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

Amok/Somewhere In The West/Witches Brew Records/2014 CD Review

  Amok  are  a  band  from  Scotland  that  plays  an  old  school  form  of  thrash  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2014  album  "Somewhere  in  The  West"  which  was  released  by  Witches  Brew  Records.

  The  album   starts out  with  an  old  school  thrash  metal  sound  along  with  solos  and  leads  and  after  the  intro  aggressive  yet  melodic  vocals  become  a  part  of  the  music  as  well  a s bringing  in  a  brief  use  of  acoustic  guitars  before  returning  to  a  more  heavy  and  aggressive  sound.

  As  the  album  continues  it  sticks  to  a  very  heavy  and  aggressive  sounding  old  school  thrash  metal  direction  as  well  as  bringing  in  a  small  amount  of  growls  without  having  to  resort  to  death  metal  and  at  time s the  vocals  go  into  clean  signing  that  reminds  me  of  early  Anthrax  as  well  as  the  guitar  riffing  and  leads  bringing  in  a  good  amount  of  melody  and  all  of  the  musical  instruments  have  a  very  powerful  sound  to  them.

  When  we  get  more  into  the  recording  clean  guitars  are  brought  in  briefly  before  return  to  an  even  more  heavy  and  aggressive  sound  and  there  are  no  traces  of  modern  metal  influences  present  on  this  recording  and  at  time s you  can  hear  elements  of  traditional  metal  being  utilized  in  the  guitar  solos.  

  With  this  album  Amok  show  that  they  are  another  young  band  that  knows  their  thrash  metal  very  well  and  they  prove  that  you  can  still  be  heavy  and  aggressive  in  2014  while  sticking  to  a  1980's  sound  and  not  adding  in  any  of  the  modern  trends.

  Song  lyrics  cover  violent,  hateful  and  everyday  themes,  while  the  production  has  a  very  strong,  powerful, heavy,  old  school  and  professional  sound  where  you  can  hear  all  of  the  musical  instruments  that  are  present  on  this  recording  as  well  as  some  of  the  songs  being  very  long  and  epic  in  length.  

  In  my  opinion  Amok  are  a  very  great  sounding  heavy  and  aggressive  old  school  thrash  metal  band  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  this  musical  genre,  you  should  check  out  this  album.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Somewhere  In  The  West"  "Uprise"  "Cover  Your  tracks"  and  "Lost  Generation".  8  out  of  10.

Stormwarrior Interview

Interviewpartner: Lars Ramcke

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?
Lars:
We are rehearsing for the tour that will start in February, giving a lot of interviews, planning new merchandise, booking new shows for the rest of the year, setting up a new online store which you can reach through our facebook page and so on.... else everyone is very busy with his own works and projects. Jörg is running his Soundlodge Studio where we also did the drum recordings for the new album, Yenz is producing the new album of a german band called Gun Barrel and I am doing the mix for a french band called Elvenstorm at the moment in the Thunderhall Studio in Hamburg.

2.Recently 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 your past recordings?
Lars:
We just wanted to capture the spirit of our very early releases and combine it with the catchy stuff of the younger works. So it is raw and barbaric at one hand but melodic and ready to sing along with on the other hand as well. So of course you could compare it with every single album we have done so far, but that's not necessary as everything we have done so far is somehow included in this one... Maybe this is just our way of making something like a "Best-Of" album... but with new songs... haha!!

3.Can you tell us a little bit more about the lyrical topics and subjects you explore with the new release?
Lars:
This time there is no special overall concept about the lyrics like it was on "Northern Rage" or on the "Heathen Warrior" album. I just had to let it all out again why we all live Heavy Metal the way we do and what it means to us, if you want to put it shortly... But it was interesting, last time it took days and weeks and lots of books had to be read until I could finish the lyrics and this time everything just came out as if there was something in a prison cell waiting to just get one more chance again to finally break out... So the lyrics came just from the heart and are just pure Heavy Metal.

