Warlord (band)
Encyclopedia
Warlord was an American heavy metal
band, formed in 1980 and based in Los Angeles
, CA. This 'Warlord' should not to be confused with the '70s English punk rock group Warlord UK, the '90s death metal group Warlord UK, or any later groups by the same name. see disambiguation.
, who had made their way down from San Jose
, California to Los Angeles
. The new band caught the attention of fledgling record company owner, Brian Slagel
, whose label, Metal Blade Records
, had recently issued Metal Massacre
, a compilation featuring up and coming local metal bands such as Malice
, Steeler
, Ratt, and Metallica
. An aficionado of the New Wave of British Heavy Metal
and admirer of the European metal aesthetic, Slagel was impressed by Warlord's semi-progressive style inspired by such diverse acts as Rainbow
, Angel Witch
, and Jethro Tull
. Slagel decided to offer the band a spot on his next compilation and Warlord would make their vinyl debut with "Lucifer's Hammer" on 1982's Metal Massacre II. Earning rave reviews, Warlord made a repeat appearance with "Mrs. Victoria" on Metal Massacre III and were signed to Metal Blade for their 1983 Deliver Us 6-song mini-album which got the band featured in important publications such as Kerrang!
.
Adding further intrigue to the growing Warlord mystique was the band members' use of pseudonyms such as 'Destroyer' (Tsamis), 'Thunderchild' (Zonder), 'Damien King' (vocalist Jack Rucker), and 'Sentinel' (keyboardist Diane Kornarens) as well as Warlord's refusal to become just another LA club act, opting to present themselves on a grander scale instead. To that end, the band rented The Raymond Theatre to stage what would turn out to be the only Warlord live performance. It was filmed and recorded - without an audience present - for the group's first full-length release, ...And The Cannons Of Destruction Have Begun, issued in October 1984 and accompanied by a VHS home video release of the same name (now in DVD). The album featured 2 brand new tracks, "Soliloquy" and "MCMLXXXIV", as well as both cuts from the "Lost And Lonely Days" / "Aliens" 12" single released earlier that same year. Tsamis, Zonder, and Kornarens were joined by bassist Dave Watry ('Archangel') and new vocalist Rick Cunningham ('Damien King II'). A third vocalist worked shortly with the band (even if just in studio recording and never on a stage): Rick Anderson, also known as "Damien King III".
to Florida
and eventually undergoing a spiritual conversion. The band's label, Metal Blade, would issue Thy Kingdom Come, a quasi Best Of, in December of that same year. An extended version, including the whole Deliver Us EP, followed in 1989, titled Best of Warlord. It was the first time the band's music had been issued on compact disc.
Tsamis initially recorded an acoustic demo under the name Lordian Winds and worked for years on a project called 'My Name Is Man' (a 75 minute music video concept): an epic story based on John Milton’s 'Paradise Lost' and similar to Homer’s 'Iliad' and 'Odyssey'. Hopes of turning it into a proper movie never came to fruition as no producer could be found to take on the project. Tsamis next formed a new Christian apocalyptic-themed venture called Lordian Guard with his wife, Vidonne Sayre Riemenschneider, serving as lead vocalist. Lordian Guard issued two albums, Lordian Guard (1995) and Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God (1997) through Germany's Hellion Records. Many of the songs, especially those on the self-titled record, had originally been planned for inclusion on the unreleased My Name Is Man album or a second Warlord full-length. A third album, titled The Holy Empire, was planned but never materialized as the project was disbanded.
