A Dirty Dozen with MEGAN MERRICK from IRON KINGDOM – November 2019

According to a recent press release: “Inspired by legendary pillars of heavy metal such as Iron Maiden, Judas Priest, The Scorpions, and Rush, Iron Kingdom is well known for their energetic and electrifying stage presence, as well as intricate musical melodies that bring listeners back to a time when the genre was in its prime. As of 2019, with a new lineup and a new album ‘On The Hunt’ on its way, Iron Kingdom will once again be ready to take the world by storm and aid in the revival of the mighty and classic sounds of Traditional Heavy Metal.” We get guitarist Megan to discuss new music, influences, and much more…

1. Tell us a little about your latest release.  What might a fan or listener not grab the first or second time they listen through?  Are there any hidden nuggets the band put in the material or that only diehard fans might find?

The latest release is a fresh burst of Iron Kingdom’s traditional routes with a modern spin. We wanted the songs to be a little more straight forward and try to get out some hard and heavy, headbanging tunes, which leave you wanting more right up to the end of the album. We tried to have lots of fast and mid-paced tunes, ending with a softer and unseen side of Iron Kingdom.  We definitely took some risks on this album but that is how you learn and grow as a band and try to develop new sounds as well as improve your art and challenge ourselves musically. In regards to little nuggets that die-hards might not notice until they listen a little closer, two things that come to mind are the Wolf howl in “White Wolf” and the engine starting and revving in “Road Warriors”. The Wolf sound was from our friend Travis from Wyrd Leather and Mead. He has a high content wolf dog and we asked him if he could send us a howl to put in the song. It took us a while to find out where the howl should go in the song, but I think where it is, is perfect and being from our friend, added a very personal touch. In addition, the engine revving in road Warriors is actually our tour bus! We all liked the idea of creating our own sounds for our album.  A little British Steel inspiration! Pretty cool! “The Dream” was also tough as we’ve never done something like this before. The difference between “wooow” and “ooooo” sounds could make it, or kill the song! As a co-producer, I took inspiration from traditional Scandinavian and Celtic music and hymns for the backups that added the inspiration for the five-part harmonies in this song.  The vocal melodies in the song were inspired by Deep Purple and Dio and some of the guitar work had inspiration from the Scorpions. Overall we were pretty happy with this leap, and now we can say we experimented into different realms.

2. What got you into music, and can you tell us about the moment you realized you wanted to be a musician?

I never had the choice to be or not to be a musician. It just was. I have played music all my life (several instruments) and almost my entire family is either professional musicians or music lovers. It was always around and whenever I didn’t play, I felt off and that something was missing. I have had many inspirations over the years including various artists of several genres, even as far as R & B and Celtic music. One thing I have learned is always to keep in mind, the more you know about your instrument and other instruments the better you can compose, articulate your ideas and create new and innovative ones.

3. Building on that, is there a specific song, album, performer, or live show that guided your musical taste?

Every song I hear and different bands I hear all influence my writing style and musical style. I have had influences all across the board. The more I watch bands and the more I study their music the more ideas I get to create and compose. I love to experiment with different instruments and techniques. Sometimes I find I challenge myself a lot when writing even to the point where I have to practice for weeks to get a part! I love how the heavy metal scene is moving forward and strong too! Great bands like Visigoth, AngelWitch, Skull Fist, Cauldron, Evil Invaders, Striker, Riot City, Enforcer, Ensiferum, TYR, just to name a few have definitely inspired me with their new and old albums! Bringing the old with a new spin! LOVE it!

4. Who would be your main five musical influences?

My five musical influences are Judas Priest, Dokken, Hammerfall, Dio, and Riot. I love all the cheese with little melodies, pounding drums and powerful vocals. I love fast, slow and fucking rocking headbanging tunes. P.S – that was a really hard thing to come up with. Five influences is an understatement and it’s hard to choose all my favourites!!

