Lance King

[prog_powermetal99]

This is more of a rant than anything. I'm a huge balance of power fan and a huge Lance King Fan.
What I don't get it hos someone who's so amazingly talented vocal wise just doesn't get the recognition he deserves. I mean I checked out his youtube channel and even the cover songs he does are fantastic and we all know how good his vocals are on the metal stuff he has put out. But here's the thing I don't get. His you tube channel has less than 300 subscribers. That is mind boggling!! How someone that has so much talent has less than 300 subs on youtube. Maybe he's more active on Facebook, but I no longer use Facebook anymore(too much of a distraction), so not sure.

It just incredibly frustrates me how somebody so talented is just completely overlooked! Maybe it's also a marketing thing and a personal choice on Lance's part, not sure.

[introclaus]

This is more of a rant than anything. I'm a huge balance of power fan and a huge Lance King Fan.
What I don't get it hos someone who's so amazingly talented vocal wise just doesn't get the recognition he deserves. I mean I checked out his youtube channel and even the cover songs he does are fantastic and we all know how good his vocals are on the metal stuff he has put out. But here's the thing I don't get. His you tube channel has less than 300 subscribers. That is mind boggling!! How someone that has so much talent has less than 300 subs on youtube. Maybe he's more active on Facebook, but I no longer use Facebook anymore(too much of a distraction), so not sure.

It just incredibly frustrates me how somebody so talented is just completely overlooked! Maybe it's also a marketing thing and a personal choice on Lance's part, not sure.

Yes, Lance is a great vocal talent, and in my dealings with him over the years, I've always found him to be a very nice human being. We've had our small ups and downs, which I guess is typical when you work together the way we did (I was managing a band he was in, who had to let him go at some point in time + I've been working with him on bands signed to his record label, and obviously had discussions about this and that over time) - but always with great respect for each other.

That said, I've heard through the grapevine (mind you, I have ZERO social media presence myself, so I really can only go by hear-say) that he has been on a very strong MAGA rampage in the past few years. Again, I haven't seen this myself, as I am not on social media, but perhaps this could be the cause for his lack of subscribers? Perhaps I'm completely in the wrong here, as I have no clue on what goes on in the social media world, it's all what I've been told. Whether you are leaning one way or the other, putting your personal political views out there for the world to see, always comes with the inherited danger of alienating people who otherwise would support your music/art/whatever...

Now, back to music - what's your favorite album with Lance?

For me I think its:
1. King's Machine - A State of Mind
2. Pyramaze - Legend of the Bone Carver
3. Gemini - Out for Blood
4. Balance of Power - Book of Secrets
5. Shining Star - Enter Eternity

[prog_powermetal99]

This is more of a rant than anything. I'm a huge balance of power fan and a huge Lance King Fan.
What I don't get it hos someone who's so amazingly talented vocal wise just doesn't get the recognition he deserves. I mean I checked out his youtube channel and even the cover songs he does are fantastic and we all know how good his vocals are on the metal stuff he has put out. But here's the thing I don't get. His you tube channel has less than 300 subscribers. That is mind boggling!! How someone that has so much talent has less than 300 subs on youtube. Maybe he's more active on Facebook, but I no longer use Facebook anymore(too much of a distraction), so not sure.

It just incredibly frustrates me how somebody so talented is just completely overlooked! Maybe it's also a marketing thing and a personal choice on Lance's part, not sure.

Yes, Lance is a great vocal talent, and in my dealings with him over the years, I've always found him to be a very nice human being. We've had our small ups and downs, which I guess is typical when you work together the way we did (I was managing a band he was in, who had to let him go at some point in time + I've been working with him on bands signed to his record label, and obviously had discussions about this and that over time) - but always with great respect for each other.

That said, I've heard through the grapevine (mind you, I have ZERO social media presence myself, so I really can only go by hear-say) that he has been on a very strong MAGA rampage in the past few years. Again, I haven't seen this myself, as I am not on social media, but perhaps this could be the cause for his lack of subscribers? Perhaps I'm completely in the wrong here, as I have no clue on what goes on in the social media world, it's all what I've been told. Whether you are leaning one way or the other, putting your personal political views out there for the world to see, always comes with the inherited danger of alienating people who otherwise would support your music/art/whatever...

