Wings Of Steel            Wings Of Steel .

After all these years it´s not happening that often anymore but sometimes in the endless Online-World there are still Bands that blow me away. These Hopefuls hailing from L.A. are called Wings of Steel and consist of the 2 members Leo Unnermark (who owns one hell of a voice) and Parker Halub (who plays one hell of a guitar and is also responsible for the Bass Guitar on the Album).  Together with Drummer Mike Mayhem they recorded an album called „Gates Of Twilight“ in the vein of Bands like Leatherwolf / Fifth Angel / Hittman which is the best I heard since ages (Killer-Songs, Killer-Production). We HAD to contact them for an interview, Parker replied right away and here we go:

I checked some pics from you guys and figure you are less than half of our age – so how on earth can guys so young get into THIS kind of brilliant yet seemingly forgotten melodic and yet metallic sound?

We are both outliers in our generation. Leo (26) was raised in a household with lots of vinyls and vhs tapes from back in the day, which has laid the foundation for his musical interest and style. Parker (21) picked up the guitar at the age of 10, and through the discovery of bands such as Journey and Metallica, was opened up to the world of classic hard rock and heavy metal.

Would you complain being compared to Bands like Leatherwolf, Hittman, Crimson Glory and Fifth Angel? Managed to hear a bit of Van Halen as well?!

There is a very wide range of influences and inspirations that translates through our sound. While we may have similar characteristics to these aforementioned bands, they have not really had as much direct influence on our sound as people think. They are great bands and it is humbling to be held in the same high regard as them.

I would recommend each new Band to check out the production on your album, because this is how it should be done – crystal clear, powerful, car-shaking bass/drums, wall of guitars and the fantastic vocals marching with them. How did you manage that? I see you have your own studio?!?! What a waste of money for producers, the sound on your album seem to make them all redundant…

We recorded everything ourselves in our home studio (an old bomb-shelter) except for the drums, which were recorded in a local studio. The mix and mastering was done by Damien Rainaud (Dragonforce, Fear Factory, Angra). As far as production goes, we basically just got everything to sound the way we wanted to and that was it. Glad you like it!

Isn´t it difficult to even think about touring just being 2 guys? Don´t you want to get a permament drummer + bassist and maybe a 2nd guitarist to reproduce the wall of sound you have on your album or is it too difficult to find people playing in your league as well as fitting in on a personal level? At least there are 3 other guys in your clip to „Leather and Lace“ now?!

Touring is difficult for us for many reasons, money being a large factor. Even though the core of the band revolves around Leo and Parker, we need to work with talented musicians who understand and respect the band’s creative vision, and can get along with us on a personal level so we can do the music justice in a live setting. But yes, it is difficult to find the right musicians to work with nowadays.

You released your album independently resulting in the fact that the CD is hardly to be found somewhere (Bandcamp for sure, but the additional costs for shipment to Europe makes this unavailable to a lot of people that have to look for their money these days). I know that Label-Deals are not what they used to be, but at least they mostly help getting the product available overseas, especially when there are so many european metal-labels around…If I´d be in your place seeing such a lot of Bands with distribution deals that are far inferior I´d get frustrated..

We have chosen to remain independent for a variety of reasons. As for distribution, we plan to make our physical copies more affordable for our european fans by working with a european based manufacturer/distributor. We are still negotiating with several companies and will hopefully have a deal in place soon. On that note, we currently work with and have smaller batches of our CDs available from the following European distributors: Witches Brew, Underground Power Records, and Steele Fortress.

You play the Keep it true in 2024, wouldn´t that be a nice chance to add some gigs in Europe /Germany? I always imagine Bands like Priest or Maiden would feature you as Special Guests, you would blow people away that haven´t been aware of you….dreams are allowed..

We are currently looking into booking a tour in Europe next year around our performance at Keep it True. It would be awesome to one day go on our Tour with one of the great titans of heavy metal, we are open to offers haha.

What are your plans for the near future? Will you have the chance to tour the US?

Currently the main focus is to play in Europe for 2024. After which, we plan to record a third release, and will hopefully be able to tour the US in 2025.

On your website you say that you do music full-time – can you do a living out of music or do you have any other (maybe part-time) jobs besides?

We are involved with the music full-time, however as of now, we do not generate enough money directly from it to live off of. Parker and Leo both work various other part-time jobs to help finance the endeavors of Wings of Steel. Hopefully, with the continuous growth of the band we will be able to ditch the side jobs.

Any final words to our readers?

We are incredibly thankful for all your support. Continue to spread the word of Wings of Steel with all your metalhead friends and let us know how you like our new album “Gates of Twilight.” Peace, love, and heavy metal!

You can find us and our music on the following platforms:

CDs/Merch: https://officialwingsofsteel.bandcamp.com/

Facebook: https://fb.me/officialwingsofsteel

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@wingsofsteel

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/wingsofsteelband/

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/0y43lCvntQtyFlhCABGb0T?si=saaZPUt4Qya7m3JrW9l7-A



During the Translation „GOT“ blasted in the Back… I listened to the album at least 10 times now and keep on shaking my head in disbelief about all the existing musical ability and the melodies on the album. Do yourself a favour and listen to the album on youtube and then buy it, CD or Download and support 2 guys that really know how to do it right (they are 21 + 26 years only!) and who have to stay with us!

As our Reviews aren´t ready yet, here´s mine in advance:

WINGS OF STEEL
Gates of Twilight

You want to hear how it´s really done? Here we go – this US-Band was on my Radar since their EP (recommended listening: The Song that bears the name of the Band itself) and GOT continues the way and further raises the bar. Massive US-Metal with a wall of guitars, full of melodies and great ideas, Double Leads, brilliant vocals, THIS is metal that doesn´t sound like thousands of others and is first-class, catchy and heavy as hell. Killers like „Fall in line“ (a stone cold classic!!!), „Liar in love“ (listen to the guitar playing and the solo besides the great singing melody), „She cries“ (explodes in the middle of the song, fantastic guitars!!), the anthemic „Cry of the damned“ as well as the stomping „Lady of the Lost“, the fantastic Solo on „Slaves of Sorrows“ or the title track offer first-class metal in the vein of Leatherwolf, Crimson Glory, Fifth Angel or the brilliant Hittman. Man, the voice of Leo Unnermark is not from this world! And Parker Halub isn´t just playing one of the most brilliant guitars ever (this is even reaching Leatherwolf-Dimensions!) but also played Bass on the album. Listen to the mentioned songs and support a Band that is worth your money one hundred times more than some established boring old farts.

P.S. I got the CD from the great Underground Power Metal Store on ebay, there aren´t that many left, the Band has already started additional pressings, so be quick!!!