Formed in Los Angeles in 2019 by vocalist Leo Unnermark and guitarist Parker Halub, Wings of Steel is a hard rock and heavy metal band drawing inspiration from the timeless sounds of the ’70s and ’80s. Their music blends these classic influences into a fresh, epic, and distinctive take on the genre.

After their debut EP, Wings of Steel (2022), the band returned with their first full-length album, Gates of Twilight—a 10-track masterpiece that earned widespread recognition as one of the most exciting underground metal albums of 2023.

Following the successful conclusion of their inaugural international tour in spring 2024, Wings of Steel has firmly established themselves as a force to be reckoned with, proving that independent heavy metal is both vibrant and thriving.

Interview

TheNwothm: Happy new year guys! I hope your all doing well! For our readers, can you introduce who you are, where you are from and who is in the band?

W.O.S: We are Wings of Steel from Los Angeles California! The band currently consists of founding members Leo Unnermark on Vocals and Parker Halub on Lead Guitar, as well as Stefan Bailet on Rhythm Guitar, Mathieu Trobec on Bass, and Marcel Binder on Drums. 

TheNwothm: So how did Wings of Steel form?

W.O.S: It’s tough to say exactly when Wings of Steel formed. We met back in April of 2019 while studying music in LA. We instantly hit it off having a lot of musical influences in common, and decided to start a band. We’ve been writing music together even since and it all really took off from there.

TheNwothm: Did you always have an idea of the direction you guys wanted to take with the band straight from the start or did it take some time to find your sound!

W.O.S: After we graduated music school in 2020, we were stuck inside because of covid. So we decided to continue writing music ourselves and really develop our sound. We couldn’t really go out and jam with anyone else, so we composed everything ourselves and still do to this day. We spent about a year refining our songwriting and eventually decided to put out 5 tracks on our debut EP “Wings of Steel” which was released in March of 2022.

TheNwothm: And what made you choose the name wings of steel?

W.O.S: We had been trying to figure out a band name ever since we met, but no matter what we tried we just couldn’t seem to find something we were happy with. We had almost given up, but in February of 2021, we wrote the song “Wings of Steel,” after which we decided it would be a great band name. 

TheNwothm: You guys are from the US which has a thriving new wave scene! Who are some of your favourite bands right now and who have you enjoyed the most sharing a stage with?

W.O.S: Leo is originally from Sweden so unfortunately due to visa restrictions, the band has only played 3 shows in the US to date, so we haven’t (yet) had the honour of sharing the stage with many of our friends’ bands. That said, some new bands we really dig are Dirty Honey, Saber, Air Raid, Midnight Vice, Intranced, Hitten, Vision Denied, Skull and Crossbones, Tailgunner, Leather Duchess, Show N Tell and many more. 

TheNwothm: How has metal shaped each of you personally, and how did your influences growing up contribute to who you are today?

Parker: Leo and I actually both came from slightly different musical upbringings. I started out with bands like Journey, Metallica, Led Zeppelin, Iron Maiden, Europe, Megadeth, and many more.

Leo: Thanks to my parents’ great taste I grew up around more bluesy artists and bands like Joe Bonamassa, Walter Trout, Bad Company, Free, Dave Meniketii, and many more, which then initially introduced me to the more bluesy side of hard rock and heavy metal. From there I started exploring and appreciating all of it.

But all that said, there are too many influences to list that make an impact on the sound of Wings of Steel, some of which include Rainbow, Blue Murder, Whitesnake, Black Sabbath, Judas Priest, Scorpions, Dio, Iron Maiden, Jorn, Y&T, Metallica, Demon, Gotthard, Saxon, and many many more. 

TheNwothm: Are any of you passionate about collecting say guitars etc and if so what do you have in your collection?

Parker: I love guitars but I wouldn’t quite say I’m at “collector” status quite yet. My two main guitars are a Jackson Soloist SL-27 and an ultra modded Jackson Dinky (which are the two main guitars featured in all of the Wings of Steel Recordings). I also have a Caparison, a Charvel, and a cordoba nylon string acoustic. Hopefully I’ll be able to purchase more guitars soon though, you can never have enough!