Following Warlord's demise, drummer Mark Zonder would retain the band's practice facility in the San Fernando Valley
, expanding and building it into one of the top rehearsal spots in the Northern Los Angeles area over the next several years. He also kept busy as a studio drum consultant and in-demand session player, including a stint with Animotion
off-shoot Plane English, and eventually joined Metal Blade recording artists, Fates Warning
, in time for 1989's Perfect Symmetry. Zonder's association with Fates would last a decade and a half covering a total of 6 studio and 2 live albums. In 2004, Zonder announced that FWX
would be his last album with the band and he left the following year. He began to collaborate with fellow San Diego, CA-based multi-instrumentalist Wayne Findlay (Michael Schenker Group
, Vinnie Moore
) in a new band called Temple Within who released their eponymous debut album under the name Slavior in 2007 on Inside Out Music.
vocalist Joacim Cans
, a long-time Warlord admirer whose band had in fact covered the Deliver Us classic 'Child of the Damned' on their debut album, Glory to the Brave
, in 1997. Warlord issued Rising Out of the Ashes via Germany's Drakkar Records, re-recording several tracks that had previously appeared on the Lordian Guard albums, however with the traditional heavier sound of Warlord. That same year, Tsamis, Zonder and Cans, backed by members of the Italian band Black Jester, played their first ever live show at the Wacken Open Air
festival.
No further activities have taken place since but vocalist Joacim Cans
stated in a February 2009 interview with the Italian metal magazine, Metal Maniac, that another album might be in the realm of possibility should there be sufficient label interest. The continued demand for Warlord has been evidenced by numerous invitations to play concerts in Germany, Italy and Greece, most importantly to headline the summer 2009 festival Headbangers Open Air
in Hamburg; however, Tsamis and Zonder declined for various reasons. Nevertheless, the musical legacy of 'Warlord' continues to live through its cult following in Europe despite the passing of years.
Heavy metal music
Heavy metal is a genre of rock music that developed in the late 1960s and early 1970s, largely in the Midlands of the United Kingdom and the United States...
band, formed in 1980 and based in Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
, CA. This 'Warlord' should not to be confused with the '70s English punk rock group Warlord UK, the '90s death metal group Warlord UK, or any later groups by the same name. see disambiguation.
History
Warlord was the brainchild of guitarist/songwriter Bill Tsamis and drummer Mark ZonderMark Zonder
Mark Zonder is the drummer of American heavy-metal band Warlord. When the band was in a hiatus, he joined Fates Warning. His artistic name in Warlord is "Thunder Child"...
, who had made their way down from San Jose
San Jose, California
San Jose is the third-largest city in California, the tenth-largest in the U.S., and the county seat of Santa Clara County which is located at the southern end of San Francisco Bay...
, California to Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
. The new band caught the attention of fledgling record company owner, Brian Slagel
Brian Slagel
Brian Slagel is the owner and founder of Metal Blade Records. Slagel is known for giving Metallica their first break in 1982, with an appearance on Metal Massacre, a compilation album on Metal Blade, and has since released seminal albums by Slayer, Mercyful Fate, Cannibal Corpse, Fates Warning,...
, whose label, Metal Blade Records
Metal Blade Records
Metal Blade Records is a record label which was founded by Brian Slagel in 1982. The U.S. corporate office for Metal Blade is located in Agoura Hills, California. It also has offices in Arizona, Germany, Japan, Canada, and the UK. The label is distributed in the U.S. by Sony BMG Music...
, had recently issued Metal Massacre
Metal Massacre
Metal Massacre is a series of compilation albums released through Metal Blade Records. It is famous for "shedding light" on bands such as Metallica, Slayer, Overkill, Trouble, Tactics, Armored Saint, and more.-History:...
, a compilation featuring up and coming local metal bands such as Malice
Malice (metal band)
Malice is an American heavy metal band formed in the early 80s. Their sound is comparable to that of Judas Priest's, and they are notable for having toured with popular metal group Slayer. They had mild popularity that disappeared and reappeared frequently. The 1988 film Vice Versa featured a...
, Steeler
Steeler
Steeler was an early 1980s American heavy metal band from Nashville. Band members included: Ron Keel on vocals and guitar, Michael Dunigan on lead guitar, Bobby Eva on drums and Tim Morrison on bass. In 1982, they released the single Cold Day in Hell....
