King 810

King 810

King 810 performing at Capital FM Arena Nottingham during the Prepare For Hell tour supporting Slipknot.
Background information
Also known as King
Origin Flint, Michigan, U.S.
Genres Heavy metal, nu metal, hard rock
Years active 2007-present
Labels Roadrunner, Equal Vision
Website king810.com
Members
  • David Gunn
  • Andrew Beal
  • Eugene Gill
  • Andrew Workman
Past members
  • Jason Hale

King 810 (formerly known as and often shortened to just King) is an American metal band from Flint, Michigan formed in 2007 consisting of David Gunn, Andrew Beal, Eugene Gill and Andrew Workman. The bands first release was their independent EP titled Midwest Monsters in 2012, which earned them a signing with Roadrunner Records, releasing their second EP titled Proem in 2014, later releasing their debut studio album Memoirs of a Murderer that same year.

History

Formation (2007-2012)

The band officially formed in December 2007 in their home town Flint, Michigan however the four members had been performing together before then and already gained a following. [1] The lineup consists of frontman and vocalist David Gunn (previously known as David Swan), guitarist Andrew Beal, bass player Eugene Gill, and drummer Andrew Workman.[2][3] David Gunn revealed in a Metalhammer documentary that he started writing lyrics for the band when he was arrested and eventually applied those lyrics to the band, of which had already developed a sound he recognised so he adapted said lyrics to that style.[4]

In 2008 it was reported that the band had signed with Equal Vision Records and that Chiodos guitarist Jason Hale was a member of the band, making the band his side project, and intended to release a full-length studio album in 2009, and toured together across America in December 2008. Along with the planned album the band has released demos on their Myspace prior to this and was also reported that they had recorded an album with Mark Michalik at Detroit's 37 Studios.[3][5] However in August 2009 the band had abruptly left the label without a reason or cause without releasing any official album. It is presumed that Jason Hale left the band since he is not mentioned in any of the bands future activities.[6] The number '810', which is the area code for Flint, Michigan, the bands home town, was used in the band name after they left Equal Vision [7]

In June, 2012 Gunn was a victim of assault when he refused to hand over a bag during a robbery, he was then shot and stabbed however survived the attack and went on to write for the bands debut and independent EP, Midwest Monsters, of which was heavily inspired by that particular event along with other previous experiences as well.[8] The album itself composed by Gunn and produced by Josh Wickman, and was only officially released physically.[9]

Memoirs of a Murderer (2013-present)

Main article: Memoirs of a Murderer
King 810 performing on the Coldcock American Herbal Whiskey Stage at Mayhem Festival 2014

The first music video they released was for their song and first single released titled 'Killem All' and was released in April.[10] The song is later used to promote their first debut release via Roadrunner Records, Proem.[11] In May the band performed at Rock on the Range 2014 at Columbus Crew Stadium.[12] The band released their second EP titled "Proem" on June 9 after streaming it online.[11] They also joined the Mayhem Festival tour of 2014 from June to August along with acts such as Avenged Sevenfold and Korn.[13]

The band initially intended to perform at Download Festival in June 2014, making this their debut UK performance, however had to cancel due to members David Gunn and Eugene Gill being arrested in Detroit Metro Airport in June for assault with intent to do great bodily harm in a case that dates back to October 2013.[14] The case for Gunn was later dropped however Gill had to appear in court for assault with intent to do great bodily harm less than murder.[15] In July, along with the release of their second single 'Fat Around The Heart', which was promoted with a music video, they had announced their first debut studio album, which would be titled Memoirs of a Murderer and would be released on August 18 digitally and a day later physically.[16] The album was their first to enter the charts; 18 on Billboard's Top Hard Rock Albums and 8 on the Top Heatseekers.[17][18]

The band finally made their debut UK performance in September to be apart of the 'Download Freezes Over' tour with support from 'Astroid Boys' and 'Hang The Bastard'.[19][20] They later toured as a support act for Slipknot along with Korn in late 2014 in America including Knotfest.[21] They continued to support into early 2015 during their time in the United Kingdom.[22] In February they released a spoken word track that comes as an ongoing series titled 'Anatomy 1:5' that is not featured on any album but as a stand along promotional single.[23] The band made their debut performance in Australia as a part of 2015's Soundwave in late February and early March.[24] From April 8 to June 3 they will be supporting rapper Tech N9ne in promotion of his new album in Australia and New Zealand.[25] After the tour they intend to take part in Download Festival in June.[26]

