Courtesy Siege Perilous
Audio By Carbonatix
When life hands Shaughnessy McDaniel lemons, he grabs his (figurative) blade and charges.
The vocalist of NoCo power metal battalion Siege Perilous fell in love with the epic subgenre as a teen and still believes in the empowering message the music carries.
“Power metal says, ‘The world is crappy and bad, draw your sword and go kick some ass,” says the burly McDaniel. “When I’m feeling down or overwhelmed or things going really bad, there’s a little Eric Adams [the Manowar singer, not the former NYC mayor] in the back of my head saying, ‘Stand and fight!’
“I credit that for a lot of my general success in life. If you don’t have that little Eric Adams in the back of your head, you might give into despair,” he continues. “Instead, I surround myself with music that’s triumphant, which is my favorite emotion.”
He also creates it with Siege Perilous, which released its high-fantasy debut, Becoming the Dragon, on March 27. The record introduces a protagonist, “the child of prophecy,” who must slay a destructive dragon in order to save his realm, but this hero’s journey takes on an interesting arch, weaving in fate-defying decisions that culminates in an optimistic ending, naturally.
“Surprise, surprise, for a fantasy power metal band,” quips McDaniel, who doubles as a history teacher at Brighton High School. “We kill the dragon in track three. Then a lot of it is wrestling with now that he’s done the thing that he was prophesized to do, does he really feel free? Does he really feel accomplished? Does he just feel like he’s just on this path that he can’t deviate from?”
Those questions, and more, are answered throughout the ten tracks. Of course, it’s filled with sweeping guitar work, courtesy of Ryan Flanagan and Scott Hancock, and McDaniel’s soaring vocals, while bassist Eric Fischer and drummer Mark Girard round out Siege Perilous’s mighty sound. Some reinforcements were brought in, too, particularly former Rhapsody of Fire frontman Fabio Lione, for “As The Dragon Falls.”
Courtesy Underhill Imagery
“The way the song turned out really, really matches those old school Rhapsody vibes,” McDaniel says of the collab with the iconic Italian singer. “If I had told sixteen-year-old me that I was going to be doing this eventually, I would have said you’re a liar and also, where’s your time machine. That’s one of those childhood dreams come true.”
He also teamed up with his voice coach, operatic singer Kristin Starkey of Temperance and Twilight Force, on “Echoes of Home” as well. McDaniel credits Starkey for pushing him to expand his range into a higher register.
“A lot of it was because of my work with her and her kicking my butt and telling me to do stuff I hadn’t done before, like I don’t need to be afraid to go high, I just need to know how to do it.”
Try to hit the high notes during the Siege Perilous release show on Saturday, April 4, at Greeley’s Moxi Theater. Local groups Wicked Vixen and Starwraith are also be part of the battle bill.
The band is giving away a gift to everyone who attends, and if it’s your first power metal show, McDaniel has some pointers to help you prepare.
“We always encourage people to dress up in their ren fest, LARP garb,” he says. “We will definitely be wearing costumes. I’ve got a new costume for this one. It’s something that I ordered like a year ago, so my concert costume is now different than my LARP costume.
“There’s definitely a lot of theatrics. We’ve got a few surprises in store that will be very theatrical and fun,” McDaniel concludes. “Get into the vibe. That’s the thing that makes it fun and powerful and just being there with other people feeling that community and brotherhood of metal.”
Siege Perilous, with Wicked Vixen and Starwraith, 8 p.m. Saturday, April 4, Moxi Theater, 802 9th St., Greeley. Tickets are $23.
