True Strength is one of the up and coming new bands to have recently emerged from current hard music circles. The project of founding member and rhythm guitarist/songwriter Ryan “The Archangel” Darnell released independently in 2014 its Rus Gib fronted debut full length The Cross Will Always Prevail (80% Angelic Warlord review) prior to signing with Roxx Records for its 2017 sophomore effort Steel Evangelist (75% review) to find Darnell handling vocals. With new lead vocalist George Tsalkis in the fold, True Strength returns on Roxx Records in the spring of 2019 with its third album Sanguinary Vivification, which the 85% Angelic Warlord review summarizes as ‘a fantastic traditional meets power meets doom meets progressive metal album’. Angelic Warlord had the recent opportunity to talk with Darnell, whom goes into detail in regards to the True Strength beginnings, its signing with Roxx Records and particulars behind new album Sanguinary Vivification.
I would like to start by asking about your musical background. Who were your musical influences while growing up? Also, what musicians inspired you?
I want to thank you Andy, for this interview and I want to thank all of Angelic Warlord's readers out there, thank you for supporting Christian heavy metal and True Strength!
So, where to begin? I was born in the 1980's and grew up with some of the greatest music ever made. My mother and my aunt were both huge metal-heads and my ears were saturated daily with bands like Van Halen, Journey, Boston, Blue Oyster Cult, Black Sabbath, Judas Priest, Metallica, Megadeth and Ozzy Osbourne. My dad on the other hand, was a fan of 50's doo-wop music, 60's and early-70's rock as well as outlaw country and folk music. My grandfather was in a well known polka band that toured around in the 60's and 70's and I grew up listening to him play his accordion (Like Tim Gaines of Stryper I am also of Volga German descent). Needless to say, I developed an appreciation for all kinds of music from an early age. I started playing trumpet in school when I was eight years old and played it throughout middle school and high school. I first started playing bass guitar when I was ten years old and I started playing electric guitar when I was sixteen.
I didn't start playing in actual bands until I was in high school, it was during this time when I started to get exposed to European metal bands like Iron Maiden, HammerFall, Rage, Rhapsody, Stratovarius, Sonata Arctica, Primal Fear, Helloween, Gamma Ray and American metal bands like Manowar, Jag Panzer and Iced Earth. All of these bands sort of rounded out my sound and influenced me to take my songwriting to the next level. I was eighteen when I formed my first serious metal band with my childhood friend and former True Strength drummer, Chris Clark, which I played in for five years until the band broke up in 2007 after I became a believer in Jesus Christ. After the band broke-up, I didn't play guitar or sing (and vowed not to) for nearly three years when in 2011 I re-recorded the vocals on a former friend of mine's album. It wasn't until a year later that I finally decided to form True Strength at the urging of my parents, Chris Clark and my wife in 2012.
As for the musicians that have inspired me I would have to list Tom Scholz from Boston, Joe Bouchard from Blue Oyster Cult, Dave Murray from Iron Maiden, Dave Mustaine from Megadeth, Eddie Van Halen, Kai Hansen from Helloween, Jon Schaffer from Iced Earth, Ritchie Blackmore from Deep Purple and Rainbow, Michael Sweet from Stryper, David Byron and Mick Box from Uriah Heep, Rudolf Schenker from Scorpions, Ross Valory from Journey, and many, many more.
When did you develop the vision for True Strength? And what inspired you to start the band? Also, what is the meaning behind the True Strength name?
The vision for True Strength started to evolve in the years after my conversion to Christianity. During this time I stumbled upon the band Cage and their album "Hell Destroyer" that was released in 2007; this Christian-themed album inspired me enough to start wondering if playing Christian metal was in my future. Admittedly, I wasn't too knowledgeable of Christian heavy metal and I often wondered beyond Stryper (and other bands of the 80's Christian Metal Movement), if there were any contemporaries of theirs that were still rocking. Chris Clark started exposing me to various bands that were boldly playing Christian metal like Seventh Avenue, Narnia, Saint, HB, Skelerata and Stairway. I think it was at a Stryper show in 2011 (because they were promoting songs from "The Covering" as well as playing their greatest hits) that really set events in motion for True Strength's birth. After the show, I started playing guitar and writing songs, so much so that my wife (girlfriend at the time) started to take notice. After she and I got married in the spring of that year, I flew out of state to re-record the vocals on a former friend's album. After returning back home, I started filling up on Christian heavy metal, discovering new bands and reading reviews here on Angelic Warlord.
