While Pentakill is a chart-topping virtual band, the metal act has very little in common with Dethklok or Gorillaz. Initially famous within the League Of Legends international gaming community — with over 100 million players and counting — Pentakill is a creation of American video game developer Riot Games. Pentakill was spawned from fan/player engagement, theories, and organic buzz, and features world-class musicians like Dragonforce’s ZP Theart, Dream Theater’s Derek Sherinian, Nine Inch Nails’s Danny Lohner, and vocalist Jorn Lande; Motley Crue’s Tommy Lee and The Crystal Method’s Scott Kirkland have also contributed to the group’s recordings.

Smite & Ignite was the first release from Pentakill, a 2014 release which debuted in the Billboard Top 40 and reached the No. 1 spot on iTunes’ Rock and Metal charts. Now, three years later, comes the first full-length album from Pentakill, Pentakill II: Grasp Of The Undying, which hit stores on August 4. The core virtual lineup of vocalist Karthus The Deathsinger, bassist Yorick, keyboardist Sona, guitarist Mordekaiser The Master Of Metal, and drummer Olaf remains intact, while a female vocalist, Kayle, has also joined the Pentakill fold. The album was produced in both Los Angeles and London.

To learn more about II: Grasp Of The Undying, this writer spoke to the Viranda Tantula of Riot Games and the aforementioned not-virtual vocalist Jorn Lande. More on all things Pentakill can be found online at pentakill.leagueoflegends.com, while Mr. Lande keeps an official website at www.jornlande.com.

Pentakill Kayle is my favorite Vi skin pic.twitter.com/BrltECS5mO — Just a Stove (@JustaStove) August 14, 2017

Prior to Pentakill, had you worked with anyone else on the Pentakill team before?

Jorn Lande: No, I hadn’t. I was once approached about using Jorn songs in a game, but that’s about 10 years ago, and before the online gaming industry entered the global scene like today. I think it was in connection with the Wii game Guitar Hero, or a similar one, but I don’t remember exactly. I do remember that I thought it was a good opportunity to reach out to a new and younger generation, and that I was disappointed that my record company that released the songs couldn’t accept the terms, so there was no use of my songs in the game.

It was new and exciting when Riot contacted me for the first release, when the Pentakill project was born, and I was of course positive from the start. I’m proud to have been a part of this pioneering development from the very beginning. I’ve been on the music scene for a while now, and when younger people in the business, such as my colleagues in Pentakill, and Riot Games asked me to join in, I felt lucky and humble. What is happening now feels like an adventure, and is not to be taken for granted. It also proves that hard work and the right people working together can create a winning team to make things move in this world.

Where did you record your tracks for the latest Pentakill release?

Jorn Lande: I recorded the songs at Ocean Studios, a local studio not far from where I live. Luckily Lasse Jensen, the owner of the studio, is a good friend of mine, which made things easier and more flexible. Producer Christian Linke, Viranda Tantula of Riot Games, and myself discussed the possibilities of doing it in L.A., but I also had to work on my own album which was in the final stages, and by not staying in the U.S. for a longer period, I could work more in sections and manage to finish both releases. So it was for practical reasons, but I’m used to recording albums in a more on-going pace, so I would love to record in California if we do it again.

Finally received my Pentakill VIP Set. So great! *0* pic.twitter.com/OEfY7AqviW — Leroy Kevin (@Sirhaian) August 14, 2017

Dethklok and Gorillaz are two other “virtual” bands who have been successful on a global scale. Are either of those bands that you enjoy?

Jorn Lande: Not so familiar with Dethklok, but Gorillaz have some great songs, I guess none of us could avoid to take notice of that concept when it was first launched. Some impressive videowork and animation, but I must admit that as much as it’s important to try new things and develop, I’m musically still a child of the ’70s; a time when the most important thing for an artist was individuality and to express something from within. For the “Mortal Reminder” music video, we worked with some of the best and most experienced people in the business, and I remember we talked about how challenging it was, to aim for something beyond what Gorillaz had done before.

Do you have a favorite song on Pentakill II: Grasp Of The Undying?

Jorn Lande: Hard to say, they’re all good. But “Mortal Reminder” sticks out as a more direct and understandable song that may also appeal to rock and metal fans outside the gaming scene. It’s more to the point somehow, a catchy “mind grabber!” That’s also why it was the best choice for the video. The song “Cull,” for example, is a more epic and artistic track with a more dynamic and classic build-up, and I guess all tracks have their great values. What’s really special is that all the songs off of II: Grasp Of The Undying are strong, which is truly rare.

Are there touring plans for Pentakill? Or one-off live appearances?

Viranda Tantula: We would love to explore this in the future at some point, but for now we’re all taking a bit of a quick breather after producing the album, video, and the rest of the campaign. I think the most important thing, if and when we ever decided to go down this path, would be to make sure we were presenting it in the right manner, you know? Like there’s a lot of ways you could potentially present a virtual band like this, be it via on screen graphics, holograms, augmented reality, etc. Each of these mediums comes with a variety of pros and cons for the audience. For now we’re exploring music performances through experiences like our live esports events — we did an instrumental Pentakill performance at our 2016 eve of the World Championship event in L.A. last year, and at our 2016 All Star event in Barcelona we did a performance with Jorn on vocals that debuted a bit of “Mortal Reminder.”

Have you always been a listener of heavy metal?

Viranda Tantula: I think pretty much everyone on our core Pentakill team listens to metal and always have. Personally, I started with bands like Megadeth, Metallica, and Tool when I was like 12. My guitar teacher in seventh grade used to bribe me to learn my chords and scales, by agreeing to teach me songs off of Kill Em All. (laughs) And then I went through a weird phase where I listened to a lot of wild bands like Bolt Thrower, followed by a big industrial phase. For the group as a whole, our inspirations are super varied, and range everywhere from Black Sabbath, to Dio, to Iron Maiden, to Lamb Of God, to Nine Inch Nails, to Meshuggah, to Pantera.

Featuring the talents of: Jorn Lande, Noora Louhimo (BATTLE BEAST), Danny Lohner (NINE INCH NAILS), Tommy Lee… https://t.co/azPayvKXVN — Maximum Volume Music (@MaxVolumeNews) August 12, 2017

Pentakill aside, what else is coming up for Riot Games?

Viranda Tantula: We’re always looking at exploring new genres, and most of us are fans of a bunch of them, be it orchestral scores, electronic, or even some pop. We’re lucky to have a bunch of different verticals to create music for here at Riot, be it for characters, game-related things, or our live esports events.

Pentakill aside, what else is coming up for Riot Games and you, Jorn?

Jorn Lande: I just had my new Jorn album, Life On Death Road, released, which also made the Billboard charts this summer, so I feel a bit spoiled, and really grateful to have that happen with two totally different releases at the same time. Soon, I will start recording a follow up to last year’s Jorn album, Heavy Rock Radio, which also entered the Billboard charts. Together with my record company, I will also start preparing the release of an extensive Jorn box set to be out next year, to mark my 50th birthday.

When not busy with Pentakill, how do you like to spend your free time?

Jorn Lande: I’m a simple down-to-earth guy who likes to do work at the house or in the garden. We have a second home in Sweden, a historic manor-like villa from the 1840s that always requires work and maintenance, so I will never be unemployed. It’s good medicine for the soul to step out of the music business once in a while, and do something totally different. It also gives me time to reflect before taking on new musical adventures. I find it revitalizing to chop firewood for the winter, it makes me feel alive.

Past or present, do you have a favorite video game?

Jorn Lande: I was really into Ms. Pac Man back in the ’80s, and was actually really good at it reaching many levels of the game. I also played the classic Space Invaders and Donkey Kong a lot, but that’s where my experience with “gaming” ends, and those games are nostalgia today. Later in the ’90s and around the millennium I loved to play Super Mario Kart with my kids, still think that game is really cool, so I guess that one must be my favorite!

Finally, any last words for the kids?

Viranda Tantula: We just really appreciate you guys giving us the time of day and listening to our music. Ultimately, this was born as an after-hours passion project for us, and our goal with II: Grasp Of The Undying — the new Pentakill album — was to not only make an album that League Of Legends players could enjoy, but that metal fans would also find to be super-authentic. Hopefully we’ve managed to get at least part of the way there with this, but ultimately that’s for listeners to judge.

Jorn Lande: Just that I never expected Pentakill to be so relevant to my artist career, and for the outcome to get to such proportions. I wish to take the opportunity to thank all the hard-working and positive people within the Riot Games Team, you guys really rock. And to all the fans, whether it’s under my own banner or as my alter ego, Karthus: can’t wait to see you all down the road, and to bring the rock.

[Featured Image by Riot Games]