Now, back to music - what's your favorite album with Lance?

For me I think its:
1. King's Machine - A State of Mind
2. Pyramaze - Legend of the Bone Carver
3. Gemini - Out for Blood
4. Balance of Power - Book of Secrets
5. Shining Star - Enter Eternity

Okay thanks for the update Claus. it's funny but I just listened to a fairly recent interview with him and he talks about not really wanting to market his music, that's it's a personal choice(paraphrasing only). So that kind of explains it too. Thanks though for the info. As far as my favorite Lance CD, I think it's "Perfect Balance". I just love his vocals on songs like, "Shelter Me" and "Higher than the Sun" super catchy and amazing vocals. I enjoy all of the Balance of Power CDs though. And the Pyramize CD you mentioned is also amazing!

EDIT: Just checked out Lance's Facebook page. Seems like's more into Meditation, Self-Development, Metaphysics these days.... But even if he's getting somewhat out of music. I still appreciate the amazing stuff he's done over the years. And you are right. Really seems like a nice guy the way he interacts with comments, but in a very kind and respectful manner. I didn't see anything related to MAGA in even the slightest form on his facebook page, actually probably the opposite.....But you know how rumors are.

[introclaus]

This is more of a rant than anything. I'm a huge balance of power fan and a huge Lance King Fan.
What I don't get it hos someone who's so amazingly talented vocal wise just doesn't get the recognition he deserves. I mean I checked out his youtube channel and even the cover songs he does are fantastic and we all know how good his vocals are on the metal stuff he has put out. But here's the thing I don't get. His you tube channel has less than 300 subscribers. That is mind boggling!! How someone that has so much talent has less than 300 subs on youtube. Maybe he's more active on Facebook, but I no longer use Facebook anymore(too much of a distraction), so not sure.

It just incredibly frustrates me how somebody so talented is just completely overlooked! Maybe it's also a marketing thing and a personal choice on Lance's part, not sure.

Yes, Lance is a great vocal talent, and in my dealings with him over the years, I've always found him to be a very nice human being. We've had our small ups and downs, which I guess is typical when you work together the way we did (I was managing a band he was in, who had to let him go at some point in time + I've been working with him on bands signed to his record label, and obviously had discussions about this and that over time) - but always with great respect for each other.

That said, I've heard through the grapevine (mind you, I have ZERO social media presence myself, so I really can only go by hear-say) that he has been on a very strong MAGA rampage in the past few years. Again, I haven't seen this myself, as I am not on social media, but perhaps this could be the cause for his lack of subscribers? Perhaps I'm completely in the wrong here, as I have no clue on what goes on in the social media world, it's all what I've been told. Whether you are leaning one way or the other, putting your personal political views out there for the world to see, always comes with the inherited danger of alienating people who otherwise would support your music/art/whatever...

Now, back to music - what's your favorite album with Lance?

For me I think its:
1. King's Machine - A State of Mind
2. Pyramaze - Legend of the Bone Carver
3. Gemini - Out for Blood
4. Balance of Power - Book of Secrets
5. Shining Star - Enter Eternity

Okay thanks for the update Claus. it's funny but I just listened to a fairly recent interview with him and he talks about not really wanting to market his music, that's it's a personal choice(paraphrasing only). So that kind of explains it too. Thanks though for the info. As far as my favorite Lance CD, I think it's "Perfect Balance". I just love his vocals on songs like, "Shelter Me" and "Higher than the Sun" super catchy and amazing vocals. I enjoy all of the Balance of Power CDs though. And the Pyramize CD you mentioned is also amazing!

EDIT: Just checked out Lance's Facebook page. Seems like's more into Meditation, Self-Development, Metaphysics these days.... But even if he's getting somewhat out of music. I still appreciate the amazing stuff he's done over the years. And you are right. Really seems like a nice guy the way he interacts with comments, but in a very kind and respectful manner. I didn't see anything related to MAGA in even the slightest form on his facebook page, actually probably the opposite.....But you know how rumors are.

That’s good to know - again, all I have is hearsay and rumors to go by. In no way whatsoever do I say it is a fact. My point was merely that IF that was indeed the case, that could explain the low number of followers as any kind of political statement (one side or the other) could alienate potential fans.