Musical characteristics and lyrics

The bands lyrics are based on their lives growing up in their violent home town of Flint, Michigan. David Gunn himself was first arrested when he was nine years old, stating that in that area it was typical for kids at that age to commit crime, along with using firearms.[27] Kerrang! described Gunns lyrical style as "heavy metal poetry" that when performed live have a theatrical vibe, which as they say would "...leave venues full of grown men quivering in their boots." For this they placed the band at number 4 of their 'Top 20 Hottest Bands In The World Right Now'.[28]

Robb Flynn of metal band Machine Head has stated that the band has always fascinated with him as they have more of a punk-rock side since they typically got banned from clubs due to the chaos and violence they caused, and found that they reminded him of his early years in Machine Head, going on to say that lyrics are "killer" and that Gunn has a really intense vocal delivery.[29] Artist direct writer Rick Florino wrote an article expressing that this band distinct poly-rhythmic grooves and intricate riffs border on industrial sound, and that the lyrics Gunn provides equally channels the likes of Edgar Allan Poe, Ernest Hemingway and 2Pac, yet maintain a vulgar attitude, praising that the bands sound truly represents heavy metal music.[30] The band are typically labelled under the heavy metal, nu metal and in some cases hard rock genres.[31] Gunn himself has stated that he enjoys to create a diverse amount of musical content, instead of sticking to heavy and aggressive music the band is known for, he refers to the calmer music he is fond of, namely Take It, State Of Nature and several other acoustic interludes that litter 'Memoirs Of A Murderer'.[32] The band also perform spoken word poem like tracks called 'Anatomy' tracks.[23][33]

One of the bands influences on their sound is Korn and is said to have had a particular impact on the musical style of their debut album, especially on their darker sounds, lyrical style and guitar riffs.[34][20] Their sound has also been compared to that of the efforts of Slipknot's album .5: The Gray Chapter due to their dark and gritty sounds, also comparing them to the likes of Korn and Bury Tomorrow.[35]

Live performances

Their stage presence has been known to be gritty and seem to be performed like full-on stage productions, signature elements of their live shows include Gunn performing covered in mud, hired men in masks wielding axes and baseball bats, at other times such as festivals they will be wielding fake guns, and police security tape surrounding the stage as a means of making their presence more intimidating, further representing their music.[20][33][36] While other media outlets refer the band to be one of the top latest metal bands, others pan the band for being gimmicky and believe they are putting on an act, however Gunn himself has explained that they are not faking their stories.[33][32]

Fanbase

The band has had a fan base since before their formation.[1] In the bands home town of Flint, Michigan their fans are known to be violent at their concerts, one reported case being at a local music expo called 'Dirtfest' in 2009 where fans, along with moshing, broke down fences and when police forces attempted to put an end to the aggressive behaviour the crowd ganged up on then and many lit fireworks and aimed them into the crowd, despite the band ultimately being cut off the fans sang the lyrics to their songs.[7] Even before the band was signed their fans shared tattoos consisting of the Flint area code, 810, on their shins that the band members themselves display and at times go as far as to carve the bands logo into their skin.[7]

Members

Current members

  • David Gunn - vocals (2007 - present)
  • Andrew Beal - guitar (2007 - present)
  • Eugene Gill - bass guitar (2007 - present)
  • Andrew Workman - drums (2007 - present)

Former members

  • Jason Hale - guitar (2008 - 2009)

Discography

King 810 discography
Releases
↙Studio albums 1
↙EPs 2
↙Singles 2
↙Music videos 6
↙Promotional singles 1

Studio albums

List of studio albums with details of each release and selected chart positions
Title Album details Peak chart positions
US
Hard Rock
[17]		 US
Heatseekers
[18]
Memoirs of a Murderer
  • Released: August 18, 2014
  • Label: Roadrunner
  • Formats: CD, digital
 188