It wasn't until Fall of 2012, while I was in the hospital with my wife, awaiting the birth of our first child that I came up with the True Strength name. I was reading the Bible and I wanted to come up with a biblical inspired name for this new band (like Stryper and Isaiah 53). For me, it was Psalm 118:14 "The LORD is my strength and my song (defense); He has become my salvation" that really stuck out in my mind. Even though I was now writing music and coming up with a band name, I was still apprehensive about starting the band. One of the reasons I left music in the first place was to get away from the heavy metal lifestyle. Chris Clark continued to reassure me that with prayer, I wouldn't slip back into that destructive lifestyle and encouraged me to start True Strength. My parents and my wife encouraged me as well and it was their blessing (along with many hours in prayer) that allowed me to take the final steps. As a condition for starting True Strength and to ensure that I didn't relapse into my old ways before Christ; I told Chris that this band had to be about Jesus Christ and for Jesus Christ, no exceptions. I also insisted that the band receive no financial gain for its music, donating all sales to charity. With both of us in agreement, we went about hiring other musicians to round out our lineup and we went in to record "The Cross Will Always Prevail" in 2013 and released it in 2014.
What are your thoughts on the first two True Strength albums, The Cross Will Always Prevail and Steel Evangelist? Which of the two is your favorite and why?
That's a difficult question and though this may sound cliche, both albums hold a special place in my heart. If I had to chose, I would have to say that my favorite of the two is "The Cross Will Always Prevail" for a couple of reasons. First, because the title track is literally a song about my salvation story and is deeply personal to me. Second, was that I was able to finally address (in song) the issues of Christian persecution (“Christian Battle Cry”, “Under the Scimitar”) which was spiraling out of control during the time of writing, the horror of abortion (“Starve the Fires of Moloch”) and apocalyptic events (“Michael the Archangel”, “When We Meet At Armageddon”, “Key to the Abyss”). "The Cross Will Always Prevail" was very cathartic and helped me get through the agony of witnessing the many horrors in this world. I was also able to use three songs that I had written for a former band of mine that were very special to me but never got released, I changed the lyrics to fit the Christian theme of the album. The whole album gave me a sense of completeness for me, closing that chapter in my life between my salvation and forming True Strength.
"Steel Evangelist" was an angry album that I felt had to be made. It was sort of me 'pushing back' against the bullies. When I wrote the songs, there was a major uptick in Christian persecution in the Middle East and China along with a plethora of legal losses for Christians to the secular authoritarians here in the United States. That time just felt so dark to me and I had to write songs about it to get me out of the black hole of despair. What really motivated me to make "Steel Evangelist" was when I listened to an old 1960's broadcast of Paul Harvey called "If I Were The Devil" on YouTube; this haunting, prophetic radio broadcast almost perfectly describes the world we live in now. One of the first lines of the broadcast, Harvey says: "If I were the devil, I would start with the ripest apple on the tree, thee!" which became the inspiration for the song "The Fall of the Ripest Apple".
What led to True Strength signing with Roxx Records?
Two things actually. First, Bill Bafford of Roxx Records contacted me back in 2014 to get copies of "The Cross Will Always Prevail" for distribution on Christian Metal Distro. Second, an awesome friend and fan of ours from Germany by the name of Olaf Becker recommended us to Bill Bafford and Scott Waters. Bill upon hearing that I had just released "Steel Evangelist" digitally and independently, wanted to re-master "Steel Evangelist", give it new cover art and press it into CD under the Roxx Records banner, which we agreed to. Bill has been a blessing for True Strength, as he has promoted and distributed our music much further than I would have ever been able to do by myself. I am truly thankful for Bill and Roxx Records!
How would you describe your music for those that have not heard True Strength?
Traditional, Classic, U.S. Power Metal with N.W.O.B.H.M, European and AOR influences with an overtly, uncompromising Christian message.
