Kingbathmat – Overcoming the Monster (2013)

Having already delivered one of the best Progressive Rock releases of 2013, UK’s Kingbathmat was not satisfied and decided to unleash “Overcoming the Monster” six months later. Featuring six intoxicating tracks of a very enjoyable mixture of Psychedelic and Progressive sounds, the band nicely improves over their earlier release (in 2013) with a more emotive and touching release. Any fan of Yes, King Crimson, and even Porcupine Tree should worship this release immediately.

Determined distorted guitars lead the way on “Sentinel”, the opening track in this release. The band’s sound here is more Hard Rock and powerful than your average Prog outfit, however, this changes quite dramatically to a more typical Progressive style. The band’s ability to craft very simple, yet catchy sections is clearly highlighted in this very engaging track. After a few weird percussions, “Parasomnia” nicely warms up to a very Yes-like track that is filled with warm guitars and very playful keyboards. This song is one of the definite stand-outs of this release.

Before you know it the album title track sneaks up on you with its incisive keyboards and very keen sense of melody. The bass guitar is particularly remarkable in this track, greatly guiding the band’s gently composition into an all-out Psychedelic/Space Progressive Rock tune. The futuristic “Superfluous” is actually very smart and engaging. So far, this release has shown that Kingbathmat is not one-trick wonder, and while delivering their signature Progressive Rock, they can still add elements that seamlessly change the tempo and mood of the tracks.

After the short but sweet “Reality Mining”, Kingbathmat puts this release to sleep with the 11-minute epic “Kubrick Moon”. This highly atmospheric track delivers lush keyboards and excellent melodic guitars. The vocals are very fitting to the band’s music, and as on their previous release, they really drive the mood of the songs perfectly. While this album is quite more dramatic and entertaining, we did feel that some of the music is not as diverse as before.

Overall, “Overcoming the Monster” is a good improvement over the band’s early 2013 release. If Kingbathmat keeps up with productivity levels and particularly delivering killer songs, there is no telling how much they can achieve. If you want some good Progressive Rock with some Psychedelic influences, this is one release you don’t want to miss.

Label: Stereohead Records

Release: July 22nd, 2013

Genre: Progressive/Psychedelic Rock

Country: UK