Welsh hard rockers King Kraken’s second studio album March of the Gods will be released on the 18^th of April 2025. ERB’s Steve Lucas had a chat with the band to talk about the story of the band so far, their creative process, and the album track by track.

Photo Credit – Paul Hutchings

As is often the case with the start of a new band, King Kraken arose from the ashes of other projects. In 2018, guitarist Pete Rose was looking to put a new band together and had a few successful jam sessions with bassist Karl Meyer. Drummer Richard Lee Mears was soon added, and after a very small number of auditions and interviews, guitarist Adam Healey and vocalist Mark Donoghue joined to complete the lineup.

Pete starts the story: “It all happened very quickly actually, we didn’t have a lot of to-ing and fro-ing with other people being interviewed.” Rich explained that the writing process “flew” and their first gigs (two on the same night!) happened in September. Rich continues” “That’s the direction we want to go in – playing as much as we can, getting our name out there as much as we can”. In 2019, they played Metal to the Masses and Hard Rock Hell, winning a slot at HRH Metal 4. Rich adds: “We went from playing in front of 6 or 7 people to playing in front of 900 people!”

2020 saw the release of their Chaos Engine EP, which was a digital release only, and 2021 was spent writing the majority of their first album MCLXXX. When restrictions were eased in 2022, the band were able to get the album recorded, ready for release in 2023. Rich states: “That went far better than we could’ve hoped for.” It earned them plenty of festival appearances including Bloodstock. Then, knowing they needed to keep the momentum going, work started on the second album in January 2024.

So, how does a King Kraken song get created? Mark explains: “We tried lots of different ways but found that being in the same room worked best. Pete or Karl will come in with a riff and it gets smashed to bits, reversed, added to and comes out a shadow of its former self.” When asked if the process had changed from the first album to the second, Adam says, “It was more focused. We removed bits that we felt weren’t necessary, which we didn’t do with the first album.” “That’s why we’ve got ten tracks that last 39 minutes instead of three tracks that lasted 4 hours.” Mark confirms, “This time, we left the kitchen sink in the house.”

The band stuck with producer Romesh Dodangoda for the second album. Mark describes it as “A no brainer,” before continuing, “We were so happy with the way the first album sounded.” The guys collectively describe how the second album was easier to make – partly because they were tighter as a band, but also because they were working with a producer who knew their style and sound. Rich describes Romesh as “having hearing superior to a bat”. They spent just eight days in the studio. Karl explains that they had “done their homework” and were “really focused.” Adding, “We’d learnt a lot from the first album, so this one was easier.”

I asked about the order of the tracks and Adam explained, “We didn’t do this on purpose, but the first nine tracks are literally in chronological order of when they were written.” Track 10 was a 2018 track that the guys decided to give a new lease of life.

They let producer Romesh have the final say on the order, and he didn’t see any reason to change it. I asked if there were any tracks that didn’t make it – the response was both honest and interesting. There had been other ideas that didn’t quite make it into a full song. And Pete confirmed that some full songs had been “road tested” but didn’t get the audience response they were looking for. So, the tracks that were recorded were the only ones that were planned to be on the record.

The conversation then moves onto the tracks themselves. Scream is a mental health story about a guy that the band know. Mark describes it as being “about him winning his battle.”  For me the pace and aggression of the song reflects the power needed to take on that battle. It’s a hell of an opener. Karl describes it as “my favourite track. It would have been a 6-minute track on the first album – it’s got a bit of everything condensed into 3 and a half minutes.” A feature of this track and many of the others is the bands use of different rhythmic patterns. They make really good use of switching between different patterns during a track to keep it interesting. Rich confesses, “once I’ve heard 4 bars of anything, I need to change it because it’s getting boring.”

On to El Giganto – this track features my favourite lyric from the album: ‘he is feeding off the screaming’ – El Giganto is a 50-storey high monster with red laser beams shooting from his eyes. Mark confirms it’s a creation born of the monster movies of the 1950s. “I just wanted to tell a story about a fire breathing laser eyed monster.”

