The Return Of Mikey & His Uke, Realignment Project Updates, And A New Live Video!!

Before we begin this Thanksgiving post, I wanted to apologize for missing Bone Yard 225 frontman Greg "The Ranting Rockstar" Simpson's solo acoustic concert at The Dive Gastro Pub on "Think It Over Thursday". I profusely apologize for missing this show in last week's previews, but alas, The Dive only announced that Greg was even playing on 3:26 PM that day, and Greg still doesn't have a solo social media page dedicated to his Ranting Rockstar persona/gigs (even on his personal page, this didn't get an early plug). Hopefully the show was a hit, and I'd have happily covered it had it had even a day's notice! Now, here's some recent updates and videos from a few local acts, including a surprise return!

After a nearly two year long hiatus, Mikey & His Uke are back! We last heard from the local/Toronto punk supergroup project when Mikey Hawdon concluded his "Dookie" 30th anniversary series of Green Day covers in November 2024, but the BookcluB/Dos Amigos frontman surprised us by posting a brand new remotely-filmed cover of The Dandy Warhols' "Bohemian Like You" onto their YouTube channel last week. For their big return, Mikey sure got a stacked lineup of musicians from afar for this cover, including Bangles guitarist Vicki Peterson on vocals, Cheap Trick guitarist Rick Nielsen, Redd Kross bassist Steven McDonald, Poison drummer Rikki Rockett, and former Runaways bassist Jackie Fox (a 4 day champion on Jeopardy!) on backing vocals. As usual, Mikey starts off strumming his ukelele before dropping the pretense and playing rhythm guitar. The cover is very sound, and everyone performs well with some unique levels of staging!

The biggest variance here compared to past Mikey & His Uke covers is that three performers actually appear on camera together. Vicki starts off singing alone outside, then Jackie joins her, and when they go inside, Steve has moved from performing in a dark theatre to playing on the couch, where the ladies join him for the back half of the cover. Good stuff with some suitably huge star power, so check out the "Bohemian Like You" cover below, and Mikey & His Uke are back in our active band links! Here's hoping we're not waiting until 2028 for the next video!

Next up, here's the latest from local industrial metal solo act The Realignment Project's Facebook page, so what has Matt Hicks has been up to in the past couple of months? Much of that time was spent working on their second full length album, and in the most substantial teaser video from the sessions in that span, Matt posted this video on August 14th of a new song in progress via his tracking computer. He gave what appear to be lyrics for the song in the description, but what we hear is just the bass and drum tracks for the then-unfinished song. Sounds good to me for what it is! As of August 19th, the album was 75% done, and six days later, Matt posted this amusing video that shows an insight into his alleged "creative process". Vertical or not, I have a feeling that there is some real basis to the scenarios presented! Songwriting for the album was still ongoing on September 2nd, and by the 14th, he was tracking vocals for songs then in progress.

Never one to rest on his laurels, Matt announced on the 18th that he was already working on demos for T.R.P.'s third full-length album, and you can't knock the hustle! Back to album #2, post-production had begun by the 23rd, and five days later, he showed off some expansions to his home studio in this video soundtracked by a Motley Crue song. Last week, Matt confirmed their second album was done, and he confirmed on Friday that the album will be named "Signal Decay", with a release lined up for December. This is on par with the release timeframe for The Realignment Project's first full-length album "Long Cold Winter", which also came out two months after its sessions ended. In the interim, Matt posted this teaser video on Facebook featuring a groove metal-inspired instrumental section of one of the new songs. As usual, I'll hold comment pending our review of the full song and album next year.

Even with the focus on full albums as opposed to EPs in the past year, Matt works at such a busy and prolific pace, and it's good to see him getting "Signal Decay" done and prepped for release already! One assumes this is still through East London Recordings and will turn up on major streaming services, Bandcamp, and via ElasticStage print-on-demand physical copies like before. Give the teaser a watch below, and stay tuned for more soon!

Finally for today, here's a new video discovery from St. Ignace, Michigan metalcore band Heavy Lies The Crown! The band proper has been publically dormant for over three months, but I came across this during our profile on guitarist Jaxon Massaway's YouTube channel, and it presumably slipped my notice because it is a "Short" video (re: vertical, brief, and classed separately than regular videos, though it is embeddable here and isn't temporary like a Facebook "Story"). This comes from their set opening for Born Of Osiris at The Vernors Room at The Crofoot Ballroom in Pontiac in May 2024. It's a borderline drum-cam video (Jaxon was still HLTC's drummer here), but it's not super well positioned for that purpose, and you can only see Nathan, Christian, and Blaze (debuting with the band as a one-off DJ here) from behind, and Brandon isn't in frame at all. It's a promisingly heavy performance, just a poor angle, vertical, and way too short. Still, give it a look below!