[introclaus]

One more comment; this is regarding Balance of Power… weirdly enough, even though I love Lance’s voice, it’s the two albums without him I’m drawn to the most. The debut for the fact that it was the one that got me into the band, and the final one because it was so massive and heavy and proggy and just different. Yeah I know - weird

[Mardoch]

He's definitely fallen down a MAGA rabbit hole in recent years. The only thing he showed up on twitter to do for a while was make stupid right wing jokes. That's when I stopped supporting him cause that is extremely not my shit. It sucks because prior to that he was a super chill guy I loved shooting the shit with and handing money to.

[prog_powermetal99]

He's definitely fallen down a MAGA rabbit hole in recent years. The only thing he showed up on twitter to do for a while was make stupid right wing jokes. That's when I stopped supporting him cause that is extremely not my shit. It sucks because prior to that he was a super chill guy I loved shooting the shit with and handing money to.

Wait I'm confused, isn't MAGA right wing? Wouldn't that mean that he's anti MAGA if he's making anti right-wing jokes? I get your point though. John Schaefer of Iced Earth pretty much ruined his career by being so MAGA... Nonetheless I agree with Claus that swaying in an extreme way one direction or the other could alienate you from the fans. Back to music now

[GaetanL]

I'm wondering if Nightmare Records still exists. The link has not been working for a long time now:
http://www.nightmarerecords.com/

[Mardoch]

He's definitely fallen down a MAGA rabbit hole in recent years. The only thing he showed up on twitter to do for a while was make stupid right wing jokes. That's when I stopped supporting him cause that is extremely not my shit. It sucks because prior to that he was a super chill guy I loved shooting the shit with and handing money to.

Wait I'm confused, isn't MAGA right wing? Wouldn't that mean that he's anti MAGA if he's making anti right-wing jokes? I get your point though. John Schaefer of Iced Earth pretty much ruined his career by being so MAGA... Nonetheless I agree with Claus that swaying in an extreme way one direction or the other could alienate you from the fans. Back to music now

Sorry, to be clear, the jokes are stupid as in they do not work and/or they aren't funny. He's not joking AT the right wing.

[prog_powermetal99]

He's definitely fallen down a MAGA rabbit hole in recent years. The only thing he showed up on twitter to do for a while was make stupid right wing jokes. That's when I stopped supporting him cause that is extremely not my shit. It sucks because prior to that he was a super chill guy I loved shooting the shit with and handing money to.

Wait I'm confused, isn't MAGA right wing? Wouldn't that mean that he's anti MAGA if he's making anti right-wing jokes? I get your point though. John Schaefer of Iced Earth pretty much ruined his career by being so MAGA... Nonetheless I agree with Claus that swaying in an extreme way one direction or the other could alienate you from the fans. Back to music now

Sorry, to be clear, the jokes are stupid as in they do not work and/or they aren't funny. He's not joking AT the right wing.

Yea, religion/politics and music don't mix, but there have been more musicians that have done that lately. The singer of pain of salvation, dumb Ted Nugent with his constant political rants. John Shaffer. Geoff Tate has been known to do a bit of it on stage as noted from people who've see them live. Warrel Dane(RIP) I'm sure I'm leaving out a bunch of them.. I hear that it's real big with Country Artists, but a bit less common with metal bands.

[jhallum]

To be fair QR's Empire is pretty political and always been performed as such, even in the 90s, so Tate being political is not new.

I'm not so much disappointed in MAGA-loving folks that I won't support a musician who is off the MAGA deep-end, or someone who posts somewhat overtly libertarian philosophy (Epica), or liberal whatever (Pain of Salvation). But I pretty much dropped Schaefer like a bad habit when he decided that he was going act on his politics during 1/6.

[jhallum]

Now, back to music - what's your favorite album with Lance?

For me I think its:
1. King's Machine - A State of Mind
2. Pyramaze - Legend of the Bone Carver
3. Gemini - Out for Blood
4. Balance of Power - Book of Secrets
5. Shining Star - Enter Eternity

I haven't heard of half those projects, but I'm in for Bone Carver and Perfect Balance. I don't have a ton of King performed stuff, I guess....

[prog_powermetal99]

To be fair QR's Empire is pretty political and always been performed as such, even in the 90s, so Tate being political is not new.

