King’s X are the perfect example of the unstoppable force of musical brilliance meeting the immovable object that is public apathy. As unique as they are celebrated, neither the critical acclaim that greeted them when they emerged with their glorious debut album, Out Of The Silent Planet, in 1988 nor the small but devoted following they’ve amassed has ever translated into anything remotely approaching mainstream success.
The Missouri-by-way-of-Houston trio of bassist/vocalist dUg (formerly plain old Doug) Pinnick, guitarist/vocalist Ty Tabor and drummer/vocalist Jerry Gaskill had been playing together for a decade when they released that debut (Pinnick was already approaching 40). They wedded the amped-up dynamics of a classic power trio to Sgt Pepper-era Beatles harmonies, while Pearl Jam bassist Jeff Ament once declared that they invented grunge on account of Ty Tabor adopting a throaty, drop-D tuning long before anyone else (PJ weren’t the only Seattle band to acknowledge their greatness – Alice In Chains’ Layne Staley and Jerry Cantrell were avowed fans too).
The press quickly picked up on the fact that King’s X had emerged from the Christian music scene and that their faith seemed to be embedded in their DNA – something which set them apart but also counted against them in the Sodom and Gomorrah that was the late 80s rock scene. The trio pushed back against the ‘Christian band’ tag, not entirely convincingly. It’s difficult to deny you’re a religious band when there’s literally a cross in your name.
That initial media buzz carried on for a few years, but a lack of chart success and split from manager/producer Sam Taylor, who helped shape those initial records, saw them almost dashed on the rocks of a music industry that never truly knew what to do with them. There have been plenty of testing times since – all the members have distanced themselves from Christianity to varying degrees, dUg Pinnick came out as gay in the late 1990s to a predictable backlash from sections of the fanbase, and Jerry Gaskill suffered two serious heart attacks in the last decade. The band themselves have seemed studio-shy at times – 2022’s Three Sides Of One was their first album in 14 years.
Thankfully they’ve persevered, and today their place as one of the great cult bands of the last 40 years is well cemented. Success is fleeting, but greatness endures.
...and one to avoid
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