This month's "Where Are The New Albums?" post is here, so let's begin another month of feature posts with it as usual! This ongoing series looks at the release statuses and current details on albums from local metal, hard rock, and punk bands that aren't on sale yet, but have been recorded at least in part, in order for readers to stay informed with their latest updates. This month's installment is mostly a holding pattern installment with only one updated entry, but we have two new albums to add, and anything with new information has the title in
italics. So, where are the new albums? Read on below to hopefully find out!
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AlgomA & Shit Liver's split cassette tape
Rumoured Songs (A): "Canis Rabidus", "Brazen Bull", "The Longest Swim"
Rumoured Songs (S): "Hitting the Fan", "Matt Got Beat Up By Cops", "Sir-Osis", "Unabomber", "Liverated", "It Won't Change"
Background: No strangers to releasing split albums with out-of-town based bands on old school formats after sharing vinyl records with Chronobot & Hooded Menace, local doom metal trio AlgomA surprisingly announced that their fourth release and third split would be a
cassette tape shared with local/St. Catharine's grindcore trio Shit Liver, to be released through AlgomA's old label
Deadbeat Media. Details are minimal so far, but this isn't the first time that a local metal band dabbled in a cassette release after that format fell out of favour, as Woods of Ypres re-released their debut EP on tapes. This will be Shit Liver's second release following their 2014 self-titled CD, not counting the Gnarwhal/Gizzard split from 2016, which isn't officially under their name.
Current Release Status: AlgomA have teased a "summer/fall" release for the tape, and given how soon that could be taken as, I'd have to assume that at least one band has at least partially recorded material for it. That said, "summer/fall" could mean any time from June-November, if things don't get delayed, but after the questions many had over AlgomA's vinyl splits and the unfamiliarity surrounding them were all answered with two successful releases, here's to a trilogy in the making! Stay tuned as updates come in!
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The Bear Hunters - The Dead Testament
Rumoured Songs: "The
Void", "The Omen", "Neckbreaker", "I Fear No God", "Servitude",
"Transcend Judgement", "For Glory", "The Wrath Of Angmar", "The Dying
Den", "The Dead Testament", "Deception" (bonus re-recording),
"The Forest of Forests" (bonus track)
Background: In tentative planning
since 2014 under this title, local death metal quintet The Bear
Hunters have been playing songs intended for their second full length CD
for a few years now, but only fully began recording sessions for "The
Dead Testament" on October 2nd, 2015. Following a brief fundraising campaign
and the gradual unveiling of song titles, the band have been working
with producer Dustin Jones at Mission Control Studios, and have shared
sporadic updates on
their Instagram page. Like on 2014's "Eternal
Hibernation", rhythm guitarist Josh Stephney has recorded parts
for the album despite living in Southern Ontario, but it's not yet clear
on how bonus tracks will be handled.
Current Release Status: The Bear
Hunters haven't given any firm timetables for when to expect "The Dead
Testament"
in stores, but as of November 5th, the band had finished all recording
sessions except vocals & lead guitar for 4 tracks, and "finishing
touches" were to blame for the delays in finishing the CD. The band is
aiming for a more professional sound and release for
their sophomore effort, but an optimistic late-summer release has came
and gone, and the band has not issued a public update on the album in six months.
Keep an eye out for updates when and if they come in!
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Electric Church's debut album
Rumoured Songs: "Muddy Waters", "Ain't Got None", "Carey Baby", "Take Me Away", "Cross the Line"
Background: Fast rising young blues/hard rock trio Electric Church evolved from Jimi Hendrix covers in 2016 to primarily original material in 2017, and punctuated that on May 12th when they announced on
their Facebook page that they were "working up some new songs... for the album!!!" It was confirmed around that time that they were recording material at Mission Control Studios with producer Dustin Jones, who shared a picture on
their Facebook page confirming Electric Church's presence. However, direct updates have not followed publically.
Current Release Status: No clue, but Electric Church are a very talented band who play beyond their years, and no matter how long this takes, the album should be of solid quality when it finally comes out! Stay tuned for updates!
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The Elements'
debut EP
Rumoured Songs: "Liar", "G20", "Triple H", "The Rut", "I Need A Friend"
Background: Arguably better known
for their funk, ska, and hard rock covers, local quartet The Elements
have been adding original material to their sets since last year, and
have since publically confirmed earlier teases that they are working on a
debut EP. Frontman Rob Speers has confirmed in personal conversations last spring
that they have been working in studio on the release, which will have at
least 5 tracks, and I believe it's being self-recorded, but further
public updates are minimal at best. It's also not known if they'll
employ any guest performers, such as drummer Jonas Gasperas and
saxophonist Josh Norling, who have been frequent presences in recent
months, and may be official band members at this point.
