Legendary prog metal band King’s X release their thirteenth studio album, Three Sides Of One.
King’s X is one of those bands that has had an immeasurable impact on modern music. Some of the biggest bands from the nineties have cited them as direct influences, and you can hear it in the progressive rock and metal music that has come out since then. Their discography is impressive with twelve previous studio albums and five live sets published through a variety of labels ranging from Megaforce to Atlantic to Metal Blade. They are true icons in the music industry.
It has been fourteen years since King’s X put out an album of new material, so Three Sides Of One is more than welcome and hotly anticipated. The band continues to be Doug (dUg) Pinnick (bass, vocals), Jerry Gaskill (drums, vocals), and Ty Tabor (guitar, vocals).
There are a dozen tracks on the new album, beginning with “Let It Rain,” a song that walks out on a solemn tone that is followed by a tentative strum and then solidifies with growing assurance in the percussion. Soulful vocals bring the opening bars together and set up the launch. The lead guitar break is a beautiful thing. After the rain, then there is “Flood, Pt. 1.” This one works on a decidedly heavier tone, with aggressive guitars urgently pushing the ideas forward toward a surprisingly melodic vocal. “Nothing But The Truth” is a steady piece, with thoughtful construction and a gorgeous extended guitar solo. The first three songs are all very different and they are also all very King’s X.
Other favorites from the set for me are “Give It Up,” which is a one catchy number, and “Watcher,” a song that takes me back to the early days of Chicago, in my head, anyway. And really, I could pick any song on the album and easily point to aspects of it that are exceptional and memorable. There is no question that fans of the band are going to love this new album. It is incredible that the musicians have come together after a long time gap and created such a stunning collection of new songs. Highly recommended.
Three Sides Of One drops on Friday, September 2nd through Inside Out Music in an array of formats.
The new EP from Pittsburgh originals Mantic Ritual has three new songs and three covers: Heart Set Stone.
Mantic Ritual began in Pittsburgh in 2005, operating for the first couple of years as Meltdown. They play thrash in a fundamental form, observing the integrity of the past while sharpening their methods for the world of today. The full-length album Executioner came out in 2009 and things have been on the quiet side since then, recording-wise. The band split for a while, but they are back at it now. The line-up is Dan Wetmore (vocals, guitar), Jeff Potts (guitar), Ben Mottsman (bass), and Carlos Cruz (drums).
There are three new songs on the EP and three covers. Let’s start with the new ones. “Life as Usual” is a blazingly speedy attack that chargers directly at you. At times clippy, and at other times whirling, the riffs are energetic and intrusive. The lead break is deadly effective. “Crusader,” released earlier as a single, is a longer piece compared to the opening smash-and-grab track. What you get is more time for execution along a similar primary theme. The extra attention to guitar work pays off in a big way. The third original is the title track, a breathless testing of all surrounding waters. There is a lot going on with this song; they mopped every corner. The performance fulfills any thrash expectation. It’s a big ride.
The covers are “Race Against Time,” a G.B.H. tune, the Mercyful Fate standard “Black Funeral,” and Razor’s “Cross Me Fool.” That’s a punk hit, a dark metal classic, and a speed metal rager. In each case we hear an impressive run at the style and substance of the original creators, making the homage all the more poignant. I particularly liked the Mercyful Fate take. Good stuff, this record. Recommended.
Heart Set Stone is out on Friday, September 2nd through M-Theory Audio.
If you are looking for speed, Wise Blood Records has a 4-way split for you featuring Wraith, Black Knife, Graveripper, and Unholy Night.
The label describes the record as “a compilation of black thrash and evil punk motored by hellfire. In the spirit of historic compilations like Warfare Noise and Speed Kills, this album assembles a murderer’s row of black thrash blasphemers: Wraith and Graveripper (both from Indiana) team up with Kentucky killers Black Knife, and Russian riff-demons Unholy Night.”
Each band contributes three songs, except Unholy Night who offers a pair. Wraith is up first. Their music is straight ahead blackened thrash – speeding guitars and ravaging percussion with gruff, threatening vocals. The tracks included are “Demons of Doubt,” “(Call Me) The Destroyer,” and “Seven Serpents.” Black Knife throws in a little more groove up front but that doesn’t slow down the riffs or the vile intent. They contribute “Land of the Dead,” “Gouge the Eyes Out, Steal the Soul,” and “Satanic Commander.”
