KING COMPANY
Queen of Hearts
The back story of King
Company was news to me. Look, I’ll be honest I write reviews as someone who has
never claimed to know every rock/melodic band in history so their story was
news to me.
I’m lucky enough to be trusted
to give a few new releases a listen and express an opinion. Like anyone else reading
this, I’m a rock fan. It’s that simple, no agenda, no pre-conceptions, no bias
and just try to give an honest personal view. Let’s face it, we all have
differing tastes and one man’s meat is another man’s poison and I know many
people who hate Poison, I blame Every Rose.
The history of King Company has
a bit of everything, a drummer, Mirka ”Leka” Rantanen (Raskasta
joulua, Warmen, ex-Thunderstone, ex-Kotipelto, etc) creating a band with people
with whom he had worked with before and whom he knew as both good musicians and
friends. I have no idea who these bands are but I will now check them out.
He recruited guitarist Antti
Wirman, singer Pasi Rantanen, keyboardist Jari Pailamo and bassist Time
Schleifer. They also had links to Mirka’s previous bands which would explain
why they joined.
After a few live gigs the
band finally released their debut album in 2016 - ”One For The Road”. A title
that resonates with my life in Glasgow. It would be rude not to. The album got
the band touring and off they went (or so they thought).
After a tour of Finland
singer Pasi Rantanen suffered vocal issues that curtailed his future. He
decided that as the band were ready to tour Spain and record a second album and
he wasn’t, he’d step aside. In his place Italian-Argentinian Leonard F. Guillan
took over vocals with Pasi acting as vocal producer.
And so Queen of Hearts was
delivered.
Opening track “Queen of
Hearts” hits you with a driving beat followed by guitars and the Guillan vocals
all at high tempo. It blasts along with every band member playing their part.
The vocals are spot on, Wirman hits the guitar solo at pace and the screaming Guillan
ends the song with a yell that only dogs will hear. Nice. It’s a good way to
announce that you have influences from Dio to er……bands that use keyboards to
their finest use.
“One day of your life” dare I
say it has a real Scandinavian rock feel to it, again high paced and drums and
bass combine superbly leading to a catchy chorus, not catchy in a pop way but
more H.E.A.T or Eclipse like.(How to piss off Finnish folk is to compare them
to their neighbours, it’s probably like calling Simple Minds, U2 and The Manic
Street Preachers English). Guillan sings low and heavier vocals before moving
up a couple of ranges to his more comfortable level.
“Stars” is a solid ballad
style song but heavier, the vocals ooze quality and the band provide a really
strong backline of melodic beauty. It has a chorus that invites lighters to be
held up but because of the pace there would probably be a wild fire incident.
“Living in a hurricane” is
suitably paced and the vocals and music match the title nicely. The guitar rips
out a solo before the chorus returns the compliment.
The almost gloomy and heavy
start of “Under the spell” leads into a hauntingly heavy track. The chorus and
feel is atmospheric, nicely done lads.
“Never say goodbye” is slower
but thankfully not a cover of Bon Jovi’s version. The drums play a prominent
part (you’d never guess this was a drummers band!). It builds, the keyboards
finally get a chance to shine and the chorus is strong and we finally hear some
backing vocals/harmonies. The most AOR song yet, I loved it.
“Learn to fly” – nope not a
Foo Fighter cover but a fast paced rock song. It didn’t want me to learn to
fly, it didn’t quite crash land but it didn’t take off for me even though it
rocked. I was checking for the emergency exits just in case.
“Berlin” is a slower paced
track but still has the full band sound behind it. It’s a grower, the band can
obviously play, the lyrics are pretty decent but there’s something missing for
me but 3rd time around I’m almost converted.
“King for tonight” –the blurb
said Magnum fans would like King Company, keyboards lead on this the first song
that Magnum fans might relate to. OK it’s a bit heavier but it has that vibe
and a sound and feel backed up by keyboards and guitars that gives you that
upbeat feel.
“Living the dream” – proper
melodic rock, acoustic guitar sound and haunting style vocals which show
Guillan has a fine voice full of emotion. OK it’s a clichéd song title but the
song lifts it above that.
“Arrival” is the last track. Is
there some irony here? It’s a great finishing song, keyboards give it a great
feel. It really does a great job of reminding you that this a proper band
effort, the whole band gel in a way that highlights the best of the band.
Criticisms:
· Turn the vocals up, Guillan’s voice sometimes doesn’t
get the chance to impress as much as it should do, as we say in Scotland, “he’s
a good chanter” and could lift this album up further. I bet live he nails it,
have faith in him.
· Song titles – choose ones not used by previous bands especially
if they were multimillion selling songs– Learn to Fly, Never say Goodbye etc, even
ABBA had an album called Arrival. Your chances of being top of a Google search
are screwed. That said I prefer your version of “Never Say Goodbye”.
· Backing vocals – need more, you guys can do it, turn
them up.
Plus points:
· Even with the vocal levels the alum shows that Guillan
can nail both high and low notes and his voice has depth and emotion
· The band has a sound of real “togetherness”, it’s not
5 individuals trying to make an album.
· It has a real proper feeling of rock from Finland
· Drummers can lead a band (I’ve seen the photo of Mirka
and he’d survive happily in any Glasgow back street without having to say a
word)
· I really liked this album, my wife described it as
“noisy shite”. That is good considering her taste in music.
So after a few listens, my
love of rock music by our cousins in Finland and Scandinavia is reassured. They
don’t disappoint.
This album was an unexpected
pleasure, the quality was up there, I can’t wait to see them live as I think
they’ll be pretty immense. I’m making the assumption they are Finnish, OK King
Company may have to be a support act but like Brother Firetribe and One Desire
I’m sure they’ll make any band following them shite their pants.
I’ve seen a few support bands
in my time who made it. I hope King Company join that company. What ever
happened to Guns‘n’Roses, Y&T and Great White anyway? J
A solid 7/10…….if these boys
gamble and come to the UK I’ll do my utmost to get to see them.
Lawrie Willcox
TRACK LISTING:
Queen Of Hearts
One Day Of Your Life
Stars
Living In A Hurricane
Under The Spell
Never Say Goodbye
Learn To Fly
Berlin
King For Tonight
Living The Dream
Arrival
PRODUCED BY: King Company
STUDIO: Beyond Abilities
Studios, Soup Studios
RECORDED BY: Janne Wirman,
Tero Kostermaa, Antti Wirman, Jari Pailamo
MIXED BY: Janne Wirman at
Beyond Abilities Studios
MASTERED BY: Mika Jussila at
Finnvox Studios
BAND MEMBERS:
Mirka Rantanen,
Antti Wirman,
Jari Pailamo,
Timo Schleifer,
Leonard F. Guillan
http://www.kingcompanyband.
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