Interview with King Ov Wyrms

What got you into music, and if you had not gotten into music what would you be doing today?

I would have to say being around my father a lot as a kid really helped me find out that I enjoyed music, he was always listening to something, and eventually seeing “The Eagles” play live made me realize that I wanted to be a guitarist. If I wasn’t so dead set on doing music stuff I would have probably pursued my teaching degree more seriously, I did teach a little bit privately for music instruction but I was initially trying to become a music teacher for public/college schooling. - Oneirous

What do you like to do when you are not playing music and how does that influence your creativity?

I’m really big on reading which is pretty apparent in our work. I read a lot of Fantasy stuff like Tolkien, I’m a big fan of Lovecraft and the mythos he’s inspired in later works. Some of the bit more obscure literature I read is based on occult studies and various forms of religious and spiritual practices which greatly inspires my ways of thinking. - Oneirous

How long has your band been around?

That’s a bit of a tricky question. Originally I want to say 2015/2016 was when the original concept for King Ov Wyrms was created with me and then the bassist from Pain Patterns Reymundo Romero. It was just an idea that was tossed around and I think we had one guitar riff but no real songs or anything to justify it as a band at the time. After years of struggling to pull anyone in for the lineup and Reymundo moving on other matters, I ultimately revived it as a solo project in 2020 for the release of Lord Ov Thornes. Following that release, I reached out one more time for a full lineup but the guitarist we had Thomas Carlson couldn’t commit the time and later after recording Derrek Page had to step down as well leaving just me and Ricky Williams to finish the album together. With the way things turned out it's going to stay between me and Ricky for studio work to keep the process more streamlined. - Oneirous

Where are you based out of and how did that influence your music?

We are based in Tucson, Arizona. I’d honestly say it hasn’t been too heavily influential on the music since this project is a bit more reclusive being a studio duo and having no live presence. The nature here is surprisingly diverse and we do have a very active artistic culture in this city which is something I will admit is very inspiring. There are so many influential people here who are so supportive like Rudy Flores, Mike Olivares, and a multitude of others (sorry if I didn’t name anyone else directly) that are constantly pushing support to everyone here. - Oneirous

How did you come up with the name of your band and what does it mean to you?

Originally the concept name was presented by Reymundo Romero, we were torn between the ideas of “King of Worms” and “Lord Ov Thornes” so I ended up using both ideas initially for the debut. The name is very representative of the aggressive culture of the music we create so it's a very fitting example of us. - Oneirous

Tell me about your most memorable shows.

Unfortunately, nothing on the horizon for King Ov Wyrms, I and Ricky both have pretty extensive live histories but nothing for our project together. Hopefully, we can change that in the near future. - Oneirous

What is your favorite venue to play at, and do you have any places you want to play that you have not already?

There was an older venue in Tucson called The Flycatcher that unfortunately got taken down for student housing I believe. That venue was phenomenal and had quite the history before I even got into live music, it was previously Plush Lounge and they were very popular from what I was told. The Flycatcher was a very dimly lit red velvet almost jazz-style lounge and the showroom was very small and intimate which made every performance there seem so magical. Seeing Goatwhore perform there on that tiny stage was definitely a highlight in my memories, they jam-packed that place and made it seem like pure chaos! - Oneirous

If you could play any show with any lineup, who would be on the ticket?

That's a tough one, some real stand-out acts I would love to see and share the stage with would definitely be Vader, Sulphur Aeon, and Goatwhore. Myself and Ricky have opened for Goatwhore several times in Arizona but Sulphur Aeon is a horribly underrated act that deserves so much more respect and recognition. Vader in itself is one of the biggest inspirations for why I even formed King or even got into metal music for that matter so I have to put that one on my bucket list. - Oneirous

What is some advice that you would give to someone who is just getting into playing in a band and some advice that you would give to your younger self?

Easily I would say there is no shame in learning your craft and treating yourself like a responsible business act. That might sound horrible but what I really mean is if you feel like you are going to want to have a career as a professional musician then you have to treat it as such sure that might come off as pompous or snobby to some but having that professional mindset and perseverance is key in not letting yourself sink into that black hole of gigging in town every week and forming the same new bands over and over, etc with no real push forward. I would know because I did it for arguably eight years. So yes take the time to learn the industry, better yourself, treat it like a job, and be the best you can be. - Oneirous

If you could go back in time and give yourselves advice, what would it be?

I would have told myself to get the mindset that labels and agents will find you haha I worked as a gigging/touring musician for around 8 years with the old mindset of “the more places I play, the more likely an agent will take me away to rockstar status”. Unfortunately, I don’t think the rockstar life is real at this time, it's all about promoting yourself, managing a professional media presence, and putting quality work out there. I did way more with the debut of King Ov Wyrms  than I did in 8 years of gigging without playing a single show, that was an eye-opener for me as to how important it is to focus and plan out your premieres and work, etc. - Oneirous

Of your songs which one means the most to you and why?

 It’s so hard to pick just one, a lot of the songs off of Lord Ov Thornes were inspired by my youth so they all have a bit of nostalgia to the lyrics and feelings. I might have to go with Threnody because its the riff where it all really started for myself, the lyrical content might be a bit more troubling because of my struggles with suicidal thoughts and physically torturing myself but it really just reminds me of just how strong I have become in my age mentally and physically. - Oneirous

Which songs are your favorite to play and which get requested the most?

Our new single In Aeons We Spoke is super fun to play, it easily became our biggest song on streaming platforms and I think when we do get around to playing live it's gonna have to find its way onto every show. - Oneirous

What is the creative process for the band, and what inspires you to write your music?

Usually, the way we go about writing is starting out with guitar riffs that have been hanging on my attention for a while. I fiddle about with the guitar lines and then chop shop a demo guitar performance in my personal studio and then shoot it over to Ricky where he experiments with it for a while. When he has something ready we do a demo track in our studio and pretty much hash it out from there just building more and more til we have a full song. It's a simple process for us and a very privileged one with the fact that I do engineering work and have access to a full studio but it's key in what helps us see where we really want to end up with our music as an end result. - Oneirous

What kinds of messages do you like to get across in your music?

I wouldn’t really say I try to put out any real messages but rather I want to invoke emotion and feeling with the songs. The presence of music always meant more to me than lyrics ever really will, a good song will flood you with emotion whether it's energy, sadness, anger, etc. It's gonna make you feel and that's what I want my music to do. The spiritual and horror-influenced lyrics are merely just icing on the cake when trying to deliver our intense music. - Oneirous

Do you ever have disagreements in your band, and how do you get past them?

So far with the way me and Ricky have been working together, it's been purely positive. I don't think we have ever actually had any real disagreements on anything but we both are on a plane of understanding as equals so neither of us can have more weight to our suggestions respectfully. - Oneirous

What are your plans for the future, and do you have anything that you want to spotlight that is coming up?

At the moment we are just trying to present ourselves a new with a new partnership lineup and a slightly more refined and professional sound. We have been toying around with the idea of finding some live members to make a few small performances but nothing concrete yet. We can’t say much on the matter of what our next release schedule is either but I will say we are well underway with new songs already recorded out, now that we have our process figured out we are just flying through creating new material. As for the spotlight, we will be premiering a few new singles in the coming weeks, a new one will drop on September 7th which will definitely be a big one to look out for. - Oneirous

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Music Video - In Aeons We Spoke -