Hailing from New York, New Jersey and Pennsylvania, Kings Never Die walk the line between positive, uplifting messages and dead serious subject matter. They offer a musical and lyrical mix of hardcore, punk, and metal with sing-along vocals.
The original lineup of Kings Never Die - Dylan Gadino (vocals), Dan Nastasi (guitar/vocals), Danny Schuler (drums), Larry Nieroda (guitar), Evan Ivkovich (bass) - began working together in late 2019 and released the EP Raise A Glass in early 2020. Unfortunately, the worldwide pandemic followed shortly, essentially shutting down their plans for the next two years.
“The goal has always been to formally release a full-length album," said the band. "We used the down time to focus in on writing, what we wanted to really say and recording.” The band emerged with some new members and another EP, Good Times and The Bad in 2022 as a taster while completing the new album, All The Rats.
Some may recognize Dan Nastasi from his past work as an original member of Dog Eat Dog (ABK era) and before that with Mucky Pup. While others may recognize Danny Schuler as drummer in Biohazard, and Evan “ONE” Ivkovich as the bass player in Wisdom in Chains. Although fans of those bands are sure to not be disappointed, Kings Never Die want to completely stand on their own regardless of their resume of bands. Nastasi adds, “This is all about what we are doing now, although we love and respect the people and bands we have played with, past and present, people should only judge Kings Never Die on this new album and the now. Of course, we hope people who enjoy what we’ve done individually in the past dig it, but make no mistakes, there are no shortcuts or riding on past successes. We have cultivated this band from the ground up, we’re putting the work and love what we are doing and what we created here.”
All The Rats contains 10 nonstop tracks starting with "Stay True" and ending with "Side by Side" which speak for themselves. Other tracks of interest are "This One’s for You," "Make Them Anymore," and "Never in My Eyes." The listener should expect memorable vocals and lyrics spit out by relative newcomer vocalist Gadino with Nastasi adding in as he has done in his past. Musically, the beat is held down by Schuler’s clearly recognizable style. A mix of memorable hardcore/punk riffs and you have a sure to be classic album All The Rats.