Familiarize Yourself

What do you get when you cross the controversial Black Lips with the outlandish King Khan & the BBQ Show? A musical stew that can only be described as a “postmodern gospel rock supergroup” as directly stated on The Almighty Defenders Wikipedia page. The supergroup now known as The Almighty Defenders was born back in early 2009, when the Black Lips escaped from India after causing an uproar at a public performance when band members Cole Alexander and Ian St. Pe kissed in front of a raucous crowd. Afterwards, in addition to kissing a band member, news reports stated Alexander exposed his “private parts” to the crowd, instantly forcing the band to flee India in fear of being arrested. The Black Lips laid low after that incident, finding refuge in Berlin at the home of Canadian musician King Khan.

Over the next week of reclusiveness, King Khan, his fellow bandmate Mark Sultan, and the Black Lips recorded an album that would later be released on Vice Records as their self-titled The Almighty Defenders.

It is generous to say that the quality of their recordings is sub-par. It sounds like someone held up a microphone to a phonograph player, deciding later to release that recording as a digital copy of the album. The quality may be low, but the songs do speak for themselves. “Bow Down and Die” opens with vocal stylings from all of The Almighty Defenders that fade into solo verses similar to a church ceremony. The “pastor” becomes extremely intense throughout the verse, and screams into the microphone, adding additional ear-splitting distortion. Other noteworthy tracks on the self-titled release include ”Cone of Light” and “I’m Coming Home.” To an uneducated ear, the track “I’m Coming Home” could pass for a 1970’s anthem about the soldiers returning home from the Vietnam War.

The self-titled release from the Almighty Defenders would make a great soundtrack for a movie. The tracks are light, passionate, and entertaining. If this group of musicians only required eight days to write and record songs of this caliber, imagine what they could do with a large budget, a quality recording studio, and three months time. I would recommend this album to anyone looking forward to warm weather returning once again. It is a great album to blare in your car stereo as you drive for hours deciding on your next destination.