King of The North’s debut was one of the albums of the year back in 2014 and new album ‘Get Out of Your World’ sees Higgsy with new drummer Steve Tyssen in tow release an album that both keeps that trademark sound and at the same time manages to expand the musical palette, the result is something that fans of the bands will love and also something that will surely open them up to a whole other audience.
At its heart of course King of the North is all about the power of the riff, and in a band that comprises just a single guitarist/vocalist and drummer the first thing that takes you is that they produce an awful lot of righteous noise for a two-piece!
We love the opening track RISE: the slow build and hypnotic riff – its real elemental rock and roll – which is surely what music is all about? Title track GET OUT OF THE WORLD seems to have been wallowing in the blues and seeps it rather than hints at it, like the bastard son of a thousand influences it’s straight from the Delta via a million other bands that drew on those same waters! And it sounds so good.
But here there’s plenty more and plenty of variety: recently released first single BURN which features Lucius Borich from COG – is the song that hints at what King of the North could become – a high energy rocker with progressive elements that bear a lot of fruit when mixed with the heavy groove-laden assault. It and the remarkable THE MONUTAIN which features a spoken word segment from MARK OF CAIN’s John Scott could well be the best moments here but this is an album that needs to be heard from first to last as there are things going on everywhere and riffs that many bands would build a career on stumbling upon just once.
Elsewhere there’s the of ‘Hard Wired for Hard Times’ that has a bluesy swagger and build; ‘Down to the Devil’ which sees great use of the three in one pedal as it menaces and broods. There’s also the hard rocking melody of ‘Caught Between Two Worlds’ and the stunning riff heavy ‘Hard Days are Done’ one of our favourites here. And we could go on because there’s not a dud here; this is an album you need to hear.
To close it all the Hendrix cover MANIC DEPRESSION which came about through having a little time spare in the studio after tracking drums (other bands might have just gone to the pub) really shows you what the band is all about and something we hope the great man himself would have enjoyed.
If you are looking for the bold, bright future of Australian Rock and Roll you may well have found one of the forerunners right here.
