That’s right folks! The Number of the Blog’s favorite band , Iron Thrones, agreed to a formal interview with us. Guitarist Steve Henningsgard graciously sat down with me (on the other side of a computer screen) recently. Those of you who frequent our chat room should be familiar with Steve, who often visits with us. We’ve chatted before, but this is the first time one of us has had the chance to have a big old chat with him about the band.

So I was thinking that we could get the serious questions out of the way first. We all know that you have an epic beard. How epic do you plan on letting it become? If you shave it, could we have part of it to use as a contest prize?

That’s actually an interesting question; I’ve been trying to decide what to do with him for some time. He deserves the respect of being addressed as an individual, I feel.

Does he have a name?

I was thinking Sir Stabdomen. Or maybe Djent Stabdomen.

So, could Sir Stabdomen be a future contest prize for our site?

That’s the interesting thing about D.S., once he’s removed from my chin, he ceases to exist. Which, to be honest, is just about the only excuse he could have for sticking with me for so long. It’s symbiotic, though it puts me in an awkward position. If I let him continue to grow, the possibility of positive inter-gender relations steadily declines. I can say that for now though, he stays.

I see. Well, this is apparently a tough subject for you. I think it best we move on to other topics. How did Iron Thrones come to be? Were any of you in bands prior to IT? Where did the name come from?

Iron Thrones started as a band called “Everest” in late 2005, after the previous band I was playing in (Nehemiah) broke up. We released an EP, and changed our name a couple of years later based on some nerdy-assed books Pete was reading.

A Game of Thrones?

That’s the one I believe! I’m a Wheel of Time man, myself.

Adam used to sing for Veil of Maya. How did you pry him away from them?

Oh man, there was no prying needed: he quit of his own accord a few months before hearing we needed a singer!

How long did it take you to make Visions of Light, and were there any problems?

The actual recording process itself took just under a year, although we admittedly weren’t recording the whole time. We learned a lot about self-producing ourselves in the process, but it was definitely a trial. It almost tore the band apart at times, just due to the sheer stress. A lot of the reason that the record took so long and was so stressful to make, is because a lot of the songs were written by people other than those performing the parts. We’re each contributing so much to the writing process of this new record, it’d be interesting to know what Visions of Light would’ve sounded like if we spent as much time tearing apart and nit-picking each detail, as we are with the new material. But then again, we’ve grown together as musicians in the last year, I’m not sure Visions could have sounded any other way.

One of the things that I was wondering was why did you guys decide to allow people to download your album for free (technically name your own price)? has this plan been successful for you guys, and do you plan on doing the same thing with your next album?

That was something we debated back and forth on when we were getting close to finishing the record. On the one hand, we’d gone through a near-complete member change, an extremely stressful recording experience, and were all completely broke, and so we worried that giving the album away would devalue what we’d worked so hard to create. On the other hand, nobody had heard of Iron Thrones at that time, and by that time it’d become obvious that that was the direction the music industry was headed. Radiohead and Nine Inch Nails had both just released albums for free/pay-what-you-want, and we felt that was an extremely cool thing to do. Especially as a debut album, it seems somewhat arrogant to expect people to pay for the privilege of checking out your band for the first time, you know? I mean, I understand if you dropped a few grand on a record and worked your ass of, you deserve compensation no-doubt. I just think monetary compensation is the easiest compensation to see, but ultimately the least important (or it should be). In my mind, what swayed the decision is that we all agreed that the main thing we wanted was for people to hear our music, and giving it away, when attached with the right message, would help to convey our feelings towards our music: that we fucking love it, and we want everyone that might also enjoy it to have a chance to hear it.

What is the most important compensation to you then?

The best “compensation” we’ve received is the small group of individuals that dig what we do as much as we do.

So is it safe to assume that the new album will follow the same distribution plan?

As for the new record, we’d definitely like to figure out how to make it available to everyone for free again. We’ll be learning a shit-ton about great ways to convey what we’re trying to convey as far as who we are and what we’re about, and we’ll have a lot of help with whatever record release method we choose. I think the music will be free, but the album won’t be. If we end up going with the plan we’ve been talking about, you’ll be able to download our music and listen to it wherever you want, however you want, DRM-free, just like Visions of Light. The album, or what we’re defining as “the album”, will hopefully include a lot more than just the final songs we write, and will not be downloadable, any more than a shirt is downloadable. IF we end up doing what we’re thinking of.

Speaking of your next album, how is that coming along? About how close to done are you?

The main rhythm guitars/bass/drums are essentially done. We’re working on vocal patterns and solos, along with other fun new stuff. It’s been great doing pre-production this time around, we feel a bit more prepared than last time. This record won’t take a year!

Can you elaborate on the “new stuff?”

Oh sure. It all depends on how it turns out, but we’re experimenting with more varied vocals essentially. Who knows what’ll end up on the record, but expanding as musicians is always a good goal I think. You can be sure we won’t put anything on the album we’re not 100% confident in and stoked about.

I would like to ask about No Label Needed. What were your goals in entering No Label Needed, and now that you have (rightfully) won, how will it affect the band in the future?

We entered the No Label Needed contest expecting to be completely ignored, as we generally are by most people. We were incredibly surprised to end up in the top 20, and still honestly can’t believe we’ve won. We’re not the kind of band that wins these things, which leads us to believe that this might not be anything like we were expecting when we entered. It’s much more DIY/independent-centric than we’d thought. More focused on getting bands to get off of their asses and do everything they can to help themselves.

So you entered on a whim?

Oh completely!

