REVIEW: Kings Destroy - "None More" (EP)

By: Ben Fitts

Album Type: EP

Date Released: 13/01/2017

Label: War Crime Recordings

 A varied listen, “None More” is the work of an experienced band weaving together disparate soundscapes into a cohesive, effective unit. The EP nods to old school heavy metal, incorporates slithering doom metal, plays with softer sounds, and keeps the listener engaged from the first twenty-four second long note until the thirty seconds of feedback that end “None More”.

 

“None More” CS//DD track listing:

I. Rise of the Betrayer

II. The Blood Waters

III. The Battle

IV. The Requiem

V. The Awakening

VI. Rise of the Betrayer (Reprise)

 

The Review:

The first note of the EP “None More”, by New York City’s doom quintet Kings Destroy, rings out for a full twenty-four seconds, until the whine of feedback swells and envelops the original pitch. From there, notes are added sparsely. In opening track “Rise of the Betrayer”, soft spoken vocals float over skeletal riffs struggling over the hum of amplifiers until over two and a half minutes into the EP. Then, Kings Destroypull the curtain off their creation.

Twin guitars harmonize, the vocals roughen, a churning groove begins boiling underneath, and the listener becomes thrust into a whole new musical world. Steve Murphy’s operatic vocals soar through a din of galloping riffs and spirited guitar harmonies. However, “None More” is not the kind of EP content with riding one wave of feeling until the end. The tempos soon wind down once again as Kings Destroy experiment with several new textures and feels over the remaining eight minutes of “None More”. Gloomy melodicism, spacious strumming and even a slow burning power ballad work their way into this EP.

Given the diversity found within these fifteen minutes of music, it is difficult to point to key elements or to define the essence of “None More”. However, there are consistencies to be found between the six tracks tracks. While the EP flits between different feelings, attitudes and musical elements, it never abandons its strong melodic focus and every track displays Kings Destroy ability to construct dramatic changes in dynamics in a natural way. A varied listen, “None More” is the work of an experienced band weaving together disparate soundscapes into a cohesive, effective unit. The EP nods to old school heavy metal, incorporates slithering doom metal, plays with softer sounds, and keeps the listener engaged from the first twenty-four second long note until the thirty seconds of feedback that end “None More”.

“None More” has less of the ripping, doomed rock and roll riffing that defined Kings Destroyprevious full-lengths, this EP is about something else. “None More” unfurls quickly and its strength lie both within the individuality of each track and its contrast to the music that preceded it. While “None More” has its headbanging moments and spots that are very reminiscent of Kings Destroy previous efforts, in the end, it is a step into something new for Kings Destroy. 

“None More” is available here

Band info: bandcamp|| facebook