. Stay tuned to the band's Facebook page for continued updates!

Current Release Status: If things stay on track, it looks like the late spring is a possibility, but who knows how long this could take, being a demo and independently produced. Time will tell, but keep an eye out for news on The Bear Hunters' first release!
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Gates of Winter - Perihelion

Rumoured Songs: "The Stars Call My True Name", "Edin Na Zu", "Dimensions", "Time Warp", "Wormhole Mechanics"

Background: Despite a hiatus from live concerts lasting over three years, Gates of Winter never broke up, and are slowly working on their follow-up to 2008's "Lux Aeterna". The first glimpse of the new album was unveiled in February 2010, when frontman/producer Lee Maines uploaded a snippet of their new song "The Stars Call My True Name" onto his YouTube channel, and he followed that up with more demo & rehearsal clips sporadically over the last couple of years, though all were later taken down. The band launched a new Facebook page in August 2010 to keep fans updated on the sessions, including the unveiling of a new song title, "Time Warp", while Sault native Jon Morrison was announced as the album's drummer in November 2010. On November 6th, bassist Steve Furgiuele confirmed in a YouTube video that the album, now titled "Perihelion", is planned for release in December 2012, with some older re-recordings likely for the summer. Another new song, tentatively called "Wormhole Mechanics", was previewed in this video that Lee uploaded as well last year. Most recently, Lee announced on January 10th that vocal recordings had begun, so keep an eye out for more updates as 2012 rolls along! Whether recordings made by former keyboardist Brian Holmes before he left Gates of Winter last year will be included on the CD or not is not known.

Current Release Status: Well, if the band says that "Perihelion" is coming out in December 2012, then I'm inclined to believe them. It's been a long road for them to get this album completed due to the members' own personal commitments, but until we hear otherwise, I'd say circle your calendars for a December 2012 release for Gates of Winter's long awaited second full length album! For now though, stay tuned to band pages for continued updates!
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Late & Loud's debut album

Rumoured Songs: "Midnight Man", "Down Like This", "Whipeout", "Never Again". "Love Letter Lockdown", "Whisper Of The Damned", "Live For Excess", "Fast As A Bitch"

Background: Late & Loud surprisingly announced plans to being recording a demo in January 2011, despite their relative newness to the scene at the time, not having launched internet pages until November 2010. Though described as a demo, Late & Loud's debut does appear to be packaged more like a standard album, with a photo shoot for it having taken place in February 2011 (click here to see the photos.) I believe this is being self-recorded, and updates towards recording sessions have been sporadically posted on Late & Loud's official Facebook page in recent months. Most recently, the band released a video indicating a now-passed release date in January, along with instrumental samples of three songs, and a confirmed tracklist of at least nine songs. Stay tuned to the above links for more details as they come in!

Current Release Status: Well, we're obviously past their goal for a January release, but good art takes time. They've been working on this demo for months, and whether it will really count as an "album" or not, fans should be jacked up for it's release when it finally is finished! Check the above links for samples and news on Late & Loud's first demo!
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Mike Haggith - Neighbourhood Watch

Rumoured Songs: "To Whom This May Concern", "Room 822", "Door To My Mind", "The Man In Green" (Black Hole Suns cover), "The Ballad of K2/K3", "Wicked Midnight Ride", "Limb Coast", "It Takes Time" (Black Hole Suns cover), "Fading", "Leon The Janitor"

Background: Scheduled to be local solo musician Mike Haggith's 45th full length studio album, "Neighbourhood Watch" (previously titled "Space 82" and "410 To Scotland) is scheduled to be a concept album based on differing human experiences. Originally planned for release on January 25th through Galactic Records (formerly Rotten Records), "Neighbourhood Watch" should be available on both mp3 and CD formats, and ten tracks have been announced for it, including the already unveiled "Limb Coast", two covers of Kincheloe project The Black Hole Suns' songs (an instrumental mix of one of them can be heard here), and a mixture of previously heard & new material, though previously announced songs "Orion", "On A Cloud", "Who Owns Space 82?", "Standing On The Edge", "Stalking Booze & The Raptor", "Nightmare On Reed Street", "The Day The Lights Went Out", "My Angel", and the album's title track were removed from the track listing in previous months. Stay tuned for more details on "Neighbourhood Watch" at this location, as Mike's generally good for keeping fans up to date on his upcoming solo projects!

