THEIGNS & THRALLS

track-list:
Overture
A Single Beam
Fight And Lay Your Bones
The Battle of Maldon
Aftermath
Pagan Song
The Harrowing
The Seeker
Now My Life Is Done
The Grape And The Grain
Interrogativa Cantilena
The Mermaid Tavern

all songs written by Kevin Ridley
except 2, 3, 4, 6 Ablinsson & Ridley,
12, Jä rvelä & Ridley
tracks recorded at Stone Circle Studio (Northern Ireland)
and various home studios in Ireland, Spain, Italy, The Netherlands and the UK
tracks mixed and mastered by Dave Briggs at Stone Circle Studio
produced by Kevin Ridley

additional musicians:
guitars electric: Aydan (solo 02), Luke Devine (solo 12)
bagpipes: Dagda (06)
hurdy gurdy: Ilona Tychon (08)
accordion: Ian Tarboton (12)
vocals: Irma van Pamelen (02), Alan Averill (08)
“Prins Hendrik” brass band (01): André Kandelaar (trumpet), Femke Baks (trumpet)
André Mulkens (flugelhorn), Henny van Wijk (horn), Lian Bouman (horn)
conductor Waldo van Wijk

Theigns & Thralls are:
Kevin Ridley – vocals, guitar, mandolin, mandola, bouzouki, synths
Dave Briggs – guitar, whistles, backing vocals, bodhran
John Ryan – violin, cello, backing vocals
Arjon Valk – bass, backing vocals
Mike Verhof – drums, percussion, backing vocals

