Celebrating French Power Metal KingCrown and Their Authentic Approach to Music

0:19 This is the Pipe Man here on the Adventures of Pipe Man W4CY radio. And I'm very excited about our next guest because there's some killer musicians here. And so I want to welcome to the show Bob from King Crown. How are you? Hello, guys. So my first question is, how come there's so much great metal that comes out of France? There are a lot of great bands, actually, in France, and especially on the extreme metal scene. You know about Hellfest, actually, in Tissot. So it's a part of a culture, even if France is not basically a rock and roll country.

1:02 But it's weird that because there's such great metal that comes out of your country and Hellfest is one of the best festivals in the whole world. Yeah, thank you for that. Thank you. We are proud as Frenchies. Right? And one of the greatest experiences was when I saw Gojira at Hellfest and I've seen them over here in the States. but it was a lot different seeing them at Hellfest, okay? Like in their home country, it was unbelievable. Like an experience everybody should have. Yeah, I got your right. Actually, it's a wonderful band and a huge band and one of the between of the French metal scene, actually. And we don't have a lot of great bands and in every special, you know, sub-genre of heavy metal, And we are trying to bring something also on our side with King Crown regarding the much more power metal music, a bit different from Goree's, Gojira's style, and all the much more modern mood all around.

2:12 But yeah, France, there are a lot of things happening in France, actually. And it's a good thing for us. It's a good thing. There are a lot of good festivals. You know about Hellfest, actually. which is a huge festival. But we do have very mid-sized festivals as. Well, and it's popping up everywhere in France, and it's a good opportunity for the rest of us to share the music and meet the audience. We are very happy. It's good. Yeah, and so I have a trivia question for you. Since you're Power Metal, what thrash metal band. Of the Big Four.

2:54 Was originally considered power metal before thrash was even a word? Ah, I got a question asking. Which one of the big four? I won't say Slayer. Yeah, it wouldn't be Slayer. It won't be Slayer. Megadeth. I wouldn't say Megadeth. No, Metallica. Maybe Anthrax. I don't know. Metallica. Metallica. Okay, I'm out. Right. Right. So, yeah, they were originally like I was at their first show ever. And Mustaine gave me his power, his business card and said, Dave Mustaine. It said Metallica power metal, Dave Mustaine.

3:41 Wow. It's amazing. It's an amazing story. Thank you for sharing. OK, I got that. I learned something great. So I also want to know as a French person. How is it that water is your favorite drink? You know, the stereotype is wine is everybody's favorite drink in France. Yeah, you know, in Germany and in the UK and all the, you know, Eastern countries, it's much more about beer. Generally speaking, France is really about wine, actually. I was born in southwestern France, near Bordeaux, you know, where... red wine is some kind of religion. So I would go with wine.

4:26 Cause I saw on your EPK that your favorite drink was water. Okay. It's so funny to me. I mean, that's what I drink all the time is water. So it's cool. But you know, uh, like I think of France and I think that you only drink wine and eat bread every day. Cause, That is the funniest part. When I first went to France, I was in Paris. It used to blow my mind. People walking around with their loaves of bread, like the whole city. It was wild to me. Let me tell you something back, you know, some decades ago, you know, when my, my grandparents were at school, when they were kids, you know, all these generations were, At school, at lunchtime, they do have a small dose of wine in the water. So it's some kind of a habit. Yeah, wine is a very typical French thing. Yes, it is. It's a part of the culture.

5:28 No doubt. So let's start with, as far as music, what was that one moment in life that you decided music was what you wanted to do? Quite early. I think, you know, with all my bandmates, you know, all these guys. So let me tell you something. Of course, Joe and David, it was earlier than the rest of us, you know, the kids of the band, even if we are quite old. It was, you know, when we are teenagers, something happens when, you know, in your teens, days and years. So I discovered Metallica. We discovered Iron Maiden. All these things. classic melodic heavy metal bands and it changed our minds and we wanted to play music. I remember I had my very first acoustic guitar when I was maybe seven, classical guitar actually, seven years old and a gift from my grandmother and my parents.

6:28 But it's the same story for the rest of the band and Joe, our singer, used to be a drummer and then his young brother at the time, David took the drums, and then they realized in the former band, Nightmare, that Joe has wonderful, amazing voice. So he took the mic, and then David took the drums, and said, and all my friends in the band said, the other guitar player also initiated music when he was a teenager, discovering Iron Maiden. Seb also, you know, it's, you know, you know, in our teens, teen days, that it happened.

7:10 Yeah, yeah. So was there this one moment that you went to a show or listened to something and said, oh, my God, that's amazing? Yeah, yeah, yeah. And it was, and we used to, you want to buy every CDs or vinyl, so everything that is, you know, the Metallica stuff, the Armiden, then the Sabotage, you know, great American bands out there, you know. Sabotage is from Florida, actually, from Tampa. Who? Sabotage? I think they are, yeah. They are. I'm a huge fan of this band. All these melodic bands, they give you the need. You're in the need to try to produce some sounds and then trying to create later on some related sounds and trying to create your own Personality music. So, yeah, it all began with all these great bands.