4.You have covered mythology themes with some of your lyrics, can you tell us a little bit more about your interest in this topics?
Lars:
Well it is just part of our own history in the northern part of Germany which once belonged to Denmark and which has the same viking history as the rest of Scandinavia. I also studied Scandinavistic and northern prehistoric archaeology for some years at the university, even though I took most of this education for the writing of lyrics... haha!!

5.What is the meaning and inspiration behind the name 'Stormwarrior'?
Lars:
I guess back then we just wanted to create the absolute "True Metal Bandname"... haha!! The meaning is to be understood in that way that we are all "warriors" as we fight day by day against prejudices, unacceptance, etc. which at some days seems like a "storm" coming over you in hard times. So if you want, the "Stormwarrior" is just the strong unbreakable proud side in all of us that appears in moments when you have no other choice than fighting for your life, whether it is in a mental or physical way.

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?
Lars:
One of the moments that were really unbelievable was the show with Kai Hansen at the Earthshaker festival 2005. It was an awesome 80ies atmosphere during the show. People were standing even before the door of the hall because it was so crowded and everyone was banging and screaming from the first to the last row... that show really had a very special magical feeling... so sad it wasn't recorded and filmed back then.
And of course touring the first time in Japan was just an completely overwhelming experience. It was just like waking up in a different world. Hopefully we can repeat this someday in the near future.

7.What are the touring plans for the new release?
Lars:
First we will start a tour with Majesty and Wisdom in February / March. Some further touring possibilities are discussed at the moment. There will as well be some more Festivals and headlining shows coming up.

8.On a worldwide level how has the feedback been to the newer material by fans of metal?
Lars:
Most reviews speak of 8, 9 or even 10 of 10 points and it seems that nearly everyone likes it, except those of course who are not happy if they can't find anything to complain about. There are as well a lot of people naming it "the best Stormwarrior album to date". So I guess there must be something in that album that we did the right way...

9.According to the Metal Archives page, some of the band members also participate in other musical projects, can you tell us a little bit more about them?
Lars:
Alex is playing in Aeons Confer as well, that's a Death Metal band from Hamburg who just released a self-produced debut album recently. Jörg is playing in a band from Greece called Nightfall and Yenz is playing with the goth band Lacrimosa and plays guitar in an AC/DC Tributeband.

10.What direction do you see your music heading into on future releases?
Lars:
Since the people and more important we ourselves as well want Stormwarrior the way we sound I don't think it would be a good idea to make any big changes in our sound in the future. Of course we will continue and develop again next time but we just have to see how the songwriting turns out next time. I can't say that there is a certain plan how the next album will have to sound and look like. That will fall into place as soon as the songwriting process is up and running.

11.What are some bands or musical styles that have had an influence on your newer material and also what are you listening to nowadays?
Lars:
I still listen to the same kind of Heavy Metal as I did 15 years ago when I started with the band. Old school Heavy Metal & Speed Metal like the very early Helloween, Running Wild, the first 8 albums of Manowar, W.A.S.P., Exciter, Warrant, Savage Grace, Judas Priest, Demon, Metal Church, Overkill, Omen, OZ, Accept, etc... but also to stuff like Bathory, early Queen, Gary Moore, Pink Floyd, Uriah Heep, Deep Purple, Whitesnake... guess you get the picture... :-)
I cannot name any special influences on this album because it all comes together in the end while playing guitar and writing the songs...

12.Do you have any non musical interests?
Lars:
I read a lot of books about pre-christian cults, myths, ancient "religion", old sagas, northern mythology, scandinavian and germanic history... and I built up a quite good collection of books in the meantime including some very old original prints from the 19th century.

13.Before we wrap up this interview, do you have any final words or thoughts?
Lars:
Thanks for the interview and for your support!! We're looking forward to the tour and the festivals. See ye out there soon!!! Stay clean, stay Metal !!! \m/

Krokus/Headhunter/Arista Records/1983 Album Review

  Krokus  are  a  band  from  Switzerland  that  has  a  history that goes  back  almost  40  years  which  a  musical  style  that  is  a  mixture  of  heavy  metal  and  hard  rock  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  classic  1983  album  "Headhunter"  which  was  released  by  Arista Records.

