RINGLORN - GREECE
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The Queen Of Wildred - 2026 - Steel Gallery |  |
Members Vocals Hyrkanian Blades, Battleroar, Lost Lullaby, Dexter Ward>>MARK J DEXTER [MARCO CONCOREGGI]>>Dexter WardGuitar Sinner Guard, Evil King, Dark Legion, PowerCross>>SPIROS RIZOS>>Sinner Guard, Evil King, Dark Legion, PowerCross - Takis Jnm [Takis Tzanimis]Bass GABRIEL LEIRBAG [GABRIEL KOULIAKIS]Drums |
History & Biography The Crete, Greece-based heavy and power metal band was founded by Gabriel Kouliakis in 2022. Harbinger was on vocals. Chapter 1 was a 2024 demo. The band released the demo and split up having fulfilled its only ambition. Instead, a reformation occurred. Singer Marco Concoreggi, who joined in 2024, hailed from Italy. A couple of songs reappeared on the group's debut, Tales Of War And Magic. The band subsequently uploaded something called Tales Of War And Magic: Demos.The Queen Of Wildred was the second album and made available in May of 2026. Reviews RINGLORN - THE QUEEN OF WILDRED - STEEL GALLERY Interviews  Ringlorn, based in the sun-forged southern realms of Greece and Italy, is a band that heralds tales of war, magic, queens, kings and sorcery in realms beyond mortal fantasy. The music is pure, unyielding metal, leaving dilution fifth columners and pollution sympathizers in dismay. Ringlorn has issued an album entitled The Queen Of Wildred, a saga of its queen, haunted forests, black towers, dragon orders, sacred fury and the clash of heavy metal swords beneath skies where legends are created. Ringlorn is bound to the music of the metal gods, as the Queen is tied to Wildred itself. And as her life is inseparable from the kingdom, Ringlorn endures as an unbroken force, as metal itself endures blow after scheming and treacherous blow and rises again in defiance of those who seek to drag it down. Given such devotion and the construction of a universe of lofty ideals and musical triumph, it was time for the knights of Metallian Towers to turn their gaze toward this group's quest. Bassist and founder Gabriel Leirbag (Gabriel Kouliakis) and vocalist Mark J Dexter (Marco Concoreggi) were summoned to Metallian Towers for a conversation on the occasion of the 2026 release. Not all is flawless, and the blade of criticism was also drawn, and these matters were spoken of in kind. The two musicians travelled through whispering forests and silver rivers to Metallian Towers, where, over a feast of dark rye bread, aged mountain cheese, roasted moose with forest herbs, wild steppe raspberries and spring water drawn from the Towers' fountainheads, served by the beguiling maidens and faithful serfs of Metallian Towers in the Chamber Of The Moon, they spoke with Ali "The Metallian" and the knights of the realm. There, beneath black stone arches and watchful banners, the conversation turned to Ringlorn, to metal and to the state of the scene. - 30.06.2026 METALLIAN: Thanks for your time and welcome to Metallian Towers. Could you fill the readers in on the band's history and reason for being? Despite two albums, Ringlorn is still not a well-known name on the metal scene. GABRIEL: Thank you for having us and for taking the time to do this interview. Ringlorn is an epic power and heavy metal band created by me, Gabriel Kouliakis, back in 2022. Epic and Teutonic metal meets arcane and mystical lyricism, creating the mystagogy of Ringlorn's arcane metal. Ringlorn was forged with a very specific purpose: to give a voice to an epic, dark and atmospheric sound, deeply inspired by high fantasy, mythology and archaic literary structures. The fact that we are still a relatively hidden name in the wider metal scene doesn't discourage us at all; on the contrary, it fuels our drive. With two full-length albums through Steel Gallery Records and the Arcane Metal single now under our belt, we feel that we are building a solid, authentic bond with the underground community and those who seek something deeper in music. At this point, I would like to emphasize how important the support of the record label Steel Gallery Records was for Ringlorn. The release of our second album marks the next major chapter in this journey. We are here for the long run, ready to bring something pure and authentic to those who follow us. 
