Kingdom Come’s New Album Outlier

By Seth M

“Kingdom Come?” Yes, that’s what I said too when Outlier showed up in my stack of new music. I don’t know how many of you out there remember the 80s, but those of you who do will definitely recognize the band’s name from their break-out decade of decadence hit “Get It On.”  I don’t think there was a single person who heard that song and didn’t instantly scream, “Led Zeppelin ripoff” or a kinder “Damn, that singer sounds a lot like Robert Plant,” but it was undeniable that Kingdom Come rocked that sound hard and had some major chops both on their albums and when they played live ~ I can still remember them opening up the Monsters of Rock tour and getting the crowd pretty damn amped.

So guess what, if you liked that sound then, you’re probably still going to like it now. The band doesn’t have the same line-up anymore, but it’s definitely led by that same powerful voice ~ and that voice belongs to Lenny Wolf, who has single-handedly kept Kingdom Come going for over 25 years.

Kingdom Come at Skogsröjet 2012 ~ photo courtesy of facebook.com/kingdomcome.official

And when I say, “…single handedly,” I mean it ~ with the exception of the solo guitar parts that were contributed by Eric Forster, all instruments were recorded by Wolf (left in photo).  And if that weren’t enough, Outlier was recorded at his Two Square Noise Factory studio in Hamburg and he also produced, engineered, mixed and mastered it. This is a man who has remained devoted to his music, his sound, regardless of what other genres have come and gone from the spotlight over the years.

So, getting back to the album…as I have said before in other reviews, I will always be honest about what I think of the music I’m reviewing ~ and what I think about Kingdom Come’s Outlier  is that if you dug the band’s sound back in the late 80s (or at any point over the past quarter decade and 14 albums), then you’re going to be really happy with their new material.  Because Wolf has been so successful in keeping true to the Kingdom Come sound, though, if you didn’t like their music way back when, you aren’t going to like it now.  That may seem like a strange thing to say in a review, but it’s the truth…which winds up being a compliment to Kingdom Come, but also an honest statement about who’s going to appreciate their music. Wolf’s voice is still commanding and magnetic, the tracks are well-written, and the entire album has a Zeppelin feel to it.

 Outlier’s tracklisting:

1. God Does Not Sing Our Song

2. Running High Distortion

3. Rough Ride Ralleye

4. Let the Silence Talk

5. Holy Curtain

6. The Trap Is Alive

7. Skip the Cover And Feel

8. Don`t Want You to Wait

9. Such a Shame

10. When Colors Break the Grey

Stands-out for me were “Let The Silence Talk,” which had a good melodic blues feel, and “Running High Distortion,” which is one of the harder-hitting tracks from an instrumental standpoint.  Check out the new release (on Steamhammer/SPV) on May 7^th, 2013 in the US (and on April 26^th and 29^th in Germany and April, respectively).

lennywolf.com 

 facebook.com/kingdomcome.official