Pretty Maids
Kingmaker
Frontiers Music Srl
2016
I have to say that as much as I might like Pretty Maids, they have failed to genuine excite me in the past decade, since “Wake Up...”. I mean their 3 original albums and re-recordings + a bunch of new songs efforts have been nothing but good, but not really great, with momentary lapses to the greatness of their yesteryears. Add to that Ronnie Atkins involvement with external projects like Avantasia and Nordic Union (where he’s just singing other people’s material largely), which are also taking up time and I didn’t exactly know what to expect from the latest entry in the Danish Dynamites, discography, number fifteen to be frank…
Well “Kingmaker” is not bad, by any means… another pretty worthy release with moments, but lacking the edge of earlier stuff and that’s not necessarily a problem with the performances, as the band sounds fine and Atkins is pretty solid and in good voice… it’s probably a bit of songwriting that is not compact and veers off a bit and probably a reliance and focus on the more melodic side of the band. At times, it works, at others it doesn’t… making me miss some of the early 00 releases of the band that just felt largely edgier and well sexier…
“When God Took a Day Off” is an interesting melodic song that has edgier verses, but doesn’t tip over the edge.
The title track, “Kingmaker”, keeps the melody but is darker and overall heavier with a nifty riff working its wonder.
“Face the World” is lighter and brighter and almost anthemic around the chorus, but without coming real close to some of the bands finest moments.
“Humanize Me” is not bad, but its riff feels a little derivative, reminiscent of something I can’t really put my finger on.
“Last Beauty on Earth” is not exactly a ballad, as much as it’s a love song, a hard edged ballad that’s based more on a Bon Jovi type of croon than power ballad vocal acrobatics and extremities.
“Bull’s Eye” begins with a promising riff and has some nice verses and a satisfying chorus, but probably misses the center, by an inch or so… still scoring well, however.
“King of the Right Here and Now” has a better melody in the pre-chorus than the actual chorus and while it’s in the “right direction” it doesn’t feel as fulfilling as some of the band’s earlier material.
“Heavens Little Devil” tries to be a sexy, groovy rocker and hits and misses too, as its dynamics past the chorus are a bit weird, with the sound being a bit too contemporary and keyboard based. It’s not that it’s not “right” but it’s a little underwhelming with some Leppardisms that come past the middle feeling a little off the mark too.
“Civilized Monsters” has a melodic and very minor key intro but suddenly blasts into melodic heavy metal locomotion, in quite an inventive way, but then it settles back into its more melodic intro melodies, only to swing back and forth in its duration. A near hit, which narrowly misses, but shows the band able to still surprise the listener in a positive way.
“Sickening” has a sick riff and some interesting ideas during the verses that condemn all the bad crazyness going on around the world right now, but doesn’t quite manage to deliver a world changing chorus… as it’s more like an extended bridge that ends up in a way reminiscent of post millennial Metallica, with some riffing to much the ferocity.
“Was That What You Wanted” similarly, condemns the human greed, but takes the band in a pretty American late 80s, early 90s direction, with slight prog inclinations, with maybe a bit of Van Halen and Extreme influence, albeit a lot heavier than either of those bands. Interesting to say the least.
The special edition has two extended version of “Kingmaker” and “Humanize Me” that don’t add too much to those already pretty good songs, but offer a fuller foray into the creative side of the band.
Another pretty good album for the Danes that at moments wants to shine and does indeed offer some glimmers, but doesn’t manage to eclipse their illustrious past achievements.
Well “Kingmaker” is not bad, by any means… another pretty worthy release with moments, but lacking the edge of earlier stuff and that’s not necessarily a problem with the performances, as the band sounds fine and Atkins is pretty solid and in good voice… it’s probably a bit of songwriting that is not compact and veers off a bit and probably a reliance and focus on the more melodic side of the band. At times, it works, at others it doesn’t… making me miss some of the early 00 releases of the band that just felt largely edgier and well sexier…
“When God Took a Day Off” is an interesting melodic song that has edgier verses, but doesn’t tip over the edge.
The title track, “Kingmaker”, keeps the melody but is darker and overall heavier with a nifty riff working its wonder.
“Face the World” is lighter and brighter and almost anthemic around the chorus, but without coming real close to some of the bands finest moments.
“Humanize Me” is not bad, but its riff feels a little derivative, reminiscent of something I can’t really put my finger on.
“Last Beauty on Earth” is not exactly a ballad, as much as it’s a love song, a hard edged ballad that’s based more on a Bon Jovi type of croon than power ballad vocal acrobatics and extremities.
“Bull’s Eye” begins with a promising riff and has some nice verses and a satisfying chorus, but probably misses the center, by an inch or so… still scoring well, however.
“King of the Right Here and Now” has a better melody in the pre-chorus than the actual chorus and while it’s in the “right direction” it doesn’t feel as fulfilling as some of the band’s earlier material.
“Heavens Little Devil” tries to be a sexy, groovy rocker and hits and misses too, as its dynamics past the chorus are a bit weird, with the sound being a bit too contemporary and keyboard based. It’s not that it’s not “right” but it’s a little underwhelming with some Leppardisms that come past the middle feeling a little off the mark too.
“Civilized Monsters” has a melodic and very minor key intro but suddenly blasts into melodic heavy metal locomotion, in quite an inventive way, but then it settles back into its more melodic intro melodies, only to swing back and forth in its duration. A near hit, which narrowly misses, but shows the band able to still surprise the listener in a positive way.
“Sickening” has a sick riff and some interesting ideas during the verses that condemn all the bad crazyness going on around the world right now, but doesn’t quite manage to deliver a world changing chorus… as it’s more like an extended bridge that ends up in a way reminiscent of post millennial Metallica, with some riffing to much the ferocity.
“Was That What You Wanted” similarly, condemns the human greed, but takes the band in a pretty American late 80s, early 90s direction, with slight prog inclinations, with maybe a bit of Van Halen and Extreme influence, albeit a lot heavier than either of those bands. Interesting to say the least.
The special edition has two extended version of “Kingmaker” and “Humanize Me” that don’t add too much to those already pretty good songs, but offer a fuller foray into the creative side of the band.
Another pretty good album for the Danes that at moments wants to shine and does indeed offer some glimmers, but doesn’t manage to eclipse their illustrious past achievements.