EPs

List of EPs with details regarding each release
Title Album details
Midwest Monsters
  • Released: June 9, 2012
  • Label: Independent release
  • Formats: CD[9]
Proem
  • Released: May 13, 2014
  • Label: Roadrunner
  • Formats: Digital[37]

Singles

List of singles with year release and album origin.
Title Year Album
"Killem All" 2014 Proem[38]
"Fat Around The Heart" Memoirs Of A Murderer[38]

Promotional singles

List of promotional singles.
Title Year Album
"Anatomy 1:5" 2015 Non-album single[23]

Music videos

List of music videos with year of release, album origin and director
Title Year Album Director
"Killem All" 2014 Proem Unknown[10]
"Fat Around the Heart" Memoirs of a Murderer John ‘Quig’ Quigley[16]
"War Outside" Unknown[19]
"State of Nature"
"Murder Murder Murder" Unknown[39]
"Desperate Lovers" David Gunn[40]

Accolades

Nominated work Year Award Result
King 810 2015 Metalhammer Golden Gods - Best New Band[41]  In progress

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Ketchum, William. "King 810's David Gunn talks life in Flint and unapologetically describing city woes". Mlive.com. MLive. Retrieved 5 February 2015.
  2. ↑ Monger, James. "King 810 - Biography". Billboard.com. Billboard. Retrieved 5 February 2015.
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 Maguire, Chris (9 December 2008). "Equal Vision Records signs King ft Jason Hale of Chiodos". AltSounds.com. AltSounds. Retrieved 9 March 2015.
  4. ↑ "King 810 Carve My Name: Part 2". Metalhammer.com. Metalhammer. Retrieved 5 February 2015.
  5. ↑ "Equal Vision signs King (Chiodos)". AltPress.com. AltPress. 9 December 2008. Retrieved 9 March 2015.
  6. ↑ "King parts ways with Equal Vision". AltPress.com. AltPress. 5 August 2009. Retrieved 9 March 2015.
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 Schafer, Joseph. "Violent pits, knife fights, and being shot: an interview with the notoriously violent King 810". Noisey.Vice.com. Noisey.Vice. Retrieved 5 February 2015.
  8. ↑ Young, Simon (August 14, 2014). "Warning! This band are dangerous to your health". Kerrang! (1530) (Kerrang!). Kerrang!. Retrieved 5 February 2015.
  9. ↑ 9.0 9.1 "Midwest Monsters - King 810 - Credits - AllMusic". AllMusic. Retrieved 9 March 2015.
  10. ↑ 10.0 10.1 Morton, Luke. "New music not Monday: King 810 – Killem All". Metalhammer.teamrock.com. Metalhammer. Retrieved 29 January 2015.
  11. ↑ 11.0 11.1 "King 810 stream debut ep in full". Rocksound.com. Rocksound. Retrieved 27 January 2015.
  12. ↑ Lipshutz, Jason. "Rock on the Range 2014: Guns N' Roses, Avenged Sevenfold, Kid Rock Headlining". Billboard.com. Billboard. Retrieved 5 February 2015.
  13. ↑ Hartmann, Graham. "Avenged Sevenfold + Korn Lead 2014 Mayhem Festival – Full Schedule Announced". Loudwire.com. Loudwire. Retrieved 5 February 2015.
  14. ↑ "Update: King 810 members arrested; band pull out of download festival". Rocksound.tv. Rocksound. Retrieved 27 January 2015.
  15. ↑ Lach, Stef. "King 810 singer has assault case dropped by court". Metalhammer.teamrock.com. Metalhammer. Retrieved 27 January 2015.
  16. ↑ 16.0 16.1 Carter, Emily. "King 810 release Fat Around the Heart video". Kerrang.com. Kerrang!. Retrieved 5 February 2015.
  17. ↑ 17.0 17.1 "King 810 - US Hard Rock Albums". Billboard.com. Billboard. Retrieved 5 February 2015.
