ARTIST: King’s X 
TITLE: Out of the Silent Planet
YEAR RELEASED: 1988
CHART ACTION: #144
SINGLES: Goldilox, King, Shot of Love
OTHER SONGS YOU MAY KNOW: Fans, do
LINEUP: Doug Pinnick, Ty Tabor, Jerry Gaskill
WHAT’S IT ALL ABOUT: Long-time band mates find a unique sound and voice and it’s unique sonic elements finds an audience among sophisticated rock fans.
SOME WORDS, PHRASES AND CLAUSES ABOUT THIS RECORD: The trio known as King’s X had been in the business of making music for years, struggling to find their niche and voice. When they hit on the sound that soon became the King’s X signature, they knew that was the way to go.
This album sets the stage for several that follow. It has mystical and spiritual elements to the music, a great sense of melody and harmony, enough riffs to please the metal heads and most of all, a great sense of musicianship. They have a very sophisticated sound, incorporating a lot of classical motifs and complicated chord structures, but present them in a very user friendly way.
Many of the songs on this album, though, don’t have a really memorable element that stays with the listener afterwards. It’s got a lot of great elements, and sounds great. It just doesn’t have that tune you remember two days later. “Sometimes” may be the exception.
NOTES & MINUTAE: Five years earlier, they released a record as the band Sneak Preview. It was as generic of an 80’s record as it could be, allegedly. It’s very hard to find now, as the band itself destroyed a lot of the copies of the record.
IS THERE A DELUXE VERSION: No
GRADE: B+: I really like the band and the sound, but I’m not bowled over by this one in the whole. Still, I’d take it over most every metal album of the era.