Launched in 2009, Kobra And The Lotus is the lifeblood and passion of Canadian vocalist and songwriter Kobra Paige. Nine years into their
journey, these rock juggernauts have gone through significant changes in sound and personnel and a show of strength, evolving and creating
the aptly titled double album Prevail I & II. Now, just past the threshold of the global success of Prevail I, no release comes without as much
anticipation as its counterpart and follow-up Prevail II. Hailing from Calgary, Alberta, Kobra, And The Lotus garnered immediate
attention in Canada and the US with their debut album, Out Of The Pit, in 2010. The release of their self-titled second album in 2012 and High
Priestess in 2014 enabled the band to tour worldwide both as a headliner and support act, which included a North American tour with
KISS and Def Leppard. Sadly, Kobra was forced to take an eight month break from music due to a battle with Lyme disease, but Kobra And The
Lotus regained much-needed momentum with their Words Of The Prophets covers EP in 2015. In fact, the EP played an integral part in the
birth of Prevail in that it cemented the working relationship between Kobra and guitarist Jasio Kulakowski, who joined the band in 2012.
The idea of making a double album was introduced by Kobra’s father, who suggested they do it because the vast majority of younger
generation rock artists don’t have the drive. Kobra admits she thought he was insane and that it was a surefire way to commit career suicide.
“A week later, I couldn’t get the idea out of my head because I didn’t see any reason why we couldn’t push ourselves to do it,” says Kobra.
“We could at least try, and in that way make a bold statement that Kobra And The Lotus is still hanging in there.”
When the band signed with Napalm Records, who were 100% supportive of the double album concept, the label opted to split Prevail
into two parts because they felt it was too much material to release all at once; that a lot of great material would go over people’s heads.
Twenty-one songs in all (including a cover), Prevail I, and II share outstanding, diverse yet cohesive material due to the fact the songs
were all written at the same time. Not only that, they wrote and recorded together in the studio with producer Jacob Hansen. According
to Kobra, the band went to Denmark almost entirely empty-handed and had very little material prepared. She calls it an “amazing
experience.” All of the writing happened in one place; the environment was very organic, band members could bounce ideas off each other and
encourage one other. They also benefitted from Hansen’s considerable knowledge and experience
“I’d say about 85% of Prevail happened in the studio on the spot,” says Kobra. “Once we saw how much more colour was added to the songs by
working that way we started to feel comfortable with the process. There were some unique things that happened because we were all
there together. There was a whole new, whole different vision for this album. I didn’t know how this was going to turn out; a lot of it came
from my intuition. Jasio is my writing partner, and he’s a creative force. We lock in with one another when we write, it’s amazing. I’m
proud and overjoyed with how the albums turned out.”
Prevail I marked Kobra And The Lotus‘ debut as members of the Napalm Records roster. Thus far the collaboration has proven to be very successful. Prevail I saw the band have two songs on Mediabase Active Rock Charts with single “You Don’t Know” peeking at #53 followed by a very successful run for second single “Light Me Up” peaking at #26 on the Billboard Rock Charts and #39 for 5 weeks on Mediabase Active Rock Charts, a feat very few up and coming bands can boast. The band was also nominated for Debut Metal Band of the Year 2017 at the Kilpop Rock Radio Awards.
On April 27, 201,8 another mark in history will be checked off for the band; the release of the second part, Prevail II. In the months leading up
to the release, fans will be treated to a few singles, similar to the release of Prevail I; fans were treated to three singles: “Trigger Pulse“,
“Gotham” and “You Don’t Know“. It comes as no surprise that Prevail is reminiscent of some of the material on High Priestess thanks to Kobra
and Jasio’s partnership, but in truth, this massive body of work attests to Kobra And The Lotus‘ massive growth as songwriters and musicians
since 2015. On paper, it sounds like lip service to say the band has become heavier, more dynamic and adventurous, but your ears don’t
lie.
Bottom line… Kobra And The Lotus remain fearless as they move forward with Prevail II, and with good reason. It is a rock n roll feast!
Line-Up
Kobra Paige – vocals
Jasio Kulakowski – guitars
Brad Kennedy – bass
Marcus Lee – drums
