Kings of Mercia Release Sophomore Album “Battle Scars”

28/10/2024

– October 28th, 2024 –

Photo by: Simon Ward & Jeremy Saffer

Out NOW via Metal Blade Records – Order HERE

Shares Title Track + Music Video – Watch HERE

“An enjoyable call back to an era when rock’s purest elements powered the most timeless music.” – Loudwire

“It’s a phenomenal album full of some incredible performances (from Steve Overland, Simon Phillips, and Joey Vera, as well as Matheos) with great songs that really get you fired up as a listener. This KINGS OF MERCIA album is simply phenomenal!” – KNAC

“A testament to the creative vision of these two musicians. The album offers a refreshing departure from their comfort zones and is sure to please most rock fans.” – My Global Mind

“‘Battle Scars’ is full of blistering power! The fury that erupts from the Matheos guitar creates a volcanic, seismic noise… While Steve Overland pushes his range with such inspired magnitude it takes your breath away.” – Rock ‘N’ Load

KINGS OF MERCIA‘s 2022 approachable, world-class self-titled debut was termed “truly a hybrid: it’s heavy, but not metal. It’s got tones of melodic AOR hard rock but with an edge.” Now, 2024 brings the band’s sophomore album written and recorded throughout 2023, ‘Battle Scars‘ sees the core writing team of Matheos and Overland expanding on their obvious chemistry.

“I think it was a bit easier this time around because we’ve established a good working rhythm,” states Matheos, “I’ll send Steve at least a few songs every couple of months, and I try to keep them varied. This allows him to work on whichever ones he feels strongly about.”

“What Jim sends me is the first draft of that song,” says Overland. “So once he’s heard all the melodies and the harmonies I sing, he can chop it about and make it how he thinks it should be. He always sends me three or four different versions. He’ll say, ‘What do you think? Which do you like?’ Then we work it out between us and come up with the one we’re both happy with.”

“Steve and I started working together in 2021,” says Matheos. “I was aware of FM-they came up around the same time as Fates Warning – but I’d lost touch with them and wasn’t familiar with their more recent work. When Steve was recommended to me, I checked out some of the newer releases and felt Steve was exactly what I was looking for.”

“It’s a different genre of music that I’m normally involved in,” says Overland, whose voice has been likened to other British greats Paul Rodgers and Glenn Hughes. “Obviously, I’d heard of Fates Warning – they’re a very big cult band in their field. Jim and I touched base, and I told him to send me one backing track. If it sounds great, then it’s a win-win. If it doesn’t, we’ll just call it a day, knock it on the head, not take it any further. That song became ‘Humankind’ from the first album. I wrote the melodies and the title and put it all together. Jim got it and he was blown away. So we made a couple more. I loved doing it. It was just such a different challenge for me.“

Those songs would become the self-titled debut album, which was released in 2022. Written during lockdown, bouncing tracks across the Atlantic, KINGS OF MERCIA found its mojo. Fans of Fates Warning, FM, and Armored Saint all rejoiced at the common ground on KINGS OF MERCIA, the sweet spot in the middle of the Venn diagram.

It’s a true collaboration that has led to KOM‘s ‘Battle Scars.’ However, despite the unfolding sound and clear chemistry between the four Kings, Overland has never met his bandmates in person. ‘Battle Scars,’ like its predecessor, is a slab of transatlantic magic.

Order ‘Battle Scars’ HERE

‘Battle Scars‘ Track List:
01. Guns and Ammunition
02. Eye for an Eye
03. Between Two Worlds
04. Legend
05. Battle Scars
06. Don’t Ask
07. Aftermath
08. Hell ‘n’ Back
09. Cold
10. Angels & Demons