That's all for today, but enjoy your Thanksgiving, turkey, and football on the Canadian side of the border, and we'll be back with more news and notes on the SMS later this week! Thanks everyone!

YouTube Channel Profile Series: JaxonsMusic's Channel

For our last post of September 2026, here's this month's delayed YouTube Channel Profile! In our monthly look at a randomly selected YouTube channel whose uploads are at least half devoted to local metal, hard rock, or punk artists/concerts, we have conveniently drawn the channel of a musician covered in this month's album review, so here's what you should know!

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JaxonsMusic's Channel (http://youtube.com/@jaxonsmusic)

Owner: Heavy Lies The Crown guitarist and ex-drummer Jaxon Massaway, also known as a solo musician under the handle Jaxon James

Channel Timeline: Launched on November 9th, 2018; Videos posted from November 2022 through this spring

Channel Summary: Actively uploading videos since a few months after he joined the St. Ignace, Michigan metalcore band, Jaxon has uploaded 62 videos here (34 proper videos and 28 "Shorts") over the past four years. Most of his mainline videos are from HLTC concerts, with the rest largely being solo performance videos on guitar and/or vocals, with Jaxon dabbling in his own original metal material in the past year as well. The "Shorts" are mostly brief vertical performance videos, some clipped from his longer uploads, but there is one Heavy Lies The Crown concert video in that section. A couple of videos here are non-musical, either for comedic purposes or to vlog about his time working in the culinary industry at festivals.

Why You Should Watch: "You filthy crowners" will appreciate the Heavy Lies The Crown concert videos here, though note that all come from Jaxon's time behind the drumkit, so you'll want to visit the band's Facebook page to see recent stuff since he moved to guitar. While Jaxon's music taste is more diverse than his band work may let on, he shows a lot of multi-instrumental talent across his solo videos, and a deceptively good voice for both extreme metal and country, so don't bypass what this rising young EUP talent has to offer! Note that the seven released songs in his solo original catalogue are not here, but you can stream them on his YouTube Music channel.

 Our Recommended Videos To Check Out:

 

Choke - HEAVY LIES THE CROWN (LIVE AT THE FRENCH ROAD BASH): Of Jaxon's videos with Heavy Lies The Crown, the best in terms of actually seeing the whole band (as in, not at night and not a drumcam video) comes from their set at the annual French Road Bash in Alpena in August 2022, which they have played multiple times. Heavy were represented here by frontman Brandon West (the only other performer here still in the group) alongside guitarists Ted Olson and Christian Thanasiu and bassist Christian Cook. Between Brandon's long hair and Ted's headless guitar alone, it does give a good nostalgic feeling to see this era of HLTC again, and this performance of "Choke" captures them in their element with solid video and audio quality across the board! He also uploaded a video of "Choke" from their set at Summerbash in Gaylord the previous month.

 

 

Your Face - WISP (DRUM COVER): The most viewed video on Jaxon's channel is actually one of his solo cover performances, where he drummed along to the song "Your Face" by the shoegaze/hard rock musician Wisp in April 2024. This is actually Jaxon's only drum cover video, with every other cover here featuring him on vocals and/or guitar. I'm not the biggest shoegaze fan, but there is a Deftonesy vibe to this song, and the recording quality is strong, helping show off the drum skills that got him noticed by HLTC!

 

 

VØRRN (THALL): I wanted to highlight one of Jaxon's original songs here, but as already noted, he has kept uploads of his finished original music on the Jaxon James YouTube Music channel (you can also hear those songs on other major streaming services). Only three original pieces are on his own YouTube channel, including a demo named "Peripheral Vision", and two tracks given the project name Thall, one being a 34 seconds-long instrumental. Featured here is his newest Thall song, named "Vørrn" (possibly a misspelling of the German word for "front"). Brutal and technical song that death metal fans should be curious to hear, while also having a touch of shoegaze in the clean vocals, and Jaxon did good work to spice up the video in post-production! No word on if Thall will indeed resurface as a formal side project, but he hasn't posted a new video in the six months since this went live, nor released new original music on streaming.

 

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I hope you guys liked this month's YouTube Channel Profile! This series should return closer to schedule on or around October 26th, so look for that then and for weekend concert previews next! Thanks everyone!

Heavy Lies The Crown - "Notions" EP Review!!

