I apologize for the lateness of this post, but we have been very busy down here in Detroit, and I haven't gotten any total chances to get the posts I'd like up at times I'd like, but I'm trying! I'll be home tomorrow too, for what that's worth. Now, this post is just dedicated to polls! We have a brand new poll coming up that should be very interesting, but first, let's share the results from last month's poll, where I posed this question to you guys:
What upcoming local metal album are you most looking forward to getting? 38 votes, good number, would have been cool to see higher though. I think this is enough to be telling, so here is the results, in lost order due to the amount of choices!
Garden of Bedlam - Everything Will Die (9 votes, 24%)
Half Past's debut album (8 votes, 21%)
Bring The Fallen's debut EP (5 votes, 13%)
Sense of Truth's debut EP (3 votes, 8%)
Lion Ride's first full length album (2 votes, 5%)
Mike Haggith - Suspended Animation (2 votes, 5%)
Sykotyk Rampage's 24th or 25th albums (2 votes, 5%)
Gates of Winter's second full length album (1 vote, 3%)
Riverin's self titled debut EP (1 vote, 3%)
Silver Dream's debut album (1 vote, 3%)
Woods of Ypres - Woods V: You Were The Light (1 vote, 3%)
All of the above (1 vote, 3%)
None of the above (1 vote, 3%)
Other (1 vote, 3%)
April Eyes - Hollow Hope (0 votes, 0%)
No Arrow - Souls For Sale (0 votes, 0%)
Let's quickly go through the results in ascending order. I'm not surprised at April Eyes getting no votes (mass support will come), but there's really no No Arrow fans to vote for "Souls For Sale" to come out? The one vote choices don't surprise me, except for "Woods V" and Gates of Winter's next album. Really, Woods of Ypres & Gates of Winter, of all bands, didn't place higher than an eighth place tie for what local metal CDs we want? Very surprising. While I'm not surprised with Sykotyk Rampage or Mike Haggith getting only two votes (though they deserve more), how's Lion Ride only that low? I'd have assumed more fans would want to hear their new album, but hey, it depends who votes. Sense of Truth, despite only three votes, did place fourth, so it's nice to see fans sticking around for the long haul for this EP! Bring The Fallen finished in third for their dormant debut EP, maybe it's a sign that fans want them to finally package and release it! I was really surprised by Half Past placing second with eight votes, despite a lengthy absence from the stage. Their debut will impress when it comes out for sure! But in first place, was Garden of Bedlam's "Everything Will Die", who I predicted would top the poll! Excitement's mounting for this one, and I can't wait until it's released!Interesting results on the whole, thanks to everyone for voting! But now, it's time for one of our biggest polls in importance, our second annual poll on the biggest local metal news story of the year! Last year, the Kiss Battle of the Bands topped the first poll for the top story of 2009, and now, this year's poll is bigger with 21 choices for you local metalheads to wade through! There was many big events, concerts, debuts, and departures this year, and it's up to you guys to pick thie biggest of all in our unofficial poll! This should be very interesting, so I pose this question to you guys:
What was the biggest local metal news story of 2010? Here are your choices!
Algoma Hope4Haiti: Following the devastating earthquake in Haiti on January 12th,
The Sault Youth Association and
SooToday's Donna Hopper put on Algoma Hope4Haiti, a massive charity concert event on February 18th & 19th, featuring numerous local bands at eight local concert venues to raise Haiti relief funds! SMS-covered acts like Bring The Fallen,
Out Of The Mouth Of Babes,
That's Chester,
Turner Up, and
Tym Morrison were among the performers who donated their services for this great cause. It was a great weekend of music, but does it top your list for 2010?
As It Stands' return: Local hardcore fans rejoiced in August when As It Stands reunited after a yearlong breakup! 4/5ths of the band regrouped as Out Of The Mouth Of Babes with different singers, but after just one live concert appearance, Justin Pregent returned behind the mic and As It Stands rose from the ashes to deliver their moshable hardcore sound once again! With new studio originals and numerous upcoming concerts, As It Stands are firmly back in the local scene, but is their return your top story of the year?
Bryan Belleau parting ways with Woods of Ypres: Of all of the lineup changes in local metal bands this year, one of the biggest was easily the departure of Bryan Belleau from Woods of Ypres. After a year and a half with Woods of Ypres following their 2008 assimilation of Gates of Winter, Bryan was the last remaining Gates alum in the band, recording the lead guitar parts on 2009's "Woods IV: The Green Album" before being replaced by Joel Violette. Though Bryan's kept busy with the reformed Gates of Winter this year, was his exit from Woods of Ypres the biggest news this year?
