CD Review: KXM – KXM

CD Review: KXM – KXM

Rat Pak Records

All Access Rating: A-

KXM - S/T 2014

For his last solo record, the rocky, almost impassable, road that was the decidedly downcast Naked, dUg Pinnick turned inward to explore depression, an affliction the King's X front man has long battled.

A heroic attempt to illustrate, in stark and rather ugly tones, its effects on his art and his life, Naked was an emotional bloodletting, with stories and darkly soulful melodies that rarely let in any light.

Working with Korn's Ray Luzier and former Dokken guitarist George Lynch in the new supergroup KXM has, at least for now, brightened his disposition somewhat. An inspired collaboration, KXM welds gnarly guitar riffs to eclectic, but hard-hitting, drumming and some of Pinnick's toughest, and most tenacious, bass lines on the trio's grungy, groove-laden self-titled debut for Rat Pak Records.

Redemption songs like "Rescue Me," "I'll Be Okay" and "Faith Is a Room" are life-affirming expressions of belief and vulnerability, these almost religious awakenings that borrow a cup of King's X's sunnier psychedelia to bathe them in dirty radiance. A flashlight shines on the dark subject matter of "Sleep," exposing domestic abuse to the light of day in soulful, slow-burning build-ups that add emotional weight to every lyrical line, while "Do It Now," "Love" and "Burn" are similarly paced, prowling in the bushes or surging ahead rather than running full out, with the angry, in-your-face first single "Gun Fight" – this provocative defense of Constitutional and human rights – blazes with intensity and digs its hooks into you. (See the video for "Rescue Me" here):

More concerned about the riff than ever, Lynch balls them up into meaty, wicked fists of sound, while still tearing off searing, agile solos. And while Pinnick's vocals are captivating and passionate, it's Luzier's stick work that's the real revelation here. Freed from Korn, he explores a wide variety of textures with KXM and displays surprising skill, all while making the songs move at whatever gear they want to shift to. And while a couple of songs do not coalesce as tightly as they should, the great majority demand attention and keep it. Looking for a "Gun Fight" of the sonic variety? You'll get one from KXM.
– Peter Lindblad

CD Review: dUg Pinnick – Naked

dUg Pinnick – Naked

RockArmy Records/MVD

All Access Review: B+

dUg Pinnick - Naked 2013

Going into deep self-analysis, dUg Pinnick, the heart and soul of King’s X, takes stock of his life on Naked, his latest solo album. A record with such a title would imply that its author is willing to leave himself vulnerable, exposed, and his defenses are down on Naked. Laying his soul bare, Pinnick has penned some of the most relatable and intensely therapeutic lyrics of his career, and they are couched in angry, downcast music that seems born of dark days, indeed.

Slaying those inner demons, an edgy Pinnick – who wrote everything on Naked, played everything on Naked, recorded it himself and produced it all by his lonesome at his own dUgtone Studio – unleashes gnarly heavy-metal storms like “That Great Big Thing,” the bruised, yet mellifluous, “I Hope I Don’t Lose My Mind,” and the ponderous, grunge-like stomp of “What You Gonna Do” that release powerful, bottled-up emotions. These are somewhat depressing, suffocating sonic environments – dreary motel rooms, where bottles of pills and booze are strewn about, but there’s a Bible on the nightstand and hope for a better life cutting through the gloom of the drug-sick psychedelia of “The Point,” one of the strangest tracks on Naked.

And there are some odd passages on Naked, including the shambolic breakdown of “I’m Not Going to Freak Out” and the stuttering “Take Me Away From You,” with its ill-conceived proggy keyboards providing a distracting kaleidoscopic background. More soulful, with a thick guitar roar, “Courage” growls at  and then mauls to death whatever fears it confronts, while “Ain’t That the Truth” rolls out satisfying, hard funk grooves and the urgent “Heart Attack” tears the newspaper off the windows, letting some radiant guitars, optimism and the will to carry on into what has been a dank, dirty basement of a record up to this point.

Possibly the most affecting track on Naked is “If You Fuk Up,” a heartfelt, slow-building ode to self-reliance in the face of crushing doubt and despair that artfully weaves together different voice threads that carry Pinnick’s pleas for salvation and his semi-formed survival plan. Less reliant on whimsical Beatlesesque harmonies and the melodic ingenuity of King’s X’s greatest achievements, although not so different from their early work, Naked is spiritual in its own way, but it has a tough skin and a serious aspect. It’s a crumbling old church in a bad neighborhood with an idealistic priest who tries valiantly to shepherd his flock, despite the temptations and desperate hardships its congregation faces every day. Pinnick will clothe himself and fight on, shouldering his burdens and seeking redemption wherever he can find it. Maybe Naked will convince others to do the same. www.seeofsound.com

-        – Peter Lindblad