Swarm of Eyes Contribute “SULRIC” to Rival Kingdoms Game
What’s more metal than video games with lots of swordfighting, doom and destruction? Video games that have real metal bands creating original tracks about characters who fight with swords, leaving a swath of doom and destruction in their wake. That’s what’s metal, baby!
Swarm of Eyes contributed a song titled “SULRIC” to the new mobile game, Rival Kingdoms. With music written by Swarm of Eyes’ guitarist and producer, George O’Connor, the band’s new song is a heavy ode that both pays homage to and shares the name of one of the game’s characters.
The song tells the origin tale of Sulric, an ancient being intertwined with the spirit of a volcanic god of fire. “Sulric” is as heavy as you’d imagine it to be, given the explosive back story of the character and Swarm of Eyes’ penchant for epic storytelling with a fiery motif. (Cough. “Endless Ashes.” Cough, cough. “Punish the Artificer.”)
Creating “SULRIC”: In the Studio with Swarm of Eyes
Several months ago, Swarm of Eyes was approached by production company Custom Song to pen a track for Rival Kingdoms. Custom Song put the band in contact with Space Ape, the creative team behind Rival Kingdoms to create a heavy theme for the character.
“I’ve never done anything like this before, but it was an absolute blast to work on,” said George of the creative process. “The Rival Kingdoms group have been incredibly easy to work with and encouraging. Their positive reaction to early versions of the song gave us the confidence to keep pushing and just go for it.”
“We started mining the background of the character and game play itself and the origin story started to come together,” continued George. “With the chorus, we wanted to bring an anthem-vibe to it, so we have these big gang choruses that should sound like the character’s followers chanting his name.
In the end, I think we put a song together that could stand on its own in a SWARM OF EYES set but for Rival Kingdoms, it’s a great way to introduce one of its main characters in a way that conveys the grandness and fun of the game and the character.”
Check out the video below to hear the song and see some of the game in action. If you’re interested in playing the game, download it in the App Store. (Fear not, Android users. You’ll be able to play Rival Kingdoms soon, too!)
And if you like the song? Check back to see when and where Swarm of Eyes is playing near you. Who knows when they might just sneak this epic face-melter into their next set.
Stay tuned and remember… SULRIC above all!
Swarm of Eyes’ Bassist & Guitarist Are Super-Powered. Thanks For Asking!
It’s been a busy couple months for the Swarm of Eyes guys. In addition to playing several killer gigs, the guys have been hard at work on new material, side projects, and developing super powers.
You heard that right: Super. Freakin’. Powers.
We’re not sure how it happened, but sometime in between slaying audiences at the Spotlight Tavern and brutalizing the Brighton Music Hall in Alston, Derrik and Jeff developed super powers.
And with great power, comes great responsibility.
Move over, Superman! One side, cheeseball Cyclops! Derrik’s got laser vision now! Look out world!
Jeff recently manifested telekinetic powers and the ability to lift small-to-medium objects. Economizing time by eating and performing on stage is now on the menu.
Speculation as to how our stoic guitarist and martial arts-master bassist acquired said powers still swirls. We think it may have happened after they got too close to another band’s amp that was glowing green and then stepped in the Taco Belch burrito residue that Nervous Stomach Randy power-vomited up in the parking lot before the show. (Side note: Holy run-on sentence, Batman!)
The origins of these powers remain uncertain, but ultimately, Derrik emerged with laser vision and Jeff can now levitate small-to-medium-sized objects. (Unfortunately, this will not come in handy when it comes to loading and unloading Swarm of Eyes’ stage gear. Bummer, man.)
Although their superpowers have only served to enhance their charismatic stage presence and devastating, superhero-esque handsomeness, Derrik and Jeff remain humble as ever, choosing to use their powers for good. Or at least Neutral Good, in the parlance of Dungeons & Dragons terminology. Derrik has expanded his roster of hobbies to include a burgeoning interest in home welding projects, while Jeff has taken to upping his iron intake by telekinetically lifting delicious meatball subs into his mouth without need of a paper plate.
These new super powers stand to add an entirely new dimension to the Eyes guys’ live shows. Check out our gig sidebar to see where Swarm of Eyes is playing next to see the guys live and in-action!
Swarm of Eyes Slays Capacity Crowds with Overcast and The Empire Shall Fall
Photo courtesy of Hillarie Jason
Swarm of Eyes is livin’ the dream in 2015! Sharing the bill on two of four shows that saw metal legends Overcast make their triumphant return to the Boston area for the first time in nearly 20 years, Swarm of Eyes trotted out a list of (not so) old favorites and new material to a rabidly receptive crowd.
Swarm of Eyes were honored to share the stage with American metal pioneers Overcast and progressive metal maestros The Empire Shall Fall.
On Friday night, January 30th, 2015, Swarm of Eyes played to a near-capacity crowd at the massive Ruins at the Colosseum in Providence, Rhode Island. The following night, those darlings of doom metal took the stage at the landmark Ralph’s Rock Diner in Worcester, Massachusetts in front of a sold-out crowd.
On both nights, the handsome lads of Swarm of Eyes’ played a face-melting eight-song set jam-packed with material from their debut, Designing the Dystopia, including fan-favorites “Ruins of My Last Salvation,” “Endless Ashes,” and “Warzone.” In addition to old favorites, the band dusted off its blistering cover of The Ramones’ “Blitzkrieg Bop” and pulled off the Herculean feat of getting both the Providence and Worcester crowds to sing along with their version of the Billy Idol classic, “Rebel Yell.”
The Providence show featured the live debut of Swarm of Eyes’ new song, “Tell Your God to Ready For Blood.” The new track was driven forward by a dirge-like bass groove, thunderous drums and heavy riffing that borrowed a vaguely Middle Eastern flavor. The band brought the new song and their particular brand of murky macabre merriment to Worcester, giving the loveable Massholes of Worcester a taste of Swarm-y things to come.
In a show filled with memorable metal moments, the Swarm of Eyes guys had a chance to enjoy the view from the crowd, bearing witness to Jesse Leach (of Killswitch Engage) taking a break from his role as frontman of The Empire Shall Fall and singing along with the sold-out Worcester crowd and joining in an epic mosh pit during Overcast’s set.
If you didn’t see it live, you missed a hell of a show. Keep an eye out for when The Empire Shall Fall and Overcast hit a venue near you. And stay tuned for the next batch of Swarm of Eyes shows, hitting a club near you. In the meantime, check out live footage of the band in-action at Ralph’s Rock Diner from January 31st: