Kings and Kingdoms, a local, post-hardcore/metalcore band, will perform at The Waiting Room in Buffalo next month on December 2nd. The band is relatively new, having been formed in 2012 with Bobby Burke on hard vocals, Joey Galligan on melodic vocals and rhythm guitar, and Mike Adkins playing lead guitar. Nate Floyd, a Houghton junior studying Music Industry, became the drummer of Kings and Kingdoms in the fall of 2013. Since then, bass player, Dave Thomas, has also joined the band making the final member count five. Kings and Kingdoms has been compared to bands such as Secrets and Crown The Empire.
Floyd said of being a part of the Buffalo music scene, “Many new bands come up then go away, they don’t understand that it’s a long haul.” He continued, “We’re dedicated. This is what we want to do so we’ve committed to it.” About three times a week Floyd makes the one and a half hour drive to Buffalo for band practice. For about a year now the band has been practicing and performing: writing music and playing at various venues around the city. Their hard work has proved fruitful. About a month ago they played at a music festival in Reading, Pennsylvania, making the five hour drive in order to fulfill a special invitation to perform. Kings and Kingdoms has gained a small following and is currently in the midst of signing a record deal.
The band only performs original music. Floyd explained, “In our genre it is really challenging to cover songs because in metal each band has a very specific sound that is difficult to capture.” The band places a large emphasis on songwriting. About half of their practices are dedicated to brainstorming new material and writing songs. Compositions are generally driven by Galligan and Floyd whose strengths are developing the skeleton of a piece, but each member is involved in the songwriting process. All five of them write their own instrument parts and give input on the subject and direction of the song.
Kings and Kingdoms write music about life. Hardships, the band’s single, is about exactly what it says: the hardships and sufferings of life. It grapples with the struggles that each individual of the band was going through at the time it was written. For them, writing is an outlet as well as a means to building bridges to help them get over the situations they write about. Kings and Kingdoms’ music centers on expression and connection. And through music they have certainly achieved both of those goals.
In 2013, a close friend of the band members took his own life. This heartbreaking event affected the Buffalo music scene deeply. The band’s response has been to write a song titled Shadows, to express remembrance and grief. The song deeply resonates with those who were touched by the tragedy. One man even had the lyrics of the chorus tattooed across his chest. Floyd commented, “That song is about a man fighting demons that no one took the time to look at or see.”
The direction of the band was also influenced by that terrible event. Floyd said, “Some bands just hate people, but that’s not what we’re about–if someone comes up to us and wants to talk we sincerely want to talk to them and show them that we care. We try our best to listen and interact with our fans because you don’t know how much your words mean to somebody until something like that happens. We just want people to feel genuinely understood and overall that’s why we write. We want to connect with people.”
The band’s description page reads, “We hope to achieve something greater than any single member could alone and to pass on inspiration with music. To help others find a way in this world with our music”.
Kings and Kingdoms will be performing live at The Waiting Room on December 2nd. The show starts at 6 pm, costs $18 at the door, and is welcome to ages 16+ (with I.D). A lyric video and music video for Hardships can be found on their YouTube channel, Kings&Kingdoms, and a free download of Hardships can be found on their Facebook page, Facebook.com/KaKband.