Graveripper is a band I have been listening to a lot lately. I am currently enamored with their Radiated Remains EP. The music is sharp and precise thrash, and it is great. Graveripper’s songs are “Mind Filled With Dread,” “Night Frozen Black,” and “Tomb of the Oppressor.” Unholy Night closes the door on the four-way split with “Louder, Angrier” and “Ancient Rites.” It is an absolutely whirling menace, and it has the strongest black metal influence of the bunch. This is a killer record and a treasure trove for thrash fans. Recommended.
Faster Than the Fucking Devil is out on Friday, September 2nd through Wise Blood Records. Check out their website and go directly to the album at the Bandcamp link. Limited Edition vinyl is available from Wise Blood, Bonepick Records, and Husk Records. You can also get CDs, digital, and cassettes from Wise Blood. The digital will always be there, but the cassette and vinyl editions will probably sellout fast – get on it if you want one of those.
It was another amazing year at Psycho Las Vegas topped off by Mercyful Fate and Emperor.
Psycho Las Vegas is a standard stop for me. I haven’t been for a couple years because of the pandemic – the fest was cancelled in 2020 and I had to miss it at the last minute in 2021. Needless to say, I was ready to go this year. To make absolutely certain that I do not bury the lead, I will declare yet again that Psycho Las Vegas is the best heavy music festival in the US every year. No other festival has anything close to the variety and depth you see in Las Vegas. My advice: don’t ever miss it.
The bands I most wanted to see this year were Ruby The Hatchet, Mercyful Fate, Emperor, Monolord, Elder, and Mothership. Then there were at least twenty others I really, really wanted to see. The third level was chockful as well. This line-up was stacked (see the set times image to verify).
Psycho moved to a new location this year. For the past few years, the festival had been held at the Mandalay Bay. That was an excellent venue. Being in a casino allows you to stay out of the 100+ degree heat most of the time and really kick back to enjoy the music and booze and weed (recreational marijuana is legal in Las Vegas). There was a day club stage outside, but it played mostly at night, and even though the heat is brutal, without humidity, the weather outside is quite tolerable once the sun goes down. In 2020 at the Mandalay Bay, there was an event stage in an arena, a lounge stage, the House of Blues venue, and the outside stage in the evenings. Tons of music, easy to get to, all great.
This year, the festival moved to the Resorts World facility, which is only partially finished. There was an outside day club stage there, too. Then there were five other stages. The Rose Ballroom is what it sounds like – a stage set up in a giant room. The Dawg House is a sort of sports-bar-looking venue, and RedTail is another bar, a bit more serious in tone, with a small stage in it. There was also a stage set up in the food court. And finally, there was the event stage. The thing is, the event center hasn’t been built yet, to this was a huge tent –you know, with a metal fame, and imagine it forty feet high. It was big enough, surely. The main drawback was no seating; strictly SRO. Oh sure, there were a few chairs and stools in the VIP section, but not many. Indeed, this is my only real criticism of the event: the lack of seating. Of course, I am not as young as I used to be so maybe that’s why it got to me.
I did feel a little bit bad for people who were at the resort but not attending Psycho because at least four of these stages could be heard rumbling throughout the resort, well beyond the individual venue. That never really happened at Mandalay Bay because the one lounge stage in the casino area had a fairly laid back line-up. Not so this year. Can you imagine having booked vacation here not knowing Psycho was going on and having to listen to blaring metal for three days straight every time you tried to geta slice of pizza or go to the casino? Ugh. Hey, it was great for me as I was there for the music, but it didn’t go over very well for some of the other guests.
On Thursday before the festival there is Psycho Swim, which is basically a fourth day in front. Normally, this is held outside at the day club with just a few bands. This year, sets ran all day outside (it was pretty hot part of the time), and there was a parallel track at the RedTail venue. Psycho Swim is a separate ticket (for GA folks), but anybody could listen at RedTail, with or without a ticket. That is a nice bonus.
Ulver was a last-minute scratch we heard about on Thursday. It is unclear exactly what happened but, even though the visas were approved, there was some other problem that sprang up at the last second … “due to unforeseen circumstances with their local embassy, the band is unable to acquire necessary documents for all of its members to complete their travel and therefore won’t be able to perform.” That’s a bummer, and it is true that Satyricon also had dropped out fairly late in the game as well – another tough revelation. Still, I would stack this line-up against any festival this year.
The toughest choice on Thursday was Salem’s Bend started on the RedTail stage at 8:00PM and Elder started on the Ayu Dayclub Beach Club stage at 8:10PM. Brutal. But, Elder was slated to play again on Saturday on the Dawg House stage. Saved by the double set. As it turned out, it started raining and the Ayu stage was shut down during Elder’s set. That is something you definitely do not expect in Las Vegas. But that’s all right, too, because the music went on until 3:00AM or so at RedTail. And, Elder played elsewhere at 1:00AM anyway, so they got their set in. One big advantage of festivals in Las Vegas is that there are no curfews so playing late is not a big deal at all.
