KINGDOM COME – Rendered Waters

Maybe there are things that should be left in the past. In a way, the vision of Lenny Wolf, the leader of the Hard Rock band Kingdom Come, is understandable. With the release of the band’s new album, Rendered Waters, he wanted to insert Kingdom Come into the new decade. Putting aside the three brand new tracks, Wolf and crew re-recorded older Kingdom Come tunes in order to let those get to the spirit of the new age. Right or wrong, it is for you to decide, but from Wolf’s point of view it was a darn good idea.

From his earlier days with Stone Fury and the formation of Kingdom Come in 1987, Wolf became one of the star voices in Hard Rock, a German man in L.A., and even nowadays to say “not such a bad voice” would be an insult. With no end in sight for Kingdom Come’s career, Wolf evidently reached a point where he felt the old songs needed to be reintroduced to a Hard Rock scene that is more diverse and “different” than in the old days. That is why Rendered Waters was given life. Aside from being handled by Wolf, the album was mastered by Hanan Rubinstein, who did a pretty good job. In addition, there was the aid of Eric Forester’s untamed solos as the gravy. That is why Rendered Waters is a solid outcome for Kingdom Come’s diehard fans. However, what about the other fans?

Listening to the older versions of most of the re-recorded songs shows that those shouldn’t have been touched or reshaped. Some songs, such as “Seventeen”, “Should I”, or “I’ve Been Trying” should have been preserved on ice and only played live. The only true glimmers were “Can’t Deny” (the opening track) and the old Stone Fury classic, “Break Down The Wall”.

As for the new material, which was summed up by three new tracks, it was solid work. “Blue Trees” is kind of nice — it’s heavy and bears great vocals by Wolf. “Is It Fair Enough” is a rather different Hard Rocker, but it’s also quite interesting. However “Don’t Remember” doesn’t catch intention as it could have. These three show that Wolf’s direction should concentrate on taking a huge step back to the 80s even if Hard Rock today is doing something different. Going against the grain has always brought good results for this kind of music that is mostly considered alternate in the eyes of the “sell out” mainstream.

Rendered Waters is an example of refined re-recordings that were done by other bands in the past. Two examples that come to mind are Thrash Anthems by Destruction and Dokken’s Greatest Hits 2. Not everything was crystal on those releases, and that’s true on this one. This sort of production is a risky route to take, but a vision is a vision and it should be respected. Wolf takes Kingdom Come into the new decade by being a lot heavier and with a wish to adjust to the present. It’s a fine idea, but…

Tracklist

1. Can’t Deny
2. The Wind
3. Blue Trees (New Song)
4. Should I
5. I’ve Been Trying
6. Pushing Hard
7. Seventeen
8. Is It Fair Enough (New Song)
9. Living Out Of Touch
10. Don’t Remember (New Song)
11. Break Down The Wall

Lineup

Lenny Wolf – Vocals
Eric Forester – Guitars
Frank Binke – Bass
Nader Rahy – Drums