Ironflame

IRONFLAME is a traditional heavy/power metal entity born of multi-instrumentalist Andrew D’Cagna. Although the music of IRONFLAME finally came to life in late-2016, its growth into fruition had been decades in the making. Andrew grew up in the late-’80s/early-’90s listening to classic metal acts like Iron Maiden, Savatage, Helloween, and Judas Priest. He was also lucky enough to have been blessed with a singing voice that lent itself well to the genre. Despite Andrew’s given ability, however, he rarely used it—instead becoming influenced by more extreme realms of metal and pursuing such musical interests for 15 years, playing various instruments in death and black metal bands.

Andrew was then recruited by renowned guitarist Jim Dofka as vocalist for the band Dofka, where he honed his raw vocal talent and learned how to sing properly through 2010, performing on the Humanity Bleak album. Years later, upon the untimely death of a mutual friend, Dofka reunited for a one-night performance in October of 2016. These events stirred up many old feelings, and Andrew felt it was time to write an album of purely traditional metal.

Thus, IRONFLAME was born.

The end result is Lightning Strikes the Crown: a 40-minute tribute to the glory days of heavy metal. Free of pretension and arrogance, the music of IRONFLAME is catchy, familiar, and hook-laden—just good old fist-banging metal that is as honest as it is memorable. All of the instruments and vocals were performed/recorded by Andrew himself, with the exception of a handful of local guitar buddies recruited for solos—Jim Dofka among them.

After the immensely positive response toward IRONFLAME’s Divebomb Records debut, Lightning Strikes the Crown, motivation for a follow-up surfaced rather quickly. Utilizing the tried-and-true formula of “if it’s not broken, don’t fix it,” the entire process remained largely the same—as fast and improvisational as before.

Rather than release another full-length album, the original concept was to compose a lyrically ambiguous five-song EP nodding to Greco-Roman mythology. The initial tracks paid homage to Nemesis (Goddess of Revenge), Prometheus (God of Fire), Ares (God of War), Theia (Goddess of Shining Light), and Orpheus (God of Music). Lyrics were penned and the ideas were presented to contributing lead guitarist Jim Dofka (Psycho Scream, Leather, Dofka), who loved the theme, but felt that Andrew should continue writing and flesh out another full-length after all.

Heeding Jim’s advice, D’Cagna returned to the studio and decided to shift gears for the remaining compositions, which dwell largely upon the human condition through shared experiences such as temptation, seduction, betrayal, rage, and vengeance. Album closer, “Our Great Defender,” is the one exception: an allegorical tribute to the late, great heavy metal icon Ronnie James Dio.

Considering the gamut of emotions contained within this new volume of music, a title was chosen appropriately: Tales of Splendor and Sorrow. The resulting 10-song, 52-minute journey should appeal to any fan of quintessential heavy metal—further cementing IRONFLAME’s status as champions for classic metal of the highest order along the way!

Andrew D’Cagna formed IRONFLAME in late-2016 as a solo project, but the group soon became a formidable live unit. The current performing lineup consists of D’Cagna on vocals, guitarists Quinn Lukas and Jesse Scott, James Babcock on bass, and Noah Skiba behind the kit.

IRONFLAME has played high-profile festivals such as Legions of Metal in the U.S. and Keep it True in Germany alongside metal heavyweights such as Armored Saint, Grim Reaper, Flotsam and Jetsam, and Uli Jon Roth; and—having recently completed a European tour with COMANIAC—a return to Europe is already taking shape for 2020 in support of the band’s forthcoming third full-length, Blood Red Victory. Recorded, performed, mixed, and mastered by D’Cagna (with guitar leads by Lukas and Scott) at Sacred Sound in Martins Ferry, OH from December 2018 through February 2019, Blood Red Victory finds IRONFLAME once again brandishing their trademark approach to soaringly triumphant heavy metal hymns. Regarding its subject matter, D’Cagna states, “There is a recurring theme of victory in the lyrics for this album. Some songs have an air of chest-out confidence; others are about overcoming adversaries or even adversity itself. Most have been written from a ‘we/us’ perspective, which makes the listener feel like, ‘We’re in this together.'”

Clocking in at 10 tracks in just over 50 minutes, Blood Red Victory is slated for release in February of 2020—once more through Divebomb Records. As with past efforts from IRONFLAME, the disc will be a must-have for diehard fanatics of heavy metal’s true legacy!