Sat. April 23: Too Much Metal for One Hand…Inferno Fest

Lauren Hedges

This Saturday, April 23rd,  The Blind Dog (671 Ouellette Ave.) will be consumed by metal as Inferno Fest comes to Windsor. Almost ten full hours of music, on two stages, with nineteen bands, this is sure to be intense. The lineup is a diverse set of heavy bands, most of which are from the Windsor area. This show allows re-admittance all day, and advance tickets can be purchased for only ten dollars.

Between 2 and 3 will be two as yet undecided bands, but they’ll probably be pretty good ones.

At 3, Pomegranate Tiger will be playing the small stage. These guys are a four-piece instrumental prog rock/metal group who impress whenever they play, whether the viewers have previously seen them or not.

From there, jump to the main stage at 3:30 for local badasses Assassinate the Following… with their brand of contagious and addictive heavy metal that is not just one dimensional screaming and distorted guitars, but well arranged pieces of music that will likely induce quite a pit.

Back to the small stage at 4 for Desertion who have recently decided to make a comeback into the Windsor music circuit. Playing for their “Welcome to Nothing EP” be ready for intense vocals and grinding guitars.

4:30 on the main stage gives Celtic metal from Aeron’s Wake that will get you dancing while you headbang. A very unique group for in the Windsor scene, and the only one of it’s sort at this show, they’re probably worth checking out.

Return to the small stage at 5 for A Dream in the Morning as they show off their “2-step/Ghettotech/Happy Hardcore”

Modern Miniatures from Hamilton take over the main stage at 5:30 with hardcore featuring members of Threat Signal. Even when they lay off the screaming, it’s not to sing some pretty harmonies. The vocals remain jagged and raw, a relentless barrage of heavy.

Then catch Toronto straightedge hardcore Liferuiner on the small stage at 6 before they take off for their European tour in May. Think For the Fallen Dreams and Acacia Strain, and you’ll have a good idea of what these guys sound like.

Before going once more to the main stage for Perpetuate at 6:30 where they’ll be playing in support of their newly released self-titled album, spewing thick and layered female-fronted prog-rock.

The small stage will host Anu Beginning at 7, another group with a recent release “We Move Mountains”. This pop-punk/hardcore group will entertain you while bringing up thoughts of The Offspring from A Day to Remember fornicating with Blurt.

Are you dizzy yet? Hopefully not, because there are still 8 more bands and 4 more hours of face melting to come.

So then on the main stage at 7:35 you can catch Overcome Your Kingdom from Chatham as they scream and sing their way through a set that is likely to include a fair bit of jumping around from both the band and the crowd.

And Cyreene on the small stage at 8:10 with more prog-rock to get your head whipping about.

8:45 will show Betrayer on the main stage, one of the city’s longest-running acts, this group has in the past won numerous battle of the bands competitions, and are sure to wow you with their classic-metal style.

We Remain will take over the small stage at 9:20 for thrashy prog with a unique tone to it. Description and comparisons aren’t coming easy for this one, but it’s good. So check it out, and draw your own conclusions.

Finding your way back to the main stage after that will bring you face-to-face with Blackthorn City at 9:55, who have a new EP posted to their myspace. They have only short samples that make it rather difficult to judge, but it seems promising. Traditionalish metal, I’d have to guess.

We’re getting close to the end now… The Big Dirty will be tearing up the small stage at 10:30 with a big, growling, distorted set.

While that’s going on, the main stage will be set up for Hamilton’s Aarsonist who go on at 11:05. This is another unique band for the night. Vocals are spoken, and everything about their sound is something different that what you’ll have heard up until this point. Check out their clean guitar…Wicked.

And the day will then be closed off on the small stage by Devilz by Definition, the staple band of The Coach and Horses, self-defined as “good old fashioned metal”, you’ll want to save a bit of energy for this set so you can properly thrash around for a fitting closing to a long day.

Has your face melted completely off, yet?

