Monday, March 20, 2017

Kinglord Interview


So for the first interview for SDMJ, I caught up with the dudes from Kinglord, whose recent EP was of the first things I reviewed for the blog. Formed in 2015 in Stockholm, Sweden, the band consists of Lukas Palo on Vocals/Synth, Samuel Hulqvist on Guitar, Mattias Haggstrom Gerdt on Bass, and Maxim Belevich on Drums. They fucking rule as well. I think what sets these dudes apart from the rest in the doom genre is their mixture of ultra heavy detuned guitars combined with clean vocals and spacey weird almost new wave-esque synth sounds. It's catchy and addictive, and since i'm so intrigued by it, I wanted to talk to them!

Super Dank Metal Jams: How did you dudes come about?
Kinglord: Lukas and Samuel were rehearsing with their other band and Lukas found this ultra cool fuzzy distorted sound on a microkorg and started playing a riff. They loved it so much they went to Samuel's mom's place and hooked the synth up to some shitty computer speakers and wrote the song that would become "Judas Priest". Once we found that combo of the synth and the 8 string guitar, we started writing tons of riffs and recording rough demos. Against all odds we got a gig at the stone club Sweet Leaf in Stockholm opening for Spelljammer and were forced to put together a band and a name. After the gig the engineer was so fucking blown away he asked to record our debut EP. When the recording was done we recruited crazy Belarusian drummer Maxim and secured our Stoner/Doom authenticity with Mattias (of Kung Funghi and Oarfish) on bass for a more solid line-up in time for the release gig.



SDMJ: What prompted you to use an 8 string guitar and are the bass and the guitar in the same tunning?
KL: We're actually a synth band. All riffs are made using synth. So the reason we have an eight string is just to be able to play the same riffs as the synth. The guitar is tuned to F# standard and the bass is tuned to B standard.

SDMJ: What music influences you as a band?
KL: Black Sabbath, Ultravox, and Iron Maiden.



SDMJ: What is your favorite Sabbath Album/Sabbath riff?
KL: Master of Reality, and the best riff is easily the lead riff to Sweet Leaf.

SDMJ: Who are some current bands you look up to?
KL: We each have very broad influences but we don't look up to anyone. Some bands have a very cool sound though like Conan and Bongripper.

SDMJ: You're from Stockholm, Sweden so what's the music scene is like there?
KL: The music scene is pretty great. There are a lot of places to gig but there are just too many bands, you know the ones that just bought a Big Muff and a Les Paul and start riffing.

SDMJ: Are there still a lot of bands using the Boss HM-2 pedal, or are people switching over to Les Pauls and Big Muffs?
KL: Man we have no what the kids are doing nowadays. We just crank our Orange to the max. Les Pauls are ugly though.

SDMJ: Name some cool bands people check out from Stockholm.
KL: The music scene in Stockholm is pretty great in general, regardless of your taste in music. But our bassist is also playing in Kung Funghi, another up and coming smoking hot stoner band. Other bands well, we're getting old and we don't know...



SDMJ: How often do you gig? Are you weekend warriors or do you have some tours planned?
KL: As of now we're weekend warriors since our debut album was released last December. But during our short existence we've had some really great gigs like the grand opening for the stoner/doom festival Krokbacken in Sweden last year. We're also having talks about touring with other bands that we like. Let's just say you'll be hearing and seeing a lot more from Kinglord in the days to come.

SDMJ: What are the best places to gig in Stockholm?
KL: Depends on what kind of venue you like to play, but the most trve stoner/doom club in Stockholm is Sweet Leaf, run by the Stockholm Legend Fredrik Svensson Home. It's in a small, classic bar called Copperfields, the sound is great and the people who come and listen are trve fans of the genre. Then of course there's larger venues like e.g Nalen and a couple of Iron Maiden and Linkin Biscuit compatible arenas.

SDMJ: Any plans for a full length or future EPs in the near future?
KL: Yes! For starters, we're planning to record and release two new EPs this year and they will be brutal. Enough said.

-Samir

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