Heavy Lies The Crown Updates From The Last Few Months!!

How did I go all of July without a post catching us up on St. Ignace deathcore band Heavy Lies The Crown? Given that they're returning to the local stage this month for the returning 2nd Street Music Festival, it's high time we check out what the guys have been up to since late May! When we last left off with H.L.T.C., they were hitting the road for another concert downstate, this time 5 hours away in Chesterfield Township (outside of Detroit) on May 30th, where they opened for Buffalo post-hardcore band The Bunny The Bear at The Diesel Concert Lounge. Drummer Blaze Beairl was unable to make the trip that weekend, so they did a bit of lineup juggling. Guitarist Kaycee Mason sat in behind the drumkit (he already drums for Alpena metal band Katharsys Theory anyway), and they called in Kaycee's old bandmate Paul Nolan to sit in on guitar "for the time being", including at a private birthday concert the following day.

In their first Facebook video upload of the summer, Heavy Lies The Crown posted a very high quality performance video from the Chesterfield Township show, and while it only runs for 40 seconds, I do sincerely hope that this filmer got more content! The video in question shows Heavy and Paul in action, and this was reportedly the first time that bassist Christian Cook deployed backing vocals on stage with them, catching frontman Brandon West slightly off guard (in a good way). Christian has a very capable death growl there, so I'd be game to hear him more vocally! You can see more from that night in this highlight video featuring brief clips of all bands on May 30th, but it's another one of those videos that dubs over all live audio with an H.L.T.C. original ("Friend" here). With how good this video quality is, I'd be showing it off on full songs, but what do I know. Check everything out above & below!

Much of June was spent with Heavy Lies The Crown entering a contest to try and get voted in as a performer at the Global Citizen Festival in New York next month, which would also net them a $50,000 prize and a feature in Rolling Stone magazine. The Global Citizen Festival isn't exactly a metal haven in any year, but H.L.T.C. made a solid run at it, going as far as the quarterfinals, so congratulations to them on getting as far as they did! In their next Facebook video from early July, Brandon was seen driving his vehicle while talking to the camera in more of an off the cuff manner (not even saying "Hey guys, Heavy here" at the start). The focus here was on his vocal styles in their songs and what he prefers to do re: harsh vocals and "scare screaming", noting that their song "Jell-O" and his vocals there will very much be what their next album will largely sound like. Fun little update clip, so give it a watch below!

Regarding their annual 2nd Street Music Festival in their hometown (one of the very few times that Heavy Lies The Crown ever play public concerts in the E.U.P.), Brandon confirmed on their Facebook page on June 2nd that the show has moved up a week from this Saturday to next Saturday (August 16th), while also moving it from its prior 2nd Street location to the Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 5114 at 1110 North State Street, right along the shore of the Straits of Mackinac. Now simply called Brandon's Birthday Bash, the show will feature H.L.T.C. alongside two touring metal bands from Metro Detroit, namely metalcore quintet Nothing After This and alternative/nu-metal band Influence. as well as Hannahville "rez metal" band Ghidora, who made the trip east for the St. Ignace show last year. Ghidora are replacing Macomb Country metalcore quartet At Water, as per this video on July 25th.

Brandon only said that "things happen. Understandable" when citing the reason for At Water dropping out, but hopefully nothing too serious happened, as it'd be neat to see more Detroit-area bands play north of the Mackinac Bridge! Because H.L.T.C. have been fairly quiet this summer beyond teasers and hype (including a mention last month of more potential lineup changes), we are now caught up on their recent updates, but with the big St. Ignace show ahead next Saturday, there'll be more to discuss from their camp soon, so stay tuned for more from Heavy Lies The Crown this month, and for more news & notes this week! Thanks everyone!

Where Are The New Albums? August 2025 Update

For our second post today, here's this month's "Where Are The New Albums?" post, as we again look at the current release whereabouts of upcoming albums from local metal, hard rock, and/or punk acts who have had confirmed studio sessions towards them! This month's installment has one removed and successfully released album (Spades GT's "United"), but this is largely a holding pattern installment otherwise, with details abridged, re-dated, or left alone aside from one with new content (its title is in italics.) So, where are the new albums? Read on below to hopefully find out!

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Bone Yard 225's debut album

Rumoured Songs: "F.A.F.O.", "Gypsy Spell", "Fuck!"

Background: After months of teasers that they were planning to record original music (as previewed in their live concerts prior), local southern hard rock cover trio Bone Yard 225 began releasing their own songs on major streaming services in July 2024, a whopping fifteen years after the pre-225 band debuted as a country cover quartet. Their first three singles (all recorded at their home studio) were posted online by January, though it took until May 2025 for the band to confirm on their Facebook page that they were indeed working on a proper album. It's not immediately clear if their existing three singles will be included, but it's not a given, as Jonesy Land fans saw with "Zoom-Out".

