The news keeps on rolling in, and for this 23rd straight day of updates, we have a mix of things, including the latest confirmed band for the next local battle of the bands, the closely nearing deadline for registrations, and a pile of shorter recent news items, but first, here's some information on a new upcoming metal album release, and when we'll be reviewing it on the site!
Dafter, Michigan metal solo artist Ken "SweetKenny" Sutton will release his fifth original solo album "Doo Hickey" on March 31st! (Well, his sixth if you count last year's best-of compilation.) As revealed on his various online pages, including the album's page on his website, the album will see Ken teaming up with Detroit-area guitarist Scott Schroen (of The Ugly Radio Rebellion), who he has worked with on past material, but Ken will handle some guitar parts along with all other instruments. Sound-wise, Ken revealed that this will have "the Detroit rock sound", the sound of Sammy Hagar meeting The Doors, and a progressive rock feel, which all sounds intriguing added up! Scheduled to be released through his independent label Waterfall Records in just under two weeks, the full album (which is of EP length with only 6 songs) can be heard for free at this location, but it WILL be available for sale on the 31st through online music sites such as CD Baby, iTunes, and Amazon, presumably for 99¢ a track or $5.94 for the full release.
With a streaming copy available online (and with Ken sending me an advance copy), I'll confirm right now that "Doo Hickey" will be the subject of this month's CD review at the SMS! It'll be our first Sault Michigan review since last summer, and as a result, I've tentatively bumped our review of Woods of Ypres' "Independent Nature 2002-2007" to next month, likely close to the Juno Awards for obvious reasons. Stay tuned by March 31st for our review of SweetKenny's newest album, and for more updates soon!