Artist - King’s X
Album - Ogre Tones
Label - Insideout Music
Reviewer - Jesse Lynch
Thirty years is a long time for any relationship. In the music industry, it’s almost unheard of. It’s even more remarkable if you are able to stay vital in a sometimes vicious industry without ever having a big hit record. Enter King’s X. They may have never had a “hit” record in the sense of massive sales but they have, over their long history, put out consistently good records. The kind of records that inspire other musicians to make music. Actually, to inspire other musicians to make good music. Their newest release, Ogre Tones, fits that category nicely.
This isn’t just good rock music, it’s excellent rock music. It’s art. Beautiful, flowing vocal harmonies over perfectly played guitars and dynamic drumming. Doug Pinnick sings from his soul, belting out his lines with heart and power yet still managing to be subtle when needed. I have thought for years that Doug was one of the best singers in rock and this CD only serves to cement that thought. His bass playing is spot on and holds the pocket perfectly. Ty Tabor’s guitar playing is also in top form. He layers his guitar parts like paint on a canvas; all the different, often subtle bits forming together to make one complete picture. When he solos, he speaks as well as any vocalist. And of course, Jerry Gaskill holds it all together with precise yet loose drumming that is the backbone of any trio. He plays when he needs to and backs off when he doesn’t. His sense of dynamics keeps your ear tuned to the music just to see where it’s going to go next. They are all accomplished singers as well, making for outstanding vocal harmonies in virtually every song.
One of the coolest things about King’s X is the range of songs they put on an album. “Bebop” manages to incorporate the “Wop bop a loo bop a lop bam boom” chorus from Little Richard’s Tutti Fruity without sounding the least bit cheesy and then breaking into a near free form jazz style ending. “Honesty” is a gentle acoustic piece with Ty taking the lead vocal. Even with the glut of acoustic songs that bands have put out over the years (thanks to MTV Unplugged) this song manages to sound fresh and emotive. “Sooner or Later” is a well crafted song with one of the longest guitar solos this side of a prog album. The song is 7:00 long and the solo begins at around 2:45 and goes until the end.. However, it is so well done and full of dynamic changes that I kept wishing it would just keep going. It seemed more like seconds than minutes. The rest of the songs follow suit. They are all well crafted songs that, while unique in their own right, form together to make a very cohesive album.
The release date for Ogre Tones is 9/27. I would highly recommend that you buy this album. It is just straight up good music, something all to uncommon anymore. These guys deserve far more credit than they have ever gotten. Buy the album and see for yourself. And for god’s sake, when you can’t believe how good it is, tell your friends. It’s never to late for a band to break into the big time. Even 30 years.