True Strength recently released its third album, Sanguinary Vivification. Why don’t you go ahead and tell us a bit more about Sanguinary Vivification, specifically the writing and recording process. Also, what is the meaning behind the Sanguinary Vivification title?
I had already written most of the songs that were to become "Sanguinary Vivification" around the time I released "The Cross Will Always Prevail"; two of them were even older, unreleased songs I had made years prior that I rearranged for this album. I set about making an album that really tried to capture the events of Christ's crucifixion in an emotionally charged way. I wanted the lyrics to be 100% biblical based, without taking any "artistic freedoms" or "creative liberties" with the Gospels like so many artists and filmmakers have before. In 2017, we went into the studio to record our third album, "Sanguinary Vivification".
As with the previous album, we elected to work with Robert Sands on the recording of the album but went through Bombworks Records' Rob Colwell for mastering. I recorded the rhythm guitar, bass, acoustic guitar and piano in three sessions. I then recorded scratch vocals (that I would later send to George) in another session. Josh Cirbo finished the lead guitar tracks after a year into the project, and Ryan Mey completed the drum parts and both were sent to Robert to be added to the tracks. After the songs were fully constructed, I sent them to George Tsalikis for the vocals, which he finished shortly after. A few more sessions were needed to edit and final mix the tracks and then we sent it to Rob Colwell for mastering.
As for the meaning behind the title, Great question! Quite honestly, I get that question a lot and perhaps I should've included this description in the CD booklet! Maybe I will design a shirt with the definition on it for the album?
Here are the official definitions of each word:
Sanguinary
1. (of an event) Involving bloodshed.
2. (of an object) Consisting of, covered with, or similar in appearance to blood.
Vivification
1. The giving of life; vitalization; animation.
Sanguinary Vivification is a phrase I came up with to describe how Jesus' death gave us life. Sanguinary Vivification literally translates to "The giving of life, through bloodshed" to describe how Christ shed His Holy Blood for us and for our salvation. Jesus Christ being the Lamb of God and the ultimate sacrifice for all sin, is truly our Sanguinary Vivification. I just wanted to have a unique title that described Christ's sacrifice in a more complex way. There are already so many albums out there with phrases like By His Blood, blood this and blood that etc. etc.; I just wanted something different. I'm kind of like Steve Rowe from Mortification in that I love using the big words.
I understand that Sanguinary Vivification is also a concept album. Please go into further detail behind the concept.
One of the greatest challenges for me as a new believer in 2007 was, 'How does the Old Testament connect to the New Testament?' While a person can become a believer simply by hearing the Gospel of Jesus Christ, I believe it is invaluable for a believer (as he or she grows in their faith) to understand the prophecies that led to Jesus and how He and He alone fulfilled them. I think by knowing this, not only does it strengthen our faith in Christ but also equips us to evangelize to others and helps us understand the Gospel even more. So, I set out to do just that with the "Sanguinary Vivification" album. I wanted to make an album about Isaiah 53 "The Prophecy of the Suffering Servant" and the fulfillment of those prophecies by Jesus Christ in the Gospels, 700 years later. I wanted to present this critical scripture in a way that was fully accessible in the lyrics and in the music, which I believe I was able to do.
What are your feelings about Sanguinary Vivification? Are you happy with the way the album turned out? And how has the response been so far?
I am so satisfied with "Sanguinary Vivification" and how it turned out that if I were to never make another True Strength album, I could die happy knowing that this album was the final release. Why? It represents everything that I love: my faith in Christ and my music. Could things have been improved or done better? Absolutely! But what brings me so much satisfaction with this album is the fact that I was able to make an entire album about Jesus Christ, my Lord and Savior... you don't know how much this means to me. I feel a completeness with just being able to accomplish this. I have been wanting to make an album like this since I was saved in 2007. I dreamed of making this album even when I gave up music in the years following my salvation up until the founding of True Strength in 2012. By God's Grace I have been able to do so and I am thankful.
