King James-The fall

Retroactive
1997/2010

Originally released in 1997 this was the sophomore release from the band that included former Whitercross axe-slinger Rex Carroll and singer Jimi Bennett who was also on the first King James album. While the debut was similar to Carroll's former band White Cross, the debut owed more to the musical trends that were popular a few years before this album came out. There is still a hard rock backbone, but the thick yet simple sounds of Alice in Chains and Stone Temple Pilots are all to evident in their sound. Unlike hard rock acts who tried this switch of style in the 90's, King James do not sound completely uncomfortable with the style and they do attempt to keep in some of the hard rock touches that is more akin to their musical backgrounds. Also to their credit they didn't fall into the popular 90's trend of keeping guitar solos to a minimum. Rex Caroll is a fine guitarist and this album is no exception and lets loose on some solid, meaty solos that really helped pick up several tracks on this album. Overall the album leans on Carroll's strength as a played and benefits that. Not what everyone was expecting, but interesting enough to keep me listening all the way through.