• Kryp II Knight Volume IV

  • Bongo Boy Records presents the next release in the series of albums by various hard Rocker and Shakers-Kryp II Knight Volume IV by Various Artists.
    This Rock album dropped on May 12, 2023

    UPC 655469526068  | ISRC USPXQ2351201 - 2351211

    USA Order - Physical CD + Postage CLICK HERE

    International Order - Physical CD + Postage CLICK HERE

  • Kryp II Knight Volume IV by Various Artists line up:
    1. Shawn Michael Perry – ROCK STEADY 3:46
    2. Boys’N’Barry – Love Me Do You 2:58
    3. Phillip Cole – The Only One 3:47
    4. The NEW Bardots – Thrill of the Night 3:05
    5. Dale Mitchel and Corky Evans – Why Can’t You Say 3:47
    6. OBLIVEA – DEEP INSIDE 4:23
    7. The NEW Bardots – In The Year 2525 (extended) 5:03
    8. ARTIC BABA – Onde Radio 4:33
    9. Phillip Cole – My Angel 4:31
    10. Fate Will Come – Heavy Heart 2:40

  • ALBUM REVIEWS

  • Home  Albums  Kryp II Knight, Vol. IV – Various Artists (reviewed by Dave Franklin)

  • If you like your music hard and heavy, bold and bombastic, you will already be familiar with the Bongo Boy Records album series Kryp II Knight. If not, you are failing in your quest to be ahead of the curve, first to the new sounds, the switched-on, and the plugged into the genre that you profess to love.

    But for those not already aware of this well-established collection, this is what you need to know. The series collects, sorts and compiles the best new music garnered from classic and alternative rock, which blends muscle and melody, the hard and the heavenly. And if you ever wished that someone would put together a short list of the best music breaking in those realms so that you wouldn’t have to spend hours sorting the musical wheat from the sonic chaff…this is precisely what the label has done for you.

    The aptly named Rock Steady kicks things off, Shawn Michael Perry’s opening salvo of groove-laden classic rock making for a perfect opening gambit, a real foot-on-the-monitor, fist-in-the-air declaration of the albums intent, a neat calling card and a masterful mission statement. Boys ‘N’ Barry introduces a more grunge sound into the proceedings with Love Me Do You, but its low-end growl is balanced by short blasts of squalling guitar and infectious vocals, a smart move that shows you that even rock music can move deftly with the times.

    Phillip Cole’s The Only One is a clever blend of rumbling bass lines and battering backbeats, but again, it is a matter of balance, and he chooses to lighten the load with sweet, spiralling guitar lines that wouldn’t sound out of place in an early Cure song. He also appears eleswhere on the record with the more melodic and balladic My Angel, all shimmering slashes of guitar and six-string crescendoes.

    The NEW Bardots, one of my favourite new finds recently, has featured two songs. The first is their brilliant and brilliantly addictive Thrill of the Night, old-school rock welded to a more modern groove; the second is a fantastic cover of Zager & Evans’ In The Year 2525. Here they update its impact through their heavier treatment and the great dynamic shifts as the song ebbs and flows between the powerful and the poignant, the epic and the intimate.

    When Dale Mitchel and Corky Evans come along with their bluesy, rocky, spacious and understated Why Can’t You Say, you realise how broad the rock and roll realm truly is. But then, any genre label can only be a quick soundbite, hardly able to convey the sheer scope and inventiveness of a whole music category. Especially one that has been evolving and experimenting for over sixty years.

    Oblivea is another band that I am already familiar with, thanks to Bongo Boy’s releases, and Deep Inside is different again from what has gone before. Slow, calculated, and controlled, a song built around intense walls of sound and dark and delicious rhythms. Not quite gothic in nature but certainly not unfamiliar with the Stygian gloom of that place.

    Onde Radio from Artic Baba reminds us that rock music is a universal language, and this Milanese band infuse their rock sound with proggy intrigue and poppy infectiousness. The song switches from classic rock muscle to wonderfully wandering interludes, from guitar solos to heavenly vocal harmonies, punchy choruses to more considered moments. It doesn’t matter if you don’t speak Italian; rock is the new lingua franca, the new common tongue.

