Hi Lance, my name is Amir and I´m working for the German music magazine www.metal-heads.de , which is focussed on – you may have guessed from the name – heavy music. At least we say, it has to include guitars…distorsion is our passion.

To tell you the truth, I´ve been slightly following you for quite some years now, being interested in your work with PYRAMAZE and BALANCE OF POWER. So now, I also got myself your new release and reviewed it for our readers. The review (it´s in German though) can be found on our homepage. As to my opinion you and your music deserve more attention, I wanna give you the chance today to give the people out there an closer insight in your work and music.

How it all began…

MH: let´s start quite in the beginning. I´d be interested to know, what got you into starting to get into music in the first attempts?

LK: I was always interested in music, loved to sing along with the radio, and also just deeply listen to great deep tracks, bands like Pink Floyd, Queen made me so excited to listen at a young age, even to write lyrics… But what motivated me to actually join my first band, was a close friend asked me to sing for his band after he’d heard me singing along to tracks in the car when we’d hang out. This was in 10th grade in high school.

MH: and when and why, did you decide to do it on a professional basis?

LK: I evolved into that I guess… I’d practiced with a band for a couple years and we had a couple of shows, the shows were very exciting, people were very excited to see us (even though we were not good in my personal opinion). But that didn’t really matter, what matted was we were enjoying what we were doing…

That joy translated I think…

So rather than going to college (because I had a full ride) I chose rather to learn music by doing…I had no interest in learning it formally, I had at the time a perception that it would limit the amount of feel and emotion that I could put into it… I think about it much differently these days and wish I would have learned some formal music training. But without it I’ve done pretty well and been able to be creative and break the rules, since I didn’t know the rules hahahaha! Just after high school we started playing shows in clubs and making money (not a lot of money) but enough for 4 teenagers to feel pretty great about, and we set out to start the world on fire.

MH: what band or project was that and how did it develop?

What is professional music?

LK: I suppose you could argue that point, I guess it depends on what you consider a ‚professional basis’, I always considered being paid to make music being a professional musician, but some might argue that being paid to play other peoples music is not really being a professional musician. I started in cover bands from 1981-1986 in a band called FREELANCE playing MTV metal and Canadian Rock, cutting our teeth on tunes by APRIL WINE, LOVERBOY, TROOPER, DOKKEN and things along that line. It was a lot of fun, we traveled from Michigan to Idaho and up to Canada and would play for a week at each stop, putting on the miles but meeting a lot of interesting people. Along the way we managed to write 10 songs, but these were not recorded well and are lost to time, if you didn’t see them live that is. In ’86 we all tired of one another, egos started brewing and the band started falling apart, I chose to audition for another band that was from a nearby town that had been well established and was doing much better than ours regionally. That band was GEMINI, they’d recently lost their singer and were playing about 1/2 of the same songs we were. They had a full calendar and I was given 2 weeks to learn another hour and a half of material before we were doing shows.  We made it work but after a year of just doing cover songs, I yearned to write and start trying to do more, so I told the band if they weren’t interested in moving in that direction, I’d be looking for a new opportunity. So we agreed to move in that direction and we started writing songs. We were playing a lot about 250 shows a year so, we’d rehearse in the clubs during the day and try them on the audience at night, and then save money from the shows to record them right, this started happening in 1989 and finally we had our first independent release in 1990 that was received really well from our fan base.

MH: please give us a summary of the following years of your musical career, so that our readers get an idea of what they might have missed.

LK: wow… that’s a challenge, maybe you can get an overview from my wikipedia site regarding that question?

MH: ok, maybe that is really to complex to answer…hahaha. From all the above said, what do you think is your biggest achievement? And what would you like to reach in the future careerwise?

LK:  Oh I have no idea actually, I know I’ve had some successes, but I don’t really keep track and think about it in those terms, I just focus on the next goal I set… I suppose my greatest achievement would be developing a record label Nightmare Records over the last 25 years and helping other musicians with their dreams. But now, I’m in a place where… I really want to focus more on my music again and the sky is the limit on that I really would love to build a fanbase that is worldwide and tour the world on a regular basis, that would be my goal, because I love performing live, there is nothing like it.

