Entertainment
Progressive and Passionate
[dropcap class=”kp-dropcap radius”]D[/dropcap]enver prog-metalers Dreadnought are starting off 2016 on a strong note. 2015 saw the release of the extremely well-received sophomore record Bridging Realms, which has received positive reviews in metal magazines and on websites across the country. This year, they are gearing up to tour more in support of the record, as well as write and record more music. CULTURE caught up with Dreadnought to talk about legal cannabis, metal and the local scene.
“Before Dreadnought became a band we were all playing in different projects in Colorado Springs,” Kelly Schilling, the group’s vocalist, guitarist, and flutist, told us.
“Jordan (clancy, drums, alto, and tenor saxophone), Kevin (Handlon, bass, mandolin, lyrics), and I were in a band together called Kastigation and Lauren (Vieira, keys, clean vocals) was in a band called Recondite. We all moved up to Denver at separate times and the three of us reconnected with Lauren at a Kastigation show. We were in need of a fourth member at the time and thought she would be a perfect fit, so we asked her to join. After adding her to the lineup we realized that our sound was moving in a different direction and thus decided to start fresh with a new name.”
“Cannabis has helped me think outside the box when approaching the drums and the sax. I tend to try crazier things between the drums and sax than I thought were possible after a good toke and some time jamming.”
“We don’t feel as if we can or want to box ourselves into one particular style or another, so it’s difficult to describe,” Schilling adds regarding the group’s sound. “I tend to give examples of the genres you will hear throughout our music, for example prog rock, post rock, black metal, folk, classical and jazz. We all have many different influences and they continue to change. Recently Kevin and I have been influenced by a lot of black metal, the new Leviathan on his end, Altar of Plagues on mine. I have personally fallen in love with Ulver, both old and new. As a whole I would say we have all been consistently influenced by Opeth, Moonsorrow, Yes, and Jethro Tull.”
The group currently has several tour and recording plans in the works to follow up their successful sophomore album. “We released our sophomore album, Bridging Realms, this last August and toured the East Coast in promotion of it,” Schilling told us. “Our current plan is to write for the next album and record an acoustic EP in January or February. We are also playing a few local shows within the next few months. There are plans for a few tours next year.”
While not everyone in the group is a cannabis user, they are advocates and supporters, and Clancy is an occasional smoker. “Cannabis has helped me think outside the box when approaching the drums and the sax,” he stated. “I’ll tend to try crazier things between the drums and sax than I thought was possible after a good toke and some time jamming.”
“We have not ever made cannabis a theme in our music,” adds Schilling, “but we support the use of it nonetheless, especially when listening to our music!”
