Having already this decade released a Tuesday the Sky album, new project North Sea Echoes, and, now, the second Kings of Mercia album Battle Scars, it’s clear Fates Warning founding guitarist Jim Matheos does not wander this Earth without a load of sonic ideas. While many of his offshoots have skewed ambient or atmospheric in some regard, Kings of Mercia follows a different path. Featuring the classically AOR vocal styles of the highly-credited, little-celebrated Steve Overland (FM, Shadowman),1 Kings of Mercia aims neither for the head nor the heart, leaning instead into the hip-swaying, gentle head nodding of warm-toned Dad metal. So you ask then how they got those scars? Probably in a fight with a hammer and a shelf that concluded with all parties splayed about the floor.
As an homage to a simpler time in metal history, a lot of what Kings of Mercia puts out feels obligatory. Now, this doesn’t mean that Matheos can’t write a song—far from it. Cuts like “Eye for an Eye,” “Legend,” and “Cold” have more than enough slick riffage and sneaky modulations that they carry their weight from start to finish with little effort and high intrigue. But both confined in traditional chorus-focused rock structures and firmly in the box of 80s-minded impact, Battle Scars needs to succeed on the few elements that it handles with delicate personal twists. And in that limited scope, its chance to break away the shopping mall hits list from the likes of a bouncing Toto jam or a sultry Whitesnake burner leaves Battle Scars out the gate with a handicap.
Battle Scars by Kings of Mercia
But Matheos and co. seem to concern themselves very little with how relevant or earth-shaking Kings of Mercia will be, continuing to focus on coating Battle Scars with well-toned, snazzy refrains that frame Overland’s time-tested pipes with an unbreakable groove. As a master of warping crunchy amp character against layered, syncopated riffs, Matheos builds an amplified immediacy that opens up with each of Overland’s title-laden chorus calls (“Guns and Ammunition,” “Eye for an Eye,” “Cold”). And when slowing things down to a bluesy bounce, rhythm stalwarts Joey Vera (Fates Warning, Armored Saint) and Simon Phillips (Toto) play up simpler guitar craft with a hammering march and growling pulse (“Between Two Worlds,” “Hell ‘n’ Back”). Matheos continues too to explore looped guitar patterns and chunky industrial tones with the alt-edged “Aftermath,” lending a higher diversity to the back half. Rare is the moment on Battle Scars that displeases the ears.
For an album that strikes as immediate, Battle Scars’ biggest fault remains its lowest moment segregating a serviceable open from a promising close. Much like the criticism that ol’ Huck laid out of their debut, Kings of Mercia’s adherence to the aged inclusion of a full sap ballad returns as an offense. The titular apex of the first half pushes—shakers and crying clean guitars hitting at full sweetness—an unwelcome aura of sadness into the pleasant romp that otherwise develops throughout Battle Scars. But this downcast element, at least, gives Kings of Mercia an edge that doesn’t usually persist in the 80s worship of the modern day. With lyrical content that ranges from dissatisfaction with certain sociopolitical happenings in the world (“Guns and Ammunition”), coming to terms with aging (“Between Two Worlds”), and acknowledging the duality of life choices (“Angels & Demons”), albeit in light-hearted phrasing,2 Kings of Mercia tells stories much differently than the big hair and arena anthemics of the past.
With this grounded energy, Battle Scars escapes a potential fault in remaining too saccharine. At brightest, Kings of Mercia evades the gruel of a closing second ballad, letting “Angels & Demons” turn down the lights with a resonating acoustic guitar melody and cello duet that simmers into a riff-handed statement of triumph. The harder-hitting, more diverse B-side at large highlights the plodding similarities of Overland’s vocal patterns and the overwrought nature of King of Mercia’s softest elements. So while it’s true that Matheos can build accessible distorted rockers with a progressive flair, it’ll take more than a little high-gain ear candy with a hint of melancholy for Kings of Mercia to sail away with a fuller vote of confidence.
Rating: 2.5/5.0
DR: 7 | Format Reviewed: 320 kbps mp3
Label: Metal Blade Records | Bandcamp
Websites: kingsofmercia.com | kingsofmercia.bandcamp.com
Releases Worldwide: October 4th, 2024
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