AlbumsNovember 29, 201110,998 views

Kingdom of Sorrow Kingdom of Sorrow


Kingdom of Sorrow
01. Hear This Prayer for Her 02. Grieve a Lifetime 03. Piece It All Back Together 04. Lead into Demise 05. Demon Eyes (Demonized) 06. With Unspoken Words 07. Free the Fallen 08. Screaming into the Sky 09. Lead the Ghosts Astray 10. Begging for the Truth 11. Buried in Black
2008 Relapse Records
Our score 6

by Nick
2/29/2008

In addition to Dave Witte and Co.'s Birds of Prey, Kingdom of Sorrow is Relapse's latest offering in the metal super group category. Advertising two of metal's biggest names of the past ten or fifteen years (Hatebreed's Jamey Jasta and Crowbar/Down's Kirk Windstein), Kingdom of Sorrow provides everything you would expect from veteran musicians: flawless execution, top-notch production, and extremely focused songwriting. It's quite obvious that Jasta and Windstein know exactly what they're doing, and Kingdom of Sorrow's debut release can certainly attest to that. Yet when such high caliber veteran musicians continue to release records in the same genre, it's difficult to get overly excited. Yes, Jasta was essential in making Hatebreed a 90's hardcore staple. And yes, Windstein can make just about as good of a claim to the king-of-riffs throne as anyone else in modern metal. But it's unfortunate that when the two join forces, it sounds exactly like the listener would expect: a Hatebreed/Crowbar hybrid. However, that still doesn't change the fact that Kingdom of Sorrow is indisputably heavy. The album's lead-off (and spotlight) track, "Hear This Prayer for Her," wastes no time in launching into a beast of a Windstein riff, properly captured with an impressively thick guitar tone. Even though the song's individual elements are no surprise given the artists at the helm, the execution and finished product are more than capable of creating excitement in those who simply love great riffs and straightforward, heavy songwriting. Other early tracks, such as "Lead into Demise" and "Demon Eyes (Demonized)" provide more of the same as Jasta and Windstein make it clear that they chose a no-tricks route in the creation of Kingdom of Sorrow. But as the album progresses, it's this songwriting style that causes Kingdom of Sorrow to lose more and more steam over its duration. By the time the listener reaches the latter half of the album, it's just repetition; not just in terms of Kingdom of Sorrow's style, but in terms of the respective styles of Jasta and Windstein as a whole. And slower tracks that flirt with the nu-metal edge like "With Unspoken Words" and "Screaming into the Sky" aren't exactly helping either. Diehard fans of Jasta and/or Windstein's work will have no trouble in embracing this record, but those expecting something more than a few solidly heavy jams won't find a whole lot to go on here. Bottom Line: It's not much of a shock that combining Hatebreed's Jamey Jasta and Crowbar's Kirk Windstein leads to something that sounds exactly like a mix of Hatebreed and Crowbar. Kingdom of Sorrow's debut record provides superb execution and veteran musicianship, but lack of variation ultimately makes it difficult to truly get pumped about it.

22 comments

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me_ 2/29/2008 10:16:51 PM

first....agree with the review

Selvin_ 2/29/2008 11:09:44 PM

New DTF will slay this band on tour in March.

yousuck_ 2/29/2008 11:09:52 PM

this cd is boring as all f*ck and jasta on vox is the worst f*cking fit ever. f*ck this shit band.

cydrx_ 2/29/2008 11:25:23 PM

what is this knigh in shining army shit??

bensy_ 2/29/2008 11:38:55 PM

"flirt with the nu-metal edge" !?!?!?!?????? Wha?

come_on_now_srsly_ 2/29/2008 11:50:30 PM

"Indisputably heavy?" f*ck you. Jasta and Windstein are f*cking gays and anyone who buys this gay record is a f*cking gay. You f*cking prick.

ha_ 3/1/2008 12:18:51 AM

I don't think you said the phrase "Hatebreed's Jamey Jasta and Crowbar's Kirk Windstein" nearly enough...

