King Company - One for the Road (2016)

Genre - Melodic Hard Rock

Label - Frontiers Music

Track listing:

1. One For The Road
2. Shining
3. In Wheels Of No Return
4. Coming Back To Life
5. No Man's Land
6. Farewell
7. Wings Of Love
8. Cast Away
9. Desire
10. Holding On
11. One Heart

12. Can't Let You Get Away (Bonus Track)

KING COMPANY are a  new melodic hard rock outfit from Finland, and "One For The Road" is their debut album, released via Frontiers Music. Formed barely two years ago, the band comprises of experienced musicians from the Scandinavian scene, most of whom coming from heavy metal bands.
Drummer Mirka 'Leka' Rantanen (Warmen, ex-Thunderstone, ex-Kotipelto, etc.) had been thinking about forming a new hard rock / melodic metal band for a long time. He wanted to play with people with whom he had worked before and whom he knew both as good musicians and considered friends.
First, he contacted guitarist Antti Wirman (Warmen), who immediately joined the project. Vocalist Pasi Rantanen, was in Mirka's mind from the beginning, as they had played together in a couple of bands before (Thunderstone, Warmen). After keyboardist Jari Pailamo (Kiuas, Ponies To Kill) and bassist Time Schleifer (Enfarce) joined the band, this 'supergroup' was ready to start working.
Broadening the King Company sound beyond classic hard rock, their music has a significant edge thanks to sharp riff's and bristling solos. Still, there's something more, a distinct underlying blues flavour shines through in many places, ala early Whitesnake. 'Shining', the melodic 'Desire', title track 'One For The Road', and 'No Man's Land' (which was the band's original name) are perfect examples of this. The latter song flows more like a hard rock anthem, yet steady almost smoldering like a fire grasping for more air, with vocalist, Pasi Rantanen sounding like the perfect cross of David Coverdale and Dee Snider! Also you can't discount the AOR factor in the bands tunes.
The songs are loaded to the brim with solid melody, good guitar and vocal harmony (Rantanen sings clean yet with a little rawness to his timbre), likable refrains, and catchy hooks. Just take the glorious 'Farewell' and 'One Heart', just two songs delivering that AOR momentum at the right place on the album, one in the middle, the other at the end, resulting in a perfect balance.

Well worth checking out

Rating: 9/10

King Company Are:

Pasi Rantanen (vocals)
Antti Wirman (guitars)
Jari Pailamo (keyboards)
Time Schleifer (bass)
Mirka Rantanen (drums)