First band I wanted to on Friday was Sanguisugabogg at 11:00AM. Yes, in the morning. Mothership was the biggest surprise of the day for me. I like their music a lot, but had never seen them live. They put on an amazing show and moved right up to the top of my list of bands never to miss. The big story on the first night was Emperor, a band that hadn’t played in the US for sixteen years. It was absolute black metal mayhem in the big tent on Friday.
Behold The Monolith and Gatecreeper played at the same time on Saturday and that was a tough choice, to be sure. I flipped a coin and went to Behold! The Monolith. A tough choice but no losing options. The most important band on day two for me was Ruby The Hatchet. I absolutely love that band and somehow had never seen them perform in person. Jillian Taylor was incredible, and the entire band takes your breath away. I could have left at the end of their set and been happy with the weekend. The headliner on Saturday was Suicidal Tendencies, and I missed that show because I have seen them a half a dozen times in the past twelve months and, also, I had a few edibles over my limit and needed to sit down for a while. No seating in the event center so I went to the casino for an indeterminant amount of time.
Sunday was Mercyful Fate day. There is no way to overstate the anticipation. Melissa is one of my favorite albums to this day, and I started to listening to Mercyful Fate even before that, with their self-titled EP. I have seen King Diamond on stage many times, but never Mercyful Fate. Their performance is one I will remember on the last day, I swear it. It is what I remember most from Sunday, but there was a lot of other amazing music as well, like High On Fire and Monolord and Creeping Death. There was so much happening that day it is hard to keep it all in your head.
I try to always go to Psycho Las Vegas. For me, it is a vacation – I don’t photograph the festival or write articles about it. This right here that I am writing is a reminiscence as much for my benefit as anybody else’s, put down so I can look back on it later and remember it all again. I have already grabbed a ticket for Psycho Las Vegas 2023. I do not know where it will be held, but wherever it is, I will be there. See you then.
The tenth studio album from Oakland metal legends Machine Head is a masterpiece: Øf Kingdøm And Crøwn.
Robb Flynn brought Machine Head together in Oakland in 1991. In the early days, groove and nu-metal were the styles usually associated with the band, but after a decade or so the music leaned more clearly toward thrash. With nine previous long-players, and a mighty fistful of EPs, splits, and live albums, Machine Head has made an indelible mark on heavy music. For Øf Kingdøm And Crøwn, Flynn is joined by Wacław “Vogg” Kiełtyka (guitar), Jared MacEachern (bass), and Matt Alston (drums).
It all begins on a quiet, sincere note with “Slaughter The Martyr.” At first. The opening bars are melancholy, and the music builds slowly. A second voice joins and you can feel the cliff coming. Three minutes in you walk right over it and the rushing air around you is the ripping guitar and grinding vocals. The heavy groove element blends perfectly with the speeding riff, and the melodic moments that come and go are like a bird soaring between beating its wings. This song is a ten-minute slab of unmeasurable metal, a certifiable masterpiece, and it is only the first track. It is very unusual for a band to put a song like this up front, and so it is clear that Machine Head is taking no prisoners on Øf Kingdøm And Crøwn.
Many of the songs on the album have been released as singles leading up to the official album release, so we have already heard “Choke On The Ashes Of Your Hate” and “Become The Firestorm,” for example. I hadn’t heard “Kill Thy Enemies” until now, and that one was an eye-opener, as was “Bloodshot.” Each of these songs has its own kind of screech that rakes you in entirely different ways. I felt that way all along, that each song has its own dominating presence and, while the set fits together seamlessly, each primary song stands on its own, too.
The album ends on “Arrows In Words From The Sky.” I had heard this one before, and I was delighted to listen again. Calling back the structure of the epic opening, the final track lulls at first and then decimates, but in a completely different way. The sinister nature of the middle of the song and the entrancing guitar solo it leads to is breathtaking. I expected a lot from the new Machine Head album going in, and I came away with more than I could have imagined. Highly recommended.
Øf Kingdøm And Crøwn is out now through Nuclear Blast Records in many varieties and forms.
Texas metal band Sprit Adrift reflects on days gone by with 20 Centuries Gone.
