There are some great Nwothm bands coming from Canada like Traveler and Cauldron and one of the countries finest is Iron Kingdom! Chris Osterman caught up with TheNwothm to go over some of the bands history and give us an update on what is in store for 2023!
THE NWOTHM: For those who do not know who you are, can you tell us your band name,
who is in the band and where you are from?
I.K: For sure! We’re IRON KINGDOM, from Vancouver, Canada. The band consists of 4 members,
they are, Leighton Holmes – Bass, Max Friesen – Drums, Megan Merrick – Lead Guitar, and
myself Chris Osterman – Lead Vocals/Lead Guitar.
THE NWOTHM: How did the band form and is there any interesting story surrounding its
formation?
I.K: We formed as IRON KINGDOM on June 6th of 2011, however, the band had actually been together
for quite a few years prior to this date under a different name. The name change was an important
moment for us though, because it also came with a fresh approach to the music industry and I
believe this is when we became a real band.
THE NWOTHM: Since the bands formation what big milestones have you achieved?
I.K: Well I’ll try to keep this short haha so here we go! We’ve released 5 full length albums, 1 Live EP,
we’ve toured multiple times through North America/Europe and once though Brazil. We’ve
performed with many of our musical idols such as Angra, Blaze Bayley, Hammerfall, Sanctuary,
Jag Panzer, WitchCross, Tygers Of Pan Tang, Vicious Rumors and Metal Church to name a few!
On top of all of that, we’ve gotten to play some pretty awesome festivals such as Keep It True XVII
(Germany), Very ‘Eavy Fest (The Netherlands), Armstrong Metalfest (Canada), Loud as Hell Fest
(Canada), Throwback Metalfest (USA) and Full Metal Osthessen (Germany) among many others!
THE NWOTHM: Can you tell us any fun/ interesting facts about the members of the band?
I.K:Ya sure, first I’ll start with Megan. Megan was originally from Toronto, ON, (on the other side of
the country) and she played guitar in a few bands out that way, namely Ammo and Sista Fista, but
Metal also runs through her family, as her sister is the drummer for the band Axxion, and prior to
that Skull Fist.
Leighton and myself went to high-school together, he introduced me to bands such as
Stratovarious, Blind Guardian, Saxon and Hammerfall. We used to get in trouble during French
class because he’d be showing me albums I’ve never heard of during the lessons haha!
Max is the newest member of the band, joining in 2020. He was actually teaching English in
Japan, prior to COVID-19 shutting everything down. He rushed back home as things became
serious and decided it was time to try out music once again. We jammed with him, a couple weeks
after his return to Vancouver and we’ve never looked back.
For myself, I’d say that originally, I didn’t want to be the singer, I am a guitarist at heart and still am,
however, after trying a few other vocalists out, I realised that my voice carried the group in a way
that others did not, no matter how talented they may have been. It was clear that this group
needed me to accept that my voice was the missing piece. Once I came to this realisation I grew
to quite enjoy singing and playing guitar, there’s something quite unique about performing both
roles at once.
THE NWOTHM: What bands and artists have influenced you and helped you to carve your
sound?
I.K: Well, I’m sure each member would have a different opinion on this, but I’d personally say groups
like Judas Priest, The Scorpions, Rush, Deep Purple, Hammerfall, Iron Maiden, Accept, Saxon,
and Helloween would be at the forefront of my influences, there are many, many others but these
were some of the big ones.
THE NWOTHM: Can you tell us about your most recent release(s) and any background
information to the music? How did the songs come about?
I.K: Yea, our latest album ‘The Blood Of Creation’ came out on Nov 4 th 2022. This album was written
and recorded all during the Covid-19 lockdown. I think it created quite a dark vibe as we were all
going through some strange times. Each song comes from a difference place, but the themes of
suffering and struggle seem to connect them all.
I think this album was pretty cool because we had each member very involved in every song. We
are a jam-oriented group, but the ideas need to stem from somewhere, and everyone had ideas
flowing pretty much the entire time. So, it was a really creative process.
THE NWOTHM: What shows have you got coming up for 2023? Any major performances
you would like to highlight?
I.K:Well, it’s too early to announce anything just yet, but I will say there are shows being booked
across 2 continents at the moment. We should start announcing some dates in the coming months
so stay connected to our social media to find out more!
THE NWOTHM: Any other plans for 2023? With it being a new year, what do you hope to
achieve in the upcoming months?
I.K:I think the main goal for us is touring our latest release ‘The Blood Of Creation’ and hopefully
completing the writing for our 6th album. 2024 will probably see more touring continue, but also
hopefully some studio time!
THE NWOTHM: Where can people check you out on social media and buy your
music/merch?
I.K:I think the best place to start would be our official website: http://www.iron-kingdom.com
But of-course we’re on Instagram, Bandcamp and Facebook and all that as well. Here are some
links for those:
Official Website: www.iron-kingdom.com
Instagram: www.instagram.com/iron_kingdom
Facebook: www.facebook.com/ironkingdom
Bandcamp: https://iron-kingdom.bandcamp.com
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/Ironkingdom
THE NWOTHM: is there anything else you would like to mention?
I.K: Just simply to say thank you so much for the interview and a big thank you to all the readers, fans
of old and possibly some new faces! If you’ve never heard of us, we hope you’ll take the chance to
check out some tunes and maybe we’ll get to meet ya on the road some day!! Thanks again, and
Keep It Steel!!
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