Style: Progressive Metalcore, Djent (Mixed vocals)
Review by: Mathis
Recommended for fans of: Erra, Periphery, Volumes, Monuments
Country: US-NY
Release date: 12 November, 2021
Progressive metalcore will always hold a special place in my heart (go on, hate). After all, it was the genre that introduced me to the greater prog world, and thanks to it I have discovered an ocean of groovy, jazzy, funky, djenty, wacky, and fun prog. Without prog metalcore I wouldn’t even be on this team of awesome writers and amazing individuals. So naturally, upon hearing Queen Kona’s Newest release Lucid, I had to dive right in.
Lucid is a melodic, heavy, djenty album with influences pulled from various subgenres of metal, making for a sound reminiscent of bands like Erra or Monuments while at the same time creating a unique personality. What exactly makes Queen Kona so original, yet at the same time familiar? Well, it all begins with what lies within the chests of these young men. More specifically their diaphragm’s, and trachea, and vocal cords… It’s in the vocals I mean, they have good vocals. Each member of the band is a vocalist, and each of them has a different style of vocals. The drummer does all of the low end harsh vocals, the bassist handles mid range yells, one guitarist shrieks like a demon, and the other guitarist adds clean melodic vocals with a little pop punk flair. It’s especially fun to watch them take turns singing in their music videos!
My favorite song on the album is track two “Showdown Kings”; it’s got big punk vibes and kind of reminds me of Wolf & Bear with the yelly vocals, but around half way through the song there is a heavy breakdown with the low harsh vocals and pick slides/scrapes that make it sound like a Within The Ruins song. Queen Kona capitalizes on influences like these which keep their sound from becoming stale and generic. The track finishes with a clean vocal line over a djenty riff with a goofy outro. This song stands out to me as the most fun song on the album, but there are a handful of other songs that have just as much variation in style and sound. “Sands Of Time” is another banger that isn’t just your average djenty metalcore song, in the first minute alone the song goes from slow plinky plonky guitar to shrieking high screams and blast beats, then back into a slower softer song that gets ya in your feels.
If you are comfortable with more traditional djent, and are one of those people that don’t like it when your green beans touch your mashed potatoes don’t worry! Sometimes it is best to stick with the formula that you know works well, Lucid has some exceptional songs that aren’t too experimental that might scratch that classic progcore itch. “Boundaries Dissolved 2.0” is heavy, it djents, and it has the perfect ratio of clean to harsh vocals. It has a similar sound to Periphery’s “The Price Is Wrong” or “Motormouth”. Still not exactly what you are looking for? “The Black Sea” is Queen Kona’s Answer to the Volumes fan, a catchy track with a lot of clean vocals and some more simple/straightforward mid range vocals.
Although Lucid was a refreshing way to relive and re-experience what got me into progressive metal, it wasn’t a mind blow like Periphery’s P2. I can’t precisely explain anything that makes this album not the perfect prog metalcore album. I don’t even think it has anything wrong with it, it just doesn’t completely click. Despite lacking that special pizzazz, I still really enjoy Lucid, in fact I think I enjoy it more with each listen. I was originally going to give Queen Kona a 7.5 for Lucid, but after listening and writing, I think it deserves the 8! This album is a really good progcore album, but the other styles they are able to incorporate with their vocal variety puts it one notch higher. Well done Queen Kona!
Recommended tracks: Showdown Kings, Sands of Time, Rise of the Shogunate
You may also like: Karmanjakah, Quiet
Final verdict: 8/10
Related links: Bandcamp | Spotify | Official Website | Facebook
Label: VinnyMac Records
Queen Kona is:
– Tommy (Drums, Growls)
– Jimmy (Guitar, Shrieks)
– Jake (Guitar, Clean Vocals)
– Tyler (Bass, Yells)
0 Comments