Feature: Glory of Kings – Seeking the Divine

GLORY OF KINGS- Seeking the Divine

by Chris Gatto

Over the past four years of Immortal Festival performances, I’ve watched Jonathan Johnson play with Sacred Warrior and with Deny the Fallen, I’ve seen him persevere through highs and lows, and gained a good deal of respect for him. I’ve appreciated his friendship and his musicianship, so it was a no brainer that I would take the opportunity to introduce you to his new band Glory of Kings. There is an excitement building for this new classic prog/power band. The first two singles- “The Mystery” and “Mind War” have been airing on heavensmetalstreamingradio.com already, and having had the privilege of getting a sneak peek of the entire album at the Media Album Listening Party a couple weeks ago, I know exactly what’s in store for you, the listener, and I’m excited for you to hear it. Hang with me as I chat with Jonathan Johnson and Erik Schelling to get you the 4-1-1 on this brand new band.

Where’d the name Glory of Kings come from and how did the idea for the album start?

Jonathan Johnson: So basically it came from the Scripture- Proverbs 20:52 where it talks about it’s the glory of God to conceal a thing. But it’s the glory of kings to seek out that thing or to search for it. So I kind of liken it to the parable of the Pearl of great price. Jesus talked about the fact that the man literally gave up or sold everything that he had to just buy the field for the opportunity to find the Pearl. So he still had to go dig. He still had to go searching, and literally to me, the Pearl, is Jesus. It’s the mystery of the goodness of God and the kindness of God and the grace of God wrapped up in the person of Jesus and the sacrifice that He made for us and the truths of the Scripture and the deeper things of God are all hidden in the Scriptures and in fellowship with the Lord and there to be sought out and sought for. So that was kind of the idea behind the band name.

Jonathan: Back in March I was going through some demo files on my computer and I found the songs that I had written while I was still in Sacred Warrior. They were songs that I had written with the hopes of them becoming new Sacred Warrior songs and we never got a chance to work on those into completed songs as a band. So when I found them, I listened to them and realized how good they were and kind of had a dilemma because I didn’t really have an outlet for- you know- classic progressive metal songs. So I actually made a facebook post presenting the question- that I had these three songs and what should I do with these songs? Should I just trash them or would anybody even be interested in hearing them? And the response was overwhelmingly yes. I was very, very surprised. So I actually started working on the songs to complete them from their demo form and to finish recordings and started getting really inspired and excited and just having fun with it and over the course of about 3 and 1/2 to four weeks those three songs turned into a completed batch of songs- enough for a whole album. So, yeah, I just felt the inspiration come- kind of made me feel like that 19 year old kid again- full of passion and fire and excitement- you know- kind of reconnecting to the roots so to speak, musically and spiritually, kind of where I came from as a musician, and the songs just came really quick and it was just a real exciting process and then from that point I just started recording and finishing the songs and by probably mid July the entire album was finished.

YourDeny the Fallen and Godman projects are progressive but more modern metal sounding. Glory of Kings hearkens back to a more melodic era. Did you immediately have certain friends in mind to play either in the studio or on the road with you? How did all that play out from having completed songs to having a band?

