|
Album Reviews
It
truly is a shame that most people have never heard of
King's X. The Houston, Texas- based rock trio (Doug
Pinnick- bass guitar, lead vocals, Ty Tabor- guitar,
vocals, Jerry Gaskill- drums, vocals) have been around
on the national scene since 1988 and have released ten
albums, each one to critical acclaim, and have
continually toured the U.S., Europe and now Asia, to
standing room only crowds most every night. Yet, they
remain hard to categorize because their sound continues
to evolve with each new release. This trend continues
with Manic Moonlight, their tenth release in all and the
third for Metal Blade Records. While the core of the
King's X sound remains intact (heavy grooves, intricate
harmonies, deep lyrics and gut- rattling instrument
tones), the sound has been augmented with loops courtesy
of guitarist Tabor, who is given full production credit.
The album's opening cut ";Believe"; teaches us
to believe in ourselves no matter what. The title cut
has a call and response between the instruments before
lunging into a frenzied groove. Other gems like
";False Alarm"; and ";The Other
Side"; explore the loss of love, but the real
surprises come with the songs ";Static";,
";Skeptical Winds"; and
";Vegetable";, which place you in the mind of
Tool covering Bootsy Collins songs. ";Jenna";
rounds out the mix as the closest thing to 'old school'
King's X sound on the disc. This disc is a departure for
the band, especially the use of the loops in the songs.
But the sound suits the material and the album has a
great feel to it. The only drawback is that it is a 10-
song release, the last of which is a surprise of sorts.
But if the processed music on the radio isn't your
thing, then take a chance on King's X. Music like this
doesn't come around everyday, but grows in the Manic Moonlight.
~DeanBibb
So there must be a
couple of questions bubbling in your skull right now.
Number One, why is a King's X album being reviewed on a
biking website? Number Two, have they finally decided to
go back to the glory days of "Gretchen Goes to
Nebraska?" Number Three, will they be playing any
of these songs on the radio, for once...? Let me break
it down for you. "Gretchen" is gone, and
King's X will never get radio airplay. As for question
number one, we'll get to that.
With their latest release, King's X has abandoned all
its previous disguises and opted for a more unusual
approach. Their bluesy soul-metal has been replaced with
funky electronic grooves. No, I'm not kidding. Each
track on "Manic Moonlight" includes some
sampled programming, and the album insert lists DJ
standards as the source of their latest inspiration.
"Pleiades," eat your heart out. While most of
the devout King's X fans will start to reminisce about
the good old days, when they were the ONLY ONES who
liked King's X, and the guitar solos sucked, "Manic
Moonlight" appeals to a much newer audience. If
they market this just right, the old boys could pick up
quite a few new fans.
Another oddity about this latest release is how far away
it is from "Please Come Home... Mr. Bulbous,"
the album that came out just last year. In fact, my only
criticism of the new album is the fact that, with its
newer electronic sound, it seems like it's the one that
should have had the guy with the big lightbulb for a
head on the cover. My point is that King's X has always
been a band devoted to the creation of sonic textures.
In the early days, they used cheap production and
impeccable vocal harmonies to create those textures. On
this album, they're using rhythmic counterpoint and
DJ-approved sampling. So what if they piss off a few
fans? Those are the same people that have been
pigeonholing them as a Christian rock band all these
years, anyway. Time for a new fan base to support what I
believe is the band's most adventurous album yet.
Oh yeah... and back to question number one. King's X
plays desert music. If you love and are extremely
familiar with the desert, you'll know what I mean.
Bikers are desert mongers, and King's X writes to those
of us who know about this. If ever there were a biking
soundtrack to be made, King's X would be ubiquitous on
such a soundtrack. "Manic Moonlight" is no
different. I can ride to this CD because I can't imagine
NOT riding to it. Attimus gives this album a B+: full
points for incredible music, but a few penalties for it
only containing nine songs. ~Attimus
Morlandre
(Continue)
King's X (homepage)
Interviews
kingsx.net
kramerskorner.com')" |
