King Company: Trapped

Finnish supergroup King Company arrive with their fresh new record Trapped alongside a Klaus Meine sounding Ilka Keskitalo on vocals and a contemporary collection of Melodic Hard Rock anthems to quintessentially liven up the mood for the year of 2021.

For most of the listening time, I was very much hoping this was going to be an absolutely astonishing album from start to finish, however from many listens I was left slightly disappointed, as for me in parts the music just did not get going or hit any of the right spots. Do not get me wrong, it is not bad at all and there is some real sublime musicianship on offer here but in my honest opinion it is just very run of the mill stuff and mediocre in certain shadows or sections.

Featuring Antti Wirman (Children of Bodom, Warmen) as the axe master, Mirka Rantanen (ex-Thunderstone, ex-Kotipelto, Warmen) on the tubs, Timo Scheifer (Enfarce) on bass duties, Jari Pallamo (Kiuas) on keys, and of course Keskitalo on vocals as already mentioned - the project does have some real quality and I think Ilka does not do a bad job at all, but on the other hand it does come across dull in the process; leaving us hanging out to dry in the cold wind with a slow moving case for any ways of direction.

Moreover, episodes like the supersonic opener 'I Will Be Here' and the bitter cold catchiness of the brilliant 'Death of Soul' do come across well to naturally grab some aspects of attention. Even the boasty 'Nothing For Free' delivers with a punch and the melodious values of 'Trapped at Heart' follow through with a forceful drive with some great vocal lines and effect, whilst distributing itself very neatly and commanding in good ways indeed.

In other places, some of the tracks are more of the weaker kind and they do not deliver as strongly. For example, numbers like the dragging 'Stephanie' and the simplistically average feel of 'Cold Killing Game' simply do not do it for me at all. These efforts seem half hearted to me compared to the rest of the material on display and they let the bulk of this offering down to achieve less of a better quality for a generally higher outcome in the process.

Not prefects a whole, but essentially pretty good. King Company do escort a gathered production of Melodic Hard Rock finesse into the picture and a basket of some well crafted songs, even though it does not stand out from any releases I have heard in this genre over recent times and it lacks that near enough hundred percent excellence I certainly look for when I listen to this style of musicality or that sweetened Melodic delivery.

Track List:
1. I Will Be Here
2. Trapped in Heart
3. Stephanie
4. Dangerous Tonight
5. Death of Soul
6. Screen is Your Life
7. Nothing For Free
8. Fair Winds
9. Cold Killing Name
10. Nobodys Fool
11. Stars Will Lead the Way

Added: December 12th 2021
Reviewer: James Mannion
Score:
Related Link: Band Website
Hits: 794
Language: english

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