CD Plus' closure: Local and underground music fans were shocked to learn of the closure of CD Plus on October 23rd. The popular music store at The Cambrian Mall was known for it's selection of more underground and obscure titles, along with being one of the more prominent music stores to carry albums by local artists, including local metal bands. Though we still have
HMV and
The Rad Zone, the disappointment over CD Plus' local exit is still being felt. Is this your top news story of the year in the local metal scene?
The Eastgate Hotel's demolition: For many years, The Eastgate Hotel was a favourite concert spot for metalheads, attracting numerous major bands like Helix, Slik Toxik, and Bret Michaels through it's last concerts in the early and mid-2000s. In recent years, it's condition deteriorated and concerts stopped, and after long deliberations at City Council, it was finally torn down earlier this month, with the site likely to become a new parking lot for Algoma Insurance. If you were a concert-goer back in the day at "The Gate", was it's demolition your big news story this year?
Frightlight releasing "It's A...Live!": In a surprisingly sparse year of local metal CD releases, the biggest one might have been the release of Frightlight's debut live album "It's A...Live!" on Devil's Night, October 30th! The independently released 6 song album was recorded at Frightlight's July 10th concert at
Coch's Corner, and produced by local musician Nick Jackson at Spacehouse Studios in London, England over the summer. Now on sale at their concerts for $10, is this release your top story of 2010?
Garden of Bedlam headlining The Second Stage: 2010 was a big year for Garden of Bedlam, including the
Kiss concert, their first concert outside of the Sault Ste. Marie area, and the recording of their upcoming full length album, but their biggest headlining gig of 2010 was easily at this year's
Rotaryfest, where they headlined the Tenaris Second Stage on July 17th! With a hard hitting set of their originals, including the live debut of "Around The Bend", Garden of Bedlam ended Rotaryfest with a bang, but did it top your news stories this year?
Gates of Winter's return: After a year's hiatus following their last concert appearances in 2008, Gates of Winter surprised many with their return earlier this year to begin work on their second full-length album! Updates have been slow ever since, partly due to the members' own personal lives and education commitments, but when new audio samples popped up online, the excitement was evident! Though a return to the stage or a concrete release date aren't known yet, is Gates of Winter's return your #1 local metal story of 2010?
Kiss finally coming to Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario: Following the postponement of Kiss' December 2009 show at
The Essar Center due to weather, skepticism and debate raged through the first half of 2010 on whether they would honour their word and come to Sault Ontario like was promised. Well, on August 10th, Gene Simmons and company finally rocked the Sault to it's core, delivering one of the biggest concerts we've ever seen, with openers The Envy and (of course) Garden of Bedlam in tow! It may have been the biggest concert of 2010, but was it your top story this year?
Lion Ride unveiling new material: Numerous local bands had CDs and albums in the works this year, many of which offering samples and tracks from said albums as well. One of the biggest was from local metal quintet Lion Ride, who made an early splash in May with the unveiling of their new song "Stick It In", complete with a Facebook event page! We also later heard their new song "Snail Trail" in studio form as well, continuing the hype for the album despite many release delays. In a year of local album recording, are the new Lion Ride songs the biggest of all?
Miguel Gauthier's move from Sault Ste. Marie: Over the past few years, Miguel Gauthier has made a name for himself both as a musician and as a producer, manning the controls for numerous metal and non-metal albums at
Stereo Soul Studios. However, Miguel moved to Los Angeles, California in October, capping a successful run as a local music producer. Though albums he completed with Garden of Bedlam, Sense of Truth, and Woods of Ypres are still on the docket, his quality of work will be missed. Is his move your top local metal story this year?
The Oddfellows Hall's return of all ages shows: Although it never shut down or took a break, The Oddfellows Hall didn't host any classic all ages concerts from Halloween weekend in 2009 to November 20th this year, battles of the bands notwithstanding. However, with
Total Chaos and numerous local openers rocking The Oddfellows Hall on November 21st, and no less than EIGHT local bands playing there on the 28th, it looks like The Oddfellows Hall is back as a concert venue to be watched! Is it's resurgence your big news story of the year?