Inferno Fest takes place Saturday, April 23rd 2011 at The Blind Dog (671 Ouellette Ave.). It is all ages, $10 ADV/$15 Door, doors open at 1 pm and the show goes from 2 until 12:10, with re-admittance all day.

The Windsor Scene with Lauren Hedges

Lauren Hedges

First things first, the playlist from this week’s installment of The Windsor Scene, also available as a download.

Dave Russell – Toys (Unnatural Disaster – 2010)

Fresh Breath – Speed of Sound (The Speed of Sound – 2010)

Jordan Dollar – Flight (Move Forward II – 2010)

Acousticfire – Sorry Old Man (The Windsor Zene Sampler February – 2011)

Goliath – Facebreaker (Funweiser EP – 2011)

Assassinate the Following… – Sinful Beginnings (Assasinate the Following…)

Fuck The Facts – Fingers with Candy Tips (Collection of Splits 2000-2004 – 2005)

Tony Coates – Beautiful (2010)

Anonymous Bosch – Death, Metal, and Blues (Anonymous Bosch)

Awake to a Dream – Tainted (2011)

ATM – Crusty Barnacle (ATM/Gnarlie Murphy Split – 2010)

Shortcut to Last – It’s Not Enough (I Know You’re Not One For Serious Situations – 2010)

Riverside – The Best is Yet To Come (Newspeak)

Time Giant – Lobotomy (Grow – 2011)

Sewing with Nancie – Naïve (The Same Three Chords – 2000)

The Rural Alberta Advantage – Muscle Relaxants (Departing – 2011)

Lonesome Lefty & The Cryin’ Shames – Back to the Sugar Camp (Souvenir Album – 2011)

Yellow Wood – Be A Little Braver (Son of the Oppressor – 2009)

Yellow Wood – Picture (Son of the Oppressor – 2009)

And a few notes on the show;

Thanks to Dave Russell for the nudge towards his tunes! Anonymous Bosch did a similar thing this week as well, informing me of their newly-submitted album. There are a lot of CDs in our library, and I have yet to find the time to become familiar with all of them. Requests for music, whether they’re coming from artists or fans, are always welcome and appreciated. So what do you want to hear?

Awake to a Dream, Tony Coates, and Shortcut to Last are rad for supplying their music after I asked for it. Thanks for helping to build the show, and CJAM’s local library!

Anyone else interested in having their albums added to our selection of local artists can feel free to drop CD’s (or vinyl!) off at the station in the basement of the CAW Student Centre at The University of Windsor.

This past week I was in attendance at a number of sweet shows.

Last Thursday, which also happened to be St. Patty’s Day, I spent my evening at The Coach, and as my alcohol consumption went up, I remembered more. Yes, I know this makes no sense, but there it is. What this translates into is this; of The Kettle Black I remember a dude with a guitar, some black curtains, and weirdness. So, that is to say, not very much. On to Devilz by Definition, then. Metal. Lots of mids, high-pitched screaming. We’re getting better. So next came Awake to a Dream. A ukulele cover of The “Last Saskatchewan Pirate” by The Arrogant Worms, and I geeked out. Music from Sonic 2. I geeked more. It was awesome!

Sunday night was Shared Arms, Everyone Everywhere, and The All Night in an all-ages show at Phog. Pop-punk at it’s finest. The moshing had to be continually squashed, and the crowd sang as loud as the bands, even when they weren’t hijacking microphones. It made me really appreciate and wonder at the dedication of music fans in Windsor, that they learn the words to every single song of the local bands they love. It’s great to see, you won’t find it quite the same anywhere else.

Tuesday night was the debut of Cellos in the opening slot for KEN Mode. I unfortunately had to miss the first band thanks to work, but folks tell me it was quite the experience.  My first encounter with KEN Mode was pretty damn awesome, but I don’t know how to describe it. They can’t be defined by a single (or even 3) genre. It was for sure heavy, and the mixing of an Orange stack with a Mesa head almost made me cry I loved it so much. Instead of trying and failing to describe this music, how about you just listen to it.

