King of Kings / Lord of the Wild

Recommended to me by a friend, Deströyer 666 is one of the least bands I ever thought about trying, let alone heard of. They gained some audience and reputation with what seems like three solid records, including a bunch of EPs. They also may not be one of the famous bands in the Australian scene, not to mention establishing in Europe thereafter, and they had a heck of lineup changes. So half of the title in question caught me off guard, and that’s Lord of the Wild.

Despite the irritating raw production, which I’m not surprised since it’s partially black metal, there’s definitely something to grasp from these two songs. I liked the melodies in Lord of the Wild and the thunderous riffs, creating a bit of an atmosphere. The song’s first half sounds like heavy metal, and not only they’re catchy, but the shrieking enhances the momentum, as in the second half the vocals are even more powerful. I just wished they had written more for the song and cut out that pointless outro. The song ends at 3:13, which is very disappointing. The variation between the melodies of the first song to the heaviness of King of Kings showcases a great creative direction. Although the thrash essence is strong, complemented by the riffs and explosive solos, distorted atmosphere, heavy vocals, and that old school feeling, I despise the gang-style, singalong in the song. Overall, it’s a decent song.

This single is a pretty excellent introduction to the band. You sure skip some releases ahead, but this is not a terrible start for black/thrash metal fans. I’m not exactly a fan of both genres, but you never know until you know... I do wish the band would re-record or remix these songs, especially Lord of the Wild. There’s just so much potential that the raw production eliminates, if it was intentional (or not), and that’s unfortunate.

King of Kings/Lord of the Wild is the last one in my string of Deströyer 666-seven inch vinyl reviews and I have saved the best one for last. This release has two of the best songs Deströyer 666 has ever made and stylistically they don't sound that much like anything else Deströyer 666 has ever done. The production on the album works even though it is rough around the edges. Deströyer 666 have usually had very clear sounds on their albums but all of their EPs (except for the new one, Terror Abraxas) experience rough production jobs. Whether that is a matter of money or decision, they both work. The songs don't really need any more of their own character, they stand very well as their own entity alongside with other D666 works even without this production but it does help although it could be somewhat louder.

King of Kings is a slow and epic song with a flair that makes it unique among Deströyer 666 songs, clean vocals in the chorus. This is the only D666 song that I can remember outright with clean vocals in it. The song plods on with its constant slow pace but what makes it so damn epic is the bridge and chorus parts with their praises for the king of kings. Lord of the Wild is a faster paced, aggressive number which only slows down for a short part in the middle for the second solo. The song reminds me of Ghost Dance in the sense that it also seems cramped full of ideas and like in Ghost Dance it works. Lord of the Wild isn't as frantic and intesnse as Ghost Dance though. It is more based on the magnificent roars and leads of Warslut and it creates a very different kind of atmosphere. The song ends with two minutes of ambient wind which is appropriate but I would have preferred more music.