King/Fury And Death/Soulseller Records/2023 Full Length Review

 

  King  are  a  band  from  Australia  that  has  been  featured  before  in  this  zine  and  plays  a  melodic  mixture  of  black  and  death  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2023  album  "Fury  And  Death"  which  will  be  released  in  November  by  Soulseller  Records.

  Acoustic  guitars  start  off  the  album  along  with  some  synths  a  few  seconds  later  before  going  into  a  heavier  direction.  When  the  music  speeds  up  a  great  amount  of  tremolo  picking  and  blast  beats  can  be  heard  while  the  riffs  also  add  in  a  lot  of  melody  and  the  vocals  are  mostly  high  pitched  black  metal  screams.

  Most  of  the  music  is  also  very  heavily  rooted  in  the  classic  Swedish  style  while  death  metal  growls  can  also  be  heard  at  times.  The  songs  also  add  in  a  good  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts  along  with  one  track  also  introducing  clear  vocals  into  the  music  and  the  solos  and  leads  are  also  done  in  a  very  melodic  style  when  they  are  utilized,  acoustic  guitars  also  make  a  return  in  certain  sections  of  the  recording  and  some  tracks  also  add  in  a  small  amount  clean  playing.

  On  this  recording  King  remains  true  to  the  melodic  mixture  of  black  and  death  metal  that  they  have  established  on  previous  releases.  The  production  sounds  very  professional  while  the  lyrics  cover  nature,  death  and  scientific  themes.

  In  my  opinion  this  is  another  great  sounding  recording  from  King  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  melodic  black  and  death  metal,  you  should  check  out  this  album.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Perception  Ignited"  "Black  Dimension"  "Death  In  The  Cosmos"  and  "To  The  Stars".  8  out  of  10.

  https://youtu.be/fTmVW1DXgGU

        

King Interview

1.Can you give us an update on what has been going on with the band since the recording of the new album?

The band has been playing a few local shows here in Melbourne after a hiatus for quite some time during 2018/19. We have rehearsed a few times now with some new live session players which now makes the band a 5 piece for our live performances which what l think we have needed for the live stage for sometime . On our return to the stage in July we played one of the new songs live "Mountains Call"
which was a really good for us to play something fresh and new, so that was a really great vibe onstage that night. We have also played a few other local shows and have added another new song "Beyond The Exosphere" to our set whilst our singles were being released over the past month. We have been getting real great feed back and its great to be playing again.


2.You have a new album coming out later in November, musically how does it differ from your previous recording?

Yes, the music differs quite a bit on this album "Coldest Of Cold". You will notice as a listener if you were a fan of "Reclaim The Darkness" that we've picked up the pace a little, this is something we chose to do before writing the new album and it has really made an impact for us not only for the recording but for the live performances also. The music to me feels a lot darker and colder, the songs we chose for the album were worked on for a long period of time, we went over these songs until they were 100%.  So working on getting the right arrangements and chorus's to come together to make the song sound strong and complete was a long task. We are very happy with the outcome.

3.What are some of the lyrical topics and subjects the band explores with the new album and also how would you describe your progress as songwriters over the years?

As songwriters Dave Hill and myself work very well together to arrange and write to what we think is the perfect song for the band, one step at a time. We work on one song for weeks to get the write balance for what we think is the perfect song which has and must contain all the right layers. As for the lyrical content "Coldest Of Cold" in some way continues on from its predecessor in which there were battles from ancient times amidst the bleak surroundings from Scandinavian landscapes only this time we have introduced more of the galaxy and a lone warrior battling on in this existence as you'll notice with songs such as "Star" and "Beyond The Exosphere".

4.All of the band members are also involved with other bands, what is it that you bring into the music of 'King' that you are not able to do with your other groups?

King is a total different band compared to other bands we play or have played in. We all enjoy our heavy metal from all types of genres but for us we wanted to start a band that is dark, grim and catchy and very melodic, this is something we have wanted to do for a long time. We are big fans of the Swedish and Norwegian metal scenes so to start a band and write songs that we enjoy listening to as well as playing live is very satisfying for us. We all have played in grindcore bands in the past so writing songs for longer that 2 minutes and pronouncing words in full was a big achievement for us haha!

5.What is the meaning and inspiration behind the name 'King'?

I think the band name suits our style of music, it was just a name that came to mind and I pitched it to the others and it stuck. Its a strong name and we all like it, people and fans find it hard to find us on social media and music platforms because its just King. But we are around and you will find us!

6.Can you tell us a little bit more about the artwork that is presented on the new album cover?

