Iron Kingdom

 

Members of the heavy metal band Iron Kingdom were ready for a great show at the Backstage Bar in Windsor.

The bar hosted the band on Nov. 20, following the release of their new album On the Hunt. This is one of many shows across North America over the next two months and metal fans will be in for a treat after a review from DangerDog Music said the band, unlike other heavy metal bands, deserve to put iron in their title. Chris Osterman, guitarist/vocalist believes this encourages the band for the future.

Iron Kingdom consists of Chris Sonea, 22, a drummer, Leighton Holmes, 28, bassist, Chris Osterman, 28, guitarist/vocalist and Megan Merrick, 27, guitarist/ backup vocals.

The band first formed in June 2011 and have released four albums since their newest album titled On the Hunt is their favourite so far and was engineered by Chris Sonea himself making it very special giving them more control over their sound.

They decided to perform in Windsor as they have been wanting to branch out to other cities in Ontario.

The Vancouver-based band has been getting feedback with around 80 per cent of their fans giving positive reviews. Their shows can range anywhere from two to 2000 people, according to Sonea so it is a hit or miss with attendance although they have a wide variety of fans all over the world. They have toured around the globe in places such as Brazil and have sold out around 50 per cent of their shows in Canada.

Sonea was excited to be performing in Windsor and hoped to see around 100 people.

“We’re really excited to play there. It’s been a city on our mind for a while, being that it’s close to the border and everything. We’ve heard good things from some of the other rock and roll shows that have gone through there, so we’re excited to see what potential shows,” Sonea said.

Band members say they have been through a lot together. They were in a life changing accident while driving to Calgary for a show. Sonea said the tire burst causing the vehicle to roll three times, luckily all individuals were not injured, and they managed to carry on their tour.

They have visited a number of places for shows, and one of which their favourites was Tsuwano, Japan. This was because of the diversity, different cultures and the music playing throughout the day from every corner of the city.

Osterman said he was also excited to be playing in Windsor for the first time at the Backstage.

“Personally, I was born in London, Ontario. I have family coming out in Windsor. I don’t get to see them that often and we’ve never played shows in Windsor,” said Osterman. I spent a fair amount of time there growing up, I haven’t been back in years so it’s going to be a lot of fun.”

The band said fans were expecting a great show in November with a lot of crazy life-changing experiences told through their music.