Lords of the Trident

Lords of the Trident is an American heavy metal band from Madison, Wisconsin. The five piece band is known for its mixture of classic, power, and modern progressive metal combining strong vocals, complex instrumentation, and an expansive fantasy backstory to create energetic live shows. The band appears on-stage in armor and costumes.

Lords of the Trident
Lords of the Trident at Mad With Power Fest 2019
Background information
OriginMadison, Wisconsin, U.S.
Genres
Years active2008–present
Labels
  • Junko Johnson
  • Killer Metal
  • Rafchild Records
Websitelordsofthetrident.com
Members
  • Fang VonWrathenstein
  • Asian Metal
  • Baron Taurean Helleshaar
  • Pontifex Mortis
  • Master Hercule “Herc” Schlagzeuger
Past members
  • Socrates of Shred
  • Danalog
  • Captain Bluddbeard
  • Korgoth
  • Sledge Garrotte
  • Killius Maximus
  • Dr. Dante Vitus

Lords of the Trident have played and toured with many high-profile acts, including Steel Panther, Psychostick, Helloween, Battle Beast, Thor, Marty Friedman, Cage, Unleash the Archers, 3 Inches of Blood, Skeletonwitch, Crimson Shadows, Sleepytime Gorilla Museum, Puddle of Mudd, Mushroomhead, Saliva, Fuel, A Sound of Thunder, BattleBeast and Of Montreal.

History

Formation, Death or Sandwich (2005 - 2009)

Lords of the Trident was formed by members Fang VonWrathenstein (Ty Christian), Asian Metal (Akira Shimada), and Socrates of Shred (Brian Cole) in 2005. The band began as a recording project[1] and grew into a live lineup in early 2008 as Ty Christian's previous musical project was disbanding. Bassist Captain Bluddbeard (Mike Charlton) and Danalog (Dan Metzger) were auditioned and joined the band. After the first few months of performing live, the band decided to replace Danalog with a new drummer - Korgoth (Corey Larson). Shortly after, the band released their first full-length CD, Death or Sandwich, on February 13, 2009.[2] The CD was self-released by the band's label, Junko Johnson Records.

A few months after the release of Death or Sandwich Socrates left the band and was replaced by new guitarist Killius Maximus (Elliot Ignasiak) .

Chains on Fire (2010 - 2012)

Before the band returned to the studio to record what was to be their second full-length CD, Chains on Fire, Captain Bluddbeard left the band due to personal and musical differences[1] and was replaced by bassist Pontifex Mortis (Brent Clark). The band continued to tour regionally, and appeared at the Warriors of Metal III Fest in Ohio. On January 28, 2011, the band released Chains on Fire at a concert in Madison, Wisconsin which was filmed and became the accompanying DVD: Lords of the Trident - Chains on Fire Release Party 2011.

In October 2011, Korgoth left the band and was replaced by the new drummer Sledge Garrotte (Wade Schultz).

In May 2012, Lords of the Trident won a tri-state Battle of the Bands contest[3] sponsored by Madison Media Institute, and was introduced to Martin Atkins and Doug Olson. The pair would become producers for the band's next release.

Plan of Attack, A Very Lords of the Trident Christmas EPs (2013 - 2015)

Under the guidance of Doug Olson[4] (producer for Nirvana, Smashing Pumpkins, and Cheap Trick), the band quickly recorded and mixed their next release, 2013's Plan of Attack, at the Madison Media Institute studios. Additionally, the band launched a Kickstarter campaign[5] for the album, which raised $2,508 - a little more than three times their goal of $700. Plan of Attack was released on January 6, 2013.[6] The band toured to support the release in the summer of 2013.

In December 2013, the band released the EP A Very Lords of the Trident Christmas, which contained a collection of Christmas singles recorded for the Madison-area Christmas Compilations(MAXMas) of 2010 - 2012.

In October 2013, the band replaced drummer Sledge Garrotte with new drummer Dr. Dante Vitus (Joe Scarpelli III). In the summer of 2014, the band embarked on their second US tour, playing the Warriors of Metal VII Fest as one of the stops. This was also the first year the band appeared at Summerfest in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

In October 2014, the City of Madison Arts Commission chose Lords of the Trident to represent the city at the BandSwap festival in Fort Collins, Colorado.[7]

Frostburn, re:Quests (2015 - 2016)

The band returned to producer Doug Olson for their third full-length album, Frostburn. Recording the majority of the album in late 2014, the band launched another Kickstarter campaign which raised $5,824 - almost double their goal of $3,000. In late 2014, the band was signed to the German record label Killer Metal Records. Frostburn was released on February 13, 2015, and became the band's best-reviewed release to date.[8] In early 2015, Killius announced that he was leaving the band to enroll in medical school. Shortly thereafter, the lead guitar position was offered to Baron Taurean Helleshaar (Brian Koenig, formerly of Luna Mortis).[9]

On Christmas Day 2015, the band released re:Quests, an EP of cover songs suggested by Kickstarter donors.[10] In early 2016, the band announced their first international tour, scheduled for a string of Canadian shows in summer 2016. In late 2016, Dr. Dante Vitus announced his departure from the band due to enrolling in medical school. The band announced a new drummer had been found in December 2016.

