Theigns and Thralls, known for their distinctive blend of folk-metal and classic rock, are excited to announce the release of their new video visualizer for “The Harrowing”. This track is part of their forthcoming album “The Keep & The Spire”, which showcases the band’s evolution with a heavier and darker tone, devoid of acoustic tracks.
​
Historically, “The Harrowing” takes place at the end of the Viking era when, in the winter of 1069, William 1 (“The Conqueror”) ruthlessly put down a rebellion in the North of England. Slaughtering the population and despoiling the land. Unfortunately, we are all too aware of the North-South divide that still exists.

Digital – https://lnk.to/xTXUDl

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.

PRE-ORDER VINYL – https://bit.ly/46dJeEd​
PRE-ORDER CD – https://bit.ly/3WvOFeF​

Music Video – The Grape And The Grain – https://youtu.be/QMdnpT9_kpI

CD Track Listing​
The Battle of Maldon Suite
1. Overture
2. A Single Beam
3. Fight And Lay Your Bones
4. The Battle of Maldon
5. Aftermath
6. Pagan Song
7. The Harrowing
8. The Seeker
9. Now My Life Is Done
10. The Grape And The Grain
11. Interrogativa Cantilena
12. The Mermaid Tavern

Vinyl Album Track Listing​
Side 1
The Battle of Maldon Suite
1. Overture
2. A Single Beam
3. Fight And Lay Your Bones
4. The Battle of Maldon
5. Aftermath
6. Pagan Song
​
Side 2
7. The Harrowing
8. The Seeker
9. Now My Life Is Done
10. The Grape And The Grain
11. Interrogativa Cantilena
12. The Mermaid Tavern

For more info:

​Rockshots.eu​
​Theignsandthralls.com​
​Facebook.com/theignsandthralls​
​Instagram.com/theignsandthralls

Theigns and Thralls, known for their distinctive blend of folk-metal and classic rock, are excited to announce the release of their new music video for “The Grape And The Grain”. This track is part of their latest album called “The Keep & The Spire” which showcases the band’s evolution with a heavier and darker tone, devoid of acoustic tracks.

Theigns & Thralls is the brainchild of Skyclad vocalist and songwriter Kevin Ridley, featuring Cruachan and Waylander, band members.

Theigns and Thralls continue to push the boundaries of their sound, cementing 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 Grape And The Grain” holds a special place in the album, inspired by a memorable night with the band Celtibeerian. Kevin Ridley, the band’s primary songwriter, drew from a personal anecdote involving his mother’s cautionary saying about mixing grape and grain. After a celebratory night involving Jack Daniels and beers, this saying resonated with Ridley, sparking the creation of the song. This personal touch adds a reflective and thematic depth to the album.

The new video brings “The Grape And The Grain” to life, capturing the spirit and narrative of the song. Fans can expect a visually engaging experience that complements the song’s story and musical intensity.

LISTEN: https://lnk.to/blwAlr

PRE-ORDER VINYL:https://bit.ly/46dJeEd 
PRE-ORDER CD: https://bit.ly/3WvOFeF

The new album “The Keep And The Spire” will be released on next 20th September 2024 on Rockshots Records. Save the date!

Track Listing:​

01. Overture
02. A Single Beam
03. Fight And Lay Your Bones
04. The Battle of Maldon 
05. Aftermath
06. Pagan Song                                               
07. The Harrowing
08. The Seeker
09. Now My Life Is Done
10. The Grape And The Grain
11. Interrogativa Cantilena
12. The Mermaid Tavern  

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. 

Finally, as well as putting out the album and videos, a ‘touring band’ was put together, to perform the songs live. The band have, subsequently played gigs and festivals across Europe, often with guest artist appearances.

Theigns & Thralls is:

Kevin Ridley: Vocals, guitar, mandolin, mandola, bouzouki, synths
Dave Briggs: Guitar, whistles, backing vocals, bodhran
John Ryan: Violin, cello, backing vocals
Arjon Valk: Bass guitar, backing vocals
Mike Verhof: Drums, percussion, backing vocals

For more info:​
​Theignsandthralls.com​
​Facebook.com/theignsandthralls​
​Instagram.com/theignsandthralls

Releasing their self-titled debut album this coming April 2022 via Rockshots Records, THEIGNS & THRALLS are sharing their first single “Drinking” with a new music video that will encourage to gather your friends and share some pints!

