King Lizard – ‘Viva La Decadence’ Album Review

Music has many purposes. It can sooth the savage breast (to paraphrase William Congreve who, speaking in 1697 had clearly never suffered an album by The Darkness), it can excite, depress or enervate all depending upon what you are listening to at any given time. However, while that awful term “thinking man’s metal” can be applied to bands who are indeed cerebral in their outlook (say, Tool or Porcupine Tree) there is nothing to compare to a savage blast of pure old school rock n’ roll when it comes to good time music and King Lizard are surely THE band to check out if you’re in need of kicking back with a beer or three with the sound of sweet debauchery ringing in your ears.

King Lizard, then, are a band very much in the vein of Reckless Love and their ilk who musically are a throwback to the days of big hair, bigger solos and spandex trousers but have the advantages of modern production to give their songs the sort of depth and power that only Def Leppard successfully attained back in the beer-sodden days of the eighties. Unsurprisingly song titles go straight for the groin rather than the brain with tracks like ‘viva la decadence’, ‘rock n’ roll me’ and ‘late night dynamite’ all sweat soaked heavy rock blasts which might not win academic awards but more than make up for that supposed deficiency with the FUN factor cranked up to 11. Opening with the title track it sounds rather like you’d expect a band who grace their cover with a pair of breasts and a snake to sound – like an explosion in a leather factory with sleazy vocals, blistering lead runs and pounding drums all daring you not to tap your feet or raise a smile. ‘Rain on you’ follows up the first track and it’s here that it hits you – Flash Roxx Sawyer is an awesome vocalist who not only oozes charisma but who also is more than capable of carrying a tune with a gritty reliability that makes Scott Weiland’s tenure in Velvet Revolver sound decidedly amateur by comparison. He is, quite simply, a natural born front-man (although hopefully without the Axl-sized ego that accompanies such a position in some cases) and it is no word of a lie to say that his band more than meet him every step of the way. Check out, for example, the blistering solos that tear across ‘rain on you’ or the joyous multi-layered vocals that turn the chorus into a genuine rock n’ roll event and you’ll see exactly what I mean. ‘Rock n’ roll me’ is a sleazy gem worthy of Motley Crue at their finest while ‘Hell yeah’ gives Alice Rain the chance to unleash her low-slung bass moves to an appreciative audience and the chorus is worthy of the joyous affirmative referenced in the title.

Yet don’t imagine that King Lizard are all about reliving the eighties. True the reference points here include prime Guns n’ roses, Motley Crue, Def Leppard and Bon Jovi but there’s also a sensibility gained from more contemporary acts, mainly in the production department which sees the bad allied to a crushing low end that allows the guitars to roar out of the speakers  with the brutal clarity that so many old school acts never quite managed to realise. There’s also a cheeky self-awareness that allows the bad to sneakily rip off the theme to Ghostbusters on ‘video lover’ or savage the spirit of Twisted Sister on ‘kan’t kill rock n’ roll’ while making sound like a genuinely affectionate homage rather than a cheeky bout of plagiarism. The heart of the album revolves around the three tracks that  swell beyond the four minute mark and allow the band to flex their musical muscle – the deft heavy metal of ‘never be mine’, the acoustic and unexpected beauty of ‘not for me’ which must surely sit up there with the best of the old school rock ballads to the extent that the only appropriate video for this would feature Flash standing atop a mountain bellowing out the words in true rock star fashion and the piano n’ roll of ‘riot’ which sees those Axl comparisons go into overdrive before the band decide they’re not having any of that and stride off in a brutally metal Iggy Pop direction. Of the remaining tracks ‘taste the hate’ is a full on neon-lit blast of profanity, ‘outrageous’ surfs in on a wicked guitar riff and ‘late nite dynamite’ gives those in chance of a sleazy thrill what they’ve been looking for.

‘Viva la decadence’ is an absolute blast from start to finish. With no pretensions to be anything other than a (and possibly the) great rock n’ roll band, King Lizard set out their stall with a clear eyed vision and ruthless efficiency that makes their album a joy to listen to. The songs are catchy, heavy and buoyed up by magnificent performances from all four musicians who have clearly put in the time and practice needed to hone the songs to a wickedly-sharp point of brilliance. On the strength of this album the lizard is indeed king.