A Vancouver-based metal band will be coming to Nanaimo to perform to support their new album.<\/p>\n
Iron Kingdom, who consists of Chris Osterman, lead vocalist and guitarist, as well as Leighton Holmes, bassist, Max Friesen, drummer, and Megan Merrick, lead guitarist, will be performing in Nanaimo at The Terminal Bar on Thursday, July 2 at 6 p.m., alongside W.M.D. (When Minds Develop) and Awkward AC.<\/p>\n
The purpose of the performance is to support their new album Shadows and Dust, which is the sixth full-length album that Iron Kingdom has come out with, released on June 6.<\/p>\n
Osterman said that the album is mainly traditional heavy metal, influenced by Judas Priest and Iron Maiden, as well as power metal influences.<\/p>\n
\u201cI mean generally, we love pretty much their whole discographies, but I guess albums like Screaming for Vengeance from Judas Priest or Sin After Sin from Judas Priest, Somewhere in Time or [The] Number of the Beast from Iron Maiden, we listen to all of their stuff, so, we\u2019re into all of it,\u201d Osterman explained.<\/p>\n
The new album has 10 new songs and Osterman says they recorded the material in their own recording studio in Port Coquitlam.<\/p>\n
He stated that he feels it is always tricky when someone does their own producing, because it is hard to know when to stop.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou do something, you listen to it, and you are like, this sounds great, what if we added this? What if we changed this? So, having that control is great because in the end you are happy with what you have put out, but it also you know, you can spend hours and hours and days and days just thinking about certain particular sections or parts,\u201d Osterman explained.<\/p>\n
Osterman says there are two tracks from the album they would like to profile, which are Defenders, as well as Dead House Gates.<\/p>\n
Defenders, Osterman explained, had been about World War II, specifically Nazi Germany\u2019s invasion of Poland in 1939, which began the war. It was their first single from the album.<\/p>\n
\u201cBasically \u2026 a small group of Polish resistance had held out for about a week, when the Germans assumed that they would fall within hours, and it\u2019s just a song about the will of people who have something to fight for, and based on current global situations, it just felt like an interesting topic,\u201d Osterman added.<\/p>\n
Dead House Gates, which is Iron Kingdom\u2019s third single from the album, had been based off the Malazan Book of the Fallen series by Steven Erikson.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s basically about a couple of characters who travel to a dangerous building \u2013 things that could kill them along the way, and if they can succeed and get into this house, they have the chance to gain God-like abilities,\u201d Osterman explained. \u201cIt\u2019s like a high fantasy, kind of \u2013 Lord of the Rings, kind of type of storyline.\u201d<\/p>\n
In addition to being excited about the two songs as well as the album, Osterman says they are excited about putting on the performance in Nanaimo.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019ve been practising for months now, and finally things are starting to feel like we\u2019re wrapping up, and we are basically ready to take the show on the road,\u201d Osterman noted. \u201cWe hope to see some people out, and, you know, come say \u2018hi,\u2019 we\u2019re a friendly bunch.\u201d<\/p>\n