KINGS X was always a band that was more influential than commercially popular, not unlike UFO in a lot of ways. It seems like every time the boys release a new album, the comparisons to “Gretchen Goes to Nebraska” or “Out of the Silent Planet” get passed around like a new baby at the family barbecue. Honestly, it's been awhile since the professors X released any new material that really raised our pulse like those early records. “Black Like Sunday” was fun, but it was really just a modern take on the stuff they wrote around the time that Lennon died (yes, they have been around that long). Prior to that, the Metal Blade catalog had it's moments, but overall it seemed that the boys from Springfield / Katy were sort of stuck in a post "Hold Your Fire" RUSH sort of rut. And no Aimee Mann on the roster to make thing interesting, either.

Well, all that ends with this disc. "Ogre Tones" is a spectacular record that seems to take up right where "Ear Candy" left off. Producer Michael Wagener coaxes out those gorgeous harmonies and bass-heavy grooves and channels them overtop a set of genuine toe-tappers just like they used to make 'em. Imagine the "Faith, Hope, Love" record minus twenty minutes of filler or the self-titled album if someone had hidden that dang sitar from Ty. The result? A collection of four-minute sparklers with a few surprises and lots to keep both the old fans and newcomers spinning it over and over again.

"Freedom" floats along like a lovesick teen, recalling past classics in the vein of "Lost in Germany". Tabor weaves a scrumptious trademark of an acoustic gem with “Honesty" that’s probably in some crazy tuning. "If" is catchy enough to make those starved-for-hooks LEPPARD or AEROSMITH grumps want to chew their own foot off. And Tabor stretches out in a spacy 7 minute epic “Sooner or Later” that nestles warmly into your guitar-lovin’ cranium like a SATRIANI-ized take on “Pleiades”. How can one band taste so good and be so good for you? Ponder your way over to your music emporium and find out ASAP.

- Marchman

OFFICIAL SITE: www.kingsxonline.com

MP3 SOUND SCRAP: Freedom

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