Papa Fogals Chair's reunion show: Following a successful run down south, London metal quintet Papa Fogals Chair (featuring 5 Saultites) mostly ended their run as a band, save for the occasional local reunion concert. On February 27th, Papa Fogals Chair returned for a one-off show at
Foggy Notions with drummer Derek Turner's current band Garden of Bedlam for a night of metal mayhem! Another reunion show isn't on the horizon, so you may want to kick yourself for missing this one! Is their most recent reunion show the biggest event of 2010?
Phatstick's return to Sault Ste. Marie: After a couple years away from the local concert stage, St. Catharines hard rockers Phatstick (featuring Saultites Jason Taillefer & Joe LaVergne) returned to Sault Ontario for four shows at Foggy Notions in July and August, following a cancelled weekend in May. Despite a complete absence of their old originals, Phatstick wowed their hometown fans with their proficiency and entertaining cover songs! Their return alone was a big deal, but is it your top news store in the local metal scene this year?
SBD releasing "Sonic Experiments": Another local hard rock album released this year was "Sonic Experiments", the debut album from experimental grunge trio SBD. Launched at their debut show at Foggy Notions in May, the self-produced and released CD showed their unique sound and style well, and was eventually re-edited for a new "Mulligan Edition" in August. Sure, it's not the highest profile release of 2010, but would you say it was your top story from the past 12 months?
Sykotyk Rampage releasing "Bella Disgusta": Sault Ste. Marie's resident "blue Chinese metal crash punk" band, Sykotyk Rampage released their 23rd studio album, "Bella Disgusta", on August 27th! In a slower than normal year for the band, fans rejoiced at the release of this new album, self-produced and recorded at River Front Recreation Studios. Featuring 11 tracks played in a way that only Sykotyk Rampage can, their fans would no doubt rank this high in importance for 2010, but would you?
The Roosevelt Hotel's return to concert booking: Past conceptions of The Roosevelt Hotel on Korah Road tended to paint it as a dive that only had country bands, but in the past year, Chad LaRoue and the gang at The Rosie have been working very hard to change that! Now, The Rosie's hosting many SMS-calibre bands, from That's Chester and Turner Up to their new monthly metal nights, attracting many young metal bands and their fans to mosh the night away! With this becoming a new hotspot in the local scene, would you rank it super high as a whole?
The "secret" Coch's Corner show: Ah yes, this was the unannounced "secret" show featuring Frightlight that was held on June 16th at Coch's Corner. Little has been publically divulged, but we do know that Frightlight headlined this show, and
The Misfits (yes, THE Misfits) were on hand to take in the music and mingle with fans as well! Of course, there are things that can't be said publically about it, but if you were there, you'll recognize how special this concert was! Does it top your list?
Woods of Ypres' fake breakup: For much of 2010, we were led to believe that local black/doom metal quartet Woods of Ypres were breaking up, thanks to numerous cryptic statements, false trails, and the announced move to Kuwait by frontman David Gold. Except for the latter, it was all fake, but Woods of Ypres fans all over the world were in panic mode over their impending demise and their announced "final" album and tour. The full story corrected any misconceptions, and let us breathe easy, but over the summer, this was a huge deal. Was it your #1 story this year?
Woods of Ypres signing with Earache Records: In a surprise announcement in October, Woods of Ypres frontman David Gold announced that the band didn't really break up, and had actually signed a label deal for the first time ever, joining the roster of British label Earache Records! They'll release "Woods V: You Were The Light" and reissues of their back catalog in 2011, as Woods of Ypres return to the road and get back to melting faces! It's not every day that a local band signs with a label, so this is big news already, but would you rank it as the biggest local metal story of 2010?
Other: Got a story, concert, event, lineup change, band/venue formation or breakup, or anything else that you'd rank higher? Or maybe a Sault Michigan story at the top, or an event without any metal connections? Vote here then!
VOTE TODAY!! I hope to see a big vote total for this one, so please keep the votes rolling in through January 18th! That's all for now, but I do have a new news post planned very soon, including some VERY exciting news, so stay tuned hopefully tonight! Thanks everyone!
