STONER KINGS have released "Alpha Male". I must confess the band name as well as album cover had me prepared for a much different release than what this is. Let me be clear from the start this is not really what I would call a Stoner Rock release. The closest band in the scene I could compare them to is FIREBALL MINISTRY. Fans of RED FANG and FU MANCHU may find pleasure here. We do have kick ass fuzzed out guitars on this album as well as a cover of KYUSS.

There are some catchy riffs on throughout the album. "Fucked A.D." is a top notch hard rocker. It sounds modern but you can hear the 80s influence of bands like the CRÜE. I was amused to have that thought prior to reading their Facebook page mentioning bands like that. Next up is "Bray With The Damned" and "Damnation's Own". Both of those tracks are well written hard rockers with enough hooks to get stomping your feet and banging your head. The vocals and guitars are what make this album; the vocals are melodic yet have a rough edge to them. The chorus vocals usually feature some nice harmonies. The cover of "Green Machine" is next and it's for the most part a fairly faithful cover of the original.

The rest of the album follows the same vein and groove that was set forth from the beginning and that's probably the biggest fault of the album. There is an overall sameness to this release.  "Down to Zero," "Cro-Magnon" and "Born of Ape" are rather forgettable tracks. This band is the brainchild of a wrestler turned musician (think Fozzy). The fact that the vocalist/lyricist is an ex-wrestler may explain all the chest pumping on the album. I hope lyrically the next album can explore some deeper thoughts than what is portrayed here.

This is quite a hard review to do because on one hand, I really love what I'm hearing and, on the other it's a bit over the top and cheesy. Perhaps that's the purpose of the band? Reading the band Bio I could be right on point with that analysis. Let me end with this: if you are looking for a hard rocking album that is filled with hard-hitting grooves, superb vocals and a great production then check out this album. Just be warned, you may have to ignore some of the lyrics.