KINGDOM COME „Perpetual”

Music: Hard Rock
Website: www.lennywolf.com
Duration: 59.53 (12 songs)


Cool songs: Silhouette Paintings, With The Sun in Mind, Gotta Move Now, Time to Realign, King of Nothing

It fazes me little in admitting my adoration of Kingdom Come. Except for a period of time in the mid nineties where I missed a couple of releases (one of them, the ‘Master Seven’ album is now deleted, damn it!), I have pretty much followed them throughout their entire career. Kingdom Come play fantastic modern hard rock, the kind that a lot of local FM radio could do well to investigate. Alas, you and I know that just isn’t going to happen.

Of course, KC is, and has been for quite some time, a one-man band. Just like the excellent 2002 album ‘Independent’, ‘Perpetual’ is no different in this regard with man in charge Lenny Wolf writing, performing, recording and producing everything other than guitar solos (for which he hired in Eric Foester). Lenny is a truly talented individual and despite what many might infer about his Led Zeppelin worship, it is clear to me that Lenny is conscious about not repeating past glories. Understanding this you will find ‘Perpetual’ to be far removed from their 1998 self-titled debut, but still undoubtedly recognizable as a product of the Lenny Wolf mind.

I’m a little perplexed at the mixed reviews that ‘Perpetual’ is gathering. It seems as though most scribes have written off Lenny Wolf as a has-been, non-relevant entity. Some can’t see past the Led Zeppelin references (which, honestly, is becoming somewhat of a chore to listen to, a line churned out every time for the sake of it), others, quite frankly haven’t seemed to listened to this album at all. In my eyes, ‘Perpetual’ stands out as one of the most experimental Kingdom Come albums Lenny Wolf has ever written.

The naysayers who will cite Lenny as repeating himself on ‘Perpetual’ don’t have a fucking clue as far as I am concerned. For all of its experimentation, particularly in the electronic production (the drums and bass are booming), this album is also Lenny’s darkest album yet. The majority of the tracks written remain faithful to a slow to mid tempo beat, the guitars heavy and thick in the main riff and the mood decidedly brooding and foreboding. Yet it is Lenny’s simply stunning voice (and fuck off to all those Robert Plant comparisons too!) that is the catalyst that brings the whole dark, dreamy package together displaying fragile yet melodic phrasing this is easily one of his best efforts yet. For proof of the majestic qualities and depth that Lenny Wolf’s song writing listen to ‘Silhouette Paintings’ – one of the most powerful heart-aching ballads I’ve ever heard. As a comparison, the follow up track ‘With The Sun in Mind’ stands as one of Lenny’s heaviest compositions he’s ever written. The chorus is absolute gold!

If you’ve only ever has a curious interest in the Kingdom Come name, it’s time to become reacquainted with one of the more talented individuals in classic hard rock. Inventive and experimental but with the classic KC stamp all over it, ‘Perpetual’ is as good as its title suggests. It’s no party-time affair, but as a dark, moody hard rock album, this works me over every time. This rules. Destined to be one of the most underrated of the year.

note: 9.2/10

Tracklist

1. Gotta Move Now
2. Hang ‘em High
3. Crown Of Moscow
4. Time To Realign
5. Silhouette Paintings
6. With The Sun In Mind
7. King Of Nothing
8. Borrowed Time
9. Connecting Pain
10. Watch The Dragon Fly
11. Inhaling The Silence
12.Free Bird