Happy New Year -Artist Of The Week - King Kraken

Here’s some more info about the band and the release:

Originally formed in 2018 by rhythm guitarist Pete Rose, South Wales powerhouse five-piece King Kraken have made enormous strides in a short time. The band comprises of hardened veterans who have served their dues over the past two decades in the South Wales hard rock and metal circuit.

The Kraken was first unleashed on an unsuspecting crowd during a thrilling run to the final of the South Wales Metal to the Masses competition in early 2019, where they rightfully earned huge plaudits for their heavy yet melodic riff-based style and confident approach. A four-track self-titled EP arrived to coincide with this heady run and contained the first recordings of tracks such as The Grey, Freak, Heatwave and the dark Under the Sun, all of which quickly became firm fan favorites.

The band continued to gig nationwide, their tentacles spreading throughout the land and culminating in an appearance at an HRH event in Sheffield.

In 2020, the band moved into the studio to record their Chaos Engine EP with the legendary producer Romesh Dodangoda (Motörhead, Bullet for My Valentine, Bring Me the Horizon).

The result was impressive, with Dodangoda working his magic. There’s everything from crushing heavy metal to more measured, blues-influenced hard rock, all served with an originality that is both old school and refreshingly contemporary.

Of course, the world then turned upside down, but Kraken took time to regroup, and continued to scheme, preparing for their second assault on the UK hard rock scene.

2022 has seen King Kraken delivering the goods in spades. A return trip to Hammerfest 13 at the O2 Academy in February saw the quintet deliver a main stage set that stole the day, and this has been followed by a debut appearance at Smoke on Trent, and a trip to HRH event in Ibiza in early Spring. Alongside this the band have continued to gig locally and nationally, with the Kraken army continuing to spread with every show.

And now we come to the most exciting time for the band as we speed through the boiling waters towards the release of the long-awaited debut album ‘MCLXXX’, which is due to be unleashed in late January 2023.

King Kraken comprise the gravel-throated roar of the prowling bear Mark Donoghue, the thunderous timekeeping of Richard Lee Mears who locks in tight with bassist Karl Meyers and rhythm guitarist Pete Rose to provide the platform for virtuoso guitarist Adam Healey to spill forth his stellar lead breaks.

FOR FANS OF:

Clutch, Mastodon, Black Stone Cherry, Metallica.

ABOUT GREEN TERROR:

Green Terror was the last song written for the album, and the quickest as it was written in 2-3 weeks.

We wanted to write a fun song. A full-on blast of a party song for people to nod their heads to and get them moving. Something with a chorus that the crowd can catch onto and shout back – Rich (drums)

Band members, instruments played and locations:

Mark Donoghue – Lead Vocals – Bridgend, South Wales.

Richard Mears – Drums – from Pontypridd, South Wales

Adam Healey – Lead guitar – from Tredegar, near Newport, South Wales

Pete Rose – Rhythm guitar & Backing Vocals – Llanelli near Swansea, South Wales

Karl Meyer – Bass Guitar – Swansea, South Wales

Upcoming live dates:

28th January – The Redhouse, Merthyr – King Kraken album launch with Blak

Tree Vultures and Six Sins to Sunday

25th February – Pentrefest, Wrexham North Wales

30th April – Station 18 Festival – Hanger 18 in Swansea

28^th May – Call of the Wild Festival, main support to Black Spiders, Lincolnshire Showground