EVERY KING HAS A CLOWN (feat. Mark Boals, Goran Edman, Mike DiMeo) – S/T (2026) *HQ*

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It’s not often that a new band explodes into view without first having peppered our social media feeds with countless memes, reels and similar jiggerypokery. EVERY KING HAS A CLOWN, however, prove that it can still be done.
Roaring out of a background split intriguingly between Sweden and the Canary Islands, and marshaled by bassist / songwriter Ryker Castro, EVERY KING HAS A CLOWN deliver melodic, yet mighty metal, seamlessly blending the energies of European and international metal with progressive touches.
Ryker says, ““Every King Has A Clown is my solo project. I created it to have total freedom over the songwriting, the sound and the artistic direction. The idea was simple: write the record I always wanted to hear, with strong melodies, heavy energy and no compromises. The jester-king on the album cover, named EKHAC, is the visual symbol of the project — the contrast between good and evil.”

There’s some stellar musicians involved such as Fabio Alessandrini (Annihilator, Bonfire) on drums, but the what elevates the album is the impressive listing of vocalists performing these songs: Mark Boals, Goran Edman, Mike DiMeo, the freat Ray Alder, Mats Leven and more.
The songs on this self-titled debut album “Every King Has A Clown” are a mix between melodic metal & edgy hard rock, and one of the things that enriches its sound and set apart from other albums / bands in this style is the use of clever keyboards / synth arrangements performed by Ryker too. These are not ‘runs’ or ‘fills’, just punctuates among the rhythm guitars for a great effect.

The vocal performances are all very good, and it’s evident that Ryker curated specific voices to each track to match the emotional weight of the songs. Sound quality is first rate, with the album being mastered by Tony Lindgren (H.E.A.T, Myrath, Opeth) in Sweden.
Highly Recommended

01 – Crucify Me
02 – Cimmerian Nights
03 – Victim Of The Night
04 – Higher
05 – Hear Me Calling
06 – Defender
07 – Dancing In The Dark
08 – BloodWar
09 – All We Need Is Rock And Roll
10 – The King Has Lost His Crown
11 – Revenge
12 – Dragon

Ryker Castro – bass, keyboards
Pedro Vallejo – guitar
Alex Vallejo – drums
Fabio Alessandrini (Annihilator, Bonfire) – drums
Bastian Thusgaard (Soilwork) – drums on “BloodWar”
Cacá Barros, Jose Pascual – guitar solos

Lead Vocals:
Göran Edman (Yngwie Malmsteen, Karmakanic)
Ray Alder (Fates Warning, Redemption)
Mark Boals (Yngwie Malmsteen, Royal Hunt, Ring of Fire)
Mats Leven (Therion, Yngwie Malmsteen, Candlemass)
Anders Engberg (Sorcerer, Lion’s Share)
Mike DiMeo (Riot, Masterplan)
Christian Palin (Adagio, Random Eyes)
Steve Braun (Halcyon Way)
Berzan Önen (Ascraeus, Black Water Sunset)
Rob Lundgren (Reveal, Mentalist)

Pre order:
www.fye.com/products/every-king-has-a-clown-every-king-has-a-clown_aec-cle7157-2