By Carl Begai
Even though the release of Kobra And The Lotus’ new album, Visionary, is still months away, the band has been anything but quiet. In a surprise move they issued a video for new song ‘Welcome To My Funeral’ as a taste of what’s to come without a date even being set. On top of that, they’ve been tearing up the road in the UK, and have confirmed an extensive European tour supporting metal veterans U.D.O. for the fall. Recent developments saw me doing some work on behalf of the Kobra crew, which involved hearing Visionary in its entirety, and it’s safe to say the band has evolved into something much stronger and meaner than even their most devout fans can imagine. Vocalist Brittany Paige took some time out from a hectic tour schedule to discuss where the band has been, where they’re going, and what kind of mayhem the fans are in for.
Bottom line; it’ll be worth the wait.
“After our first big summer tour in 2010, it put in perspective the main areas of improvement we needed to focus on,” Paige begins, discussing the line-up changes that have taken place since the release of their 2010 debut, Out Of The Pit. “The first step was making sure the line-up was strong enough. We needed every member to be on the exact same track in terms of commitment, vision and effort. We parted ways with Matt Van Wezel (guitars) and bassist Ben Freud. It put us in a very tough position because we had the UK tour coming up shortly after. When we came back in the winter, Chris (Swenson / guitars) and I began writing the album. This also really put into perspective the true foundation of the band. I composed some of the songs by myself – such as ‘Welcome To My Funeral’ – and together we wrote the album, so the fact that the bass and lead guitar weren’t filled concrete roles had no effect on the writing process.” Continue reading KOBRA AND THE LOTUS – Shedding Skin
Kobra And The Lotus are a little band from Calgary, Alberta that I took an immediate dislike to when I first heard them in 2009. The music was fine but I couldn’t stand the vocals, provided by the otherwise lovely Brittany Paige. I have to admit, their debut album Out Of The Pit isn’t the car crash I expected. I recently spoke with Paige about the changes that helped Kobra And The Lotus get out of the career-stifling hole they were in, and was surprised to learn I had a hand in pushing the band’s decision to re-record all the vocals for the debut. Following is an excerpt from the story, with Paige discussing life as a metal band from the Canadian prairies.