Swedish melodic metallers ALL FOR THE KING are back with their third full length release via Roxx Records entitled ‘Darkest Before The Dawn’. The band has seen critical success early on with their first two releases, and has even been hailed by critics as a “modern day Black Sabbath.” Reviewers across the world have compared Erik Tilling’s guitar work to that of hard rock riff master Tony Iommi, and singer Ricard Hulteke to the legendary Glenn Hughes.
But ALL FOR THE KING have their own sound, with strong influences, yes, however creating varied arrangements and skilled performances thanks to the seasoned musicians involved. The songwriting is of such quality, both in terms of heaviness and harmonies, that it might be taken as original material from the musical era that the band was inspired by.
One of the tracks on ‘Darkest Before The Dawn’ features guest singer Ulf Christiansson, founder and singer of legendary band heavy metal act Jerusalem.
ALL FOR THE KING take their influences from bands like Black Sabbath and King’s X, but I hear other bands like Chicago’s Trouble and even some traces of Stryper (specifically on the tracks “You Are My King” and “Surrender”).
Ricard Hulteke has a great melodic voice, but with such strength and emotion behind it and isn’t afraid to go outside the box from time to time. Erik Tilling is a killer guitarist too who has really heavy tones, but stays melodic as well.
The backbone of the band is Andreas Alov on bass and Anders Kollerfors on drums. They really keep the songs moving forward and provide a wall of low end that really puts the band into that groovy category.
“The Seventh Seal” and “Light In The Dark” give you an early impression of the band’s sound. The album as a whole is heavy, but there are just some amazing hooks and choruses all over. “Stay Awake” is a just a great rock song no matter what the genre.
“Blind Leading The Blind” has a Metal edge on top of Hulteke’s smooth delivery and very interesting verses. Kollerfors keeps this one so tight in the pocket too, it’s got an amazing slow grinding groove.
“Fearless” is perhaps the most dark song as far as the sound goes, even though lyrically it’s extremely positive. On the flip side of that “You Are My King” is more of a straight up Classic Metal song with hot riffs.
No matter how you categorize “Darkest Before Dawn”, it’s a very good rocking album. The overall sound and production are exceptional, the writing is tight and the songs melodic. These guys have a massive amount of talent.
Highly Recommended
Tracklist:
01. Darkest Before Dawn (01:53)
02. The Seventh Seal (03:34)
03. Light In The Dark (05:45)
04. Stay Awake (02:48)
05. Fearless (03:35)
06. Blind Leading The Blind (02:40)
07. You Are My King (04:15)
08. Welcome (03:19)
09. Surrender (03:27)
10. Mind Pollution (02:48)