A Dirty Dozen with SABRINA CRUZ from SEVEN KINGDOMS – February 2025

According to a recent press release: “SEVEN KINGDOMS, a power metal band hailing from Deland, FL, was formed in 2007. After solidifying their lineup in 2009, the band signed with Nightmare Records and began gaining momentum in the metal scene. Their big break came in 2010 when they were handpicked by BLIND GUARDIAN to support their North American tour, which introduced SEVEN KINGDOMS to a wider audience. Following this, they played notable tours and festivals, including ProgPower USA and the 70,000 Tons of Metal Cruise, while releasing The Fire is Mine in 2012, which marked a pivotal moment in their career with its refined sound and strong reception. In recent years, SEVEN KINGDOMS has continued to expand their reach with international tours alongside acts like STRATOVIRUS, AMARANTHE and EVERGREY. The band’s latest full-length album, Zenith (2022), was released through Distortion Music Group, further cementing their place in the power metal world. In 2024, they released their highly anticipated EP, The Square, under Reigning Phoenix Music. With international tours on the horizon, SEVEN KINGDOMS continues to elevate their status in the global metal scene.” We got singer Sabrina to discuss new music, influences, and 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 you put in the material or that only diehard fans might find?

The Square was inspired from an Astrology aspect that symbolizes hardship or challenges to overcome. So, if you don’t personally know me, I am an active Astrologer currently studying Medical Astrology. Which basically means you use your birth chart or transits to understand how your health, both mentally and physically, can be impacted by events. I took the idea of “healing” from grief or hardship and added the steps or phases in the lyrics. We then created our audible musical 5 steps of healing. It was initially inspired by a dream that evolved into what is now The Square. The hidden gems are all Striker lyrics, but I can’t spoil the fun. Camden loves those boys and enjoyed sneaking them into a song or two.

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

I was 3 years old when my mom taught me to sing both harmony and lead. When I was 5 all I wanted was to sing on a stage underneath all the pretty colors and make people happy and smile. I did not know then that I would be wearing burger shoes, but even then, the burger thing was definitely a thing. At one point I wanted to be the youngest country singer in the world but then LeAnn Rimes beat me, so I settled for singing in church and karaoke until I met Camden and finally became an official singer.

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

I was obsessed with Celine Dion and Sara McLachlan when I was young, I played their CDs until they wouldn’t play anymore. I also sang gospel, country, Classic rock, and some pop. Prior to Seven Kingdoms, I had no experience with Metal.

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

I would love to sing with Brittany Slayes, Tom England, and Jim Morris. Brittany because everyone always compares me to her, and I want to sing together so people can appreciate the uniqueness of both our voices and stop comparing us. We are vastly different with subtle similarities, but I think we could make one hell of a Power Ballad banger. Tom England because it would be a dream come true for my Aunt Valinda. She has always wished for it to happen because she loves both of our voices. She would be so emotionally happy if it ever came to fruition. Jim Morris, my producer, one of my best friends, and my adopted father. Because he is such an amazing singer and songwriter. He is an underground, hidden music magician for so many other bands and I would love to pull the man from behind the curtain to the front where he belongs.

5. What is your favorite activity when out of the studio and/or not on tour?  What do you like to do to unwind?

I genuinely love painting, playing with my animals, going to crystal shops, and going to the beach. Though I have a hard time staying in the sun, I find the sound of the beach one of the most soothing sounds in the world.

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?

I like to tell people that we sound like if you took Heart, Metallica and Journey and made a baby. I wouldn’t necessarily say I cringe at it, but I find people constantly compare me to Brittany Slayes in what feels in a back handed complement. Some people mean it in a positive way, but others use it as a way to say that I’m trying to be her. I don’t want to be her; she is perfectly amazing at being her and there is only room for one. I would like people to stop comparing me to her and start seeing / hearing me for my unique voice. People spend too much time comparing and not listening. We can do similar things, but it’s definitely vastly different.

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

I’m defiantly the cook and the bearer of sustenance. Camden is the crumble cookie hype man. Kevin would probably be the campfire guitar guy because he picks up the guitar and fiddles with it as a habit. Keith is always showing the most ridiculous YouTube videos he found or conspiracy theories he is into.

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

So, I was at ProgPower USA and Noora Louhimo was tearing up the stage like the absolute badass that she is. I just sat there in awe with my mouth agape. I tried to talk to her after the show, but it probably came off as very awkward. At least I was backstage in show attire, so she knew I wasn’t a random creeper lol.

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?

I would continue with my Astrology career.

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?

Why Burgers? Why not Burgers? How was the band founded and why the name Seven Kingdoms? Because we have answered this in almost every interview we have ever done. A simple Google search will give this answer. It’s a bit lazy (in my opinion) to ask this question. Now if we were asked unique things about our past, it’s definitely more interesting and fun to answer.

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 wouldn’t have gone to Europe the second time after our Stratovarius and Amaranth tour because it caused us to go into debt. It was a very mismanaged tour that cost us our wedding money, forced us to sell one of our vehicles to pay for half of the bus (that wasn’t initially a part of the deal) and years of musical hardships and setbacks. But everything happens for a reason, we can’t go back, and it taught us a valuable lesson on trusting people blindly without the numbers to back it up. It’s the reason we haven’t been back to Europe util 2023 with WindRose.

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?

I would go back to 2009 when I first recorded the self-titled album at Morrisound. I would be there for myself and tell that girl to calm the heck down and breathe. Though many amazing albums have touched my soul over the years, none of them have impacted my life like my own have. It was the moment my 5-year-old dream came true, and I was in the Disney land of recording, working with a legend.

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Category: Interviews