Album of the day: The Wounded Kings – In The Chapel Of The Black Hand

Lovingly pinched from The Sleeping Shaman: The Wounded Kings have returned from the mist soaked gossima moors of the West Country with a new doom opus  In The Chapel Of The Black Hand. Cast from shadows, the resplendent velvet clad Steve Mills in his Fender haze, has once again emerged from stone circles and eroded henges, having traversed the time worn battlefield of lost brethren, with more than just a revitalised swagger about the ability of his band.

For this release is bound to bring a lot of attention as interested parties look to his majesty to see if he has been able to retain his control over his minions, and in particular whether his choice in vocalist has matched or even surpassed the spectral threat from George’s previous vocal endeavour to rule supreme.

In short, for band and public alike there seems to be a lot riding on this release. But be assured Mills has good reason to feel confident about this new incarnation for this is not a recording that’s interested in dwelling on the past, instead we find the band emboldened by their accomplishment, marching boldly towards an inevitable destiny for absolute dominion over the international doom scene. For this album presents to the masses the most amazing example of English born and bred doom ever to have been penned.

So what does this album sound like, or perhaps we should pre-empt that question by asking who do the WKs sound like. If you don’t know this band, and shame on you if you don’t, and you are looking for some referential guidance by me making suitable comparisons, then I’m afraid you are going to feel very let down. The reason being that I can’t think of another band I have come across who sound like The Wounded Kings. They have a distinctive groove, or for the purposes of trying to convey the quality, pedigree, and refined style, they formulate riffs and guitar tones that produce a unique vintage doom laden timbre unlike any other band.

With the possible exception of many sludge bands who are unable to move beyond the boundaries of Iron Monkey or Eyehategod, there exists a real vitality in the doom scene. Once bands excoriate themselves from wanting to sound like Sabbath they are able to invent for themselves a truly unique style imbibed by an individual sense of purpose. Fortunately the WKs have never sounded like Sabbath and have never coveted their principle influences by re-enacting them through some simple mimicry.

Continue reading: The Wounded Kings ‘In The Chapel Of The Black Hand’ CD 2011 review | The Sleeping Shaman.

Tags: Album of the day, doom, I Hate Records, In The Chapel Of The Black Hand, Pete Hamilton-Giles, Steve Mills, The Wounded Kings

This entry was posted on Tuesday, August 16th, 2011 at 1:12 pm and is filed under 2011, Album of the Day, Roadburn Recommended . You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.