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IRON KINGDOM / Blog

Blog #3: Canada Tour Kamloops, Drive to Prince George

This morning we bid farewell to Kamloops and trekked to Prince George. The show at Pogue Mahones went well and Mournir played a wicked set. It was awesome to share the stage with such talented players again and the food at the pub was tasty! We have seen 2 moose and 3 deer so far and the drive up was filled with beautiful scenery. It is everyone’s first time to Prince George so this is going to be a new experience. Driving has been fairly uneventful thus far, meaning no break downs or problems with the van, but we have discovered Kenny didn’t know how to play go fish. Tonight we play at the Art Space on 3rd ave with locals Deveined and Kleaver. We are looking forward to playing tonight in a new place and to a totally new crowd. Lets see what you got Prince George, rock with us on a Sunday!

Keep the Faith,

Leighton Holmes (Bass Guitar)

Blog #2: Canada tour 2013: Kamloops.. Day 2

Life in the van has definitely been easier on this tour than our Western Canada tour last year. We have more comfortable sleeping arrangements, a working stove, a fridge and until yesterday morning a working sink haha. I think we’ve fixed the issue now but with a sink full of dishes sitting there it kinda sucked. We played the first show in Kamloops last night at the Dirty Jersey and man I love playing here. The people we have met here are incredible and really supportive and every time we play here it’s an awesome time. Tonight we are doing a second Kamloops show at Pogue Mahones. Last year we played there twice and we had a blast each time so we are stoked to be playing there again. Mournir from Vancouver is coming up to share the stage with us tonight, and its going to be deadly. The show starts at 9 so come down and rock with us at Pogues!!

Keep the Faith,

Leighton Holmes, (Bass Guitar) www.facebook.com/ironkingdom

Blog #1: Northern Kingdom Tour (CAN) 2013

The trailer is packed and we have hit the road! Our send off in Vancouver was absolutely epic, in every way Battlefest was a success! Everyone who played was dynamite and the turn out was incredible. It was the first show we had ever played at the Rickshaw and we all had a great time! Thanks again to David Khan and everyone who put on the show and a big horns up to all the metal heads who came out and rocked with us. We were looking forward to playing again at Voodoo’s in Penticton but unfortunately the show was cancelled due to a family emergency with the owners. We wish them all the best with the troubles that have beset them. We are currently biding time in Merritt hoping to set up a replacement show. If anyone knows anything and sees this in time hit us up haha. This tour is off to a much different start than the U.S. of Eh tour where we were rushing to get to the gig. Today has largely been spent calling venues to find a new show and driving but still, it feels like the calm before the storm as we prepare mentally and physically for the most intensive tour we have ever embarked on!

Keep the Faith,

Leighton Holmes (Bass Guitar)

4th Entry 'Gates of Eternity'

Jan 3/13 - The second beginning...

It may come a bit late but a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year! and to those of a different faith, culture or tradition, the happiest of holidays! We have been quiet but busy this past month. As hopefully all of you should know we started recording our second album in November. We laid down the drums most of the guitar and a bit of the bass before taking a production break for the holidays. We are officially hard back at work! With studio dates booked we are primed to complete recording and incredibly excited to be able to share this with you in the near future.

It has been a couple of months since we have done a live show, and while we truly love playing shows we have decided that our focus is the album and so we will not be playing any gigs until we are ready to release. So those of you anxiously checking for our next gig you will just have to wait a little longer haha

We may be quiet but never fear, we are still here!

Keep the Faith, Leighton Holmes (Bass Guitar)

3rd Entry ' Gates of Eternity'

The drum tracks are all wrapped up and Chris' rhythm guitars are done. Starting today (Tuesday, November 6th/2012) we say good bye to The Studio Downe Under move to Andy's True Sound Studio. We had a blast at The Studio Downe Under and would like to say a big thanks to the in-house engineer Soren, who was incredibly helpful. Next up is Chris and Kenny laying down some guitar wizardry this week and then my bass and Chris' vocals. The drums sound beautifully epic and Amanda really out did herself. So far so good and we should have a finished product for your listening pleasure in the new year. We will keep you posted as the recording and mixing progresses.

Keep the Faith, Leighton Holmes (Bass Guitar)

2nd Entry for 'Gates of Eternity'

It's crazy to think almost a year ago we released 'Curse of the Voodoo Queen'. In such a short time we have grown a lot as a band, we have gained a brother (Kenny - on Guitar), released our debut album 'COTVQ', made a music video for the single ' Voodoo Queen', gotten our first taste on the road and written our second album. Titled 'Gates of Eternity,' this album shows a side to us only hinted at by our first album. Kenny's guitar wizardry compliments Chris' wicked leads beautifully and Amanda's drumming is solid and freakin' epic, but also on this album Amanda will show another side some of you may or may not know, introducing classical piano to a track.

