NEWS RELEASE
Montreal, QC – August 8, 2022
Canadian NWOTHM IRON KINGDOM Posts Teaser + Launch Pre-Order For Fifth Album “The Blood of Creation”
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L-R: Chris Osterman (Lead Vocals / Lead Guitar), Leighton Holmes (Bass Guitar), Megan Merrick (Lead Guitar), Max Friesen (Drums)
Photo Credit – Caitlin Delaplace
Vancouver, Canada’s IRON KINGDOM is returning in 2022 with their fifth studio album “The Blood of Creation” to follow 2019’s highly praised “On The Hunt”, which took the band to new heights with tours across Canada, the USA, and Europe along with topping the Canadian loud radio charts at #5 (Earshot) and compliments such as “a glorious gallop of foot on the monitor, traditional heavy metal that will have NWOBHM fans drooling. 9/10” – Metal Gods TV and “40 minutes of enjoyable no-frills classic metal.” – Angry Metal Guy.
“The Blood of Creation” continues the reign of classic heavy metal that Iron Kingdom has been presenting over the years to music lovers of the style along with keeping the flame burning for a new generation.
“We wanted to create music in a style of metal that seemed to have been forgotten when we were kids. Since no one else seemed to be doing it, we decided to play metal the way it used to be played in the 70s and 80s. That was the reason for forming Iron Kingdom. Essentially, we wanted to give people an exciting show like an early Iron Maiden, Scorpions, or Saxon show from the 1980s.” recalls guitarist/vocalist Chris Osterman on the beginnings of the band.
Iron Kingdom has come a long way since their 2011 debut “Curse Of The Voodoo Queen” and their next offering is a potent full force of classic shredding heavy metal thunder and will take fans into some unique fantastic worlds they may or may not have experienced, but will also show a dark side of storytelling.
“I think we started as a bit more of a hard rock band on the first record, taking a progressive metal dive for Gates Of Eternity and Ride For Glory, then for On The Hunt, I’d say we went fully classic metal, leading into this new record being a pretty solid mix of all those styles combined. We also came out of the pandemic, which brought some darker emotions some people may have never experienced previously that I think this album may parallel. In the end though, we want people to get the chance to escape this world for a time and find solace in the music.” adds Osterman.
The new album also sees new drummer Max Friesen (ex-Ophelia Falling) making his recording debut with the band to add another angle to their songwriting for this release. The album was self-produced by Iron Kingdom with mixing done by Andy Boldt and mastering by Greg Reely (Overkill, Fear Factory, 3 Inches of Blood).
Recommended for fans of Iron Maiden, Judas Priest, Helloween, and Saxon, Iron Kingdom is sharing their teaser for “The Blood of Creation” that can be heard at https://youtu.be/V-9Cr-ABE3I
The album track listing, artwork, and singles will be revealed in the coming weeks and is available for pre-order at the following links:
http://www.iron-kingdom.com/shop/
https://iron-kingdom.bandcamp.com
In additional news, Iron Kingdom have announced their album launch show for November 4th in Vancouver, BC, hosted by the Invisible Orange at the Wise Hall. For more info, please visit the following link here.
For more info:
https://www.iron-kingdom.com
https://www.facebook.com/ironkingdom
https://www.instagram.com/iron_kingdom
https://twitter.com/iron_kingdom
About: Inspired by legendary pillars of heavy metal such as Iron Maiden, Judas Priest, The Scorpions, and Rush, this four-piece is well known for their energetic and electrifying stage presence, as well as intricate musical melodies that bring listeners back to a time when heavy metal was in its prime.
Formed in Surrey, B.C. Canada, in June of 2011, the band’s core members were Chris Osterman on guitar and vocals, bassist Leighton Holmes, and drummer Amanda Osterman, joined by Jordan Wright on guitar. This quickly changed, after recording their debut album ‘Curse Of The Voodoo Queen’ Jordan was replaced by guitarist Kenny Kroecher. ‘Curse Of The Voodoo Queen’ was released on Dec 14, 2011, and the band took the opportunity to tour western Canada, along with an appearance on the TV Show, Canada’s Got Talent.
