LOCAL CONCERT ALERT (Vanity First) & Heavy Lies The Crown Updates!!

I hope all of our Canadian readers are having a good Victoria Day! Ironically, most of this post reflects the E.U.P. (whose Memorial Day holiday isn't for another week), but we are leading off with a LOCAL CONCERT ALERT on this side of the border, so here's what you should know!

Local punk trio Vanity First and rap/party metal duo The Apocalypse Afterparty will join forces for a concert at Soo Blaster on Saturday, June 17th! While neither are strangers to playing at Soo Blaster as support bands (the former for Gutter Creek and Leash, the latter at multiple rap concerts), the idea of an all-local show with just the two of them is unique in and of itself, especially on such a big stage, so it will be interesting to see how this concert goes! Vanity are fresh off of their solo gigs at Shooters this weekend, while The A.A. were last seen opening for Madchild at Soo Blaster last month. Both bands' energetic covers and diverse originals should pull a strong audience, so don't miss out on the 17th! Sponsored by Sessions Cannabis, this concert has a 19+ age limit, door opening at 7:00 PM, and admission prices at $15 in advance or $20 at the door. Advance tickets will be on sale on Eventbrite, though the link is not out yet. See the above links for continuing details on this concert!

Next up, let's continue getting caught up on the latest updates from St. Ignace, Michigan metalcore band Heavy Lies The Crown's Facebook page from the past 3+ weeks, starting with their April 30th reveal that their recent music video is for a song named "Jell-O", and while complete & uploaded to their YouTube channel, it was still private at that time. Singer Brandon West posted this video later that day to reveal that the video proper would go public two days later, and also thank fans for their support and tease their new run of official band hoodies. On May 1st, Brandon teased in this video that H.L.T.C. were working on a fast new song, tentatively named "Sound Check" (no relation) that would also get its own music video, so stay tuned in that regard! After one more teaser clip from Brandon about the "Jell-O" premiere that night, the video went live, so what should you know about it?

Directed by Robin Chargo, it features the band playing in white hazmat suits in a sealed room drenched in blood (perhaps Jell-O that didn't set in the fridge?!). The blood got all over the band too, especially Brandon, who is the only band member not wearing a face mask (a logistical necessity given that he is screaming the lyrics). I'll hold comment on the song proper, pending our eventual review of the album in progress, but the video is well suited to the track, and it was well shot, so give it a watch below!

Conspicuous by his absence from the video is rhythm guitarist Christian Thanasiu, and that's because he quietly left Heavy Lies The Crown earlier this year, as revealed in a post on May 2nd before "Jell-O" went live. A reason for Christian's departure was not announced, but the band left the door open on playing with him again in the future, and it definitely sounds like he left on amicable terms. The music video was shot in March, and based on the band's usage of photos with their most recent full lineup, he must have left between late February and early March (videos from their recent concerts haven't been plentiful to be any more specific). Christian replaced Nathan Switzer on rhythm guitar early last year during the band's lineup overhaul, and his beard, toque, & Flying V guitar were always a welcome sight on stage. Hopefully things are going well for him no matter what, and that we see Christian back out there soon!

Remember that H.L.T.C.'s bassist is also named Christian (Bailey/Cook), so that confusion will now be alleviated, for what that's worth. No word on when/if they'll find a new second guitarist, but we will keep you posted if anything comes out in that regard! Continuing with their May Facebook updates, Brandon posted this video on May 5th of him attempting to sing in a glam metal style, and while a little strained, I have heard far worse! On May 7th, Brandon uploaded this video from his garage to tease their upcoming "Sound Check" music video, which will apparently feature some type of toy guns (pixellated to likely avoid any content issues about guns, but the colouring implies that they are toys). On May 11th, Brandon was back with another video, this time to hype up their next concert, which went down on Saturday at the 2 Wheel Tavern in Wolverine, outside of Cheboygan. For H.L.T.C.'s standards, that's as close to "local" as I've seen from them, so hopefully some Yoopers came out!

The show (held on an outdoor stage) saw Heavy Lies The Crown open for three bands, including headlining Indiana thrash metal band Wraith, but H.L.T.C. were not filmed for the venue's Facebook page like other bands were. Brandon did note that all but one song in their set on Saturday was new, so keep that in mind. They'll also return to Alpena (not as far on the grand scheme of things for them) on July 22nd when they open for Katharsys Theory at the Michigan Brown Trout Festival, so see those links for more details if you're up for a road trip in two months! We are now officially caught up on Heavy Lies The Crown, so see above and their music video teaser clip below for more from them!

That's all for today, but stay tuned for more news and notes on the site this week! Thanks everyone!