Band founder Kevin Ridley adds about the track:

“Once I got into the flow of writing and recording the album, things came together quite quickly. Like with this track. When I came across an old poem (by Abraham Cowley) called ‘Drinking’, I thought folk-metal and drinking, what could possibly go wrong? Again, this song has a big chorus and I thought it would be good to ask all the people playing on the album to add some backing vocals and do a little video of themselves recording it so we could make it into a video. This was so successful that I decided to do a different mix of the track for the video. So, you have the ‘Theigns mix’ for the video (which is shorter) and the ‘Thralls mix’ (which is the album version). This mix also contains the ‘drunken guitarist’ intro, which you might witness at gigs. It is a BIG song with lots of players on it, including Emilio (Souto) on guitar, Jonne (Järvelä) on mandolin and Dave (Briggs) on whistle. It’s a bit of a ‘a folk-metal anthem’, hopefully.”

Album Pre-Order – https://bit.ly/theigns-thralls
Album Pre Save – https://bfan.link/theigns-thralls

Track Listing:​
1. Procession
2. Theigns & Thralls
3. Drinking (Thralls mix)
4. Strive
5. The Lords Of The Hills
6. Life Will Out
7. The Highwayman
8. Today We Get To Play
9. The New Folk Devils
10. Flora Robb
11. Not Thru The Woods Yet
Bonus Tracks:
12. Over The Hills And Far Away
13. The Queen Of The Moors
14. Strive acoustic version
15. Drinking (Theigns mix)
16. Life Will Out (KärtsyMegatommy mix)

Theigns & Thralls is the brainchild of Skyclad vocalist and songwriter Kevin Ridley. Originally, it was intended to be an ‘occasional band’ to perform songs from Ridley’s back catalogue of songs from Skyclad and his solo album while working around Skyclad’s touring plans. However, when the 2020 global pandemic struck, his plans changed. Being stuck in lockdown, the project became a collaborative recording project building on a few demo ideas. At first, musician friends were contacted to add a bit of violin here and a whistle there. But then things gathered momentum and friends of friends were also asked and players across Europe joined to contribute. The response was, to say the least, overwhelmingly positive and, in the end, twenty-five musicians from bands such as Korpiklaani, Ensiferum, Cruachan, Waylander, Celtibeerian and Metal De Facto as well as solo musicians (new and old acquaintances of Ridley) contributed everything from drums, bass, guitar, violin, whistles, bagpipes to hurdy gurdy and vocals.

“I think that, because of lot of the album was written and recorded in a fairly short space of time, there is certain feel and continuity to it. There is a blend of Celtic Speed-Punk, Folk-Metal and Classic Rock influences. Added to that, in terms of lyrical content, there is a strong appreciation of history, literature and humanism that comes together.” adds Ridley.

The name Theigns & Thralls (which basically means masters and servants) 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 one of the songs. This was to help clarify the band’s ’mission’ or ‘raison d’etre’.

As well as putting out the album and videos, the next phase of the band’s evolution will be to put together a ‘touring band’ when permitted, not only to do what was originally intended, but also to perform the new original songs – perhaps with a few guest artist appearances – and to become a force in their own right.

Rockshots Records is proud to announce their latest signing of THEIGNS & THRALLS for the release of their self-titled debut album due out April 8, 2022.

Theigns & Thralls is the brainchild of Skyclad vocalist and songwriter Kevin Ridley. Originally, it was intended to be an ‘occasional band’ to perform songs from Ridley’s back catalogue of songs from Skyclad and his solo album while working around Skyclad’s touring plans. However, when the 2020 global pandemic struck, his plans changed. Being stuck in lockdown, the project became a collaborative recording project building on a few demo ideas. At first, musician friends were contacted to add a bit of violin here and a whistle there. But then things gathered momentum and friends of friends were also asked and players across Europe joined to contribute. The response was, to say the least, overwhelmingly positive and, in the end, twenty-five musicians from bands such as Korpiklaani, Ensiferum, Cruachan, Waylander, Celtibeerian and Metal De Facto as well as solo musicians (new and old acquaintances of Ridley) contributed everything from drums, bass, guitar, violin, whistles, bagpipes to hurdy gurdy and vocals.

“I think that, because of lot of the album was written and recorded in a fairly short space of time, there is certain feel and continuity to it. There is a blend of Celtic Speed-Punk, Folk-Metal and Classic Rock influences. Added to that, in terms of lyrical content, there is a strong appreciation of history, literature and humanism that comes together.” adds Ridley.

The name Theigns & Thralls (which basically means masters and servants) 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 one of the songs. This was to help clarify the band’s ’mission’ or ‘raison d’etre’.

As well as putting out the album and videos, the next phase of the band’s evolution will be to put together a ‘touring band’ when permitted, not only to do what was originally intended, but also to perform the new original songs – perhaps with a few guest artist appearances – and to become a force in their own right.

Theigns & Thralls is:
Kevin Ridley (Skyclad). vocals, guitar and mandola
John Ryan (ex-Cruachan), violin, Cello and backing vocals
Dave Briggs (Waylander), guitar, whistles and backing vocals
Arjon Valk, bass and backing vocals
Mike Verhof, drums