Lance King - Biography
This band's profile is 'invisible', meaning that it's much less prominent on the site - either because it's incomplete, or maybe doesn't entirely fit MS format.
Biography
Lance King (born November 23, 1962) is an American heavy metal vocalist specializing in melodic progressive and power metal.
As a performing musician since 1981, King has sung for many metal bands in his career: Freelance, Gemini, The Kings Machine, Balance of Power, Empire, Defyance, Decibel, Pyramaze, Shining Star and Avian, producing largely original material formally released via many record companies around the world.
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 positive, spiritual and Christian metal bands and artists from around the world. Nightmare has licensed over 100 artists and has distributed thousands of releases over the years. King founded the label originally to release Gemini's self-titled album, not wanting to turn over all rights and creative license to many major labels and managers he encountered in the late 1980s. [1] King is known for his strong business ethics in the underground metal scene, and has garnered respect as both an honorable businessman and as a creative talent. He is still the owner and head of Nightmare Records, which grown to sell over 2.5 million albums worldwide.
In late 2006, King departed from what many people thought was going to be his new permanent band, Pyramaze, and replaced by former Iced Earth singer Matt Barlow. King sang on and produced a new Avian album early in 2007. King has engineered, co-produced and produced albums he's sung on throughout his career, including but not limited to, Gemini, The Kings Machine, Balance of Power, Defyance, Empire, and Avian. After his departure from Pyramaze, King joined Houston, Texas band Krucible; for a few years, the band wrote songs and played a number of high profile festivals, including ProgPowerUSA, Rocklahoma, and Rock the Bayou. King left the stagnating Krucible (2007-2010), Avian (2004-2010) and Decibel (2000-2010), and decided in 2011 to make a solo album in order to return to music.
On June 31, 2011, he conceptually arranged for a new concept album based on the 11:11 time prompt phenomena, emailing his ideas and rough demos of songs he had created to musicians he desired to write alongside. In just three months, with the help of friends, contemporaries and business associates Jacob Hansen (Beyond Twilight, Invocator & Anubis Gate), Kim Olesen (Anubis Gate), Michael Harris (Darkology, Thought Chamber), Tore St Moren (Jørn), Fred Colombo (Spheric Universe Experience), Markus Sigfridsson (Darkwater & Harmony), Kevin Codfert (Adagio), Michael Hansen & Shane Dhiman (Phonomik), Morten Gade Sørensen (Pyramaze, Wuthering Heights), Elyes Bouchoucha, Malek Ben Arbia, and Anis Jouini (Myrath), Mistheria (Bruce Dickinson, and many others, the album, called A Moment in Chiros after the Kairos Moment of Greek rhetoric and Christian theology, [2] was written and recorded in three short months. It was released via Sony/Red to North America on November 7, 2011 (though originally intended for November 11, 2011 in complement with the album title), and distributed digitally and physically throughout the world by distribution partners of Nightmare Records. $1.11 from each sale of A Moment in Chiros will support efforts combating human trafficking, one of the fastest growing criminal activities worldwide, through an organization called NOT FOR SALE.
King is a low tenor with an almost five-octave range of (C1-)B♭1 to F5(-G♯5), [3] able to sing very comfortably in both baritone and high tenor in full voice and up to second soprano in falsetto. He is known for singing in many different melodic rock and metal styles, but mostly for his traditional blending of power, melodic and progressive metal/hard rock vocals, with a warm, rich tone in the mold of Ronnie James Dio, James Labrie, Bruce Dickinson, Geoff Tate and Tony Harnell.
King was brought up in a New Age family, and is now a Christian. [4] His hobbies include martial arts, specifically Muay Thai, Kali, Jiu Jitsu and Jeet Kune Do, graphic arts, boating, motorcycles, and has begun singing in Christian holiday musicals at North Heights Lutheran Church. He is married with a son, Tomy, and a daughter, with whom he lives in Twin Cities, Minnesota.
As a performing musician since 1981, King has sung for many metal bands in his career: Freelance, Gemini, The Kings Machine, Balance of Power, Empire, Defyance, Decibel, Pyramaze, Shining Star and Avian, producing largely original material formally released via many record companies around the world.
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 positive, spiritual and Christian metal bands and artists from around the world. Nightmare has licensed over 100 artists and has distributed thousands of releases over the years. King founded the label originally to release Gemini's self-titled album, not wanting to turn over all rights and creative license to many major labels and managers he encountered in the late 1980s. [1] King is known for his strong business ethics in the underground metal scene, and has garnered respect as both an honorable businessman and as a creative talent. He is still the owner and head of Nightmare Records, which grown to sell over 2.5 million albums worldwide.
In late 2006, King departed from what many people thought was going to be his new permanent band, Pyramaze, and replaced by former Iced Earth singer Matt Barlow. King sang on and produced a new Avian album early in 2007. King has engineered, co-produced and produced albums he's sung on throughout his career, including but not limited to, Gemini, The Kings Machine, Balance of Power, Defyance, Empire, and Avian. After his departure from Pyramaze, King joined Houston, Texas band Krucible; for a few years, the band wrote songs and played a number of high profile festivals, including ProgPowerUSA, Rocklahoma, and Rock the Bayou. King left the stagnating Krucible (2007-2010), Avian (2004-2010) and Decibel (2000-2010), and decided in 2011 to make a solo album in order to return to music.
On June 31, 2011, he conceptually arranged for a new concept album based on the 11:11 time prompt phenomena, emailing his ideas and rough demos of songs he had created to musicians he desired to write alongside. In just three months, with the help of friends, contemporaries and business associates Jacob Hansen (Beyond Twilight, Invocator & Anubis Gate), Kim Olesen (Anubis Gate), Michael Harris (Darkology, Thought Chamber), Tore St Moren (Jørn), Fred Colombo (Spheric Universe Experience), Markus Sigfridsson (Darkwater & Harmony), Kevin Codfert (Adagio), Michael Hansen & Shane Dhiman (Phonomik), Morten Gade Sørensen (Pyramaze, Wuthering Heights), Elyes Bouchoucha, Malek Ben Arbia, and Anis Jouini (Myrath), Mistheria (Bruce Dickinson, and many others, the album, called A Moment in Chiros after the Kairos Moment of Greek rhetoric and Christian theology, [2] was written and recorded in three short months. It was released via Sony/Red to North America on November 7, 2011 (though originally intended for November 11, 2011 in complement with the album title), and distributed digitally and physically throughout the world by distribution partners of Nightmare Records. $1.11 from each sale of A Moment in Chiros will support efforts combating human trafficking, one of the fastest growing criminal activities worldwide, through an organization called NOT FOR SALE.
King is a low tenor with an almost five-octave range of (C1-)B♭1 to F5(-G♯5), [3] able to sing very comfortably in both baritone and high tenor in full voice and up to second soprano in falsetto. He is known for singing in many different melodic rock and metal styles, but mostly for his traditional blending of power, melodic and progressive metal/hard rock vocals, with a warm, rich tone in the mold of Ronnie James Dio, James Labrie, Bruce Dickinson, Geoff Tate and Tony Harnell.
King was brought up in a New Age family, and is now a Christian. [4] His hobbies include martial arts, specifically Muay Thai, Kali, Jiu Jitsu and Jeet Kune Do, graphic arts, boating, motorcycles, and has begun singing in Christian holiday musicals at North Heights Lutheran Church. He is married with a son, Tomy, and a daughter, with whom he lives in Twin Cities, Minnesota.