Springing up from Austin in 2015, Spirit Adrift began on the doom side of the field and moved quickly toward full-force, straight-ahead heavy metal. Loaded with unforgettable riffs and stunning lead guitar work, the music they play will make them one of your favorite acts the first time you hear them. Their flawless live performances ensure their place as a big draw at festivals and as a must-see for any tour they are on.
There are two new songs on the latest EP and six covers. The first original is “Sorcerer’s Fate.” It starts out steady with a hook that does the trick and draws you in. A charging chop follows and then we hear Nate Garrett’s solid-as-a-rock vocals. A bridge leads us to a different perspective on this dark fantasy journey, and off we walk into the distance. “Mass Formation Psychosis” follows, opening with cautious acoustic strums that break for dramatic electrical instigations. The song settles into a feisty doom posture and we are thenceforth entranced. It is a superlative heavy track that goes out on a rugged, heady riff.
The songs Spirit Adrift chooses to cover are mostly lesser-known tunes from seminal artists in metal and rock. I like this approach very much as it draws attention to work that fans might not be as familiar with, even if they are fans of the band in question. The songs are “Everything Dies” (Type O Negative), “Hollow” (Pantera), “Escape” (Metallica), “Waiting For An Alibi” (Thin Lizzy), “Nasty Dogs and Funky Kings” (ZZ Top), and “Poison Whiskey” (Lynyrd Skynyrd). Quite a selection, huh?
The variety of musical types and formations across the cover tunes is formidable. The gothic saturation of the Type O Negative song paired with the solemn sorrow of Pantera’s “Sorrow” and then on to the more rambunctious attitude of “Escape” is a conjuror’s amalgamation. Any time a Thin Lizzy song plays, original or cover, my soul brightens, and “Waiting For An Alibi” is a fantastic track. Goddamn I miss Thin Lizzy, even after all this time. Spirit Adrift captures the ZZ Top fuzz just right, and that Lynyrd Skynyrd cover might be the most recognizable of the bunch to a broad audience. I like everything about this record. Set all else aside and listen to it right now. Highly recommended.
20 Centuries Gone is out now on digital. Find it through the band’s website (link below). Spirit Adrift still has a couple of tour dates with Crowbar, then they will be back out again later this year. They are an exceptional live band – make sure you see them whenever you get a chance.
Photos by Wayne Edwards taken at Piere’s Entertainment Center in 2022.
If you are looking for some steamy fuzz, Plasmodulated has the answer.
One-man-band from Gainesville, Florida, Plasmodulated, has released a self-titled demo. Myk Colby does it all on these five tracks, and achieves an impressively heavy result. The music is fuzzy and dooming, with enough variegated elements of multiple other heavy music sub-genre to keep your attention sharp. I am always a little dubious of singular generators, but it turns out there was no cause for concern in this case. Plasmodulated delivered the goods.
“Intolerable Stench Place.” If ever a piece of music fit the title better, I don’t know about it. This absolutely sounds like an intolerable stench. There is a constant thrumming that won’t leave your ears alone, and a distant guitar line that echoes the croaking vocals. This the real deal. “Gross Cave” blasts into your space and groans its affection, then kicks up the tempo and rolls you around. The ponderous doom that lands in the middle is cryptic and eerie.
“Microscopic Horror” is a matinee thriller that makes you wonder whether you are safe at any given point in time because of the unseen menace that might be ravaging you and you aren’t even aware of it. Yikes. The title track is a little frantic, and it has an otherworldly ambiance. The anchor is “Protoplasmic Transformation,” a tropical storm in a bathysphere. The sparkling lead guitar is an early highlight, and the rhythm section shines throughout. I love the peppery chop of the riff on the intervening moments, and the echoey return of the lead guitar is a welcome haunting. Recommended.
The physical CDs for Plasmodulated are out August 26th through Personal Records, and you can stream the digital now at Bandcamp and elsewhere.
Texas metal band Fugitive lights up the heavy music scene with their sudden new EP Maniac.
Fugitive is Seth Gilmore (vocals), Blake Ibanez (guitar), Victor Gutierrez (guitar), Andy Messer (bass), and Lincoln Mullins (drums). Those names might be familiar since this band is made of musicians from Power Trip, Creeping Death, and Skourge. This new EP dropped without notice or fanfare and it hit the metal scene hard. If you haven’t heard it yet, you need to get right on that. In fact, don’t even finish reading this review. Proceed directly to the music.
There are five killer tracks on Maniac. “The Javelin” is a great instrumental song with one big growl and a huff. It is two minutes of a chopping, rolling riff that is the perfect walk-on music. “Maniac” is more actively aggressive, lashing out for action. It flat out rips. Gilmore insists, and the percussion is a steady surety with bursting ripples. The big riffs are here, too, and the lead guitar is weaponized.
