ALL FOR THE KING – All For The King (2017)
ALL FOR THE KING is a new band from Sweden releasing their self-titled debut, a mix a classic metal / hard rock and modern heavy. The group is formed by musicians with different background; founder guitarist Erik Tilling comes from metal, singer Ricard Hulteke has his origins in soul & gospel (although he sings for hard rockers Empire 21), Johan Tjernström is the bassist in the Ole Børud Band (Westcoast), while Richard Tonyson played drums for various fusion bands.
The result is a quite original heavy rock album with a modern sound.
Yes, “All For The King” sound is modern, but the songwriting backbone is classic ’80s/90s. Additionally, Tilling’s style is strongly influenced by Tony Iommi (especially the riffs), while Hulteke vocals are clearly reminiscent of Glenn Hughes. He does not reach as high as Glenn, but Ricard has more depth and weight.
There’s a quite heavy riff in opener ‘I Am God’, but it’s in follower ‘The Old Man’ where ALL FOR THE KING show their real musical style: the verses are dense, but abruptly, the chorus is extremely melodic, adorned by cleverly placed keyboards.
‘I Belong To You’ is even better, in fact, one of the highlights. It’s a modern hard rocker driven by a broken riff, and the chorus is powerful an highly melodious at the same time. The vocals are crystal clear (as on the entire record) and a pleasure to listen, pitch perfect.
The band try something different with midtempo ‘Never Back Down’, I found ‘Not Ashamed’ similar to an old Lynch Mob song, while ‘Rules Of Love’ is very commercial with an infectious chorus.
Perhaps my favorite from the CD, in ‘Alive’ ALL FOR THE KING showcases another side. The heavy riffs are gone here in favor of classic melodic hard rock scales / patterns, plenty of keyboards and with a sweet chorus. Great song!
More variation appears in ‘Going Blind’ with a bit of late ’90s Queensryche on it, then title track ‘All For The King’ brings to mind ’80s Ian Gillian-fronted Black Sabbath (there’s classic organs reinforcing the vibe).
Mixing classic & modern sounds but always ruled by melody, “All For The King” is a stupendous debut from this new Swedish outfit. While the band has a religious background lyrics are very interesting with a global social appeal.
What I like about ALL FOR THE KING is its variation, all songs are different but the album results very cohesive. You’ll find very good musicianship, clear vocals and polished production here.
A strongly recommended debut at the end of the year.
01 – I Am God
02 – The Old Man
03 – I Belong To You
04 – Never Back Down
05 – Not Ashamed
06 – Rules Of Love
07 – Alive
08 – Going Blind
09 – All For The King
10 – Salt Of The Earth
Ricard Hulteke – Vocals
Erik Tilling – Guitars
Johan Tjernström – Bass
Richard Tonyson – Drums
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