Was it ever cool to watch American Idol? Because I did. Fairly religiously. For a spell. Mostly as a weekly excuse to hang with some close friends who were also music nerds but I still did it. And I’m not ashamed of that fact. Thanks for reading.
But I digress.
Speaking of “spells” and “nerds”, today we’re sharing the latest single from AI alum James Durbin who some of you will remember as the token “Rawk” contestant and who clearly had some musical aspirations beyond the Pop mold that platform tried to shoehorn all those young artists into. Which brings us to “Kings Before You”, the first taste of Durbin’s upcoming full-length on Frontiers s.r.l. which is glowing ode to all things Dungeons & Dragons, Dio, and Dee Snider with a healthy dose of Judas Priest and Iron Maiden thrown into the mix.
What we’re trying to say is that the thing is epic, okay? And that’s not even mentioning the guests for the track and video! Like Phil Demmel who is livin’ his best life post-Machine Head with guest stints in Slayer, axin’ it up in the revitalized Vio-Lence (Did you SEE the recent “California Uber Alles” cover???) and now, what is probably the highlight of his 2020: A guest solo on “Kings Before You”!
And!
Fozzy’s own Chris Jericho, who lends his pipes to Durbin’s impressive bombast, starts this magical journey in the accompanying video as a wise wizard or some sort of all-knowing mage before showing up later as an Orc to trade verses! I can’t make this shit up. And have I mentioned how fun quarantine videos can be? Because “Kings Before You” is proof of that! And before you freak out, as a loyal AEW viewer I KNOW that’s not Jericho in the Orc outfit but in make-believe land in my head, that’s TOTALLY Jericho in the Orc outfit.
In case you were wondering, it CAN get more Metal up here as the track features no less than FOUR guitarists (Jon Yadon Jr., Marc Putnam, Dylan Rose, & Nick Gallant) to execute Durbin’s vision and that doesn’t even include the Demmel cameo! Add in a rhythm section comprised of Barry Sparks on bass (Scorpions, Dokken) and Mike Vanderhule (Y&T) on drums and you have the recipe for one of the best and most exciting Metal records of 2021.
“Kings Before You” is out now on all your favorite streaming/digital platforms ahead of The Beast Awakens, the upcoming full-length due on February 12th through Frontiers Music s.r.l. Pre-order the record in a variety of formats by heading here now and head here and here for the new single. For the latest on Durbin, follow him across the information superhighway by stopping here, here, or here.
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