Mad With Power Fest (2017)

Dr. Vitus left the band amicably in January 2017, and was replaced by Master Hercule “Herc” Schlagzeuger (Brett Walter) immediately thereafter. Around this time, Brian Koenig signed an agreement to produce a series of how-to shred guitar lessons for Guitar World, and released them throughout the year. During 2017, the band continued work on their next album, balancing this with multiple tour dates. Foremost was the inaugural Mad With Power Fest, a power metal festival in Madison, WI organized and run by the band. The first Mad With Power Fest was a solid success, with five bands performing and attendance breaking expectations. At the festival, the Lords of the Trident debuted their own branded Mad With Power Mead, created by Bos Meadery, and other bands released their own branded beers.

Mad With Power Fest II, Shadows of the Past (2018)

The band announced in late 2017 that a Mad With Power Fest II was in the works, featuring several notable bands including the Lords of the Trident, Zephaniah and Green Death. In March 2018 they finished recording their fourth album, Shadows of the Past, that was released on August 25, 2018. Notable collaborations on the album include Brittney Slayes from Unleash the Archers, a professional chorus, full orchestra, and a small fan group recorded in Ty's basement studio. Tours for the year included North Carolina, Canada, and the upper Midwest. The band continued to produce a large amount of non-musical content, largely for paying fans via their Patreon website. Over the course of 2018, the band produced seven music videos for songs off of Shadows from the Past, as well as a playable music video game for the Sega CD video game system.

Pull the Plug, Mad With Power Fest III, European Tour (2019)

On January 11, 2019 the band released their fifth full-length album, Pull The Plug. This album is composed of acoustic songs released solely to their Patreon backers as a monthly subscriber benefit. Shortly thereafter, the band announced the lineup for the third year of their annual Mad With Power Fest, featuring Theocracy as the headliner. 2019's Mad With Power Fest was the band's first independently-run sold out festival, and dates for next year (as well as some of the bands already booked for 2020) were announced on-stage by singer Ty Christian.

Shortly after Mad With Power Fest, the band embarked on their first headlining tour of Europe, visiting Belgium, Germany, Austria, Italy, and the Czech Republic. The band announced via their Patreon page that work had begun on the next full-length album, with a planned release date of late 2020.

Power Outage, COVID impact, Digital Concerts (2020)

After a promising start to 2020, the COVID-19 outbreak ground most activities to a halt for the band. Mad With Power IV was canceled and moved to 2021. While album writing work continued, the band pivoted quickly to digital livestreams including full concerts, solo guitar concerts ("Baron's Solo Shred Sessions"), solo vocal concerts ("Fang Sings the Classics" and "Drunken Quarantine Karaoke"), and a weekly livestream gaming session on Twitch ("Fang's Weird SegaCD Game Collection"). Via these efforts, the band was able to raise $4,000 for various charities over the course of the year.

Additionally, the band created two new YouTube series during the quarantine - "Power Metal Opera Battles" and "Power Converter" - and continued work on their other YouTube series, releasing one video per week for the remainder of 2020. On November 27th, 2020, the band released their sixth full-length album, Power Outage. This was the second album composed of acoustic songs released solely to their Patreon backers as a monthly subscriber benefit. The album was originally intended to be released earlier in the year, but production work was hindered by the COVID-19 outbreak.

The band announced that they had finished writing the next full-length album in late December 2020, and that recording would start in early 2021.

Band members

Timeline

Discography

Studio albums
  • Death or Sandwich (2009)
  • Chains on Fire (2011)
  • Frostburn (2015)
  • Shadows From the Past (2018)
  • Pull The Plug (2019)
  • Power Outage (2020)

EPs
  • Plan of Attack (2013)
  • A Very Lords of the Trident Christmas (2013)
  • re:Quests (2015)

Endorsements

The band as a whole is currently endorsed by:

  • SKB Cases
  • Bos Meadery
  • Scorpion Percussion

References
  1. "LORDS OF THE TRIDENT - KILLER METAL RECORDS". KILLER METAL RECORDS. Retrieved 2016-01-19.
  2. "Previous Conquests". Lords of the Trident. Retrieved 2016-01-19.
  3. Mudfest in Eagle River, Wisconsin, 2012-08-16, retrieved 2016-01-19
  4. "Recording School, Audio Mixing, Music Mixing, Produce Music". www.mediainstitute.edu. Archived from the original on 2016-01-13. Retrieved 2016-01-19.
  5. "Lords of the Trident - Plan of Attack EP Kickstarter!". Kickstarter. Retrieved 2016-01-19.
  6. "LORDS OF THE TRIDENT To Issue Plan Of Attack EP; Release Party Scheduled". bravewords.com. Retrieved 2016-01-19.
  7. "Lords of the Trident to represent Madison in BandSwap 2014". Isthmus | Madison, Wisconsin. Retrieved 2016-01-19.
  8. "Press/Reviews". Lords of the Trident. Retrieved 2016-01-19.
  9. "LUNA MORTIS Guitarist Brian Koenig Joins LORDS OF THE TRIDENT". bravewords.com. Retrieved 2016-01-19.
  10. "LORDS OF THE TRIDENT Release Re:Quests Covers EP; Available For Free Download On Christmas Day". bravewords.com. Retrieved 2016-01-19.
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