{"id":39292,"date":"2014-04-09T19:43:59","date_gmt":"2014-04-10T00:43:59","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/?p=39292"},"modified":"2014-04-09T19:43:59","modified_gmt":"2014-04-10T00:43:59","slug":"humbucker-king-of-the-world-cd-review","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/2014\/humbucker-king-of-the-world-cd-review\/","title":{"rendered":"Humbucker | King Of The World<\/em>"},"content":{"rendered":"

by Alexandra Mrozowska<\/span>
\n– Columnist —<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\"HumbuckerWhat would have happened if \u201870s era-KISS jammed with AC\/DC at Mot\u00f6rhead\u2019s headquarters? And what if to add a modern-day production and sound mastering to this explosive mixture? If you ever wondered about it, or tried to imagine yourself such a collaboration, a Norwegian act Humbucker will make things much easier with their new release King Of The World<\/em>. What the dynamic Scandi quintet returns with is a solid dose of straight-in-your-face, powerful and guitar-oriented sound that makes one wanna stomp their feet, pump their fists in the air, bang their head and sing at the top of their lungs \u2026 and isn\u2019t that what rock ‘n’ roll was all about in the first place? If you think so too, put your biker jacket and get your motor running, while Humbucker leads the cavalcade.<\/p>\n

Groovy, powerful guitars, rough sound and raw, raspy vocals delivered in an aggressive manner \u2013 that\u2019s how King Of The World can be summed up. But beware of dismissing Humbucker as yet another AC\/DC clone \u2013 there are, of course, songs which might as well supply the vast discography of the Aussie giants (\u201cSelf-made Son Of A B***h\u201d, \u201cHey You\u201d, \u201cI Did It All (Thank You & Goodnight)\u201d and also the included cover version of Whitesnake\u2019s \u201cWine, Women An` Song\u201d is closer to the possible interpretation of it by the Young brothers, than the bluesy original. <\/p>\n

However, there are also touches of contemporary, straightforward hard rock (\u201cOne Size Fits All\u201d), sleaze metal flavors (\u201cGone Fishing\u201d), \u201870s-era KISS (\u201cKing Of The World\u201d, \u201cDirty Nelly\u201d) or modern-day Southern Rock (\u201cLord Have Mercy\u201d with its bluesy riff, possibly inspired by bands such as Blackfoot or Molly Hatchet). There is also a groovy, catchy \u201cLone Rider\u201d made apparently for the sole purpose of faster-than-light racing down the highway on your bike (or a \u201965 Chevy, as the Humbucker singer Jan Anders B\u00f8en suggests). <\/p>\n

An acoustic, mellow ballad \u201cHarder Being Me\u201d should satisfy fans of Tyketto\u2019s or Warrant\u2019s ballad moments. And with the last song on the album, \u201cStrongman,\u201d Humbucker prove they\u2019re not going to slow the ride down and they\u2019ll make sure the rest of the cavalcade enjoys it, too \u2013 with the track\u2019s opening line (a reminder of Black Sabbath\u2019s classic \u201cIron Man\u201d opening) and heavy guitar work, it doesn\u2019t allow you to stop headbanging and\/or play the air guitar even for a little while until the song ends.<\/p>\n

Although Humbucker actually started out years ago as an AC\/DC tribute band (hence the clear influences in their latter-day work), there\u2019s much more to them than just repeating a worn-out formula. They combine their classic inspirations and heavy rock roughness with contemporary production and their apparently inexhaustible energy. And with King Of The World, you can be sure the beast (the one from the initially cheesy album cover, possibly) is unleashed again, a thing you\u2019ll understand as soon as the neck pain reminds you you\u2019ve been headbanging for the last 40 minutes. It\u2019s a dynamic, solid record, recommended for each and every hard rock fan out there. <\/p>\n

Genre: Classic Rock<\/p>\n

Band:
\nJan Anders B\u00f8en – Lead vocals
\nLars Stian Havraas – Bass, backing vocals
\nVidar Svanheld – Lead guitars, backing vocals
\nJohn Petter “No Thanks” Pershaug – Lead guitars, backing vocals
\nGeir Arne Dale – Drums, backing vocals<\/p>\n

Tracklist:
\n1.\tSelf-made Son Of A B***h
\n2.\tOne Size Fits All
\n3.\tKing Of The World
\n4.\tGone Fishing
\n5.\tDirty Nelly
\n6.\tHarder Being Me
\n7.\tLone Rider
\n8.\tLord Have Mercy
\n9.\tHey You!
\n10.\tI Did It All (Thank You & Goodnight)
\n11.\tWine, Women An` Song
\n12.\tStrongman<\/p>\n

Label: Humbucker Records<\/p>\n

Website: http:\/\/www.humbucker-rocks.com\/<\/a><\/p>\n

Hardrock Haven rating: 8\/10<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

by Alexandra Mrozowska – Columnist — What would have happened if \u201870s era-KISS jammed with AC\/DC at Mot\u00f6rhead\u2019s headquarters? And what if to add a modern-day production and sound mastering to this explosive mixture? If […]<\/a><\/div>\n","protected":false},"author":10,"featured_media":39294,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10848],"tags":[2317,1104,9088,9090,9089],"class_list":{"0":"post-39292","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-arcrvws2014","8":"tag-cd-review","9":"tag-classic-rock","10":"tag-humbucker","11":"tag-humbucker-records","12":"tag-king-of-the-world"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/39292","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=39292"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/39292\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/39294"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=39292"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=39292"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=39292"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}