KYNG - BREATHE IN THE WATER (2016 ALBUM REVIEW)

Kyng is:

Eddie Veliz (Guitar/Lead Vocals)

Tony Castaneda (Bass/Backing Vocals)

Pepe Clarke (Drums)

Produced by: Machine

Label: Razor & Tie

If Kyng is unfamiliar to you, that's too bad. The band comes from the Los Angeles area and are a power metal trio. Breathe In The Water is the band's third release and it follows Trampled Sun (2011) and Burn The Serum (2014). I'll confess, I wasn't all that taken by the debut, but Burn The Serum pulled me in while Breathe In The Water makes me wanna kiss myself just for knowing who this band is.

The album packaging is a bi-fold cardboard case. It does have a lyric insert with some cool artwork spread throughout. The font is a bit small for my eyes, even with my glasses, but that's nothing unusual anymore.

The album kicks off with Pristine Warning, which mixes heaviness with some prog styled time signature changes. Pepe Clarke is a fantastic drummer and it is evident from the opening track. Luckily the mix is excellent so those powerful drums do not bury any of the other musical elements that this band offers. The title track starts off with some acoustic work before kicking into an all electric offering. The chorus here is fantastic. I love the melody of it. It also brings more time changes. Closer To The End is one of my favorite tracks on an album full of favorite tracks. The delicate electric guitar intro shows that the band isn't just made up of power chords. The talent of this band is unbelievable. The guitar solo is reminiscent of something Eddie Van Halen might have played on one of the Van Hagar albums, but it doesn't sound at all like a rip off. Follow Blindly is one of the few songs that didn't just blow me away. It's not a bad track at all, just not as gripping as the other tracks.

Next up is Show Me Your Love. This may be my overall favorite track here. It slows the pace and is about as close to a ballad as you'll get. But don't think it wusses out. It's just one I like to hear over and over. Reckoning Part 1 is really just a short interlude with some sort of production tricks of fading or what not. It's not necessary here. The Dead closes out the first half of the album nicely. For some reason it sounds a bit like something the Foo Fighters might do, but then again it doesn't. The lead guitar riff is quite nice.

Bipolar Schemes starts of with some nice power chords. The funny thing about this track is that the opening vocal is double tracked and it sounds like one of those is out of key just a bit. But the song is so cool that it doesn't distract from it at all. Another of my favorite album cuts. The soundscapes the band provide are evident in the next track, Hide From You. Like I said earlier, not just power chords. The quietness of the verses here work excellently against the heaviness of the chorus. "Every word I say just falls on deaf ears/This pain it seems so empty, drowning in tears". Great lyric and proof that the band concentrates on all areas of the musical landscape. This song has a killer solo as well. Song For A broken Masque sounds like it would have fit perfectly on the previous album.

Next up is the instrumental The Beginning of What Was. It's mostly acoustic and nice in a Zeppelin kind of way, but not necessary. I gotta say, The Battle of the Saint/Lines is just another cool track with an awesome time signature change. Great lyrics too, "Lines, we cross them all them time/Fearless broken face, these bones were hard to break". Not Enough and What I'm Made Of/Reckoning Part 2 close the album out nicely. The last section of the last track is a continuation of the short track from earlier in the album that I said was not necessary. But here it has a little bit more bite though it feels like the band should have fleshed it out more.

And 52 minutes go by pretty quick when listening to this. If you know me at all, you know that I don't like albums generally that are too long. As good as this one is, it could stand to have Follow Blindly and Reckoning Part 1 trimmed away. Then it would be perfect. It's still pretty damn good as it stands.

Overall Rating: 4.8 Power Stars

Tracks:

1. Pristine Warning

2. Breathe In The Water

3. Closer To The End

4. Follow Blindly

5. Show Me Your Love

6. Reckoning Part 1

7. The Dead

8. Bipolar Schemes

9. Hide From You

10. Song For A Broken Masque