It's now time for our 207th monthly CD review at The Sault Metal Scene, and we have finally entered this calendar year as our dig through our new album release backlog continues! This month, we're taking a look at the first local metal album of 2026, namely St. Ignace, Michigan metalcore band Heavy Lies The Crown's second EP and fourth paid album "Notions", which was independently released to major streaming services on January 30th. "Notions" compiles five of the six one-off studio singles that Heavy Lies The Crown released after April 2024. Lead singer Brandon West and guitarist/ex-drummer Jaxon Massaway are credited on streaming for production and mixing the EP at North Shore Audio, but I have not seen any firm credits as to who played on what song. During the timeline of these songs' recording, they were joined by guitarist Nathan Switzer, guitarist/drummer Kaycee Mason, bassist Christian Cook, and drummer Blaze Beairl.

All but Blaze have since left HLTC, though note that Brandon has reportedly drummed on some prior studio material despite not being explicitly credited as such. Also, note that the cover artwork for the EP was designed by Christian before he left the band. "Notions" is available on multiple streaming services, including the big four (Spotify, Apple Music, Amazon Music, and YouTube Music), and you can buy it in mp3 format via iTunes for $4.95, though like their prior releases, it isn't available on physical formats. Note that the formal EP was never uploaded to Spotify, but all five songs are individually streamable there. This is a short EP, as its five songs only clock in at 12 minutes, so let's begin this review!

First up is the title track "Notions", which has a suitably djenty opening riff, but feels more industrial and processed, with Brandon's vocals less raw and more layered. The song is very heavy, but it kinda feels like it's not really going anywhere, and the sludgy breakdown late (while likely a mosh pit starter live) ends the song on a bit of an anticlimax. Honestly, "Notions" comes off like it's a heavy stylistic change but without the freewheeling spark and variance in styles that I was hoping for. Next is "Shame", which is an instant improvement from its cleaner, less processed sound, including Brandon screaming in full voice overtop of the music. It's just a shame (natch) that it's an EP-low 80 seconds long! This feels extremely unfinished, like it's all verses and choruses with no instrumental time to breathe. A crushing song while it lasts, and fans of their earlier material should take to it!

Another sub-2 minute song caps off the EP's first half, namely "Marble Skin". which shares more in common with the title track, if not as mechanical sounding. Riff is punishing, the drums are the best that we've had yet, but it again has the vocals in a more processed, layered-in-the-mix state, and I'm not sure that ending songs with breakdowns is ideal. If anything, they should be a bridge to a final chorus, but given the length, I guess it had to go somewhere? Not a bad song but the deathcore influence, vocal processing, and brevity don't help it. The longest song here is next, namely "Road To Detroit" (inspired Heavy's road trips downstate), and the softer intro does help set the tone, as does the return of Brandon singing clean on verses! This feels more introspective than other songs on offer, and harsh vocals are more accent items than a focus, and this honestly gives me Deftones vibes, which isn't something I can say often about a local band!

While not their heaviest song by any stretch, it drives along well with an effective atmospheric vibe, and while their recent music has otherwise trended more extreme, it would be interesting to see Brandon, Jaxon, and crew do more stuff like this! The curiously titled "Happy Fun Fun" closes the EP, and things end on a heavy note, with djenty riffs, aggressive vocals, and more of a deathcore essence again, though like on too many songs here, the vocals come off too processed and layered, rather than letting Brandon let loose at the forefront. Suitably creepy spoken word and piano work fitting the title is also included here (it makes sense if you've seen the music video), and while the song is an effective closer that improves on some things, it still ends somewhat abruptly, and could have done more with the vibe of innocent childhood items in an unsettling horror setting like this.

So, what are my final thoughts on Heavy Lies The Crown's new EP? It's not their peak for my preferences, but if you're more into modern deathcore, you'll like how things have drifted! This is a short listen (probably too short), though the guys did say upon release that "Notions" was "a glued version of what we have to offer at this moment", and if that's the case, I'd have glued more on. I do miss the guitar solos that have largely been absent since the self-titled album (a.k.a. "Knucklebutter"), the drift towards deathcore and end-of-song breakdowns isn't necessarily for me compared to their earlier stuff, and I would really prefer Brandon's singing to be clear and audible and not so processed. Musically, everyone performs well with strong riffs, but when the best song ("Shame") doesn't even clear 90 seconds, it just left me wondering why they didn't fill these songs out moreso.

