KINGDOM COME - Rendered Waters
April 7, 2011, 13 years ago
(SPV)
Given that the band has admirably evolved from hair farmers with a ZEPPELIN shtick through to almost exclusively cool, classy, heavy albums more than 20 years on… you gotta give props to Lenny Wolf and his tenacity with the name and his tireless proof that he’s a metalhead, one of us. Rendered Waters features eight re-recordings/re-arrangements of catalogue tracks through the years, including up at the end, a jewel in STONE FURY’s ‘Break Down The Walls’, pre-chorus and chorus lifting and separating, nip an’ tucking. The project works as a unified record because of Wolf’s dirty, doomy, grand ‘n’ grungy approach to recording, with echoey drums and gritty guitar textures; in fact, it’s an acceptable idea simply because Wolf has always been thoughtful about recording techniques and he applies the expected elbow grease here. So half heavy/half melodic new things like ‘Is It Fair Enough’ and ‘Don’t Remember’ fit perfectly, as does ‘Blue Trees’, featuring beat-up by boomy drums and raucous deliveries at the axe end. Ironically, the band comes full circle with this Zep albatross, Wolf now reflecting the brave and creative qualities of Plant and his restless seeking, and not simply Led Zep clichés put through a corporate ringer.