Current Release Status: In that Facebook post from May 30th, your local 225 said that "the album is coming along nicely", and they hoped to release it "by the end of 2025". Assuming no delay, that's a six month window, and while singer/drummer Greg Simpson did release an EP with his old band Stiffler's Mom, it's hard to compare the release methods and schedule given that "The Demo" came out in 2004.  It is neat to see that Greg, Alex, and Warren are going all in on a studio album, and stay tuned for updates as they roll in!

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Bullet Train's upcoming EPs

Rumoured Songs: "Atmosphere", "Illusions", "Profit", "Wayside"

Background: The current hard rock band from former Sense of Truth/Skeyes of Seven frontman Cory Murchsion and ex-Fort Creek bandmates Robin "Bones" Lee and Anthony Fabiano, Bullet Train have existed solely as a studio band so far, releasing four original songs recorded at their own home studio to their YouTube channel in 2024, all very much influenced by their take on current events. After a quiet summer due to "life's trials", Bullet Train resurfaced on their Facebook page on September 1st to reveal that they were working on two demo EPs, with the first one entering post-production as of the 9th, though it's not clear if their 2024 singles will be on them.

Current Release Status: No idea yet, especially as this band has no prior track record for releasing albums, though all three band members have experience writing and recording studio material to varying degrees. Bullet Train claimed on September 9th that a release date for EP #1 would be announced "in the upcoming weeks", a timeline not realized as of this writing. It'll be interesting to see how fast things come along for Bullet Train, so keep tabs on their Facebook page for further updates!

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Chase James Wigmore - The Chaotic Rite

Rumoured Songs: "The Cities Alive & It's Angry"

Background: Ever the prolific artist & songwriter, local folk punk/extreme metal musician Chase Wigmore has been working on an extensive rock opera for years (once claimed to be a 33 part work), originally named "A Story About A Kid Named Todd". Worked on in between his other unrelated solo albums, released for sale or otherwise, Chase posted a lengthy elaboration of the rock opera in 2022, now titled "The Chaotic Rite", outlining its concept, recording plans, and long-term release timeline. Clips of songs have surfaced on his Facebook page, as have full songs not explicitly tied to the album, as well as the final artwork. In more recent promotion, Chase has hinted that "The Chaotic Rite" might be his final solo album as part of aims to focus on his personal life more than his prolific original material. Regardless, the final product has been pared down to 25-30 minutes.

Current Release Status: Chase elaborated on Facebook last summer that the album was 95% done earlier that year when the files "got trapped on my desktop's hard drive", and he had been unable to procure a backup of the material or recover the files as of that post. In any event, three of the full songs uploaded to Facebook in the previous year were clarified as not being planned for "The Chaotic Rite", but they could surface on a separate EP. Fingers crossed that Chase is able to save this album and put it out when able, especially given the years that he's put into the making of it!

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Convergence - In Bloom

Rumoured Songs: "Gemini", "In Bloom", "Breaking News", "It Ate The F&$%ing Moon", "Kraken Mara", "You Are Not Flesh"

Background: Just over a month after releasing their sophomore EP "Dead And Dreaming", local progressive metal band Convergence announced in February 2024 that EP #3 would be named "Gemini", with its cover artwork being released at the same time. Teaser clips of most songs from the EP were posted on their Facebook page and their YouTube channel throughout much of 2024, but most prior media was wiped as they retooled as a full band, now including singer Stephen Gagnon-Ruscio and drummer David Peredun. Convergence have been working in studio recently with producer Dustin Goodall at Unsalted Audio, documenting the sessions in Facebook "Reels", and while they did get cagey about the endgame for the studio sessions, they have confirmed in concert that the EP (now named "In Bloom") is still in progress. Live versions of early instrumentals (now with vocals) have also been played in their early sets.

Current Release Status: No clue, and given the complexity of their music yet their independent studio trappings so far, that could bode a quick or lengthy timeline for "In Bloom" to come out, depending on what angle you take. Since their modern studio cycle commenced in 2023, things have been relatively steady for Brendan and Jake as a recording act, and here's hoping that Convergence keep that up for their third offering! 

