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Lance King, Heavy metal vocalist extraordinaire, music producer, and owner of ambitious record label Nightmare Records. This prominent figure in the metal underground is known for lending his distinct voice to many bands from around the world, and for his successful independent record label. He has recently found a home with Avian, a band formed in his hometown. Having just released their second album, I contacted this legend amongst the "Metal Gods" to gain any insight into what went on during the recording of his latest project and to discover more about his success in the music industry.
The Medium: Avian just released a new album called Ashes & Madness. Did the recording process differ from the last album?
Lance King: Oh absolutely. The last album was more of a demo that we ended up turning into an album, whereas this time we were kind of creating as we went. It was essentially started by Yan (guitarist) who had hired a drummer to come in and 'demo up' songs and then David (ex bassist) came in and laid down some tracks as we progressed. We thought it sounded pretty good and that we should put out a real album. We kind of had to work with what we had the tones and such and it required a lot on my part to mix this stuff. But it ended up coming around pretty well, other than the mastering. I wasn't totally happy about that, so I ended up re-mastering it here and we let out another edition which sounded a lot fuller. But yeah, I mean it wasn't the ultimate situation for recording. It wasn't recorded properly from start to finish - it was a hodge-podge of things trying to get two different drum kits to sound similarly and umpteengillion different recording sessions to add some cohesive sound to it which is really a challenge.
M: You have Bill Hudson (Cellador) playing lead guitar in the recordings?
LK: Yup, he does all the lead guitar tracks on the album and he's playing live shows with us. Bill's a young, hot guitar player from Brazil who's living in the States these days. He used to play with Cellador and is now also in Powerquest and Circle II Circle.
M: Did he contribute at all to the writing process?
LK: Well no. It was completely written out when we brought Bill in and we just wanted him for his shred abilities. As far as Bill's writing goes I'm not familiar with what he's written in the past other than the Cellador stuff. We thought we'd still have Ron (ex-lead guitarist) to do another album, but he just said Avian wasn't a project he saw worth pursuing and he started doing blues (laughs). Sort of a neo-classical shredder, it's kind of interesting.
M: Now both the albums Avian has released have been concept albums right?
LK: Yeah, they are kind of tied around the same concept.
M: Who came up with the whole story? Was it you, or Yan?
LK: That would be all Yan. I revised some areas to fix the lyrical flow. The first album Yan tried to pack ten pounds of poo into a song with his lyrics. He's very wordy. On the last album there were some parts that were very hard to sing with everything overlapping live, so I tamed that down a little bit. It's good to breathe when you play live (laughs).
M: You guys just played a show with Kamelot and Edguy. How did it go?
LK: The show was very good. It was on a Monday at one of the clubs in town and we had a packed house, totally full. Both Edguy and Kamelot sounded great. It was fun.
M: You played keyboards on the new album. What other instruments do you play?
LK: I played all the keyboards on the new album but I've played guitar for about 25 years. I just haven't done keys in a really long time because whenever I've been a part of bands there's always been a keyboard player. There are a couple of Gemini albums where I played keys on but it's not my strong point. I'm a better vocalist than I am a keyboard player or guitar player but I can hold my own (laughs).
M: Now you've been in a ton of bands over the years. What is it like being in Avian compared to other bands you've been a part of in the past?
LK: Well it's a little different because this band started off as more of a recording project than a band. It was more of a 'building process' and now it has become a band. I'm not sure how Bill's allegiance to the project is but we are certainly 'gelling' as a group and I think we've got some good sounds on the new album. I brought in the bassist I had on The King's Machine, who is also a stellar backup vocalist, and he brought in a drummer who plays guitar and keys as well. We now have killer harmonies going on which is something missing in a lot of bands I've been in Balance Of Power and Pyramaze just didn't have that.
M: Your label, Nightmare Records you own it and you founded it. What kinds of bands do you sign on?
LK: I sign from the market I service in: progressive metal, power metal, thrash metal. That's the kind of stuff I do with the label and independent distribution. I'm working on hard rock labels all the way to melodic death metal stuff , pretty much anything that you can think of that's metal and melodic. I'm all about it. When it gets more into the black metal stuff, I'm not so into that. I appreciate it when sparsely done; I like it tasteful, aggressive, but not all the time.
M: What made you want to get into metal and start Nightmare Records?
