BIOGRAPHY
KING, an unfaltering and melancholic blackened metal force - keeping the spirit of old while carving a new path, epic while remaining raw, majestic while retaining a primitive atmosphere. Within the debut album “Reclaim The Darkness”, KING creates the perfect soundtrack to tell tales of an old world, a world forged by the gods and walked by giants. Tales of dark and bleak battles, never ending winters and the wonders of time and space.
KING was formed in 2013 by David Hill (guitar) and Tony Forde (vocals) who had worked together previously on grind core and death metal projects but shared the same drive to create something with more depth and space to express their musical ideas and concepts. David Haley joined on drums in 2014, his drum arrangements perfectly captured the atmosphere of KING taking the compositions to the next level. Drawing from shared musical influences like Immortal, Moonsorrow, In Flames, Satyricon, Dissection and Soilwork, the underlying focus during the writing process was on strong song structures to allow the arrangements to effortlessly transition between raw black metal and epic, soaring layered melodies.
Life, death, our existence within and as part of the universe are lyrical themes throughout the album. Gaining equal inspiration from turning towards the heavens, wondering at the stars and the infinity of time and space, to the thought of a new life being born and contemplating our short time on earth as humans. The music was composed with the same concepts in mind with great influence drawn from spending time in nature in astonishing landscapes, listening & feeling the stories that the landscapes told.
Walking through forests filled with 1000-year-old trees, travelling across vast landscapes, over mountains and marvelling at their beauty, staying in ancient cities and sensing the history of empires that had come and gone. These environments create a sense of wonder and brings to the surface the thoughts and concepts of our existence and our part in everything. The goal for the music of KING is about taking the listener on a journey to recreate that feeling of wonder and thoughtfulness, not to show what is already known, but to awaken what has always has been inside.
The debut album was written and recorded over an intense 2-year period, with pre-production completed in their own studio KING entered Crawl Space studios February 2015 for recordings and mixing, with the final product being completed on the Autumn equinox. All music was recorded and engineered by Joseph Haley at Crawl Space Studio and mastered by Thomas Eberger at Stockholm Mastering (Gorgoroth, Darkane, I and Symphony X). The result is a timeless offering unleashed.
KING signed with Norwegian label Indie Recordings who released Reclaim The Darkness on August 26th 2016. To support the release KING toured throughout Australia and New Zealand performing with Inquisition, Enslaved as well as a string of headlining shows late 2016 and early 2017.
Speaking about the album, the band said:
“Mankind has always turned towards the heavens and wondered, looked for answers, reminisced about past times and planned for the future based on what the night sky reveals to them. Our debut album ‘Reclaim The Darkness’ touches on these themes and was created with these themes in mind both musically and lyrically. With the aim to take the listener on a journey to contemplate our existence and purpose in the universe as humans have done throughout time. "We are excited the time has come and “Reclaim The Darkness” will see the cold light of day. After the first glimpses of KING's music over the past months, we're now eager for the album to be heard as a whole. The journey has been begun".
Media Praise
""Reclaim the Darkness" makes for an enjoyable listen. It is catchy, mostly melodic, but nevertheless heavy and diverse. It melds the two genres effortlessly and naturally and never sounds forced. Any fan of the genre will find joy in this excellent album by a promising band that both talks the talk and walks the walk." - Metal Temple (Ratings: Songwriting: 9; Originality: 9; Memorability: 9; Production: 10).
"Reclaim the Darkness is a perfect example of an album that requires full dynamics to be completely understood. The landscape is so rich from beginning to end that it’s a shame that the compression is so high. Regardless of these mastering issues and the typical-ness of “Night Sky Abyss” and “The Journey Begins,” this a fantastic debut. One that will leave me in anticipation for their sophomore outing." - Angry Metal Guy (Rating: Very Good!).
"All in all Reclaim the Darkness is a belter of an album and given it’s the bands debut its particularly impressive. Only time will tell whether KING can reach the heights of Blood Duster and Psycroptic, but I get the feeling that the strength of this band’s material can propel them to similar heights. One of, if not the best Australian releases you will hear in 2016." - Metal Obssession
Status: Active
Years Active: 2013-Present
Tony Forde - Vocals
David Hill - Guitars, Bass
David Haley - Drums
Country of Origin: Australia
Location: Melbourne, Victoria
Genre: Melodic Black/Death Metal
Current Label: Indie Recordings
Booking/Press Contact: kingtheband@yahoo.com
Official website: http://www.oneworldoneking.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/oneworldoneking
Instagram: http://instagram.com/kingtheband
Twitter: https://twitter.com/king___official
Merch: http://kingtheband.bigcartel.com/products
Reclaim The Darkness (Full-Lrngth Album - 2016)
Released August 26, 2016
Orders and Streaming:
Stream/Download: http://www.indierecordings.no/news/kingreclaimthedarkness
Reclaim The Darkness is out now on CD/LP via Indie Recordings (world) and EVP Recordings (Australia)
Big Cartel: http://kingtheband.bigcartel.com/products