Deftones fans will like "Road To Detroit", and recent fans will like these songs, but I really would have included their mid-2024 single "These Walls". I don't know if it was omitted due to being co-written by Nathan before he left the band, or if the clearer metalcore structure, 4+ minute length, and clean choruses didn't fit where Heavy were at last year, but it would have been a highlight for me. What we do get is solid enough, just not at their peak for my preferences, but buy/stream "Notions" above and see what you think! I hope you guys liked this month's album review, and next month, we're staying in Michigan for a look at local metal solo project X's & Y's' new EP "Face The Moon, Forgive The Stars"! Thanks everyone!

Heavy Lies The Crown Updates & New Tour Videos From The Spring!!

It's been three months, so what have St. Ignace, Michigan deathcore band Heavy Lies The Crown been up to since we last left off with them in early May? Surprisingly, not much, but too much time has passed, so let's get caught up! When we left off our last post on HLTC, they had just finished their multi-state spring tour run, and while the video that ended that post was sadly deleted from Facebook due to the new one month time limit on live-streams, a raw video of them covering "Friend" from the last gig at The Jordan Inn in East Jordan was shared to their Facebook page on May 5th. This features guest vocals from Jay Clemons (drummer of the Detroit-area metal bands Influence and Nothing After This), who had sang on this song on multiple gigs on this loop. Just as a reminder, new bassist Bubba Hillz did not join this tour, and this was among the shows that didn't even have a guest bassist present.

Bubba is still in the band's profile and cover photos on Facebook, but they haven't always been transparent when it comes to lineup changes, so we'll have to see if he is on the low end when they return to action. What we see and hear in this clip is suitably chaotic, and Brandon and Jay add to the brutality with their joint screaming, so give this a watch below!

Later that day, frontman Brandon West starred in this horizontal(!) update video from his vehicle where he noted that they're taking a week off after the tour, but would soon "push for new music", as they "have developed a new sound on the road". Specifically, he noted that they want to remove "a lot of our slower songs, and, like, happier songs", and even namedropped certain originals that they removed from their set on this tour for that reason. While not bad songs, he said that they wanted to find "our focus of our sound", and you could infer that Heavy Lies The Crown want to be faster and heavier going forward. I hope this doesn't mean a loss of melody in the trade-off, or that they completely disown songs like "*69", "Notions", and "Road To Detroit"! Three days later, Brandon asked in the video embedded below where fans want to see them tour when they hit the road next.

Specifically, Brandon sounded optimistic about touring out-of-state again, particularly in Wisconsin. Brandon did directly note wanting to play more shows in Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan, but said that through his contacts to that point, it was hard to get a foot in the door an hour north unless you were a weekend bar cover band (he should contact Serious Business or Soo Tang Records, and if able to cross the border, Sault Ontario promoters!!) If you can help get HLTC booked locally or elsewhere, or play on the same bill with them, message Brandon above, and check out the video below!

After asking for new merchandise suggestions on May 14th, Heavy Lies The Crown took a month+ break from updating their Facebook page, returning via the upload of this video on June 20th from an unidentified concert, of Brandon draping a t-shirt over drummer Blaze Beairl's head mid-song, and he kept on drumming without missing a beat. The loud staticy noise and 12 seconds-long runtime do not help, but it's fun for what it is! Two days later, a longer (if still very short) video from their show at the Petskull Brewing Company in Manitowoc, Wisconsin on April 29th was shared, featuring 27 seconds of Brandon, guitarist Jaxon Massaway, and Blaze (no guest bassist here) rocking out. The corner-stage angle is a unique look at the ferocity, with Brandon being a powder keg of energy here, so check out this brutal but short look at a rare out-of-state gig a watch below!

To close, the band's most recent video is from June 23rd (they have been idle from Facebook for well over a month now), and it features them playing 15 seconds of "Rewind" at the tour kickoff at the Eaton Rapids Craft Company on April 24th. This show was one of the early ones here that did have a guest bassist, namely Emily Barnett from the Athens metalcore band Fault Of The People. While brutal with Brandon's energy levels and screaming at top levels, this is far from ideal, not just from the length. For one, the stationary camera looks like it's pointing at the wall beside the stage, so you only see Brandon and Emily in frame, with the focus on Brandon's back when he's facing the crowd. The audio sounds dubbed in in post, which is proven by vocals being heard when Brandon's mic isn't at his mouth (note that the video description does say "Rewind edit"). Why not trust the raw audio, especially for 15 seconds?