  The  album  starts  out  with  drums  and  a  heavy  metal   sound  that  almost  borders  on  speed  metal  along  with  melodic  vocals  as  well  as  all  of  the  musical  instruments  having  a  very  powerful  song  to  them  along  with  solos  being  added  into  the  music.  

  As  the album  moves  on  to  other  songs  they  go  more  into  a  hard  rock/heavy  metal  direction  that  has  a  mid  70's  feeling  to  it  before  going  into  a  power  ballad  before  returning  to  a  more  metal  direction.

  With  this  album  Krokus  showed  a  sound  that  was  very  typical  of  this  era  while  also  having  a  harder  edge  and  elements  closer  to  NWOBHM  than  most  of  their  counterparts  and  this  was  their  most  famous  recording.

  Song  lyrics  cover  everyday  and  party  themes,  while  the  production  had  a  very  strong,  powerful,  heavy  and  professional  sound  for  the  time  it  was  recorded  and  you  can  hear  all  of  the  musical  instruments  that  are  present  on  this  recording.

  In  my  opinion  this  was  a  very  great  sounding  album  from  Krokus  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  this  band,  you  probably  already  own  this  recording.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Headhunter"  "Screaming  In  The  Night"  "Stand  And  be  Counted"  and  "Russian  Winter".  8  out  of  10.    

Doro/Raise Your Fist/Nuclear Blast/2012 CD Review

  Doro  are  a  band  from  Germany  that  has  a  long  history  going  back  to  the  'warlock'  days  that  plays  a  very  traditional  form  of  heavy  metal/hard  rock  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2012  album  "Raise  your  Fist"  which  was  released  by  Nuclear  Blast  Records.

  The  album  starts  out  with  an  old  school  hard  rock/metal  sound  along  with  solos  and  melodic  vocals  as  well  as  all  of  the  musical  instruments  sounding  very  powerful  as  well  as  some  back  up  vocals.

  As  the  album  continues  it  sticks  to  a  more  80's  orientated  metal/rock  sound  as  well  as  adding  in  melody  along  with  an  anthem  type  feeling  and  after  a  few  heavy  tracks  the  music  goes  into  a  power  ballad  along  with  Lemmy  of  Motorhead  doing  guest  vocals a s  well  as  bringing  in  symphonic  elements  and  then  the  music  takes  a  more  fast  NWOBHM  style  direction  before  returning  to  a  more  hard  rock  direction.

  When  we  get  more  into  the  album  another  power  ballad  is  brought  in  along  with  some  acoustic  guitars  but  for  the  most  part  the  album  sticks  to  a  heavier  direction  while  also  bringing  in  a  somewhat  mainstream  sounding  feeling  at  times  along  with  a  small  amount  of  symphonic  elements  which  are  only  added  in  certain  songs.  

  With  this  album  Doro  continue  their  mixture  of  traditional  metal  and  hard  rock  sound  not  they  are  known  for  and  this  album  is  a  lot  more  closer  to  the  Warlock  days  than  the  last  one  I  heard  more  than  20  years  ago  which  seemed  to  more  focused  on  capturing  a  commercial  metal  audience,  but  this  is  a  very  decent  sounding  album.


Song  lyrics  cover  everyday,  rock'n'roll  and  heavy  metal  themes,  while  the  production  has  a  very  strong,  powerful,  heavy  and  professional  sound  where  you  can  hear  all  of  the  musical  instruments  that  are  present  on  this  recording.

  In  my  opinion  this  is  a  very  decent  sounding  recording  from  Doro  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  this  band,  you  should  enjoy  this  album.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Coldhearted  Lover"  "It  Still  Hurts"  "Little  Headbanger"  and  "Victory".  7/5  out  of  10.    

Poobah/U.S Rock/Ripple Music/2014 CD Re-Issue Review

  Poobah  where  a  band  from  Wisconsin  that  played  a  mixture  of  early  heavy  metal  and  psychedelic  rock and  this  is  a  review  of  their  1976  album  "U.S  Rock"  which  will  be  re-issued  this  month  by  Ripple  Music.

