METAL MAKES NOISE FOR END OF SUMMER
School is most certainly not out for summer — in fact, it’s right around the corner for most. Probably the best thing about working full time is not having to dwell on going back to class. But as our summer months slowly fade away, let’s get a little more good music in.
CHAD VALLEY
When: Friday, Aug. 31 Where: Amigos
What: Hugo Manuel, also known by his stage name Chad Valley, is an electronic musician from Oxford in England. His visual esthetic is simple and straightforward; his musical esthetic is totally different. Valley’s singing and electronic music fits somewhere between pulsing ambient electronica and more pop-style dance beats. He’s also not afraid to collaborate with other artists. Quite a few of Valley’s songs feature additional performers without losing out on his own sound. Electronic music is always kind of hit or miss. It can be really cool and creative, or it can sound similar to every other electronic musician. Valley’s vocals and lyrics really push him into that first category.
HELL HOUNDS WITH SINGULARITY, PYTHONIC, AISEIRI
When: Saturday, Sept. 1 Where: Black Cat Tavern What: This is one of those concerts where every group playing brings something to the table, and every one of those somethings is a brand of metal. Regina-based metal band Hell Hounds have an exciting progressive-electric tone to their music that sets it apart from typical metal. Saskatoon’s own Pythonic is a heavier-sounding band with a little more of a “traditional” metal sound. Aiseiri, another hometown group, is more of a Celtic metal group with a folk edge to a lot of their music. And Singularity refers to themselves as a “shred metal” band on their Facebook page, which is a surprisingly apt way to describe their fastmoving death metal music. It’s a little hard to comprehend the amount of talented metal bands in Saskatchewan, which might be the least metal of all the provinces. But if you’re looking for a taste of a variety of metal songs, this is the place to be.
THE FACEPLANTS
When: Saturday, Sept. 1 Where: Capitol Music Club What: There’s a genuine part of me that wonders why The Faceplants aren’t a bigger deal than they are. That’s not to say they haven’t been successful: the rock/pop group, which hails from Vancouver, has recorded plenty of music and received a good amount of attention. But they have the talent and songwriting ability to really soar. One of their newest songs, Unholy, is a great, hard-rocking song with slick vocals that really shows off the group’s talents. The best way to describe The Faceplants’ music is unrelenting. There’s a power and bluntness to the sound and lyrics that give it a hard hit. But don’t worry, you probably won’t get hit hard enough to actually faceplant.