King’s X is a band that has lived a tumultuous life. They’ve found themselves on the edge of mass success, all the while watching other bands of arguably lesser talent cross that edge into worldwide stardom. They’ve had people on both sides of the Christian rock debate give them hell over their lyrics (ie too Christian for some, not bold enough for others). They’ve been counted among the Top 100 Greatest Artists Of Hard Rock (VH1) while remaining relatively obscure. All the while, they’ve stayed true to themselves, making only the music they wanted to make at any given time. XV, their latest Michael Wager produced effort, is certainly no exception.One thing King’s X does not do, generally, is offer consecutive albums that are too similar to each other. For all intents & purposes, XV is unlike the last few records, yet still very, very King’s X. The dense, bass-heavy grooves are in full force. The stark, poetic lyrics & passionate vocals (not only from bassist Dug Pinnick, but also guitarist Ty Tabor and, for the first time since 1996’s Ear Candy, drummer Jerry Gaskill) are abundant. Much of the record has a rollicking, live energy. But a few things have changed…again.

Let’s talk vocally, first. The harmonies this time around seem a little more “gang chorus” style than meticulously layered. This doesn’t sound bad at all, mind you. Especially on one of Ty’s turns at the mic, “Repeating Myself”. The backing vocals in this one truly soar. Where as in opening track “Pray”, they sound like a live sing-along. While we’re on the subject of Tabor, where are the solos? The man is a genius guitarist and certainly has every right to lay off the noodling if he so chooses. But, come on…some of these tunes are just begging for some great lead work. There are little licks in “Julie” (Gaskill’s vocal song), and some nice melodic layering in “Blue”, but if you’re waiting on the heartfelt yet technical leads of past records, they’ve simply been left off of this one. Just the mood they were in I suppose.

But, what is the true heart of a King’s X album? That’s right boys and girls…the songs. The songs tell the tale and on XV, the songs are there. From the hand-clapping, head-banging groove of “Pray” & “Go Tell Somebody”, to the up-tempo jam of “Alright” (one of those “please solo!” moments), we have plenty of candidates for some stirring concert moments. Melancholy songs like “I Just Want To Live”, “I Don‘t Know” & the aforementioned “Repeating Myself” all benefit from meaningful vocal performances from Ty. The first of these listed offers one of the only true guitar solos on the album, which makes it stand out all the more. The song “Move” sounds like the band are channeling one of their very early influences, Irish megastars U2. Other songs, like “Rocket Ship”, “Stuck” & “Broke” don’t stray too far from the King’s X sound of the last ten years or so.

Taking left turns can be dangerous. While longtime fans come to expect it, the changes from record to record can still be a bit startling. But I’ve said it before, and I know I’ll say it again, good songwriters write good songs, regardless of style. In that context, XV is yet another in a long line of quality releases from a truly great American Rock band.

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