King's X - "Out of the Silent Planet (Collector's Edition - Remastered and Reloaded)"

King's X - Out of the Silent Planet (Collector's Edition - Remastered and Reloaded)
2014, Rock Candy

1. In the New Age
2. Goldilox
3. Power of Love
4. Wonder
5. Sometimes
6. King
7. What is This?
8. Far, Far Away
9. Shot of Love
10. Visions

Recently I learned that a British record company had reissued Out of Silent Planet - remastered with extensive liner notes and such. I had to have it. I imported it all the way from the UK. The original album had very little in the way of liner notes and such. Well... this edition is a cool find for collectors. The liner notes contain, along with the lyrics, an extensive interview with Dug Pinnick about the early days of the band. Pinnick talks about the band's early work with Petra and Phil Keaggy and their start as The Edge and Sneak Preview. There's also many photos and the original Kerrang review of the album. Cool stuff for someone like me. The music is stellar of course. It's the same fantastic album you've come to know and love (at least you should know it, you Philistine!). It's been remastered but there was never anything really wrong with the original master in my opinion. There aren't any extra tracks but an album like this doesn't need any. I hope Rock Candy does the next four albums as well! I will be importing them for sure!

Useless Fact: Apparently Dug isn't wild about the band name, King's X. He's not even sure what it means. I've always liked the name because it was unique and distinctive.

King's X - "Dogman"

King's X - Dogman
1994, Atlantic

1. Dogman
2. Shoes
3. Pretend
4. Flys and Blue Skies
5. Black the Sky
6. Fool You
7. Don't Care
8. Sunshine Rain
9. Complain
10. Human Behavior
11. Cigarettes
12. Go To Hell
13. Pillow
14. Manic Depression

Dogman was the first album King's X recorded without the help of long-time producer Sam Taylor. The differences are immediate. Dogman is heavier, darker, and a lot less progressive. There's also less of an emphasis on three-part harmonies and Ty barely sings lead. That's not to say it's not good, it's awesome. Definitely a classic - if a little depressing at times. Naturally, the C.S. Lewis inspired, Christian slanting lyrics have been dropped in favor of introspective brooding. Again, not bad just different. I was really worried about the band back in the day because I took this as a sign that they were no longer Christians. Apparently I was right. Still, Dogman is a great record and, in retrospect, definitely worthy of the King's X legacy.

Useless Fact: The dog on the cover came in different colors: red, blue, green, and yellow. The one I have now is yellow. The one on my original cassette was red. Also, a box set was released with the first five albums. However, it hasn't been remastered or anything and there aren't any extras. Still, if you've never gotten into King's X before that box set is the place to start!

King's X - "Ogre Tones"

King's X - Ogre Tones
2005, Inside Out

1. Alone
2. Stay
3. Hurricane
4. Fly
5. If
6. Bebop
7. Honesty
8. Open My Eyes
9. Freedom
10. Get Away
11. Sooner or Later
12. Mudd
13. Goldilox (Reprise)
14. Bam

When Ogre Tones first came out I was dating my wife. I remember listening to it and freaking out one evening because she didn't call me back or something. I was really worried that night - for no reason apparently! Anyway, I loved Ogre Tones back then. I remember Dug saying this album was supposed to sound like a combination of Dogman and Gretchen. Of course, Dug was in the habit of saying that about any King's X album that was coming out at the time. I would say it's a bit more like Out of the Silent Planet as it showcases the band's distinctive style but remains fairly simple and radio-friendly throughout. They've even included a reprise of "Goldilox." "Honesty" is a Ty Tabor penned acoustic ballad that is simply beautiful and the album as a whole is full of groove and great harmonies. The only song I don't care for is "Open My Eyes." Aside from a cool riff I think it's kind of boring. I got rid of this awhile back because it made me depressed for some reason. However, now I listen to it and think "What made me depressed?! This album is awesome!" I would go so far as to say this is one of the finest of the later-era King's X releases.

Useless Fact: The band made a video for "Alone" that is... interesting. It's just the guys playing the song with some video hos dancing with them. Also, I recall that the original title was Overtones but I think the label thought that was too plain.

King's X - "Manic Moonlight"

King's X - Manic Moonlight
2001, Metal Blade

1. Believe
2. Manic Moonlight
3. Yeah
4. False Alarm
5. Static
6. Skeptical Winds
7. The Other Side
8. Vegetable
9. Jenna
10. Water Ceremony

Manic Moonlight is the second of what I refer to as the King's X "experimental" discs. However, unlike Please Come Home... Mr. Bulbous I don't think Manic works as well. Yes... the boys were definitely in their "don't give a crap what anybody thinks" phase. They use looping drum samples throughout to provide sort of a base line for the songs. After a few seconds, though, it's just regular ol' King's X. I don't really understand all the hate this album got originally. I was in college at the time and a friend loaned me the CD to listen to and neither of us really knew what to make of it. It wasn't some techno abomination, but it wasn't stupendous either. There are a couple of tracks I absolutely love like the title track, "Yeah," and "Jenna." Though, like I said, I don't think the experimentation pays off as much. Take "Skeptical Winds" for example - the vocals are spoken word and the entire thing is rather repetitive.  Whatever I might think of this disc at any given time I have to applaud the band for trying something new. Manic isn't lazy like Tape Head so that's something I suppose.

