Stone Kings

When preparing to review The Stone Kings debut self titled album , I was a little worried at the large amount of balls in your face ego in the press pack, that it made me instantly want to be wary of what I was about to let enter my ears, but after a good few listens I can kind of see why the Stone Kings have such a big following and hence ego. From the beginning to the end of the album a constant standard of solid song writing, lyrics, and hooks actually made me enjoy this ride, possibly because it reminded me of my early teen years in the 90’s, with their sludged out grungey style and the shared influences of the band members by “Alice in Chains” and “Soundgarden” which is very prevalent.
The lyrics in these songs cover all the classics, End of the world, Sadness, Women, Escapism, Forgiveness, you’ve heard similar before, but somehow these guys just have a consistency that really nails it, you could almost be convinced they hail from the south of the U.S.A as the style and sound is so close, and not from not Kent in England. The huge following for this band considering they have only been together for just over a year, and wrote all their songs in 4 months, is easy to understand and I can definitely imagine seeing and hearing this live as being a fun and energetic event.
The musician ship through out this album is of a high standard, with great vocal melodies, lyrics and harmonies, roaring solo’s, meaty riffs, chunky bass and solid stylish rhythms. Covering many moods in their songs from the thoughtful rock out of “My Punishment” to the almost flamenco styled “If She Does” to the all out drinking head banger of “My Head In My Hands” making this album far from samey. The band have performed over 50 shows in just a year and released this album on their own label ‘Rebelseed Records’ showing their passion, dedication and hard work is at a high level, and is paying off for them.
Although not something I would personally listen to, fans of “Black Stone Cherry” and  90’s Rock at it’s best, could do a lot worse than to check these guys out, and with glowing comments from the likes of a “Gun’s and Roses” guitarist, to professional engineers for Queen and Slipknot I wish The Stone Kings all the best.

7/10

Track Listing:

1.Crazy Again
2.Armageddon
3.Psychadelic Lady
4.My Punishment
5.Free Yourself
6.Take A Drive
7.If She Does
8.I Want You Back
9.Taste Of Heaven
10.My Head In My Hands
11.Sands Of Time