The Classic Metal Album Reviews:
Title: Gretchen Goes to Nebraska
Artist: King's X
Label: Megaforce/ Atlantic
Release Date: 1989

Rating: 4 Skulls
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    • Reviewed by Solomon:
    There may be some question as to whether a band such as this should be featured on a website so staunchly metal in orientation. Granted, King's X has always been associated with the metal crowd, but can you really call Gretchen a "metal" record? Most of the time, Gretchen is so damn musical and unoffensive it's hard to place it next to even the pop-drenched metal/hard rock explosion of the late 80's. Whatever your take on this, any discussion of the last fifteen years of metal without some mention of this band would almost be a sin. Hell, any talk about the last decade of popular music in general would be incomplete without them.

    I really didn't pick up on King's X until after their fourth album was released in '92, but it's pretty easy to see how this record compared to its late 80's/early 90's contemporaries. One would be hard pressed to put this album against Hysteria, ...And Justice For All, or Facelift. Was King's X pop, glam, speed, goth, progressive, grunge, etc.? The answer: none of the above. Gretchen sounded like nothing anybody had ever done before, and it continues to evade comparison and imitation today. This album is the metal man's anti-metal metal album (if that makes sense). I hate to use the word "original," as the gang vocals are so Beatles-esque it's almost embarrassing, but the band eludes a label like the plague. The vocals are different, the guitar tone is different, the riffs are different, nothing fits into an easily identifiable genre. Gretchen is a true alternative/progressive record because it doesn't sound like Soundgarden or Fates Warning.

    The freshness of the album is astounding. The band plays heavy at times, but everything breathes and bounces with a musicality that few recordings have been able to match. "Out of the Silent Planet" is one of my favorite tracks, as the hypnotic effects of voice and guitar make for an almost religious experience. Ty Tabor's shimmering, rubbery guitar sound is unmistakable, and his solo style is tasteful and to-the-point. Tracks like "Over My Head" and "Pleiades" take advantage of traditional power-chord banging, but without sounding too oppressive or bombastic. The use of atmospherics on tracks like "Pleiades" tend to go on too long and "The Difference" is a bit too sweet for my taste, but these are minor dents in an otherwise excellent album. The lyrics are of a sensitive personal/spiritual nature that mirror the music perfectly in their non-confrontational "let me speak to, brother" approach.

    Despite the strengths of Gretchen, I think Dogman shows the band at their best. That record took the band's penchant for harmony and melody and fused it with a more entertaining punch and groove. Still, Gretchen is a landmark record from a classic band that has had few imitators and still stands as the most original rock group I've ever encountered. Thumbs up.
    4 out of 5

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