  • And it is with a Heavy Heart that we come to the end of the album, literally, being that it is the name of Fate Will Come’s contribution. Ornate and powerful, energetic and driven, a blend of classic rock and melodic metal, groove and grit and perfect swansong for this great collection.

    So, if you like your music big, bold and bombastic, guitar-driven and gritty, hard and heavy, this is for you. Not only a perfectly curated album full of rockers and shakers but a great way of cutting to the chase when it comes to the best new music around.

  • MORE ALBUM REVIEWS

  • Rock, regardless of popular opinion (or declining streams), is absolutely NOT dead. Proof? Another volume of driving, modern rock and roll courtesy of Bongo Boy Records’ Kryp II Knight collection. Ready for 10 powerful tracks from up-and-coming rock artists? Then strap yourself in, press “play,” and prepare for a serious audio assault courtesy of Bongo Boy Records’ Kryp II Knight Vol. IV.

  • Track one, “Rock Steady” by Shawn Michael Perry, sets an immediate high-energy precedent with some solid guitar riffs. And when Perry moves into a higher register, especially to uplift the chorus, his voice reminds me of the incomparable Chris Cornell – it’s a rough, sandy voice that almost splits the throat during delivery. Great stuff, and an absolute stunning opener.

    Vocally, “Love Me Do You” by Boys’N’Barry is sung through mild radio distortion. And I’m slightly reminded of Steve Miller, but with a more aggressive backing band. The bridge is very interesting with single note riffs (perhaps a bit Rush-esque?) leading to a guitar solo, and then the final chorus. With a mild punk feel, this track is so immediately catchy, I might prefer the word “contagious.”

    Philip Cole’s “The Only One” immediately says, “we love the Cure (!)” with its leading, slightly delayed and melodic guitar. This one is a little more punk than “Love Me Do You,” but keeps a steady rock energy with backing, fuzzy guitars. This is a smiling and concise musical statement.

    The NEW Bardots contribute “Thrill of the Night,” a song that isn’t afraid to grant the bass a starring role. This is a raw, scratchy track; a bit of blues, a salting of funk (thanks to that resonant bass), and a compelling chorus adding a touch of urgency. Good stuff.

    “Why Can’t You Say” by Dale Mitchel and Corky Evans is an acoustic ditty driven by earthy, prevalent, “four on the floor” drumming. The singer sounds a little like Ray Wilson (from post-grunge outfit Stiltskin, and then, very briefly, Genesis). It ends with a great lead guitar passage and a rolling of drums. Very clean, very poignant.

    What else can I say about “DEEP INSIDE” by OBLIVEA? In my last review, I called it “raw,” “candid,” and “unapologetic.” Well, I stand by those descriptors – “DEEP INSIDE” delivers exactly what rock and roll promises: The unvarnished and not at all glamorous truth. Check it out ASAP.

    Another helping of The New Bardots, “In the Year 2525 (Extended Version)” starts with a testimonial over strumming chords. And after the vocalist counts out the first bar, the song kicks off with quick staccato guitar strikes. There are some nice key changes here, and the vocalist tells the tale with his raw, earnestly reaching voice. Another solid track from TNB.

    “Onde Radio (Broadcast Version)” from ARTIC BABA, entirely in Spanish, is a strong, tightly executed song. The chorus mellows a bit between the quickly changing verses; it’s a bundle of voices over muted arpeggios, and something that offers a respite between the song’s high-energy passages. The chorus was immediately uplifting, and the adept musicality appreciated.

    Philip Cole returns with “My Angel,” and at its foundationa floating, granular guitar – which makes sense, considering the first verse mentions an ocean. The chorus brushes with something darker, and then returns to those fluid, foundational chords. There’s definitely an environment here – something vast and flowing. Perhaps it’s a love that’s wide, deep, and impossibly oceanic.

    For the final track? A chugging heavy-metal assault entitled “Heavy Heart” by Fate Will Come. The vocals are high and stylishly wavering; the guitar, unrelenting. This is a hasty track that ends with an interesting echoing arpeggio. It’s definitely heavy, and perhaps leaves us a little too soon.

    Rock is dead, huh? Not according to Bongo Boy Records and their impressive roster of rock and roll talent.

  • FEATURED ARTISTS

  • Featured song by Shawn Michael Perry - ROCK STEADY