Strum Sum Up

On the second album to be credited solely to King's X singer/bassist Doug Pinnick (or as he's listed on the cover, "Dug"), 2007's Strum Sum Up, you get a collection of heavy yet soulful ditties that -- perhaps rather unsurprisingly -- sound very reminiscent of his full-time band. This can be pinpointed to the heavy/detuned guitar riffs and multi-voiced choruses -- two factors that have proven major ingredients in the King's X sound for ages by this point. Some rockers launch solo careers to display tunes that don't fit in the frameworks of their full-time gigs, but here it's probably just having too many songs to choose from for the next King's X release (or songs that were left over from the last one). Longtime King's X fans will attest that isn't necessarily a bad thing, as evidenced by such tracks as "Perfect World," "Damn It," and "Angel." Years from now, don't be surprised if fans consider Strum Sum Up a lost King's X record. ~ Greg Prato