Kings Never Die began work on their follow-up to their 2023 debut LP All The Rats, after their European tour together with Dog Eat Dog, and the result is The Life & Times, due 25th October from Metalville Records.
Although not a concept album, the album is what the title suggests. Side A, the life side, with the title track ‘The Life & Times’ and other songs based on personal stories. Side B, the time side, really reflects on the times we live in and takes a good look at the youth or younger generations and the struggles they may face in the future.
Guitar/Vocalist Dan Nastasi (formerly of Mucky Pup and Dog Eat Dog) said. “One thing I’ve learnt from working with Danny Schuler is that every word you write or every lyric in a song has to have a meaning to you or something that people can relate to. I feel like it really helped me tell a story through the lyrics that I wrote on our last album, but especially on The Life & Times.
‘The writing and recording process has been very different for us from the first EPs to All The Rats to now. And this album was no different. We basically had 10-15 new songs in the works. After we got home from tour at the end of November, we decided it was best to start working on a new album right away. I basically locked myself in my home studio for four weeks and got into the writing process, writing new songs and working on ideas we already had. After that me, Evan (Ivkovich, bass and formerly of Wisdom In Chains) and and John Milnes rehearsed with the rhythm section for four weeks and then immediately went to Shore Fire Studios in Long Branch NJ to start recording. Three days later we headed to PA to Rock Hard Studios and finished the rest of the guitars and vocals. We drove back to NJ and mixed the album.’
Arguably the most important songs on Life & Times are ‘Bigger They Come, Harder They Fall’, that was originally intended for the previous album, the title track and ‘Empathy’; anthem-like tracks with catchy vocals and bounce. ‘Underdog’ was written by Nastasi as a thank you to his late father for his life experiences and in recognition of the drive and ambition he instilled in him.
“Most people think that this album is a return to our original hardcore and punk rock style“, said the band, and it’s obvious that vocally they have returned to a two-singer style, with Dylan Gadino and Nastasi sharing vocals. The band is rounded out by Larry ‘The Hunter’ Nieroda(Guitar) and with drummer Danny Schuler returning to join Bioharzard, Nastasi asked his long-time friend John ‘Booge’ Milnes (Mucky Pup) to help with the recordings, with former Murphys Law drummer Dougie Beans now on board with the band.
Tracks featured on The Life & Times are ‘The Life & Times’, ‘Bigger They Come, Harder They Fall’, ‘Never Let Go’, Empathy’, ‘Can I Get A Witness’, ‘Underdog’, ‘Kill The Cowards’, ‘War & Youth’, ‘The Rights’, ‘Slow Crawl’ and ‘If God Is Dead’.
