Kinlin - The Last Stand
by Kevin Wierzbicki
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Kinlin has been around for a while but longtime fans needn't be concerned with this album's title; this is not a farewell effort. In fact it's just the opposite as the set is very tight and filled with hooks and likely to expand the band's fan base greatly. The title cut demonstrates that Kinlin know how to craft radio-ready songs as a heavy low end rumbles under Tom Lynch's melodic guitar riffing while vocalist Dewayne Hart sings lyrics about how the world seems to be in bad shape; in the end Hart waxes hopeful with some "it's not too late" encouragement. And while the band speeds along with the Motorhead/Iron Maiden mash-up that is "Unthinkable," they're not afraid to show a tender side, as with the acoustic portion of "Lost Memories" (the song alternates quiet passages with thrashy thump) and the subdued (and again radio ready) ballad "Forever and a Day." Almost twice as long as any other cut on the album, "Blood of Our Fathers" calls to task a society that needs to get it together lest the efforts of forefathers go to waste. Clearly a reference to the current mindset of the United States (the CD's cover graphic features an American flag), the song has a false ending after which a spoken word piece augmented with ominous guitar drives the point home in quite a stark manner. The band have something to say on lots of cuts here but the emphasis is on musicianship throughout, and it's likely that fans will first be drawn to the fine playing and come to the messages later. Kinlin is rounded out by bass man Chris Eversoul and drummer Patrick Johansson, a veteran of W.A.S.P. and Yngwie Malmsteen's band.
Kinlin - The Last Stand
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