If there was any doubt that the world is getting smaller, eponymous debut LP ‘King Heavy’ must surely be proof, being a band composed of Belgian and Chilean members who released their first EP through a French label, now coming out of the speakers care of an Italian label that has already sent me Australian and American acts to review this year. The days of local scenes and local labels that would play bands of local musicians for local people has long since gone away, doubtless much to the chagrin of the more murderous denizens of Royston Vasey!
So, what does this mix of nations and presumably influences bring to the album. Well, from the first few bars of opener ‘La Gargola’, Sweden comes to mind in the form of epic doom masters Candlemass, the track having the same heavy and theatrical style, vocals clean and sustained, and slow beats interspersed with more NWOBHM chugging riffs. Even the the lyrics of the curse throwing magical gargoyle are taken straight from the book of magical metal imagery, with more than a nod to Dio’s own spell slinging song writing. Follow up ‘Life AD’ starts with vocalist Luce Vee seeming to do his best Eric Wagner impersonation before opening up his lungs bellowing forth in a more operatic style, a vocal style matched by the build up of layered guitar tracks, a sound that the band would be hard pressed to reproduce live with just a four piece line up of guitar, bass, drums and vox.
Throughout the album it is clear that the band are happy to wear their influences openly on their musical sleeves: ‘As Dawn Broke On The Day’ has a slow Saint Vitus vibe with drawn out chords and melancholy vocals; ‘Thirteen Chosen Ones’ has a more traditional metal feeling which had me thinking of slower Iced Earth tracks; ‘Wounds’ has time changes between a Maidenesque gallop and near Gothic slog. This is not to put down the band in any way; rather it shows they are more than a simple clone of any one act, but willing to takes different sounds and stir them together to create their own identity. This comes to the fore best in the eleven minute plus closer ‘He Who Spoke In Tongues’ where worshippers of the riff will get their fix, the guitar going from a dirge like slog before the controls are set to Volume 4, the paces matched a solid rhythm section and vocals that go from a growl to a howl, all the while exhorting the occult and magical.
Whilst a combination of geography and a world economy that makes it hard for all but the most talented or lucky of actual musicians, as opposed to computerised Cowell creations,to play full time, the band sound tight as if they practise by day and tour by night. October sees them hitting the road with dates in South America and Europe, and I can only hope the sound they have recorded can be matched with an equally solid live delivery.
(7.5/10 Spenny)
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