MH: what musicians would you love to share the stage with and/or what band would you like to tour with and why?

No big names necessary to make great music

LK: It’s very hard for me to define it in that way… there are far too many amazing bands out there, that I would love the opportunity to hang out with and make noise with. I love synchronicity, I love when the magic just happens, I would love making music with anyone that was really into making music with me… it’s a symbiotic thing that is based on the energy and passion of the individuals involved.

MH: people are always thinking about (rock) music as a job of a lot of glamour and do not realize, that only a few musicians and bands (compared to the many trying to be successful) can live from playing music. In how far do you have to do other jobs to fill your fridge and pay the bills?

LK: Well I’ve been very fortunate that I make music and have helped a lot of others, that make music and residual money continues to come in from that, I haven’t worked a side job in a long time, but I do give vocal lessons and I do also play in an classic rock band, to keep my voice in shape and it does bring me in quite a bit of side cash. I have done a lot of variable things for bands and been paid for it, I’ve promoted artists to media, I’ve created artwork and CD layouts, I used to broker CD pressing jobs (no money and too much liability in that though), I’ve even corrected overseas english lyrics, so they felt confident in their story telling and I have merchandise as an artist, that helps support the music. I also visit some festivals with Nightmare Records CD and merch in tow and keep the fans in amazing new music.

MH: festival, club gig or big venue? There are various kinds of gigs to play for a band to play. Small sweaty club gigs, big  venues or even stadiums and then these 3-day-festivals in front of 50.000 to 120.000 people. What kind of performances do you prefer and why?

Every gig is special…

LK: I love them all, small venues offer an intimacy with the audience, large ones are a full lightning bolt of crowd energy… but it comes down to economics and an artists situation. So I feel like you have to look at what is feasible to be able to afford to do from your home base.  Some artists are top tier and make good money playing at all of these and some are just starting out,  some obviously at various points in between. Which one is right depends a lot of the circumstances of the band. For my part at this moment…festivals would make the most sense for me at this moment, get my name, face and music in the ears of as many metal fans as possible.  Many may know the bands I’ve been in, but not know my name yet, getting name recognition and fan building is the first step, so that I will be able to tour clubs then take it up to bigger venues. So many well known metal bands, that have much larger fan bases than I do, are still playing clubs in many parts of the world. I look at it as an escalator that moves both ways… if you are not working hard on building new fans, you’re moving down that escalator!

MH: the final words is always to our interview partners. Here YOU get the chance to tell the people out there something, that you think is important, regarding music in general, the latest album or whatever. So, here we go…

LK: hahahaha I honestly think this question should be first, asking me about the new album, who’s going to read through to this point just on my name alone?  But perhaps some will, those of you that did, thank you! I hope you take a little of your precious time to spend with my new album, it’s called ‘ReProgram’ it’s a celestial metal album… what is celestial metal? Listen and find out… I feel music should have a good message that is useful to the listener, not just a random empty bunch of meaningless or ambiguous lines of words that could mean anything… yes these can speak to people individually, but IMO that is too random and it’s like playing the lottery. This new album speaks about very relevant issues of most people in the world today. I think if you listen to it you will agree, that and it’s got some absolutely beast guitar playing, dynamic vocals and drumming on it, if you like really good players, not just wanking but actual songs this is worth checking out.

MH: thanx Lance for sharing your time and so much in depth info. I wish you all the best with the album and the future efforts and hope to see you perform at some point.

LK: Thanks Amir, much appreciated!