There was then a revealing conversation about the creative process and how hard it is to come up with a track that Adam accepts as a proper metal track. “Sometimes Karl will come up with a riff that, when played on a guitar, sounds like a ‘70s rock song.” Continuing to talk about the track he says, “It’s got a singalong little chorus with sweet harmonies.” Karl’s riposte is, “I write a Slayer riff, and you turn it into Credence Clearwater.” This whole section of conversation takes place with lots of smiles and laughs. These guys clearly know how to have fun at each other’s expense. That’s a magic that all bands strive to find.

Berserker was a riff born while experimenting on a looper pedal. Pete tells the story: “I bought a looper pedal and was playing some random riffs trying to work out how to use it.” “Mark said, ‘Keep it! – I can hear the lyrics already’,” and the opening riff for Berserker was born. Mark explained that the tempo of the riff suggested the drum beat pounding in time for oarsmen on a Viking ship. “I needed to write something about Vikings.” Rich acknowledged they needed a change of pace after the first two tracks. But although it’s a slower track, there’s no drop in power; the momentum of the album isn’t diminished by a change of tempo.

March of the Gods was partially the result of Rich’s attempts at guitar playing. The riff for the verse was an idea that he struggled to describe, so had a go at playing it. The derisory comments that followed were maybe an indication that he should stick to the drums. But the riff stuck. Mark confirms, “All Rich had to do was say Imperial March from Star Wars.” That’s the sense of the song. Its processional nature and title not only made it an obvious choice for the album title, but it also felt like the centrepiece of the album.

Hero is without question the most personal track on the album. In Mark’s words, “When we were making the first album, it was something I swore I wouldn’t do.” But confesses that track is about the loss of his father and processing the grief associated with that. “It’s a tough one to sing. But the closure it gave when completing the song was something else.” That’s the power of music. As well as being an emotion filled song, it demonstrates the band’s ability to switch styles. Rich explains, “We’ve always possessed that ability, but we’ve never shown it before… Sometimes when we’re messing about, we play jazz versions of our songs, and they sound really good.” Adam joins in explaining, “It gives me the chance to play some blues guitar.”

I’m really looking forward to the Credence Clearwater inspired progressive Jazz/Blues fusion track that will undoubtedly feature on the third album.

Vigilante didn’t take very long to talk about. I had a question prepared that turned out to be completely redundant. Mark explained, “I’m just going to come out and say it: It’s about Batman.” The question I didn’t get to ask was ‘which superhero is the song based on?’. He continues, “I’m purging myself here. It’s all about Batman. I’m an avid collector of comics and action figures and I swore I’d have one [a Batman song] on an album one day, I just didn’t tell them when I was writing it.” There is a postscript that Mark shares. “We didn’t realise until a long time after that there is an unknown Batman villain in the comics called King Kraken.” It was clearly meant to be.

Preacher is a Western. Talking about this track was another insight into the band dynamic and the creative process. It’s a song about a gunfighting preacher and Adam explained how the story of the song shaped his guitar solo into a “duelling guitar thing.” “You see, sometimes, I do pay attention to the lyrics.” He also highlighted how this song demonstrates the difference between the songwriting on the first album and this album. Karl explained that he’d had an idea for a quirky, time signature changing section in the middle of the song, but it got dropped. I get the sense that would have been included had they been recording the first record.

Magnum Opus is a full throttle driving track, and had a working title of V8. However, Mark explains, “The lyrics were really familiar to me, and I realised I was writing about Mad Max…Being geeky about it, if you play the Mad Max video game, your car is called ‘Magnum Opus’.” It’s a relentless assault on the senses and is almost a return to type, in terms of pace and tone. A warning shared by the band members and the interviewer – watch your speed if you’ve got this track on while driving!

