Underrated: King's X

Metal may be the most exciting, dangerous, and gratifying music in the world, and it may never get the respect that it deserves, but everyone seems to be OK with that. It's no surprise that Bon Jovi sells more records than Anthrax, and while most Anthrax fans probably wish it were the other way around, none of them are hoping that Anthrax will alter their sound in order to gain a huge audience. Thus, with very few exceptions, metal bands play clubs and smaller venues, and no one complains about it. (It's also good to remember that, like many good things, metal is far more popular in Europe and in South America than in the US). However, there are a few bands whose lack of mainstream success is absolutely baffling, and King's X are one of them.

Among (the living) metalheads, King's X are so-widely known for being underrated that they're almost perfectly rated, like a metal Kinks. However, despite being described on Allmusic.com as "criminally overlooked...for reasons unknown," and earning the top spot on the "Most Underrated" list in Daniel Bukszpan's Encyclöpedia öf Heavy Metal, King's X seem destined to toil in obscurity while Avenged Sevenfold tops the TRL Charts. They've won lavish praise from Vernon Reid, Scott Ian, Dimebag Darrell (who called them "the best power trio of all-time") and Howard Stern (who declared them the best performers at Woodstock '94), toured with AC/DC right after Razor's Edge was released, and still have barely made as much as a dent in in the public's consciousness. But for 20 years, bassist/vocalist Doug Pinnick, guitarist Ty Tabor, and drummer Jerry Gaskill have steadily been releasing heavy, catchy, technical, and consistently great music.



King's X borrow as much from the Beatles as they do from Motörhead and take as many cues from Rush as Sly & the Family Stone, successfully blending melody into hard rock in a way that few of their peers can. They're easily as accessible as Alice in Chains or Soundgarden, and while their instrumental prowess plays a huge role in the band's greatness, they never meander or get too proggy for their own good. Nearly all their songs are concise and radio-friendly, with an emphasis on hooks and harmonized vocals, but they're still edgy enough to earn them (temporarily) a place on Metal Blade records and tour dates with Motörhead. There's already a band called Beatallica, but that name might be more appropriate for King's X.

King's X also put on an absolutely spellbinding live show. Last year, they played to a mostly-empty room at BB King's in Times Square. They thrashed through their set with little to no breaks between songs, and their heavy focus on their newest album, Ogre Tones, proved it to be one of their very strongest. Pinnick gave a memorable mid-song rant about children being "the future of rock n' roll," and the band's musicianship and vocal harmonies seemed even tighter than on record. After King's X's encore, the small but devoted crowd screamed and cheered until the band played a genuinely spontaneous second encore. King's X pulled out the subtly stunning 'Goldilox' from their debut and basked in the crowd's adoration, smiling and enjoying the well-earned and all-too-rare fandom.



So why then are King's X so underrated? Are they too poppy for metalheads and too metal for mainstream audiences? Do they join Body Count, Fishbone and (save for one song) Living Colour in showing how difficult it is to get hard rock on the radio if it's made by black guys? King's X's spiritual lyrics have earned them the unenviable 'Christian Rock' label, despite Tabor's protests, but their lyrics are no more spiritual than U2's. A few silly music videos and bad haircuts earned them the dreaded 'hair metal' brand, but Queensryche, who were similarly prog-inspired, managed to escape that.

To some folks, King's X's Christianity may not be jarring, but some of their 'Christian' values are--'Legal Kill' off of Faith, Hope, Love has been interpreted as a prolife anthem. Still, if people are willing to brush of the conservative ideals of James Brown and Ted Nugent since both of them kicked out some serious jams back when, folks should be easily able to enjoy King's X. Whatever their political takes may be, King's X certainly don't get any love from the religious right--certain establishments refused to stock their music after Pinnick outed himself in 1998. The metal community, which still puts Rob Halford on a mighty pedestal, could care less.



King's X's influence is not unnoticeable (any band that's used drop D tuning in the past 15 years probably worships them), but their commercial success is almost nonexistent. Which is pretty unfair for a band that rocks as hard as they do.