  The  album  starts  out  with  an  early  metal  sound  along  with  hard  rock  solos  and  melodic  vocals  and  all  of  the  musical  instruments  have  a  very  powerful  sound  to  them  and  after  awhile  psychedelic  elements  are  added  into  the  music  along  with  high  pitched  screams  which  where  the  roots  of  power  metal.

  As  the  album  continues  it  sticks  to  a  psychedelic  rock  sound  while  being  as  heavy  as  early  and  proto  metal  as  well  as  bringing  in  elements  that  would  later  evolve  into  stoner  rock  and  one  song  they  bring  in  a  piano  which  also  gives  the  recording  and  early  rock'n'roll  feeling  and  on  other  songs  there  is  also  a  brief  use  of  spoken  word  parts  being  utilized.

  When  we  get  more  into  the  album  the  band  starts  bringing  in    power  ballad's  before  returning  to  a  more  heavy  psychedelic  hard  rock  sound  and  on  one  song  they  bring  in  synths  and  then  go  into  a  more  metal  direction  and  the  last  song  is  a  live  track  which  also  utilizes  a  brief  use  of  drum  solos.

  With  this  album  Poobah  combined  the  earliest  form  with  both  hard  and  psychedelic  along  with  a  great  amount  of  melody  to  create  a  classic  recording  which  was  underrated  for  its  time  and  forgotten  about.

  Song  lyrics  cover  everyday  themes,  while  the  production  has  a  very  strong,  powerful,  heavy  and  professional  sound  for  the  time  it  was  recorded  and  you  can  also  hear  all  of  the  musical  instruments  that  are  present  on  this  album  as  well  as  some  of  the  songs  being  very  long  and  epic  in  length.

  In  my  opinion  Poobah  where  a  very  great  sounding  mixture  of  early  70's  metal  and  psychedelic  hard  rock  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  those  musical  genres,  you  should  check  out  this  band.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Flesh  Eaters"  "Crazy"  "Cold  Blooded  Lover"  adn  "Enjoy  What  You  have".  8/5  out  of  10.    

Leaf Hound/Live In Japan/Ripple Music/2014 Live CD Re-Issue

  Leaf  Hound  where  a  band  from  England  that  played  an  early  form  of  metal  with  hard  rock  elements  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  1971  live  album  "Live  in  Japan"  which  was  re-issued  by  Ripple  Music  during  the  year  of  2014.

  The  album  starts  out  with  a  very  heavy  and  melodic  proto  metal  sound  along  with  all  of  the  musical  instruments sounding  very  powerful  as  well  as  some  clean  signing  vocals  and  after  awhile  solos  are  added  into  the  music.

  As  the  album  continues  the  band  continues  their  hard  rock/proto  metal  sound  and  you  can  really  hear  the  roots  of  stoner  rock  in  this  recording  and  after  awhile  acoustic  guitars  are  added into  the  music  briefly  before  returning  to  a  heavier  direction  as  well  as  mixing  in  clean  parts  at  times.

  With  this  album  Leaf  Hound  while  mostly  coming  from  a  blues/hard  rock  direction  bring  a  heaviness  to  the  music  which  was  the  origins of  metal  and  eventually  stoner  rock  20  years  later  and  it  is  good  to  hear  70s  music  that  is  never  played  on  the  classic  rock  stations.  

  Song  lyrics  cover  everyday  themes  along  with  a  touch  of  darkness,  while  the  production  has  a  very  strong,  powerful,  heavy  and  professional  sound  for  the  time  it  was  released  and  you  can  hear  all  of  the  musical  instruments  that  are  present  on  this  recording  as  well  as  some  of  the  songs  being  very  long  and  epic  in  length.

  In  my  opinion  Leaf  Hound  where  a  very  great  sounding  hard  rock/proto  metal  band  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  this  musical  genre,  you  should  check  out  this  live  album.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Barricades"  "With  A  Minute  To  Go"  and  "Evil".  8  out  of  10.