The response to this album has been extremely positive so far! Praise God! The album was first reviewed by Jacob Folk at Christian Molten Metal and in addition to giving the album a six out of six swords, he honored us by naming "Sanguinary Vivification" Metal of the Month! A lot of fans, friends and family have said how much of an improvement this album is over "Steel Evangelist" and even "The Cross Will Always Prevail", which makes me happy because I spent a lot of time and effort on this album. I pray that Sanguinary Vivification's music will help bring the Gospel to people who may never have heard it.
What are some of your favorite songs off Sanguinary Vivification?
My favorite songs off of Sanguinary Vivification are "Man of Sorrows", "Silent Before the Shearers", "His Blood Is On Us" and "Worthy is the Lamb". I find myself listening to them over and over again, as a fan of heavy metal I find "Worthy is the Lamb" my absolute favorite of the bunch. The combination of George's vocals, the speed riffing guitars and dynamic bass and Josh's unbelievably commanding lead harmonies coupled with Mey's drumming- makes it a quintessential speed metal/power metal song! I love it! It's one of those songs that are fun to play and even more fun to listen to.
True Strength experienced quite a bit of vocal turnover between the recording of its second album, Steel Evangelist, and Sanguinary Vivification. Please go into more detail, and what led the group to work with new front man George Tsalkis?
Yes, unfortunately. This wasn't because there was any drama or "creative differences" between myself or any of the other vocalists. It was simply an issue of scheduling and availability. Sometimes it can be very difficult to coordinate an effort like True Strength with members all over the place. Everyone has a life, everyone has family and obligations, everyone has jobs. The real trick is getting all of the pieces put together. What led to this search for a lead vocalist in the first place was my dissatisfaction with my vocals on "Steel Evangelist", not that it was bad, but it wasn't the best it could have been. Truth be told: I rushed the "Steel Evangelist" album after "The Cross Will Always Prevail". When I started True Strength I had enough music written for at least three to four albums just sitting inside of my head. After the positive response to "The Cross Will Always Prevail" I became impatient to record and release more material.
It was around this time that Rus Gib, the vocalist on "The Cross Will Always Prevail" became unavailable due to new job commitments. This was a huge blow to me, because I really loved Rus's vocals, he is one of the most talented people I have ever worked with. When I went into the studio to record "Steel Evangelist" I kind of held out hope that Rus's job situation would work itself out and he would become more available, for a brief time he did. I even remember announcing on Angelic Warlord that he was going to return to sing on "Steel Evangelist" but it wasn't to be so. At this point, I decided to just sing the album myself since I had already recorded the scratch vocals for Rus, I believed that all I needed to do was practice the parts I wrote for Rus and work on harmonies. Before this, I hadn't sung professionally for almost four years and I underestimated how out of shape my voice was. It took a lot of effort and a lot of strain to get through it, but I did. I believe all of this diverted attention to the vocals caused other aspects of the music to suffer as I was being stretched too thin. Again, none of this is an excuse, it just is what it is.
When I went into the studio to record "Sanguinary Vivification" I decided that no matter how long it took I wasn't going to rush the album and I was going to find a full-time vocalist. Former True Strength drummer, Chris Clark worked with George Tsalikis on his secular metal project, Poseidon's Anger and he knew how much I admired George's work in Zandelle. As a matter of fact, I've listened to and followed Zandelle's music since the early-2000's. The chance to have George's amazing voice in True Strength was almost too good to be true. Chris got him in contact with me and we agreed to work together. I sent him my scratch vocals before Christmas of 2018 and he sent back the finished product in less than a month! I can't put it in words how blessed I feel to be working with a singer of his caliber! It has opened me up to focus exclusively on my songwriting and musicianship, a freedom I haven't enjoyed since the debut album.
What does the future hold for True Strength? Is a fourth album in the works?
God willing, I hope to continue True Strength for as long as possible. I would love to do an album for each book of the Bible. With that being said... I have in fact begun writing and recording True Strength's fourth album, to be called "The Mighty Hand of Yahweh" which is another concept/theme album. This album is about the Book of Joshua, I am hoping to release it around April of 2020; the album will have nine songs. I am also working on a "Christmas" album (I put Christmas in quotes as it isn't a Christmas album in the traditional or contemporary sense) about the birth of Jesus Christ and his early years. This album won't be filled with Jingle Bells or references to Santa Claus or reindeer- it won't even have a red and green motif. I was hoping to finish it, record it, and release it by Christmas 2019 but it looks like that won't happen and so I hope to release it around Christmas 2020.
