The most metal band on Earth has arrived! Lords of the Trident have come with their unique style of metal and their latest release "Plan Of Attack". Frontman vocalist Fang Von Wrathenstein controls the styling's of how the music sounds vocally and does a superb job thus he goes into discussion of the band's latest and future plans.
1. Introduce yourself, tell me what you do in Lords of the Trident, and how long the band has been together.
Fang: My name is Fang VonWrathenstein, lead barbarian vocals for the Lords of the Trident. I am also in charge of lighting instruments on fire, causing explosions, and reloading our confetti cannons. As all the members are immortal, the band has been together since the beginning of time. However, we took a hiatus after the “Black Plague” tour of 1348 (again, apologies to Europe for that), and our first actual recording was released in 2008.
2. Please tell us about the history of your band and its members.
Fang: That is actually quite a long tale! If your readers would like to hear the epic quest in its entirety, they can visit our webpage (www.LordsOfTheTrident.com) and select the “Bio” section. But I’ll try to sum it up for you. Essentially, I was born from a volcano full of molten metal (AND steel!) at the beginning of time, and my one and only goal was to find the greatest metal warriors ever to roam the earth. After many travels, I finally collected a band so fierce, that even Death himself decided not to join us. He did, however, send us his highest priest to play bass. But I digress. We are constantly pursued by a shadowy multinational organization called SPIDR, who has successfully captured or destroyed three of our former members. However, the LORDS would not allow something like this to stop us! We continue on our metal quest to dominate the earth, and bring death to the unworthy.
3. How did you guys come up with your band name?
Fang: After forming the band, we drank a considerable amount of ale and spirits, and had a long fight over what we should call ourselves. Eventually, we consulted an oracle in Greece, who ended up divining the name. Originally, it was “Lords of the Trident Unite”, but that was too long, so we ended up dropping the “Unite” part.
4. Where is the band based out of and what is your music scene like there? Are there any local bands you could recommend?
Fang: We are currently based out of Madison, Wisconsin, USA. It is an interesting scene, but a lonely one, as we have accidentally destroyed most of the metal bands in the area due to face melting and steel-cage-guitar-shred-competition-electrocution. There are a couple of local bands who we deem worthy...but they are not the same exact genre as us. We love the punk band Government Zero, and the stoner metal band Droids Attack. The folk/black metal band Warseid is also quite good! Our favorite not-quite-local band is DETHLEHEM. Quite good axe handlers.
5. What bands have influenced your band and its sound?
Fang: That’s a difficult question, because we've been around since the dawn of time, so technically our sound has influenced all other metal bands. I do enjoy myself some Iron Maiden, Judas Priest, Savatage, Dio, etc. We also try to incorporate some modern metal influences in our music as well. Scar Symmetry is quite good as well.
6. What lyrical theme do you guys use in your music? What message do you want to send?
Fang: Lyrical themes: Barbarian rage, the sound of battle, drinking dragon’s blood, seducing/stealing maidens, explosions, fire, general face melting. Message: ALL SHALL BOW TO YOUR LORDS OR DIE!
7. What have you released so far and how were your releases received by the public/media?
Fang: We have released three CDs - Death or Sandwich in 2009, Chains on Fire in 2011, and Plan of Attack in 2013. Most reviewers have responded by burning all of their other CD in a giant pyre, as they deem this music to be the only true representation of metal in its purest form. Others have wept with joy for days straight. Safe to say, I think most people enjoy the album. We've received countless good reviews from magazines and websites all over the world, including Japan, Russia, Germany, England, and of course the US.
8. Do you play live as well? How's your live activity so far?
Fang: We play live battles constantly! Meeting your foes in face-to-face battle is the only way to live! Since our first album in 2008, we've played over 150 shows, numerous festivals, and have appeared on the magical television box a few times as well. We just got off of our first major US tour, and although our trusty TRIDENTMobile broke down in the VERY rural hills of West Virginia, we managed to successfully engage a large number of the unworthy in METAL BATTLE.
9. What is your opinion on sites posting your guys material and other bands material?
Fang: The more the merrier! We’re like metal evangelicals - EVERYONE should have a copy of our albums and music videos, paid or not. We’re trying to work out a deal to supply every hotel room in the US with a copy of our album (and perhaps a sword and shield), much in the same way as the bibles in the rooms. So far, Best Western has declined (and has been added to Fang’s “TO BE SLAIN” list. *Grumble grumble*...) But seriously - we had a party when we found a torrent of our album on The Pirate Bay. That was a good day. Buy it if you can, steal it if you must!
10. How do you guys feel about the classifications in metal? like deathcore, metalcore and other subgenres and how some get a negative rep.
Fang:There are good bands in most of the subgenres of metal, but obviously our music would slay them all. It’s probably good that there’s a number of sub-classifications of metal, because otherwise we’d easily be number one in all the “top 10” lists. And as much as I love world domination, I also enjoy the thrill of battling other worthy and unworthy bands.
11. What is your opinion on the current state of metal?
Fang: I’d like to see more “classic” metal bands out there. At least where we’re from, there’s a disproportionate amount of crappy death metal bands. I’m fine with GOOD death metal bands, but they are extremely hard to find. It’s hard being a barbarian vocalist who wants to have a decent battle…not many that we come across can actually sing.
12. What should labels/zines/promoters know about your band? Why should they be interested in it?
Fang: They should know that we’re the most metal band on earth, and masters in both the art of swordplay and the art of seducing the maidens. We have live battles full of fire, explosions, confetti cannons, swords, armor, and the best music ever created. They should also know that if they review our current EP, they may need to retroactively mark down all the other CDs they've ever reviewed in the past. If they’re not interested by these previous statements, then they must be the most stoic, unexcitable person in the world. And honestly, I’d question why that type of person would be reviewing CDs in the first place!
13. What plans do you have for the near future as a band?
Fang: More than likely, we’re going to be planning our next tour soon. Additionally, we’re almost done writing the songs for our next full-length CD. We’re almost done with the music video for the song “Complete Control” off of our new EP - we just need to buy a few more gallons of kerosene. We’re going to be releasing a few new t-shirts soon, and our “Men of Lords of the Trident 2014 Sexy Calendar” is set to be released very shortly.
14. Where can we listen to your band and where can we buy your stuff?
Fang: Our main site has just about all the links you’d ever need: www.LordsOfTheTrident.com. You can also find us on Facebook, Bandcamp, YouTube, iTunes, AmazonMP3, etc. Just type “Lords of the Trident” into Google and the first 50 pages are probably us. If you prefer physical media, we've got a “merch” section on our website where you can purchase physical copies of our CDs and DVD.
15. What is it you’d like a listener to remember the most when hearing your music for the first time?
Fang: “Man, I remember when my face was just a normal face, and not a puddle of goo on the floor. I guess that’s what happens when you listen to 30 seconds of Lords of the Trident, huh?”
16. Why should a metalhead buy your stuff?
Fang: A metalhead without a decent-sized collection of Lords of the Trident merchandise is like a barbarian without an axe - sad, and liable to get hurt. If you like metal music, you need our stuff.
17. Any final words of wisdom?
Fang: Go to our website, check out our music videos online, and buy our CD! And as my barbarian foster parents always said…”You can’t crush your enemies, see them driven before you, and hear the lamentations of their women if you’re listening to Nickelback.”
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