I'm not so much disappointed in MAGA-loving folks that I won't support a musician who is off the MAGA deep-end, or someone who posts somewhat overtly libertarian philosophy (Epica), or liberal whatever (Pain of Salvation). But I pretty much dropped Schaefer like a bad habit when he decided that he was going act on his politics during 1/6.

I love Epica for their lyrics. Very metaphysical and philosophical, but in a very non-preachy or non-hateful way...Just gets ya thinking about life and is fun.
I guess I don't let a musician's political or religious viewpoints bother me. It's the same with friends. I have friends that pretty much span every political party out there, some very left and some very right, but that doesn't cause me not to be friends with them. We all respect each other to the point where we never shove one another's opinion down each other's throat. I just think it's kind of silly to disown a band even if 1 member or more in the band is incredibly opinionated. It just means that I won't listen to their interviews, but I'll still listen to their music. And for the record Lance King's Facebook page looks completely normal. I scrolled down through months and months of posts and never found anything offensive whatsoever. He may have make some mistakes before regarding comments, but I think people can be overly sensitive. He's a super nice chill dude.

[Sir Exar Kun]

And for the record Lance King's Facebook page looks completely normal. I scrolled down through months and months of posts and never found anything offensive whatsoever. He may have make some mistakes before regarding comments, but I think people can be overly sensitive. He's a super nice chill dude.

My experience also..... Never saw a thing on his posts that was in any way questionable..... Just seemed like he slowly crawled into a hole somewhere..... Based on his personality, I'm shocked to hear the MAGA comments as that just doesn't seem to fit him at all.

[jhallum]

And for the record Lance King's Facebook page looks completely normal. I scrolled down through months and months of posts and never found anything offensive whatsoever. He may have make some mistakes before regarding comments, but I think people can be overly sensitive. He's a super nice chill dude.

My experience also..... Never saw a thing on his posts that was in any way questionable..... Just seemed like he slowly crawled into a hole somewhere..... Based on his personality, I'm shocked to hear the MAGA comments as that just doesn't seem to fit him at all.

For my part who was taking part in the facebook politics wars during the 2015-2016 rampup and 2016 election, Lance was definitely a part of that before he unfriended me for arguing with him (and everyone started turtling up into their own echo chambers by the end of 2017). He may not anymore, but he was having a good time with it when it was all prime time.

[prog_powermetal99]

And for the record Lance King's Facebook page looks completely normal. I scrolled down through months and months of posts and never found anything offensive whatsoever. He may have make some mistakes before regarding comments, but I think people can be overly sensitive. He's a super nice chill dude.

My experience also..... Never saw a thing on his posts that was in any way questionable..... Just seemed like he slowly crawled into a hole somewhere..... Based on his personality, I'm shocked to hear the MAGA comments as that just doesn't seem to fit him at all.

For my part who was taking part in the facebook politics wars during the 2015-2016 rampup and 2016 election, Lance was definitely a part of that before he unfriended me for arguing with him (and everyone started turtling up into their own echo chambers by the end of 2017). He may not anymore, but he was having a good time with it when it was all prime time.

That's why they say that people should never ever discuss politics and religion, because it brings out the worst in people due to their passion of their beliefs. They tend to hold onto those beliefs like a dear family member and try and protect them at all costs. I love my family to death, but I don't see eye to eye with either politics or religion when it comes to my parents, and in the past it has resulted in some very heated verbal arguments. It's not that anyone participating in the arguments is bad or an idiot, it's just that those 2 topics bring out the worst in people, which is why they shouldn't be discussed. Lance probably realized this and that it brought out a side of him that he doesn't care for, thus he no longer discusses it.. It does the exact same thing to me.

[Sir Exar Kun]

It's not that anyone participating in the arguments is bad or an idiot, it's just that those 2 topics bring out the worst in people, which is why they shouldn't be discussed.

Well, from what I have learned over the last seven years, the first part of that statement is likely not as accurate as one might hope.

[prog_powermetal99]

It's not that anyone participating in the arguments is bad or an idiot, it's just that those 2 topics bring out the worst in people, which is why they shouldn't be discussed.

Well, from what I have learned over the last seven years, the first part of that statement is likely not as accurate as one might hope.

Well, I try not to judge as hard as it is sometimes......We all fuck up in life from time to time... We are all guilty of that.

