Released by: Mausoleum Records
Release Date: October 8th, 2013
Genre: Hard Rock/Classic Rock
Links: http://www.kings-call.com/
Line Up:
Alex Garoufalidis – Guitaris/Vocals
Mike Freeland (Praying Mantis) – Vocals
Andreas Kramer – Bass
Asec Bergemann – Drums
Tracklist:
1. Mother Nature
2. Riding The Storm
3. Dig It
4. Shy Love
5. Is This The Life
6. Avalon
7. Red Lights
8. Get Up
9. Holy Ground
10. Avalon – Rising
I have a method to my determination as to whether I’m going to review an album. I typically will compile an MP3 cd of 5-6 albums that are in consideration. I will listen to the first track, 7th track, and last track all the way through, and give about 1 minute of each song on the rest of the album to see if it’s something that I feel comfortable writing about. The first and last tracks are important because I think a band should put together an album that starts off with a bang, and ends with the listener wanting to hear more. I choose the 7th song because I have found over the years being a music fan that that is usually my favorite song on the album. It’s not across the board, but something I’ve just noticed. There are also two immediate criteria that must be met: I must like the guitarist and I must like the singer. Genre and the actual songs are inconsequential if those two factors aren’t met. Notice I said like, not love. If I like both, then it’s a matter of eliminating a band because their songs suck or it’s not a genre I’m in to. I will still review a band of a genre I don’t like if I can find some redeeming quality about them, but typically I skip those.
I’ve laid all that out to say that the King’s Call’s album Lion’s Den failed my usual “test,” yet for some reason I played the whole thing all the way through, and ended up listening to it a few times. For whatever reasons the three full songs I played didn’t inspire me very much at first, especially the first one. The guitar I liked pretty well, but something about the vocals left me kind of cold. Initially it sounded like a bad attempt at doing Dan McCafferty of Nazareth’s voice. I just think it was a combination of my mood, plus I had just listened to a couple exceptional albums, so this one came off as a step down. Once I set it off to itself I realized it’s actually quite good. After some research (and more listens) I discovered Mike Freeland was the vocalist, he of Praying Mantis fame. I still don’t much care for the first song “Mother Nature.” There’s just something about it I don’t like. However the rest of the album makes up for it. It’s definitely a throwback album, very much ensconced in the classic 70’s hard rock sound. Rocking, melodic, and energetic, it puts you in mind of the aforementioned Nazareth, as well as Montrose, Uriah Heep, Mountain and that sort. Songs like “Get Up,” “Riding the Storm,” and “Waiting For You” have great riffs, high energy spirit, and great vocals.
It goes to show that though first impressions are important, sometimes giving someone or something a second chance is a good idea. Though it’s still not the best album of the year, it’s still an enjoyable listen, and one I could see me drifting back to later on. If you enjoy good, classic hard rock with an AOR flavor, then you can’t go wrong with King’s Call and their album Lion’s Den.
Written by Chris Martin
Ratings Chris 7/10
Preview Songs below:
http://www.music-avenue.net/mausoleum/detail.php?id=251147
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