The Black Stone is a new three-piece hard rock band from London, who describe themselves as writers of “ass-melting riffs that make you want to drink beer and punch your boss in the face.” While they have had some of their tracks out on SoundCloud for a bit, they officially released their debut single ‘The King of the Ks’ on November 1st, 2024.
As promised by the band’s description, this track opens with one of the riffs they spoke about. The heavy guitar is joined by banging drums to make for a great intro before the instrumentals make room for the lead singer’s vocals. His voice fits the song and its story greatly; it tells the tale of a man who descends into madness. This madness is fueled by his alcoholism, as is immediately evident from the first verse. “I poured myself a short one,” the singer sings, before the man in the story, heavily under the influence, picks a fight with the moon about his musical talents. In the first and second verses, the moon taunts the singer by asking him “Can you even play?” and “You really wanna be a rock and roll star?” In the meantime, the singer yells back at the moon, showing off the riffs and voice that make this song great. The chorus in between is a short one where the singer repeats that he is “the king of the Ks”. Eventually, the track moves towards an energetic bridge which is easily the most intriguing part of the song. It leaves more space for the vocals and ends on a quieter note upon the singer screaming “I’ll take this little six-string and end your fucking life”. The track finishes everything off with some more repetitions of the six-word chorus before ending with the sound of glass – presumably a bottle of alcohol – breaking, possibly signalling how he has tried and failed to win this fight.
For a debut single, this is an astonishing track. From the first seconds onwards, one can perfectly envision the great reception this band would get on the stage. Fortunately for The Black Stone, they have already been picked up as support by bands such as Haggard Cat and The Cold Stares – giving them the stage they deserve. In the next seven months, The Black Stone will release more songs from their upcoming EP Jamie, so keep an eye out for those!
Written by: Mandy Huibregtsen
Edited by: Ilse Muis