So the artwork was once again delivered to us by our good friend Xavier Irvine in which he had worked on the previous layout of "Reclaim The Darkness". This time musically we have delved into the galaxy so we though maybe we should opt for an image from outer space. So this album cover has captured an image of a nebula which was taken by Nasa for which we had to get a tick of approval for us to use. I think it works well for us and captures the essence of what you'll hear on the album as a listener and looks amazing. We are very happy with the whole layout of the artwork for the album and it suits.

7.What are some of the best shows that the band has played so far and also how would you describe your stage performance?

The recent shows we have performed with a full band really shows that we are back and we are a band to be reckoned with. The force is strong and the stage presence is alive and ferocious. Having had a break over the past year really gave us a boost for our live shows. Also adding some new songs to the mix gives the set some fuel to create good strong energy between us and our crowds watching us.

8.Do you have any touring or show plans once the new album is released?

Yes we are about to do a small run of shows with "Wolves In The Throne Room" in the next week so this will be the first run of shows for us now that the album is out. We are also planning a headlining tour to start sometime early 2020 for Australia and hopefully we can bring this tour abroad for the first time and play a handful of shows in Europe next year.

9.On a worldwide level how has the reaction been to your newer music by fans of melodic black and death metal?

We have been getting some great feedback and the reviews so far a really good. Our label really do some great work and we appreciate the work they do for us as a band. This time Metal Hammer Uk have streamed our album and this helps get our music out there immensely, its all about spreading your brand and thats what we are trying to do. Its good to see that fans are enjoying our creation from around all parts of the globe. Its a humble feeling.

10.What is going on with some of the other bands or musical projects these days that some of the band members are a part of?

Apart from King,  Dave Hill And l have gone back to our grind roots and have started a band called "Remains". This band is going well the live shows are great and we have a great time playing smaller venues and its good to see and play with fresh younger bands here,  the Australian grindcore scene  is really strong. As for our drummer Dave Haley he is also busy doing work with "Psycroptic" so as you can tell we live for metal, we love to play metal and we'll die playing metal!

11.Where do you see the band heading into musically during the future?

As a band you want to write a better album for a follow up and this is what we hope to achieve but for us l think just sticking to our recipe for writing  great catchy songs is what we like and is what we'll stick to...it works!

12.What are some of the bands or musical styles that have had an influence on your newer music and also what are you listening to nowadays?

We all love all kinds of heavy metal music but for us to write the music for King we have been greatly inspired from many class act bands from Norway and Sweden and you can probably pick up some elements from songs we play that will make you say "hey that sounds like this band or that sounds like that band"...so you'll definitely hear some of these classic bands we are inspired by and love. As for now l enjoy listening to my Spotify weekly playlist, it introduces me many different bands that l've never even heard of so thats always fun. Plus l'll throw in my need to hear weekly bands that are a must for my ears.

13.Before we wrap up this interview, do you have any final words or thoughts?

We hope you have bought and are enjoying our new album and we hope to come a play in your neck of the woods real soon. Keep it grim and all hail the KING!!

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King/Coldest Of Cold/Indie Recordings/2019 CD Review

  King  are  a  band  from  Australia  that  plays  a  melodic  mixture  of  black  and  death  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2019  album  "Coldest  Of  Cold"  which  will  be  released  in  November  by  Indie  Recordings.

  A  very  dark  sound  starts  off  the  album  before  going  into a   heavier  direction  which  also  introduces  grim  black  metal  screams  onto  the  recording.  The  riffs  also  add  in  a  decent  amount  of  melody  along with  the  faster  sections  of  the  songs  also  adding  in  a great  use  of  blast  beats.

  Throughout  the  recording  you  can  also  hear  a  decent  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts.  The  riffs  also  add  in  a  decent  amount  of  melody.  When  guitar  solos  and  leads  are  utilized  they  also  add  in  a  lot  of  melody  along  with  the  music  also  mixing  in  a  great  amount  of  melodic  death  metal  elements.

  Spoken  word  parts  can  also  be  heard  briefly  as  well  as  one  track  also  introducing  acoustic  guitars  onto  the  recording  and  the  music  also  adds  in  a  good  mixture  of  both  old  school  and  modern  influences  as  well  as  one  track  also  introducing  clean  playing  onto  the  recording,  melodic  chants  can  also  be  heard  briefly.  The  production  sounds  very  professional  while  the  lyrics  cover  life,  death  and  our  existence  as  a  part  of  the  universe.

  In  my  opinion  King  are  a  very  great  sounding  melodic  mixture  of  black  and  death  metal  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  those  musical  genres,  you  should  check  out  this  band.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Conqueror"  "One  More  War"  "Beyond  The  Exosphere'  and  "My  Master,  my  Sword,  My  Fire".  8  out  of  10.

https://youtu.be/cPrd2F1EYXU