PlanetMosh Keeping it Metal
The rock ‘n’ roll newcomers Puppet Kings deliver gigantic rock, soaked with adrenaline fuelled riffery and huge choruses. The band reveal their new EP, Very Cool & Groovy, through all platforms on Friday 1st September. Before then, we had a chat:
What is the full band line-up, who plays what?
Tom Cochrane – Guitars & Vocals,
Neil Sawyer – Bass & Vocals,
Harry “Hurricane” Lehane – Drums Vocals.
How and when did the band form?
Puppet Kings were formed in Brighton in 2012. Tom and Neil, who are childhood friends, were playing in a female fronted Fleetwood Mac style pop band and when that came to an end, they wanted to get back to their roots and form a grunge metal Rock n Roll band. They found original drummer Jake, and then the Puppet Kings were born. A couple of years ago when Jake decided he’d had enough having no money and breaking endless drumsticks he left to join the real world. Enter former Death Ape Disco (Check out their album Supervolcano, it’s incredible) drummer Harry “Hurricane” Lehane, and the Puppet Kings soldiered on.
When and how did the band really start gelling and solidifying?
30 seconds after Neil Tom and Jake being in a rehearsal room the trio gelled over blasting the chorus of ‘Man In The Box’ by Alice In Chains and after spending time on the Brighton scene became a really great unit playing live whilst starting to tour and play further afield. When Jake decided enough was enough Harry was the only person enough of a powerhouse to match Jake and even improve on his parts.
What are your musical influences?
Puppet Kings are influenced by a lot of 90’s music, Grunge such as Nirvana, Soundgarden, Alice In Chains. Metal such as Metallica, Megadeth, Pantera. Rock such as Guns N Roses, Foo Fighters and Queens Of The Stoneage.
Where have you played or toured?
We have toured/played in:
Brighton, Guildford, Southampton, Worthing, Hastings, London, Bristol, Birmingham, Kettering, Liverpool, Manchester, Sheffield, Crawley, Red Hill, St Albans to name a few. Bands we have toured/played with include Black Peaks, Tiger Cub, Heck, Skindred, Therapy, Kobra and The Lotus, Death Ape Disco, Sons Of Icarus & We Are The Ocean.
In your opinion, how is your band different from all the other bands out there?
We try just and mix big catchy choruses with the groove and balls of metal. We’re not part of any trend, we just play what we love.
If a deaf person were to ask you to describe the sound of your music, how would you describe it? Foo Fighters colliding with Megadeth.
Do you have a tour on the horizon?
Yes, we have three dates booked for this release so far – August 12th – Sanctuary, Basingstoke. 18th Bar 42, Worthing and 22nd September Southampton, The Hobbit and will be booking more for August.
Where can we find your social media sites?