The lesson here children is always act before you have time to think things over!

For sure! Essentially, we saw the contest and thought “eh, why not?”. Then a couple of friends suggested we enter because they thought we’d be perfect for it and might actually have a chance.
Apparently, we owe said friends a beer and should hire them as managers.
Honestly, I won’t believe it’s not some elaborate hoax until it’s all over. Some joke put on by our friends or something. It’s unreal.

Well, let’s assume it’s real, though Ziltoid has an interview about the contest he’s been sitting on for a month.

I saw his posts about that, and am intrigued to hear what he found out. I can’t imagine he knows more about it than we do at this point. We’ve read the contract a few hundred times: we know what we’re in for.

Well, how do you foresee this affecting the band in the future?

At the very least, we’ll have a better idea of how the big guys work. It’s no secret that we’ve worked with labels in the past, although always informally. And we’re certainly not ruling out the possibility of some day signing some sort of contract. However, I think the biggest thing this contest could do for us is to give us the leverage we need to negotiate fair terms for such a signing, if it somehow came to be. Keeping our copyrights and masters, 100% creative control, etc.
Hopefully, we’ll end up knowing enough about promoting and managing ourselves, that we’d actually look like an attractive proposition for some label looking to try a different sort of deal. Something promoting independence and a new way of doing things. Or maybe it’ll be a huge red flag that there’s no way we’ll agree to the 40-foot-steel-rod ass-raping that most labels seem to call fair.

I’ve only got one last serious question. Opeth seems to be your most obvious influence. How exactly have they influenced your sound, and are their any other bands that have had a major influence on you?

Who is this Opeth everyone keeps talking about? I feel like I should check them out. Hah!
In all seriousness, it’s pretty obvious when listening to Visions of Light, especially the first half of the disc, that I’m a huge Opeth fan. I don’t understand why some people try to deny their biggest influences and try to claim originality. I listened to Blackwater Park around a million times during the time I was writing the record: there’s no way it wasn’t going to rub off! To be honest, I was a pretty lazy music listener prior to VoL coming out. I’d find two or three bands I really enjoyed, and pretty much just listen to them exclusively thus the shit-ton of Opeth, along with some Muse, Poison the Well, and a tinge of Thrice.

Can you comment on the musical influence of your band mates?

I’ll be honest and say that 95% of Visions of Light was pretty much my baby, as far as the guitar parts and general song structure. Take into account that I was also the producer of the record, and you can see why my personal music influences pretty much dictated the direction of the record.
However! I’m proud to say that this next record is probably 25-30% me in total. We’ve all contributed equally to this one, and it sounds way different in many ways.
I’ve been introduced to an incredible variety of new metal (and non-metal) bands buy the other guys in our band, especially Adam. That guy listens to more metal than anybody else on earth, I swear. Curt’s big on more bass-centric music, like funk. He digs old-school rock (Zeppelin, Sabbath, etc.) and some hip hop, along with a lot of completely ridiculous Black Metal thanks to Adam. Pete listens to a lot of more mainstream metal and pop-rock.

It is at this point that Steve gives me the opportunity to listen to a rough cut off the upcoming album. Of course I accepted the offer. Even though the song was pre-production, it sounded fantastic, and gives me great confidence in the upcoming album.

Final question. Hopefully, everyone here has seen your video about the joys of touring our lovely state. Are there any other stories or incidents about the band that may prove interesting or amusing?

I can say that each of us does some dumb shit when we’re drunk. Most recently, Adam and Pete got into a huge argument about drumming. Pete was arguing that playing any drum parts written in the last 35 years was pointless, and Adam was giving him shit for it. (Did I mention they were both drunk?). It essentially ended with Pete telling Adam that he’d quit the band if Adam said the drummer from Baroness was better than he was, so Adam said he was and Pete quit for a while. It was really cold out, and the dude disappeared for a good half hour. We assumed he was trying to walk home, but he ended up coming back with a huge thing of Falafel and Fries.

So Iron Thrones went without a drummer for half an hour?

We’ve each quit the band at least a couple of times when we were drunk. Mostly we don’t remember it, and we never take whomever is “quitting” seriously, so there’s really no harm in it.

The lead in to the following discussion involves things I am not allowed to disclose. So don’t be freaked out by this coming out of nowhere

Hah, in all seriousness, sometimes bands don’t even enjoy their own music that they write an album, and never listen to it. I don’t understand it. I think it only happens when a group of guys that shouldn’t be together, write music. It’s sort of like watching a married couple that don’t like each other have sex.

So you’re saying more bands should take the Bolt Thrower approach?

What?

They only made albums as long as they felt that what they were making was better than the last one.

That’s a good idea.

They stopped making albums after Those Once Loyal, though they still tour. There are rumors that they may be working on another one.

Just because they don’t feel anything they’ve written has been better? Geez that’s dedication. Or Dethklok. Dethlication.
I feel like I should listen to them again, now that I know what they’re thinking.

There’s a picture out there of a mosh pit at one of their shows in which I guy in a wheelchair is crowd surfing.

How does that even work? I feel like fingers would get pinched.

That rules. I want to shake hands with everyone involved.

Well, it’s almost 1:00.

Oh man, get to sleep!
…I have some fuckin’ Diablo to get to.

Thank you Steve for this interview, and congratulations on your victory in No Label Needed.

Thanks man! Good to talk to you.

And there you have it, what I believe to be the first interview with Iron Thrones on the web. If you guys are wondering why we are so excited about this band here, I suggest you check out their debut album Visions of Light, available for free at their website.

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