TheNwothm: Did you choose those instruments specifically to help you achieve your Sound?

Parker: Sort of. There are 3 main reasons why I play the guitars I do; 

1. It looks good

2. It sounds good 

3. It feels good 

TheNwothm: Let us return to 2019 when you formed. What happened in the early years of the band up until the release of your self titled EP in 2022.

W.O.S: As mentioned earlier, we started writing music from the point we met. We finished up music school right when covid hit, so we spent 2020 and most of 2021 just writing music and developing our sound. We decided in mid 2021 to finally get 5 of our songs professionally mixed, and thus the EP was born. 

TheNwothm: Do you remember writing that EP and did the whole process go how you wanted it to?

W.O.S: There was a lot of experimentation, and we wrote all kinds of songs from ballads to faster and heavier stuff. We were really just having fun and exploring what kind of music we were capable of putting together, while also sort of reflecting where we were at in life at that time. We wrote many more songs during that time that haven’t been released, and there is certainly a possibility that we will choose to release some of these songs later in the future. 

TheNwothm: Thinking about writing and recording do you have a set process you follow as band. For instance do you share ideas online or hash it out in a rehearsal room etc?

W.O.S: We are constantly coming up with riffs and song ideas. So whenever we get together, we pick an idea that we are both digging at the time and let the song unfold from there. It’s not always an idea we initially have, much of the parts of our songs we come up with as we are writing the song. It’s really a natural process and we aren’t too rigid about it going a certain way, some songs are written in hours, some in days, some in weeks, months, or even years. 

As for recording, we typically get the guitars and bass recorded, then the vocals and lead guitars, and lastly the drums. We do the drums last because we initially compose the drums and then have our drummer record it afterwards. 

TheNwothm: Can you tell our readers a bit more about each of yourselves?

Parker: I’m 23 and from Los Angeles, California. I’ve lived here my whole life and started playing guitar at age 10. 

Leo: I’m 27 and grew up in Sweden, I began singing at an early age and I’m mainly self taught. I currently live in Germany. 

TheNwothm: So after the EP came the full length album “Gates of Twilight” in 2023! I presume the whole writing and recording went very quickly considering such a short space of time between each release.

W.O.S: Due to Leo’s visa situation, he can only be in the US for 90 days at a time, so we had less than that to write and record “Gates of Twilight” in the summer of 2022. We had a lot of ideas going into it and worked our asses off to get everything done on time, but we managed to write/record about 1 song per week and everything that we wrote in that time went on the album. (Although, some guitars, bass, and the drums were recorded after Leo had left). Overall, we were surprised we were able to finish the record on time, and couldn’t be happier with the songs on that record. 

TheNwothm: What can you tell our readers about the album and what are some of your favourite tracks from it?

W.O.S: There’s a lot of depth that goes into the music we write. “Gates of Twilight” isn’t exactly a concept album, but the songs tend to circulated around similar themes, life & death, good & evil, happiness & depression, freedom & tyranny (although we must emphasise, there is not one fixed meaning to the songs, there are multiple ways the listener can connect with the music). 

As far as the music itself goes, we have everything from atmospheric ballads, to heavy blues, to aggressive and fast riffs, blazing solos, and epic sections. It’s really a great blend of many things we love about music. 

Parker: My favorite tracks include “Into the Sun” (because of that long solo), Liar in Love, Fall in Line, & Gates of Twilight, although truthfully I do not have a favourite and love all the songs. 

Leo: It’s unfair to pick favorites, but if I had to, I would choose the ones that have ignited the audience the most so far, which, according to me, have been: ‘Fall in Line,’ ‘Liar in Love,’ ‘She Cries,’ ‘Rhythm of Desire,’ ‘Wings of Steel,’ and ‘Stormchild.’

TheNwothm: Some bands usually write more tracks than appear on the album. Is that what you do or do you just write the amount that end up on the record.