5. If you could call in any one collaborator to do a song with, who would it be, and why?

If I could turn back time, it would be Dio! He was just so down to earth and so talented. If I ever heard the voice of an angel I think it was him. He was also just so powerful with his words, so intelligent and inspiring. If that was out of the question I would choose Marco Hietala from Nightwish. I know my brain would explode with the musical style he writes and I could learn so much and really pick his brain apart. I think he’s a fantastic music composer and I love all the instruments that are incorporated in all his projects he’s involved with.

6. How would you describe your music to someone who’d never listened to you before? What is the one comparison a reviewer or fan has made that made you cringe or you disagreed with?

If I had to describe our music, I would say we are a mix between Iron Maiden, Riot, Judas Priest and Queensryche. We have got comparisons of Manilla Road which makes me cringe. As much as the instruments are great, I completely disagree that Chris’ vocals sound like that. It makes me laugh. I have also heard his vocals sound like Geddy Lee which, as much as I love Rush also completely disagree with.

7. When the band are all hanging out together, who cooks; who gets the drinks in; and who is first to crack out the acoustic guitars for a singalong?

Hahahah. That’s funny you think we cook! I think if anyone had a chance to cook it would probably be me, except the guys like the little shitty cooker grill we have and enjoy making hot dogs on the road. I also have the highest chance out of the guys to be partying and drinking probably. In addition, I would also definitely be the one to pull out the guitar first, realize I’m drunk and can’t play it well and then peer pressure Chris to take over so I can horribly sing along.  Haha

8. When was the last time you were star struck and who was it?

I met Gene Hoglan!! He is a legend and was so down to earth. We had a casual conversation backstage and then he waltzed off and just slayed a set! My mind was blown, what a fortunate moment!

9. What is the best part of being a musician? If you could no longer be a musician for whatever reason, what would be your dream job?

Well, in order to be a musician now a-days, you can’t JUST be a musician. Haha, we battle a life of bouncing back and forth from “on the road” to “reality”. I have a masters degree in kinesiology, so when I’m not on the road or playing with the band, I really do enjoy my other career; training people in physical health and fitness. I love to help people reach their goals and take care of themselves. I try hard to practice what I preach as well, even on the road. I don’t phase my band anymore when they watch me doing lunges in the parking lots and doing pull ups on a tree before load-ins. Some of the best parts about being a musician is seeing how your songs or music effect people and how much they enjoy it, travelling around the world, learning about different cultures and meeting so many amazing people! Tell me another “job” that has those same benefits!?

10. What is one question you have always wanted an interviewer to ask – and what is the answer? Conversely, what question are you tired of answering?

One question I’m tired of hearing is “what is it like to be a female in the band and is that a target market that IK is going for?”. First of all, how about “what is it like to be a musician in the band?”. I’d like the Neanderthals to back off and let’s move forward in the world and the modern times. A question I’ve always wanted to answer was “do you want a free case of beer” and my answer will always be “Fuck ya bud!!”

11. Looking back over your career, is there a single moment or situation you feel was a misstep or you would like to have a “do over”, even if it didn’t change your current situation?

I believe everything happens for a reason and I don’t regret anything that’s happened. I’ve definitely been through some hardships, I’ve had people try to talk negatively about me to further their reputation (when they were the one at fault) but I’m glad everything happened as it did, because I’ve always been one to stray far away from drama. Negative brings negative so if you stay positive and banish losers from your life, your better off without them! I’ll take the high road, bud!

12. If you could magically go back in time and be a part of the recording sessions for any one record in history, which would you choose – and what does that record mean to you?

That is a hard one. Honestly, it may sound dumb but I wouldn’t want to meddle with any albums or songs. I feel everyone has their own spin on everything and that’s what makes their bands great! I don’t have any ideas to change songs unless their are my own or my bands. I love when I hear songs and I totally can’t predict what is going to happen next too. That is the beauty of everyone’s different styles.

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Category: Interviews