[introclaus]

It's not that anyone participating in the arguments is bad or an idiot, it's just that those 2 topics bring out the worst in people, which is why they shouldn't be discussed.

Well, from what I have learned over the last seven years, the first part of that statement is likely not as accurate as one might hope.

Hehehe can’t argue with that.

In my opinion there are idiots on both sides and no one is perfect. Sometimes the idea of limiting our politics in this country to only two sides seem so assbackwards to me … if the purpose is to give the majority a voice, why settle for 51% and not try to make a broader coalition of multiple viewpoints? Anyway, I’ve seen how that ain’t always a great thing either, so who am I to argue…

[Sir Exar Kun]

In my opinion there are idiots on both sides and no one is perfect. Sometimes the idea of limiting our politics in this country to only two sides seem so assbackwards to me … if the purpose is to give the majority a voice, why settle for 51% and not try to make a broader coalition of multiple viewpoints? Anyway, I’ve seen how that ain’t always a great thing either, so who am I to argue…

Totally agree with you here! Definitely plenty of idiocy to go around, but the current MAGA crop really does test the bounds. I had honestly hoped after 2016 that a legit third party movement would be able to take the place of the moderate conservatives that the Republicans alienated, but clearly no one wants to cross them..... Sad as that is.

[prog_powermetal99]

In my opinion there are idiots on both sides and no one is perfect. Sometimes the idea of limiting our politics in this country to only two sides seem so assbackwards to me … if the purpose is to give the majority a voice, why settle for 51% and not try to make a broader coalition of multiple viewpoints? Anyway, I’ve seen how that ain’t always a great thing either, so who am I to argue…

Totally agree with you here! Definitely plenty of idiocy to go around, but the current MAGA crop really does test the bounds. I had honestly hoped after 2016 that a legit third party movement would be able to take the place of the moderate conservatives that the Republicans alienated, but clearly no one wants to cross them..... Sad as that is.

I think Jon Schaffer and Ted Nugent are the only two musicians I know that are into hardcore MAGA. There could be others though that I'm just not aware of..............

[Rycher]

He's definitely fallen down a MAGA rabbit hole in recent years. The only thing he showed up on twitter to do for a while was make stupid right wing jokes. That's when I stopped supporting him cause that is extremely not my shit. It sucks because prior to that he was a super chill guy I loved shooting the shit with and handing money to.

I unfollowed/unfriended him on social media during the pandemic for this reason, and the MAGA thing was absolutely true a few years ago. Kral from Mercenary was another one who seemed to go that way, which I felt was weird, as he doesn't live in the US, but was constantly talking about US politics.

[introclaus]

Kral from Mercenary was another one who seemed to go that way, which I felt was weird, as he doesn't live in the US, but was constantly talking about US politics.

Well, considering how US is known to interject themselves in foreign issues, why should the opposite not be acceptable? Anyway, not trying to defend his pov as I couldn’t care less about ANYONE’s political standpoint that isn’t somehow affecting me. People can talk as much as they want on social media - I won’t see it as I’m not there. Now, if someone releases an album with very heavily colored lyrics one way or the other (pain of salvation, protest the hero, Schaefer’s sons of anarchy, ….) I would probably be annoyed to a certain extent, but I’m pretty much capable of tuning it out 99% of the time.

[prog_powermetal99]

I totally agree with Claus here. It's the same with bands like Stryper and King Diamond who take a very strong stance on their religious or lack of religious beliefs. While I don't agree with either one, I love King Diamond and I love OLD Stryper and even though Stryper is very in your face with their lyrics at times, I still love the hell out of their music and don't really pay much attention to the lyrics, just the music and the harmonies.


Question: Can someone clarify for me what MAGA actually mean? I mean I know what the letters stand for but Is it extreme right wing? or is it extreme left wing? But if MAGA does mean extreme right wing, then yea I think Lance has chanced his stance, as I'm not seeing any pro-right-wing posts on his facebook at all, just normal posting really.......

[Mardoch]

Question: Can someone clarify for me what MAGA actually mean? I mean I know what the letters stand for but Is it extreme right wing? or is it extreme left wing? But if MAGA does mean extreme right wing, then yea I think Lance has chanced his stance, as I'm not seeing any pro-right-wing posts on his facebook at all, just normal posting really.......

