Wednesday, May 24, 2017

LP Review: "Kneel Before None" by Death of Kings

Kneel Before None
We all come to music a little bit differently. Some of us are lucky enough to have parents that share music. In fact, that's the type of parent I'm trying to be.

Some of us have older siblings, or friends.

My journey largely started with my cousins. When we were at a very young age, music was a big part of our lives. So, when those formative years cross my mind, there are always stories from my youth with Jamie and Al.

There was a time before Thrash Metal was widely recognized as anything. (Naturally, it was a thing, as this was the mid to late Eighties.)

We were sitting on their front porch while I was visiting. Plenty of Marlboros lit and burning. There was talk of heading out to this place called Candyband. As this was utterly foreign to me, I asked, what do you do at Candyband?

Death of Kings
You thrash.

What??? Then they demonstrated what thrashing was and it looked uncomfortable and not very cool, but hey...whatever right?

Death of Kings would fit right into that mold. Kneel Before None is a modern thrash metal masterpiece.

This is one of those perfect albums that you hear about.

The guitars are prefect. The solos are wide ranging and sharp enough to lop off a Samurai's head during the ritual of Seppuku.

And that tone...Death of Kings sounds phenomenal. The rhythms are as subtle as a brillo pad. It's that perfect overdriven fuzz that made Metallica and Slayer sound oh so amazing all those years ago.

The drums are right in the pocket. There's something left in reserve for when things get real. Even with how big and chaotic these songs are, when they kick it up a notch, that's when he calls down the thunder and gets it.

Throughout this whole album, your body will feel the need to work out excess energy. There will be a gravitational pull on the top of your cranium. The base of your neck will develop kinks that simply must be worked out.

In the end, when you listen to Death of Kings, you just thrash.

Release: 6/2/17
Genre: Thrash Metal
Label: Boris Records
Formats: LP/CD/Digital
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