Track list: 1) Who am I, 2) Looking in the mirror, 3) Get out, 4) High time, 5) Principle of love, 6) S.O.S, 7) Showdown, 8) Shout it out, 9) Cry on the wind, 10) Rocking in the free world (Neil Young Cover [only on physical version]), 11) Hope
There’s a lightness to the touch on opener ‘Who Am I’ that isn’t a million miles from vintage Thin Lizzy and that’s a good start to album number three from founder and guitarist Alex Garoufalidis’ band King’s Call.
4 years after their second album ‘Lion’s Den’ things have changed and time has seen Mike Freeland move on, without being disrespectful let’s just say that the voice that has replaced him is rather an acquired taste, like a guttural Ace Frehley on an average day which kind of takes away from the gentler tracks like ‘Looking in the Mirror’ and ‘High Time’, but works just fine on bluesier numbers like ‘Get Out’ that have a bit more grit.
That being said it is the music and the quality of the material here that makes that bearable ‘Principle of Love’ is a cool laid back song with a brooding manner that starts out rather different and is actually nicely carried by piano and backing vocals.
Elsewhere single ‘S.O.S.’ injects a bit of real urgency and rock, and sports a great chorus again in that Thin Lizzy vein and ‘Shout It Out’ struts and stutters and ends up a nice MOR rocker; while title track ‘Showdown’ gently grows into one of the best here with an opening that borders on Dire straits territory before the rocking riff kicks in.
Closer ‘Hope’ really sets itself aside from the rest – a gentle acoustic country-tinged ditty that barely lasts two and a half minutes. I guess coming after the ‘missing’ Neil Young cover ‘Rocking in the Free World’ which appears on physical copies of the album it might have made more sense but here alone it seems to neither reflect anything that’s come before nor look ahead, it’s simply a nice song to close the album on a light note.
The presser with this release calls it “an epic sounding melodic hard rock masterpiece!” Sure confidence is a good thing but this release is a decent hike short of a masterpiece what it is though is a collection of great songs with a couple of real crackers and some great production by Chris Tsangarides…
King’s Call : Alex Garoufalidis: Vocals, Guitars | Chris Tsangarides: Bass, Keys | Asec Bergemann: Drums
Special guests: Michael Bormann: Lead & Backing vocals | Tony Carey: Keyboards
Guest Musicians: Additional vocals & back up vocals: Miriam Busse, Vivi Thill, Stephan Kabisch | Additional Hammond organ: Stephan Kabisch
Connect with King’s Call:
Official Website: http://www.kingscall.de/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/kingscallofficial/
