Photos: Kevin Cannon @kcannondude*
DEAD CITY CROWN – melodic death metal from NYC/NJ
If you're a fan of Children of Bodom, old school In Flames, old school Dark Tranquillity, Omnium Gatherum, or Insomnium, then these guys are DEFINITELY for you! We're stoked to have them at BMF this year! I've been following these guys since my main man from Winter's Shadow, Matt Swistak first introduced me to them in 2018 on the way to a Children of Bodom show. After that, I had the pleasure of booking them at my 2nd annual Snovember Reigns show at Mohawk Place in November of 2019, and soon after that I was treated to their latest album, Beasts of Fiction. These guys just can't seem to miss for fans of classic Finnish and Swedish style melodic death metal and with the recent addition of Kyle Morrison on keyboards, their live sound has never been fuller! Their guitarist and founder, Fabian, was kind enough to chat with me about the band's history and what fans can expect at Buffalo Metal Festival 2023! Let's get it!
1. We've done interviews before, but to refresh our memories, what's the story behind the name, Dead City Crown?
I've always been fascinated with post apocalyptic imagery (ruined cityscapes, abandoned hubs of civilization after fallout, etc.) so that's where the phrase Dead City came from. As far as Crown, me and Carl's (vocals, lyricist) previous band had a crown drawn into the logo so I took that idea with and combined the words to make the name Dead City Crown and that also serves as tribute to how we met and began making music together.
2. Were you guys always going to play melodic death metal, or was this something that came about later?
Melodeath was always sort of a naturally re-occurring element in my songwriting. I'm simply a fan of heavy music with catchy melodies tying a song together. I usually compose by accident meaning I have no control when a good riff or chord progression comes out of my playing so our songs are all created very organically and without any direction in mind. The melodeath aspect has just always been present in the music.
3. How did you all meet in the first place?
Dead City Crown was born out of the ashes of a previously failed project. The core founding members, myself (Fabian), Carl (vocals), and Erick (bassist) decided to continue playing music together but at that point it was time for a fresh start under a new name.
4. Tell us the story of how Kyle Morrison came to join the band. Was he a session keyboardist until filling out the lineup? How much has your writing changed now that you have a full-time keyboardist?
I randomly met Kyle in 2018 after a Sabaton show and he played me some of his music from his recently released album "Pianometal" which all reading this need to check out. Musically and personally, we were a lot alike so I decided to get in touch with him later on during the production of our album "Rex Mortuus" to ask him if he wanted to throw some keyboard & orchestration tracks on there. The result was beyond the band's expectations and soon after I offered him a spot in the band as a permanent member to which he graciously accepted. My songwriting hasn't needed to change all that much as I've always written songs that call for epic melodies and orchestrations so now life is just easier with an in-house keyboardist able to provide.
5. What has the reception for the latest album, Beasts of Fiction been like?
All feedback and reception have been positive. We feel it mostly at our live shows when audience members who've never heard of us approach us after the set and tell us how much they enjoyed what we played, which is mostly new material right now.
6. Do you have any future live show plans or recording plans you're at liberty to divulge? What's next for DCC?
I'm currently composing for our 7th studio release. Not a lot of details are available at the moment but the music is shaping up to be heavier and faster than any of our previous works.
7. Talk about the songs you're most proud of having written and why.
The title track off Beasts of Fiction was a proud moment for me and one of the most versatile sounding tracks I'd ever written. It combines two of my favorite genres, power metal and prog, and just relentlessly continues for a full 6 minutes. It's a perfect mid-album song with a climactic ending that keeps the listener hooked to finish out the rest of the album.
8. Plug yourselves! Talk about your preferred point of sale for your discography!
Visit our bandcamp page where we have t-shirts available and digital as well as physical CD's of our latest releases.
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