Weekend Concert Previews & Heavy Lies The Crown Updates!!

Before we begin today's post, I wanted to note that I'm not including local southern hard rock trio Bone Yard's advertised Reggie's Place shows for this weekend in today's concert previews, as I have doubts that they're taking place. The band announced them via this concert calendar image last month, but in their newest Facebook page posting, they noted that "our next show" will be at the Water Tower Pub on March 4th. Maybe they just forgot, but Reggie's Facebook page has not been promoting Bone Yard as playing this weekend, and they normally would have by now. If they are indeed not playing this weekend, a reason for the cancellations was not announced, but hopefully Bone Yard bounce back next Friday!

Now to this weekend's 100% on hard rock concert previews (all previously announced), plus some new videos to match, and we'll start with local classic/hard rock cover quartet Soundcheck, who are advertised to return to The Esquire Club for concerts TOMORROW & SATURDAY NIGHT! Last seen at the Second Line West nightclub last month, these will be Soundcheck's first shows there since Jim Michaud was confirmed as their new bassist, returning him to his old band Obsession's favourite stomping grounds in the process. Hopefully Soundcheck's old school rock covers and select heavier cuts go over well once again tomorrow and Saturday! Full disclosure, Soundcheck have not plugged these shows on their Facebook page at press time, but alas, that's nothing new for them. The gigs are listed in The Esquire Club's concert calendar for 2023's first quarter, if outdated now given the latter two Obsession listings.

This weekend's Soundcheck shows have 9:30 PM start times, 19+ age limits, and no cover charges as usual, so visit the above links for more on these dates, and for a preview, here's Soundcheck live!

Next up in a relatively quiet end of February for heavier bands, we'll head to The Back Bay Grill & Games at Bay Mills Resort & Casino in Brimley, Michigan, where Sault Ste. Marie blues/hard rock quartet Project 906 will return for one night only THIS SATURDAY NIGHT! While the guys played elsewhere in Brimley this past weekend, Saturday's show will be Project 906's first at Bay Mills' on-site bar/restaurant since 2018, which is an unusually long layoff, pandemic acknowledged. Hopefully 906 have another hard rocking night of covers in store for fans in two nights' time! Full disclosure, Bay Mills does not have a dedicated page for The Back Bay Grill & Games, and don't tend to promote bands that play there on social media, but if 906 say they're playing, then they must be! This is a 9:00 PM and 21+ event with no announced cover charge. Visit the Facebook event page for more details, and here's Project 906 live a few months back!

Staying in the E.U.P. now, let's take a look at some big updates from St. Ignace metalcore quintet Heavy Lies The Crown, who actually posted their teased first single from their upcoming album onto their YouTube channel on Monday, the night that I wrote about their countdown to its release! Must have misread the timing of it, as it looked like it would go live on Tuesday. The first single in question is named "God's Butter", which is embedded below, and is set to a new picture of the band (their first proper posed photo since last year's lineup overhaul), complete with lightning effects added in post-production. Another single, entitled "Cigar With The Devil", is scheduled to premiere on YouTube on Tuesday at 9:00 PM, so click here to hear it next week! I'll hold comment on the song until our review of the album (or demo, it's been called both), but in regards to this being "a new direction", it's primarily in heaviness and technicality.

Brandon does not sing clean on this track, so keep that in mind whether or not you like clean vocals in your extreme metal (also, no word on if "God's Butter" is intended to directly follow or compliment "Knucklebutter" from their prior releases). There are a few more videos to check out from Heavy Lies The Crown's Facebook page as of late, one being this trailer for their Kalamazoo concert on Saturday, where drummer Jaxon Massaway plugged it for Facebook fans, while also getting feedback on his on-camera delivery from his bandmates and trying again. Interesting approach, but he came off well! Another video served as more of a comedy upload, featuring a baby doll "dancing" to a sample of "God's Butter", jokingly being posted as a preview of the formal music video. Short but amusing while it lasts! The last new Facebook video features guitarist Ted Olson promoting the single release and asking for feedback.

Not much to it but Ted does sound sincere and authentic in the clip! Good to see that Heavy Lies The Crown are still off and running for their album plans, with much more to come from their camp, so visit the above links for more details, stay tuned for "Cigar With The Devil" on Tuesday night, and give "God's Butter" a listen for yourself below!

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