{"id":18502,"date":"2014-04-16T00:00:14","date_gmt":"2014-04-16T00:00:14","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/?p=18502"},"modified":"2014-04-26T18:34:40","modified_gmt":"2014-04-26T18:34:40","slug":"album-review-humbucker-king-of-the-world","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/album-review-humbucker-king-of-the-world\/","title":{"rendered":"HUMBUCKER – King Of The World (2014) | Album \/ EP Reviews @ Metal Forces Magazine"},"content":{"rendered":"

HUMBUCKER
King Of The World<\/strong><\/span>
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\nHumbucker (2014)<\/span>
Rating: 8.5\/10<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

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Y\u2019know what? Sometimes it\u2019s nice to hear music from Norway that isn\u2019t just a remote black metal wail of regression!<\/p>\n

The unusually named Humbucker have been in existence since 1998, and put simply they play good ol\u2019 fashioned rock \u2019n\u2019 roll that mixes AC\/DC, Mot\u00f6rhead and Saxon, with a hint of Black Sabbath<\/a> and a touch of bluesy boogie.<\/p>\n

In a sense, this is no frills metal but delivered with such conviction and attitude that it\u2019s an album which cannot be ignored. Vocally, Jan Anders B\u00f8en has a touch of oily sleaze to his tone and this is evident from the off with the killer groove that is \u2018Self Made Son Of A Bitch\u2019, a real rockin\u2019, loose-lipped and swaggering sm\u00f6rg\u00e5sbord (or \u201ckoldtbord\u201d as they would say in Norway) that is operated by the frightful twin guitar attack of Vidar Svanheld and John Petter Pershaug, who are masters at fusing boogie and belligerence.
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\n\u201cI started out with nothing, and now I have it all\u201d<\/em> barks Jan, and it\u2019s the perfect line to start any sweat-soaked rock \u2019n\u2019 roll album. Forget all these sleaze rock pretenders, Humbucker crush the 80s imitators in their wake, marrying searing hot solos with Geir Arne Dale\u2019s crashing drums and Lars Stian Havraas\u2019 dominant bass.<\/p>\n

King Of The World<\/em> \u2013 the band\u2019s second opus and follow-up to 2011\u2019s R.O.C.K.S.<\/em> \u2013 is the sort of kick-ass, denim-clad, gasoline-fuelled, high-octane chest-pounder we\u2019ve been waiting for, and in its simplicity it somehow manages to drag a generation of revivalists by the scruff of their neck and throw them to the lions such is its presence.<\/p>\n

The dirty sleaze of \u2018One Size Fits All\u2019 melts into the tumbling drums of the title track with its AC\/DC-styled jarring riff and drooling vocal, while \u2018Gone Fishing\u2019 applies extra weight with its juggernaut riffage. And for added blues we get the sweltering chimes of \u2018Dirty Nelly\u2019 \u2013 it\u2019s half a hair metal ballad with convincing twang and jangling guitar. With its injection of wheezing organ I\u2019m reminded as to why this type of almost archetype, yet reflective ballad still works when delivered with the correct formula, and with its Rolling Stones-like vibe it remains one of the album\u2019s best moments.<\/p>\n

But then again, as albums go Humbucker\u2019s sophomore platter is nigh on perfect throughout. \u2018Harder Being Me\u2019 has the sort of up-beat skip one would expect from a late 80s M\u00f6tley Cr\u00fce<\/a> song \u2013 it\u2019s bubblegum hop is also partly Status Quo in its straightforwardness, but the harmonies are killer. \u2018Lone Rider\u2019, \u2018Lord Have Mercy\u2019 and in particular the racy \u2018I Did It All\u2019, with its southern boogie sleaze, steel up an album that just rocks from beginning to end.<\/p>\n

It would seem that the future of rock \u2019n\u2019 roll is to go back to basics and yet with so many potentially great bands failing miserably at combining retro with modern oomph, Humbucker effortlessly have found that winning formula which will have you swigging, swaggering and eventually swaying in a drunken stupor through the door.<\/p>\n

Neil Arnold<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

HUMBUCKERKing Of The World Humbucker (2014)Rating: 8.5\/10 Y\u2019know what? Sometimes it\u2019s nice to hear music from Norway that isn\u2019t just a remote black metal wail of regression! The unusually named Humbucker have been in existence since 1998, and put simply they play good ol\u2019 fashioned rock \u2019n\u2019 roll that mixes AC\/DC, Mot\u00f6rhead and Saxon, with […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[24,1187],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-18502","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-album-ep-reviews","category-humbucker"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18502","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=18502"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18502\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":18508,"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18502\/revisions\/18508"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=18502"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=18502"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=18502"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}