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Little King:
Virus Divine
The El Paso band, Little King, has recently issued their latest album, Virus Divine, a progressive rock release reminiscent to the glory days of Rush. Lead singer, Ryan Rosoffs vocal style is an odd mix of Klaus Meine (Scorpions) combined with a late 80s Geddy Lee (Rush), and honestly, it doesnt work. Melodic loops and drawn out vocals become the signature of the album, but overall Virus Divine is plagued by over dramatization and poorly timed transitions that prove irritating by the albums end. At the onset, its readily apparent that the bands habit of wavering between drastic screaming vocals and melodic tunes is distracting and disorienting. All I Need continually alternates between these modes, creating a song with no real direction. Every time Little King settles into a path for the melody, its changed again, destroying any flow and leaving the track confusing and sloppy. The vocals leave much to be desired. The Rodoffs voice is frequently flat, leaving the impression that singing on key just isnt one of the bands priorities. Although Peacemaker opens with encouraging acoustic melodies, you are soon discouraged by the painful vocals, awkward chorus, and dull lyrics. The issues are then compounded by frequent changes in style and rhythm, making the piece distracting and completely inexplicable. No amount of studio finesse will rescue this track from poor composition skills. Buried within this bog of poor composition exist a few redeeming moments. Strong experimentation with harmonic melodies in Second Wind or a more acoustic sound in Horsefeathers work well. Intriguing riffs offer a little hook, and the outpouring of emotion give the tracks a personal quality that is rarely seen in contemporary bands. But even this isnt enough to save the album. The main issue is that theres nothing that makes this band stand out from any of the other progressive rockers. Mediocre musicianship and songwriting leaves them in the dust with the masses. Theres no reason they would stand out from the crowd, and theres little reason to buy this album.
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