Despite the brevity, the file's runtime is over 24 minutes long, which is otherwise a black screen. I felt like I was watching the finale of The Sopranos! If you do want to see a better angle of the stage (despite the identical length, vertical orientation, and cartoon cowboy hat added in post), click here for an earlier Eaton Rapids video that we featured on the SMS in May. With the teasers of longer/fuller videos and even vlogs from the tour, I do hope that Heavy posts more when they're ready, but the teasers sure leave you wanting more, so give everything so far a watch above and below!

We are now surprisingly caught up on Heavy Lies The Crown despite the three month gap, but hopefully they emerge from their dormant summer in full force, so stay tuned for more from them in the future, and for more news and notes on the SMS next week! Thanks everyone!

Heavy Lies The Crown Updates From Their Spring Tour!!

Having just wrapped up their most extensive tour run yet, it's a good time to play catch-up on what St. Ignace deathcore quartet Heavy Lies The Crown have been up to as of late! Before said tour began, the guys played a one-off concert in Alpena (almost 3 hours southeast of the Soo) on April 4th, where they opened for Living Unwell at Friendly Foodees, with singer Brandon West and guitarist Jaxon Massaway updating "you filthy crowners" about the show before they hit the road in this video. The Max Headroom-esque post-production effects and pitch changes didn't really seem necessary for a 49 seconds-long concert plug in a vehicle, but hey, it's different! The show reportedly went well but media from it was not immediately forthcoming on Facebook. After a couple weeks' break, Brandon and Jaxon filmed another promotional video on 4/20, where they plugged the tour ahead.

You also get a clip of their friends & tourmates in Influence, plus a cameo from Brandon's dog (always welcomed!), and while there is a lot of superfluous camera zooming, it got the word out for fans near the tour stops! Two days later, H.L.T.C. revealed on their Facebook page that we "are throwing most of our songs aside for this run", opting to instead play 20 minutes of established songs before "running improv and changing who plays what" (remember, Brandon, Jaxon, and Blaze can all play multiple instruments). This may be due to new bassist Bubba Hillz being unavailable for the tour run, as he's not pictured in photos from the shows, and they revealed that they were utilizing guest bassists during the tour, but they never made a statement as to why he missed out. Hopefully all is well, and Bubba is still pictured in the band's current profile photo! After posting this video of helicopters flying overhead, we did get a live video from show #1!

A brief video shot in vertical "selfie" mode by Influence frontman Brandon Billups was uploaded from the Eaton Rapids Craft Company concert, which features H.L.T.C. mid-breakdown during their set. The guest bassist here was Emily Barnett from the Athens metalcore band Fault Of The People, who played the early stops of this tour. Alas, this clip is vertical, 15 seconds long, has the band deep in the background, and isn't crystal clear anyway (and I have no idea why the cartoony cowboy hat in the upper left corner and the caption were necessary in post), but what we hear sounds brutal, and the fans moshing are definitely having fun, so give this a watch below!

After sharing a video of the guys passing a bunch of cops at night on the highway, Heavy revealed that their fill-in bassist for the Influence HQ concert in Taylor on April 25th was Greg Lanier from their friends in Detroit metal band Nothing After This (guitarist Rob Vandewiele had filled in on bass with H.L.T.C. last fall already). As teased in this video with Jaxon looking at a bass drum outside, the guys were heading out of state for a show at Legacy Ink Tattoos & Body Piercings (seriously) in Lima, Ohio on April 26th. You can see the interior of the venue in this video of between-set mingling, but good thing it didn't feature actual performances, as it was uploaded sideways. For an actual video, the guys posted this 40 seconds-long clip of them playing their song "Friend" with a friend of the band on guest vocals, namely Nothing After This drummer Jay Clemons, who was touring with Influence on this run.

Jay was singing (well, screaming) on stage while Brandon made the rounds inside the parlor with mic in hand. Given the length, the quick camera movements, and the (sadly) vertical orientation, I can't tell you who the guest bassist was in Lima, and I didn't even see one on this particular song. Not an ideal look at this song in progress, but Jay delivers some brutal lead vocals here, and Legacy Ink sure looks like a fun venue for concerts with very distinct art on the walls, so check it out below!

After a day off, the guys and Influence hit the road for their Illinois debut at Magoo's Bar in Bedford Park (outside of Chicago) on April 28th, with Brandon and Jaxon again getting the word out in this video. While mostly hyping that night's show, Jaxon did reveal that he bought a new guitar, and that Heavy Lies The Crown would be posting vlogs after the tour ended. It has since ended, so has that come to pass? Stay tuned! Along with assorted photos and a brief video of Justin Luebeck from the Chicago death metal band Dead & Buried, they finally featured drummer Blaze Beairl in a new post that wasn't concert video after the Chicagoland date, with this photo showing Blaze's bandaged hand after their set (he also sang at one point, as part of H.L.T.C.'s plans for members to switch instruments for much of it). The band's next two shows were in Manitowoc and West Allis, Wisconsin on April 29th & 30th.