LK: My own music I guess. It started out basically being on a fictional label when we put a cool logo on the back of my music. I mean we were doing an independent release but we put it on there. I thought it was pretty cool and we had one song on the album that I was partial to and it summed up what I was most proud of so that's what I called the label. From that point on it was just something that had just kind of found its feet. Gemini had gotten some success and was reviewed by Metal Edge. At the time Jerry Miller liked the band a lot and he pretty much opened up the world a little bit. I had gotten contacted from European distribution companies and we were selling. That got me thinking: "Hey, I could get some of the other local metal bands stuff, like my friends' stuff, and get it distributed with this thing I have overseas." So I pretty much told my buds I could sell their stuff. That thought kind of grew into the independent distribution I started in 1995 and it's worked out real well; it's become a real label.
M: Yeah, I was going to say you have quite a few bands signed on.
LK: Yeah, (sighs) we have a lot of bands. It's gotten quite crazy actually, I guess from the reputation and with what we're putting out there.
M: Especially this year with your first festival, Nightmarefest. Is this going to be an annual thing?
LK: Yes it is. Primarily we showcase the labels artists but next time we're going to be bringing in other bands that aren't signed on the label. We'll get some big headliners. You know, reaching out onto the spectrum, getting those bands that are hot in that area we'll make it a huge event because we'll be moving it around. It's definitely a great way to promote bands in different areas, and it helps the label. It helps heavy metal and it's giving local talent the option and opportunity to play in these shows.
M: Going back to Avian. Are you ever going to tour around the GTA or anywhere in Canada?
LK: Well our drummer doesn't have a passport yet. We're going to need to get him one anyways because we are going for some summer festivals in Europe, but we're looking for opportunities right now. We'd love to play in Canada. I think Toronto would be a very good town for us to hit.
M: What do you think of today's metal scene?
LK: Well it's a challenge. But it is stronger than ever. People have a hard time realizing that because there are so many great metal bands. To put it in perspective there were about 81 heavy metal records released in 1981. Fast forward to 2006, there were about 4,246 metal records released that year. If you think about that, metal's doing well. Individually the artists aren't as well known because there are so many more others out there. There is so much division of the 'metal pie.' And now with the digital torrents there is downloading, and it can help promote individual bands, but it can also hurt them in sales. There isn't as much cash these days because there are so many records out. Technology has gotten so great that if you know what you're doing and you've got the gear you can make fantastic records at home and you can take you're time. You don't have to worry about the clock; you don't have to rush it. You can get exactly what you want and you don't have to release until you make it.
Lance King, Heavy metal vocalist extraordinaire, music producer, and owner of ambitious record label Nightmare Records. This prominent figure in the metal underground is known for lending his distinct voice to many bands from around the world, and for his successful independent record label. He has recently found a home with Avian, a band formed in his hometown. Having just released their second album, I contacted this legend amongst the "Metal Gods" to gain any insight into what went on during the recording of his latest project and to discover more about his success in the music industry.
The Medium: Avian just released a new album called Ashes & Madness. Did the recording process differ from the last album?
Lance King: Oh absolutely. The last album was more of a demo that we ended up turning into an album, whereas this time we were kind of creating as we went. It was essentially started by Yan (guitarist) who had hired a drummer to come in and 'demo up' songs and then David (ex bassist) came in and laid down some tracks as we progressed. We thought it sounded pretty good and that we should put out a real album. We kind of had to work with what we had the tones and such and it required a lot on my part to mix this stuff. But it ended up coming around pretty well, other than the mastering. I wasn't totally happy about that, so I ended up re-mastering it here and we let out another edition which sounded a lot fuller. But yeah, I mean it wasn't the ultimate situation for recording. It wasn't recorded properly from start to finish - it was a hodge-podge of things trying to get two different drum kits to sound similarly and umpteengillion different recording sessions to add some cohesive sound to it which is really a challenge.
M: You have Bill Hudson (Cellador) playing lead guitar in the recordings?
LK: Yup, he does all the lead guitar tracks on the album and he's playing live shows with us. Bill's a young, hot guitar player from Brazil who's living in the States these days. He used to play with Cellador and is now also in Powerquest and Circle II Circle.
M: Did he contribute at all to the writing process?
LK: Well no. It was completely written out when we brought Bill in and we just wanted him for his shred abilities. As far as Bill's writing goes I'm not familiar with what he's written in the past other than the Cellador stuff. We thought we'd still have Ron (ex-lead guitarist) to do another album, but he just said Avian wasn't a project he saw worth pursuing and he started doing blues (laughs). Sort of a neo-classical shredder, it's kind of interesting.
M: Now both the albums Avian has released have been concept albums right?
LK: Yeah, they are kind of tied around the same concept.
M: Who came up with the whole story? Was it you, or Yan?
