RADEK KOVAL
London based bass player with touring and recording experience
Bringing solid groove, reliability, and energetic stage presence to every performance
Versatile and comfortable across a wide range of genres, but rock and metal is where the passion turns into power
Currently performing live with Power Surge, Cutlass and Metal Heart
Available for touring, live gigs, and studio sessions
MY STORY
Beginning
It all started as a teenager when I explored the world of heavy metal, especially when I watched ‘Rock In Rio’ by Iron Maiden. I wanted to be on the stage like my heroes as soon as possible.
After playing the bass at home, I started to play with my friends. We played some easy rock classics like ‘Breaking The Law’, ‘Enter Sandman’ or ‘Seek and Destroy’. We were called Aorta.
Playing Originals
I always wanted to improve and I felt that in order to do so, I had to find an established band playing original music. I was looking for such a band and one day I found a band called Rusty Fox.
Learning
Being self-taught I was mostly learning from YouTube, especially from Iron Maiden live videos, watching hours and hours Steve Harris’s right hand. I also studied at the music school in Ostrava and being part of the jazz band, we played some of the jazz classics like Jaco Pastorius, Weather Report and Herbie Hancock. Later I met some of great bass players who taught me even more.
Playing in Five Bands
One of my bass mentors left me two of his bands. I played with the pop rock band Marian 333, a professional band where I first earned money from playing. And then I played with an alternative rock band, The Line, lead by one of the most inspirational people I know, the artist David John Lloyd.
Later a band called Cocaine Party was looking for a bass player. After the first audition I didn’t want to play with them because they were too punk and amateurish. But they needed a bass player for a gig, so I just played the gig to help them out. The gig was absolutely amazing! Not really because of the music, but because of the stage show and the chemistry in the band. They ended up as my favourite band to play with and I realised that the music itself isn’t always the most aspect to a band.
In 2015 I joined the pop rock band Kofe-In. They were a long-established band with a professional attitude which I learned from them while playing shows across the Czech Republic.
As a teenager I went to many local gigs and one of my favourite regional acts was the death metal band, Sklepmaster. I listened to them almost every day on the way home from school. My dream came true when I eventually joined them!
2016 was my best year so far. I played over seventy gigs in that year, sometimes even three gigs with two different bands in one day. While I was satisfied with playing with all these bands, no one was serious enough - I wanted more.
The Big Step
In September 2017, I gathered all my money and moved to London.
Starting off wasn’t easy, I was working as a kitchen porter and my English was really bad. It was much harder than I imagined it would be.
After few months, I started to play with a rock band called Dronningen and played my first gigs in London and Brighton.
I was still looking for a band and luckily, JR the singer from the heavy metal band, Neuronspoiler saw my advert online and asked me to play with them. JR opened my door into the London Heavy Metal Scene and I am so grateful for that, thank you very much! We recorded an album called ‘Spoiled for Choice’ in Copenhagen with Flemming Rasmussen (the producer of Metallica’s ‘Ride The Lightning’ and ‘Master of Puppets’) and played some shows around London.
Meanwhile I also played bass for the band Dead Idle (and driving them) on their German tour.
Lockdown and a New Beginning
The 2020/2021 lockdown was a quiet period for me as a bass player. I wasn't playing with anyone or practicing much, but that time helped me reflect and realise just how much I truly love playing bass. I held onto the hope that better days were ahead.
Fortunately, in 2022 I started to play heavy metal and ex-Yugoslavian covers with a guitarist named Srdjan Bilic. Firstly, he saved me, gave me the inspiration to practice again and now I am finally playing the music I always wanted to play. Secondly, he is my personal mentor. I am always learning from him during rehearsals or gigs. At the moment, I am playing live bass in his two heavy metal projects, Power Surge and Cutlass.
Driving
In addition to playing bass, I’m also available as a tour driver.
I hold a CPC licence and have extensive experience driving professionally across the UK and Europe. Over the years, I’ve worked as a van driver, Uber driver, and eventually a lorry driver—spending most of my working life behind the wheel. I’ve always loved driving, especially large vehicles, but music has always been my true passion.
That passion ultimately led me to step away from a well-paying driving job to focus more seriously on playing bass. Since then, I’ve had the opportunity to combine both skill sets on the road - serving as the driver for two different European tours with Brent Hinds’ band Fiend Without A Face and The Iron Roses.
With experience on both sides of touring, I bring more than just solid bass playing.
I also offer reliable, professional transport to keep the tour running smoothly.