Album review: King Kraken – March Of The Gods

Two years on from their independent debut, hard-grafting Welsh rockers King Kraken return with March Of The Gods. Their second album partly draws inspiration from mythology, but mostly worships the almighty power of slamming riffs and heavy grooves.

Let’s be honest, you don’t come to a band named after a calamitous calamari for highbrow social commentary. ‘Nuclear meltdown in his wake, how many lives will this one take?’ roars Mark Donoghue in horror on El Giganto. Is it an Oppenheimer-esque warning of the trail of destruction that follows misuse of nuclear power? Of course not. It’s a no-nonsense thrasher about a 50-foot fire breathing demon. And it kicks 20 megatons of arse.

So, there are chest-beating bangers inspired by vikings (Berserker) and comic books (Vigilante) that are as subtle as a headbutt to a beer keg. But King Kraken can also be deceptively shrewd songwriters and have clearly spread their wings (or tentacles) here. Under The Sun and Hero shows they can pull off epic blues-tinged ballads in the vein of Alter Bridge. On the latter, Mark delivers a hulking vocal performance in tribute to a fallen father, which is lifted by a fleet-fingered solo from guitarist Adam Healey.

Preacher, on the other hand, keeps you on your toes. Just as you settle into its swampy, stoner groove, drummer Richard Lee Mears pulls the lead out and catapults the band into a pulse-pounding frenzy with duelling guitar solos battling for supremacy. And if you can name a better tribute to Ash – the chainsaw-wielding hero of the Evil Dead films – than Chainsaw Saviour with its wah-soaked guitars channeling Jerry Cantrell at his most menacing, then we’ve yet to hear it.

Equal parts brawn, brains and bombast, King Kraken have delivered a thumping follow-up that’s not just good. It’s crackin’.

Verdict: 4/5

For fans of: Clutch, The Sword, Down

March Of The Gods is self-released on April 18