Current Release Status: At this
stage, I have no idea, but Rob sounded like things were going well in
studio. That said, these were largely personal conversations a year ago,
and the band hasn't acknowledged album recording sessions publically in
recent months, so we'll have to see if updates come out on it in 2017!
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Id Iota's full length second CD
Rumoured Songs: "Happy Sailor", "Intro To American Literature", "Seas Envy Skies", "Long D", "Cop Drama", "Deep Empty", "Blind Spots"
Background: Not long after their
successful Ontario tour with Mike Mikus last fall, Id Iota began
recording sessions for their second album, though public confirmation
that a full length CD was currently in progress didn't occur until
guitarist Dustin Goodall announced it on his studio
Unsalted Audio's website earlier this year. Scattered postings and hints have followed, but nothing else has came out beyond performances of newer originals in concert. For reference,
this photo got shared a few times on
Id Iota's Facebook page last year, but it's unclear if it's intended to be the album's cover artwork or not.
Current Release Status: No idea,
especially with the alternative/hard rock quartet keeping fairly mum on
it's progress, but if there was ever a plan to release it in time for
their dissolved May tour run, that's obviously came and went. Keep
watch for updates as
they roll in!
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Kraken Mara's self-titled debut EP
Rumoured Songs: "Chimera", "Ishka", "Grand Machinations", "Straus"
Background:
The current progressive metal project from Late & Loud guitarist
Brendan Christie & Wawa band veteran Jake Valois, Kraken Mara
immediately commenced work on studio material upon their April 2016
launch, though they have yet to assemble a full lineup, let alone play
live. In sporadic updates since on
their Facebook page &
their website,
the band has indicated ongoing recording sessions towards a self-titled
EP, posting and reworking original demos to their website and
Reverbnation page
over recent months, with Reese Wolf working as sound engineer for the
tracks. As well, the cover artwork for the EP was revealed on Facebook
at the end of March, though updates haven't been posted since.
Current Release Status: Your guess
is as good as mine. Brendan and Jake are keeping things very
professional and technical so far, but updates don't come all that
frequently regarding Kraken Mara, be they for the EP or not. That said,
the instrumental material sounds very good and complex so far, and
should please fans of progressive and djent metal, so things could be
further along than you may guess. Keep tabs above for updates!
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Mike Vincent's debut EP & "We're of Nothing"
Rumoured Songs (1): "Shoah"
(retitled Skull After Betrayl cover), "Sacred Sins", "Six, Six, Six",
"Systematical Satan", "Soulless Sanctuary", "Screaming Serenity"
Rumoured Songs (W): "Times Of The Unforgotten", "Chapters of No Light", "We're of Nothing", "Phases of Pain"
Background: After briefly manning
his own solo project in 2011 (which featured original songs named after
food), ex-Skull After Betrayl frontman Mike Vincent resurrected his dormant solo
project this past summer via
his new Bandcamp page.
Mike soon posted a series of six instrumentals there, all with titles
starting with the letter S, which are planned to constitute his debut EP
when finished with vocals. Mike followed up later with four unrelated
songs that are planned for his second solo release, which would be a
double CD album in length, with "Times of the Unforgotten" notably
featuring his uncle Jason Ladouceur (ex-Winkstinger) in a guest spot.
Some of the above information comes from personal Facebook page
postings, as Mike hasn't made a new music page for his solo project yet.
Current Release Status: No idea,
but given that he's posting songs on Bandcamp, a digital release through
there seems likely when the songs are 100% completed and packaged as an
album, at least in that form. Mike's past local bands haven't quite
gotten off the ground in terms of putting out albums, but for fans of
Skull After Betrayl, D.O.T.H., and so on, Mike's solo project should be
very intriguing, and he's putting in some solid work in the process!
Keep tabs on his Bandcamp page for further material!
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Redundant's debut CD
Rumoured Songs:
"Miles Apart", "That December", "What You'll Do"
Background: Over two and a half
years after their last documented studio sessions in the spring of 2012,
local punk trio Redundant revealed on
their Facebook page in November 2014 that they were finally working on finishing their debut
CD, and will look to hold a CD release party for it upon it's
completion. Details are otherwise minimal, including on if the guys will
just package their older studio work for the release, or include new
recordings, perhaps at bassist James White's studio White Wreckords.
We'll keep you posted if we hear more!
Current Release Status: Though we
don't know much on the new/revived album plans, Redundant did sound
serious about completing their CD. That said, Redundant have only played
a handful of times in the last couple of years, and haven't made any
public statements regarding
the album
since 2014. The band did resume public activity in March 2016,
announcing that they were writing new songs and working on "new studio
shit", but it's not clear how earlier album sessions would play in. If
we hear any updates, we'll be sure to let you know!