Useless Fact: "Water Ceremony" isn't even a real song. It's the guys drinking water, burping, and laughing. I bet it was hilarious in the studio. On the disc, eh... not so much.

King's X - "Tape Head"

King's X - Tape Head
1998, Metal Blade

1. Groove Machine
2. Fade
3. Over and Over
4. Ono
5. Cupid
6. Ocean
7. Little Bit of Soul
8. Hate You
9. Higher Than God
10. Happy
11. Mr. Evil
12. World
13. Walter Bela Farkas (Live Peace in New York)

Is it possible for King's X to have a "worst album"? Sadly, the answer is yes - and here it is: Tape Head. After the bid for commercial success failed the band just went into the studio and banged out this album. It's very simplistic and very basic. I also don't think there's as much life in these songs as on previous releases. It's almost like they were tired of being King's X and didn't really want to even make a King's X album but did anyway. They've completely abandoned any sort of progressive sound by now, which isn't bad per se, but the songs are just not as catchy or as strong. I can only think of a few tracks that I really like, some of which include "Fade," "Hate You," and "Happy." "Groove Machine" is alright too and has become a concert staple. This is not the band's finest hour by far. Tape Head was the second King's X album to appear in Christian bookstores. Just in time for Dug to come out about his sexuality. Predictably, in their overwhelming Christ-like love bookstores pulled the album.

Useless Fact: Wally Farkas (from Galactic Cowboys) appears on the last track. Also, that's Dug's head wrapped in tape on the cover. "Happy" was originally a profanity laced song called "Quality Control" that was supposed to be on Dogman if I remember correctly.

 

King's X - "Ear Candy"

King's X - Ear Candy
1996, Atlantic

1. The Train
2. (Thinking and Wondering) What I'm Gonna Do
3. Sometime
4. A Box
5. Looking For Love
6. Mississippi Moon
7. 67
8. Lies in the Sand (The Ballad Of...)
9. Run
10. Fathers
11. American Cheese (Jerry's Pianto)
12. Picture
13. Life Going By

When Ear Candy first came out I tore a path through my hometown trying to find a copy. I was excited about the band returning to form, so to speak. Not that they were really out of form for Dogman but that's what I thought at the time. Ear Candy is a lot more commercial than anything the band had done before. This was also about the time the band was doing profanity laced interviews in all the metal magazines. Ironic given that this disc was probably the first to appear in Christian bookstores. I liked this one even though it's kind of hit and miss. It starts strong with "The Train," "(Thinking and Wondering) What I'm Gonna Do," etc. Also, I count "Mississippi Moon" as one of my favorite King's X tracks ever. It peeters out toward the end with some boring ballads and run-of-the-mill King's X fodder (granted, that's still better 99% of pop music, but still).

About the lyrics - while I do miss the C.S. Lewis type lyrics I have to respect the honest on here. I really feel for what they guys must have been going through. Especially on "Looking for Love" and "Run" both most likely inspired by Doug's struggles. I've totally been there.

Useless Fact: This would be the last album the band would record for Atlantic before moving onto Metal Blade.

King's X - "Black Like Sunday"

King's X - Black Like Sunday

2003, Metal Blade

1. Black Like Sunday

2. Rock Pile

3. Danger Zone

4. Working Man

5. Dreams

6. Finished

7. Screamer

8. Bad Luck

9. Down

10. Won't Turn Back

11. Two

12. You're the Only One

13. Johnny

14. Save Us

I have a hard time looking at this one as an official release. Really, it's mostly old songs the band was doing back when they were called The Edge and Sneak Preview. Only they're all rerecorded with all the band's new gear. There's only a few stand out cuts here like "Danger Zone," "Finished" and the title track. The rest are merely adequate. You can definitely hear how much they were influenced by punk rock and The Police. This is more for fans to hear where the band came from, not really something to turn someone on to the band who'd never heard of them before.

Useless Fact: The track list on the back of the CD case is wrong. The one I've listed is correct. Also, the cover was chosen as part of a contest - fans were able to create covers and send them in and the band chose the one they liked the best. I think they made a good choice because I saw some of them... and man, were they funny!

