Lance King
Encyclopedia
Lance King is an American
heavy metal
vocalist. Lance has sung for many metal bands in his career, including Defyance, The Kings Machine, Empire, Gemini, Decibel, Balance of Power
, Pyramaze
, Shining Star
and Avian
. He is known for singing in a traditional metal style with falsetto
vocals in the mold of James Labrie
, Bruce Dickinson
or Geoff Tate
. In 1990, King founded the St. Paul
, Minnesota
, based Nightmare Records which specializes in progressive metal
and power metal
and has a large selection of Christian metal
artists. He originally founded the label in order to get the music of his band Gemini out to the world. King is still the owner and head of Nightmare Records, and since its small inception in 1990, it has grown to sell over 2 million albums.
In late 2006, King departed from what many people thought was going to be his new permanent band, Pyramaze
. King was replaced by former and current Iced Earth
singer Matt Barlow
. He is currently working on a new Avian
album, on which he will be singing and producing. King will also be sharing vocals with a female opera singer on the first release from a rising progressive metal
group called Salinoch which is set to be released by SHK Records in Switzerland
. He will also be singing on a new progressive
shred
project titled the Secret Society of Starfish which will be composed of the bass guitarist and drummer of Dimension X, guitarist Troy Stetina, and a mystery guitarist who is said to be a well known rock star. He is also singing with a Texas band called Krucible and performed with them at Texas Madfest, the 2008 Rock the Bayou
Festival in Houston, Texas, and the ProgPower USA
Showcase in 2007.
King is a Christian
and his hobbies include martial arts
and, of course, metal music. He is married with a son and a daughter, with whom he lives in Twin Cities
, Minnesota
. In early 2010 Lance decided to leave Avian so that he could focus on family and professional obligations.
(Released Nightmare Records Worldwide)
(Released Lion Music- Europe & North America, King records in Japan)
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
heavy metal
Heavy metal music
Heavy metal is a genre of rock music that developed in the late 1960s and early 1970s, largely in the Midlands of the United Kingdom and the United States...
vocalist. Lance has sung for many metal bands in his career, including Defyance, The Kings Machine, Empire, Gemini, Decibel, Balance of Power
Balance of Power (band)
Balance of Power are a British melodic progressive metal group, formed in 1995.-History:Balance of Power was formed in 1995 by keyboardist Ivan Gunn, along with a group of musicians from the London rock scene. One of their first line-ups featured drummer Lionel Hicks, bassist Chris Dale, vocalist...
, Pyramaze
Pyramaze
Pyramaze is a Danish/American progressive power metal band.-Biography:Pyramaze was formed in 2001 by guitarist Michael Kammeyer. Next to join were fellow Danes drummer Morten Sørensen and bassist Niels Kvist. American keyboardist Jonah Weingarten, who originally met Kammeyer over the Internet,...
, Shining Star
Shining Star (band)
Shining Star is a neoclassical progressive power metal band founded by Brazilian guitarist Fabio Rocha. Lyrically, the band often writes songs with underlying Christian themes.-History:...
and Avian
Avian (band)
Avian is a melodic power metal band founded in 2002 by guitarist Yan Leviathan. The band features singer Lance King. In 2005 they released their debut album From the Depths of Time, a concept album dealing with the end of days and a warning to mankind. Musically, Avian is influenced by bands...
. He is known for singing in a traditional metal style with falsetto
Falsetto
Falsetto is the vocal register occupying the frequency range just above the modal voice register and overlapping with it by approximately one octave. It is produced by the vibration of the ligamentous edges of the vocal folds, in whole or in part...
vocals in the mold of James Labrie
James LaBrie
Kevin James LaBrie is a Canadian vocalist who is best known as the lead singer of the American progressive metal band Dream Theater.-Early life:...
, Bruce Dickinson
Bruce Dickinson
Paul Bruce Dickinson is an English singer, songwriter, airline pilot, fencer, broadcaster, author, screenwriter, actor and marketing director, best known as the lead vocalist of the heavy metal band Iron Maiden....
or Geoff Tate
Geoff Tate
Geoff Tate is an American singer and musician, who rose to fame in the 1980s with the progressive metal band, Queensrÿche...
