Commander (band)

Commander is an American Christian metal band formed in 2012 in. The band is comprised of Tyler Ringvold (vocals), King Williams (lead guitar), Jay McLaren (rhythm guitar), Ben Haywood (bass) and John Schikaneder (drums). They issued their self-titled debut album in 2014.

Early years (2012-2013)
In 2012, friends Jay McLaren and Ben Haywood engaged in jam sessions, with Haywood playing the bass and McLaren covering lead and rhythm guitar with no vocalist. Taking the place of a drummer was a borrowed from a friend who was trying to start a rap career. Calling themselves SeaTac Bros, they started playing at house parties covering and  covers.

Tyler Ringvold was a fratire writer and MSTer under the pen name "Ringaling" who also sang in a hardcore punk band named Raiders of the Lost Lark. After gaining guilty feelings after a man he mocked on his blog committed suicide, Ringvold became a born-again Christian and was asked by McLaren, his girlfriend's brother, to join the band as a way to "keep himself from going back to his old ways." They then recruited lead guitarist King Williams and drummer Scott Larsen and eventually changed their name to Commander.

Commander EP and Get the Message Out (2014-2015)
After recording a demo, John Schikaneder joined the band in 2014 when Larsen left to join fellow -area glam metal revival band Born From a Dream. Commander signed with and manager David Van Daele. Van Daele was first introduced to the band when he received a copy of their initial demo from a friend. He invited Commander to audition for him, and later described their performance by saying: "I stood at the back of the room with tears in my eyes – it was the greatest thing I had ever seen."

Commander released their debut album, Get the Message Out, in 2015. They went on tour with Hound Dogg in the secular market and Holy Chariot in the religious market to promote the album.

Studio albums

 * Get the Message Out (2015)
 * The View from This Hill (2017)
 * Shout (2019)
 * The Awakening (2021)

EPs

 * Commander (2014)