Album Review: The Mountain King - Wicked Zen (2020)

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Photo Credit: Steffen Albrecht / The Mountain King

The Mountain King - Wicked Zen
Release: June 06, 2020
Label: selfrelease
-- (Special Edition will appear on Cursed Monk Records soon) --
Format: Tape/CD/Digital
Length: 70:05
Origin: Mainz, Germany

First things first. I have also written a review on this album in German. It was published via Betreutes Proggen - a site that frequently features articles by me. Big shoutouts to Betreutes Proggen! All you Prog Rock / Prog Metal / Post Rock / Avantgarde etc fans, I recommend you to follow this awesome online mag!
Nevertheless, this is not a translation of the German review but an autonomous text.

Now, The Mountain King appears on my site for the second time. Half a year ago I wrote a review on their album "Mind Deny Undo". Since that release five years have passed and TMK mastermind Eric McQueen has published a ton of amazing experimental and unorthodox music.
The present year alone, the EP "Breathe" and the Re-Droned Version of "Hitting Stellar Pipes" were released by The Mountain King. After these harbingers, the monumentous work "Wicked Zen" might be the central work of TMK in 2020.

Recently, I joined a pre-listening session together with The Mountain King, The Buried Herald, Cvlt Legion, and Stoner Rock Army (shoutouts to those amazing people!). Together we listened to some excerpts of the new album and had a great talk on music, religion, and life.
And heck yes, I will finally start talking about "Wicked Zen"...

More than 70 minutes of intense, unique, and Psychedelic Drone Doom! What a powerload! Brachial impacts by Death and Black Metal create gloomy and harsh atmospheres which are carried by the omnipresent Drone air. This tense air is decorated by the hypnotizing sounds of a sitar (Manuel "El Churro" Churión) and a saz (Yorgos Mourkousis). Further featured artists are Daniel Gallardo playing the drums and Frank Gr'mbarth Dillschnitter on additional guitars. Vocals, theremin, hammond organ, synthesizers, and the omnipresent bass were recorded by Eric McQueen.
Photo Credit: The Mountain King
Without any doubt, this is the strongest work The Mountain King has created so far. On stunning, brutal and mesmerizing soundscapes the six tracks take us on a journey through Middle and East Asia where we discover the darkest sides of Buddhism.
"Wicked Zen" combines traditional sounds of Arab and Indian spheres with massively powerful Drone Doom, trancy Psychedelic Rock and occult Black Metal. Imagine Bathory, My Sleeping Karma, Queen Elephantine and Black Shape of Nexus playing a gig in Goa, and you might get an impression of the sound. Or, even better: stream, listen, buy and order this stunning masterpiece!

The Mountain King Online:

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