Current Release Status: Originally planned to come out at varying points over the last two months, Mike confirmed last month that illnesses have caused it to be delayed to an unknown future date, and vocal sessions have yet to begin for the album. That said, Mike has always been forthcoming & honest about album release details and hangups, so we should see Neighbourhood Watch soon, but stay tuned in case anything changes!
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Riverin's self-titled debut EP

Rumoured Songs: "Attitude", "They Lost You", "A Cold Wind", "Deflower", "Valentine", "Raining In December", "Trenches", "Something Else"

Background: An industrial hard rock project from former Dirty Virgin & Silver Dream bandmates Matt Hicks and Matt Clement, Riverin slowly worked on their debut EP for much of 2010 at Matt Hicks' Quartertone Studios. The original recording sessions for this self-produced EP have finished, and it was said to be released "soon" as of July 2010. All six songs to initially be included on the EP are now featured on their MySpace page to stream for free! E-mail correspondence with Matt Clement last fall detailed how the band were looking into the CD development process to release the album in time for a planned CD release show in the future featuring guest musicians. Two new songs, "Trenches" & "Something Else", have been announced, with "Trenches" later posted online in May, but it's unclear if they'll be on the EP or not.

Current Release Status: Not sure, but things did seem to be on the right track, given that the EP's tracks are all recorded. The way it's sounding to me, the release of the EP will likely tie in to their debut concert as a CD release show, but we haven't heard anything official from the band in over six months, which is slightly worrying. Hopefully when it does come out, it will deliver a good package of unique music, so stay tuned for updates!
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Sykotyk Rampage - "Genius Mushrooms With Thoughts Of Stupidity" & "Jonathan , Your Music Sucks"

Rumoured Songs (GM): "Running", "Legend, "Garden", "Metal", "Rain", "Parley", "Wait", "Shrooms", "Dynamite", "Acreage", "McDonalds", "Alright"

Rumoured Songs (J): Unknown

Background: Originally announced in August 2010, "Genius Mushrooms With Thoughts Of Stupidity" is the second half of Sykotyk Rampage's conceptual "Genius Mushroom" series which delves "into the realm of hallucinogenic musical brainscans". Considered Sykotyk Rampage's 25th album, it was originally the first half of a double album before it was split from it's predecessor "Genius Mushrooms With Thoughts Of Intellect", which has since been posted online. One track named "Silence" was removed from the second "Genius Mushrooms" album's track listing at that time as well. Sykotyk Rampage recorded this album at River Front Recreation Studios, with sessions taking place at varying points over the latter half of 2010. The first "Genius Mushrooms" album (and 4 other companion 2011 releases) were all posted online in August, with just "...Thoughts of Stupidity" left, though the band began work on another new album named "Jonathan, Your Music Sucks" in January 2012. Stay tuned to band pages for coming updates!

Current Release Status: For "Jonathan, Your Music Sucks", we haven't heard a whole lot on it since it was originally announced, but as for the second "Genius Mushrooms" album? The original announced release date for it was December 2010, but no new Sykotyk Rampage albums even made it online for free streaming until August. Oddly, it's still unreleased despite the fact that 4 newer albums not even announced until August have came out earlier, but I'll note that the first "Genius Mushrooms" album isn't up for sale yet, despite it's posting online last month. With another new album now announced, I have no clue what the status is for the older unreleased material, but until fuller word comes out, click here to tide yourself over with the band's other five albums from 2011!
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Tym Morrison's second solo album

Rumoured Songs: "Moon Patrol", "Dungeons & Dragons", "Nag Hamedi", "The Reason Why", "The Dark Shred", "Song For Jen", "No Name", "Amy", "Lay It On The Line", "Someday", "How I'm Wanting You More"

Background: I honestly don't know a lot about the background for Tym Morrison's second album, but he has posted samples of nine songs for his "next album" onto the music player on his official website! The songs are all of good quality, and feature Tym in familiarly good form! Original information about recording sessions for his solo album are either very sparse or were made quite a while ago, so I don't know a lot about it, but the songs were likely self-recorded at Morrison Studio Productions with Tym on all instruments save for the programmed drums. Status updates on Tym's personal Facebook page last year have alluded to recent recording sessions and plans for a double album, but it's unknown if the above songs would all be included. It should be noted that many of Tym's more recent solo songs on YouTube have been either acoustic or comedic in nature, but I can't see many of the comedic ones making the cut for an album release.

