Review by Richard Henry for MPM
So, we have Kingsmen from Providence, Rhode Island, these guys have been about since 2016 and we have the debut album here on Sharptone Records, let’s get stuck in!
Track 1 – Intro
Well, it does what it says on the tin, we get a 4-note motif played around and then we have a synth orchestral feel going on behind it as it builds towards the first proper track on the album
Track 2 – Bones Don’t Lie
That’s a dirty sludgy riff right there with a slow dragging feel on the drums, then straight into the verse with the dirtiest bass tone I have heard in a long time, this gives me Korn vibes right away, especially on the vocal and the groove, good chorus, the middle section has a definite beatdown section, which for some reason reminds me of Slaughter to Prevail, back into the chorus and then a repeat of the middle section again as the song makes its way out.
Track 3 – Bitter Half
That riff sounds a bit like a Mastodon riff, good heft to this one and nice drumming with the double bass rolls underpinning the riff, it’s almost like a Killswitch chorus with a much heavier verse riff, ultimately very singable, the song then breaks down into the middle section which yet again reminds me of Slaughter to Prevails Bonebreaker, good chorus again and ends on that!
Track 4 – Trial by Fire
Subtle intro on this before we get a huge riff coming in, the verse itself comes back down to be more like the intro and a lot more subtle before slamming back in with a big chorus, I mean the first thing I am going to say is if you have listened to Five Finger Death Punch then you going to spot the format of this straight away as it follows the way they build and break down a song, it’s a good track and it’s really well done, but I have ultimately heard it before done by a lot of bands
Track 5 – Memory
Starting with a synth keyboard pattern the into a wall of a riff, the production is spot on, and it slams hard, again we are staying with the familiar territory of hitting the chorus and slowing the tempo down to a half time feel with a more soaring vocal that will stick with you before hitting the verse which is a more stuttered riff with an aggressive vocal, love the middle of this track, it’s a hard breakdown with a lot more aggressive vocal, then we hit that huge chorus again!
Track 6 – No Road Home
No hear me out, think chain gang vocal, almost like a blues/soul idea, that’s what I am hearing, it’s like a really heavy slow delta blues, this is so different so far to anything else on the album and I love it, lovely slide solo on this as well, really cool track, so different!
Track 7 – Dead Letter
Again we have like a processed intro, before we go into a really mellow verse with a soft vocal over a clean guitar part and a shuffle sort of drum part, before we get into a chorus, now this is something in nearly every song, these guys have excelled at is having a massive chorus and sems to be a trademark of their sound, now does it sound like Five Finger, 100% and that is the thing I keep hearing in every song, nice breakdown and a really nice feel on the riff and the drums before we break back into the clean guitars and into the chorus!
Track 8 – Catalyst
Nasty riff at the start of this, that’s a really driving song, heavy from the off and I like it, it’s the most aggressive track on the album, even the chorus while still having a cleaner vocal still doesn’t leave the distorted vocal behind it adding much more weight to the chorus, nice solo on this, there hasn’t been many on the album but clearly shows there are some chops there, then back into the chorus, by far my favorite track on the album!
Track 9 – Prayer Man
Again… we have that processed intro before the riff comes in with an almost hip-hop dance beat following it, nice break with the synth spoken word section, before we go into the chorus, which sort of keeps the beat from the verse going, it’s an almost Marilyn Manson type of industrial track and I have to be honest, it does nothing for me at all
Track 10 – Diamondize
This is a really industrial sounding track, almost Rammstein with that riff, we then have that synth marching drum beat that we had in the last track during the verse, before hitting a much heavier pre-chorus and chorus with an almost Lamb of God vocal delivery, nice and aggressive, decent track!
6 out of 10
For a debut album its decent, but, you can hear the influences a mile off, Five Finger, Slipknot are two I can tell and for me the last two tracks just don’t work, as they are so different to the rest of the album they don’t sit for me, No Road Home was different but served to break up the songs before it in a good way. Again, my opinion, it’s good for a debut but I have heard it before and will they stand out amongst a glut of bands that already sound like this, it’s hard to know.
Purchase, Stream at: https://bfan.link/diamondize
New Album ‘Bones Don’t Lie’ Out March 31 Pre-Order at: https://bfan.link/bones-don-t-lie
KINGSMEN online:
Facebook.com/Kingsmenbandri
Twitter.com/KingsMenRI
Instagram.com/kingsmenri