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KINGS OF MERCIA
Battle Scars
Metal Blade Records - 2024
http://www.kingsofmercia.com

The second release from KINGS OF MERCIA once again teams up FATES WARNING guitarist Jim Matheos and FM singer Steve Overland for an album that expands on the group's self-titled debut album. With drummer Simon Phillips (from TOTO) and bassist Joey Vera (Matheos' FATES WARNING bandmate) on hand, music fans are sure to get an abundance of hard rocking rock/metal that combines the best attributes that each member is known for.

The first single from the album was "Don't Ask" and that's what got me interested in checking the album out. I didn't hear the first album so this was basically my first exposure to KINGS OF MERCIA and I was pretty impressed overall. While Steve Overland describes the track as an "angsty love song", I'm not sure my first listen gave me that impression.

But when I went back and listened to the song again, I guess that description fits. I think why I didn't get that impression the first time around is because musically the song bursts forth from your speakers from the very first note. It's hard-hitting all around and I think I was at first more taken with the music and Overland's vocals sort of got shunted aside for me. (This shows why you have to listen more than once to try and get a proper appreciation for a song before writing a review.) The guitar playing from Matheos is incredible, something far different from what you typically get from his FATES WARNING material. But combined with what Phillips and Vera are doing in the song, "Don't Ask" is a pretty damn tight explosion of hard driving rock that I dare you not to get fired up about.

Of course, that's the 6th song in the album's running order so there was a lot more to check out before getting there. The Battle Scars album opens with "Guns And Ammunition" and much like what I said about "Don't Ask", the album is a full speed ahead musical explosion from the first note. And while I know there is an expectation of metal music here, I'd say that there's more of an abundance of straightforward hard rock fueling things here. The guitar playing is electrifying and the way Overland's vocals mesh with the music is incredible.

The hard-driving nature of the music continues to burn brightly on "Eye For An Eye" but it isn't quite as maniacally paced as the opening number. In fact, I think the music is mixed down just a bit in order to allow the vocals to come over the top in a more declarative fashion.

On "Between Two Worlds", Overland sings about "breaking all the rules" and "having no time for fools". It's a superb vocal performance and I really dug the lyrics. There's an instrumental thump to the musical score which you can attribute to the drum work from Phillips in particular. With Matheos providing some tasty licks over the top, this song might not display quite so much in the way of flashy pyrotechnics but instead you get a gripping down and dirty kind of number that left me not only banging my head along, but I had a bit of a smile on my face throughout.

Speaking of flashy pyrotechnics, the faster in-your-face musical delivery is back in full force with the song "Legend". While the playing is masterful throughout, the song's guitar solo is incredible.

Meanwhile, the album's title track starts off with a kind of slow and meditative feel in the opening. The slow delivery allows for the vocals to soar over everything. It shines a spotlight on Overland to say the least. The music is spare during that first section of the song. When the guitar playing comes in a bit more dramatically as the second verse comes in, the pacing remains deliberately paced. I love the line "Ghosts haunt my memory". As the song approaches its end, the song's pacing and delivery becomes more intense as the music rises in an extended flourish. It still works but I don't think I would've minded if the song had stayed with the more atmospheric tone throughout either.

The song "Aftermath" was the 2nd song to be released ahead of the album. I purposely didn't listen to it at the time so I could get my first exposure during my listening session of the album as a whole. I wasn't crazy about the effect used on the vocals during the opening lyrical passage but when the song moved past that portion, the effect subsided and the vocals became clearer in sound. And the music takes off in such a pulse-pounding way, you can't help but be carried along with it.

For "Hell 'N' Back", you get a brief moment of quiet build in the intro, but that brief moment quickly evolves into another fast moving song that keeps you rocking from one note to the next. The band as a whole delivers one hell of a fiery performance!

The song "Cold" is anything but as it ramps up musically for the first 30 seconds or so of its length. After that ignition period, the music is blazing as KINGS OF MERCIA grabs you up and takes you along the journey they take with this song.

The album closing number "Angels & Demons" opens with a bit of acoustic guitar in the intro. Then Steve Overland's vocal kicks in as an accompaniment to that understated guitar playing. After the first verse, the song becomes heavier in tone as the music comes in full bore. It plays rather dramatically as if it is about to chart an epic course. But the track switches tact and soon becomes a crackling bit of hard rocking energy instead.

Earlier this year, guitarist Jim Matheos released another project called NORTH SEA ECHOES. While the music is dramatically different than what you get on the Battle Scars album, it was still a monster release in my book. And that's pretty much what I think of this new KINGS OF MERCIA album. It's a phenomenal album full of some incredible performances (from Steve Overland, Simon Phillips and Joey Vera as well as Matheos) with great songs that really get you fired up as a listener. I know there may never be another FATES WARNING album but if the music Matheos is putting out now continues like it has been, he's going to have two of my favorite albums of 2024 credited to him. This KINGS OF MERCIA album is simply phenomenal!

5.0 Out Of 5.0