Pinnick Gales Pridgen
A colossal collaboration between three impeccable musicians leads to a modern-day supergroup and one monster of an album.
Bassist and vocalist Doug Pinnick of King鈥檚 X, blues-rock guitar virtuoso Eric Gales and ex-Mars Volta drummer Thomas Pridgen blend their expansive musical pedigrees on the trio鈥檚 self-titled album featuring 13 captivating tracks infusing elements of rock, metal, blues and R&B flavoring. Being a huge King鈥檚 X fan since the 1990 release of 鈥淔aith Hope Love鈥� with its melodic Beatlesque arrangements, I鈥檝e been anxiously waiting for some new material fronted by Pinnick and his charismatic vocals.
The three music titans met and played together for the first time in the summer of 2012 with each artist bringing a bounty of musical influences to the sound and chemistry of the band. The album opener, 鈥淐ollateral Damage,鈥� strikes quickly with an ominous guitar riff supported by pounding drums and booming bass.
鈥淗ang On, Big Brother鈥� is the lead single, offering up touches of progressive soul and blues and featuring dueling vocals by Gales and Pinnick.
鈥淟ascivious鈥� is a bass-heavy scorcher that thunderously plods along, fueled by raw energy and Pinnick鈥檚 sprawling vocals.
The King鈥檚 X sound is clearly evident on several of the five tracks written by Pinnick, most notably 鈥淲ishing Well鈥� and 鈥淢e and You.鈥�
In my opinion, one of the standout tracks is a cover of 鈥淪unshine of Your Love.鈥�
The classic Cream arrangement is augmented with a darker and heavier feel, highlighted by Pridgen鈥檚 chaotic drumming and scorching guitar solo delivered by Gales.
Gales鈥� guitar playing on the new material can best be described as Jimi Hendrix meets Stevie Ray Vaughan and Living Colour.
The talents of the three musicians are unfettered by years of honing their craft, resulting in a collection of intricate, ear-splitting and heart-pounding songs filled with an unrelenting musical punch and lyrical vision, unquestionably making the band鈥檚 first effort one of the most electrifying albums of the year.