Hard rockin’, maybe even metallin’, masters of the riff, bringers of the heft King Kraken are an onslaught of mythological, storytelling, adventure lyrics and battle-ready, head bangin’ tunes.

Mark Donoghue (vocals) and Richard Lee Mears (drums) kindly took the time to talk to Goth Girl Writing  – and made her laugh so hard she snorted. Dear God.

So first things first boys. Please tell your, ahem, “classy” interviewer the thinking behind the new album name ‘March of the Gods’? And, erm, what’s a Kraken please Mark?

‘The name comes from a moment in the myth of the Kraken where the Gods are displeased and generally pissed off at the humans because the mortals have stopped worshipping them. So the Gods set forth the Kraken as punishment. The Kraken is probably the most feared sea creature. It’s the King of the Seas, and the King of the Seas is a cannibal – so the first King would be the Kraken that eats other Krakens.’ Fearsome stuff. Fearsome band to be named after such a sh*t-kicking creature. Erm, not quite…

‘Our guitarist brought in an amp and it was a Kraken. Rich wanted to put ‘King’ in front of it. So the band was actually named after an amp!’ Ah.

Did you have any other names you liked the sound of? ‘Wolf Skull! Black Valley Massacre!’ the pair laugh. Keeping on with this line of questioning, what about the title of King Kraken’s debut album ‘MCLXXX’, released in 2023? After attempting to find out on the internet and resorting to asking her husband, Goth Girl Writing found out this is 1180 in Roman numerals. What is this Rich? A significant birthday? Someone’s PIN???? ‘It’s the year of the first documented sighting of the Kraken. That’s the first time the King Kraken appears.’ Rich adds, ‘The thing we are saying at the moment is 1180 is the first sighting of the Kraken, but 2025 is when the Kraken is first feared!’

Out on April 18, ‘March of the Gods’ is gonna be well worth the wait. Lead single ‘Chainsaw Saviour’ is lighting up rock radio playlists and recently released Viking spirited second single ‘Berserker’ is hellbent on tearing along the same track. Do King Kraken write songs with radio play in mind? Mark explains, ‘When we write a song we secretly all hope it gets on the radio – even if it’s just to reach people who’ve never heard us before. If we get one person on board from all this effort, it’s one person we didn’t have yesterday.’

The album hurls track after punishing track of gritty, grizzy vocals, paint stripping guitar solos and pulverising beats in its lucky listeners' general direction and doesn’t take no for an answer. Bow down to King Kraken. There is no other option. And there’s certainly no other sensible choice. Because the sheer power, lyrical intrigue and musicianship of ‘March of the Gods’ reigns supreme.

But one song stands out as being completely different. Described by the boys as sombre and uplifting at the same time, emotional ‘Hero’ is a heart-wrenching song of yearning yet stunning vocals, loving guitars and tender drums. Written with grief and loss in mind, it’s a tribute to Mark’s dad, who sadly passed away in 2011, and is a nod of recognition and solidarity to all those who have lost someone they love. ‘It breaks up the album,’ Rich explains. ‘And we were looking to do something different. There isn’t one mellow song on the first album, for example. We wanted to have something like a ballad, that had meaning.’ With this in mind, Rich suggested Mark write a song about his dad.

‘It’s a bit raw, and I wasn’t too sure, even though it was all those years ago,’ Mark says. ‘But when I started writing, I wrote two pages in five minutes.’ Rich adds, ‘We’ve always had that blues infused sound but, for sure, ‘Hero’ is very different.’ ‘Hero’ is a beautiful tribute, a comfort to those who can understand its sentiment, and a moving moment in ‘March of the Gods’. It’s also going to be the next single to be released from this record. Touchingly, the cover art will show an empty throne. ‘I saw my dad as a hero and the king,’ Mark tells us.

Music-wise, King Kraken are not afraid to, erm, crack on. They’ve already started work on their third album, have tour and festival dates planned across the year, and are busy little bees on the socials. Oh, and they also have actual ‘proper’ jobs too. Rich is a mental health support worker, Mark is a mental health nurse, guitarist Pete Rose is a care home manager and bassist Karl Meyer is an electrician. Touring, writing, recording, working… how are there enough hours in the day???? ‘You’ve got to put the effort in, but it’s something that we all enjoy,’ says Rich. ‘But none of us are getting any younger! We’re continuing to push the boundaries so to speak, but it’s definitely not easy!’ He adds, ‘We wouldn’t have it any other way though. We all said, ‘This is it now. We’re going to push as hard as we can. If we don’t make it all the way at least we tried’.’

King Kraken are gaining followers at a rapid rate, with well over 3,000 monthly Spotify listeners and more than 6,000 Facebook followers. How would they describe themselves to those new to the band? Rich has a think. ‘We don’t class ourselves as metal or rock. We’re sat in between. The people who like the heavy type of music are also into us but we don’t class ourselves as a heavy band, even though the riffs and the groove are there. But sometimes one of the boys will play a riff and we’ll say, ‘That’s not Kraken enough!’. We do say that a lot actually!’

Rich and Mark speak about their band and its members with such fondness. Were they friends who decided to start a band together? ‘I answered an ad on Facebook looking for a singer,’ says Mark. ‘I was trawling through the socials because I knew I wanted to join a band. Me and Adam [Healey - guitars] were actually the last to join King Kraken.’

‘Before then me and Pete kind of knew each other from other bands,’ adds Rich. Mine and his bands played a lot together. But he lived about an hour and a half away from me and I didn’t want to drive all that way to practise!’ By this point Karl had been recruited, so it was only a matter of time before Rich relented. And on September 7th 2018 King Kraken played their first gig together. And then their second ever show together later in the same day!

So where does that distinctive voice of yours come from Mark? ‘I think my mum used to be in an operatic society,’ he says. ‘My nephew is 21 now, and he’s got a heck of a voice on him, but I think we are the only three who have ever sung in our family. I was actually a keyboard player in a band for most of my musical career. I did ‘Mustang Sally’ once on karaoke and I enjoyed it, and I started singing that and other soul tunes. Then I fronted a classic rock covers band and it grew from there really.’

At this stage in our chat Zoom starts doing that annoying thing where it suggests that should you wish to continue talking, you upgrade. Time to bring out the killer questions… Mark and Rich… Is there anything else you would like to tell me, or something you’d like me to ask? There is! Apparently Mark would like to answer the question, ‘If you weren’t in King Kraken what would you be doing right now?’

So then Mark, if you weren’t in King Kraken what would you be doing right now?

‘I would be focusing on my other hobby which is horror writing. I’m a third of my way through my first novel.’ How cool is that?! How about you Rich? ‘I don’t really know! I haven’t thought about it! I’ve played drums for 20 or so years now so I’d hope to be in a band or that sort of thing. It’s good to have that outlet and it’s good to have a hobby as you get older. I think I’d be wasting time! Playing video games and playing with my kids, and stuff like that. Nothing too productive!’

Killer sea creatures. Killer band. The nicest guys. The noisiest songs. That’s not just a winning combination. That’s a friggin’ war ready to be waged on your eardrums. 2025 is the year King Kraken are gonna rule.