A lyric video accompanies HALCYON DRIFT’s debut single, ‘I Made Do,’ introducing the Ottawa metalcore/djent band with a song about resilience through adversity. The track combines hardcore energy, djent precision and hip-hop-influenced rhythms.
Scream vocalist Matt Zephyr connects the song’s physical energy with its lyrical focus: ‘It’s the perfect song to mosh to, but it’s also something people can feel. It’s about pushing through when life hits hard.’
The release also introduces the musicians visually. Its artwork uses a band photograph, making the lineup the focus of HALCYON DRIFT’s first public release. The supplied band photography is credited to Roxanne Morin.
‘This music is from us to you, and we wanted listeners to know who we are from the very first release,’ Zephyr says.
HALCYON DRIFT grew out of an earlier musical connection between Zephyr and lead guitarist Matt Pilon. They first played together at age 15 in Below Bloodshed with their close friend, drummer Diego Bussières, who died in 2020. Years later, Zephyr and Pilon reunited to ‘finish what we started,’ revisiting older songs with the skills they had developed since that project.
Clean vocalist Guillaume Parisien subsequently joined them. Drummer Mikey Trottier, who also plays in Holly Acres, and rhythm guitarist Mathieu Senneville complete the lineup alongside Pilon and Zephyr. The band spent two years writing three full albums and developing its musical identity before introducing ‘I Made Do.’
HALCYON DRIFT describes its approach to heavy music through connected stories, treating individual songs as chapters and albums as worlds. That emphasis on narrative also informs its plans for the stage: sets are designed around emotional peaks and valleys, with synchronized lighting and cinematic transitions.
The band is preparing for live performances through the remainder of 2026 and into 2027. ‘I Made Do’ is available now, with the lyric video accompanying the debut single.
