I was completely bummed when Minnesota's Iron Thrones called it quits this past summer. As winners of the Scion No Label Needed contest, I spent several weeks with the band, and not only became friends with the four individuals, but the magic of their music quickly became one of my favorite releases of 2010.
As they say, all good things must come to an end, and unlike most bands out there, Iron Thrones understood when it was their time. Fortunately, this did not mark the end of creating music for these four talented members. Keeping up with a couple of the dudes, I've jotted down their new endeavors, which you really need to check out. How often do you see a great band break up, and make other great projects? Exactly.
Wolvhammer is an awesome black metal band on Profound Lore Records that vocalist Adam Clemens joined prior to the IT break up that he continues with today. The band also features the very busy Jeff Wilson (Chrome Waves, Doomsday, Krieg, ex-Nachtmystium) and they put out a killer record last year called The Obsidian Plains. I just saw these guys again a few weeks back, and they slay!
Bill Pulmonary Embolism is the brainchild of drummer Peter Clarke and his friend Nathan Holland. Their Star Wars themed LP came out only 3 weeks ago, but is already on its way to becoming one of my favorites of 2012. I was shocked to learn Peter not only recorded the drums for the record, but for every instrument sans vocals handled by Holland. He really did a great job!
Goddamn BBQ is a comedic rock band that sings all about America's favorite summer pastime. You'll find drummer Peter Clarke behind the kit, and this is the only live band guitarist Steven J. Henningsgard jams with when he's not producing bands (including many of the bands in this post) at Signature Tone Studios in Minneapolis.
I caught up with bassist Curtis Parker at SXSW last year when he was touring with another of my 2010 faves Mose Giganticus, and has since started a new life in the state of Washington. Prior to leaving Minnesota he recorded several tracks at Signature Tone for a new project called Witch Ripper that he plans to find members for in Seattle.
I've also heard some tentative plans that would involve a few members of Iron Thrones to work together again, including some material that was written before the break up. Needless to say, I'd be stoked to hear it!
I'm happy the guys are doing great, and continue to produce kick ass music. We'll certainly be talking about a couple of these projects more as they develop, but for now I'll leave this post with a video that commemorates our time in 2010.
