PlanetMosh Keeping it Metal
Lenny Wolf is back with a new Kingdom Come release, I say Lenny Wolf as he uses Kingdom Come as a vehicle to display his many talents, supplemented with guest and session musicians. However on this release, Kingdom Come’s 13th studio album, Lenny not only sings, but he also plays every other instrument, apart from the guitar solo parts which are taken care of by Eric Forster. Lenny also produced, engineered, mixed and mastered the entire ‘Outlier’ opus.
It is 25 years ago since the world first took notice of Kingdom Come and the Led Zeppelin rip off comments started flying about, that very nearly overshadowed what was, and still is a great debut record. Check out ‘Get It On’ if you are unfamiliar with Kingdom Come, to see what all the controversy was all about.
However, that was then, and this is now.
“God Does Not Sing Our Song” is the opening track, and has already been placed on many Rock Radio stations A play list, and you can hear why. The track itself is classic Kingdom Come, however Lenny has now moved into the Industrial elements/Trance/ arena, combining all of these inspirations to create a track, and indeed an album of interesting cross genre influences.
As much as “God Does Not Sing Our Song” is a rock track, ‘Rough Ride Rallye’ takes us on a near ‘Dinka’ sounding modern trance journey, only a steady rock drum and guitar riff tells you it is Kingdom Come of old. However the trance vibe is the backbone to this song.
‘Holy Curtain’ is a little muddled, and feels a little lost while continuing the atmospheric feel , however ‘The Trap is Alive’ brings us back in rock territory.
‘Skip The Cover and Feel’ is a blues rock track straight from the classic Kingdom Come back catalogue with a nice hook and a glorious riff. However ‘Don’t Want You To Wait’ introduces us to a semi industrial folk sound, that I’m not sure fully works, or if I am indeed ready for it. It is very atmospheric, somewhat Folkish yet with a Metal type riffing that Rammstein would be proud off.
‘Such a Shame’ is another classic sounding Kingdome Come of old, before the closing track, ‘When Colours Break The Grey’, reverts to the trance-like theme of the album.
Decisions, Decisions. I must admit this release did take a few listens to fully appreciate what Lenny is trying to achieve here, the almost too radio friendly “God Does Not Sing Our Song” draws the listener in, before exposing them to the more modern sound Lenny is aiming for on tracks like ‘Rough Ride Rallye’, then it is back to rock, and then onto industrial folk with ‘Don’t Want You To Wait’, and then back to a rock track, there’s a pattern forming here, and it is not hard to understand what that pattern is.
There is no doubt ‘Outlier’ is a Kingdom Come album, all the elements are there, just a bit mixed up. Yet with a strong sense of forward momentum and by taking a brave stride into the future, lenny has created a Kingdom Come for the future. This may not to be everybody’s taste. I however liked it, and with the vocals of Lenny providing the familiarity needed to listen to this without any preconceptions, that can only be a good thing.
The new single ‘God Does Not Sing Our Song’on Youtube.
……………………………………………………..http://youtu.be/LCTS0mdbyYk
