BLACK LIKE SUNDAY

After the disappointment of Manic Moonlight, King's X for their next release decided to revisit some older songs from their earlier incarnation as Sneak Preview and re-record them, further proof that they had by this time run out of steam. What we get in the main is a fairly average collection of heavy rock/metal, no signs of any prog, the songs displaying little of the hallmarks of the great band they would become on albums such as their debut, Out of the Silent Planet and Gretchen Goes to Nebraska.

Having never heard any original recordings made of these songs I couldn't say whether they have been modified in any way for a more 2003 friendly vibe on the re-recording. Having said that, if I hadn't been aware of the fact that these were old tracks I would not have raised an eyebrow if it had simply been their next step from their previous album, Manic Moonlight which also bore little resemblance to classic King's X.

So while this is far from an essential release, it is slightly better than Manic Moonlight. Title track, Black Like Sunday has a decent riff and so does Finished, the best track on the album. It has a strong melody and glimpses of their vocal harmony work can be heard on the chorus, a mainstay of the classic King's X sound. Screamer is okay too, driven by tribal drumming from Jerry Gaskill over Ty Tabors droning guitar on the verse before going into an insistent riffy chorus. Bad Luck has a dark sounding metallic riff which is not bad either. On Two Tabors guitar shows signs with the chord structure of the style of riffing he was to develop with that heavy and rich sound, a sort of prototype if you like. Most of the rest is fairly dispensable and I've certainly no time for the mock reggae to be heard on Johnny.

With Black Like Sunday continuing a run of substandard albums from the band, fans like myself were starting to get a bit frustrated. Fortunately King's X were to return to form with their next album, Ogre Tones.