Jonathan: So obviously Deny the Fallen and Godman are much more modern metal/ progressive style. It started out with those three songs that I had written and had just been sitting on for a few years. And so when I started working on it, it just caught fire with inspiration and excitement and I hadn’t been doing classic or classic progressive metal in decades since the Obsessions album. The only time I really kind of dipped my toes back into that pool was when I was playing with Sacred Warrior for those few years but that was just working, working live, doing live shows and we didn’t really do any recordings. We had started on a song but we never really completed it. So I really never got back into the progressive metal writing and recording mode until you know these three songs and I started working on them. Just got really inspired. So obviously when it went from three songs to an EP to a full length record, I realized that was really something there and I started really feeling like this album was special. There was something really special about it. Really timely. For lack of a better way of putting it, I felt like it was God’s timing and you know his wind of inspiration was on it. So recognizing the moment in the music, and how special these songs in this record have turned out to be, it only made sense that this was going to become a band or a live band as well. So while I was about three quarters of the way through with the bass recording process, Michael Feighan’s name just kept popping into my mind, and Michael and I didn’t know each other very well. We’ve talked briefly at Immortal Fest a couple years in a row. I really like his spirit. Love his playing, just his overall attitude and demeanor. He was very very complimentary towards my son Josh, who’s the drummer for Deny the Fallen and just took on kind of a mentor role and was very encouraging to him and showed him a lot of interest and love at the festivals and stuff and I kind of took mental note of that. But it just felt like the Lord kept bringing Michael back to my mind and to my thinking while finishing this record and I thought- man, I don’t even know him that well, but if I reach out he might think I’m crazy. But one day I finally did. I reached out to him, messaged him, and asked if he would have any interest and possibly playing in a band, and I sent him a little bit of the music, and he completely freaked out and to be honest- I never got a yes from him. I got a message that said- I’m really going to have to practice and work on my playing to play these songs, so that was kind of funny. He’s been very excited about it, and that’s also been very encouraging to me- his excitement and enthusiasm for it. As far as Erik goes, obviously Erik and I were both in Sacred Warrior on “Christ the Solid Rock” single that was released and the video that was released during covid, during the pandemic. And that was all the living former and current members of Sacred Warrior. So both of us fit that description. We all worked on that song together, so when I actually heard Erik singing on the last verse of that song, I was just really stunned because I thought it was very much a standout performance and you know Erik has all the range and the skills of the previous singers of Sacred Warrior. Obviously Rey and Eli are phenomenal, but he’s got his own tonality. There’s his own thing going on too as well, and I took note of that, and then when I was up in Chicago rehearsing for a Immortal fest with Sacred Warrior, that’s when I actually met Erik in person. We just became fast friends and for the last four years we’ve developed a friendship, and talk a lot, and I’ve had some deep fellowship and conversations. We talked about his struggles with mental illness and just become great friends over the years, so when this project started to develop into something and I knew that I was going to need a high caliber singer, and somebody that had that kind of Queensreich, Sacred Warrior, Fates Warning kind of range of vocals, he was in my mind. At first I thought I might have multiple singers, guest appearances, and all that because I was still in this in the project or EP mentality, but the further along I got with it, I realized that it actually was developing into something really special. So I reached out to Erik and asked him if he would be willing to do this record, and his response was- I have never done an album before and do you really think I’m the right guy and that I’m able to do this? And I said- man, based upon what I’ve heard, if you’ll just trust me we’re going to get something really special out of this and man, did we! So he ended up coming down to Mexico for two weeks and we recorded all the vocal parts over those two weeks and he had not heard any of the vocal melodies to the songs. He didn’t know how the songs were supposed to go, what the lyrics were, any of that stuff before he got here. All he had heard is the music. So I literally fed hem every line, one line, one phrase at a time with him not having any reference point, and we recorded the whole album that way. As they developed into finished songs, he was surprised at what they sounded like. It was like discovering little nuggets of treasure along the way for him. I knew what they were supposed to sound like, but I had never demoed them because I have a metal voice, but I don’t have that classic metal tone and range in my voice. Mine’s more of a modern metal voice. So I didn’t want to color his ideas of what the songs were supposed to sound like by me demoing them and him trying to imitate me, because that wasn’t what I wanted. So basically I gave him the lines one at a time, and he just nailed it! One after the other after the other, and that’s the way the whole record was recorded.

Erik, what went through your mind when Jonathan asked you to be the singer for this music he had written?

Erik: Well, he and I were friends for four years. As I said in the listening party, I was just going to sing one song on an EP. When he asked me, I was a bit nervous that I wasn’t talented enough to sing on such a high level album. He told me God put it on his heart that I was the guy and I was to simply trust him. There must have been a real anointing because when I listen back I think “That’s me”? Jon was right. I never expected to be on an album at any point. I thought I would be a perpetual member of a worship team, as that’s all I’ve been doing since Sacred Warrior.

I’m glad you sang for the whole album. I think it just may turn into something special!

It’s a poignant one for me as my mom died just a couple weeks ago.

Jonathan: I know brother. I’m so sorry. It’s so hard losing your mom. It was rough when I lost mine.

Heavy metal seems to be the only genre where it’s OK to talk about mental health. Can you talk about your song “Mind War”?