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Fort Creek's debut album

Rumoured Songs: "One For The Road", "Sweet Rosie"

Background: Background: Local southern/hard rock band Fort Creek have sporadically teased plans to record an EP since February 2020, but they wouldn't release any samples until almost two years later when they shared (now-deleted) clips of their original song "Hammer Down" on their Facebook page. The guys would play it regularly at concerts from 2022-2023, with studio sessions taking place in early-mid 2023 as well. After the departure of bassist Robin "Bones" Lee and drummer Anthony Fabiano (both now of Bullet Train) in the fall of 2023, Fort Creek opted to abandon material recorded with them "as a show of good faith", and have been working on new material and rebuilding their studio over the past two years. Now featuring Phil Greco on drums, their first single (the acoustic "One For The Road") was posted online in January, with the band confirming plans to now record a 10 song album at Jettison Studios prior to returning to live concerts, with their new single "Sweet Rosie" coming next.

Current Release Status: Prior release timelines for their debut EP reflected their early 2020s lineup's material, and Justin, Shane, Bill, and Phil have largely kept things somewhat close to the vest prior to putting out "One For The Road". There are a lot of unknowns, especially given the 5+ years of production time and their decision to basically start over in 2023, and that this is a band that was primarily known for their work on the weekend cover circuit before their rhythm section left. It will be interesting to see how things develop, so stay tuned for updates!

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Handsome Sandwich's first EP

Rumoured Songs: "Without You", "Partyfuel", "Change A Bit", "No Idea", "All Done Now"

Background: Before even releasing their full-length debut album "Deconstructed" in May 2023, local alternative/hard rock quintet Handsome Sandwich revealed that not all of their existing originals would be on that album, with plans to instead release them and some brand new songs on a forthcoming EP. In September of that year, they began recording this EP (which will reportedly have seven songs) at the Algoma Conservatory of Music, with bass & drum tracks completed that month, and then-guitarist Mitch Sirie was finishing his parts as of that December, with vocals still to go. At least five of the seven songs have had their names revealed in concert setlists. After only contributing to the packaging on "Deconstructed", bassist Rafael Medina will perform on this EP, and a "Reel" of him recording an unidentified song in studio was posted to the band's Facebook page. It's not clear if ex-rhythm guitarist Brandon Ruch will be in some fashion or not, but BookcluB saxophonist Josh Norling may appear again, as he guested with them to play "Partyfuel" at August 2024's Northern Vibe Festival. The studio version of "All Done Now" was sampled in this Vintage Games & Junque livestream with drummer Johnny Belanger in April, while "Collage" was cited as a possible album name at their Soo Blaster concert in May.

Current Release Status: To be determined, and while they're not recording this EP at the same place as "Deconstructed", note that the sessions for that album at Unsalted Audio wrapped up four months before the album release. An article about the band from The Sault Star in June 2024 noted that the seven new songs "will likely be released as singles", but whether this points to a change of release plans or is just an acknowledgement that they have seven individual singles to put out, I don't know. It will be interesting to see how things progress in the coming months!

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Pillory's first full length album

Rumoured Songs: "End Of Small Sanctuary", "Specimen Of Egotism", "Sculptor Of Cadavers", "The Angst Of Existence", "The Passing", "Abhorred Apprehension", "The Curse Of Eternal Sickness", "A Drop Of Shame In An Ocean Of Guilt"

Background: After a five year hiatus dotted with occasional reunion teasers from band members on social media, local death/thrash metal trio Pillory fully reunited last summer, picking up where they left off in their 2015-2019 run. During that time, they fully moved to death metal with harsh/growled vocals, completely abandoning their originals from their 2013 debut EP "Cringe At The Cross" in the process. While established mid-late 2010s songs and new material have been played in concert in the past year, Pillory only confirmed in this Facebook post on band t-shirts from May 19th that they were working on a full-length album, which they intend on "finishing and releasing", implying that sessions have commenced in some form. It's not yet clear if Blair St. John or his replacement Devon Lucier will handle bass.

Current Release Status: Given how little Pillory has publically said about the album on social media, it's anyone's guess, but the technicality and brutality seen on the band's death metal-era material (and increasingly so) bodes well towards wanting this music not to stall out in live performances. Keep tabs on what Robert, Bret, and Devon are up to on Facebook, and hopefully the album is on its way reasonably soon!

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I hope you guys liked this month's "Where Are The New Albums?" post! This series will return on or around September 2nd, while our next monthly feature post will likely be our next Defunct Local Band Profile one week from tomorrow. That's all for today, but stay tuned for more news and notes on the site soon! Thanks everyone!

A New Local Band, The Tym Morrison Concert Preview, And More Updates!!

Today's post finally closes up this weekend's hard rock concert previews, but we also have a recent radio interview, and leading off, a brand new (but familiar) addition to our band links, so here's what you should know!