Current Release Status: I don't have any real idea, but recent news about recording sessions and a double album are certainly promising! Hopefully Tym does release these songs in the near future, as his older samples and newer material deserve an audience! For now though, check out the above links to hear what he has to share that could make the cut!
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Woods of Ypres - "Woods 4.5: You Were The Light"

Rumoured Songs: "You Were The Light", "Falling Apart"

Background: Recording for what was intended to be Woods of Ypres' fifth album took place in August 2010 at Stereo Soul Studios. Intended to be a 5 track EP, producer Miguel Gauthier's Facebook page kept fans updated on the sessions, along with Woods of Ypres' pages. Originally titled "Woods V: You Were The Light", release plans noticeably changed when the band signed with Earache Records in the fall of 2010. With the label desiring a full length follow-up to "Woods IV", frontman David Gold & guitarist Joel Violette hit the studio in August to record a new full length album, now known as "Woods V: Grey Skies & Electric Light", which left the August 2010 material (now called "Woods 4.5") temporarily shelved. Though definitive release details for that EP aren't known, two of the songs were issued in a limited edition vinyl single release named "Home" through Practical Art Records in April (get ordering details here), and you can stream them at the band's CBC Radio 3 page as well. However, no updates on the remaining material have come since then, and it's future status is in limbo following David Gold's passing in December 2011.

Current Release Status: I have no clue. I originally thought it would either come out after "Woods V" or with it as a bonus disc, but knowing it's length and status due to the "Woods V" sessions, it may have depended on a release through David Gold's own Practical Art Records label, which is likely considered defunct following his death. I know David preferred this material to stand on it's own as one complete unit and not with other material tacked on, but it may only realistically see a release now as either a free posting or as part of a rarities collection, given that future band activity is likely restricted to putting out old material. Whether we ever see the remaining "W4.5" songs is up in the air at best, but if I hear anything on a release or posting of this EP, I'll be sure to let you guys know!
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With all that out of the way, we have one more album to address due to it's deletion from this series, following the news that it likely won't come out officially as was once hoped. Read on below for details on it and it's removal:
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Lion Ride's first full length album

Rumoured Songs: "Stick It In", "Snail Trail", "Bang Bang, Bye Bye"

Background: Lion Ride entered the studio for the only sessions towards their unreleased debut album in April 2010 at Toronto's BWC Studios with producer Greg Dawson, same as when ex-members recorded Detroit's last album in 2009. The band recorded four songs at those sessions, including "Stick It In" and "Snail Trail" (both of which are streamable on their MySpace page), "Bang Bang, Bye Bye" (which was featured as backing music in a longboarding culture video in June), and a song yet to be revealed. Delays & external commitments (musical & personal) delayed the album's progress and prevented further recording sessions, which the band apologized for on a few occasions. Though they were writing new material presumably for this album in February 2011, and a Facebook posting last March hinted towards a return to BWC, band news stalled again in late 2011, and Lion Ride disbanded last month without ever officially completing their second CD.

Reason For Removal: Simply put, because Lion Ride disbanded before being able to complete this album, and an official release for the four recorded tracks is unlikely at best. It's disappointing to see their hard work unreleased like this, but sometimes, the reasons for a band's demise are unrepairable, and this might be the best move for right now. That said, the band hasn't completely shut the door on at least releasing the material from their 2010 sessions at BWC Studios, as their Facebook page revealed last month that they may release the songs from the sessions for download in the future. It'd be cool to at least get "Bang Bang, Bye Bye" and the other unreleased song available, but fingers crossed that this material doesn't stay hidden forever! Though Lion Ride are missed locally, I hope this isn't the last we hear from them as a band, so stay tuned to the SMS for updates!
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I hope you guys liked this month's "Where Are The New Albums?" post! Our next monthly feature post is coming up later today when we explore the Skid Row Battle of the Bands from the spring of 2008 in the kickoff to our Battle of the Bands Rewind Mini-Series! I'm still tinkering with the format and info, so stay tuned tonight for it and how it looks! Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERT (Tym Morrison) And This Weekend's Concert Previews!!