Friday the 25^th is a very busy night in the Windsor music scene, but I’ll give you the rundown on my show of choice (and believe me; it wasn’t an easy one). At The Blind Dog you can see Silver Glory, Awake to a Dream, Nuclear Sunrise, Bleach, Jonas & the Massive Attraction, and Anonymous Bosch for only $10 (with the purchase of an advance ticket).  A night of rock’n’roll at it’s finest. Pretty stoked for this one.

But any show you choose in Windsor this weekend, whether it’s Tony Coates at Taloola, Fuck the Facts at The Coach, or Freedom Within at Trees, it’s gonna be great, because Windsor fans are half the fun of these shows, and they’re sure to be packing each one of them.

And as an extra special tip, if you tune in to the show next Wednesday between 5 and 630 you’ll have a chance to win a pair of tickets to the upcoming Perpetuate CD Release Show with Baptized in Blood and Betrayer. That’s right, free tickets to a sweet metal show. What more can you ask for?

The Windsor Zene’s FREE February Windsor Music Sampler is now available!

Well it’s that time of month again – although the shortness of February caught us a bit off guard so we’re a couple days off.

Here’s your link to February’s FREE Windsor Music Sampler. Just click on the February release (or if you missed December or January’s, they’re still available for FREE download as well). February’s compilation started off a bit slow, but it turned into our biggest compilation yet, clocking in at 16 tracks!

We’re pleased to announce that some different genres are slowly creeping in, from melodic rock (Acousticfire) to ska (Brass Knuckles and The Nefidovs) as well as our first sampling of Windsor hip-hop arrives with a track from Academy’s Kayyce Closed.

Some of the veterans of the scene (Pat Robitaille, Hammerdown, Explode When They Bloom, The Hung Jury, The Golden Eagles) are also represented, while new blood like Shortcut to Last, Devilz By Definition and The Hypnotics are also on the bill. Some overlooked acts from the past couple years (but who are still performing) are represented as well, with the indie DIY punk ethic of Rose City (featuring Locusts Have No Ki ng, ASK and Years of Ernest member Joey “The Wise Guy” DesRoches) and the electronic blues funk of Gregg Koval‘s track (Koval gained notoriety as part of the ’90s outfit Powdered Toastmen).

Our first sample of cross border unity also appears featuring the Detroit hardcore band The Armed, which features Windsor guitarist Christopher Elkjar (who also performs in Cloverjoy and has accompanied (wh)y.m.e.(??) at some live performances).

We’ve got a great electronic piece from Kero to close the set out for you. This guy is one of Windsor’s most influential musicians of the past decade (Beck and Radiohead’s Thom Yorke are admitted fans) and it’s a real treat to have him on the sampler.

In a band and your submission didn’t make the cut? Fear not. Simply means we ended up with more than we could handle this month. It’ll appear as soon as we can allot it!

Want to submit a track for an upcoming sampler? Send your hi-quality mp3 or .wav file, along with all production credits, to windsorzene@gmail.com

Help promote local Windsor music by SHARING this article on your Facebook page! The best way to let people know about the talent this city and scene produces is my letting them know!

Yeti Agency News: Devilz By Definition promo video and Gypsy Chief Goliath’s adventure continues…

Last week we let you in on the world of Al “Yeti” Bones and his new puppy, The Yeti Agency. We also told you about the brilliant (and hilarious) new adventure being undertook by Al’s band, Gypsy Chief Goliath – video documenting the entire recording process of the new album up in Northern Ontario at a cottage. Well, for those who followed the first installment, here’s Part 2 – the next few days…

Also, another local band that Al has taken into the Yeti Agency stable, are new thrash metal faves Devilz By Definition. These guys seemingly came out of nowhere last year and have mercilessly released their aggression on the metal masses of Windsor like a war between thunder gods with M60’s. They’ve come a long way and have kept a loyalty to a lot of the other bands that came up with them, playing a lot of same bills to help raise awareness for a lot of up and coming bands and giving them some great exposure. They’re gearing up to release their debut EP, First Blood Drawn, this year and I’ll bet it’s release party will be jammed! Here’s a taster video of the song “Jumpstart”.