METALLIAN: Where does the name Ringlorn come from and what does it mean?GABRIEL: The name Ringlorn originates from The Dictionary Of Obscure Sorrows. In the dictionary, it is defined as 'the wish that the modern world felt as epic as the one depicted in old stories and folktales, a place of tragedy and transcendence, of oaths and omens and fates, where everyday life felt like a quest for glory, a mythic bond with an ancient past or a battle for survival against a clear enemy, rather than an open-ended parlour game where all the rules are made up and the points don’t matter.' This definition perfectly encapsulates the entire philosophy and reason behind Ringlorn. Through our music, lyrics and atmosphere, we strive to escape the mundane reality of the modern world and resurrect that exact epic and mythic realm. METALLIAN: Where have you played before? It's obvious from the maturity of the music that Ringlorn isn't anyone's first attempt at a band. GABRIEL: The truth is that Ringlorn is my very first and primary musical brainchild. Before this band, there was no other metal project apart from a few teenage bands I played guitar in. My involvement with music had a completely different direction, as my background lies in Classical music, where I was trained as a violinist. However, since I was a kid, I have always remained a metalhead at heart. This lifelong passion and connection to metal played a massive role in the creation of Ringlorn. The maturity you notice in our sound stems precisely from the collision and fusion of these two worlds: the discipline and complexity of Classical music naturally integrated into the energy and darkness of epic metal. So, it is not a matter of experience gained from previous bands, but rather the culmination of an entire lifelong musical journey. METALLIAN: Staying with biographical information, what can you tell us about singer Harbinger, and why was his involvement limited to a cameo? GABRIEL: The fact that you are asking about Harbinger shows that you’ve really done your homework regarding Ringlorn's history, which genuinely pleases me. Harbinger was indeed our first vocalist at the very beginning of the band, back on that initial demo or EP called Chapter One. As strange as it may seem to you, the plan was simply to release a demo-EP and leave it at that, something with which Harbinger crucially helped Ringlorn. I had no intention of continuing the project any further. So, after the release of Chapter One, Ringlorn was decommissioned and deactivated. Everything changed, however, when Mark J. Dexter entered the picture. I already greatly admired his work with bands like Battleroar and Dexter Ward. He loved Ringlorn's music so much that he proposed to handle the vocals and forge a proper full-length album together. That proposition was the spark I needed. And so, Ringlorn reactivated once again. That is how our debut album, Tales Of War And Magic, began to take shape, with Mark as our new frontman. METALLIAN: This is a good time to bring Mark into the conversation. Mark, my compliments. You’ve outdone yourself on The Queen Of Wildred. Firstly, what is with you and Greek bands? Secondly, how did you become involved with Gabriel? MARK: Thank you very much! I really appreciate it and I feel proud you enjoyed our album. Although I live in Italy, most of my friends are in Greece and I’ve been singing with Greek bands since 2002, first with Battleroar, then Dexter Ward and in recent years, Ringlorn. I think it was destiny. My mother-in-law comes from Crete, same as Gabriel. I live very close to Venice and there is a lot of shared history between the Republic of Venice, Greece and Crete. I had never been to Greece before 2002 and heavy metal led me there, but since then it feels like a second homeland to me in many ways. What I found in Athens almost 25 years ago had no equals in Italy, not even in Germany or other countries. There was metal magic in the air; it was alive, genuine and vibrant. Sure, today there are more bands and Greece has established itself as a metal nation on the international scene, but I feel like there is a different 'air' today, but perhaps it’s just me getting older. My father says 'tomatoes tasted better when he was young.' But, what did really change, the man or the tomatoes? I’d say both. Back to Ringlorn, after the first EP there was a strong buzz around the band’s name, and at that time my friend Manolis (Karazeris of Dexter Ward) sent me the songs and I was greatly impressed. I got in touch with Gabriel and we started to know each other better - although we hadn't met in person - and found that we could work very well together. In the subsequent months, I was recording vocals for the songs of Tales Of War And Magic, the debut full-length album. Arcane Metal followed, and now the second album The Queen Of Wildred… It all worked out quickly, and very pleasantly, and I feel I am extremely lucky and privileged to be part of a project of this artistic calibre. METALLIAN: Mark, the vocals evoke feelings of metal majesty, with all the pomp and power that goes with it, but the power is never amiss and you deliver them with aplomb. How much of this was your doing and how much of it was the music guiding you? MARK: Again, thank you very much for your very kind words. About Ringlorn, you have to know that Gabriel writes and arranges each part to the last detail, music and lyrics. What