Tomorrow's a big day for feature posts at the SMS, as we not only have this month's "Where Are The New Albums?" post to upload, we're also kicking off our Battle of the Bands Rewind Mini-Series with a look back at the Skid Row Battle of the Bands from the spring of 2008, with six more profiles coming over the next six Fridays in the leadup to next month's Sault Humane Society Battle of the Bands! That's all tomorrow, but first, we have weekend concert previews tonight for this weekend's metal & hard rock concerts in the twin Saults, including a LOCAL CONCERT ALERT for Saturday night, so here's what's on tap on the heavy side of things through Sunday!

Caveman Morrison frontman Tym Morrison is back at Bossy's Pub N' Grub THIS SATURDAY for a ninth straight acoustic solo concert! After a one week move to a normal nighttime timeslot, Tym will be back on at 2:00 PM this Saturday as was usual for his currently weekly concert arrangement, though it's not publically known if last week's time adjustment was temporary or a dropped experiment in moving the shows to nighttime. So if you enjoy Tym's acoustic solo concerts at their afternoon timeslot, you should be happy to see them back there on Saturday night! Also, I apologize for being late to announce this concert (Tym posted the Facebook event page on Tuesday), we had a backlog of news while I was away that pushed this back. As mentioned above, Tym's back on at 2:00 PM on Saturday, I don't expect there to be a cover charge, and there's no cover charge, so check the above links for more details! It's good to see Tym back for another intimate acoustic concert, and he's sure to have some hard rocking material in store for fans on Saturday afternoon, so don't miss him if you can help it! For a preview, here's Tym and special guest Luke LeBlanc covering Extreme's "More Than Words" a few years back!



Now to the previously announced shows, starting with a brief stopover in Sault Michigan, as local hard rock quartet Powerslug are returning to the stage tomorrow & Saturday night! The band formerly known as River Witch will make their first concert appearances of 2012 (that I know of) at The Rapids Lounge at Kewadin Casino this weekend, and because the band no longer has an online page to my knowledge, my source for these shows is Kewadin Casino's entertainment page. From what I can gather, these shows will be 10:00 PM affairs (more or less) with 21+ age limits and no cover charges. Check the above links for more details! I wish I knew or had more on Powerslug to go by in terms of their bio and covering their concerts, but with Scofflaw, Kilacel, and Blind Baby alumni among their ranks, the talent is absolutely there to go far locally, and hopefully this weekend's concerts are their biggest yet! Stay tuned for more on Powerslug if I hear it, and don't forget about their shows this weekend at Kewadin Casino!

We'll close this preview post with a series of concerts at The Canadian Nightclub this weekend, starting with another hard rock tribute band that The Canadian are bringing in, and this time, it's Toronto-based Guns N' Roses tribute band Dust N' Bones! Remember, they're no relation to the Sault Michigan-area band of the same name featuring members of End of Existence. I don't know a lot on this band specifically compared to other similarly named tributes (especially thanks to the lack of an online page that I know of), but I think they share at least one member with local tribute favourites Crued, and they're a relatively new act on the Southern Ontario scene. Even if you're a Gunz N' FN' Rosez loyalist, you should give Dust N' Bones a shot this weekend, as they have a solid sound that does pay tribute to GNR pretty well, though the vocals are a bit more varied in the videos I've seen. The show starts at 10:00 PM on Friday & Saturday night, you must be 19 to attend, and I'd expect a cover charge of around $5. For more details, visit the official Facebook event page! If you're in the mood for some Guns N' Roses classics, The Canadian Nightclub is the place to be this weekend, so keep these shows in mind, check out more from DNB at their official YouTube channel, and for a preview, here's their rendition of "My Michelle" from this past December!



