Flashback CD Review #30 - King's X - Ogre Tones

This review was written for the Rock Is Life.com website in 2005. (2011 Update: This review was read over the air by DJ Will on KNAC.com's The Vault program when I sent it to him after it was posted online back in 2005.)

King's X

Ogre Tones

Inside Out Music 2005

http://www.kingsxonline.com

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 Beatles-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 the King's X past that I really liked and its now joined by a bunch of 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 its almost 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 his their home of Houston, Texas to a song about Doug Pinnick's uncle. The first cut on the disc is "Alone" and its a superb hard rocker with decent vocal work. Ty Tabor's guitar lines on this track are excellent as well 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 its not a typical wimpy sounding balladed but features a rather bold in your face delivery. The other ballad is "Honesty". It features acoustic guitar work and while its not as up front as "If", it doesn't descend into sappy sugary territory either. The one thing that 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, 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 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 Metallic, 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: 4 out of 5