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Skeyes of Seven - Stare at the Sky
Rumoured Songs: "Enough", "See The Truth", "Fallen Faith", "Pretend", "Cognitive Dissonance", "Crawling Back From Reality"
Background: Already no strangers to
the studio after recording two songs as
singles in the mid-2010s, local modern hard rock quartet
Skeyes of Seven hit the studio to record their debut EP in 2015,
though they only publically confirmed that an EP was in the works last January. Sessions took place at
Deluca Sound Productions,
who have shared videos of band members tracking material for the EP,
and ex-drummer John Mignacca did record
tracks for the release before moving to Sudbury. The EP title
was unveiled last fall, and then in January, all six songs were posted to
their YouTube channel,
including the new instrumental "Crawling Back From Reality", while also
excluding their older originals "Destination Unknown" & "No One
Cares". New guitarist Kyle Sweet is not visibly on the EP, having joined
Skeyes of Seven after sessions concluded.
Current Release Status: Given that
the whole EP is online for free streaming, then conventional wisdom
would say that "Stare at the Sky" would be released imminently, but the
band has yet to confirm a paid release date, or even a live concert
return. Hopefully it doesn't stall at being a free posting, as Skeyes of
Seven are a talented and experienced band, and having been active in
studio more than on stage since launching in 2012, it'd be great to see
them culminate this process with a release concert. Follow along
to see where things go for their debut EP!
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Telephone & Address - "Monster" & "The Early Tapes"
Rumoured Songs (M): "I Can Bleed"
Rumoured Songs (E): "The Plumbers"
Background: Telephone &
Address mainman Chris Shoust announced on
their Facebook page
in 2015 that he was working on releasing "The Early Tapes", a
compilation of songs from the first 4 Telephone & Address albums
(2011's self titled album, and 2012's "Live", "No. 3", and "Broken
Head"). Since then however, he revealed that a separate new album named
"Monster" is done, with an advanced copy
leaked to him by AlgomA drummer Jamie Vincent, which likely hints that
Jamie helped produce it. However, a later-recorded album, "Are You Now
or Have You Ever", was officially released in October, despite "Monster"
being announced a year previously. Songs from both of these unreleased
albums can be streamed on
their Soundcloud page, and they're likely to turn up on
Telephone & Address' Bandcamp page and on
Interpunk down the road.
Current Release Status: Chris has
indicated online that "Monster" was planned to be
pressed in the fall of 2015, blaming money issues for the delays in it
being released, and while a November 2016 release date was teased last
fall, that has came & went too. We're likely nearing it's release at
some point in 2017 though! Regarding the "The
Early Tapes", Chris revealed in March
2015 that it "will be delayed for some time", though he didn't elaborate
on
why specifically. Assuming things go according to plan, Telephone &
Address should have some big albums in the works, so we'll
keep
you posted when more on any of these comes out!
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I hope you guys liked this month's "Where Are The New Albums?" post! This series will return on July 2nd, while our next feature post will likely be this month's Defunct Local Band Profile one week from tomorrow. That's all for now, but stay tuned for a new news next! Thanks everyone!
Local classic/hard rock cover quartet Soundcheck will hit The Rockstar Bar for one night only TONIGHT! Apologies for the short notice, the show was only announced via the venue's own Martin Fiser on their Facebook group last night, and as has been recently common, the band has not given the concert even a day's notice publically. A one nighter due to tomorrow's Handsome Sandwich-headlined concert, this is the Mourning Wood successors first show in two weeks, and will be their first concert at The Rockstar Bar in two months. Despite the late notice, this should be a fun concert for fans of Travis, Terry, Paul, and Steven's hard rocking and occasionally varied covers, so don't miss out TONIGHT after Soundcheck completes their soundcheck! Expect a 10:30 PM start time TONIGHT, no announced cover charge, and a 19+ age limit. See above for more details, and when public video footage turns up of Soundcheck live, we'll share it here!
Tonight's other new show is a bittersweet one, as local alternative hard rock quartet Id Iota will once again open for former Pixo Control frontman Mike Mikus in a solo set at LopLops Lounge on Saturday, July 15th, but this actually will be Mike's final concert before moving to Montreal later this summer. I haven't heard a public reason as to why Mike's moving, but he's staying active in music, and he and Id Iota are positioning this show was a big going away party, so keep this show in mind to send Mike off in style! He has promised that his set will include all songs from his yet-released solo CD "Squareheads & Frogs", as well as selections from The Pixo Control's "Probably Not" album, so if you miss that band's harder edged material, here's your last shot before he heads east. Id Iota are perfect choices to open, given how frequently they've played live with Mike since his solo debut last fall (plus, guitarist Dustin Goodall is in Mike's band), so keep their entertaining original material in mind also on July 15th!