And finally for this weekend, The Canadian will be rocking all night long for "Dead In The Van! The Locals Attack!", a special fundraiser concert where proceeds will go towards funding local horror punk quintet Frightlight's plans to get a tour van and "bring the fright" to other cities! As such, they'll be headlining this massive concert on Sunday night (in their first show in over 4 months with new drummer Chris FreaknStein), and 7 other local & Desbarats acts will join in to help support the cause and rock the house! The co-headlining band is local hardcore quintet As It Stands (making their first appearance at The Canadian to my knowledge since their 2010 reunion), and in descending order from there, the remaining acts include local punk trio Redundant (in their first show of 2012), local deathcore rockers The Valentine's Day Massacre (formerly View To A Kill), classic metal quartet Late & Loud, Desbarats metal bands For All That Is Lost (in their Canadian debut) and Inhuman Methods (making their first ever local concert appearance), and Business Suit Trappers guitarist "Evil" Greg Callaghan in a solo set to open up the festivities!

How's that for a stacked lineup? It could also be a preview of the Humane Society Battle of the Bands next month, seeing as only Redundant, Greg Callaghan, and Frightlight (minus T. Rex Manning's Johnny Pints) aren't competing at the battle, so keep that tidbit in mind! Above all else though, this concert is to help Frightlight's evolution and get them touring and spreading the dead, so definitely consider coming out to support the cause! Admission will be $10 (more than fair for the value of the bands performing), the show starts at 5:00 PM (so be there early), and this is an ALL AGES EVENT! Yes, you can go if you're under 19, and hopefully this helps bolster what should already be a well attended event! For more details, visit the official Facebook event page! This is shaping up to be a huge concert, and you can bet your bottom dollar I'll be there on Sunday to rock out with you guys! Frightlight deserve the support, and look at the lineup, this is worth every penny for all ages! I'll hopefully see you guys there, and for a preview, here's Frightlight covering The Misfits' "Helena" at The Canadian in January!



That's all for today, but stay tuned for our next "Where Are The New Albums?" post and the debut of our Battle of the Bands Rewind Mini-Series TOMORROW! Thanks everyone!

End Of Existence's Album Release, Lots Of Musician Searches, And Much More!!

March has arrived, and it's time to get to some overdue news and updates at the SMS! Today, we've got news on a brand new local metal CD release, a bunch of updates relating to a central Sault Ontario concert venue, lots of news from a local solo artist, and a pile of local musicians looking for new bands & musicians, so here's what you need to know!

As expected, Sault Michigan/Grand Rapids epic metal band End of Existence finally released their debut album yesterday! While postings of the album on iTunes, Amazon, Reverbnation, and similar sites have yet to be publically revealed on band pages, it is definitely available now on CD Baby for $9.99 in mp3 format! According to the track listing there, the self-titled album features 12 tracks clocking in at about 52 minutes in length, and we've heard most (if not all) of these songs at least partially so far. While the album is now on sale, and it's definitely worth purchasing to support the band, this might be even more appealing: End of Existence are offering mp3 copies of the album for FREE right now! To help promote their search for a new singer to replace Bob Helsten, you can e-mail the band right now to request a free copy at endofexistenceband@gmail.com! I've already done so, and I encourage you guys to buy and download it as well at the above links to enjoy the fruits of End of Existence's labour! And finally for today's news on End of Existence's debut, I can confirm right now that we should be reviewing this album on the SMS in early April, so our reviews are set for most of the spring! Stay tuned for more on this new local album release as it comes in!

Next up, here's some assorted updates related to Pim Street concert venue The Canadian Nightclub! Firstly, the March 30th concert scheduled to be headlined by Victoria, B.C. sleaze rockers The Lust Boys is indeed a go, as confirmed on a new Facebook event page for it! There was some venue unsure-ness, but it's good to see things remain where they were originally announced! No other details have been announced for this likely 19+ event, but I'll let you guys know as more is announced! In other Canadian concert news, we now know the ticket price for April 7th's Ypres Metal Fest, as confirmed by promoter Rich Moreland on that event's Facebook event page last night. The admission will be $20, which is more than worth it given the 11 band lineup, the high profile bands scheduled, and the tribute nature of the show. This will be a great event in David Gold's memory, and hopefully all of you guys (of all ages) can make it out! And finally, the Canadian's Jay Perron revealed on their Facebook group on Tuesday that they're looking for web designers willing to create and maintain an official website for The Canadian Nightclub. If you're at all interested, call (705) 253-3257 A.S.A.P. and ask for Carmen! Stay tuned for more news on The Canadian Nightclub's upcoming metal & hard rock shows!