Media from these shows (nor their return to The Delft Theater in Escanaba) wasn't immediate beyond this 7 seconds-long clip of what appears to be silent B-roll that was used on the video screen at one of the Wisconsin dates. We'll close with a 6+ minutes-long video from the tour finale at The Jordan Inn in East Jordan, Michigan (2 hours south of here) filmed by Blaze's mom/ex-Exit 808 bandmate Amy Beach, featuring no guest bassist at all, but Jay Clemons was guesting on vocals again early. This captures the role switching angle well, as everyone is singing at points here!  As this is a live-stream, you likely have until around June 3rd to watch it, but it's a fun glimpse (if a vertical one), so check it out below... while you can!

There's more to touch on from Heavy Lies The Crown now that the tour is over and they can get their media from the run online, so stay tuned for more from then hopefully soon! Thanks everyone!

Heavy Lies The Crown Updates From March 2026!!

Let's end March 2026 with a look at what St. Ignace deathcore quartet Heavy Lies The Crown have been up to this month! Before they kicked off their March tour run, they posted this vertical video on their Facebook page on March 2nd featuring jam footage of the band (sans Bubba), with Brandon manning the camera in literal selfie-mode at one point. Obviously, this is just a teaser, and I do have a hunch that there's a lot more that Brandon filmed here before it was edited down to 12 seconds, but give it a watch below!

On March 5th, the guys began their first tour run of 2026, which saw them play four Lower Peninsula dates in four days, none closer to the Soo than the tour opener in Bay City on the 5th. All four dates saw Heavy Lies The Crown play alongside their friends in Detroit metalcore band Nothing After This, whose bassist Rob Vandewiele served as a temporary fill-in with H.L.T.C. at their final 2025 gigs. Frontman Brandon West shot this 5 seconds-long video of everyone in their tour vehicle en route to Bay City, and it was raining en route, so they definitely didn't need the sunglasses seen in this video! Updates from that night's show or the March 6th concert in Chesterfield didn't immediately follow, but on the 7th, Brandon starred in this vertical update video, where he highlighted how the first two shows went, which also let them debut not just Bubba on bass, but also their new live rig, and things were loud on night #2.

Apparently, there was monsoon-level rain and tornado sightings in their area, and while their tonneau cover protecting their merchandise was torn, it's obviously a good thing that Heavy survived the heavy forecast intact! The guys had spent the night in Chesterfield and were on their way for show #3 in Battle Creek after that video went up, so give the update video a watch at this link! In their first live video with their current lineup, they posted this 18 second video from the Battle Creek show at The Music Factory, and while short and dark, it's a solid horizontal video that I wish was uploaded in a longer form factor! Give it a watch for yourselves below!

After "stomping their ground and making prints" in Battle Creek, Brandon starred in this vertical update video from the tour vehicle on March 8th to reflect on the previous night's gig, but he's hard to hear for much of the minute-long runtime (my best guess is he accidentally covered the microphone while recording). He also plugged the tour finale that night in Grand Rapids, and they definitely posted some neat photos on Facebook after the fact, so crawl their Facebook page since March 6th to see what they have uploaded from the four dates! Their next uploaded video from the tour comes from Heavy Lies The Crown's concert on March 6th at The Diesel Concert Lounge in Chesterfield (technically New Baltimore), which was their second and longest concert video with their current lineup as of its its upload on the 11th. Thankfully also horizontal (if still shorter than I'd like), it is a high quality recording while it lasts, and it sees the guys playing part of their classic title track "Knucklebutter".

The video description compares Brandon's scream here to a dolphin, raven, and/or a robot shutting down, but regardless, he has some power in that voice, so give this H.L.T.C. video a watch for yourselves below!

Unfortunately, their two most recent videos (a highlight of clips from the tour from March 15th and a similar longer video from March 20th) can't be embedded here because Facebook content matched the backing audio on both, as the band opted to sub in their newest studio original "Rewind" rather than let the raw concert audio speak for itself. This is high quality footage, why not post it in unedited raw form, especially to show off the new lineup for more than 38 seconds? The longer of the two (which also isn't forcibly crammed into the vertical "Reel" dimensions with pillarboxing) also has road footage from the tour and some video of the guys hanging out between concerts, so it's a nice sampler of what they got up to downstate, even if you don't actually hear what happened! In their most recent Facebook update, Heavy announced a surprise concert for this Saturday in Alpena, so what should you know there?

