Sunday, September 2, 2012

Where Are The New Albums? September 2012 Update

Another month means another slate of feature posts is upon us, and today, we have the first of September 2012, that being this month's "Where Are The New Albums?" post! As always, this series explores the background, info, and current statuses of all of the known, publically announced, and officially started metal/hard rock albums from Sault Ontario bands, and this month's installment features one brand new album and updates on two others! As always, updated/new entries are noted with the album's name in italics. So, where are the new albums? Read on below to hopefully find out!
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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", "Embay the Terrible", "Oh Herm, Herm Delish", "David & Goliath", "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 last 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 was 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, despite recent delays and absences of updates. 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", "Deception"

Background: Local death metal quintet The Bear Hunters formally announced that they'd begun recording for their debut EP "Bloodthirst" last May, 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:
Though things seem to have been delayed a tad, recordings for this and the band's non-album cover of Woods of Ypres' "Kiss My Ashes (Goodbye; Part 2)" are ongoing as per their Facebook page last week. No timeline was given for the release of either, but they seem to have things in good order, so keep an eye out for updates on official Bear Hunters media as it comes in!
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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 almost 4 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", and while Sault native Jon Morrison was announced as the album's drummer that fall, they are currently looking for a new session drummer. 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, but recent updates have been slow, and delays have been indicated. Whether Jon or ex-keyboardist Brian Holmes will be included in some capacity on the album is currently unknown.

Current Release Status: According to Lee's posting on the Musicians Wanted Facebook group relating to their session drummer search, he's hoping for the work to be done "within the next 4-12 months", which alone hints that "Perihelion" has been pushed back to at least 2013. That, and the lack of hoped summer re-recordings suggest delays from the November 2010 projections, but good art takes time, and knowing Gates of Winter's talent and attention to detail, they won't wanna release this until everything's perfect, so keep an eye out for updates!
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Haggith - Apocalypse

Rumoured Songs: "Wanko", "Fin", "I Am", "The Married Massacre", "Living It On The Run", "Rage Train", "Yesterday's Frustrations", "No Cure For Insanity"

Background: A new local grunge band formed in May, this trio featuring Havadder & 20 Pack of Marshmallows alumni alongside local solo artist Mike Haggith have quickly announced plans to record a debut album entitled "Apocalypse". Following early plans for "basement" demo EPs, they've since confirmed recording is underway for their first album, which has seen names like "Stop the Ear Bleeding" and "Dragon Joy Ride" in recent months. It's title and planned concept theme were announced on August 26th on their Facebook page, which features numerous videos and audio clips from both live performances and studio sessions, new and old. Band biography writers and album cover artists are also being sought, so check the above links to help make Haggith's debut album a reality!

Current Release Status: I'm not entirely sure, but if Haggith operate on a similar prolific schedule as Mike Haggith does solo, this might just come out by the end of the year! If you look at Mike's discography, that's not far fetched, and I've heard talk of them playing their first Sault Ste. Marie show soon as well, so keep an eye out for updates on their debut album!
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Late & Loud's debut album

Rumoured Songs: "Whisper Of The Damned", "Fast As A Bitch", "Rock N' Roll", "Heavy Or Bust", "Machine Gun Maiden"

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. Alternately described as a demo and an EP, it 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. The band released a video last year indicating a now-passed release date, with instrumental samples of three songs, and a confirmed tracklist of at least nine songs, which has since been pared down to five, omitting frequently played songs from recent shows like "Live For Excess" & "Love Letter Lockdown". Though the full EP has been posted on the band's Reverbnation page, information about a concrete release was not made before the band went on hiatus on September 1st.

Current Release Status: The chances of it's release are looking slimmer now thanks to Late & Loud's recently-begun hiatus, but we've seen enough bands release posthumous material to know not to count out this being released yet. That said, the free online posting may have been a way to let fans hear the material due to the knowledge of a proper release not happening, but who knows. We'll hear more soon, hopefully!
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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. Some full and demo tracks from the album are now online for streaming, so 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 few months, Mike confirmed this spring that illnesses have caused it to be delayed to an unknown future date, and activity with his new local grunge band Haggith has been prominent recently as well. That said, postings and cover artwork have been posted on his solo Facebook page over the past month hinting towards a closer and closer release date, so might we see "Neighbourhood Watch" this fall? Mike has always been forthcoming & honest about album release details and hangups, so 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 that 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 2011, 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 would likely tie in to their debut concert as a CD release show, but we haven't heard anything official from the band since last fall, and could be approaching us labelling them as inactive in a few months, so I'm starting to doubt if it'll ever be released. Just in case though, stay tuned for updates!
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Shit Liver's debut EP

Rumoured Songs:
"Contribute or Perish", "Fabricated Nonsense", "Hateroleum", "Helen Kellers", "It's Not My Problem", "Pennotration", "Sewer Livin'", "Shift Liver", "Shit Liver", "Shit Will Prevail", "Survival of the Shittest", "Unabomber", "(Friendly Old) Uncle Joe", "You're Scared"

Background: Curiously not plugged at all on their online pages, I have heard from those close to the band that local grimecore trio Shit Liver are independently working on a debut EP which is supposed to have 14 songs (knowing how short most of their songs are, that's not a typo.) I can confirm that there are unmastered recordings of at least some of the album tracks floating around, but as they have not publically acknowledged EP plans online, it's not clear how far along they are, but I'll keep you guys updated if they say anything!