W.O.S:For the EP, yes there are more tracks written than (currently) released. But for ‘Gates of Twilight,” every track we wrote for that album happened to appear on it. We don’t have a strict doctrine on how to do things, we just write what we write and if we like it, we release it. Some songs however aren’t yet ready to be released, so we “put them on the shelf” and will revise them when the time is right. 

TheNwothm: Thinking about your stage shows, what can fans expect from a typical Wings of Steel stage show?

W.O.S:The energy and chemistry you hear on the records will come to life. High energy, raw performance, and a great time. We like to do things slightly different from the records here and there, and you will really get to experience the style and energy of the band. (We recently released a live album titled “Live in France” if you want a taste of what it’s like to be at a Wings of Steel show)

TheNwothm: And I see you guys are serious about image. Do you feel that in todays scene it is important to sell your self as a brand/identity etc.

W.O.S:Yes, in today’s world, especially because of social media, your image is super important. We also feel it is important to have a look that delivers the music, as this has always been a super important part of the overall experience of the music. We’re not over the top with  choreographed moves and looks but we certainly put on a heavy metal show and look the part.

TheNwothm: Do you have any memorable shows?

W.O.S:We have only played 14 shows to date, so they are all very memorable. Some really cool ones include headline the Whisky a Go Go, Keep it True Festival, Paris, Rock Hard Festival, and Lille (which was recorded and now released as our live album “Live in France”). 

TheNwothm: Let us celebrate the release of your “Live in France” live record you put out last year! What made you decide on doing a live record and how has the reception been from fans?

W.O.S: We actually weren’t planning on recording a live album, our good friend who organised the show for us had it recorded and didn’t tell us until after the show, so It’s definitely as raw and authentic of a live recording as it gets. And the show itself was a great one to be recorded, as the venue and sound was good and the audience was on fire. 

The reception has been great so far, even though live albums don’t typically get as much attention as studio releases, we’ve sold lots of Vinyls and CDs and really felt the support of our die hard audience. 

TheNwothm: Do you have any pre or post show rituals?

Parker: Not really! Pre show, just hang out, relax, eat some good food, warm up, and get stoked! Post show, say hello to our fans and go to bed as soon as possible afterwards. 

Leo: I like a few minutes of silence and isolation before I go on stage to clear an excess of energy, but other than that I’m the same! 

TheNwothm: Moving forward what are your live plans for 2025? Which countries will you be visiting?

W.O.S: We are currently planning out all of our touring endeavours for 2025. We are already announced for “Up the Hammers” fest in Greece this March, “Iron Fest Open Air” in Germany in June, and “Headbangers Open Air” in Germany in July. We are planning and hoping to play shows in Germany, France, Spain, Italy, Poland, Sweden, Belgium, and the Netherlands around these fests as part of an EU tour. Additionally, we are working to get everything in place to do a full country US tour in the Fall. 

TheNwothm: And musically have you guys started thinking about writing new music?

W.O.S: We actually already wrote and recorded a new studio record this fall, we are currently mixing it and it will be released in late summer of 2025. Stay tuned! 

TheNwothm: What are your new years resolutions for 2025?

Parker: Play all over Europe and the US, and successfully release our next studio album.

Leo: in terms of the band, continue to focus on the joy of playing live music, remain grateful for everything that has happened and is happening as our story unfolds, and continue to take the stage with love and passion.

TheNwothm: Where can fans buy your music and merch?

W.O.S: You can find our CDs, Vinyls, and shirts on our website: www.wingsofsteelband.com 

You can stream and purchase our music for download on all major platforms: (spotify, youtube, apple/itunes, amazon, etc) 

TheNwothm: Anything else you would like to mention?

W.O.S: A huge thank you to all our incredibly supportive fans, we would not be where we are today with your support and dedication. We are extremely excited to release more music and play more shows in 2025. Peace, love, and heavy metal! 

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/OfficialWingsofSteel

Bancamp: https://officialwingsofsteel.bandcamp.com/

Website: https://wingsofsteelband.com/