Kingdoms: “They Came and Conquered”

The Skinny: The use of MySpace and other similar sites has made it easy for bands to spread their music and names around the world. Ultimately this oftentimes allows listeners to choose between the good, the bad and the ugly without having to spend a penny. Similarly, many bands, such as Ontario’s hardcore group Kingdoms, have offered their music online as a free download. This was the case with their debut EP Atlantis, which aided them in first breaking out in their scene.

Quickly fans started to multiply as people got this free release and then began to attended shows. The band’s reputation grew rapidly and with this major success (for an independent group), they grabbed the attention of Canadian indie label Underground Operations – home to Protest The Hero, Kathleen Turner Overdrive, The Artist Life, to mention a few. UO quickly inked a deal with Kingdoms in 2009 and immediately released a new EP in hard copy named Daughters Of Atlas. This EP recycled songs from the ever so popular and free Atlantis EP, but featured two extra tracks.

One of the things that helped Kingdoms to stand out was their use of melodies overlaying the heavy crunch of guitars. Also unlike the majority of bands in the hardcore scene these days, they do not plaster breakdowns everywhere. They never diluted the intensity of the chugs that make kids throwdown. It is a quality that many musicians could learn from the hardcore book that is Kingdoms.

This band will definitely be missed throughout the Canadian community (and elsewhere) as they parted ways in the summer of 2010. If you are into the hardcore scene, make sure you head on over to your nearest music store or Underground Operations shop and purchase a copy of Daughters Of Atlas… it is an album for the Canadian hardcore history books!  [ END ]

Genre(s): Metalcore, Hardcore, Post-Hardcore, Rock