You can smell the gasoline on “Hell’s Half Acre.” This is exactly the song I would have wanted to hear when I used to drive around drinking on the back roads all those years ago. Adrenaline-infused groove metal with lightning strike shreds. The long wind-down at the end is a thing of beauty. Damn. “Neutralized” sounds like a theme song for a haunted asylum movie. It is jackhammer metal that will unlock your joints.
“Raise The Dead” is the last nail pried from the coffin lid. Everything about this song demonstrates that when they play it live it could go on for ten minutes without a second thought. The riff and rhythm are fundamental, and the vocals are both a pledge and a delivered result. I can’t wait to see these guys at Psycho Las Vegas – and I will have by the time this review is published. Highly recommended.
Maniac is out now. Hear it anywhere, and buy it at Bandcamp.
Soilwork make it an even dozen with their new album Övergivenheten.
Soilwork came together in the mid-nineties in Sweden. Initially, their music would probably have been categorized as melodic death metal. Later it evolved toward a groove metal, although the melody never went away. Over the decades, the band has released eleven other full-length studio albums plus a plethora of singles, EPs, and splits, making them one of the most prolific metal outfits in the business. The new record carries their banner further down the path, and delivers mana to Soilwork’s waiting fans. The band is Björn “Speed” Strid (vocals), David Andersson (guitar), Sven Karlsson (keys), Sylvain Coudret (guitar), Bastian Thusgaard (drums), and Rasmus Ehrnborn (bass).
The Google translator will tell you that Övergivenheten is “the abandonment” in English. It also offers “desolation” and “desertion” as possibilities for Övergivenhet. Even if something is lost in the translation, we certainly get the general idea.
There are fourteen tracks on the new album, including a couple of transition pieces. The title song breaks the ice with acoustic emanations, voices, and a banjo. Layers and multiple elements soon join and intertwine as the music builds until, a minute and a half in, the song really takes off. The first principal vocals are gruff and insistent while the surrounding music is less dire, and a melodic voice merges in soon enough. It is the perfect way to position the set.
“Nous Sommes La Guerre” breaks off a snappy riff up front to generate the initial mood, but the song itself is complex. Certainly, this is what we expect from Soilwork, and they offer it up on every song with their signature style whether the thrust is fast or slow, dark or light. There is no track that is simply one thing. “Electric Again” starts out as a ravager, loud and harsh enough to peel off the top layers of anything it encounters, but it also has calmer moments. “This Godless Universe” walks in quietly and bares its teeth later on. Some songs have a catchy riff, like “Death, I Hear You Calling,” while others, like “Golgata,” are front loaded with more challenging, technical presentations. Throughout it all, there is no mistaking this music for anything other than Soilwork – they have come through again with an album that raises an already high bar. Recommended.
Övergivenheten is out now through Nuclear Blast Records. Links below.
True Power is the third record from Michigan metalcore band I Prevail.
Starting out almost ten years ago, I Prevail has made an indelible mark on the hard rock scene. Releasing Lifelines in 2016 and the thundering follow-up Trauma three years later, the band continues to bend their trajectory ever farther upward. Staking out top spots in major festivals and embarking on a massive headlining tour this fall, I Prevail is making its presence known. The band is Brian Burkheiser (vocals), Eric Vanlerberghe (vocals), Steven Menoian (guitars, bass), Dylan Bowman (guitar), and Gabe Helguera (drums).
After a short intro track, “There’s Fear In Letting Go” gets the ball rolling on the new album. The signature I Prevail sound complete with alternating vocals is on full display. High energy and delineated assurance are pervasive forces throughout the song and, we’ll find, the entire album. “Body Bag” is even fiercer – an interesting choice to start out at such a high level and then raise the bar immediately. “Self-Destruction” changes the tempo but does not back off the attitude, and the riffs here grow heavier and darker. “Bad Things” is next and it starts out melodically, but there is a punch in this one, too.
There is no question that fans of I Prevail are going to be stoked by the new album. Apart from the opening movements, stand-out tracks for me are “Judgement Day” for its ragged harshness and “Choke” for that killer guitar riff. The final two songs on the set work a particular magic together as well, “Visceral” and “Doomed.” The former is aggressive, true to its title, and the latter is quiet and smooth despite its theme. This album is one that will be celebrated now and remembered in the years to come. Recommended.
True Power is out on Friday, August 19th through Fearless Records. Press the links below for all the details.
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