To Kill a King (band)
| To Kill A King | |
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| Background information | |
| Origin | London, England |
| Genres | Rock, folk rock |
| Years active | 2009-present |
| Labels | Communion Records, Xtra Mile Recordings |
| Website | To Kill A King |
| Members | Ralph Pelleymounter (vocals / acoustic guitar) James Ball (bass) Josh Taffel (drums) Grant McNeill (electric guitar) Ben Jackson (synth and keys) |
| Past members | Ian Dudfield (electric guitar/funky trombone times) Jon Willoughby (drums) Josh Platman (bass/cello) Peter Hakola (bass) |
To Kill A King are a British rock band currently based in London. The band has been compared to others such as The National, Grizzly Bear and Frightened Rabbit.
They have been the support act for recent Dog Is Dead and Bastille tour dates. To Kill A King played at the Reading and Leeds Festivals in August 2013.
The band was formed in 2009, originally called Kid iD, by frontman Ralph Pelleymounter with Ian Dudfield and Josh Platman during their studies at University of Leeds. In late 2009, after a change of line-up, they renamed themselves To Kill A King as Jonathan Willoughby and Ben Jackson joined the band.
Their first single, "Fictional State", was released on 29 May 2011. A video, directed by Jack King, was made for the single in April 2011. To Kill A King's first EP, My Crooked Saint, was released on 16 October 2011.
Between April and July 2012, To Kill A King uploaded videos for the songs "Funeral", "Let It Die" and "Rays", which were videos that they had made during rehearsals of the tracks. The Word Of Mouth EP was released on 23 July 2012. A video for "Howling" was uploaded to their YouTube account on 8 October 2012. The making of the video involved Ralph Pelleymounter being seated for 36 hours while 5,000 photographs were captured and used to form a video. The Word of Mouth EP was made available for free digital download. The band also held a competition in which those who spread the news of their new EP in the most creative way would receive a free copy of the Word of Mouth CD. The CD can now be purchased from the band's official-website store.
The band signed with Xtra Mile Recordings in August 2013 and re-released their debut album Cannibals With Cutlery as a deluxe version, adding 4 additional tracks on 7 October. The album reached number thirteen in the Official Record Store Chart.
In September 2013 the band had another change in line-up as Ian Dudfield and Jonathan Willoughby left. Grant McNeill (electric guitar) and Joshua Taffel (drums) stepped up in their places.
The band's next EP—Exit, Pursued A By Bear—was released on 20 October 2014. Frontman Ralph Pelleymounter describes the EP as "a departure from where we were but not where we are going to end up. Call it a pit stop on the road to optimism, somewhere to pick up some snacks and petrol, maybe look at the local attractions, like a girl with a beard of bees or the worlds largest cigarette". The EP features 5 new tracks. "Exit, Pursued By a Bear" is one of Shakespeare's most famous stage directions, which features in his 1623 play The Winter's Tale.
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