KONG
KONG - “Traders Of Truth”
By Dark Starr
I think that if this were the first album from KONG I'd heard, I'd probably consider it heavy metal. It would be a pretty odd metal album, though. Given the history and reputation of the act, though, I think progressive rock fits. Most of this is instrumental, although a few songs have some vocals. That said, they are so far down in the mix that it might still count as instrumental. This is always interesting, and there is a healthy range here.
Metallic guitar comes in as the opening "Radiance" gets underway. There are some bits of ambience that serve as punctuation to those lines of sound. Eventually it works to some decidedly metal jamming from there. There is a short respite that has a definite proggy vibe to it, but the metal concepts return with a vengeance to take control from there as the instrumental continues its journey. "Hit That Red" is fast paced and extremely heavy. Yet, there are proggy, almost KING CRIMSON like elements at play here and there. Vocals are sparse and fairly low in the mix, with some feeling like sound bites added to the number.
Another cut that definitely leans heavily on the metal side of things, the instrumental titled "Fringing" isn't a big change, but it is an intriguing piece. There are some cool rhythmic elements to "Rök." While there is still plenty of metal in the mix, it does get tempered by more prog and art music things. "Mirrorizon" is much more of a prog rocking piece. I can make out hints of RUSH, particularly on the bass work. There are still some metal angles, but I'm a lot more comfortable calling this "progressive rock."
Now the artsy concepts are all over "Glasslands," yet it's also packed full of stylistic cool. It feels a bit like some kind of spooky rock and roll with some definite Americana in the mix. "Ripper" has a good mix between mellower and heavier stuff. It's also another that brings some RUSHisms to the table. There are some intriguing percussive drop back sections built into "Chaos As Law." Beyond that it lands very much in metal territory. It has some particularly mean riffing.
"Stray Marks" has some pretty cool jamming that has a real proggy element. Yet the metal fury and crunch are also firmly in place. It does get into a mellower KING CRIMSON-like section mid-track. It is another that has some vocals that are sparse and deep in the mix.
Built on a cool artsy groove, "Flat Earth Sobriety" has some spoken sound bites built into it. There is a feeling of danger and mystery to it. While "Destressed & Unrestrained" is decidedly crunchy and heavy, it's another that has some RUSHish leanings to me. It drops to mellow territory for a time. There are some sampled bits of voices in the mix during that section. A good conclusion to an intriguing album.