We have had a lot of fun writing our second album and hopefully we'll have just as much fun recording it. Amanda will begin pounding away on her drums today at the Studio Down Under in Abbotsford, B.C. where we will reunite with our honorable 5th member 'Andalf' aka Andy Boldt (our engineer). We have known Andy for years and he knows exactly how to get the sounds we want. After Amanda lays down her drum tracks and Chris lays down some guitar we move to True Sound Studio's Andy's little home away from home. We are really really excited as we prepare to enter the studio again and we can't wait to be able to share it with you in the new year.

Keep the Faith,

Leighton Holmes (Bass Guitar) www.facebook.com/ironkingdom

The Journey to the 'Gates of Eternity'

Brothers and Sisters of the Kingdom!

Thank you to everyone who came out and rocked with us at Funkys on Friday! It was a wicked show from front to back. We kicked off the show playing our last gig before we head into the studio next month. Xul, a band from Vernon, played next and crushed heads with their brand of pounding Death Metal. Sanktuary killed it and Terrifier (formerly Skull Hammer) destroyed the place and wrapped up the show. We have been largely silent for the last couple months but we have not been idle. The writing for the next album, Gates of Eternity, is completed and we will be heading into the studio at the beginning of November to start laying down the tracks. All of us in the Kingdom are incredibly excited to share with you the fruits of our labours and can't wait till it is completed and ready for your consumption. With this album we really flexed our creativity and we feel that we have out done our first endeavor. With an average track length of about 6 minutes and a track that runs about 15 minutes we are stepping up the levels of epic. In honour of surpassing 666 likes on www.facebook.com/ironkingdom we released one half of the cover for Gates of Eternity and I tell you it is wicked.

We used the same artist (Nicholas Frenette) as our first cover and the painting he created blew my mind the first time I saw it. I won't say too much right now but believe me the other side of the cover is just as awesome. Keep your eyes open as we will be releasing more info on the new album as we get closer to finishing the recording. I personally promise you will not be disappointed.

Keep the Faith, and Happy Thanksgiving! Leighton Holmes (Bass Guitar) www.facebook.com/ironkingdom

July 15th (Penticton) - July 16 (Coming Home) The Western Front Lies Still...

We came, we saw, we conquered and now we are home. Sunday's show at Voodoo's marked the end of the 'Loud and Heavy on the Western Front' tour and we are all sad it's over. We rocked our hearts out with our brothers in Until Dawn and Pangaia and it was a solid cap to a triumphant trip. We met so many awesome people from metal heads to promoters/owners to the bands we played with. We can't wait until our next tour, till the next chance to hit the road and play to both old and new fans. We aim to go farther east next year.

It was a strange feeling as we unloaded the trailer when we got home. Strange that we were putting the gear away and not setting up at a venue. Strange that we'd be sleeping in beds not on the speaker cabs or in the bed of the truck or the passenger seat of the car. We all loved our first taste of the road and we all are eagerly awaiting a chance to do it again. We were shown love everywhere we went and everywhere we went we feel like we made connections to fans. So to every one who came out, who rocked with us with fists in the air, we thank you and we will be seeing you again.

Total Distance Travelled: Approx. 2800 KM (Or Approx. 109 Million Inches)

Keep the Faith, Leighton Holmes (Bass Guitar) www.facebook.com/ironkingdom

Kamloops - July 14 (Night)

Saturday night was insane, and not entirely in a good way. We got to the Dirty Jersey really early to unpack all of our gear and set it up off to the side, and then proceeded to kill a couple hours. We played a couple games of bowling (I won) and shot a couple games of pool (again I won) and just as it was getting close to show time we were informed that the show was in fact cancelled. After a chaotic 15 to 20 minutes we were able to join the bill at Pogue Mahones, so we packed our gear back in the trailer and raced over. We are very thankful to both Pogue's and to the other bands playing that night that they let us share the stage with them. As the front man from Until Dawn put it, 'it was a shitty start to a wicked night' thank you everyone who came out to rock with us, we love you Kamloops!

Total Distance Travelled: 2000 KM

Keep the Faith, Leighton Holmes (Bass Guitar) www.facebook.com/ironkingdom

Holy shit Calgary! (July 12 Night - July 13th Day)

You guys blew us away! In a town saturated with cowboy hats the metal heads came out for a night of wicked power metal.

Hrom kicked off the show with a wicked set, not many bands have a drummer who does lead vocals. Badass! Local veterans Hellrazor blazed it up next, kicking ass and taking names! The energy coming off the crowd was incredible. Right off the bat we got a really good feeling. The stage was nice and big so we had plenty of room to move around. You guys really showed us a good time in Calgary and we can't wait to come back! Thank you everyone who came out and showed us how Calgary metal heads rock. Profits of Doom closed the show with an incredibly tight set. Kenny lived in Calgary for a time so this was a homecoming for him. The response we got meant a lot to all of us.

Keep the Faith, Leighton Holmes (Bass Guitar) www.facebook.com/ironkingdom