The Welsh hard/stoner/NWOCR band King Kraken are back with their sophomore album. I’ve been a big fan of them for a while and loved their debut, so am going into this thing pretty hyped. We’ve had a handful of singles so fans should know what to expect, but the band still feel like they have a trick up their sleeve somewhere here. Let’s dive right in!
The album opens with the powerhouse track ‘Scream’. The heavy riffing soon gains Mark’s powerful vocals over the top, immediately feeling stonery and heavy hard rock in all the best ways. It gives of vibes of everything from Black Label Society, The Sword and Fu Manchu in all the best ways. The energy and heaviness continues into the catchy chorus, everything being balls-to-the-wall and flowing together perfectly. It’s all pretty simple and at the same level so far, but it all works amazingly. I loved the short solo between the first chorus and second verse too, somehow upping the energy even more. I LOVE the little bridge bit after the second chorus too, the bass especially going hard. It also builds into more awesome heaviness, and more phenomenal, mind-blowing guitar soloing before a final chorus takes us home in style. We even get some great actual screams at the end. This is an excellent opener and the perfect way to introduce the listener to the album.
‘El Giganto’ continues the same energy and feel from the opener perfectly. The track also goes full Clutch, which I LOVE. It does t take itself too seriously, which certainly isn’t a bad thing. And, despite the rather rapid pace, it’s still pretty catchy, a testament to the band’s damn good songwriting. And my god, the sheer level and volume of riffs in this track is awesome. So too is the guitar solo tucked away in the middle, again blowing my mind a little bit. And damn, them slowing down that outro riff to half time… *chefs kiss*. It’s another fantastic, well crafted hard rock song filled with incredible playing all round. It’s impossible not to love!
A slower, more doomy start opens ‘Beserker’, yet it soon still explodes into a huge, ch0nky, stoner riff. It’s honestly one of my favourite riffs on the album too, it’s so damn good! It works surprisingly well as a verse, too. It’s another standard structure and a similar feel with their sound and tempo, but is another absolutely amazing song. I love it dropping down and building back up for the final chorus. All three songs have been pretty similar so far but all are so good. The band have very much refined and perfected their formula here and are rolling with it!
The albums title track is another stomping, heavy track like only King Kraken can do. It’s one of the biggest, catchiest choruses on the album too, and between that, the riffing and the incredible soloing, it’s another easy highlight that makes it onto our playlist. Then the album finally changes pace as we reach the halfway mark with ‘Hero’. It came out of nowhere too, this groovy, almost vaguely funky slower track. I don’t know why, but it gives me ever so slight Faith No More vibes. Empire too. That certainly isn’t a bad thing, either! It’s a really interesting addition to the album, especially right slap-bang in the middle. It shows the incredible range of the band and still demonstrates their talents perfectly. It’s another massive highlight song of the album, and one I’d definitely recommend checking out!
‘Vigilante’ returns to the bands heaviness and pace for another excellent, riff-heavy song. The band’s effortless change between time signatures in the middle is an awesome part of the song, but everything about it is pretty excellent and done to a sound and standard that King Kraken are very much known for now. Then you have ‘Preacher’ which is a bit lower and darker for the most part, building to these big, arena-filling choruses and a massive, fast-paced bridge that is a lot of fun. ‘Magnum Opus’, while a little bold of a title, does very much pull in every element of the bands sound that they do so well and… well… does it so well. I don’t know why feel slightly rude grouping all these songs together, and it’s not at all a reflection on their incredible quality. They are simply vaguely similar sounding tracks and I don’t want to repeat my gushing over and over. I cannot recommend any of these tracks enough, and if you like one you’ll like them all!
Lead single of the album, ‘Chainsaw Saviour’, is awesome. We actually checked it out as a reaction video, so I don’t know quite how much more I can say here without coming across as too much of a crazed fangirl. And, listening through the album, it’s a surprisingly excellent choice for a single, too. It reflects the bands sound and style perfectly, and clearly lends itself amazingly to a video. It’s definitely one of my favourite songs from the band, and I’ve been listening to it a lot since its release.
The albums closer, ‘Under the Sun’ again continues the signature King Kraken sound. However, with the big slower riffs and dropped-back verses, it does have an epic feel to it, making it a rather perfect final song. It’s like the perfect blueprint for a stoner metal song, and is easily another massive highlight on an album honestly full of them! And, it’s another song I’d wholly recommend!
Overall: Another expectedly awesome album from King Kraken! As I said earlier, the band have really refined their sound with this second release, building on what they did so well on MCLXXX. There are plenty of amazing tracks that stand up there with their best, and there really isn’t a bad track on it. A real must for fans of the band or genre, and proof that the band aren’t only just here to stay, but conquer the scene, while they’re at it!
The Score: 9/10