King Zog – Second Dawn
King Zog – Second Dawn
Rue Morgue Records
Release Date: 31/07/2024
Running Time: 43:20
Review by Victor Augusto
8/10
I believe I constantly enter a kind of ‘rehab’ when listening to Brutal Extreme Death Metal bands all the time, to keep adrenaline and energy for my running activities. But sometimes, a change is needed. So, I try to listen to good music that escapes from this style, and it was this way I found King Zog to review.
I can’t exactly remember which single I listened to first, but what is clear in my mind is that the Stoner Doom rhythms I heard immediately made me want to hear the full album. Luckily, it was the best decision for that time. King Zog is not exactly a Stoner or a Doom Metal band. I don’t know what makes a band be labelled as part of these genres, but maybe I can explain the details that made me think about them in this way.
As I’ve already mentioned, the cadenced rhythms are remarkable in their music. I believe the loud and distorted bass of Martin Gonzalez, with a very Motörhead influence on its sound, is the main guideline here. Alongside him, the riffs of Dan Durack and Connor Pitts-West rescue the spirit of a pure black Sabbath way of playing Heavy Metal that goes straight to the point.
By the way, I believe Heavy Metal is what really defines King Zog. The vocals of Dan Durack are Clean, calm and melodic, and the drums of Sean Ryan have something jazzy over the broken tempo changes, but with a strong punch. We also have good solos as in “Madagascar Tree”. Everything you think that a good band needs is present here, but everything is very well balanced.
One interesting thing about the lyrics is the fiction they created. The band says “Second Dawn tells the story of a fictional UFO desert death cult in the 1970s, led by a charismatic and psychotic woman named Aruna. Aruna convinces her followers, who are ravaged by hunger and drugs, that they will escape Earth’s impending nuclear holocaust by boarding a spaceship to a utopian planet. The song’s protagonist, a disillusioned office worker, is drawn into Aruna’s web.”
Maybe this subject can reflect on a bit of psychedelic addition over their sonority with synths as you hear on ‘Aruna, Sunmonger’ and then, on the very Pink Floyd closing track ‘Second Dawn’. So far, it looks like I’m saying many things to not conclude anything. That is exactly what you are thinking.
After all these weeks listening to King Zog’s new album, the only thing I can affirm is that the band is completely free to play in their way, without sounding confusing or massive. “Second Dawn” shows a mature band that knows how to compose catchy and heavy songs. This album grabs your attention over its 43 minutes in a very pleasant way.
‘Hollow Man Blues’ Official Audio
TRACKLISTING:
01. Scelestic Dusk
02. Rat King
03. Hollow Man Blues
04. Creep On
05. Madagascar Tree
06. Brute Beast
07. Aruna, Sunmonger
08. Second Dawn
LINE-UP:
Dan Durack – Lead vocals, Rhythm guitar
Connor Pitts-West – Lead guitar, Backing vocals
Martin Gonzalez – Bass guitar
Sean Ryan – Drums
LINKS:
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