We'll start with local solo artist Mike Haggith, who announced on his Facebook page on Thursday that he has postponed the release of his next album "Suspended Animation" due to the music lacking a certain "drive". He also announced that the album's track listing will be greatly altered to remove songs that aren't up to his standards, and to add new ones. What this will mean for some of the instrumental takes posted on his Reverbnation page isn't known yet, but stay tuned for updates on the new release info! With that said, Mike has uploaded three full songs from "Suspended Animation" with vocals onto Reverbnation, those being "Sun Perfume", "The Institution", and a new addition to the setlist, "Trinity". I won't go into heavy detail with my opinions on them, as I still hope to review this album down the road, but I will say that the vocals complete each track! Of course, there's a lot of Mike Haggith solo material that's came out recently too if you're getting anxious, and it's now supplanted by the addition of his "Live At The Outback" album onto his ReverbNation store!
Next up, here are the latest news items from Woods of Ypres, now back in action following frontman David Gold's return to Canada! On Thursday, he announced a rough timeline of upcoming band events on Woods of Ypres' Facebook page, starting with writing, rehearsals, and DVD editing in January and February! That's all good to hear, especially the unexpected news about a DVD! That'll be interesting, I wonder what we'll get in that? Then, it's mentioned that "Woods IV: The Green Album" will be reissued worldwide through their new label Earache Records, with a warm-up Canadian tour planned as well. David mentioned the Earache reissue news on his Governor's Ball interview, and it's nice to see the album get wider press! Looks like "Woods V" will be pushed back as a result, but it'll be worth it when it comes out! And as for the warm-up Canadian tour? Fingers crossed they play a show here! David also added that the band hope to write and rehearse more in April, followed by the beginning of full time touring "everywhere" in May. Awesome news, hopefully this plan sticks without delay! One more quick Woods of Ypres note: Their first merchandise item on Earache Records' store is now on sale! It's a $5 Woods of Ypres patch, pick it up today at this location! Stay tuned for more Woods of Ypres news as I hear it!
Thirdly today, here's the latest news from local hardcore quintet As It Stands! Firstly, if you've been wondering why we haven't heard anything lately concerning their show tomorrow at The Speak Easy, here's why. The band deleted the Facebook event page, alluding to a likely cancellation for the show. That's a shame, it'd have been fun! They have been keeping busy booking some Southern Ontario shows for next month though, including a new show in Ottawa on January 29th with hardcore band After the Vendetta, and more news on their January 28th concert in Windsor with The Voodoo Mafia. It's amazing how quickly they've been able to secure out of town shows after their return, that's a very good sign! They also announced that their original material (presumably their two newest originals) are now on rotation at Energy Rock Radio, which is awesome! It'd be nice to hear their original EP on there too (If you have a copy or the songs from it, let me know!) Get full details on the above stories at their official Facebook page! The future's looking very bright for As It Stands, I'll keep you posted with more news as I hear it! And of course, make sure to see them on Tuesday at the Soo Music Mash-Up show at The Oddfellows Hall!
Fourthly, three local metal bands have launched brand new Facebook pages! One is the new Facebook page for local hard rockers Stillbroke, which is (more or less) their first updated news or information on an official band page in quite a long time. The new page is pretty sparse at present, but it does confirm the band's current lineup (including new bassist Mitch Sirie), so it's worth becoming a fan of to stay in the loop! Speaking of bands featuring Mitch Sirie, his death metal band The Bear Hunters also have a new official Facebook page as well! It includes the band's lineup, a logo, and lots of amusing anti-bear statements! Good stuff so far, remember to check them out on New Years Eve, once I find out more info! And the final new Facebook page is courtesy of new local death metal quartet State of Misery! Nice to see a page from them that anyone can join and become a fan of! It confirms their lineup and also includes influences, an "odd" biography statement, and mentions that page updates and news are coming "soon". Good to hear! I'm a fan of all three pages, and if you guys want to keep updated, I'd say you all should too!
And finally, just some news on three link deletions from the SMS. I deleted two bands from our listings, those being defunct local solo project Recognition and Sin Stereo, who are now better known as Stiffler's Mom. I left them on the SMS following the shutdown of their only internet pages on GarageBand because it looked like they were on iLike with their songs posted there. On recent link checking, I found that their iLike "pages" were neither official nor featured any real audio or band material. It's nice to see iLike add them to their server, but they're certainly not real band pages, so I finally deleted them from our listings. I also edited both bands' entries in our GarageBand Profile Mini-Series (linked above) to reflect the reality of their internet page situation, with media links on both now taking you to my YouTube uploads of the songs on the SMS' YouTube channel. The other deletion was for the old website for Hempfest, which has long since changed owners and isn't directly run by people connected with Planetary Pride anymore, as the old site was hosted through there. So there's the deletions, in case you guys were wondering where certain links went!
