Alexis Von Kraven
Independent
Overview
Alexis Von Kraven was born in Mexico City and started his drumming career at a very young age in cover bands. After a few years of experience, AVK became a session drummer and toured with different artists and original projects in Latin America, as well as musical theater plays.
In 2006 AVK joined forces with INNER TURBULENCE (awarded “best metal album” in 2006 at the Independent Music Awards in the USA) and produced their second album <MorderKrieger>, which took the band to the next level.
In 2009 Alexis moved to Toronto, Canada where he has been touring, recording, performing and teaching internationally between Mexico, USA and Canada as the founder and master instructor at the AVK’s Drummer School.
2013 was a great year for AVK since he was chosen to co-headline Muhtadi’s International Drumming Festival in Toronto as part of the Mapex Drums team, alongside Mark Kelso. AVK also received endorsement deals with Evans Drumheads, Los Cabos Drumsticks, Eccentric Systems, and many others when he became the new drummer and producer for the legendary Canadian rock band MOXY. Later that year, AVK made his first appearance live using a Halloween skull mask during his drum solo. The mask soon stopped being a gimmick and became AVK’s brand.
During 2014 AVK joined forces with euro-metal band Exorcism as their new touring drummer, filling in for drummers Mark Cross (Helloween/Firewind/At Vance) and Garry King (Joe Lynn Turner); recorded an album for “Black Raven” which later on changed their name back to “RavenLord”, and shared the stage with guitar virtuoso Joe Stump, the “shred lord”. While he would have liked to continue, AVK had to leave the band at that time due to his previous commitments to continue playing live with MOXY and Heavens Fire, and co-headline for the second time at the Muhtadi’s International Drumming Festival along with Will Calhoun (Living Colour).
In 2016, US metal band Kill Ritual called AVK to fill in for Luigi “Gee” Anzalone (Dragon Force) for their USA spring tour. In May of the same year, he was invited to the Seoul Drum Festival in South Korea to perform along with Jojo Mayer and the Nerve, Aric Improta and Deantoni Parks (The Mars Volta).
Several recordings, tours, and drum clinics have taken place throughout these years. AVK’s Youtube channel has reached over 10 million views and tens of thousands of subscribers due to his experience, talent and successes.
In 2019 Alexis inaugurated Seven Hells studios in Toronto, where he has recorded albums for bands and artists like Heavens Fire, Eternal Halloween, Hollywood Monsters, Eyes on Bricks, Steph Honde, and many more.
Also in 2019, AVK was featured as a guest drummer in the album <Thriving on Chaos> in the song “I’m The Best You Can Get” which also features guitarist Glen Drover (ex-Megadeth) for the super group Hollywood Monsters, and other artists such as Vinny Appice, Danko Jones, and Greg Godovitz (Goddo) among many others.
2020 started on the right foot for AVK with further media engagement. Chosen as one of the eight finalists in Banger TV’s Shredders of Metal 3: Drummers Edition, Alexis surpassed many competitors and achieved a semi-finalist position in the contest. During the summer of 2020 AVK joined forces with Pearl Drums, a long lifetime achievement for his drumming career.
To this day, Alexis Von Kraven continues producing music, recording sessions, and touring for several projects of different genres, including pop, funk, rock and metal around the world.