[amazonjs asin=“B07N6QNLZ7″ locale=“DE“ title=“ReProgram“]

Lance…ist das nicht dieser berühmte Radrennfahrer? Nein. Ich fürchte, Lance King ist einer Vielzahl von musikbegeisterten Menschen verborgen geblieben, weil er bislang eher in weniger beachteten Bands seinen Job ausgeübt hat. Das ist sehr bedauerlich, denn der Frontmann hat beispielsweise 5 Jahre bis 2007 bei der Formation PYRAMAZE gesungen. Eine leider viel zu wenig beachtete Prog Metal Truppe. Davor gab es einen deutlich längeren Einsatz ab dem Jahr 1997 bei der Prog Power Band BALANCE OF POWER (beide Bands sind mir geläufig und ich konnte absolut mit der Musik etwas anfangen und so steht z.B. das 1999er-Album „Ten more tales“ von BALANCE OF POWER in meinem CD-Regal!!).

Auch die letztgenannte Band bekam leider nicht den Zuspruch, den sie ansprechend gestaltete und professionell servierte Musik verdient gehabt hätte. Aber lasst uns nicht zu lange in der Vergangenheit schwelgen, die wir ja ohnehin nicht mehr ändern können.

Großartige Musik – bisher leider zu wenig Beachtung

Der Blick geht nach vorne – konkret auf den 29.03.2019. Das ist das VÖ-Datum der neuen Solo-Scheibe von Lance King. „ReProgram“ heißt der Silberling, der satte 11 Tracks für den Hörer bereithält. Für die Produktion ist neben Mr. King selber kein Geringerer als Jacob Hansen (VOLBEAT, EVERGREY etc.) verantwortlich. Auch wenn der Sänger und Komponist als einige wichtige Einflüsse namhafte Acts wie z.B. DREAM THEATER, IRON MAIDEN, CRIMSON GLORY und BLIND GUARDIAN benennt, so hat er doch in den vielen Jahren der Aktivität im Business längst seinen eigenen Stil gefunden.

Inhaltlich beschäftigt sich Lance King mit verschiedenen Aspekten des gesellschaftlichen Zusammenlebens und dringt dabei tief in die Fundamente der menschlichen Psyche ein. Musikalisch geht es auf diesem Album mit dem Titeltrack gleich gut zur Sache. Melodischer Metal, voller Energie und dazu eine warme Stimme. Ein starker Einstieg in dieses Release. Treibende Drums und präzise Gitarrenarbeit. Der Opener ist schon sehr überzeugend und es geht gleich auf diesem Niveau weiter.

Mehr oder weniger Prog, Energie und Emotionen…

Der Einsatz von Keyboard und eine mehr oder weniger proggige Ausrichtung des Materials, ohne dabei auf eine ordentliche Portion an Heavyness zu verzichten, das prägt den Stil der neuen Songs. Tracks wie „Technology“ haben dann (zumindest zu Beginn) aber auch eher einen Metal-Einschlag. Man spürt, dass Lance King sich da nicht festlegen, nicht einschränken will. Er beherrscht die verschiedenen Stile und variiert gekonnt mit der Intensität der Ausrichtung.

Aber so ein Gesamtwerk ist auch für den fähigsten Musiker und Komponisten kaum alleine zu stemmen. So hat auch in diesem Fall eine amtliche Truppe von befreundeten Musikern (u.a. Mattias IA Eklundh von FREAK KITCHEN) mit angepackt und mit ihrem Können zur Realisierung dieses Albums beigetragen.

Bei Songs wie „Wide open“ rockt es auch ganz ordentlich, wie ich finde. U.a. auch das Solo des FREAK KITCHEN-Gitarristen verleiht dem Track eine gewisse Note. Während der nächste Song – „Chaotica“ – direkt kräftig loswummert, beginnt Nummer 9 erst einmal mit der Gitarre, bevor das Stück mehr Drive bekommt. Aber die Art des Gesangs, der hier zurückhaltend wirkt, relativiert hier das Ganze etwas. Zum Abschluss des Albums geht es bei „A mind at war“ ein ganzes Stück gemäßigter ans Werk. Aber dafür nicht weniger emotional.

Fazit: starke neue Songs – musikalisch und vom Gesang her

Fazit: starkes Material mit einem hohen Qualitätslevel. Diese Songs hätten auf jeden Fall eine gute Portion an Beachtung verdient. Hört mal ´rein und kauft euch das Album. Support great music!