Thirdly today, here's the latest news on local solo hard rock artist Mike Haggith's recent work! As revealed on his solo project's Facebook page last week, his independent record label Rotten Records changed their name to Galactic Records for unannounced reasons, and vocal recordings for his upcoming album "Neighbourhood Watch" are forthcoming, hopefully within the next two weeks! He also revealed the newest (and very different) track listing arrangement for the new album there, which has seen the songs "Stalking Booze & The Raptor", "Nightmare On Reed Street", "The Day The Lights Went Out", "My Angel", and the album's title track removed (again for unknown reasons.) In their place are new songs named "To Whom This May Concern" & "Wicked Midnight Ride", which now implies that "Neighbourhood Watch" will be shorter than was projected earlier this year. Slightly disappointing, but if this helps the album come out sooner, than it should work out! Finally in Mike Haggith news, his Facebook discography page (which featured info & artwork for all of his dozens of back albums) was recently deleted as part of Facebook's refocusing on partner music sites, so the vast majority of back album information is now gone unless it's reposted, which I hope happens at some point.

While it'd be a lot of work, I'm sure, Mike's Facebook discography was great to read up on earlier Rotten/Galactic Records releases and hear information on new albums, and hopefully his prediction of a reposting of it not happening "anytime soon" is an overestimate! Notably, the same thing happened to Sykotyk Rampage's Facebook discography too, and I hope they bring theirs back in some form as well! For now, stay tuned for more on Mike Haggith's future solo work and the release of "Neighbourhood Watch"!

And finally for today, here's six recent local musician searches for metal/hard rock bands in Sault Ontario, all of which come from the Musicians Wanted Facebook group over the past month! Like the last time we grouped these together, the respective posts inquiring on this topic are in alphabetical order by the posting users' names. Are you interested in joining or jamming with a new local band? Read on below for details!

• Aftersight/Route 69 singer Ed Vowels is looking for a bass player for an unidentified rock band he's currently working on. Whether this is a reunited Aftersight or something new isn't publically known, but scroll to his post on February 23rd (as "Eddie V.") through this link if you're interested in possibly joining up!
• Late & Loud guitarist Jonathan Tiberi posted on the Musicians Wanted group yesterday to gauge interest in forming a stoner/doom metal band this summer, inspired by bands like Sleep, as a separate entity from Late & Loud. This could be interesting if it moves forward, so give Jon a shout at this location for more details!
• Gates of Winter frontman Lee Maines posted there on Friday inquiring about recruiting musicians for a new project that would play slower Isis/Meshuggah-inspired metal with original material & a heavy groove. I don't think this means anything towards Gates of Winter's status (just a separate project), but knowing Lee's talent, this could be a huge band if it takes off! Click here and move to his post on Friday for details!
• Ex-Dirty Virgin bandmates Matt Hicks & Matt Clement are looking to join a new band as singer & guitarist, though what this means for their Riverin project's future is unclear. Matt Hicks described his vocal style as a mix of James Hetfield & Sully Erna, which is intriguing! If you're interested in shooting them a reply, scroll to their post on February 14th at this link for more info!
• Skull After Betrayl frontman Mike Vincent is still looking for musicians of any type for a new death metal project, which appears to be separate from Skull After Betrayl. Varying bands are listed as influences, but if you're interested in possibly being a part, check out Mike's post from Tuesday at this location!
• On February 9th, Bear Hunters guitarist Mitch Sirie inquired about finding a new bassist for a local hard rock band he's in. First instinct says that the band he means is Borderline Divine (formerly Stillbroke), implying that Jake Hache has already left, but official band sources haven't confirmed that news. I'll keep tabs on this story, but if you're an interested bassist, find Mitch's post from last month by clicking here!

That's all for now, but stay tuned for our next "Where Are The New Albums?" post TOMORROW, along with weekend concert previews! Thanks everyone!