LK: That would be all Yan. I revised some areas to fix the lyrical flow. The first album Yan tried to pack ten pounds of poo into a song with his lyrics. He's very wordy. On the last album there were some parts that were very hard to sing with everything overlapping live, so I tamed that down a little bit. It's good to breathe when you play live (laughs).
M: You guys just played a show with Kamelot and Edguy. How did it go?
LK: The show was very good. It was on a Monday at one of the clubs in town and we had a packed house, totally full. Both Edguy and Kamelot sounded great. It was fun.
M: You played keyboards on the new album. What other instruments do you play?
LK: I played all the keyboards on the new album but I've played guitar for about 25 years. I just haven't done keys in a really long time because whenever I've been a part of bands there's always been a keyboard player. There are a couple of Gemini albums where I played keys on but it's not my strong point. I'm a better vocalist than I am a keyboard player or guitar player but I can hold my own (laughs).
M: Now you've been in a ton of bands over the years. What is it like being in Avian compared to other bands you've been a part of in the past?
LK: Well it's a little different because this band started off as more of a recording project than a band. It was more of a 'building process' and now it has become a band. I'm not sure how Bill's allegiance to the project is but we are certainly 'gelling' as a group and I think we've got some good sounds on the new album. I brought in the bassist I had on The King's Machine, who is also a stellar backup vocalist, and he brought in a drummer who plays guitar and keys as well. We now have killer harmonies going on which is something missing in a lot of bands I've been in Balance Of Power and Pyramaze just didn't have that.
M: Your label, Nightmare Records you own it and you founded it. What kinds of bands do you sign on?
LK: I sign from the market I service in: progressive metal, power metal, thrash metal. That's the kind of stuff I do with the label and independent distribution. I'm working on hard rock labels all the way to melodic death metal stuff , pretty much anything that you can think of that's metal and melodic. I'm all about it. When it gets more into the black metal stuff, I'm not so into that. I appreciate it when sparsely done; I like it tasteful, aggressive, but not all the time.
M: What made you want to get into metal and start Nightmare Records?
LK: My own music I guess. It started out basically being on a fictional label when we put a cool logo on the back of my music. I mean we were doing an independent release but we put it on there. I thought it was pretty cool and we had one song on the album that I was partial to and it summed up what I was most proud of so that's what I called the label. From that point on it was just something that had just kind of found its feet. Gemini had gotten some success and was reviewed by Metal Edge. At the time Jerry Miller liked the band a lot and he pretty much opened up the world a little bit. I had gotten contacted from European distribution companies and we were selling. That got me thinking: "Hey, I could get some of the other local metal bands stuff, like my friends' stuff, and get it distributed with this thing I have overseas." So I pretty much told my buds I could sell their stuff. That thought kind of grew into the independent distribution I started in 1995 and it's worked out real well; it's become a real label.
M: Yeah, I was going to say you have quite a few bands signed on.
LK: Yeah, (sighs) we have a lot of bands. It's gotten quite crazy actually, I guess from the reputation and with what we're putting out there.
M: Especially this year with your first festival, Nightmarefest. Is this going to be an annual thing?
LK: Yes it is. Primarily we showcase the labels artists but next time we're going to be bringing in other bands that aren't signed on the label. We'll get some big headliners. You know, reaching out onto the spectrum, getting those bands that are hot in that area we'll make it a huge event because we'll be moving it around. It's definitely a great way to promote bands in different areas, and it helps the label. It helps heavy metal and it's giving local talent the option and opportunity to play in these shows.
M: Going back to Avian. Are you ever going to tour around the GTA or anywhere in Canada?
LK: Well our drummer doesn't have a passport yet. We're going to need to get him one anyways because we are going for some summer festivals in Europe, but we're looking for opportunities right now. We'd love to play in Canada. I think Toronto would be a very good town for us to hit.
M: What do you think of today's metal scene?
LK: Well it's a challenge. But it is stronger than ever. People have a hard time realizing that because there are so many great metal bands. To put it in perspective there were about 81 heavy metal records released in 1981. Fast forward to 2006, there were about 4,246 metal records released that year. If you think about that, metal's doing well. Individually the artists aren't as well known because there are so many more others out there. There is so much division of the 'metal pie.' And now with the digital torrents there is downloading, and it can help promote individual bands, but it can also hurt them in sales. There isn't as much cash these days because there are so many records out. Technology has gotten so great that if you know what you're doing and you've got the gear you can make fantastic records at home and you can take you're time. You don't have to worry about the clock; you don't have to rush it. You can get exactly what you want and you don't have to release until you make it.