The brainchild of Skyclad vocalist and songwriter Kevin Ridley, Theigns & Thralls features Cruachan and Waylander band members.
‘The Keep & The Spire’ is the second album from the band, but it is the first album to be recorded as a band – though there are a few guest musicians on it.
The title is taken from the song ’Theigns & Thralls’ and refers to the keep and the spire being considered as the twin towers of control (i.e. the state and religion).
Kevin Ridley started writing new material for this album as soon as the first album was released and had a few tracks together when he was contacted by Per Ablinsson (the Swedish lyricist) about the possibility of working together.
This was something different for him because, while he has worked with lots of different musicians, he normally writes the lyrics.
But he thought it was an interesting idea and decided to give it a go.
This changed the shape and feel of the album, in that (after some discussion).
Per quickly, came up with some lyrics that had strong Anglo-Saxon or Viking themes.
Ridley then had the idea of combining some of these lyrics to form a ‘suite of tracks’ (something he had never done before), so that these songs would take up the whole side of an album.
Those songs became ‘The Maldon Suite’, and the album could be viewed as ‘The Maldon Suite’ and other songs.
A lot of the other album tracks are based on poems and ideas that Ridley had for a while, like ‘The Harrowing’ and ‘Interrogativa Cantilena’ (which he did with Korpiklaani).
And, as they didn’t want to make the whole album dark and serious, they added a few more up-tempo and fun tracks like ‘the Seeker’, ‘The Mermaid Tavern’ and ‘The Grape And The Grain’.
Pushing the boundaries of their sound, Theigns & Thralls cements their position in the global music scene.
The new album not only reflects their artistic growth but also offers fans a deeper and more immersive experience.
The new album ‘The Keep And The Spire’ is due out on September 20th, 2024, and will be available on CD / VINYL (Black and Orange/Marble editions) from Rockshots Records.
Theigns & Thralls is the brainchild of Skyclad’s vocalist and songwriter Kevin Ridley.
Originally, it was intended to be an ‘occasional band’ to perform songs from the writers back catalogue (Skyclad songs, solo album songs, covers etc) working around Skyclad’s touring plans.
However, due to the pandemic, the project became a collaborative recording project building on a few demo ideas.
Friends and players from across Europe were asked to contribute and the response was overwhelmingly positive.
In the end, twenty-five musicians from bands such as Korpiklaani, Ensiferum, Cruachan, Waylander, Celtibeerian and Metal De Facto, as well as solo musicians, contributed everything from drums, bass, guitar, violin, whistles, bagpipes to hurdy gurdy and vocals.
The name Theigns & Thralls (which basically means master and servant) was settled on and it was also decided to make an eponymous album, so that Theigns & Thralls was the band’s name, the name of the album and the name of the opening song.
This also helped clarify the band’s ’mission’. Theigns & Thralls is where an appreciation of history, literature and humanism come together for fans of Celtic Speed-Punk, Folk-Metal and Classic Rock.
Apart from completing the recordings for the album – along with a few remixes and acoustic versions as bonus tracks – another positive thing to come out of the lockdown situation was that the players were asked to provide videos of their performances for the song ‘Drinking’.
“We edited them together and ‘Drinking’ was the song the first song released by the band.”
Finally, as well as putting out the album and videos, a ‘touring band’ was put together, to perform the songs live.
The band has, subsequently played gigs and festivals across Europe, often with guest artist appearances.
Why did you form the band? How did the idea come to be?
“The band got together in 2021, to start performing the songs from the first album live.”
How would you describe your sound in five words?
“Folk-metal mixed with classic rock.”
Your upcoming album, how do think it will be received by fans?
“This is the band’s second album, so, hopefully, people will have a better idea about what to expect. There are still a lot of ‘drinking’ or party songs for people to join in with, but I think that this album is, overall, heavier and darker than the first album. There aren’t any acoustic tracks, for instance. This album builds on some of the themes laid down on the first album and the band’s sound has evolved to become more distinctive.”
What kind of listening experience are you trying to give fans with this album and its singles?
“There are still big choruses to join in with but there are also some quieter, more reflective moments, particularly in The Maldon Suite. I hope that they enjoy the stories.”
What is the writing process for the band?
“The writing process for this album starts with me doing some programming and playing guitars, bass and mandolins and doing vocals to get the basic songs together. Then the rest of the band help to develop the songs, adding their own parts but also developing the arrangements.”
Are any of the band members known on the local scene from any other bands?
“Yes, members of the band are well known in the world of folk-metal and beyond. For example, I am still playing with Skyclad and Dave with Waylander. John Ryan has also recently recorded with Borknagar, Ghost Bath and Vircolac. While Arjon and Mike are very active in the live rock scene in the Netherlands, playing in tribute bands and performing many concerts each year.”
How did you decide on the tracks for this album? How much more music can fans expect?
“I started writing songs as soon as the first album was released and managed to get a few tracks together quickly. But then, I started to collaborate with Per Ablinsson and the album took a different direction. Looking at the album as two halves, I decided to run all the Anglo-Saxon/Viking themed songs together and then to have the rest of the songs on the other side. However, over the course of a year, I wrote a few more songs and we recorded several more tracks. We then had too many songs for a single album. So, we picked what we thought worked best together and kept a few for a later release. We didn’t want to include any ‘bonus tracks’ for this album.”
What can people expect live from your band, compared to other bands?
“I think people can still expect plenty of audience participation, singing and dancing. But maybe there will also be some ‘guest appearances’ to spice things up. After all, this is a collaborative project, so expect the unexpected.”
Where do your lyrics come from? What inspires your writing?
“I generally get ideas from traditional songs, old poems, historical novels, and of course current affairs. I like a good story, perhaps a bit of wordplay or some nice imagery.”
Are the songs a collaborative effort?
“Some songs are collaborations for both words and music, for example Per Ablinsson wrote some of the words and Jonne Jä rvelä wrote the music for one song.”
Does the band have a main songwriter?
“Kevin Ridley is the main songwriter.”
How does the music affect the lyrics and vice versa?
“For this album, most of the songs had the words first, either from old poems or written by Per Ablinsson. So the words influenced the sort of feel I needed, a battle song or a drinking song, for example. Other than that, it was about getting some musical ideas together and then writing the words to then fit the music.”
How would you describe the evolution of the band’s sound?
“Establishing a band line up meant that we had all the basic instrumentation covered – such as drums, bass, guitars, violin and vocals etc. But the band members also added keyboards, mandolin, mandola, bouzouki, bodhran, cello, whistles and percussion. In addition to the band, we added hurdy gurdy, accordion, bagpipes, and a brass section along with a few extra guitar solos by different players. Unsurprisingly, this all added up to some quite complex mixes, and musical textures.”
Name the Top 5 Bands that your band sounds like that fans like.
“Skyclad – Waylander – Cruachan – Korpiklanni – Alestorm”
What metal genres influence you as a band the most?
“Folk-metal”