Metalcore band NO KINGS have a debut EP out, with an all new single, with a new release following this one. They even have an array of shows set up all over, with much more room to grow, release music, and much more!
1. Where did you get the idea for the band name, you planned it or came out just like that?
Truthfully, at its core, it’s an accidental reference to the Bioshock video game series - I lent one of my best friends Bioshock Infinite when she was my roommate, and while she was starting it up in the living room, the game broadcasts the phrase “No Gods. No Kings. Only Man.” For some reason, I loved the middle section, and wrote it down in the list of song/band titles I kept in my phone at the time. A few years later, I had just started the band that would become No Kings, and pitched it to the band, under the guise that it was about the idea of taking care of yourself and your community, that the people up top can never hold true power over the rest of us when we have each other. After we had trademarked the name, that same friend who borrowed the video game asked if it was a Bioshock reference, and I remembered how I’d come up with the name in the first place. Not gonna lie, I laughed pretty hard when I’d realized what had happened.
2. Why did you want to play this genre?
The short answer is that Metalcore is my favorite genre, because it’s the hybridization of my two favorite genres, Metal and Punk. The mentality of this band is very much centered around the ideas of emotional release and building a sense of community, and both Metal and Punk often encapsulate that, so Metalcore has always felt like home for us. That’s not to say we don’t experiment outside the genre - there’s a reason we often joke that we’re “vaguely” Metalcore at this point. But we’ll never lose our roots.
3. Did you know each other before the band was formed?
Syd and I did, yeah! The original line-up of the band was predominantly composed of most of the members of a band we’d both previously been in. However, since then, we’ve had a few line-up changes, and she and I are the only remaining original members.
4. Where is the band based out of and what is your music scene like there? Are there any local bands you could recommend?
We’re based out of Los Angeles, and the scene varies pretty wildly depending on which part of LA you’re in - in our opinion, the best scene in the area right now is probably right below us in Orange County, but Hollywood has also been really good to us.
Oh man, there’s so many killer bands in the scene right now! If you like Mathcore stuff, check out The Arson Choir or Auteur, if you like Nu Metal, both Sleeping Dog and Resider rule, and if you like Metalcore, Resist LA is awesome, Differences rules, Lowsight is awesome, Wisemansay is great, Against The Sun is fantastic, Ghost!InTheWall are crushing it, Cartographer is great if you love catchy hooks and djent riffs, and Altered Revelations are nailing it with both writing and visuals right now. Oh, and if you like Pop-Punk stuff, our dudes in Promotive are some of the best in that scene right now!
5. Who or what inspires you to write songs?
It’s all over the place for us. For me, as a kid, I got really into Punk Rock and Post-Grunge, starting with stuff like Green Day, Rise Against,and Three Days Grace, which led me to Metalcore, Alternative Metal, and Emo. That foundation of energy driven music has always stayed with me, though now I’d say I draw a lot of inspiration from other genres like Deathcore, Progressive Metal, Melodic Death Metal, Post-Hardcore, and Pop-Punk.
If we’re talking about specific artists though, I’d say my top inspirations would be bands like Avenged Sevenfold, Mastodon, In Flames, Cane Hill, Thrice, A Day to Remember, Ice Nine Kills, Trivium, My Chemical Romance, Sylosis, Killswitch Engage, Bring Me The Horizon, and Alexisonfire. I like voices that capture attention and riffs that do the same.
It honestly does vary constantly for everyone in the band, but I think life finds a way of presenting you with what your art needs to encompass through those around you and trusting your ears and emotions.
6. What are your songs about? (What specific themes do they cover?)
It always tends to come back to the core ideas of catharsis, or emotional release, and supporting the community. More specifically, we have songs like Rusted, where we talk about the hardship of seeking help when dealing with mental health issues, Red, where we talk about our disdain with the corrupt political system in America and how it’s failed us all, or 6 Years A lifetime, where we talk about the anguish of separating the idea of what you wish a failing romance could be from what it actually is.
Our songs are usually fueled by personal trauma, socio-political themes, or they’re referencing literature to support one of those two themes. That being said, we do aim to put a message of hope in all of our songs, because for us, that’s integral, we all believe a better future is possible.
7. Do you write your own songs? (Discuss the songwriting process in detail.)
We do! The process varies a little, but generally speaking, I bring a basic demo to the band, and then we all get to work on trying to build it into a full scale song. Sometimes that means rearranging the song structure, or sometimes it means rewriting every riff and melody in it so that it showcases the initial vision of the song. Sometimes it also means it’s basically untouched, but that’s fairly rare, it’s only happened three times in the two and a half years of being a band.
From there, we bring the song to the producer we choose to work with, and polish it into the best song it can be, which can mean repeating the process of a full rewrite, or mean leaving it totally untouched and just recording it in the best sounding way possible.
8. What have you released so far and what can someone expect from
your works?
We’ve released our debut EP, which came out at the end of 2022, titled The Remedy! In terms of what to expect, it’s grounded in a foundation of Metalcore, but we made a conscious choice to favor clean vocals over screaming, and we also explored elements of Emo, Progressive Metal, and Nu Metal. It’s got some pretty fun guitar solos and breakdowns in there too!
9. Do you have any new music in the works?
We do! Our first new single, “Sisyphus”, from our brand new release “In Lieu Of A Life Well Lived”, comes out January 28th. There’s going to be a lot coming out for us this year, and we’re all extremely excited about that.
10. How about playing shows and touring, have anything planned out?
We've got shows lined up throughout California, from San Diego up to Oakland, and we’re actively booking more shows in new states and new cities right now. We started branching out last year to new places and loved it, so this year we’ll be playing to as many people and places as time allows.
11. What plans do you have for the future as a band?
Simply put, to grow what we do now into a sustainable career for everyone in the band, and to help people. We want to spread our message of catharsis and community worldwide through playing the best shows we can and writing the best music we can. We’re starting that with all of the shows we’re playing this year, and with releasing the new music that we’re so proud of. I really want people to know that they’re not alone in the unprecedented times we’re living in, that we’re all in this together - and the more stages I can scream that on, the better. We aim to play Download Festival, all the Danny Wimmer presents festivals, really any festival that will have us, as soon as they’ll have us, so that can happen.
Oh, and a personal goal I have is I really want to get one of our songs in a movie or a TV show. I’ve wanted that since I was a kid, and I’m actively trying to figure out how to make that happen.
12. Where can we listen to your band and where can we buy your stuff?
Our music can be streamed on Spotify, Apple Music, Amazon Music, Youtube, Deezer, pretty much any streaming service, as well as being available for purchase on Bandcamp! You can also purchase our merch online at https://nokingsca.bigcartel.com/ or come out to a show for tour exclusives.
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