8:09 And, you know, I'm kind of curious because I see, you know, besides guitar, you also play like the mandolin. And I've always looked at them. I'm like, man, they're really cool. But I was like, man, it seems like it would be so much harder to play that than a guitar. And what's your viewpoint on that? Oh, it's different instruments. The feeling is different. It's a very smaller instrument. It's not the same tune, you know. So it's another, you know, I used to listen to Led Zeppelin songs. And so back in this, you know, I'm a huge fan of the 80s and the 90s, but also a huge fan of the 70s. And all these typical instruments, I do like folk music as well.

8:57 So I tried to pick up several instruments still with strings, mandolin, Turkish saz as well, Greek bouzouki, harp. All these types of instruments, they have different sounds. And it brings on, I'm not a specialist. I'm a guitar player, actually. But this, trying to get some great sounds that bring some Richness in several songs, you know, it gives some flavor. So, yeah, it's different, actually. You don't play the guitar as you play a mandolin. Definitely do not. But I'm not a specialist.

9:39 I just try to use these instruments. I'm in love with instruments, generally speaking. Everything that has strings. And, yeah, trying to find the right chords, the right thing that helps. the song and the music having its own personality. And the process is something I bring to the band, one of the things I bring to the band. But every member in the band, Seb, Joe, and David, are bringing their own things. Seb and David are very talented regarding orchestrations for the songs. said he's a great he arranged a lot of things got in guitars as well he's a great guitar player Joe knows how to write wonderful lyrics and you know it's a very it's teamwork and yeah yeah it's great it's great.

10:38 You know and I love what you're saying too because I think nowadays it's important for bands to have their unique sound. There's so many metal bands that follow like a formula nowadays. Cause there's so many sub genres, micro genres. So when I hear somebody like you playing all these different instruments, that's what I think of. I'm like, Oh, that makes that unique sound. Like, and to me, metal is all about experimentation anyway, always was. So yeah, Like there shouldn't be any rules or formulas. It's like just put in and make something different that makes you stand out. So I think it's really cool that you guys play all these different instruments that are not normally in a metal band, because I think that's what makes you great.

11:29 Yes, we align. And thank you for this, for pointing this, aligning this. Because, yeah. You know, as a metal song, you can only write really basic structures. But then when it comes to giving some personality to the song, to the album, and then an atmosphere, it's important, I think, to chase and to find several little things that can bring life to a different type of atmosphere. And that's also the reason why, personally, I do love prog music. A lot of things are coming from Prague and then from jazz that now comes into rock and roll music, heavy metal music. And we have the chance nowadays to experiment a lot of things. Even if Moonfall, actually. Moonfall is much more, let's say, bombastic album, straight to the point when compared to the previous album, Nova Atlantis. Nova Atlantis was a bit more experimental in its conception. and a bit more epic and even proggy somehow. With Moonfall, we are trained. We try to keep this also way of creation. But in the end, you see that it's a much more bombastic album with a huge sound. And well,

13:05 both of the albums are completing themselves. it's great to have two different albums with their own personalities, actually. So. That's a great point too. Cause like, I think that's important, not only for us, the listeners, but for the musician. Cause otherwise it's boring. If you just write the same album again, it's like Ali from bring me to rise. And I always talk about, I heard him in an interview when they were asking him about changing up the music. He goes, why do I want to write the same song over and over again? You know? And, and I get that. Cause it would be boring. Like it, If you're an artist, you want to evolve. You want to learn your craft and do more things and experiment. So I think it's cool that you have different sounds for these different albums.

13:52 You get the point. Being an artist for me and for my bandmates and for a lot of artists is being free. If you're not free to create the music you want to play, you want to share with the audience or you want to record, I'm not sure you're really an artist. You can be a musician. You can be a singer or something. You can, but you're not, if you're not free to create, how can you say you're a real artist? It's all about it. It's interest. If not, you know, you are just playing in a cover band. I do love cover bands. It's another concept actually, but it's not being an artist with a great, the big A in which you trying to bring, even if, Nowadays, it's quite difficult to bring something original, a revolutionary album with revolutionary music and something very new. It's very difficult.

14:49 But at least try to bring your own stone to the big edifice, to the master plan. So yeah, I got it. This is our definition of what an artist should be, actually. Totally. And even with cover bands, to me, the best cover bands or bands that make cover songs, they make a unique sound to it that's different. Listen, Metallica's done more covers than maybe any other band, but most of their covers, people think it's originally Metallica. Or I remember when Johnny Cash did Hurt, the final song that he recorded, And it's so funny how many people that I knew thought Nine Inch Nails covered his song instead of the other way around. And that, see, that's cool because that just shows how unique it is instead of, listen, you're never going to do a cover song the same exact as the artist. And like you brought up Zeppelin. I just saw a thing just yesterday about when Dolly Parton, who just passed away, rest in peace, she went to Robert plant and wanted to do a cover of stairway to heaven. And she made it like more country than rock.

