King Mob: Force 9 Review

British rock band, King Mob, release their debut album, Force 9, an exciting comeback of old school rock stars. Chris Spedding who played on the sidelines with iconic artists such as John Cale, Roxy Music, Elton John, and Paul McCartney, reclaims his role as lead guitarist. The new “super band” brings back Martin Chambers to drum after playing in the hit band “Pretenders” for 33 years. Glen Matlock also comes back to play bass after being involved with the Sex Pistols, Iggy Pop and Faces on their comeback tour. Taking the role as front man vocalist, Stephen W Parsons, or commonly known as “Snips,” steps back into the spotlight after singing for the well respected band, “Sharks” back in the 70s. To top this brilliant configuration of artists, new kid “Sixteen” joins as second guitarist to bring a fresh modern feel for the band.

Opening with the explosive track, “Lover Of High Renown,” the band immediately states its genre of old school rock and blues. Through the record the music bounces between uplifting fast paced melody and dragged out guitar riffs, giving a pump of adrenaline and a dark cool. It is clear to see that not one of the artists have lost their touch as they show how great they mix together as a band, still emphasizing each of their own traits. “Sixteen” is not shy to shred loudly on his guitar for Chris to delicately play over with his terrific harmonics. Glen unrolls his endless variation of bass lines with Martin clashing away to boost the rest of the band. “Snips” echoes in the music to share his deep scratchy voice, whose lyrics are as honest as ironic.

The fusion between all of them is truly fantastic with the clarity of an obvious high production value. Tracks such as “American Slaves” and “I Was There” recognize an era where rock and blues came together in such a great way, and now having these artists from the past, if not legends, come together just as brilliantly, it is fitting to say the least that these guys are the new definition of rock blues. The band is currently touring around the UK with their new talented bass guitarist, Toshi Ogowa, hitting the O2 Academy in Islington in late March, with a US tour in the works.

The Review: 9/10

Can’t Miss Tracks

– Lover Of High Renown
– American Slaves
– Va Vah Voom

The Big Hit

– American Slaves

Review by George Podaras