CoC : King's X - Manic Moonlight : Review

King's X - _Manic Moonlight_
(Metal Blade, 2001)
by: Aaron McKay (2 out of 10)

There are so precious few hours in the day, so I cannot fathom why you would dedicate so much as a second listening to this horrendous conglomeration of unadulterated musical sess. Truth be known, the only reason I got past the first track on this incorrigible effort rests exclusively in the fact that it is my job. If this article takes an unapologetic negative slant before I can assess my thoughts from what I am hearing (unfortunately for about the third time through the disc), I wanted to tell you what the two points that this CD got originated from. The bass, on a hit-and-miss basis, is fairly convincing; Doug Pinnick, also picking up lead vocal duties, demonstrates a fine low-end style. The positive, although somewhat namby-pamby, lyrics also did not detract from _Manic Moonlight_. Underplayed both on instrumentation and writing fronts, King's X typifies most every aspect of the banal and stereotypic in music. Radio-friendly through and through, I find this band's approach drained and weary. "Static" is a near perfect example of everything mentioned above; good bass, mostly reassuring lyric, but the monotony becomes overwhelming. OH, the redundancy! I loathe to say that I could care less about this three-piece band claiming nearly twenty years on the scene, but that is the fact, pure and simple. I would have thought they would have found something better to do with their time. I've spent too much time on this review already. Even fans of this group will have to tread cautiously -- the rest of us can shun the ten tracks on _MM_ like the plague.

[Paul Schwarz: "I have never understood why anyone would waste any part of a finite existence on this earth listening to King's X: _Manic Moonlight_ exemplifies why. Repetitive and boring rock lacking power, dynamic, decent lyrics or anything I could see the point in. However, I do confess that I really don't feel that well equipped to judge King's X; for obvious reasons, I own nothing which sounds much like them at all."]

(article published 14/1/2002)