16:15 You know, she put her own spin on it, but he gave his blessings a hundred percent, which he doesn't always do, you know? And it was actually rather funny because when she approached him, she was really, really nervous about it. And he said yes immediately. Cause he was like, Oh my God, you're Dolly Parton. Of course you can. So I think that's cool too, how artists will respect other artists like that, you know, and that person is going to put their own spin to it. They're not going to just try to duplicate what you already did. Like why do that? Yeah, indeed. Yeah. I completely agree. It's a, Even a cover should be, you should bring something, try to bring something new, you know, with a new sound, new interpretation, new mood to the song. And yeah, that's the interest. Exactly.

17:09 So tell me more about Moonfall, like, or tell our listeners, more importantly, why they should check out this new album. Oh, wow. This album is, as I said, it's an evolution. We came out with this new lineup almost six years ago with Seb and I joining the two brothers Joe and David they released two albums before we joined the band and then we released Wake Up Call back in 22 so we were due to the you know the delay was not really was quite short we had to release an album for the for the label at the time. So, Wake Up All was a direct album. Then we took our time on the next one, Nova Atlantis, released in 24.

18:04 And for Moonfall, we tried to bring to the songs everything that we considered to be the best things from the previous albums. And we wanted to concentrate everything in this album, in the songs. And I think the result, you know, we do have a lot of very positive feedbacks and the reviews, especially here in Europe, actually, because, you know, the mags, the webzines, even the radios, they are quite positive and they do appreciate a lot of the album. Because I think we are still authentic in the approach. It came out very naturally, this one. And we really wanted to bring the recipe, the best aspects, the best thing we brought to the previous album. And we wanted it straight to the point. A lot of catchy choruses, a lot of catchy riffs as well. We sat and died. We worked quite a lot on the the guitar solos, the guitar choruses. We didn't want to do something, you know, some kind of demonstration. We wanted to bring something to the music. If not, you know, it's nonsense. And Joe's voice is even more fantastic on

19:39 this album. And we... We tried to play several new songs on live and when we felt the audience you know at festivals and several gigs and even on the release party the audience you know they they were very positive and we want we've seen them very positive feedbacks and reactions also we got it man and we were very happy so yeah it's a it's a mix of everything we consider positive in the music and still very authentic. And we want it very, you know, honest music. So I think, you know, people should like it. The people who love power metal, it's a good, it's a good album. Yeah.

20:28 Very good album. And it is good. And I think the authenticity is what really grabs people. Cause I, People can tell whether you're just going through the motions or you're being authentic. And I think when you have the freedom to be authentic, which that's what's great about you signing with Rock Shots Records, because they give you that freedom to be the musician, you know, be the artist instead of telling you how it should be done. And I think that's when you really thrive. Indeed. Yeah. And that's a chance. We are very lucky, guys, because we do love each other. This is the basic.

21:09 This is mandatory to like spending time together, even if we do have a lot of commitments. We do have our own lives. We are all daddies. We all have children. But in the same time, we love to spend a lot of time together. It's not only about music, but some kind of a brotherhood. And it helps. It helps you to bring something new, to share new ideas with the guys, and then, oh, yeah, I got this, and we can, you know, and then it becomes a new song, and then you rearrange it, and then blah, blah, blah. So the process helps because the mood is very positive and always in a creative, you know, atmosphere. And we are free. Still free because we also have, let's say, a regular job in parallel. We have the chance to have a label that let us be as free as possible.

22:11 You guys, you got the keys. We let you produce your own album with what you want to do, what type of music. We trust you. This is the message behind it. I love it. And we have great, you know, a lot of people also pushing us, you know. We have two great managers, Jeep and Laurent. They are taking care of the band in a wonderful way. Great artists also working for the artworks. Oleg for the Moonfall cover, he used to also design the previous album. We also have Christelle Larson. She painted a wonderful... for one of the singles, Lost Horizon. We have great producers as well.

23:05 Vinyl Times Productions, they released, they produced 100% both of our vinyl albums on the vinyl format, Moonfall and the previous one of Atlantis at the same time. Executive production by another label, FTF Music. So there are a lot of people pushing the band And it's important for me to talk also about them because without these guys, I mean, it's... And the passion behind it, it will be very difficult, not to say somehow impossible, to realize all the things because people are not waiting for us, actually. And we always have to bring new things, just like all the bands. But, you know, the environment is very... positive and pushing us so and the audience is fantastic at the same time and thanks to guys like you we have the chance to talk about it and to share the music and that's it's all about.

24:04 It well I love it I love your music everybody's got to check you guys out and check out the new album so everybody go check out online on socials everywhere King Crown and make sure that you check out this new album Moonfall because it is badass and Thank you for being on The Adventures of Pipe Man. Thank you, Pipe Man. Thank you, guys, for listening. Thank you for listening to The Adventures of Pipe Man on W4CY Radio.