, Ratt, and Metallica
Metallica
Metallica is an American heavy metal band from Los Angeles, California. Formed in 1981 when James Hetfield responded to an advertisement that drummer Lars Ulrich had posted in a local newspaper. The current line-up features long-time lead guitarist Kirk Hammett and bassist Robert Trujillo ...
. An aficionado of the New Wave of British Heavy Metal
New Wave of British Heavy Metal
The New Wave of British Heavy Metal was a heavy metal movement that started in the late 1970s, in Britain, and achieved international attention by the early 1980s. The movement developed as a reaction in part to the decline of early heavy metal bands such as Deep Purple, Led Zeppelin and Black...
and admirer of the European metal aesthetic, Slagel was impressed by Warlord's semi-progressive style inspired by such diverse acts as Rainbow
Rainbow (band)
Rainbow were an English rock band, controlled by guitarist Ritchie Blackmore from 1975 to 1984 and 1994 to 1997. It was originally established with American rock band Elf's members, though over the years Rainbow went through many line-up changes with no two studio albums featuring the same line-up...
, Angel Witch
Angel Witch
Angel Witch is a British heavy metal band which formed in London, England in 1977 as part of the New Wave of British Heavy Metal movement.-Biography:...
, and Jethro Tull
Jethro Tull (band)
Jethro Tull are a British rock group formed in 1967. Their music is characterised by the vocals, acoustic guitar, and flute playing of Ian Anderson, who has led the band since its founding, and the guitar work of Martin Barre, who has been with the band since 1969.Initially playing blues rock with...
. Slagel decided to offer the band a spot on his next compilation and Warlord would make their vinyl debut with "Lucifer's Hammer" on 1982's Metal Massacre II. Earning rave reviews, Warlord made a repeat appearance with "Mrs. Victoria" on Metal Massacre III and were signed to Metal Blade for their 1983 Deliver Us 6-song mini-album which got the band featured in important publications such as Kerrang!
Kerrang!
Kerrang! is a UK-based magazine devoted to rock music published by Bauer Media Group. It was first published on June 6, 1981 as a one-off supplement in the Sounds newspaper...
.
Adding further intrigue to the growing Warlord mystique was the band members' use of pseudonyms such as 'Destroyer' (Tsamis), 'Thunderchild' (Zonder), 'Damien King' (vocalist Jack Rucker), and 'Sentinel' (keyboardist Diane Kornarens) as well as Warlord's refusal to become just another LA club act, opting to present themselves on a grander scale instead. To that end, the band rented The Raymond Theatre to stage what would turn out to be the only Warlord live performance. It was filmed and recorded - without an audience present - for the group's first full-length release, ...And The Cannons Of Destruction Have Begun, issued in October 1984 and accompanied by a VHS home video release of the same name (now in DVD). The album featured 2 brand new tracks, "Soliloquy" and "MCMLXXXIV", as well as both cuts from the "Lost And Lonely Days" / "Aliens" 12" single released earlier that same year. Tsamis, Zonder, and Kornarens were joined by bassist Dave Watry ('Archangel') and new vocalist Rick Cunningham ('Damien King II'). A third vocalist worked shortly with the band (even if just in studio recording and never on a stage): Rick Anderson, also known as "Damien King III".
Post-Warlord Activities
The inability to retain a working line-up, that is the difficulty in procuring a sure-fire vocalist led to inner tensions and despair, thus Warlord finally ground to a halt in 1986, with Tsamis moving from CaliforniaCalifornia
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
to Florida
Florida
Florida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...
and eventually undergoing a spiritual conversion. The band's label, Metal Blade, would issue Thy Kingdom Come, a quasi Best Of, in December of that same year. An extended version, including the whole Deliver Us EP, followed in 1989, titled Best of Warlord. It was the first time the band's music had been issued on compact disc.