The guys will be among the openers for Alpena nu metal band Living Unwell at a "local DIY metal show" at Friendly Foodees, and while not their closest scheduled concert to the Soo ahead (their East Jordan show on May 3rd is a half hour closer), it is good to see Brandon, Jaxon, Bubba, and Blaze playing another Northern Michigan date! Click here for more details if you're interested in the near 3 hour drive downstate on Saturday, and we are now caught up for Heavy Lies The Crown updates (again), so stay tuned for more from them when it rolls in! Thanks everyone!

Heavy Lies The Crown Updates From Late February 2026!!

Let's play catch-up with St. Ignace, Michigan deathcore quartet Heavy Lies The Crown on this Sunday afternoon, so what have the guys been up to over the past month+? While we left off with their new bassist reveal on February 16th, we actually skipped over a big teaser from three days prior, namely a new single of theirs named "Rewind" that was being uploaded (via Distrokid) to major streaming platforms. Why they didn't delay the "Notions" release a couple of weeks to include this song, I don't know, but it officially premiered publically on February 20th. The band shared a preview of the song with this 15 second clip of them jamming, and while it is in black & white and not visibly synced with "Rewind", it is notable as the first public video featuring new bassist Bubba Hillz (who still hasn't been acknowledged by name that I have seen). It's high quality video, why not post more of it?

As "Rewind" isn't (yet?) guaranteed to be on an upcoming album or EP, I'll give it a quick review, and it definitely signals H.L.T.C. getting heavier and crunchier with djentier riffs and more death growling, and it's a tight package overall that also really gives the drumming some space to show off (granted, I am not 100% certain on who is drumming here, given that Brandon, Jaxon, and Blaze can all drum). A guitar solo might have broken things up a little, but if you like how their music has been drifting in recent months, you'll wanna check "Rewind" out below or at the usual streaming haunts!

On February 20th, Heavy Lies The Crown revealed that they will take part in the Influence The Crown tour in late April & early May alongside their friends in Detroit alt-metal band Influence, who you may recognize as playing at Brandon's birthday concert in St. Ignace this past August. Arguably the widest scale tour that Heavy have undertaken yet (complete with rare gigs out of state), the roughly clockwise routing will start in the Lower Peninsula with shows in Eaton Township and Taylor on April 24th & 25th, followed by gigs in Lima, Ohio and Bedford Park, Illinois. They end April with two shows in Wisconsin before returning to The Delft Theater in Escanaba on May 1st. This U.P. gig actually won't be the closest stop on this tour for the guys, as the route ends at The Jordan Inn in East Jordan outside of Charlevoix (2 hours south of the Soo) on May 3rd, so keep that close-ish concert in mind if you wanna see the current lineup, at least before August! 

Around that same time, H.L.T.C. launched their official Instagram page, and in an exclusive upload there that is not on Facebook, they posted this video on February 21st of them at a jam space, giving us our most substantial look at the band's current lineup on video yet. Uniquely filmed from a high vantage point above Blaze's drum kit (yes, it's vertical, but it's quite an angle!), the pink lighting is a little strong, but you can't fault them for giving this a distinct angle and viewpoint! If you want a more natural (if still vertical) look at this jam, this Facebook video has a 10 second snippet from that day. I stress that the Instagram video is a "look" because the video is synced to the studio version of their older original song "Friend", and there are points that don't line up with the song. Still, for how this video is shot, don't bypass it, so give it a watch below, and follow them on Instagram above!

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As they have done occasionally in the past, Heavy Lies The Crown tried their hand at a contest of sorts to get named as openers for a big Michigan metal concert asking for submissions, this time the Arankai concert in Grand Rapids on June 5th. Submissions are ongoing, so head to Opnr to join their "Fan-Claim" to get on this bill! Surprisingly, it took this long into an H.L.T.C. post to address a vertical update video from frontman Brandon West, who posted this clip onto their Facebook page on February 27th to talk about the aforementioned "Rewind", so what did he reveal? After noting that it was "kind of a dud, it seems like" (I assume he's referencing its streaming counts so far), he reveals that his daughter Valkyrie helped co-write the song and appears as a backing vocalist on the choruses. I didn't pick up on that when first listening, but it is neat that father and daughter worked on a song together like this!

To close, we have one more new video from the band's Facebook page, this time from their show at The Sanctuary in Hamtramck (outside of Detroit) in November of last year, which was their penultimate gig with drummer/guitarist Kaycee Mason and brief fill-in bassist Rob Vandewiele. Purportedly one of "a lot of clips (that) we just haven't been posting" that was shot by an unidentified member of Influence, the video uniquely sees Brandon sitting beside Kaycee and letting him sing part of this song while drumming, before Brandon heads back to the front of the stage to rock out. Only 55 seconds long, but well shot with some neat looks at the stage and audience, so check this video out for yourselves below!

That's all for now, but we'll pick things back up with Heavy with their activity and touring this month, and stay tuned for more news and notes on the SMS tomorrow! Thanks everyone!

Heavy Lies The Crown Updates From January-February 2026!!

It's time to dive back into the world of St. Ignace metalcore band Heavy Lies The Crown in today's post, so what have they been up to since we left off with them? On January 27th, frontman Brandon West starred in this vertical update video where he remarked on how good their streaming numbers have beenc, and promoted the then-impending release of their new EP "Notions" on Friday, January 30th. He also further elaborated on why guitarist/drummer Kaycee Mason and bassist Christian Cook left the band, primarily citing their distance (both currently live in the Lower Peninsula) as impairing their availability for gigs and rehearsals, let alone upgrading their concert setup and staging with a full band reliably present to practice, though creative differences were also cited. The video ends with Brandon teasing their March tour run in Southeast Michigan and plans to put out new band merchandise.

Bookending that update video were two rehearsal clips featuring guitarist Jaxon Massaway and drummer Blaze Beairl in a lighting-overpowered room, but the first video runs for just six seconds and the second, while 5x the length, feels like filler between songs (regardless, both are vertical). I assume Brandon filmed those, and he starred in another update video from his vehicle on January 28th, where he optimistically talked about the band's progress as of late, including their planned online store, their higher streaming hits, their shift in goals, and the EP release two days from then. Brandon also addresses H.L.T.C.'s bassist position, where he notes that while the plan at the time was still to have Rob Vandewiele from Detroit's Nothing After This to fill in for concerts, he noted that there was a local bassist that they were going to try out that weekend. Good updates across the board, so give these videos a watch above & below!

As promised, Heavy Lies The Crown released their new EP "Notions" to major streaming services on January 30th, so what should you know there? Featuring artwork designed by Christian before his departure, the EP is credited to the North Shore Audio imprint, and while full performer credits aren't given, Brandon produced and Jaxon mixed/engineered the material. The five-song EP compiles most of the band's one-off singles released since mid-2024, with the exception of "These Walls". I haven't seen a reason as to why the song was omitted, but the band had begun work on "These Walls" in 2020 or 2021, and it was co-written by ex-guitarist Nathan Switzer, who finished his parts before he left the band in August 2024, so his involvement and/or the band's sonic evolution may explain things. All of the usual mainstream streaming sites host "Notions", but can you actually buy the EP anywhere?

Yes, you can buy it on mp3 format via iTunes for $4.95, so consider doing so to support the guys extra! "Notions" is absolutely up for a review on the SMS, but we are in a massive backlog for new album releases, and as Handsome Sandwich, The Realignment Project, Pillory, Viscera, Mike Haggith, and A.S.D.P. all put out albums for sale prior, Heavy Lies The Crown are currently slotted in for September. It's coming, but we were blessed with a lot of local metal, hard rock, and punk albums in mid-late 2025! Give the opening/title track a listen below, and hear more from "Notions" above!

Entering a new month, Brandon starred in another vertical update video on February 7th where he teased "sharing some news here soon about an upcoming change for (the band) that's pretty big (and) pretty awesome", while also promising "new photos, new merch, new everything". The "upcoming change" appears to be the teased bassist that they were trying out shortly after the EP release, and he was unveiled in photos posted to their Facebook page on February 16th. His name on Facebook is given as Bubba Hillz, but I haven't seen the band credit him by name in any posts or tags yet. Regardless, before he moved up here, Bubba played bass in the South Florida deathcore band Tracheotomy in the early 2020s, and if he is accurately credited, he performed as "Jay Jealousy" on their debut singles in 2021. Hopefully we get clarification for his name/credits from the band soon!

There is media online featuring Bubba/Jay, not to mention his songs with Tracheotomy, and he has the skill set to fit in with Brandon, Christian, and Blaze, so we'll look at their first videos with him when we next look at Heavy Lies The Crown on the SMS later this month! Thanks everyone!