happens for each song is that Gabriel sends me a complete demo with his vocals and I learn the song and sing the lines he has composed, to the best of my ability. For this album, he composed the vocal lines with my voice in mind, so it was particularly pleasant and comfortable for me to sing. Occasionally, I might add a few extra vocal harmonies, but as I said all writing comes from the mind and heart of Gabriel. Then, of course, the character and energy of the performance come from the fact that I love the Ringlorn songs and I get very excited and pumped up by the riffs, the great melodies, atmosphere and lyrics too. So, that really gets me into the best state of mind needed to record my best takes. METALLIAN: While we are here, I want to ask you about something that has bugged me for a while. Namely, anything and everything is considered metal nowadays. Similarly, vocals of all sorts are accepted as metal nowadays. Opera singers, soft rock crooners, Alanis Morissette wanna-bes, you name it, are all ‘metal’ and accepted by the masses and the media as belonging to a ‘heavy’ band. I am curious, how do you see this situation? MARK: I used to say that 'metal' is one of the most misunderstood concepts ever, and one of the vaguest terms. If you listen to fools everything becomes metal. But for me personally there is heavy metal. And it’s not enough to have distorted guitars and double bass and perhaps a few gritty vocal parts to make HM. And in the same manner, you can’t take a generic 'metal-like' instrumental base and put on top of it whatever vocal style you want. It might even work on a few occasions, as an experiment led for sane artistic purposes, but not the indiscriminate way it’s being done in relatively recent times, to dilute metal and make it more palatable for the general public. Nowadays, everything is for everyone. I say no: heavy metal must not be bastardized or contaminated; it’s not for everyone and we all see what damages this way of thinking brings. I see festivals around the world and not only at the top of the bill, but also in the middle and bottom parts there are bands and artists that have nothing to do with heavy metal, not even the name. They have distorted electric guitars, yes, double bass drums, yes, all the boxes are checked for the masses but whoever wrote the checklist knows nothing about heavy metal. I have known this for many years now and it’s not going to change. As I said, metal is not for everyone and there’s a pride and a pleasure in this. And this pride and this pleasure and this strength and will to go against the masses and against fashions and wrongful thinking, to me are essential elements of what heavy metal is about. It is part revolutionary and part reactionary, so it also escapes the labeling many people want to apply to everything. Long live heavy metal and the faithful who really understand it! METALLIAN: Mark is wholly correct about this, but will all these festivals, clueless YouTube channels and their indiscriminant viewers, idiotic webzine reviewers and Johnny-come-latelies in general stop presenting Babymetal as metal, booking Ensiferum for supposed metal festivals or giving these mistakenly titled symphonic metal acts their usual 8.5/10s? Doubtful. Let's move on to the current album, The Queen Of Wildred. Where is Wildred? And why all the kings and queens in the lyrics? GABRIEL: Wildred is not a real place, but rather a fictional, dark realm created to house the story of the album. The term itself actually originates from The Dictionary Of Obscure Sorrows, defining a specific inner emotion. In the context of the album, it takes the form of a high fantasy world, cloaked in mist, ancient forests and forgotten castles, where the destiny of mortals is inextricably bound to magic and omens. As for all the kings and queens in the lyrics, they aren't just there for the sake of being epic. They represent archetypes. There are always allegories within Ringlorn's songs that connect the element of fantasy with one's own personal inner quest. In a mythic world, monarchs are both the pawns and the driving forces of destiny; their choices bring either transcendence or absolute tragedy. Linking back to the definition of 'Ringlorn,' we wanted everyday life in this realm to feel like a quest for glory and a battle for survival. Therefore, especially when it comes to Ringlorn's songs, it is highly recommended to pay close attention to the lyrics alongside the music. There is, of course, also the novel The Queen Of Wildred, which I have written, where one can connect the events in greater detail and immerse oneself even deeper into the fantasy world and the story of Wildred and its queen. The novel is available for free in digital format on the official Ringlorn website. There is also a video book on our YouTube channel. METALLIAN: Two questions, Gabriel. Firstly, this is the second time you bring up The Dictionary Of Obscure Sorrows. How much of your life is comprised of nostalgia and yearning for a way of life that never existed? GABRIEL: Although we must admit that no one knows the truth, for me, epic heavy metal and dark fantasy fiction are not just forms of escapism; they are ways to shape that exact brand of nostalgia. When you write about lost realms, mythical figures and primal struggles, you are essentially exploring this inner need for something grander, purer and perhaps more 'magical' than