King's X

Since their groundbreaking sophomore album, Gretchen Goes To Nebraska, KING'S X has been a strong contender for hard rock's most underrated band. While the trio has seen a bit of commercial success come their way with albums like Faith, Hope, Love and the stellar Dogman; the band's seamless and progressive fusion of heavy rock, funk, blues, gospel, pop and soul has been largely reserved for a select, yet loyal fan base. This lack of mainstream acceptance has done nothing to deter or dissuade KING'S X from avoiding all the trends and clichés that have come and gone in over two decades of existence and their new batch of tunes, collectively known as XV, shows that they have no intention of starting now.

XV starts off strong with the so-funky-you-can't-sit-still groove of "Pray." Featuring the soulful and spiritual vocals of front man Doug Pinnick and the backup harmonies of his band mates, this is quite possibly the most definitive KING'S X tune since "Dogman." Mellower tracks such as "Repeating Myself" and "Blue" stand out as infectious and emotionally-fueled rock ballads while "Julie" brings shades of Tom Petty and The Beatles to the table. Guitarist Ty Tabor turns up the "grunge" knob a notch or two on the upbeat rocker "Alright," but falls short of what could have been a bluesy, pool-hall hit with "Broke" by going a little too far with the bubblegum. Fortunately, this is one of the only instances on the album where they do overstep any boundaries. Even a song like "Go Tell Somebody" where a ZZ Top-esque riff meets the uplifting harmonies of a gospel choir works when KING'S X does it. Not without its dark moments, "Love And Rockets (Hell's Screaming)" is a throwback to their murky, self-titled release.

While XV may have its share of misses, there are enough hits found within these 14 tracks that should please any longtime fan and might even turn the heads of a few casual listeners. Sure, they may not be the envelope-pushers that they were in their heyday, but these three can still come together and write some damn solid tunes, and they’ve done just that with XV.

—Ryan Ogle
05.30.08

Over the years, the majority of rock critics have not been big supporters of heavy metal. But there have been certain metal bands that critics have applauded and championed as "thinking man's metal," including Living Colour, Jane's Addiction, Rage Against the Machine, and Anthrax. King's X have also often been exalted by critics as "smart metal" because of their spiritual, contemplative, philosophical lyrics -- and that intellectual approach to metal (as well as hard rock and alternative rock) continues to work well for them on XV. Doug Pinnick, Ty Tabor, and Jerry Gaskill are as deep-thinking as ever on this 2008 release, but despite its intellect, XV is an easy album to absorb. In terms of melodies and hooks, XV goes for immediacy -- and some of the credit for that goes to veteran producer/engineer Michael Wagener, who King's X enlisted for this album. XV isn't the first time King's X have worked with Wagener; they also used him on 2005's Ogre Tones, and they obviously thought enough of Wagener to hire him a second time. Hooks, of course, are something Wagener knows a lot about; he worked with Ozzy Osbourne, Accept, Alice Cooper, Great White, Dokken, and many other headbangers in the 1980s -- and the hookiness that Wagener is known for prevails throughout XV. But that isn't to say that Wagener tries to turn King's X into Accept or Great White. A lot of the metal and hard rock that Wagener produced in the '80s was headbanger party music, and XV is hardly party music. Instead, tracks like "Broke," "Rocket Ship," "Alright," and "Pray" achieve musical immediacy without sacrificing the lyrical sophistication that King's X are known for. Some of the discs that King's X have provided in the 21st century have been uneven, but XV is among their most consistent and focused albums of the 2000s. ~ Alex Henderson, Rovi