KINGS CROWN
“Closer To The Truth”
Album Review by Iron Mathew

9/10

Kings Crown are a hard rock band from Sweden releasing their debut album ‘Closer To The Truth’ in 2023.

Formed by guitarist Martin Kronlund (Gypsy Rose, Dogface, Phenomena), the band features singer Lee Small (SHY, Phenomena, Sweet), keyboard player Anders Skoog, bass player Berra Holmgren, and drummer Pontus Engborg. Kronlund wanted to “record an album in the style of the seventies”, and if that meant the iconic style of bands such as Deep Purple, Rainbow and Whitesnake, then he’s scored a direct hit! For ‘Closer To The Truth’ is eleven songs of laid back sass and swagger, echoing a legendary era for rock development, yet with a modern production – ‘It’s Too Late’ coming to life with all the swagger of Aerosmith, hitting hard and kicking harder as it marches on with head held high. Very high! The punchy nature of the opener is immense, losing none of the albums power with the weighty ‘Servant’, pounding the ground and crumbling walls as it strolls on by. An incredible one-two…

…becomes a one-two-three, the increased energy levels of ‘Still Alive’ increasing the pace of the album, the sound of ‘Closer To The Truth’ displaying a much more European ambience than the American swagger heard earlier. And when I say European ambience, bands such as Eclipse, Gotthard and Shakra spring immediately to mind. Moving toward balladry, ‘Standing On My Own’ is much more mellow than everything heard so far, the band adopting a power ballad come melodic rock stroll that’s actually gone keep lighters in pockets – an air of stadium rock beginning to ooze from the album. And the seventies style that founding member Kronlund was looking for, is blended with a more recent rock flavour, attracting fans of all ages to the bands music. Punch and pace return in force as ‘Stranger’ comes to life with an urgency not heard previously, feet tapping hard and heads nodding harder as Kings Crown stride on majestically. The mix of styles offered so far is very wide, the band visiting every corner, nook and cranny of the hard rock genre.

And I suspect the band will continue their wander around the genre too, ‘Down Below’ sending shockwaves around the world with a barrage of bombastic rock to devastate villages and towns! The band are at their most thunderous here, not to mention infectious too – ‘Down Below’ oozing attraction in abundance, tightly grabbing the attention of every rock fan and not letting go. Kings Crown are a new band, emphatically making their first foray into the worldwide rock scene with ‘Closer To Truth’, turning heads and making listeners sit up and take notice of the Swedish five piece. ‘Stay The Night’ brings an air of power balladry to the fore, returning the Aerosmith swagger heard earlier. And this time, you can all raise lighters high in the air and sway from side to side – ‘Stay The Night’ deserving of the traditional ballad salute. Title song ‘Closer To The Truth’ swings the sound of the album back to energy driven hard rock once more, the band continuing their adventurous romp around the rock genre, delighting listeners with a very wide array of songs.

Mid tempo and punchy comes flowing from the speakers in the shape of ‘I Will Remember’, a firm and steady stroll of thumping hard rock to shake buildings to their foundations – Kings Crown maintaining the albums incredible myriad of styles. ‘Closer To The Truth’ (the album) spans a number of genres such as melodic rock, hard rock, classic rock and a little pop rock too – the band catering for a very wide audience. And for the first few seconds of ‘Don’t Hide’ it really sounds like a rockier version of the first few seconds to Judas Priest’s classic ‘Living After Midnight’ (off the bands seminal 1980 album ‘British Steel’) – Kings Crown doing a fantastic job (whether intentional or not) of replicating the iconic, and instantly recognisable riff! As for the rest of ‘Don’t Hide’ – heavy hitting hard rock to blow massive holes in the surface of the Earth! ‘Closer To The Truth’ (the album) is brought to a close by the high energy rumble ‘Darkest Of Days’, hitting just as hard as any of the songs heard previously, the Swedish outfit forging an emphatic path through the entire rock genre.

Overall, a heavy hitting album full of energetic and infectious songs, Kings Crown come at you from every corner of the hard rock genre.

TRACKLIST

It’s Too Late
Servant
Still Alive
Standing On My Own
Stranger
Down Below
Stay The Night
Closer to the Truth
I Will Remember
Don’t Hide
Darkest of Days

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