Long before the conventional distractions that we deem essential, there used to be the time of the bards. Travelling around the bards would slowly but surely get their message out, be it a fictional tale, allegory or complete truth. Through the power of word of mouth their gospel was spread. Fast forward to the modern day, civil unrest, somewhat down trodden lives and injustice have given birth to a new revolution. Taking the ideals of our bards, the poets of the modern day aren’t the likes of Yates or Keats but people who experience the grit, the reality of a life that most would never experience. Combining a unique style of semi spoken word with instrumentation King 810 spread their second gospel La Petite Mort Or A Conversation With God.

[tracklist]

1. Heavy Lies The Crown
2. Alpha And Omega
3. Give My People Back
4. Vendettas
5. Black Swan
6. The Trauma Model
7. La Petite Mort
8. I Ain’t Goin’ Back Again
9. War Time x Trick Trick
10. Life’s Not Enough
11. Me and Maxine
12. Wolves Run Together
13. A Conversation With God
    [/tracklist][details]
    [length]60:00[/length]
    [record_label]Roadrunner Records[/record_label]
    [release_date]September 16th 2016[/release_date]
    [/details]

Rooted in a world of affliction, immersing themselves in violence and being charged with various crimes the band have a pertinent piece to say. The frank speeches of David Gunn brought forward are an unvarnished detail at just how bleak life can sometimes be. “Alpha Omega” for example is the backdrop for the ideology that the idea of murder is absolute being simultaneously everything yet nothing all the same. To truly understand the impact of La Petite Mort it must be seen as conceptual piece rather than single fodder. “I Ain’t Goin’ Back Again” working perfectly as an encapsulation of what King 810 stand for. The easily digestible single track is merely a small piece of the overall tapestry which goes far deeper. Tracks the likes of “Vendettas” bring to life the more theatrical aspect of the band. Borrowing elements from spoken word the delivery of Gunn is paramount to the impact of the band’s music. Often cutting out to deliver a stark and purposefully bleak contrast against the simplistic chugging distortion.

The musical equivalent of a film noir, La Petite Mort acts just as much as a soundtrack as it would in film. Combining the likes of spoken word with classical instruments, the beautiful metaphor for dance “Black Swan” mirrors the purpose of Gunn’s words slowly but surely dancing to their own sentence. Visceral centrepiece title track “La Petite Mort” slowly builds throughout its seven minute time frame chronicling murder and it’s true effects on a person. However standing ovation is reserved for the sinister absolution of “A Conversation With God“. Not only detailing the idea of murder in a truly haunting social context but adressing civil unrest that is permanently quashed and a change in social injustice. Carefully appointing menacing vocabulary to create a truly malevolent atmosphere  giving a genuine sense of unease with a distressing final section climaxing in an unexpected haka style chant making for a lasting impact after record finishes.

Known for their fierce sense of identity and patriotism to the state of Flint, King 810 are the voice of the underbelly. The voice of the voiceless, the unempowered and ultimately the easy meat from the apex predators. Led through the labyrnthine walls of the unsympathetic, uncompromising world that we live in Gunn and co are our compares. Bringing the idea of violence in the modern day to worryingly immediate setting makes La Petite Mort far more frightening than any zombie churning Death Metal flavour of the month. Reflecting emotions felt through Gunn’s enunciation of spoken word with the unfeeling rhythmic tone of the instruments La Petite Mort or A Conversation With God is a truly compelling work of art.

[verdict]Yes[/verdict]
[why]Avant garde in its identiy La Petite Mort is a unfeeling look to the world that we are blind to. Crafting a niche for themselves flirting with soundtrack and spoken word the album is a phenomenal statement from King 810.[/why]

If you like what you read / heard then you can pick up the record here!