It is hard to dismiss a line-up that attracts some of metal’s finest musicians with a pedigree covering Symphony X, Death Dealer and Dungeon.
Epic metal is unleashed! with a vengeance that speaks to classic power of bands like Manowar, Black Sabbath, Candlemass and Helloween.
ARKENSTONE is fronted by the awesome vocal power of Louie Gorgievski, and is paired with Stu Marshall of Death Dealer / Dungeon / Night Legion: who again join forces after forging a successful writing partnership with Empires of Eden. The band also features the talents of premium bass master extraordinaire in Michael LePond of Symphony X and powerhouse drummer Clay. T of Night Legion.
ARKENSTONE delivers a unique blend of rock meets power metal with the occasional thrashy undertones; with uncompromising memorable metal anthems – the epic debut E.P ‘Ascension of the Fallen” is released through Steel Cartel records / Soulfood on 12 June delivering a power and presence not seen in many years.
The EP features stunning artwork by Marc Sasso (DIO, Halford) and a guest solo by Ex-Manowar guitarist Ross the Boss
Singer Louie Gorgievski says ” By far the heaviest and darkest compositions I’ve co-written. The talents & guitar wizardry of Stu Marshall seems to always unlock another realm; Ascension of the fallen unleashes intense power and raw emotion”.
Producer/guitarist Stu Marshall says “I have written material for some amazing singers such as UDO, Zak Stevens, Sean Peck and Rob Rock. Louie is a once in a lifetime singer with a power not many can match. The songs are crushing and we have 4 compositions that are perfect to launch the band and demonstrate what we have ahead of us.”
- Ascension Of The Fallen
- Tree Of Witches
- Lord Impaler
- The Arkenstone
Interview
Greetings from Metalheads Forever Magazine, I’m Keith the head of the magazine. How are you doing today?
Vocalist Louie Gorgievski: Going well Keith, thank you for supporting & taking the time to catch up
Can you tell me how it all started for Arkenstone?
It all really started as a project throughout covid with a good friend, Stu Marshall (Death Dealer, Night Legion guitarist) whom I reconnected musically in early 2021. We have a long standing writing partnership all the way back to the Empires of Eden project but that’s another story altogether. So basically, we’ve worked together before which made it easy to bring Arkenstone to life.
Your debut EP Ascension of The Fallen was out last year. Can you tell me about the songwriting and production behind the EP?
Writing was super organic and a fairly quick turnaround. Stu sent through some left over Death Dealer demos and I pretty much got stuck into them immediately. It was really only a matter of weeks and we had 4 solid anthems that really resonated to us. I’d record in the afternoon and send all vocal tracks to Stu. Stu would send a mix the following morning and we’d continually collaborate throughout the day – a really cool way of working. Song theme & inspirations were really driven by the working titles presented to me & I went off on a tangent – thankfully it worked out ok. Adding to the creative tone, we have bass extraordinaire Mike LePond of Symphony X & Night Legion drummer Clay T who brought further life to the tracks. Even Ross the Boss, the founding ex-Manowar guitarist makes an appearance.
From a production perspective, I have to hand it to Stu and his patience– we all recorded separately in different states & even countries. Stu compiled, mixed, mastered & delivered an outstanding sound that captures the Arkenstone essence you hear on “Ascension of the Fallen”. The guy is an absolute talent & a true professional.
Four awesome heavy metal songs were delivered through the EP. Each sound heavy, melodic, making up a classic metal album in my opinion. How do you feel about the outcome?
Yep, you’ve summarized it perfectly. Each track is rounded beautifully with melody, heavy under tones, a bit of brutality and all with a classic edge that runs throughout with some really cool hooks coming through. It was also the genius of Stu Marshall, when he puts on the producer/engineer hat on – great things happen.
Was there any concept behind the EP, Can you tell me about the amazing work on the cover art too?
No concept as such was planned, it was really about creating solid heavy metal music but then I noticed I had captured a theme lyrically with some of the mythology I had referenced in the songs. We commissioned Marc Sasso for the cover artwork, He’s worked with Dio, Halford, Death Dealer, Cage and he delivered an outstanding piece of art that perfectly fit with the songs concepts.
Are you working on new material this year, any plans to get back to the studio?
Well actually, Stu and I have been very busy over the last 6 months, with touring on hold, we’ve had the opportunity to write another 12 tracks and are currently in discussion on the next steps. If you enjoyed the Ascension of the fallen EP – this next batch of tunes will blow your mind.
Arkenstone is a JRR Tolkien Lord of The Rings topic. Are you interested in JRR Tolkien’s fiction writings? Can you tell me a bit about it and choosing the name?
Definitely a Tolkien fan, books/ movies the whole nine yards. However. I wasn’t sure Stu shared the same passion actually until he threw it my way and I was like – Hell Yea! Not sure how long he was sitting on it for. but was a brilliant choice and there was no argument about it. It really sums up the band from a medieval / mythological perspective, but it also speaks to the sound of the band – epic & dark.
The Arkenstone is known as the king’s jewel & something that is of great value – that’s’ how I view this collaboration from a personal perspective.
How has the reach been for the band on a global scale?
Arkenstone has been received well to date and there has been a lot of interest. We are also represented by Steel Cartel Records, the label run by vocalist Sean Peck (Cage / Death Dealer / Denner Shermann / The Three Tremors). Sean and the label have been super supportive and sending our music & videos to the right places.
What would be some of the upcoming plans for the band? How does the future look for Arkenstone?
Well, the world is opening up as we speak, so getting the opportunity to play live is looking likely. We have a last lyric video to present to you all for Lord Impaler in the coming weeks.
Would you like to Introduce each member of the band to the Readers?
Louie Gorgievski – Vocals (Arkenstone/ Empires of Eden/ ex Crimsonfire)
Stu Marshall – Lead Guitars (Death Dealer/ Night Legion / Arkenstone/ Empires of Eden / ex Dungeon)
Mike Lepond – Bass (Symphony X / Silent Assassins/ Death Dealer / Ross The Boss Band)
Clay T – Drums (Night Legion)
Would you like to share some great moments?
Great positive reception from industry & fans. Collaborating with Stu as always is a genuine highlight, as well as the professionalism. He also gives me the freedom to unleash at will LOL, I love it & thankfully he does also. Collaborating with Mike Lepond, Clay T & Ross the Boss is equally a great honor, I reckon I hit a home run.
Finally, what Would be the message for the fans?
Thanking you Keith & our fans for immediate acceptance, support & the kind words
Music Videos
The Band
