There aren't many trios on the hard rock scene these days, but one of the ones bucking that trend is Southern California's Kyng. A mix of new rock meets Led Zeppelin, Kyng formed in 2008 and released their debut Trampled Sun in the fall of 2011. Now the band is set to perform at this weekend's massive Rock on the Range festival in Columbus, Ohio.

"It's going to be a blast. It's pretty damn cool for us," vocalist and guitarist Eddie Veliz says of his band's Rock on the Range slot. "We're a little band from Los Angeles getting to do all these cool things with really awesome bands. We're very excited."

While the band will be performing for thousands this weekend, the vision of Kyng wasn't always so cut and dry. In fact, Kyng really wasn't supposed to exist at all.

"What is crazy about Kyng is that it was my last hurrah," admits Veliz. "You know, I had a steady job doing my thing. Tony (Castaneda, bass) and I had always talked about getting another band together and it was a side project for a moment but as we started writing music, it just kept getting better and better and we decided that we should try to play in front of people instead of just sitting around. We went at it, stuck to our guns and it started to snowball into a tiny machine that is getting bigger."

Watch Kyng's Live Performance of "Falling Down"


Veliz and Castaneda teamed up with drummer Pepe Clarke and things started happening. The songwriting process was natural and the band allowed themselves to fall back on some famous influences. This happened freely, without shame.

"We kind of like to label it as a new age vintage," Veliz explains of the band's sound evolution. "We definitely take the elements of '60s rock n' roll and mix it with everything we love from the '80s and '90s. Myself and Tony are big into the classic rock stuff. One of my favorite bands ever was Cream. Black Sabbath is a staple in the entire band. Our favorite band hands down is Black Sabbath. On top of that, we grew up with bands like Alice in Chains, Pearl Jam and Soundgarden. We wanted to create a band that has all those elements and not be ashamed of that. A lot of bands are trying to reinvent the wheel and be like 'We're so brand new!' You know, we're not doing anything new. We're just doing things different."

Kyng's debut album, Trampled Sun, is available now via REALID Records/ILG.

Tour dates:

5/19/2012 Columbus, OH Columbus Crew Stadium - Rock On The Range

5/21/2012 Denver, CO The Summit Music Hall - 10 Years, In This Moment

5/22/2012 Colorado Springs, CO The Black Sheep - 10 Years, In This Moment

5/23/2012 Farmington, NM Top Deck - In This Moment

5/24/2012 Gallup, NM Slopshot Billiard - In This Moment

5/25/2012 Scottsdale, AZ Martini Ranch - In This Moment

5/26/2012 Flagstaff, AZ Orpheum Theater - In This Moment

6/19/2012 Atlanta, GA The Masquerade - In This Moment

6/20/2012 Raleigh, NC Kings - The Sword, Red Fang

6/21/2012 Baltimore, MD Sonar - The Sword, Red Fang

6/22/2012 West Chester, PA The Note - The Sword, Red Fang

6/23/2012 Atlantic City, NJ Bader Field Orion Music & Arts Festival

6/27/2012 Jefferson, LA Southport Hall - 10 Years

6/29/2012 Dallas, TX Trees - 10 Years

6/30/2012 Houston, TX Warehouse Live - 10 Years, Fairland To Midland

7/1/2012 Corpus Christi, TX Brewster Street Ice House - 10 Years, Fairland To Midland

7/3/2012 Pensacola, FL Vinyl Music Hall - 10 Years, Fairland To Midland

7/5/2012 Tallahassee, FL Coliseum Tallahassee - 10 Years, Fairland To Midland

7/7/2012 Chattanooga, TN Track 29 - 10 Years, Fairland To Midland

7/10/2012 Baltimore, MD Ram's Head Live - 10 Years, Fairland To Midland

7/11/2012 Sayreville, NJ Starland Ballroom - 10 Years, Fairland To Midland

7/13/2012 Portland, ME The Asylum - 10 Years, Fairland To Midland

7/14/2012 Hampton Beach, NH Wally's Pub - 10 Years, Fairland To Midland

7/15/2012 Bristol, CT Bleacher's - 10 Years, Fairland To Midland

7/18/2012 Flint, MI The Machine Shop - 10 Years, Fairland To Midland

7/19/2012 Fort Wayne, IN Piere's - 10 Years, Fairland To Midland

7/21/2012 Chicago, IL Bottom Lounge - 10 Years, Fairland To Midland

7/22/2012 Sauget, IL Pop's - 10 Years, Fairland To Midland

7/24/2012 Fayetteville, AR George's Majestic Lounge - 10 Years, Fairland To Midland

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