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Babylon Whores > King Fear > Reviews > Madman
Babylon Whores - King Fear

Easily Their Best Album - 90%

Madman, August 14th, 2003

This is easily Babylon Whores best album, there is no doubt. The band definitely created something here, very catchy and very rocking. Every song just oozes talent.

Many people call this band death n' roll... but I disagree. There's not too much in common here with bands like Entombed and Gandalf. Sure, the guitars are dirty and sometimes really fucking heavy but there's not much of a death metal element in the music. This is kind of like a heavier, less bluesy Danzig or a less gothy Tenebre (with much better vocals mind you). There are also some elements from 70's rock and roll that creep into the music as well. One thing this band has is a knack for creating a nice buildup and a catchy chorus. Every song is catchy in some way and builds up nicely to the chorus.

"Errata Stigmata" gets the album off to a rocking start. Ike Vil shows right off the bat that his vocals are very strong and can carry a melody. The vocals carry the verse and the song rocks out during the chorus, "Say You Love Satan!" being the chorus line and how much cooler can it get really? "Radio Werewolf" follows the same formula, building up during the verse and rocking out during the chorus. You might think it would be boring to hear two songs with more or less the same format but it really isn't when the band creates great guitar riffs, has great melodies, and more or less just rocks out the whole time!

"Hand of Glory" has a faster tempo than the first two songs and has a great riff. Nothing technically spectacular but it definitely rocks. "Veritas" is the first ballad on the album. It's very 70's-ish to me. It starts out with this distant guitar melody and guitar solo going at the same time then goes into soft vocals. Ike Vil really shows how warm and full his voice is on this song. "Skeleton Farm" is another mid-paced rocker. It has this bouncy, slightly bluesy riff. It reminds me of something Danzig might use except with a dirtier guitar sound. "To Behold the Suns Below" is kind of atmospheric with a really melodic chorus. Yet again this song reminds me of something very 70's and the guitars sound really distant during the verse.

"Exit Eden" is kind of like "Skeleton Farm" in a way as it uses a very bouncy riff during most of the song. The vocals overtop of the music are great. The song "Sol Niger" which comes next is a re-recording of a song from the Deggael ep. It sounds great here, unfortunately I haven't had the pleasure of hearing the original so I can't comment on whether this sounds better or not. "Fey" is a soft, slow, melodic rocker. Ike Vil sounds a little awkward during part of the verse but overall it's a good song. The final song "King Fear: Song for the Damned" is a damn fine way to end the album. it's definitely a builder, just drums, vocals, and some background noises during the verse with the guitars kicking in during the chorus with a really cool riff.

Through all the songs there is some scattered use of a flute which is the main reason why I took any points off from the album. For the most part the flute stuff just sounds out of place. Like they were making a point of trying to sound different at times.

Just a great metal album, very rocking. Ike Vil can really pull off some nice vocal melodies and the guitar riffs are just fantastic. The band just rocks out at times. I would say this is the pinnacle of their career so far. "Death of the West" which came next is a pretty big disappointment coming after something as good as this.