Let's start today by talking about new Sault Michigan metal band Crush, so what should you know about them? Not to be confused with the same-named Bon Jovi and Rush tributes that have played in Sault Ontario (nor the former local pop rock cover band Cherry Crush), this band is indeed a side project/spinoff of hard rock/classic metal quartet Tarnished, with frontman Alex Traynor and guitarist Josh Fair (a.k.a. Josh Tyler) rejoined by their 2021-2023 bandmate Isaac "Iggy" Royer on bass. The aim here is to focus Crush around original material while Tarnished will continue on playing covers-centric sets. Of course, Tarnished released their EP "Down To The Wire" in 2020, and have a couple of standalone singles, most recently "Lightswitch" last year, but since they added the rhythm section of Highway 63 (Chris Leask & Ron Suchey) to their live lineup last summer, any hints of original material have vanished from newer media.

Interestingly, Crush's live debut was actually out of town, as they co-headlined night #1 of Bar-N Stock, an annual summer concert festival at The Bar-N in Rose City (three hours south of here) on July 25th. Tarnished had played at last year's Bar-N Fest, and it is neat that they got the opportunity to debut the new project there one year later! FYI, Lansing hard rock band Mr. Denton On Doomsday (who played here a few times in the 2000s) performed at Bar-N Stock on night #2. The following day, Crush were the mystery band at the Superior Whitefish Festival battle of the bands in Brimley, where they claimed the $1,000 top prize, a huge feather in Alex & Josh's cap after their increasing positions with Tarnished at the LSSU battles! The first public video of Crush is from their battle set, courtesy of their Facebook page, featuring 11 minutes of them in action, and if you're curious, Alex doubles up as singer and drummer in this group.

He did so on occasion at Tarnished gigs before Ron came on board, with Josh wanting to play guitar rather than drums anyway. The battle video from Riverview Park begins with a punk-influenced song named "Hey You" in progress, with the next one being a harder rocking number named "Fire". After some audience participation while Isaac soloed on bass, the set closed with a driving original named "Capitol Gain". No word on if Tarnished's old originals (let alone Alex's from "Crazy World") will cross over to Crush gigs, but they got off to a good start here with energetic but skilled rockers to a receptive audience, and it will be interesting to see where they go from here! Check out more from Crush above & below!

Next up, let's wrap up this weekend's known hard rock concert previews with a Civic Holiday long weekend rarity, namely a Sault Ontario show that did get advance notice before this week, as local classic/hard rock singer/guitarist Tym Morrison's latest Misty's Fifties matinee is TODAY! As the former Caveman Morrison/Nostalgic Band frontman's busy summer calendar enters its final month, this should be a fun way to enjoy some unplugged rock classics with solid production values and talent across the board, so don't bypass his latest matinee gig if you'll be in the west end a little later on! As usual for Tym's plentiful Misty's gigs this year, expect a 4:00 PM start time today, a presumed 19+ age limit, and no cover charge. Visit the official Facebook event page for more on Tym's Misty's matinee later today, and for a preview, here he is live!

We'll close today with a band who was on the road for the long weekend, namely local southern hard rock trio Bone Yard 225! As of late, they've been focusing on road gigs, including yesterday at Thessalon's Community Day (with a return 90 minutes east on the 16th), but on the July 12th weekend, they packed their bags for Kirkland Lake, a whopping 7 hours northeast of the Soo! The gig was to headline the annual Stéphane Léveillé Memorial Poker Run motorcycle rally there on July 12th, performing at their Royal Canadian Legion hall. We'll have more media from that gig soon, but while Bone Yard were in town, frontman Greg Simpson was interviewed by Barry Ferguson on Kirkland Lake variety station CJKL 101.5 the previous morning at 7:39 AM! The full interview was saved and is freely streamable on the band's website, though note that in the Firefox browser, it automatically downloads as an mp3 when you click the link. How was the interview?

Conducted during CJKL's morning drive show, the 9 minute interview features Barry asking about Greg moving from Kirkland Lake in the mid-1990s and his musical trajectory after leaving, the band's lineup and setlist range, Greg's musical influences, their touring habits, and more topics, while also adding in lots of plugs for the rally proper and surrounding events. It sounds like the interview went well, and Barry has an excellent voice for radio, so click here or above to hear the whole thing, and we'll have more from your local 225 on the SMS soon! That's all for now, but stay tuned for more news and notes on the site very shortly! Thanks everyone!

LOCAL CONCERT ALERTS (Dodge This, Project 906, Curtis McKenzie, And Generations!!)

The weekend concert preview train rolls along on this Civic Holiday long weekend, but in a stroke of luck(?), ALL of the concerts in preview post #2 were publically announced on short notice by the featured bands. Not ideal, but it does add to a busy calendar, especially as all take place TOMORROW! Tym Morrison's previously announced matinee gig tomorrow at Misty's Fifties will follow in a separate post. Here's what you should know!