With the debut album receiving little attention, the group decided it was time to record a new album, and by April 26, 2013, ‘Gates Of Eternity’ was released. Garnering some strong reviews coming in around the world, attention was growing, and the band was invited to perform at Germany’s Keep It True XVII festival. This opened up many new avenues for the act to pursue, including some serious time on the road through Canada in 2013, and Europe in 2014, followed by a tour in the USA with California’s Night Demon. The band had created some major momentum and Iron Kingdom was spreading their moniker far and wide in support of the first two releases.
On July 30, 2015, Iron Kingdom released not one, but two more albums, ‘Ride For Glory’ their 3rd full-length album, as well as ‘Unleashed at the Kraken (Live in Seattle)’ an exclusive live E.P. recorded on a previous tour. The band set out on the road again in support of the two new releases. The tour was unfortunately riddled with many trials, including a vehicle accident that almost killed the band members. Following the tour, Amanda decided to step back from the band to pursue other commitments. Joey Paul then took her place behind the kit.
Life on the road continued, including a massive North American tour in 2016, as well as a tour in Brazil in a supporting slot for former frontman of Iron Maiden, Blaze Bayley. After many performances, guitarist Kenny and drummer Joey departed, thus leaving the door open for Chris Sonea, and Megan Merrick, on drums and guitar respectively.
It took four years for the follow-up album after ‘Ride For Glory’, but finally on Oct 4, 2019, ‘On The Hunt’ was released. This was the fourth full-length release from this traditional metal act. Iron Kingdom toured ‘On The Hunt’ immediately with an extensive North American tour in the fall of 2019, and shortly after, toured Europe in March of 2020. Thankfully the band was able to perform the majority of their European dates, but unfortunately, COVID-19 took its toll and their final performance was canceled. At the return of the tour, drummer Chris Sonea decided to depart from the group, and the band (now consisting of band members, Leighton Holmes, Chris Osterman, and Megan Merrick) began auditions to fill the void on the drums.
In the Spring of 2020, Max Friesen joined the band, taking his seat behind the kit, and once again, Iron Kingdom stands ready to take the world by storm and aid in the revival of the mighty and classic sounds of Traditional Heavy Metal. Their new album “The Blood of Creation” is scheduled to be released in Fall 2022.
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#5 (On The Hunt) Canadian National Loud Chart – For the Week Ending: Tuesday, November 12, 2019 (earshot)
“a glorious gallop of foot on the monitor, traditional heavy metal that will have NWOBHM fans drooling. 9/10” – Metal Gods TV
“It’s a pleasure when you have the chance to listening to bands such as IRON KINGDOM, true defenders of best tradition of our loved music. 88/100” – Hard Rock Heavy Metal
“One of Western Canada’s finest exports is traditional heavy metal band Iron Kingdom… another solid effort proving why Canada is by far the best country for modern traditional heavy metal!” – Skull Fracturing Metal
“With On The Hunt, you can expect Iron Kingdom’s traditional heavy metal. They make no apologies for invoking legends like Iron Maiden, Judas Priest, et al, for metal inspiration. Not dismissing the excellent rhythm section, but with the twin guitar attack of Osterman and Merrick, you’ll find all the songs within On The Hunt quite guitar-forward… Essentially, with this album, Iron Kingdom remains true to their metal style. 4/5” – DangerDog Music Reviews
“Of the hundreds of heavy metal bands that have “Iron” in their name, not very many of them are deserving of it. Iron Maiden? Obviously. Iron Savior? Yup. Iron Fire? Definitely. Of course, Iron Kingdom are undoubtedly deserving of the mark, because the metal they’ve forged is strong, heavy, and true. 9/10” – Power Thorn
“Holy Shit! Have you heard Iron Kingdom’s On the Hunt? If you haven’t you are missing out on one of the coolest album’s of 2019.” – 10/10 Keeper Magazine
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