A South American band with a Belgian singer, King Heavy have a story as inspiring as their doom-drenched heavy metal. That the four-piece assembled in one place for the first time back in 2014 to tour Chile, Peru and Ecuador – vocals and music for both 2012’s ‘Horror Absoluto’ EP and their self-titled full-length, released by Cruz Del Sur last year, were recorded on separate continents, synthesized with the aid of the internet – is not even that story’s most inspiring aspect. It is the passion which they have equally for the music that is, of necessity, only a part-time part of their lives and for their children – the band’s two lynchpins, Chilean bassist Daniel Pere’z Saa (ex-Procession) and vocalist Luther ‘Luce’ Veldmark (Hooded Priest, Witchsmeller Pursuviant) each have two – which really strikes a chord. “I have two ladies evil. They are the light of my life,” says Daniel when asked if Luce, the band’s eldest member by a margin, is the only one with offspring. (Note: drummer Miguel Canessa became a father in January, after this correspondence took place). “Isi, who is seven-years-old, sings very good, and Fran, she is very much a true rocker. She loves … Read More

“It’s not something you really sit down and decide,” admits Procession‘s Felipe Plaza Kutzbach when asked why he started playing a solemn and slow form of metal in a country mostly known for its rabid and primitive black and death metal scenes. “When I first heard Candlemass ‘Tales Of Creation’, Trouble ‘Psalm 9’ and Solitude Aeturnus ‘Beyond The Crimson Horizon’ in 1997 I was just a teenager obsessed with speed, thrash and death metal and it changed my whole perception of heavy metal. As I grew up and started discovering real life I realised that all those things that tormented me, disturbed me or pleased me had to come out in some sort of form, finding their way in the verminous, crawling, slow, heavy and dark music. Considering that back in 2007 there were no bands playing ‘classic’ doom metal music in Chile, right after we organised Candlemass’ first gig in Chile, we decided to make an unpretentious demo tape, started getting some feedback, an European offer for a vinyl release, etc… I guess we took one step at a time, were in the right place at the right time and realised that as unambitious and as unpretentious as we … Read More