King's X Three Sides of One 180g 2LP & CD

Lifelong friends communicate in a language of their own peppered with shared memories, inside jokes, and dreams fulfilled. King's X partake in a similar musical conversation informed by over four decades together as a band. The trio - dUg Pinnick (bass, vocals), Jerry Gaskill (drums, vocals), and Ty Tabor (guitar, vocals) - lock into an unspoken groove where each element shapes a signature sound singular to these three individual souls alone. No other band in history has pushed hard rock, alternative, metal, progressive, and soul into a galaxy quite like the one King's X occupy.

Along the way, they architected a catalog of seminal releases. KERRANG! famously scored their 1988 full-length debut, Out of the Silent Planet, with a rare "5-out-of-5-stars." On its heels, the landmark Gretchen Goes to Nebraska continues to inspire think pieces with Ultimate Classic Rock going as far to proclaim, "no one else has crafted anything remotely like it." They notably appeared on the soundtrack to Bill & Ted's Bogus Journey, and Guitar World christened the self-titled King's X one of "The 30 Greatest Rock Guitar Albums of 1992" (a year notably highlighted by Pantera's Vulgar Display of Power, Alice in Chains' Dirt, Megadeth's Countdown to Extinction, Dream Theater's Images and Words, and many more). Following Dogman, the group graced the stage of Woodstock 1994 and toured with everyone from Pearl Jam and AC/DC to Mötley Crüe and Iron Maiden. They also attracted one of the most diehard fanbases in music with Ear Candy (1996), Tape Head (1998), Please Come Home... Mr. Bulbous (2000), Manic Moonlight (2001), Black Like Sunday (2003), Ogre Tones (2005), and XV (2008).

In 2019, author Greg Prato's book King's X: The Oral History featured testimonials from the likes of Jeff Ament of Pearl Jam, Billy Corgan of The Smashing Pumpkins, Andy Summers of The Police, Scott Ian of Anthrax, Dean DeLeo of Stone Temple Pilots, Rex Brown of Pantera, and more. Meanwhile, Rolling Stone crowned them "Internationally renowned cult heroes," Devin Townsend included Gretchen Goes to Nebraska on "The 5 Albums That Made Me," and VH1 touted them among "The 100 Greatest Artists of Hard Rock."

Their first full-length studio offering in 14 years, Three Sides of One, represents the culmination of this trip and of a bond forged way back in 1979.

During 2019, the members congregated at Black Sound Studio in Pasadena, CA with producer Michael Parnin (Rage Against the Machine, Mark Lanegan) to bring Three Sides of One to life. Despite consistent touring, they hadn't cut a new LP since 2008. Nevertheless, the guys picked up where they left off. Creative confidant and collaborator Wally Farkas rolled through, and they channeled their incredible chemistry on tape. During the sessions, Ty and Jerry sang more and expanded the vocal interplay. At the same time, they hung out in the house and enjoyed the summer - even listening to a nearby Rolling Stones concert from The Rose Bowl outside one evening.

"We didn't want to make a record until we knew our fans would love it," dUg explains. "It took us a while, but we got there. Once we did, we got on the same page and said, 'Let's make this thing the best we can.'"

The opener and first single "Let It Rain" kickstarts this chapter. Clean guitar echoes over a steady beat before a deluge of distortion submerses the chorus's plea, "So let it rain." "I wanted to write a heavy song about the world as I see it," dUg states. "It was like a prayer to the unknown god to do something. It seems like everything is a mess, and we've got no solutions. I was trying to agree with everyone and join the program."

A bluesy lick swings like a wrecking ball into a swaggering groove on "Give It Up," which culminates on a manic gang chant. "After I turned 71, death was on my mind every day," dUg confesses. "Chris Cornell killed himself, and I was thinking of that. Lyrically, it's about not giving up until you naturally die. I want to ride it out until it's over. I'm laughing about how I haven't gotten a will yet, but I should have one. Musically, I wanted it to be really simple, so you can dance to it."

In the end, Three Sides of One is everything King's X were, are, and always will be.

"To me, the train is rolling, and I'm on it like we've been doing for 43 years," dUg leaves off. "We're just old friends. I feel like it's been forever since we put out a new album, and I'm ready for the world to hear our latest offering, hopefully there's a little bit of everything that you love about King's X, three sides of one is the best way to describe it. The groove is with us!"