Tsamis initially recorded an acoustic demo under the name Lordian Winds and worked for years on a project called 'My Name Is Man' (a 75 minute music video concept): an epic story based on John Milton’s 'Paradise Lost' and similar to Homer’s 'Iliad' and 'Odyssey'. Hopes of turning it into a proper movie never came to fruition as no producer could be found to take on the project. Tsamis next formed a new Christian apocalyptic-themed venture called Lordian Guard with his wife, Vidonne Sayre Riemenschneider, serving as lead vocalist. Lordian Guard issued two albums, Lordian Guard (1995) and Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God (1997) through Germany's Hellion Records. Many of the songs, especially those on the self-titled record, had originally been planned for inclusion on the unreleased My Name Is Man album or a second Warlord full-length. A third album, titled The Holy Empire, was planned but never materialized as the project was disbanded.
Following Warlord's demise, drummer Mark Zonder would retain the band's practice facility in the San Fernando Valley
San Fernando Valley
The San Fernando Valley is an urbanized valley located in the Los Angeles metropolitan area of southern California, United States, defined by the dramatic mountains of the Transverse Ranges circling it...
, expanding and building it into one of the top rehearsal spots in the Northern Los Angeles area over the next several years. He also kept busy as a studio drum consultant and in-demand session player, including a stint with Animotion
Animotion
Animotion is a 1980s U.S. New Wave/synthpop band from Los Angeles, California best known for their songs "Obsession" , "Let Him Go", "I Engineer" and "Room to Move"...
off-shoot Plane English, and eventually joined Metal Blade recording artists, Fates Warning
Fates Warning
Fates Warning is an American progressive metal band, formed in 1982 by vocalist John Arch, guitarists Jim Matheos and Victor Arduini, bassist Joe DiBiase, and drummer Steve Zimmerman in Hartford, Connecticut. Fates Warning has experienced numerous line-up changes...
, in time for 1989's Perfect Symmetry. Zonder's association with Fates would last a decade and a half covering a total of 6 studio and 2 live albums. In 2004, Zonder announced that FWX
FWX
FWX is the tenth studio album by the progressive metal group Fates Warning, released in 2004. The name stands for "Fates Warning X", or "Fates Warning 10".-Track listing:# "Left Here" – 6:59# "Simple Human" – 4:03# "River Wide Ocean Deep" – 6:09...
would be his last album with the band and he left the following year. He began to collaborate with fellow San Diego, CA-based multi-instrumentalist Wayne Findlay (Michael Schenker Group
Michael Schenker Group
The Michael Schenker Group is a guitar-oriented hard rock band formed in 1979 by former Scorpions and UFO guitarist, Michael Schenker. In 1986, Schenker and vocalist Robin McAuley formed the McAuley Schenker Group, which lasted until 1992. After that, the Michael Schenker Group was reformed.The...
, Vinnie Moore
Vinnie Moore
Vinnie Moore is a guitarist and a member of the English hard rock band UFO. Along with Yngwie Malmsteen, Tony MacAlpine, and others, Moore is known as one of the most influential guitarists to emerge out of the shredder boom in the mid 1980s.-Biography:Moore was born in New Castle, Delaware...
) in a new band called Temple Within who released their eponymous debut album under the name Slavior in 2007 on Inside Out Music.
Reunion
Retaining a considerable underground following as a much beloved cult band over the years, Warlord reformed in 2002. Original members Tsamis and Zonder were joined by HammerFallHammerFall
HammerFall is a power metal band from Gothenburg, Sweden. The band was formed in 1993 by ex-Ceremonial Oath guitarist Oscar Dronjak.- Early days :...
vocalist Joacim Cans
Joacim Cans
Joacim Cans is the lead singer of HammerFall, a Swedish power metal band. He is the only member aside from founder and guitarist Oscar Dronjak to appear on all of the band's albums....