Current Release Status: Your guess is as good as mine. Most bands that stay mum on recording plans are behind schedule or not proceeding further, but from what I have heard, Shit Liver are well into the recording process and have finished up at least much of the material. Hopefully we hear some big news on this front soon, so stay tuned for updates!
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Sykotyk Rampage - "Jonathon, Your Music Sucks!", "Sykotyk Ramp-age", "Anal Disruptions", "Smells Real Good On A Bad Night", "The Cross", and "Will Do Anything, Seriously?"

Rumoured Songs: "Roll A Doobie"

Background: On May 6th, "the original crash band" Sykotyk Rampage unveiled plans to release no less than six new albums this year, mirroring the announced output of material from last year. Though little is known yet on the material for these albums beyond the album covers on their Facebook page, these six will push Sykotyk Rampage's discography to 35 releases in total, and all will feature 11-12 tracks. Similarly to their recent albums, it's expected that these new albums are or will be recorded with their current lineup at River Front Recreation Studios, and they'll likely be put on sale and/or uploaded for free streaming on their Reverbnation page when they're actually released. Aside from a potential album track named "Roll A Doobie" on Reverbnation, no song identities or media have been released yet, but stay tuned for updates on all of Sykotyk Rampage's new albums as information comes in!

Current Release Status: These albums are listed on Facebook as coming out this summer, which officially passes us by this month. This isn't anything new though, as many of Sykotyk Rampage's recent albums have been delayed by as much as 8 months. I'd love to see some or all of these come out soon, but a wait & see attitude might be the best route to take. No matter what though, keep an eye out for plenty of Sykotyk Rampage material (hopefully) this year!
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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", "The After Life", "9/11", "His Sacrifice", "Termination of Exystence"

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. He's worked on the album sporadically since, including scattered song postings (including some of a comedic or acoustic nature) and Facebook hints at a double album release, but it's unknown how close we are to seeing a second Tym Morrison album release, or if all of the originally announced songs will make the cut, but keep an eye out!

Current Release Status: I don't have any real idea, but the song postings from this summer hint towards good things! Hopefully Tym does release these songs in the near future, as his older samples and newer material deserve an audience, but for now, check out the above links to hear what he has to share that could make the cut!
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Winkstinger's debut EP

Rumoured Songs: "Sadist", "Fuck The Rest", "Cheese Grater Face", "Chudnugget", "From Bullshit To Buzz (Lies = Weed)", "Where'd We Go Wrong", "Poop", "In Other Words", "Stop! You Can't Interrogate Someone With Brain Damage!", "The Devil's Hand", "Feel All My Hate", "Move It, Peenie-Weenies, My Hands Are On Fire!", "Jimmy Got His New Legs (Derp.)", "Bidniz", "Nunya", "Of Steed & Steel"

Background: Little is publically known about this EP, but Winkstinger initially confirmed on March 15th on their Facebook page that recording had begun. Anything else from official band pages is open-ended or minimal, but guitarist Jesse Cook has also kept fans posted on the recording sessions for the band's first EP on his personal Facebook page, noting that recording took place from the 15th through the 27th, with mixing done and some lyric finalization left. I assume this EP is being self-produced and recorded, but again, the band hasn't said much publically about it or it's possible track listing, length, release formats, or anything else. In May, the band posted 5 demos from the sessions onto their new SoundCloud page, so stream them there in advance of the full release! Whether ex-rhythm guitarist Jason Ladouceur's recordings will remain on the final product or be redone by his replacement Anthony Orazietti is not publically known yet.

Current Release Status: I'm not sure, especially with the limited public information as of yet, but at this point, a fall release would make sense. No matter what though, I'm curious to hear more of Winkstinger's creative and often amusing material in studio form, so hopefully this does come out relatively soon! Stay tuned for updates!
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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 last April (get ordering details here), and you can stream them at various online pages 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. Joel Violette has indicated in interviews that the only future Woods release he can see being produced would be an album of piano-based re-recordings, further muddying the waters of a "W4.5" release. 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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I hope you guys liked this month's installment of this ongoing series! It'll of course be back in October, but barring a flash new album release in the next week, our next feature post will be our dual Defunct Local Band Profiles on Weed and PYSS next Monday, so stay tuned for that then, and more news on the site hopefully soon! Thanks everyone!

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