Review by Rob Broom for MPM
Since their 2023 debut, King Kraken have been working incredibly hard by gigging around the UK and promoting themselves on social media. They released four tracks as singles in advance of this new album and several of them gained plenty of radio airplay which was just reward for all the hard work.
Now finally, the new album ‘March Of The Gods’ is upon us and without pausing, the band have kicked off a new UK tour to promote it.
The album kicks off with ‘Scream’ and let’s all face reality, if a metal band record a song called ‘Scream’ then you should have a pretty good idea of what to expect – something loud and furious – which is exactly what King Kraken give us! There is no mercy here, this is a full on metal song. For those old enough, you might recall Phil Spector produced his ‘Wall Of Sound’, well King Kraken produce a ‘Wall Of Steel’ sound that is instantly identifiable and runs through the majority of the album.
This is chest thumping, fist in the air and sing (or scream) your loudest rock music. Fantastic stuff and the pace continues with track two ‘El Giganto’ which had an ear worm of a chorus line!
After a brief brooding opening, track three ‘Berzerker’ blasts out with more pounding drums from Richard Lee Mears and pumping bass from Karl Meyer. I’ve previously reviewed this one for Metal Planet Music and my opinion has not changed – having seen the band live in Bridgewater recently the crowd definitely do sing along to this one!
Title track ‘March Of The Gods’ is next up and the furious musical onslaught continues as the band rip it up. There’s no respite and the band are in full flight. A feature across the entire album is the lead guitar work of Adam Healy and the rhythm guitar of Pete Rose. At times the soloing goes stratospheric and both players are able to conjure up a magical amount of riffs. That guitar work is really elevates this album to another level again when compared to the bands magnificent debut.
After all that fury, track five ‘Hero’ is a change of pace. It is more restrained, with a bluesy metal feel. Vocalist Mark Donoghue demonstrates there’s more depth to his voice than we might have imagined from the first four tunes and the whole band excel in their virtuosity. The lyrics will certainly appeal to those fathers and sons who hold a close bond, especially in advance of Fathers Day.
Track six ‘Vigilante’ is a tremendous piece with some excellent time changes that will be welcomed by headbangers everywhere! It is arguably my favourite track on the album, but indeed that is the only problem with the entire ‘March Of The Gods’ album, choosing a favourite – they are all really strong performances!
If ‘Vigilante’ is a homage to the Punisher graphic novel series (my guess) then track seven ‘Preacher’ is probably about the graphic novel series of the same name. I can certainly confirm it is a monster of a track and like the preceding ‘Vigilante’ an absolute face melter live!
Cut eight ‘Magnum Opus’ continues the trend of the previous couple of cuts, razor like riffing, powerful vocals, pounding drums and throbbing bass. Perfect for headbanging and air guitarists alike!
‘Chainsaw Saviour’ was the first release from this album and I am sure lyrically gives more than a passing nod to the TV series ‘Ash versus the Evil Dead’ – which was fantastically over the top! – and this song certainly keeps pace with the extremes of the TV series. It’s brutal and violent, yet contains humour and is backed up with some creative guitar breaks.
Final track ‘Under The Sun’ slows the pace, but does not compromise on the intensity. It is a pounding riff hungry album closer that has the band firing on all cylinders and hitting overdrive. Another perfect headbanger!
King Kraken are currently out on the road in the UK promoting ‘March Of The Gods’ and when I saw them a couple of weeks back they played all ten songs off the album. The new material slots right in with the debut albums material. At the end of the Bridgewater show a lady turned to me, almost speechless and just said ‘WOW’. She is right and perhaps that should stand for ‘Wall Of Welsh Steel’!
There is a full on metal intensity to ‘March Of The Gods’. It should be in the conversation for album of the year, it contains a fury and savagery that is a joy to listen and rock out to! There are none of the notorious ‘second album problems’ that have beset other bands in the past. ‘March Of The Gods’ bleeds molten metal. The kraken is officially unleashed and causing mayhem. Join the carnage now, go buy the album and catch King Kraken live as soon as you can!
March Of The Gods Tracklisting:
1. Scream
2. El Giganto
3. Berserker
4. March Of The Gods
5. Hero
6. Vigilante
7. Preacher
8. Magnum Opus
9. Chainsaw Saviour
10. Under The Sun
Band Members:
Mark Donoghue – vocals
Adam Healey – guitars
Pete Rose – guitars
Karl Meyer – bass
Richard Lee Mears – drums
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