{"id":31954,"date":"2013-09-19T06:07:56","date_gmt":"2013-09-19T11:07:56","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/?p=31954"},"modified":"2014-02-08T08:37:52","modified_gmt":"2014-02-08T13:37:52","slug":"riot-kings-devils-medicine-cd-review","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/2013\/riot-kings-devils-medicine-cd-review\/","title":{"rendered":"Riot Kings | Devil\u2019s Medicine<\/em>"},"content":{"rendered":"

by Alex Barbieri<\/span>
\n– Senior Columnist —<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\"RiotLooking for a new CD to rock during the fall\/Halloween season? Check out Riot Kings\u2019 Devil\u2019s Medicine<\/em>. <\/p>\n

One of the pleasures of following a good band is seeing them become great over time. Such is the case with Connecticut\u2019s Riot Kings, one of the hardest working bands on the modern hard rock scene. <\/p>\n

Formed in 2009 by former Tango Down bassist, Keith Sinnott, and guitarist Bill “Bones” Barklay, the pride of Bridgeport are back with their third full-length album, entitled Devil\u2019s Medicine. Once again produced by Paul Opalach at Long Hill Recording in Shelton, CT, the album shows a marked improvement, dare I say maturity, in songwriting and musical performances. Opalach\u2019s production is heavy and refined, but retains the \u201cgaragey\u201d feel that gives Riot Kings their rawness and DIY accessibility.<\/p>\n

Singer Kent Johannesen has really come into his own as a vocalist and lyricist on this one. Despite his young age, Johannesen sings like a man who has been around, been hurt, done some damage himself, but is a better man for it. It\u2019s great to hear him embrace more melody and harmony on the new album, but make no mistake, Riot Kings is still heavy as f**k. <\/p>\n

What makes this new album consistently listenable is that Riot Kings aren\u2019t afraid of dynamics; to get heavy and angry, and then play softer to get a different mood and emotion across, much as Nirvana did so effectively. Humans are multidimensional creatures, full of different, sometimes conflicting emotions, and the dark beauty of Riot Kings is that their songs lock into that multifaceted aspect in all of us. <\/p>\n

Here are some highlights of the new album:<\/p>\n

\u201cTime To Fly\u201d \u2013 Growling opening track reminds of Korn, Primus, Pearl Jam, and Soundgarden; great hook and harmonies. <\/p>\n

\u201cFuckin\u2019 Wasted\u201d \u2013 Attention Florida strippers, this is your new favorite track to dance to. And a hit single in the making on college radio stations across the country. <\/p>\n

\u201cLong Way Home\u201d \u2013 Kudos to the band for the courage to do an acoustic ballad. John Mayer with a set of balls. Johannesen singing from the heart.<\/p>\n

\u201cMurder You\u201d \u2013 The sonic equivalent of a killer workout\u2014emotionally purging and therapeutic. Nice job, Sinnott, on rap vocals. Should be Ultimate Fighting Championship intro music or on a Hollywood movie soundtrack. <\/p>\n

\u201cDevil\u2019s Medicine\u201d \u2013 Killer hook and harmony on the lyric, \u201cBe a better man.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cMock Suicide\u201d \u2013 Reminds of Nirvana; another example of very unique playing and picking style by guitarist, Bones. <\/p>\n

If you\u2019re looking for a killer new rock album, take a shot of Riot Kings\u2019 Devil\u2019s Medicine<\/em>. It should appeal to both classic rockers and nu metallers alike. We think you\u2019ll find them just what the devil ordered. <\/p>\n

Genre: Modern, Hard Rock, Alternative<\/p>\n

Riot Kings are:
\nKent Johannesen \u2013 Lead Vocals
\nBones \u2013 Guitar
\nKeith Sinnott \u2013 Bass
\nMarc Mascagna \u2013 Drums<\/p>\n

Tracklist:
\n1. Time To Fly
\n2. Bleed
\n3. Fuckin\u2019 Wasted
\n4. Long Way Home
\n5. Murder You
\n6. In the Air Tonight
\n7. Devil\u2019s Medicine
\n8. Holy Christian Bible Rocket
\n9. Mock Suicide
\n10. El Diablo
\n11. Energy<\/p>\n

Buy Riot King\u2019s Devil\u2019s Medicine on Amazon.com. http:\/\/www.amazon.com\/Devils-Medicine-Explicit\/dp\/B00F5TF3SU<\/a>
\nOr at CDbaby.com http:\/\/www.cdbaby.com\/cd\/riotkings3<\/a>
\nCheck out the Riot Kings on ReverbNation. http:\/\/www.reverbnation.com\/riotkings<\/a>
\nFriend Riot Kings on Facebook at: http:\/\/www.facebook.com\/pages\/Riot-Kings\/239555403468<\/a><\/p>\n

Hardrock Haven rating: 9\/10<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

by Alex Barbieri – Senior Columnist — Looking for a new CD to rock during the fall\/Halloween season? Check out Riot Kings\u2019 Devil\u2019s Medicine. One of the pleasures of following a good band is seeing […]<\/a><\/div>\n","protected":false},"author":10,"featured_media":31956,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8704],"tags":[1103,2831],"class_list":{"0":"post-31954","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-arcrvws2013","8":"tag-hard-rock","9":"tag-modern"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/31954","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/10"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=31954"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/31954\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/31956"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=31954"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=31954"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=31954"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}