An interview with Heathen Kings
An interview with Heathen Kings
What inspired the name of the band? What are your influences?
The band was formed shortly after I sent out a demo of In The Hall Of The Kings to Andy vox/guitar and Alex Bass. They both seemed to like the vibe of that song, so we all went away and wrote some more tunes over the 2020 lockdown that would fit in the same style. Oscar guitar came on board at the end of 2020 and has added his huge technical skill and writing prowess to complete the lineup. My main musical influences are Iron Maiden, Visigoth, Grand Magus and lots of other traditional heavy metal. I also love a lot of fantasy novels and they are normally the basis of the subject matter for my songs, JRR Tolkien being the main one.
How do you approach songwriting?
We are lucky to have 4 songwriters in the band. I’m not too sure how the other 3 members approach their work (so far we mostly write individually). Personally I often start with either a lyric and melody that might form a chorus or the thematic basis of a song. I’ll work outwards from there fleshing out the lyrics, riffs and programming the drums as I go. Learning to actually play the song is about the last thing I do. We do have a few collaborations as well and now the restrictions are lifting in the uk there hopefully will be more opportunities for this.
How do you approach songwriting?
We are lucky to have 4 songwriters in the band. I’m not too sure how the other 3 members approach their work (so far we mostly write individually). Personally I often start with either a lyric and melody that might form a chorus or the thematic basis of a song. I’ll work outwards from there fleshing out the lyrics, riffs and programming the drums as I go. Learning to actually play the song is about the last thing I do. We do have a few collaborations as well and now the restrictions are lifting in the uk there hopefully will be more opportunities for this.
Why did you release ‘In The Hall Of The Kings’ as your first single?
It was the first song written for the band so it was earmarked as a single from day one really. We do have other songs we think could be good singles but even with lots of demos completed that one still stuck out as a really nice opening statement. Hopefully a call to arms. Ride out with me!
Where do you see the band progressing to in the future?
That’s a bit hard to say. We are all ambitious guys, but taking the last year and a half into consideration, right now, I’d just love for this band to play some fun gigs, meet some great people. I’m really looking forward to playing live music again, hopefully with some metallers in the crowd to enjoy it. Release wise, we have 2 more singles on the way and then we are going to build up to an album hopefully by the end of the year. we will see where that takes us!
Where do you see the band progressing to in the future?
That’s a bit hard to say. We are all ambitious guys, but taking the last year and a half into consideration, right now, I’d just love for this band to play some fun gigs, meet some great people. I’m really looking forward to playing live music again, hopefully with some metallers in the crowd to enjoy it. Release wise, we have 2 more singles on the way and then we are going to build up to an album hopefully by the end of the year. we will see where that takes us!