SOUNDTRACK: KING’S X: Out of the Silent Planet (1988).
I just got the newest King’s X CD XV a little while ago, and I really liked it. I figured I’d go back to the beginning and see how much they’ve changed over the last twenty (!) years.
When I first heard Out of the Silent Planet, I was blown away. I had never heard anything quite like it. It had heavy heavy bass (I always said it was like Black Sabbath, but that’s not really accurate), but they also had beautiful harmonies like late-period Beatles. Add to that Doug Pinnick’s amazing gospel/soulful voice. And top it off with some great acoustic guitar playing and unusual instruments. Amazing. The heaviness is more of a dissonant sound that has become more popular in the last few years: complex chords that are played very heavily. I wouldn’t say that King’s X had anything to do with that popularity, but I heard it from them before I heard others do it.
The one thing that really struck me about the album was just how dissonant some of those chords are. I always think back on the album, which I’ve listened to hundreds of times, as being sweetly harmonic, and yet really the chords are quite aggressive. And the riffs are in a dark, minor key. Which is why those beautiful harmonies make such an impression.
The other thing that really struck me was how religious the record is. Now, when it first came out I didn’t really think of the religious aspects of the disc. There really weren’t any Christian metal bands back then, (except for Stryper) at least not on the cultural radar, and they didn’t proclaim their religiosity overtly, so I just didn’t see it.
But starting from the title: Out of the Silent Planet is a book by C.S. Lewis (of Narnia fame). And much as Narnia is a thinly veiled Christian allegory, so is Out of the Silent Planet. You can read Narnia and not see the Christianity in it, but once you know its there, it’s unavoidable. Same with this album. The lyrics are not overtly Christian, but there’s enough symbolism to tell that when he sings about You, it’s not romance, but God he’s singing about. A verse like “Sometimes my cup is empty; I wish that it stay full; cause I am always thirsty; I can’t get enough of you” can be secular or religious depending on your point of view, and I think that makes the album great.
Plus, it’s got the fantastic “Goldilox” a beautiful song, no qualifications needed. It’s a gorgeous ballad. but lest you think that it’s all sweetness, the album closer “Visions” ends with an unqualified thrash out…which comes after the song should end properly. Ty Tabor’s guitar work is pretty amazing.
Wow, it’s a great album.
[READ: maybe December 2006/January 2007] Absurdistan.
I read this book a couple years ago, certainly before I started keeping this blog, but while I was working at the library. My memory of it was fuzzy. But when I referenced it in the Petropolis write up I was sorry that I hadn’t written about it. As I’m reading the details of the book in a book review, much of it is flooding back, so I feel comfortable saying a few words about it. Plus, I just did a fascinating thing: I skimmed the book for details. It was fun to “read” this entire book in about two hours. I got lots of great details, remembered parts of it, and enjoyed re-reading some of the funnier parts. (more…)
SOUNDTRACK: COHEED & CAMBRIA-In Keeping Secrets of Silent Earth: 3 (2003).
I Just Read About That... 