Millencolin
Kingwood

THE REVIEW

This is the sixth studio album by Millencolin, a band from Örebro, Sweden led by frontman Nikola Sarkevic, marking the return to the scene of the combo three years after the last "Home from Home".

"Kingwood" (whose name is a play on the famous stereo brand Kenwood, given by the singer in honor of his old hi-fi to which he is very attached!) is definitely more oriented towards punk than its predecessor, which leaned towards more rocking sounds. On the CD cover, we find Nikola with deer antlers and the other members dressed as hunters, not to attack him but to protect him, as the group has always been against hunting.

Now let’s take a closer look at the album's contents. It opens with "Farewell My Hell," which follows the band's classic style, a punk rock piece with a good dose of melody and speed. The next song, Birdie, is also good, continuing the path started by the first song. However, the subsequent "Shut You Out," "My Name Is Golden," and "Simple Twist of Hate" deserve a separate discussion as they vary the sound within the album the most. "Shut You Out," which is also the second single, leans towards emo-rock and includes a piano introduction and before the choruses, perhaps could be considered the ballad of the album, and maybe the only one slightly below standard compared to the other eleven tracks. While "My Name Is Golden" is definitely oriented towards rock sounds and features a charming solo. But the real surprise of the album is definitely the hardcore fury of "Simple Twist of Hate", with a very shrill voice and sharper guitars than ever.

But it’s with the next "Biftek Supernova" that the band surpasses itself, a very short but powerful track with a frantic rhythm that gives you an incredible energy boost, the gem of the album. Moving on, we find other songs that maintain a very good punk rock style, like "Cash or Clash", "Novo", "Stalemate", "Mooseman's Jukebox". The album closes with "Hard Time", which starts with a drum solo and ends originally with the guitars progressively raising the volume until they completely cover the singer's beautiful voice. A final note regarding the launch single, this time it is "Ray", a very catchy and pleasant song. In general, the songs gain that extra touch from the beautiful expressive and energetic voice of the frontman, unlike some overly sugary voices in the same landscape. To conclude, an excellent album that will especially please the band’s fans and punk/rock lovers in general.

P.S. Well, what can I say, it was my first review, I hope it went well, see you at the next review!