Jonathan: The subject is a bit of a passion for me because my life has been marked in huge ways by mental illness. Many of the closest and dearest friends in my circle battle mental illnesses and mental struggles every day. My wife has been very open about her battle with bipolar disorder and has used her testimony to reach so many people. I’m so proud of her, but honestly, I wanted to write a song that talked about what it’s like dealing with mental illness as a believer in Jesus. I think a lot of times in the church world, there’s kind of a scarlet letter put on people who have mental illnesses. Sometimes they’re seen as weak, as not having enough faith. Sometimes there’s a negative mindset about taking psychiatric medications and things like that. I’ve seen a lot of shame put on people for just not having strong enough faith, and I think that’s just really unfortunate. I think that’s some of the strongest people I’ve ever seen are people that fight mental battles every day. Sometimes it’s a war just to get out of bed in the morning. I think that if the average person had to carry the weight of what these warriors carry daily, they probably couldn’t stand under the pressure of it. So it’s an every day, every moment battle in the mind to keep themselves in a place of faith and hope, stewarding their health, taking their medications, doing the appropriate therapies, and things like that. That’s not weakness. That takes incredible strength and that’s been my experience. So I wanted to write a song that talked about that struggle and when Erik came into the band, Erik battles bipolar disorder, and he’s been very open about it, and he wanted a platform as well to be able to speak on the issue. So I wrote that song basically in honor of my wife and Erik and all my dear friends who have to deal with this horrible illness every day of their lives. I just wanted to bring some light to the subject.

I think the song has a powerful and timely message that needs to be heard. What’s the meaning of “See You in Paradise”?

Jonathan: The song was inspired by seeing my dear friend Bob and my brother Rey Parra deal with their grief in a beautiful way. My friend Bob lost his wife of 30 years to cancer a few years back. I watched him worship the Lord in his grief, giving God a sacrifice of praise that can only be gifted to Him in our pain. It’s easy to worship when everything’s going well. But can you worship when your heart’s broken? Those sacrifices of praise are sweet and beautiful to the Lord. I watched Rey singing to record the vocals to the second Deny the Fallen album the day after losing his beloved mom. He sang with so much heart and emotion to honor her and the Lord. It was really beautiful to witness. The song deals with the fact that we as believers in Jesus don’t grieve like those without hope. Our hope is that someday when this life is over we will see our loved ones again in the paradise he has prepared for us.

Roots of the Past is set for release on August 14 on Roxx Records and digitally on bandcamp. Are you planning on taking G.O.K. live and what might a lineup for that look like ?

Jonathan: A bit of a correction on the release dates. August 14th is the digital release date on our bandcamp site Glory of Kings bandcamp.com and August 28 is the release date on Roxx Records for the CD. September 4th is the release date for the European version of the CD on No Dust Records. The American version and the European version have completely different album cover art, both labels will be releasing it on vinyl as well- that’s projected to be around November. As far as live goes, yes, we’re planning live shows for next year. We’re hoping to schedule festival shows in Europe and in the US for 2027. As far as the lineup goes, it’s myself and Gary Michael Wilson on guitar. You probably remember Gary from the progressive metal band called Thee Final Chapter. Gary is an amazing player and perfect for this music. Erik Shelling will be on vocals, and Michael Feighan from Whitecross will be on drums. We are still searching for our permanent bass player, hopefully we’ll have that person in the fold in the next few months. You can expect a high octane level performance from this lineup. I’m really blessed to be surrounded with such amazingly talented musicians. I can’t wait to see what the future holds for this band.

I’m excited for you as well! Glory of Kings moves to the front burner and Deny the Fallen to the back burner? And what are Josh and Jayson (Jon’s sons and Deny the Fallen members) up to musically these days? 

Jonathan: I don’t really see it as them being on different burners. They are obviously two completely polar opposite bands musically. I kind of look at them more like children. Each one has their own personality, strengths, and gifting. One might play football and the other plays basketball. They each have their own games and seasons. So each will get their time to shine. I guess for me I had to understand that this was the season for Glory of Kings to shine. There is so much hunger and excitement for this music and this album. It’s quite shocking really how great the response has been. I think a lot of people have been starving for the classic metal sound done at a high quality level. This truly gives the vibes and feeling of some of the classics of Christian metal while being uniquely its own thing and modern in quality and production. It’s been a lot of fun to make. My sons Josh and Jayson stay super busy. Josh is a very sought after drummer in worship circles as well as doing session stuff and live gigs with bands. He just did some shows with the metal band These Beautiful Ruins. Jayson is a very busy contractor and writes a lot of really awesome music when he can fit it in. I couldn’t be prouder of those boys!

Anything else you want to say? What’s the weather forecast for Mexico this time of year? 

Jonathan: Thank you for your friendship and support as always! Right now it’s about 90 and 95% humidity. Feels like 103. This is our hottest part of the year. Sunny. No rain in weeks. I just hope this album touches people around the world and brings them face to face with the goodness of God. I hope the songs continue to touch people for the Kingdom of God long after us musicians are gone if the Lord tarries. I hope also it brings some joy and happiness into people’s lives. God is good and it’s awesome to celebrate him in songs!

Well spoken. 

About Author