Einen Höreindruck des neuen Materials haben wir hier schon einmal in Form eines Lyric-Videos zum Song „Limitless“ für euch besorgt. Hört mal ´rein und lasst euch von der Klasse dieses Materials überzeugen. Dieses Lied verschafft euch auf jeden Fall einen Eindruck, es gibt euch eine Idee davon, was da noch kommt:

[amazonjs asin=“B07N6QNLZ7″ locale=“DE“ title=“ReProgram“]

Keine Sorge. Die Rede ist nicht von Elvis Presley. Und wir sind auch nicht im Boxsport unterwegs. Aber es gibt Neuigkeiten aus der rockigen Musikszene. Lass´ uns die Spannung auflösen. Es geht um…Lance King. Der gute Mann hat ja schon mit BALANCE OF POWER und als Frontmann von PYRAMAZE von sich Reden gemacht. Jetzt geht es in die Bombast-Richtung. Unter seinem eigenen Namen gibt es mit dem Titel „ReProgram“ ein neues Release und das sollte interessant werden.

Es handelt sich wohl um ein Konzeptalbum, dass von Szenegröße Jacob Hansen co-produziert wurde und außerdem auf die Mitarbeit von einigen Gästen verweisen kann. Lance King meint zum neuen Album: „The single most powerful thing you can do, is unlearn the limiting beliefs you have accepted as truths in your youth. This frees you from the chains that bind, the chains of the subconscious mind.“

Fans von DREAM THEATER, SYMPHONY X und Co. sollten sich den 29.03.2019 im Kalender ankreuzen. Dann sind wir von metal-heads.de beim Konzert der NEAL MORSE BAND in Köln und verfassen für euch einen entsprechenden Konzertbericht…und an dem Tag kommt auch das erwähnte Album auf den Markt! Bisher gab es noch keinen Höreindruck…umso mehr bin ich gespannt. Wir bleiben für euch dran!

Jetzt haben wir auch noch was für eure Ohren

Es gibt ein brandneues Video aus dem Hause BLACK ROSE. Die Nummer entstammt dem Album „A light in the dark“ und hört auf den Namen „Sands of time“. Hört euch mal an, was die schwedischen Hard Rocker da für euch in petto haben. Bitte sehr:

Noch was Düsteres für eure Lauscher haben wir hier parat. Es handelt sich um den Song „Ancients“ vom gleichnamigen Album der Formation BLACK LUNG. Die Langrille steht ab dem 22.03.2019 in den Regalen der Plattenhändler und dieses dritte Werk der Truppe aus dem US-amerikanischen Baltimore wird auch in einer limitierten Vinyl-Ausgabe erhältlich sein.

Wem der Track zusagt, der hat eine große Auswahl an Konzerten im deutschsprachigen Raum, bei denen ihr die Band live erleben könnt. Hier die Dates für euch:

27.03.2019 – DE – Hamburg, Logo
28.03.2019 – DE – Kiel, Schaubude
29.03.2019 – DE – Berlin, Supamolly
30.03.2019 – DE – Münster, Alterna Sounds Festival
02.04.2019 – DE – München, Backstage
03.04.2019 – CH – Winterthur, Albani
04.04.2019 – AT – Innsbuck, P.M.K
05.04.2019 – AT – Ebensee, Kino Ebensee
06.04.2019 – DE – Ulm, Kradhalle
08.04.2019 – DE – Tübingen, Münzgasse
09.04.2019 – DE – Köln, Sonic Ballroom
10.04.2019 – DE – Trier, Lucky’s Luke
11.04.2019 – NL – Vlaardingen, De Kroepoekfabriek
13.04.2019 – DE – Karlsruhe, Alte Hackerei
16.04.2019 – DE – Dresden, Ostpol
17.04.2019 – DE – Nürnberg, Z-Bau
18.04.2019 – DE – Darmstadt, Centralstation
19.04.2019 – DE – Ilmenau, Baracke
20.04.2019 – DE – Lübeck, Treibsand

[amazonjs asin=“B07GGSB3XD“ locale=“DE“ title=“Light In The Dark“]