. In 1990, King founded the St. Paul
Saint Paul, Minnesota
Saint Paul is the capital and second-most populous city of the U.S. state of Minnesota. The city lies mostly on the east bank of the Mississippi River in the area surrounding its point of confluence with the Minnesota River, and adjoins Minneapolis, the state's largest city...
, Minnesota
Minnesota
Minnesota is a U.S. state located in the Midwestern United States. The twelfth largest state of the U.S., it is the twenty-first most populous, with 5.3 million residents. Minnesota was carved out of the eastern half of the Minnesota Territory and admitted to the Union as the thirty-second state...
, based Nightmare Records which specializes in progressive metal
Progressive metal
Progressive metal is a subgenre of heavy metal originating in the United Kingdom and North America in the late 1980s...
and power metal
Power metal
Power metal is a style of heavy metal combining characteristics of traditional metal with speed metal, often within symphonic context. The term refers to two different but related styles: the first pioneered and largely practiced in North America with a harder sound similar to speed metal, and a...
and has a large selection of Christian metal
Christian metal
Christian metal, also known as white metal, is a form of heavy metal music usually defined by its message in a song's lyrics as well as the band's dedication to Christianity...
artists. He originally founded the label in order to get the music of his band Gemini out to the world. King is still the owner and head of Nightmare Records, and since its small inception in 1990, it has grown to sell over 2 million albums.
In late 2006, King departed from what many people thought was going to be his new permanent band, Pyramaze
Pyramaze
Pyramaze is a Danish/American progressive power metal band.-Biography:Pyramaze was formed in 2001 by guitarist Michael Kammeyer. Next to join were fellow Danes drummer Morten Sørensen and bassist Niels Kvist. American keyboardist Jonah Weingarten, who originally met Kammeyer over the Internet,...
. King was replaced by former and current Iced Earth
Iced Earth
Iced Earth is an American heavy metal band from Tampa, Florida. Originally formed under the name "Purgatory" in 1984, Iced Earth has released a total of ten studio albums, one live album, three EP's, two compilations and boxsets...
singer Matt Barlow
Matt Barlow
Matthew Barlow is an American heavy metal singer and police officer. He is the former lead singer for Iced Earth. He is Jon Schaffer's brother-in-law.-History:...
. He is currently working on a new Avian
Avian (band)
Avian is a melodic power metal band founded in 2002 by guitarist Yan Leviathan. The band features singer Lance King. In 2005 they released their debut album From the Depths of Time, a concept album dealing with the end of days and a warning to mankind. Musically, Avian is influenced by bands...
album, on which he will be singing and producing. King will also be sharing vocals with a female opera singer on the first release from a rising progressive metal
Progressive metal
Progressive metal is a subgenre of heavy metal originating in the United Kingdom and North America in the late 1980s...
group called Salinoch which is set to be released by SHK Records in Switzerland
Switzerland
Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....
. He will also be singing on a new progressive
Progressive metal
Progressive metal is a subgenre of heavy metal originating in the United Kingdom and North America in the late 1980s...
shred
Shred guitar
Shred guitar or shredding is lead electric guitar playing that relies heavily on fast guitar solos. While some critics argue that shred guitar is associated with "... sweep-picked arpeggios, diminished and harmonic minor scales, finger-tapping and ... whammy-bar abuse", several guitar...
project titled the Secret Society of Starfish which will be composed of the bass guitarist and drummer of Dimension X, guitarist Troy Stetina, and a mystery guitarist who is said to be a well known rock star. He is also singing with a Texas band called Krucible and performed with them at Texas Madfest, the 2008 Rock the Bayou
Rock the bayou
Rock The Bayou was a four-day rock festival celebrating the 1980s rock scene. From Houston, Texas the inaugural show took place from Labor Day weekend, August 29- September 1, 2008 on the former location of Houston’s AstroWorld theme park and featured a variety of musical acts from genres such as...
Festival in Houston, Texas, and the ProgPower USA
ProgPower USA
ProgPower USA is a progressive and power metal festival held annually in the United States since 2001. Its twelfth edition will be held at Center Stage in Atlanta, Georgia on September 14 – September 17, 2011, with Sanctuary and Therion as headliners....
