Legendary drummer Mikkey Dee (Scorpions, ex-Motörhead) recently opened up about his brand-new heavy metal supergroup, Lex Legion, detailing the band’s origins, their creative independence, and their ambitious plans for the future. The project famously reunites four-fifths of the classic lineup from King Diamond‘s 1988 masterpiece, Them.
Dee is joined by his former King Diamond bandmates Andy La Rocque (guitar), Pete Blakk (guitar), and Hal Patino (bass). Rounding out the lineup is vocal powerhouse Nils K. Rue of Pagan’s Mind. While the group’s debut album, Lex Legion, heavily channels the iconic sound of their past work together, it also incorporates distinct influences from traditional metal titans like Iron Maiden and Queensrÿche.
During a new interview with Loudwire, the drummer revealed that the band is far from a one-off nostalgia act. Fans who have waited decades for this specific musical chemistry will not have to wait long for more material.
“Next year we’re going to go out and do some live shows,” Mikkey Dee shared. “We are writing the new record as we speak.This year we are trying to put the band on the map and, at the same time, trying to finish up the new record by the end of this year, so we can release it fairly early next year.”
Reflecting on how the reunion materialized, Dee explained that while La Rocque and Blakk had casually exchanged riffs since 2008, the true catalyst happened much more recently.
“It was actually two years ago when Pete came to me with a couple of riffs. He was away [from music] for many, many years. I listened to it, I really, really liked it and I said, ‘There’s some bada** riffs you got there, Pete. Let’s do something with this. Let’s call Andy and Hal. If the four of us can create something and we find a good singer, maybe we have something,'” he recalled.
Finding the right vocalist was crucial to maintaining the tight bond between the instrumentalists. La Rocque recommended Nils K. Rue based on previous studio sessions. After the singer returned a staggering vocal audition, the band knew they had found their frontman.
“We sent a few songs to him and said, ‘Hey, do whatever you feel like doing on this.’ And, of course, we were blown away by it. It sounded so awesome and so perfect for what we were looking for, so there was never a doubt that he will be the guy, unless he was a complete moron or an a**hole. We didn’t wanna destroy this nice atmosphere with what we have with the four of us, not to bring in some kind of a rockstar bulls**t, a f**king big-headed a**hole… I’m only doing this if it’s going to be be fun. I’m way too busy,” Dee stated.
Discussing the band’s songwriting dynamic, the drummer emphasized his heavy involvement in track arrangements, a skill he utilized extensively during his tenure with Motörhead alongside Lemmy and Phil Campbell, and which is highly evident on Lex Legion tracks like “(I Am) The Resurrected“.
“I did arrangements with King Diamond as well. With Motörhead, Phil Campbell and I wrote 12 studio records together. I’ve sung riffs for Phil and I can play some guitar as well, but I can’t do these complicated guitar riffs. But melody-wise, I can sing stuff for them,” he explained.
He continued, highlighting the group’s staunch refusal to compromise their 1980s-style songwriting approach for modern industry standards.
“Arrangements are so important on a song. If the song goes like this or the song goes like that [every time], it’s the same f**king song. And depending on what you do, does it sound monotonous and boring… a traditional producer would tear his or her hair off [working with Lex Legion] — ‘Why do you have this piece here? Why do you end the song like this? And isn’t the vocal supposed to come in after this part? No, there’s some guitar harmonies there and we have two solos and we end on this piece here.'”
Drawing a direct parallel to his decades behind the kit in Motörhead, Dee made it clear that Lex Legion operates strictly on its own terms.
“With Motörhead, they were on our a** all the time to write a certain type of song, but we just refused. We said, ‘We don’t come to your f**king office, so don’t come to ours.’ It’s a great bonus that people like it, but if people said, ‘This is the worst s**t I ever heard,’ we like it. We wrote it the way we wanted to. Typically with Motörhead, we had producers come in and go, ‘Hey, guys, I know exactly how you guys are going to sound.’ Lemmy just spun around on his chair and said, ‘No, you f**king don’t. I do. So get the f**k out of here.’ It’s the same thing for Lex Legion. We know how we want to sound and that’s the end of it — you either take it or leave it. It’s very, very simple.”
Lex Legion will perform its debut concert on November 28 at Filmstudion in Gothenburg, Sweden.
Last month, Lex Legion unveiled the official music video for its second single, “Gypsy Tears“. The cinematic visual was directed by renowned filmmaker Patric Ullaeus of the rEvolver Film Company.
The track is the second preview of the band’s highly anticipated self-titled debut album, Lex Legion, which is scheduled to arrive today, June 12, through MNRK Music Group. Following the immediate impact of their debut track, “Sleep Eternally“, the new single maintains the momentum with a driving mix of heavy atmosphere and sharp riffs.
In a recent interview with The Metal Crypt, Andy La Rocque discussed the formation and creative direction of Lex Legion.
Reflecting on the band’s long gestation period, the guitarist explained that the project’s roots actually date back nearly two decades.
“The story is kind of long because it started back in 2008 when me and Pete talked about maybe doing something together. Maybe just put together an album and start writing some songs. We started to write a few songs back in 2008. We had a few riffs here and there, and then it just turned into nothing because we were kind of busy with other things,” Andy shared. Then, many years later, I think this was during the pandemic, Pete continued writing a few riffs, and he played some of the riffs and songs for Mikkey, who thought, ‘This sounds really good. I want to be a part of this.’ Then Pete said, ‘Yes, maybe we should ask Andy too, but I guess he’s too busy with King Diamond and everything.’ At the time, during the pandemic, nothing was really happening. They called me and asked me if I wanted to join that project. I said, ‘Sure, man. We’re doing nothing really with King Diamond because we have a pandemic now, and let’s do it.’”
Once the lineup was solidified, the creative process accelerated significantly.
“During that time, we put together a few more songs, and that’s how it started. Then Hal Patino was also asked during that period. It took us about — I don’t know — many years. If you count it from 2008 up until now, that’s many years. For the final maybe three or four years, we put everything together. In the very end, everything went quite fast. We got a record deal, and everything was really smooth in the very end.”
Regarding the decision to launch the band with “Sleep Eternally“, the guitarist noted that the choice was a collaborative effort with their label, MNRK Music Group.
“We actually asked the record company what they thought would be the first single to release. We went through it. We had a few suggestions, too, of course, but we all agreed on, at the very end, that this would be the first single. They also came up with the suggestion of the second one, which we all agreed on. I’m not going to say which one it is if you don’t know it already, but you’ll hear it in a couple of weeks because the second single is going to be released, I don’t know, somewhere in May, I believe. People who have heard that say, ‘No, I like the second one even better.’”
While the reception to the new project has been overwhelmingly positive, Andy La Rocque was careful to distinguish Lex Legion‘s material from his primary band, ensuring fans understand this is a completely separate creative entity.
“The response has been absolutely overwhelming. I also think it’s important to say here that the songs we write and the songs from my side of it, it’s nothing that — it’s no leftovers from the King Diamond songwriting, if you know what I mean, from the library I have with King Diamond. This is completely different and has nothing to do with King Diamond in that sense. King Diamond is King Diamond, and I write songs for King Diamond, and then I write songs for Lex Legion. I don’t want people to believe that, oh, he has some songs that were intended for King Diamond that he’s using here. No, not at all. It’s not the other way around, either. It’s two very different and separate things,” he concluded.
Aside from launching Lex Legion, Dee maintains a highly demanding schedule with the Scorpions, who have tour dates booked throughout 2026, including another Las Vegas residency slated for the fall.