  18. ↑ 18.0 18.1 "King 810 - US Heatseekerk Albums". Billboard.com. Billboard. Retrieved 5 February 2015.
  19. ↑ 19.0 19.1 Carter, Emily. "King 810 UK premiere of State of Nature visualizer video". Kerrang.com. Kerrang!. Retrieved 5 February 2015.
  20. ↑ 20.0 20.1 20.2 Chillingworth, Alec. "King 810 - O2 Academy Islington, London - September 26, 2014 (Live Review)". Stereoboard.com. Stereoboard. Retrieved 6 March 2015.
  21. ↑ Crane, Matt. "Slipknot reveal album title, cover, release date; announce U.S. tour with Korn". Altpress.com. Altpress. Retrieved 27 January 2015.
  22. ↑ Lach, Stef. "King 810 confirmed for UK leg of Slipknot tour". Metalhammer.Teamrock.com. Metalhammer. Retrieved 27 January 2015.
  23. ↑ 23.0 23.1 23.2 Carter, Emily. "King 810 debut new spoken word track, Anatomy 1:5". Kerrang.com. Kerrang!. Retrieved 8 March 2015.
  24. ↑ Baroni, Nastassia. "Soundwave 2015 Day Lineups Released". MusicFeeds.com. MusicFeeds. Retrieved 9 March 2015.
  25. ↑ Witcoff, Daniel (January 15, 2015). "Tech N9ne Announces "Special Effects" Album Release Date, Cover Art & Spring Tour". HipHopDX. HipHopDX. Retrieved 9 March 2015.
  26. ↑ Carter, Emily. "Download add 23 more bands to line-up". Kerrang.com. Kerrang!. Retrieved 28 January 2015.
  27. ↑ "King 810 Carve My Name: Part 1". Metalhammer.com. Metalhammer. Retrieved 5 February 2015.
  28. ↑ Doyle, Tom (25 October 2014). "20 Hottest Bands In The World Right Now". Kerrang! (1540) (Kerrang!). Kerrang!. Retrieved 5 March 2015.
  29. ↑ "Robb Flynn on why he loves King 810". Metalhammer.com. Metalhammer. Retrieved 5 February 2015.
  30. ↑ "First Reaction: King 810 @ARTISTdirect". ARTISTdirect. Retrieved 8 September 2014.
  31. ↑ Monger, James. "King 810 - Bio". Billboard. Billboard. Retrieved 6 March 2015.
  32. ↑ 32.0 32.1 Chillingworth, Alec (1 October 2014). "'Maybe Someday They'll Get It': King 810'S David Gunn Talks 'Memoirs Of A Murderer'". StereoBoard. StereoBoard. Retrieved 6 March 2015.
  33. ↑ 33.0 33.1 33.2 McLaughlin, David (29 September 2014). "King 810 In London: "The most dangerous band in the world? Wishful thinking."". Rocksound. Rocksound. Retrieved 6 March 2015.
  34. ↑ Sayce, Rob (April 2015). "Hall Of Fame: 'Follow The Leader' Korn". Rocksound (198) (Rocksound). Rocksound. Retrieved 5 March 2015.
  35. ↑ McMahon, James (25 October 2014). "Slipknot - The Grey Chapter". Kerrang! (1540) (Kerrang!). Kerrang!. Retrieved 5 March 2015.
  36. ↑ Young, Simon (20 September 2014). "MEMOIRS OF A MOSHER". Kerrang! (1535) (Kerrang!). Kerrang!. Retrieved 9 March 2015.
  37. ↑ "Proem - King 810 - Credits - AllMusic". AllMusic. Retrieved 5 January 2015.
  38. ↑ 38.0 38.1 "King 810 Memoirs Of A Murderer" (ADVERTISEMENT). Kerrang! (1531) (Kerrang!). Kerrang!. p. 11. Retrieved 5 March 2015. The Incredible Debut Album - Out Now; Featuring the singles 'Killem All' and 'Fat Around The Heart'
  39. ↑ Carter, Emily. "King 810 unleash Murder Murder Murder video". Kerrang.com. Kerrang!. Retrieved 6 February 2015.
  40. ↑ "Yes, King 810 are supporting Slipknot in January". Rocksound.tv. Rocksound. Retrieved 6 February 2015. Further to that, they've released a new music video for 'Desperate Lovers', which was directed by Mr. Gunn himself.
  41. ↑ "Metallhammer 2015 Best New Band". http://goldengods.metalhammer.com/''. Metalhammer. Retrieved 26 March 2015.

External links