our mundane daily lives. As you correctly pointed out, no one knows the absolute truth, but the very quest for this unknown world is what births the mystagogy within Ringlorn's music. As I used to say, everyone's Ringlorn lies within... Deep in the mind and heart. It is a place where all beautiful things remain untouched by the vulgarity of everyday life. Everyone builds their own world where they escape at any given moment, either to empty their mind or to draw strength to fight their daily battles - to win or lose with valour and honour… A place where dark kingdoms fall and beautiful witches kiss you passionately. METALLIAN: It sounds enchanting. Secondly, referring back to your novel, could you clarify what the difference between the English and Greek text is? Certainly, they are unequal in length. GABRIEL: It’s exactly the same text. The only difference that might cause confusion is the way the headings are formatted in the layout. In the English version, some titles are written on the same line or as a single combined heading, whereas in the Greek text they have been split into two separate lines. Aside from this visual formatting difference, that gives the Greek text more lines of titles, the plot, the scenes and the sequence of the chapters in The Queen Of Wildred e-booklet are completely identical. There is no extra story or additional chapter in the Greek version. METALLIAN: Let's stick with something specific. Cool guitars on the record. I heard what Mark was saying earlier, but how much of the songwriting is deliberate and purpose-driven and how much develops organically? GABRIEL: The songwriting process in Ringlorn is a constant balance between two worlds. Due to my background in Classical music, there is always a large part of it that is strictly deliberate, purpose-driven and meticulously planned. The structures, the orchestrations, the choral arrangements and the way the atmosphere builds up are crafted with great discipline to serve the core concept and the specific emotion we want to evoke. Before the actual composition of each track begins, the song is already almost fully formed in my mind. Following that, every single instrument is written down in sheet music. Then, during the recording sessions, certain additions and adjustments inevitably come up, which work better for each track and help us capture the exact atmosphere and emotions. Because, in my opinion, that is the very essence of music, especially epic metal: to predispose you to feel all these grand, majestic emotions. METALLIAN: In the same vein, a comment on the heroic backing chants? Who performs them? GABRIEL: The heroic backing chants are a fundamental element for capturing that epic and majestic atmosphere we aim for. To bring them to life, we utilized high-quality orchestral samples and specialized digital choir libraries. However, the secret doesn't just lie in the tools themselves, but in how they are utilised. Every single voice, harmony and progression is written down note for note, exactly as if it were to be performed by a real, live choir. It takes a massive amount of production work and layering to give these digital voices the necessary volume, dynamics and the 'heroic' weight that you hear in the final mix. 
METALLIAN: The vocals are often doubled. How many vocal tracks were typically used throughout the recording?GABRIEL: Mark is a true perfectionist and a lover of detail, which is a great quality for a vocalist to have. Because of this, he records multiple tracks for every single song. This approach gives us a vast amount of options during the mixing stage, allowing us to select the exact takes that fit best to blend everything together perfectly and achieve the desired final result. METALLIAN: The proof is in the pudding. Speaking of which, Mark, back to you. Where were the vocals recorded? MARK: All vocal recordings for the Ringlorn releases have been done in my home studio and engineered by myself. It sounds grand written that way, but in fact there’s very minimal equipment: an old PC, a sound card, a pop filter and a Shure SM58 that is the only microphone I have ever used since 2000 for my recordings. That’s the set-up I used also for the last two Dexter Ward albums. For logistic and budget reasons there was no chance to have both me and Gabriel in the same place during the recordings. That was not a problem though, since I believe I understand quite well what Gabriel wants and he trusts my capabilities and knows that everything I do on the songs I do to make them even better, if possible, in full and absolute respect to the artistic vision of the composer. It is a matter of trust, but of course every time I track vocals I immediately send Gabriel the demo and we discuss what to keep and what to change, and all the fixes that have to be made, what to re-record and in what way, so it’s very close to what would happen if we were in the studio together. It just takes a little more time perhaps. I am not a fan of recording in a studio. I prefer much more to record at home because I like to be my own 'engineer.' I find it faster and when I get a new idea, for a harmony, for example, I can experiment on the spot without having to explain first to someone else at the risk of losing the magic moment. Nikos Palivos who produced and mixed our album and the previous Ringlorn releases I sing on, was key in making a great vocal sound. The