The Demo Review:
BMO There are currently 1 Reviews of this Demo.
Average Rating: 2
Band Name: Babylon Mystery Orchestra
Demo Title: Divine Right of Kings
Band Members: Sidney Allen Johnson.
Location: Greenville, AL
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    • Kefka X's Review:
    Sidney Allen Johnson is the sole musician behind Babylon Mystery Orchestra, playing all the instruments, writing the music, and recording and producing the album himself. An album that's been "2000 years in the making," Divine Right of Kings goes all out on a touchy subject of American society today and makes allusion to the Biblical prophecy of Babylon. The concept of the album is great, in my opinion. The comparison between American decadence and Babylon is thought-provoking and very mature.

    The music itself is your standard heavy metal, borrowing themes and styles from bands such as Beseech, Bronx Casket Co, Iron Maiden, Type O Negative, and Ozzy. I can even hear traces of Sisters of Mercy and Bauhaus in the music (especially with the vocals, i.e. Andrew Eldritch). The result is a mid-to-slow paced heavy metal album with some traces of gothic metal.

    The production on the album is great. It's apparent that Sidney has taken a lot of time with this recording and it sounds good. The musicianship is solid (while not mind-boggling) and compliments the music well.

    Despite the good qualities of this album, it's honestly just not my thing. The music itself just comes across as cheesy in our modern day metal scene. Were this to have come out 15 years ago I'm more than certain that it would have been a success. But as we look on, it feels as if the category of heavy metal itself is being devoured by the millions of sub-categories of metal out there right now. Someone in their middle ages will definitely dig Divine Right of Kings, but the kid who just bought this and the new Vital Remains album at the same time is going to pawn this off to his uncle after 5 minutes of listening. For a great example of how outdated this recording is, listen to the song "Whore" and wait until you get to the "Whore chant".

    My only real complaint about the album as a whole is the vocals. There really isn't any diversity within the vocal modulation itself and comes across as robotic more than an actual singer itself. There are often times where I sit and listen hard and swear to myself that his vocals are being electronically altered.

    While I have a great appreciation for the themes that Johnson is confronting with this album, it's honestly not something that would go into my CD player for a spin more than it has to be. I can't make fun of its style because I know there is someone out there who's going to listen to this and think it hauls ass. I was hoping that the music would be a bit more modernized if Sidney was hoping to reach the masses with the message that his album is conveying.

    Definitely aimed towards the older crowd.
    2 out of 5

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