I would like to close by thanking you for honoring Angelic Warlord with this interview. Do you have any last words you would like to offer our readers?
Thank you Andy for this opportunity to speak to your readers! The honor has been all mine! I would like to thank first and foremost, my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ who lives and reigns forever. I would also like to thank my family. In addition, I would like to thank Bill Bafford and everyone at Roxx Records and my sponsor Steve Clayton, Inc. for personalized guitar picks and guitar accessories.
Before I go I would like to extend an offer to all those out there who may not yet be a believer in Christ but are on the fence: The time to believe in Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior is now. Don't think you have a lot of years left in your life, no one knows when God will ask you to forfeit your soul. My life before Jesus Christ was a disaster to say the least... I was a womanizer, drunk, full of pride, anger and hatred, if anyone got in my way of my ambitions I would crush them. I was always chasing after my lustful desires until I couldn't live with the guilt of who I was or what I had done with my life, especially when I realized how many people I had hurt including family and friends. I was going to commit suicide in the Summer of 2007 by drinking anti-freeze in my parent's garage when the voice of the Lord told me to put down the bottle and go to a nearby mountain that I always loved visiting. When I arrived I barely had the energy to walk up the seemingly easy trail, crying so many tears that I could barely see. I stopped at a pine tree with a rock that looked like a gravestone underneath it. It was here that I began yelling at God, telling Him to kill me, take away all of the pain. I confessed all that I had ever done to Him and told him that I didn't want to live anymore. I cried harder than I have ever cried before when suddenly I started to feel a great sadness and I began saying that I wanted to live and that I didn't want to die- I was truly scared and lost.
I confessed to Jesus Christ and asked Him to save me. It was then that a large gust of wind surrounded me, nearly drying all my tears from how powerful it was. I then heard a voice in my heart that I believe was the Lord Himself say, "Come, sit under the tree", I hesitated to do so, but I trusted the voice and sat with my back against the gravestone-like rock under it. I then heard the voice tell me to pick the seed pod off of a wild blade of grass or wheat that was in front of me and eat it. When I did the line from John 12:24 "Very truly I tell you, unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed. But if it dies, it produces many seeds." spoke to me in my heart. After this I began feeling strength returning to me, then the voice told me, "Rise, Soldier of God!" and I rose and walked down that mountain and I have believed and served the Lord ever since.
Shortly after this, I walked away from my band of five years as well as many friendships. I gave up playing guitar and writing songs because I believed that they were the cause of my sin. After my salvation, God began to repair my relationship with my family as well as friends who I had hurt over the years: Chris Clark (who would become the drummer of True Strength in 2012) and I had a falling out in 2005 when he left that band we were both in, and we had become bitter enemies. In the fall of 2007, I randomly drove to an old record store that I used to frequent and there in the parking lot was his car. I hesitantly went inside the store and we awkwardly greeted each other; I then began telling him about all of the changes in my life and how I found Christ, I began apologizing for all of the wrongs I did to him and he forgave me. After two years of not speaking we were friends again, but that wasn't the end of the story: A couple months later I invited Chris to go to church with me on Christmas, it was there that he renewed his Faith and became a believer in Jesus Christ and he has served him ever since, and the rest is history!
My friends, miracles do happen and my redemption through Jesus Christ is a miracle, I truly believe this. I know I don't deserve forgiveness or the Grace and Mercy of Jesus Christ. I was the worst among sinners, I used to be an enemy of God. Now, God uses my talents to glorify Him and to spread His message of the Gospel to thousands. This would not have been possible without the power of Jesus Christ. So please, believe, not for my sake, but for your sake. Remember that no matter what you may have done in your life you can be forgiven through Jesus! I pray in Jesus' name that all of you will be saved! We love you! God bless you all! Ryan "The Archangel" Darnell - True Strength
True Strength online: https://truestrength.band & www.facebook.com/True-Strength
Interview by Andrew Rockwell
