Iron Kingdom Interview

1.Can you give us an update on what has been going on with the band since the recording and release of the new album?
Quickly after the release of ‘Gates of Eternity’ we went on our first mini USA tour followed by a 27-date Canada tour where we went all the way up to Dawson City, YT to Montreal, QC and back to Vancouver, BC in 38 days I believe.  We then began writing our 3rd album, and booking shows for our European tour coming up in April of 2014.  Our hopes are high, and we cannot wait to see what 2014 will bring for IRON KINGDOM!

2.A year back, you released a new album can you tell us a little bit more about the musical direction it has taken and also how does it differ from the album you released in 2011?
‘Gates of Eternity’ was most definitely a more complex, heavier, and faster album, we wanted to push ourselves to really develop a new sound quickly.  We are glad that people have responded positively for the changes we made but we want them to also understand that Iron Kingdom doesn’t plan to continue to release the same album over and over again, we always want to change, grow and evolve into whatever sound we are feeling at the time.  Usually we have no idea what’s going to come out, other than it’s going to be powerful, and old school heavy metal.

3.Can you tell us a little bit more about the lyrical topics and subjects the new release explores?
Well ‘Gates of Eternity’ was written as a themed album, with three main themes that all tie into each other, Heaven and Hell, Good and Bad, and Life and Death.  The only track not fitting these themes would be ‘Crowned In Iron’ which is more about the band itself and our beginnings.

‘Demon of Deception’, ‘Candeloro’, and ‘Guardian Angel’ tell the same story of a brutal murder.  A true story that happened to a close relative of the band, we needed a way to express how we were feeling and music seemed the easiest way to let out our anger, and sorrows.  To truly understand these songs to their full extent you’d need to experience that same betrayal that we went through, but we would never wish that on anyone. No one should ever have to go through that.

4.On your albums you have had some occult lyrics, how would you describe your views on Occultism?
Haha I've never really thought about it. I really like to read and what I read often makes its way into my lyrics an example being Chains of Solitude. The inspiration for Chains came from one of the short stories in the Sandman series by Neil Gaiman. So I guess really its just cool stories and interesting concepts that interest us, the fact that they might be Occult doesn't really matter. Cool stories and awesome music just go well together.

-Leighton Holmes

5.What is the meaning and inspiration behind the name 'Iron Kingdom'?
The most basic meaning behind the name Iron Kingdom is quite simply, the land of heavy metal, a place where metal heads unite under one banner to bring metal back!  Stronger than ever!

6.What are some of the best shows that the band has played over the years and also how would you describe your stage performance?
It is difficult to pick just a few but I think our first time performing in Calgary was definitely a highlight, I believe it was in the summer of 2012, the audience was very responsive and gave us back every bit of energy we sent their way.

Another worth mentioning would have to be up in Whitehorse, YT, we performed at a wicked pizza restaurant, and we couldn’t believe the response we got, we did barely any advertisement and we almost packed the house on the first night.  If you’re ever up that way it’s called Epic Pizza, and I can say it’s held up to its name.

I would describe our stage performance as exciting, energetic, with lots of leather n’ studs.  Our live show is something similar to what you would expected to see in the early 1980’s from bands like Iron Maiden, Judas Priest, or the Scorpions.

7.I have seen that the band is scheduled for the Keep it true Festival in Germany, what are your expectations on playing this festival?
We are not totally sure what to expect, but we hope to see a whole lot of heavy metal maniacs ready to rock out with us for the first of many times!

8.Currently you are unsigned, are you looking for a label or have received any interest?
Yes, we are still an unsigned band.  We are not actively looking for a record deal, however, if one were to be offered we would definitely take it very seriously.

9.When can we expect the next album and also what musical directions will it be heading into?
At the moment, it is hard to say when we will be releasing our 3rd album, we’ve begun writing it over the past few months but it has proven to be a very unique and time consuming experience for us.  We are working on a potential concept album based in the Dark Ages.  Expect magic, and battles, and one hell of an original story.  The sound will be different from what we’ve done in the past, it is too soon to know in what ways but expect something a little different and most of all be ready for an epic adventure!

If all goes well we may start recording the new album sometime in late 2014 but there are no promises yet.

10.What are some bands or musical styles that have had an influence on your music and also what are you listening to nowadays/
I think the obvious answers would be bands like Judas Priest, Iron Maiden, Deep Purple and The Scorpions among so many others.  Some less expected influences come from Classical music and some Movie soundtracks.  We are always finding new bands we enjoy listening to, and pretty much everything we listen to plays a part in what influences us.

11.Do you have any non musical interests?
Leighton and Amanda absolutely love reading novels, stuff along the lines of the Wheel of Time series, and HP Lovecraft among others.

I have moments where I’ll get into the odd video game haha, but I think that goes for all of us.  I also enjoy building and creating things as well, but I spend most of my time with music.

Kenny is deeply into music, to be honest he doesn’t talk about much else… could be headline worthy stuff!  haha

12.Before we wrap up this interview do you have any final words or thoughts?
Thank you very much for having us do this interview, and thanks to all the readers for reading my ramblings haha

Keep up to date with the latest news from Iron Kingdom by clicking ‘like’ on our facebook page:  www.facebook.com/ironkingdom

Don’t forget to check out our merch store http://ironkingdomsofficialmerchstore.bigcartel.com
and hopefully we’ll see you on the road soon!

Long live Heavy Metal!
Chris Osterman
(Iron Kingdom)
www.iron-kingdom.com