vocals themselves are all organic from me, flaws and everything, as it has to be in heavy metal, but he worked on them in great detail so that all the right nuances and little harmonies could be heard and the result was killer! METALLIAN: In that context, this is a true-blue metal release. How conscious and deliberate was that approach, especially nowadays when so many bands seem determined to be as diverse, or impure, as possible? GABRIEL: It was a completely conscious and deliberate decision. We had no interest in following modern trends that demand experimentation just for the sake of it. For Ringlorn, epic heavy metal isn't an outdated genre that needs to be 'modernized' or blended with foreign elements to sound interesting; it possesses an inherent and timeless power. We wanted our sound to be pure, solid and true to the roots of the genre, focusing on emotion, majesty and a proper structure. Authenticity and loyalty to true metal is simply what we love at our core. Nowadays, there is an immense volume of releases out there and everyone can choose whatever they like and whatever suits their taste. For us, this was the only way to tell the story of The Queen Of Wildred the way it deserved to be told. METALLIAN: And while we're here, a comment on poseurs? What do they mean to you? It sounds as if being true to metal is still a thing to you. GABRIEL: The term 'poseur' probably belongs more to the romantic and somewhat extreme era of the '80s, back when the dividing lines in the scene were very sharp. Today, in the modern age, anyone can present whatever image they like. Personally, I find expressions like 'true metal' or 'false metal' a bit funny nowadays; people listen to everything and anything they like, without feeling any sort of guilt that they are betraying something. For us, staying loyal to this sound isn't about elitism, but about a genuine love for traditional metal. It’s the style that established, nurtured and matured this music. It’s what the people who love this genre are truly devoted to. It means writing music with passion, staying true to your roots without, of course, excluding anyone from enjoying whatever else they might wish to listen to. METALLIAN: Here at Metallian Towers, the knights are all about excluding and eliminating all the pretenders as effectively and efficiently as possible. Take your opera vocals and folk rock marshmallow roasting music to the opera house, renaissance fair or YouTube. Just don't bother us with it. Back to the interview, Gabriel. With the positive, comes some negativity. Is that a drum machine on the album? GABRIEL: Yes, the drums on the album are programmed, but we don't view that as a negative thing at all. After all, it is something that happens very frequently across so many releases nowadays. For Ringlorn's music, which is heavily arranged with orchestrations and choirs, we needed a drum sound with absolute precision, clarity and consistency, one that wouldn't get drowned out in the mix. METALLIAN: But surely you understand the yearning for an organic and alive drum sound within the context of a heavy metal release. GABRIEL: Of course I understand it and as a fan of this music, I completely embrace it. We all grew up with those iconic, organic drum sounds of the '80s that possessed that genuine human pulse. We are definitely not blind to that charm, but nothing is set in stone and we certainly don't rule out the possibility of experimenting with live drums in the future. METALLIAN: Okay, Gabriel. We've arrived at the moment of truth. We came up with a bunch of questions, really just excuses, so we could finally ask this: Who is the girl on the back cover? Name? Phone number? Address? GABRIEL: [Laughingly] Unfortunately, I have to disappoint you as I cannot share a phone number or an address. You see, that girl is none other than the queen of Wildred herself. She belongs to another… a dark fantasy world and the only address where you can track her down is within the pages of our story and, of course, within the grooves of the Ringlorn album. So, the only way to get to know her better is to read the novel and press play and lose yourselves in our music! METALLIAN: Hopes dashed, but, as you said, not completely. To end our conversation, everyone on the metal scene knows that Metallian is the best website for metal. Why are you wise enough to agree? GABRIEL: Wisdom comes from seeking out quality and Metallian has proven for years that it never compromises on that. It’s not just that you support heavy music, but the way you dive deep into it, your dedication to the underground and the fact that you give a voice to releases that possess real soul and passion. When a media outlet treats metal with such respect and seriousness, agreeing with you isn't just wisdom… it’s the only logical choice! Thank you so much for the excellent feature and for supporting Ringlorn. Keep the metal flame burning. The three adjourned to their respective chambers, with the interviewees guided through the Flambeau-lit corridors and stern passages of Metallian Towers by its graceful candle-bearing serfs, maidens ever faithful in their service. Dawn would break early, with the singer and bassist facing the long road back to their respective lands. Thanks go to Gabriel, Mark and guitarist Spiros Rizos for their music. The band can be found here .
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Ringlorn