Music

Royal Thunder, Wild Throne

Saint Vitus
Thu Jun 25 8pm Ages: 21+
Royal ThunderThe Golden GrassWild Throne

About Royal Thunder, Wild Throne


Royal Thunder is a four-piece rock band based out of Atlanta, Georgia that seamlessly blends the timeless elements of heavy classic rock, 90's grunge and forward thinking progressive rock. Propelled by the powerfully emotional voice of frontwoman Mlny Parsonz, guitar heroics of Josh Weaver and dynamic drums of Evan Diprima, Royal Thunder has been described by NPR as “a revved-up Southern hard-rock that howls like Led Zeppelin astride a psychedelic unicorn.”, "magnificently compelling rock music" by Decibel Magazine. Formed in 2004 by Weaver his brother and his best friend, the band went through several lineup changes over the years until settling on their current lineup which also added second guitarist Will Fiore as of 2015.

Since Diprima joined in October 2012, the band has been heavily touring the world including full North American / Euro Tours with Baroness and North American Tours Monster Magnet, The Dillinger Escape Plan, Pallbearer, Enslaved, Corrosion of Conformity, O'Brother and many more. The group has also played high profile festivals including SXSW, Bonnaroo, Scion Rock Fest, Bragg Jam, Roadburn, and numerous others.

In 2007 Royal Thunder self-released their debut EP and started touring with Jesse Stuber on drums. By 2010 Relapse Records took notice and signed the band starting with an official re-release of their self-titled EP and later in 2012 releasing their full length debut, CVI. Stuber left the band after CVI was complete and Lee Smith joined at that time on drums and also played on the last track of CVI, "Black Water Vision". The band toured with Lee Smith and Josh Coleman (who also joined during the making of CVI on second guitar) for a few US tours.

CVI was widely praised by critics including Rolling Stone's David Fricke who said Weaver’s playing has “the meaty, base elements of early-Seventies British blues” and Metal Hammer Magazine who stated "Through the powerhouse vocals of Mlny Parsonz and a refusal to keep their sound boxed, Royal Thunder look set to be the underground's next big breakout stars”. Other publications like SPIN called the album "stunning" while Revolver Magazine described it as "essential" and The Guardian called them "elegantly powerful" and compared them to prime Led Zeppelin.

In between a heavy touring schedule during 2013 the band recorded CVI: A; an acoustic rendition of three songs from CVI. The band then entered the studio once more in January of 2014 to begin their sophomore LP, Crooked Doors which was once again recorded, produced, and engineered by Joey Jones of Aria Recording Studio; whom the band has a long standing working and personal relationship.

Crooked Doors is set to be released worldwide in April of 2015 via Relapse Records and has already appeared on numerous anticipated albums lists.


Wild Throne, known as Dog Shredder until 2013, consists of friends and musical cohorts Josh Holland (guitar/vocals), Noah Burns (drums) and Jeff Johnson (bass). The trio spent 10 years playing in bands with and around each other in their hometown of Bellingham, Wash. before unifying in 2009 with a mission to hit hard. The band's progress in the early days of this pursuit has been documented on two vinyl EPs: 2011's Boss Rhino EP and 2012's Brass Tactics. The band's sound is a dynamic mix of elements of Judas Priest, Mastodon, Queen, the Mars Volta, classic metal, thrash and progressive rock, creating music that Pitchfork once described as "exhilarating, fun [and] ferocious" and "proof that ambition and skill don't automatically cancel out heart."

While on tour in 2013, the band caught the interest of producer Ross Robinson (Korn, At the Drive-In, Blood Brothers) and entered Robinson's studio to record "Blood Maker", an EP slated for release on March 4, 2014 via Brutal Panda Records. The first single from the collaboration, "Shadow Deserts," was premiered via Pitchfork and later accompanied by a music video.

Between recording and releasing music, Wild Throne has made touring a priority from the beginning. Both independent tours and those in support of bands like Red Fang and Dysrhythmia all over the United States have honed the band into a live entity that Seattle's The Stranger newspaper described as "downright un-fuckwithable." The boys have also shared stages with everyone from Melt Banana to Marnie Stern, Helmet to Kylesa in and around the Northwest region.

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