KING'S X
Ogre Tones
Inside Out Music 2005
www.kingsxonline.com

Sample it here

What’s the 4-1-1?
Bassist/vocalist Doug Pinnick, guitarist Ty Tabor, and drummer Jerry Gaskill have returned to the scene once again with a brand new studio album that features the trademark progressive rock stylings combined with their Beatle-esque vocal harmonies.

Genre
Progressive rock / hard rock

The Good
Having never been a fan of the band, I have to say that I was pleasantly surprised by how good this album turned out for me. I can only think of one song from King’s X past that I really liked, and it’s now joined by a bunch of the tracks on this album. The album was originally to be titled “Landscape” and I think that aptly describes the breadth of song styles included on Ogre Tones. I liked that none of the individual aspects of the music was given more emphasis than the others. Each band member has a chance to shine, but it’s almost always entirely focused on producing quality songs rather than showcases for their musical ability.

The band’s material on this album ranges from an unintentionally timed song about a hurricane that once hit their home of Houston, Texas to a song about Doug Pinnick’s uncle. The first cut on the disc is “Alone” and it’s a superb hard rocker with decent vocal work. Ty Tabor’s guitar lines on this track are excellent as well as on the song “Fly". The song “Bebop” has a very interesting vocal delivery from Pinnick, and features a sublimely grooving rhythm to it. The band even managed to come up with two ballads that are actually great songs.

“If” is planned for a single release. I enjoyed the fact that it’s not a typical wimpy sounding ballad but features a rather bold in your face delivery. The other ballad is “Honesty.” It features acoustic guitar work and while it’s not as up front as “If,” it doesn’t descend into sappy sugary territory either. The one that thing really stood out to me is that the band in general focuses on getting to the direct point of the song and then moving on to the next one. Almost all of the songs are of radio airplay length of 3 to 4 minutes. I would love to see them get some airtime with the songs on this album.

The Bad
There was one song that felt a bit self-indulgent to me. It was “Sooner Or Later” which played to me as if it was about 3 minutes too long. The last track “Bam” is nothing more than a recording from way back when advertising phonograph players. It’s completely unnecessary.

The Verdict
King’s X has always had some of the wildest and most intriguing album titles (Gretchen Goes To Nebraska, Out Of A Silent Planet, Dogman, Tapehead), but not only does the title of this CD follow in that tradition, but it also adds a wonderful tapestry of music to go along with it. Ogre Tones is an outstanding album that should be heard not only by the longtime King’s X devotees but also by any rock music fan that hasn’t been drawn in by the band to this point!

Did You Know?
Michael Wagener produced this album. He’s worked with such artists as Metallica, Alice Cooper, Queen, Dokken, Ozzy Osbourne and many more.

The band’s deal with Inside Out Music America means the company is now releasing their output throughout the entire world. The more recent material was coming out internationally through the label, but not North America. The label has also released the solo projects from Ty Tabor and Jerry Gaskill.

Doug Pinnick has a new band project with Night Ranger drummer Kelly Keagy and former Winger, current Whitesnake guitarist Reb Beach called The Mob.

Rating: out of 5

-- Jay Roberts