GREEN KING
GREEN KING - “Hidden Beyond Time”
By Iron Sheik
JUDAS PRIEST, IRON MAIDEN, KING DIAMOND are all lofty bands to aspire to. Not to mention the BLACK SABBATH influences. GREEN KING's twin guitar attack is very much rooted in PRIEST and MAIDEN. Right away album opener “Gates Of Annihilation” has a late 70s PRIEST sound. One can also hear the MAIDEN influences in the solos throughout the album. As for the KING DIAMOND mention ,it comes via a short piece called “Prelude To Massacre”. I thought “Funeral” from “Abigail” had just started. Not bad company to be in. Now to dispense with comparisons.
GREEN KING definitely without a doubt are stoner/heavy metal. If their intent was to capture a raw 70s sound they have succeeded with “Hidden Beyond Time”. They will appeal to a listener that not only likes stoner metal but likes it with grittier vocals. Eliel Salomaa's vocals are not clean but not growly either. Eliel and guitarist Lyytinen have a great feel and sound as the twin axe men.
What the album suffers from, or maybe makes it more unique, is production/producer not quite on par of a major label. Not that much is left of them. It would have more punch musically and vocally from better production in my opinion. It is a snapshot of a band just starting out, and it's 34 minutes I won't be asking back for.