Canada’s NWOTHM outfit Iron Kingdom is releasing their fifth studio album The Blood Of Creation this fall and in advance have the melodic new single “In The Grip Of Nightmares” ready for your consumption. The album is not a concept album, but they exhibit a passion for fantasy themes and pays homage to tales woven by acclaimed authors. The single is about the sword Stormbringer from the Michael Moorcock books Elric of Melnibonè Series. Bound together by fate, Elric consumes the souls of those he slays with Stormbringer and this dramatic relationship is conveyed through progressive traditional heavy metal in the vein of Helloween and Fates Warning. Fast and driving, it is also melodic with plenty of solos and focus on the leads. 

The band explains the track further:

“We started writing this song during the On The Hunt sessions back in 2019, however, the song had a different energy than the rest of the album so we decided it would be best to come back to it at a later date. In late 2020, during the Covid-19 lockdown, we took a second look at what was to become ‘In The Grip Of Nightmares’. We rewrote the tune to be what it is today. It tells the tale of the legendary sentient sword ‘Stormbringer’ and its relationship to Elric. The sword ‘consumes’ the souls of those who it strikes down and feeds the energy into Elric, who needs it to survive. The two are bound together by fate. A fate that twists Chaos and Law, and leaves Elric in the grip of nightmares.”

Iron Kingdom set out to create music in a style of metal that seemed to have been forgotten when they were kids. Since no one else seemed to be doing it, they decided to play metal the way it used to be played in the ‘70s and ‘80s while transporting listeners into unique, fantastic worlds. Since their conception, they have toured around the world, keeping old-school vibes alive.

This upcoming album sees a lot more music content coming from lead guitarist Megan Merrick and having drummer Max Friesen (ex-Ophelia Falling) has added another layer of ideas giving this latest offering a new perspective than the previous ones, while maintaining the shredding heavy metal thunder fans have come to love. The album was self-produced by Iron Kingdom with mixing done by Andy Boldt and mastering by Greg Reely (Overkill, Fear Factory, 3 Inches of Blood).

This refreshingly classic and refined taste of traditional heavy metal is recommended for fans of Riot, Iron Maiden, and Helloween.

BraveWords is premiering the new single – step into the nightmare!

In additional news, Iron Kingdom have announced their album launch show for November 4 in Vancouver, BC, hosted by the Invisible Orange at the Wise Hall. Find more information at orangetickets.ca.

Pre-order the album here, or here.

Tracklisting:

"Tides Of Desolation"
"Sheathe The Sword"
"Queen Of The Crystal Throne"
"Hunter And Prey"
"Witching Hour"
"In The Grip Of Nightmares"
"Primordial"
"The Blood Of Creation"

Teaser:

In additional news, Iron Kingdom have announced their album launch show for November 4 in Vancouver, BC, at the Wise Hall. For more info, head here.

(Photo - Caitlin Delaplace)