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| XV | 
 enlarge | Artist: King's X
Label: Inside Out Music
Category: Music
List Price: $17.98
Buy New: $11.46
You Save: $6.52 (36%)
New (45) Used (9) from $11.46
Avg. Customer Rating:  73 reviews
Sales Rank: 1541
Media: Audio CD
Discs: 1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.2
Dimensions (in): 5.6 x 5 x 0.5
MPN: 79690
UPC: 693723969022
EAN: 0693723969022
ASIN: B0015UGNSC
Release Date: May 20, 2008
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Condition: BRAND NEW Factory Sealed - Ready to be shipped within 24 hrs from California - Average 5 workdays delivery time - Excellent customer service - Buy with confidence!
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| Tracks:
| • | Pray | | • | Blue | | • | Repeating Myself | | • | Rocket Ship | | • | Julie | | • | Alright | | • | Broke | | • | I Just Want To Live | | • | Move | | • | I Don t Know | | • | Stuck | | • | Go Tell Somebody | | • | Love And Rockets (Hell s Screaming) (bonus track) | | • | No Lie (bonus track) |
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| Editorial Reviews:
Product Description
As a music consumer you ve got to be extremely cautious with a term such as cult band . It is often used to describe acts who are commercially unsuccessful or by groups trying to disguise their musical inabilities. With all due respect, this is certainly not the case with King s X. Doug Pinnick (vocals, bass), Jerry Gaskill (drums) and Ty Tabor (guitars) are consummate professionals who enjoy a brilliant reputation amongst fans, media and their peers. King s X s status as a cult band stems from their long time significance on the international rock scene as an all encompassing, fresh and innovative band. Their brand new album XV again proves to be a classic example of intelligent, varied and imaginative rock, on which they combine flawless skills, great compositions and superb production. Produced by sound maestro Michael Wagener in Nashville, Tennessee, the Texan power trio have produced one of the best albums of their successful career. And that is saying something!
Album Description
As a music consumer you've got to be extremely cautious with a term such as `cult band'. It is often used to describe acts who are commercially unsuccessful or by groups trying to disguise their musical inabilities. With all due respect, this is certainly not the case with King's X. Doug Pinnick (vocals, bass), Jerry Gaskill (drums) and Ty Tabor (guitars) are consummate professionals who enjoy a brilliant reputation amongst fans, media and their peers. King's X's status as a `cult band' stems from their long time significance on the international rock scene as an all encompassing, fresh and innovative band. Their brand new album XV again proves to be a classic example of intelligent, varied and imaginative rock, on which they combine flawless skills, great compositions and superb production. Produced by sound maestro Michael Wagener in Nashville, Tennessee, the Texan power trio have produced one of the best albums of their successful career. And that is saying something!
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| Customer Reviews: Read 68 more reviews...
 The Metamorphisis is Complete May 20, 2008
27 out of 30 found this review helpful
At this point in the career of King'X, one can't help but be reminded of Rush. Fans tend to divide both bands history into several 'eras'. King's X found a strong fan base during their 'Sam Taylor' era, which arguably lasted through Dogman (though Taylor didn't produce that album). Ear Candy, Tapehead, & Mr. Bulbous found the band searching for a new direction, surviving divorce, loss of faith, and surviving the challenges of promoting themselves through a smaller label. Most fans consider Manic Moonlight a low point for the band, so scattered and directionless that some of us feared for their future. The retro 'Black Like Sunday' didn't lend much hope, as the band reached back to pre-Taylor songs instead of looking forward. It seemed the train had run out of steam and the well of ideas had run dry.
Enter Tom Wagner who produced Ogre Tones, an album filled with fresh sounds that also hearkened back to the bands earlier prog days with Sam Taylor. I believe that King's X has been on a journey to find their place in the world musically and spiritually, and XV just may be the culmination of that trip. Like Rush, they have changed, confused fans, and all but disappeared from the public eye, but they have stubbornly refused to keep churning out the same old album year after year.
XV picks up where Orge Tones left off, but builds on it's strengths. Lush three part harmonies have been largely scaled back in favor of shouted gang vocals, and small touches of the Beatlesque vocals that marked their earlier works. The spacey, proggy sound of Grethen and FHL are gone, never to return it seems, but in it's place we have a lean, tight, solid wall of sound that focuses on melody, with memorable song structure, and only hints of the complexities the band is capable of.
Hey, it's King's X. They don't have to prove themselves to ANYONE.
The new listener gets a clean, accessible version of the legendary band, while long-time fans get a mature, focused effort that's probably their strongest since Dogman. The trio is obviously revitalized and have moved beyond their roots, their tragedies, and their musical meandering. It's as if they're unapologetically saying, "This is the new King's X. Love it or leave it." Oh yeah - and it's happy (for the most part). Remember when King's X was happy? The fun is back.
I give it four stars because Ty's guitar solos are few, and many fans listen to the band precisely because the man is a god on the guitar - we need more!
Otherwise, the next logical chapter in the King's X story. It's great to watch a band grow up and figure out who they are. I'm gonna Go Tell Somebody.
Everything you expect from King's X and more... May 20, 2008
8 out of 9 found this review helpful
XV is King's X's fifteenth release, not album per se. Up to now, they've put out eleven studio albums, one best-of, and two live discs. Therefore, this is their twelfth album.
