Sunday, August 10, 2008
A+E, Music, Reviews

KING’S X

“XV” (INSIDEOUT-SPV)

Occasionally, a group of hipster music critics will be chatting about the state of hard rock, and King’s X will come up in the inevitable “how could these guys not have been big?” discussion. The three-piece ostensibly has it going on: crushing guitar riffs; tuneful songs with vaguely Christian lyrics that mix a Beatles-style pop punch with durable licks; a magnetic and soulful frontman in bassist Dug Pinnick; and nonstop touring, with a jackhammer live show that routinely turns newcomers into fans.

Seemingly undeterred by their lack of commercial success, the prolific trio—now two decades old and with original members intact—slogs on, consistently releasing terrific albums on ever-smaller indie labels and playing to dedicated cult audiences who know what the rest of the world is missing.
   
Chalk “XV” up as another triumph. It fine-tunes the melodies, keeps the riffage propulsive and adds ballads, such as the Tom Petty-ish “Julie,” that dive into the “oughta be hits” pool. Producer Michael Wagener (Alice Cooper, Ozzy, X), a veteran in the pop/hard rock field, gets the credit for keeping these 14 songs—all credited to the group as opposed to a single member—short, tight and mixed for maximum impact.

 Vocal harmonies rise out of the guitars like a phoenix soaring toward the sun. Many tunes, such as “Free,” a cautionary ditty about not living beyond your means, sport singalong choruses as powerful as anything from Mötley Crüe, and prove that this should be the set to break King’s X to the crossover audience the band clearly deserves. 3 STARS—Hal Horowitz