The vocal chorus for Chainsaw Saviour was something that Mark had had since 2019. “I always loved it and kept it on my computer – it never left my head. It’s a homage to the Evil Dead film.” Although Mark came up with the chorus, Adam spills the beans that the rest of the song was written without Mark being in the room and Karl adds, “This is the only song that took 1 rehearsal to write.” Both points prompted some jovial comments about that becoming the band’s future composition method.

The story of Under the Sun is a plot twist on the rapture. Mark’s description: “The story of the rapture is God comes down, takes all the good guys up. So, I had an idea of putting a ‘What If’ in the scenario – The rapture happens, then God has a quiet word with the devil and he tells the devil to clean house on earth, give it a good cleaning before I come back down, and the song is basically from the devil’s perspective and he’s telling them, ‘you had your chance, and you ballsed it up’.”

I then asked the guys about how they selected the tracks to be released as singles. Pete explains, “We left it up to Romesh. It was the same on the first album.” Adam picks up the story and shares, “The selection of the fourth single was the only one that wasn’t certain.” In the end, the PR company settled the debate. It was the track that Romesh had suggested. I won’t spoil the surprise by giving up the name of the track. You’ll all have to hang on another week or so to find out.

We then talked about tour preparations. Pete explained “It’s going well – We’re in the same room using all our own gear and it’s nice to come back to playing together and smashing it out.” Karl continues, “There are four or five songs that haven’t been played in public yet…They’ll get their first airing at the launch show, so we’re looking forward to seeing how people react to brand new stuff.” I asked if rehearsals had thrown up any changes to the songs. Other than a few tweaks to endings and thinking about how one track segues into the next, nothing much has changed.

Photo Credit – Paul Hutchings

Now the important tour questions. What snacks do you have on those long van journeys?

Pete – Jelly sweets and a bottle of Oasis – the bottle of Oasis has a double purpose. I won’t elaborate.

Mark – Marmite flavoured rice cakes and Twiglets.

Karl – A self-confessed chocaholic – chocolate all the way.

Pete – A crisp man – he’ll buy crisps whenever they stop.

Adam – “I only like the odd head to bite off – I don’t care which one of them it is.” (I’ll quickly add, he was joking.)

Next up, what are their nicknames?

Mark – His first band was called The Malcolms – over time, it’s morphed into Malc McKraken. There are bits of that story I can’t print.

Karl – “I’ve never had one and never wanted one”. That’s a gauntlet thrown down to the rest of the band if ever I’ve heard one. I’ll ask him again when I see their show in Brighton in a few weeks.

Rich – Straightforward “Dick”.

Pete – Slam. Another one that comes from an old band name, Slam Transistor.

Adam – His is so widely used that Mark thought it was actually his name. It’s Kowalski. “People think I’ve got Polish heritage, but I haven’t”. It comes from a character from the film Vanishing Point, who apparently has a similar driving style to Adam.

We now skip forward to the end of tour and talk about what comes next. Adam goes first. “We’re going to write a couple of new singles that are going to get played more than any of our other songs, then we’ll get better gigs than we’ve had before and then I’ll get my helicopter.”

That last comment prompted a serious, reflective discussion about what the band have achieved so far. Adam made the point that it’s important to take a step back to appreciate that. They’re playing better gigs and have the biggest of their lives coming up in August at Stonedead. Rich concludes “Everything is going in the right direction.”

I was a fan of their music before I was asked if I wanted to interview the guys – March of the Gods is a belter of an album. There’s definitely a healthy musical evolution from the Chaos Engine EP and MCLXXX. And having chatted to the band, I get a sense that they are enjoying the journey immensely. Collectively, they talked about steps forward. They aren’t expecting to go from where they are now to Download headliners within a year. But they seem to have a shared confidence that they can and will grow the King Kraken name and are happy to see where it takes them. From my point of view, Long Live the Kraken.

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