Interestingly enough, like in the old days of cassettes, the album is divided into Side A and B, both of which contain six tracks, plus two bonus songs attached to the end. Once again, all hallmarks of the King's X sound are perfectly delivered, from the multiple vocal harmonies to in-your-face guitar work to solid-as-a-rock rhythm workout. As is the case with every King's X album, in between these numbers there are also slower-paced cuts, such as the simplistic pop of "Blue" and the Ty Tabor-sung "Repeating Myself", with its beautiful acoustic guitar arrangement and smooth vocal lines. Thick with harmony at the end, the guitars ringing beneath the vocals are truly beautiful.
Then there is the driving rhythm of the album opener "Pray", which immediately ventures into groove-inflicted territory, complete with fuzzy bass sounds, eerie percussion, and pyschedelic guitar voicings. The production is thick and heavy, and the harmonies are filled with hooks. Lyrically examining religion, and the way the guitars at the end emulate Doug Pinnick's vocals, the song sort of recalls their earlier body of work. In parallel, the vigorously syncopated rhythms of "Alright", chock full of grinding riffs and drum battery, give off the impression that the song was recorded in one take -- so powerful is its impact.
Other standouts also include "Julie", sung by Jerry Gaskill. With bluesy guitar parts, a poppy clean voice, and pounding bass arrangements, his vocals are clear as a bell, and the brief yet intense instrumental break offered here is perhaps the highlight of the album. That said, my favourite tune has to be the politically charged "Move" with its gruelling bass intro and steady, almost machine-like drumming. The chorus is simply awesome and lets Pinnick pour out the rage that built within.
There are also shorter pieces, which barely break the three-minute mark, like the rigid execution of "Rocket Ship", the instantly memorable "Stuck" (check Pinnick's chants at the end), and the hilarious "Go Tell Somebody", a tune that will get the crowds going on stage. Those anticipating Ty Tabor's softer side coming to the fore will be pleased with both the Beatles-like "I Don't Know", whose ending recalls early King's X; and the moving "I Just Want to Live", detailing lyrics of struggles of life.
As with Ogre Tones, the CD was produced by Michael Wagener and sounds organic and fresh, perhaps more so than its predecessor. The fact that so many others were asked to partake in the choruses has certainly enriched the harmonies in these tunes. Also, this time around, the band went into the studio after having written all the songs, which has resulted in a more unified work overall.
Of the two bonus tracks, "Love and Rockets (Hell's Screaming)" certainly commands your attention, particularly for its bass-centred groove construction.
Knowing King's X has some of the most rabid fans, they should be all over this album.
 Uninspired June 1, 2008
5 out of 11 found this review helpful
Sorry to be the party-pooper. The reviews so far have been favorable, but frankly XV disappointed me. Despite sounding great (it's produced very well) I don't hear the hooks. The song-writing formula this goaround was for each of the boys to write a couple of songs apiece and record them together in the studio. I've always felt that King's X was greater than the sum of its parts, that its song-writing was better a trinity than a trichotomy, and I think album sounds segregated because of that. Doug's songs (two-thirds of the album) revolve around social and identity issues, Ty's songs ponder fractured relationships, and Jerry's one contribution seems a cliche "I'm Sorry" song for his love interest.
What's missing are the hooks and harmonies that made these guys special two decades ago. I'm not looking for a rehashing of past glories, but I just wish these guys would play to their strengths. Maybe I'll change my mind after a couple more listens, but this just feels a little bland and uninspired.
 A few good cuts, but falls behind "Ogre Tones" June 16, 2008
4 out of 6 found this review helpful
First of all, I have to say that King's X is one of the very few bands that for whom I have a complete collection of their recordings. I always look forward to hearing what the band is doing. I was VERY heartened by Ogre Tones (except for Doug's choice of lyric in one song).
However, this release strikes me quite differently. I have a playlist of "Best of King's X" on my MP3 player, but only 3-4 tracks from this CD will probably make it onto the Playlist. To put my opinion in context, here's a breakdown of how many cuts from each Original Studio CD have made it on my "Best of" (Hope I remembered them all)
OOTSP - 6
GGTN - 12 (entire CD)
FHL - 7
King's X - 6
Dogman - 6
Ear Candy - 6
Tape Head - 8
PCHMB - 7
Manic Moonlight - 2
Black Like Sunday - 2
Ogre Tones - 7
XV - 4?
While I do agree that the band has rebounded from the dismal "Manic Moonlight", I thought "Ogre Tones" was much closer to the bar that they had set previously. I would disagree that this hearkens back to "Ear Candy" or "Tape Head" or "Dogman", in which almost all of the cuts were great.
The songs on this CD seem more rambling and less cohesive, both musically and lyrically. While some of the tight harmonies are there and the playing is great, I just don't think the songs themselves are, as a whole, up to King's X standards.
There are some nice things here though. I really like "Alright" and "I Just Want to Live" and "Go Tell Somebody", however after these three tracks, things seem to taper off quickly for me.
Anyway - still a big fan. Just my 2 cents. Take it for what it's worth.
 The Best X June 20, 2008
4 out of 5 found this review helpful
Briefly, I just want to say that this is the best Kings X so far. They just keep getting better. I had to listen to it a second time to absorb it fully, but once I did I was addicted. These tracks are great and the songs seem to flow from one to the next quite beautifully. Great lyrics, great playing and great grooves. Equally as good as Ogre Tones. These guys are headed in the right direction and are a joy to experience.
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