King's X - "King's X"

King's X - King's X

1992, Atlantic

1. The World Around Me

2. Prisoner

3. The Big Picture

4. Lost in Germany

5. Chariot Song

6. Ooh Song

7. Not Just For the Dead

8. What I Know About Love

9. Black Flag

10. Dream In My Life

11. Silent Wind

Rack up another classic for King's X. Not quite as progressive as the last one I think, but still excellent. I don't know what else to say. If you don't already love these albums then nothing I say is going to change your mind. You have to hear the majesty for yourself.

Useless Fact: The band made a video for "Black Flag" and I remember seeing it on MTV a couple times as well as an episode of Beavis and Butthead.

King's X - "Faith, Hope, Love"

King's X - Faith, Hope, Love
1990, Megaforce

1. We Are Finding Who We Are
2. It's Love
3. I'll Never Get Tired of You
4. Fine Art of Friendship
5. Mr. Wilson
6. Moanjam
7. Six Broken Soldiers
8. I Can't Help It
9. Talk to You
10. Everywhere I Go
11. We Were Born To Be Loved
12. Faith Hope Love
13. Legal Kill

This was King's X's most epic and progressive disc up to this point. This is also the one that got them the most media attention. "It's Love" got some radio airplay and the band itself was getting a lot of attention, mainly from the Christian market. I don't like this one quite as much as Gretchen but that's to say this isn't a textbook example of great music.

Useless Fact: "Legal Kill" is an anti-abortion song that wasn't actually supposed to be on the album. Producer Sam Taylor took only Ty Tabor into the studio and it was on the album despite the fact that both Doug Pinnick and Jerry Gaskill objected. Taylor also put the Ist Corinthians quote in the liner notes against the band's wishes.

King's X - "Gretchen Goes to Nebraska"

King's X - Gretchen Goes to Nebraska
1989, Megaforce

1. Out of the Silent Planet
2. Over My Head
3. Summerland
4. Everybody Knows a Little Bit of Something
5. The Difference (In the Garden of St. Anne's-on-the-Hill)
6. I'll Never Be the Same
7. Mission
8. Fall On Me
9. Pleiades
10. Don't Believe It (It's Easier Said Than Done)
11. Send a Message
12. The Burning Down

How do I communicate how awesome this album is with mere words? This is my favorite King's X CD. If you don't like this album, then you don't like music. There, I've said it and I'll stand by it.

Useless Fact: "Gretchen Goes to Nebraska" is the title of a short story written by Jerry Gaskill which is included in the liner notes of the CD. Gaskill tries his best to channel C.S. Lewis and it might have worked if I hadn't read any C.S. Lewis before.

King's X - "Out of the Silent Planet"

King's X - Out of the Silent Planet

1988, Megaforce

1. In the New Age

2. Goldilox

3. Power of Love

4. Wonder

5. Sometimes

6. King

7. What is This?

8. Far, Far Away

9. Shot of Love

10. Visions

How these guys never got popular I'll never know. This debut is an amazing piece of hard rock and metal. Taking equally from the Beatles and Metallica, King's X creates a sound that is full of harmonies and cool metal riffs. There's nothing like them out on the market today and there never will be. If I was teaching a class in rock music I'd hold up any King's X CD and go, "Here. This is how you do music." This disc isn't quite as progressive as the later releases but there are songs on here that I listen to them and my jaw just drops. The only knock against this album is the drawn out intro... could have done without that.

Useless Fact: Even though this album is called Out of the Silent Planet their song of the same name appears on their next album. Also, while the title is from the C.S. Lewis book of the same name, none of the songs here have anything to do with Lewis' Space Trilogy.

King's X - "XV"

King's X - XV

2008, Inside Out

1. Pray

2. Blue

3. Repeating Myself

4. Rocket Ship

5. Julie

6. Alright

7. Free

8. I Just Want To Live

9. Move

10. I Don't Know

11. Stuck

12. Go Tell Somebody

13. Love and Rockets (Hell's Screaming)

14. No Lie

I have been a fan of King's X for a long time. I've bought each studio album when they came out and have usually been impressed with each one. Well, I wasn't sure about this one when it came out and I downloaded it to listen to it and see if I really liked it. Well for awhile I was pretty "meh" about the whole thing. I liked the songs but they really didn't seem to "wow" me. Then I put this disc on while at work and something clicked. I got it. For some reason all the songs and the elements came together and I said to myself, "Wow... this is a great CD." I bought shortly thereafter. So yes... this is a great CD. It's better than Ogre Tones that's for sure. There's no trace of their progressive metal/rock past but that's okay, now they just play good old hard rock...and that's alright by me!

Useless Fact: I'm not sure anyone is a Christian after listening to some of the lyrics for this one. Granted there's no angry diatribes or anything, it's more subtle. Though it does make me wonder where everyone stands these days. Still fantastic musicians no matter what! God bless them! Oh... and I'm not sure whether track 7 is supposed to be called "Broke" or "Free." It's "Broke" on my Ipod but "Free" on the CD case.