Sault Michigan blues/hard rock quintet Project 906 will return to the annual Government Bay Barge Bash in nearby Cedarville TOMORROW! Apologies for the short notice, the guys first announced their involvement in this year's festivities via their Facebook page on Tuesday, but the lineup has been public since late June via the official Facebook event page. A very unique component to the local concert calendar every August, the Barge Bash literally sees bands performing on a floating barge off the coast of Government Island (near Bumpas at 74 East Hodeck Street) in Cedarville, which leads to some great optics as attendees can literally swim or boat to the concert proper! The band lineup TOMORROW is identical to 2024 save for the now-inactive Dirty Musky, with 906 joined by Cedarville classic rock veterans Shipheads On Shore and pop rock mainstays The Mark Bowen Band.

Oddfellow alum Jason Haske and Project 906 hand drummer Brian Duford will join Mark's band for the occasion, which will be cool! Mark and crew open the FREE & ALL AGES festivities at 12:00 PM, with S.O.S. playing at 2:00 PM, and Project 906 get the headlining honours TOMORROW at 4:00 PM. 9&10 News is calling for clear skies TOMORROW with temperatures of 71-75° Fahrenheit (22-24° Celsius), so cooler than last year, but the forest fire-induced air quality advisories are still very much in effect. Hopefully everyone has a great time off Government Island for the twelfth annual Barge Bash TOMORROW, so see above for more details, and here's Project 906 live!

Next up, let's head north to Sault Ontario, where Beck's Bar has another SMS-friendly double header TOMORROW, starting with a matinee concert from former Haggith/Eclipse frontman Curtis McKenzie! Again, apologies for the short notice, this show was only announced via Beck's Facebook page on Tuesday, where they announced their complete live entertainment schedule for this weekend. Just two weeks removed from his last unplugged gig at the former Vibe Lounge, hopefully Curt's latest west end concert is a hit TOMORROW, so be at Beck's early for all of his entertaining alternative and hard rock covers! Like normal, this is a 3:00 PM matinee with a 19+ age limit and no cover charge. Visit the above links for more details on Curtis' Beck's matinee TOMORROW, and for a preview, here he is live!

As for the Saturday night band at Beck's Bar TOMORROW NIGHT, it's an acoustic double-header there, as unplugged classic/hard rock cover trio Dodge This will kick off the month there for the nightcap! Apologies again for the short notice, this show was also only announced in Beck's weekend schedule post on Facebook on Tuesday (though note that the band hasn't publically advertised a show on their own Facebook page in almost two months). Unless we missed something, this will be Jason & the July brothers' first publically advertised concert since rocking The Dive early last month. This should be a fun night of rocking covers from this veteran group, so don't miss out on the unplugged action at Beck's TOMORROW at 9:00 PM! Remember, Curtis McKenzie isn't "opening" for Dodge This, they are two separate & full shows on the same day, with Dodge This also having no cover and a 19+ age limit.

It's worth noting too that former Re:Born frontwoman Elly McWatters is playing the Sunday matinee at Beck's, as part of her recent push into more concerts as a solo headliner, including some with a full band (The Drifters) featuring Soundcheck alumni and bandmates of hers from Mike Haggith's Big Finish Band. To my understanding, Elly's modern solo sets lean towards country, but she is a very talented singer, so keep her in mind as well! Visit the above links for more on Dodge This' Beck's show TOMORROW NIGHT, and for a preview, here they are live there!

Finally for this short notice spree, local classic/hard rock cover quartet Generations will return to The Water Tower Pub for one night only TOMORROW NIGHT! Once again, apologies for the short notice, the band only announced this show via their Facebook group by drummer Tony Santoro on Sunday (the venue has not publicized a monthly concert calendar on social media since June). In that same post, they confirmed that they will return to Reggie's Place (where they played this past weekend) once again on Friday, August 15th & Saturday, August 16th, so fans of their classic cover array will want to keep those dates in mind. Hopefully things go well TOMORROW at The Water Tower Pub, let alone the Reggie's shows in two weeks! Remember, the Great Northern Road nightclub hosts different nightly acts, with tonight's band there being veteran classic rock band Flashback.

TOMORROW'S Water Tower concert is at 8:00 PM, the Reggie's ones ahead are at 9:30 PM, and these are all 19+ engagements with no announced cover charges. Visit the above links for more details, and here's Generations live!

That's all for now, but stay tuned for our Tym Morrison preview and more on the site next! Thanks everyone!