From the land that brought us Kings of the Sun, we now have King of the North –not Robb Stark or Jon Snow (for the ‘Game of Thrones’ fans), but Andrew Higgs and Steve Tyssen (who recently replaced Danny Leo). Their new album “Get Out of Your World” was released by Rodeostar / SPV on 5th August. Playing the album you’d presume there was a four or five man band behind the great tracks you’re listening to, rather than Higgs singing and playing guitars and Leo playing drums.


 

The two man line-up will undoubtedly bring comparisons to English band Royal Blood, and there are similarities, but King of the North deliver a harder, heavier sound in my opinion. Higgs and Tyssen also look more like your stereotypical rockers!


When playing live or in the studio, Andrew Higgs uses a “3 from 1 guitar pedal”. I’m not remotely knowledgeable about such things, but apparently this “triples the input signal and playing options of his guitar, creating the bass, lead and rhythm guitar sounds at once. It can sound like all three playing together or all separate lead, rhythm and bass sounds.” That means he just needs a drummer. Originally that was Danny Leo and he recorded the tracks on the new album before leaving the band. He has recently replaced by Steve Tyssen. COG drummer Lucius Borich also plays on some tracks on the album.


King of the North released a self-titled EP in 2011, followed by their debut album “Sound The Underground” in 2014. For more info check out the band’s website at http://www.kingofthenorth.com.au/ - you’ll also find a couple of download links and the usual social media links.

 

There are 12 tracks on the album and none of them are fillers. It’s hard to pick out favourites, but I’d go with “Rise”, “Get Out of Your World”, “Hard Wired for Hard Times” and “The Mountain”. The latter features a guest appearance by singer John Scott from The Mark of Cain. Other tracks worth a specific mention would be “Love Like Fire”, “Burn”, “Ride Like You Are Free”, “Down To The Devil” and “Hard Days Are Done”. The album closes with a cover of Jimi Hendrix’s “Manic Depression”.


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About “NI Rocks Recommends”

The simple idea behind “NI Rocks Recommends” is to acknowledge and promote some of the great music being submitted to Rock Radio NI. I'll not be giving marks or ratings or analyzing the tracks in great detail; just telling you something about the artist and the album. It’s a personal recommendation to go check something out, not a traditional “review”!

My musical tastes cover most things rock; from the not too melodic to the not too heavy. The albums that I’ll be recommending are those that you’ll hear me playing tracks from on my shows on Rock Radio NI.

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