This album is a road album.
Not in the way one normally thinks of a road album where you can drive through the countryside mindlessly while being entertained with what comes out of the speakers. No this is a road album and the machine driving is Philadelphia’s own Kingsnake and you are the one getting run over.
This gas guzzler doesn’t have heated seats or child safety locks and it sure as hell ain’t got a back-up camera because it just doesn’t do reverse. Kingsnake’s fourth album Resonance growls and rumbles like an eight cylinder big block while spitting shredded tires in plumes of burnout smoke.
I have long been a fan of Kingsnake and feel this latest album is their finest work to date. This 43 minute journey starts with Dairy Of A Bad Man which certainly seems appropriate. The band fires up the engine and announce their intentions with an up tempo warning that gives way to the growling vocals of Bill Jenkins:
Well lemme tell you I was raised by wolves, yeah that’s what all the people say
"He needs to mind his manners and read more books!” As they beg the creator that I would grow to be a civilized, pacified, well-dressed mess
The pedal gets expertly pushed by the rhythm section of Matt Farnan on drums and Matt Kahn on bass while the high octane guitar work of Brian Merritt brings the song to full bore. This is how you start a road trip right here people.
There are no sightseeing points of interest on this voyage as every song demands your full attention to the road and every gravelly turn brings a flavor all its own. The barroom brawl feel of Evening Blues gives way to the driving bass thump of Preachers Of Heresy. Right when you think you have it all figured out Miss Sorceress is in front of you and all you can do is grip the steering wheel tighter and hang on as it takes you through two separate gears of heavy goodness. The crushing second part of this one is Kingsnake at their best, ripping loose, barely holding the road and really not even giving a shit about it just knowing that they will make it through by the grace of the gods.