KING'S VENGEANCE

KING’S VENGEANCE     “Overthrown”

By Dr. Abner Mality

KING’S VENGEANCE out of Melbourne, Australia arrives to deliver a hook-filled chunk of hard rock and heavy metal. I can’t say these guys are going to reinvent anything but they are extremely listenable and show a lot of promise.

Very hard to pin these guys down, as “Overthrown” features everything from blues rock to storming NWOBHM blitzers to an almost METALLICA style instrumental. And everything in between! There are a couple of things they might work on, though.

Title track kicks things off with a fast-paced and catchy metal song. The vocals of Dimitri Stathopoulos take some getting used to. They are on the “soft” side, almost feminine at times, and could use a little extra grit. Still, they grew on me and are far from terrible. He’s also the lead guitarist and on that score, he really smokes…his solos are a highlight of the album, especially on the TESLA-like power ballad “Home”, where his axe work lifts the song to another level.

Variety is the name of the game, but some degree of heaviness is always present. “Mystery” and “Enemies” are hard-charging rockers, with the latter having a real NWOBHM feel. A real ringer is the long instrumental “The Gathering of Armies/Day of Glory”, which is full of soaring metallic crunch. “Saviour” is another rather epic tune, with a DIO feel. In contrast, “Keep Moving” is almost pure blues rock in JOE BONAMASSA style and not bad at all, while “Lie” brings AC/DC to mind with its basic catchy riffing.

One thing about KING’S VENGEANCE is that some of their songs tend to go just a tad longer than is warranted. I thought “Burn It Down”, “Saviour” and especially the final track “Let Go” all lasted longer than they should have. It’s not to the point of ruination, but some prudent editing would make things punchier overall.

This is a strong album that straddles the hard rock/heavy metal fence to very good effect and with just a little work, KING’S VENGEANCE could really be on to something.

KING'S VENGEANCE