Jamey_ 3/1/2008 1:37:17 AM

You f*cking shithead. You don't know the first thing about hardcore; we put a lot of time and effort into this CD, and it's one of the heaviest releases of the year. We better not catch you around at any shows, because if my crew sees you, you'll wish you never got out of bed that day. Oh, and to everyone who actually CARES about this record, listen up! Thanks to everybody who bought it already but for those who have not been able to find it, try TARGET, yes TARGET is stocking it for ONLY $6.99

justin _ 3/1/2008 2:16:07 AM

if the above post is really jamey jasta, your little tissy-fit just goes to show what a real pssy you are. suck it up and accept criticism..tough guy ruination of hardcore crew-thug piece of shit. f*ck crews...what's diy about crews?! NOTHING

Mart_ 3/1/2008 4:29:38 AM

while you gays pleasure on lambgoat, some people write music and have a good time, f*ck you

anonymous 3/1/2008 11:30:19 AM

RARGH! I GET ANGRY ON THE INTERNET!!!! <---- All of you gays

anaturaldisaster_ 3/1/2008 1:39:40 PM

I can't believe people are still falling for these retarded gimmicks.

this machine kills..._ 3/1/2008 4:42:32 PM

...more like "Kingdom Of Sbarro" featuring Jamey "gobbleneck-wiggercore" Jasta and Kirk "feed my beard, it's hungry" Windstein. f*ck this load of horseshit, and listen to some old Electric Wizard...

Matt Jacobson_ 3/1/2008 5:16:30 PM

I don't often drop in on messageboards anymore, well at least not since Mastodon got me rich. I think boards are for gays and pussies, not underground music fans. That said, this is the NUMBER ONE METAL ALBUM OF THE YEAR and if you MORONS are too dense to realize that, you don't deserve to be alive. Tx for reading. Back to my real job: COUNTING MONEY. matt

label douchebag_ 3/1/2008 6:26:02 PM

^^^ Regarding the above comment ^^^^ Yeah man, you're really keeping it real and you know what real "underground" fans are all about. With your out of touch head in your f*cking ass bragging about mastodon money. The funny thing is your record label will eventually go the way of the mastodonl: extinct. Enjoy you $$$ while you can, Mr. Industry jerk. P.S. You still released a mediocre ass-album, good luck with your hype machine though, so you can keep "counting debt" I mean money...

gtangsapmsw_ 3/1/2008 7:47:33 PM

jamey and kirky sittin in a tree KISSING first c-ms c-ck then c-ms rear next c-ms two gays with c-m in there rear

mt_ 3/1/2008 8:09:43 PM

what has 5 jerks & 9 thumbs? HATEBREED

josh_ 3/1/2008 11:00:46 PM

This album is simply amazing!! The riffs just drag you in and jasta gives you the one, two punch!! For these two icons to collaborate is history in the making and I hope they make even more in the future!! Also, be sure to check out to "special" vocalist on 'screaming into the sky'!!!

Godfather_ 3/2/2008 11:53:30 AM

Good review

Prince_ 3/2/2008 4:39:32 PM

Why do you losers waste all of your time arguing about albums you don't even like. What the hell is the point of wasting your time if you hate it so much. Either way everyone knows that hating is just a manifestation of jealousy. I hope you f*cks enjoy your shitty day jobs and jerking off in front of a computer. Why don't u do something significant with your lives and write some music or at least kill yourself. f*ck off b/c Kingdom of Sorrow and the rest of the metal community does not care

A K U M A _ 3/2/2008 6:13:04 PM

I'M ANGRY AT GIMMICKS. RARR!!

Dave2112_ 3/7/2008 10:35:26 AM

Good review. It sounds like Hatebreed with better guitar work, it really f*cking sucks. A more tech drummer would have helped this effort greatly. Meat and Potatos sucks guys, get with it.