, a long-time Warlord admirer whose band had in fact covered the Deliver Us classic 'Child of the Damned' on their debut album, Glory to the Brave
Glory to the Brave
Glory to the Brave is the debut studio album released by the Swedish power metal band HammerFall in 1997. Despite the fact that the band was formed in 1993, HammerFall performed mostly live music and covers before this album was released. "Steel Meets Steel" was composed by Oscar Dronjak just...
, in 1997. Warlord issued Rising Out of the Ashes via Germany's Drakkar Records, re-recording several tracks that had previously appeared on the Lordian Guard albums, however with the traditional heavier sound of Warlord. That same year, Tsamis, Zonder and Cans, backed by members of the Italian band Black Jester, played their first ever live show at the Wacken Open Air
Wacken Open Air
Wacken Open Air is a summer open air heavy metal music festival. It takes place annually in the small town of Wacken in Schleswig-Holstein, northern Germany...
festival.
No further activities have taken place since but vocalist Joacim Cans
Joacim Cans
Joacim Cans is the lead singer of HammerFall, a Swedish power metal band. He is the only member aside from founder and guitarist Oscar Dronjak to appear on all of the band's albums....
stated in a February 2009 interview with the Italian metal magazine, Metal Maniac, that another album might be in the realm of possibility should there be sufficient label interest. The continued demand for Warlord has been evidenced by numerous invitations to play concerts in Germany, Italy and Greece, most importantly to headline the summer 2009 festival Headbangers Open Air
Headbangers Open Air
Headbangers Open Air is a heavy metal festival held annually in Germany since 1998. The 2007 edition will take place in Brande-Hörnerkirchen on July 12 - July 14.-1999:...
in Hamburg; however, Tsamis and Zonder declined for various reasons. Nevertheless, the musical legacy of 'Warlord' continues to live through its cult following in Europe despite the passing of years.
2002 Members
- William J Tsamis - guitars & bass
- Mark ZonderMark ZonderMark Zonder is the drummer of American heavy-metal band Warlord. When the band was in a hiatus, he joined Fates Warning. His artistic name in Warlord is "Thunder Child"...
- drums - Joacim CansJoacim CansJoacim Cans is the lead singer of HammerFall, a Swedish power metal band. He is the only member aside from founder and guitarist Oscar Dronjak to appear on all of the band's albums....
- vocals
2002 Additional Live Musicians
- Paolo Viani - guitars
- Daniele Soravia - keyboards
- Pasko - bass
80's Members
- William J Tsamis (Destroyer) - guitars
- Mark ZonderMark ZonderMark Zonder is the drummer of American heavy-metal band Warlord. When the band was in a hiatus, he joined Fates Warning. His artistic name in Warlord is "Thunder Child"...
(Thunderchild) - drums - Joe Hall (Divine Rite) - Bass
- Dave Watry (Archangel) - bass
- Diane Kornarens (Sentinel) - keyboards
- Jack Rucker (Damien King I) - vocals
- Rick Cunningham (Damien King II) - vocals
- Rick Anderson (Damien King III) - vocals
- Rik FoxRik FoxRichard Suligowski , better known as Rik Fox, is an American heavy metal bass guitar player. He was mainly active during the 1970s and 1980s both in the New York City and Hollywood Rock and Metal scene.-Early life:...
(STEELER) -Bass
Discography
- Deliver Us (1983)
- ...And The Cannons Of Destruction Have Begun (1984)
- Lost And Lonely Days 12" EP (1985)
- Thy Kingdom Come (compilation) (1986)
- Best Of Warlord (compilation) (1989)
- Rising Out Of The Ashes (2002)
- Book I (Deliver Us + And The Cannons Of Destruction Have Begun) (2003)
Compilations
- Metal Massacre II [Lucifer's Hammer]
- Metal Massacre III [Mrs. Victoria]
- Best Of Metal Massacre [Mrs. Victoria]