Showcase in 2007.
King is a Christian
Christian
A Christian is a person who adheres to Christianity, an Abrahamic, monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth as recorded in the Canonical gospels and the letters of the New Testament...
and his hobbies include martial arts
Martial arts
Martial arts are extensive systems of codified practices and traditions of combat, practiced for a variety of reasons, including self-defense, competition, physical health and fitness, as well as mental and spiritual development....
and, of course, metal music. He is married with a son and a daughter, with whom he lives in Twin Cities
Twin cities
Twin cities are a special case of two cities or urban centres which are founded in close geographic proximity and then grow into each other over time...
, Minnesota
Minnesota
Minnesota is a U.S. state located in the Midwestern United States. The twelfth largest state of the U.S., it is the twenty-first most populous, with 5.3 million residents. Minnesota was carved out of the eastern half of the Minnesota Territory and admitted to the Union as the thirty-second state...
. In early 2010 Lance decided to leave Avian so that he could focus on family and professional obligations.
Avian
- Ashes and MadnessAshes And MadnessAshes and Madness is the second album released by the progressive power metal band Avian. It was released on September 30, 2008, in North America and to the rest of the world in January 2009 on Nightmare Records.- Track listing :...
(2008) - From the Depths of TimeFrom the Depths of TimeFrom the Depths of Time is the debut album by the progressive power metal band Avian. The album was released on October 21, 2005 by Nightmare Records and was remixed and remastered in 2006 with art enhancements inside the booklet. The album features American vocalist Lance King and former Megadeth...
(2005)
(Released Nightmare Records Worldwide)
Balance of Power
- HeathenologyHeathenologyHeathenology is the first compilation album by British progressive rock band Balance of Power. It was released in 2005 and features a triple-pack DVD/CD that includes:* A 2-hour DVD of Balance of Power in concert in 2004...
(2005) - Perfect BalancePerfect BalancePerfect Balance is the fourth album from British progressive rock band Balance of Power. It was released in 2001 and is the last album to feature lead singer Lance King.-Production and recording:...
(2001) - Ten More Tales of Grand IllusionTen More Tales of Grand IllusionTen More Tales of Grand Illusion is the third album from British progressive rock band Balance of Power. It was released in 1999.-Production and recording:...
(1999) - Book of SecretsBook of Secrets (album)Book of Secrets is the second album from British progressive rock band Balance of Power. It was released in 1998. Book of Secrets is the first album of the band to feature Lance King on vocals.-Concept:...
(1998)
Mattsson
- Power Games (2003)
- War (2005)
(Released Lion Music- Europe & North America, King records in Japan)
Miscellaneous
- Mattson, War (2005)
- Beyond Inspiration, A tribute to Uli John Roth (2003)
- Dream Ballads, (2002)
- A Tribute to Jason, Warmth in the Wilderness (2001)
- Magic KingdomMagic Kingdom (band)Magic Kingdom is a Neo-classical power metal band from Belgium. It was formed in 1998 and is currently active. Their lyrics are typically themed in the areas of fantasy and the supernatural.-Lineup:...
, Symphony of War (2010) - Mistheria, Dragon Fire (2010)
External links
- Lance King at FacebookFacebookFacebook is a social networking service and website launched in February 2004, operated and privately owned by Facebook, Inc. , Facebook has more than 800 million active users. Users must register before using the site, after which they may create a personal profile, add other users as...
- Lance King at TwitterTwitterTwitter is an online social networking and microblogging service that enables its users to send and read text-based posts of up to 140 characters, informally known as "tweets".Twitter was created in March 2006 by Jack Dorsey and launched that July...
- Lance King at MyspaceMyspaceMyspace is a social networking service owned by Specific Media LLC and pop star Justin Timberlake. Myspace launched in August 2003 and is headquartered in Beverly Hills, California. In August 2011, Myspace had 33.1 million unique U.S. visitors....
- Nightmare Records Inc.
- Lance King at LinkedinLinkedInLinkedIn is a business-related social networking site. Founded in December 2002 and launched in May 2003, it is mainly used for professional networking. , LinkedIn reports more than 120 million registered users in more than 200 countries and territories. The site is available in English, French,...