All The Kings Horses And All The Kingsmen
From the tiny state of Rhode Island arrive Kingsmen, living, breathing proof that out of the grimmest of times emerges a solid, chunk of irrefutable rock that offers comfort, solace and is aurally and spiritually enlightening and the deep clean team you’ve been waiting for. There are numerous ways to solve problems; we all channel our grief, anger and anxieties differently. The title of this record ‘Revenge, Forgiveness Recovery’ is the three stages in which issues may be resolved. We can feel anger at first, but through the passage of time we can learn to forgive and then recover from the hurt. Personally, I fall somewhere between forgiveness and recovery. I can forgive a trespass or transgression; it is the recovery I find extremely taxing. I can’t move on as the past always haunts me even though I know I hold no animosity towards whoever has wronged me. Anyway, let’s move on with this quite meaty offering that highlights our plight, and attempts to alleviate our worries.
We can use our anger as fuel to propel us forward in a worthwhile and productive manner. We can engage with what ails us and find a clear path out of the dark and work through the misery. We all need nourishment so slap on this beauty and chomp away folks. Opener ‘Until I Departed is fuel for the soul, an injection of vitamins for the beleaguered.
A light at the end of the tunnel in the lyric ‘ I feel the freedom of losing all the things that held me down’ is indicative of a better future, a fresh start.
I love the intro for ‘Tipping The Scales’, and the change in direction and flow from sweeping and sumptuous melodies to the bone crunching vocals. Instead of the abrupt end, we have the gentle fade out and it carries you off into the distance, wishing this song wouldn’t end.
We are all living in a ‘Nightmare’ and the lonely guitar plucking towards the end of the song is both cosmic and haunting.
‘Waste Away’ gives us a zephyr like gentle breeze at 0.44 and then again 1.38, mild and mystifying. The stand- out track for me is ‘Outsider’, gutsy with a mega chorus and at 2.19 we have magic fingered riffery. It has the ‘rise up’ lyric of ‘conquer your fears, conquer your struggles’ and you feel the compassion and humanity these guys bring to the table. The grim and guttural sound of ‘ this betrayal will not be forgiven’ in ‘Oppressor’ calls out abusers for their ‘breaking hearts, crushing souls with your words’ attitude. It is slow progress, but these bullies are quite rightly, being named and shamed.
‘Pleasure In Vengeance’ sees a hefty wallop of percusssion beginning at 0.29 and continuing in an impenetrable and show no mercy fashion to bring drumming front and centre. A substantial thwack of a drumstick is much needed to stop the flock from straying so pay attention ladies and gents. A little breather next as we collapse into the cosy composition that is ‘Relapse’, situated second to last, but has an effect that is second to none.
Kingsmen are championing hope in the face of despair, happiness in the face of wretchedness and humanity in the face of evil. We are assured that we will overcome and see better days, although it seems impossible right now. The closer is ‘ Death Of The Sixth’ and it begins with clean, crisp vocals but the death growl is never far away. With a few whisper segments in the mid-section and towards the end, there is interest and depth to the arrangements. This record reminds me of BTM in many ways, quite rugged yet melodically coherent and a joy to the ears.
If you’re feeling a little Humpty Dumpty, then let Kingsmen put you back together again.
Kingsmen – Revenge, Forgiveness, Recovery, out now via Nuclear Blast