MAGA (Make America Great Again) is a white nationalist ideology predicated on "returning to better days" eg when white supremacy was the unchallenged official doctrine and multiple forms of discrimination were explicitly coded into law. It's hard right wing and fascist. It's also something of a cult of personality around Trump and believing all of his prodigious bullshit.

I think that's the shortest summary I can offer.

[introclaus]

Question: Can someone clarify for me what MAGA actually mean? I mean I know what the letters stand for but Is it extreme right wing? or is it extreme left wing? But if MAGA does mean extreme right wing, then yea I think Lance has chanced his stance, as I'm not seeing any pro-right-wing posts on his facebook at all, just normal posting really.......

MAGA (Make America Great Again) is a white nationalist ideology predicated on "returning to better days" eg when white supremacy was the unchallenged official doctrine and multiple forms of discrimination were explicitly coded into law. It's hard right wing and fascist. It's also something of a cult of personality around Trump and believing all of his prodigious bullshit.

I think that's the shortest summary I can offer.

From where I stand that’s not quite right.

MAGA as originally intended was more of a slogan trying to unite republicans and perhaps (I would assume) other Americans in a common effort to return to some former state of glory (whatever that might be). It has since been adopted by people on the far right as a “battle cry” or as you said a doctrine statement that has little with the original basic four words.

Similar to how BLM originally had a different and valid intent, but is now being adopted by people on the far left as a similar “battle cry” banner under which they can do their ill intended raids and protests.

No side can say they are perfect, and slogans often have a way to take on a spin to where the original meaning quickly takes on a different life very quickly in the hands of those on the furthest sides of the political fence.

I’m not a fan of politics to be honest, and I think in a lot of ways we shouldn’t discuss it here as we all get along perfectly as it is right now. Music and politics doesn’t need to be mixed together. My point of view is logically very different from yours because I am a different person that you based on where and how I grew up, who I’ve met throughout my life, where I work, etc. no two people are the same, hence the heated discussions. But, I think those heated discussions should be left to MUSIC on this forum, so instead of commenting more on politics, I’m gonna return to the music.

Now playing: Sleeping Pulse - under the same sky (underrated progressive art rock with Mick Moss from Antimatter and some Portuguese songwriter).

[prog_powermetal99]

Question: Can someone clarify for me what MAGA actually mean? I mean I know what the letters stand for but Is it extreme right wing? or is it extreme left wing? But if MAGA does mean extreme right wing, then yea I think Lance has chanced his stance, as I'm not seeing any pro-right-wing posts on his facebook at all, just normal posting really.......

MAGA (Make America Great Again) is a white nationalist ideology predicated on "returning to better days" eg when white supremacy was the unchallenged official doctrine and multiple forms of discrimination were explicitly coded into law. It's hard right wing and fascist. It's also something of a cult of personality around Trump and believing all of his prodigious bullshit.

I think that's the shortest summary I can offer.

From where I stand that’s not quite right.

MAGA as originally intended was more of a slogan trying to unite republicans and perhaps (I would assume) other Americans in a common effort to return to some former state of glory (whatever that might be). It has since been adopted by people on the far right as a “battle cry” or as you said a doctrine statement that has little with the original basic four words.

Similar to how BLM originally had a different and valid intent, but is now being adopted by people on the far left as a similar “battle cry” banner under which they can do their ill intended raids and protests.

No side can say they are perfect, and slogans often have a way to take on a spin to where the original meaning quickly takes on a different life very quickly in the hands of those on the furthest sides of the political fence.

I’m not a fan of politics to be honest, and I think in a lot of ways we shouldn’t discuss it here as we all get along perfectly as it is right now. Music and politics doesn’t need to be mixed together. My point of view is logically very different from yours because I am a different person that you based on where and how I grew up, who I’ve met throughout my life, where I work, etc. no two people are the same, hence the heated discussions. But, I think those heated discussions should be left to MUSIC on this forum, so instead of commenting more on politics, I’m gonna return to the music.

Now playing: Sleeping Pulse - under the same sky (underrated progressive art rock with Mick Moss from Antimatter and some Portuguese songwriter).

Very well said Claus..........and I too stay away from politics. It's all corrupted to some degree, left and right......