Red King - Red King II
We’ve been through the powerviolence revival, the screamo revival, and even the sasscore revival, so digital hardcore was starting to feel inevitable. And why not? Punk, hardcore, and even extreme metal are all at peak popularity, and dance music’s more explorative tendencies have catapulted as well. Bands such as New York’s Machine Girl and Deli Girls have exploded in popularity, pushing the genre’s boundaries further into the absurd. Similarly artists such as Street Sects and Youth Code have helped to renew interest in EBM and industrial through infusing it with a hardcore twist.
Philly’s own Red King sits somewhere at the intersection of the two. Emerging with their first EP Cop Killer in 2023, the duo started out as fairly straight digital hardcore. Synth tones borrowed from the likes of synthwave mainstays Pertubator were complimented by drum machines asked to do their best Bill Stevenson impersonation. Things were frenetic, quick, and cathartic, with groove or any true element of dance music left by the wayside.
The eponymous Red King II, released just yesterday, takes the opposite approach. While there is still the fair share of digitized d-beats, Red King ultimately opts to slow things down a bit. “PORCH” variably swings between the two, creating a stark collage that’d fit nicely into the HEALTH-curated Cyber Punk soundtrack. Red King then follows this by showing off their new found fondness for hooks amidst the chaos. “NECK” provides a verifiable Nine Inch Nails synth lead before slipping into the goth club flirtations of “ANIMALS”.
“EYSD” closes things out with a bang as Red King opts to save their most ambitious composition for last. A myriad blend of all that came before it, “EYSD” sways with a haunting EBM-meets-electropop combination that would do Philadelphia legends Experimental Products proud. With Red King II, Red King revisits and refines their influences to create a more diverse sound. It pays dividends for them as they continue to grow and define their musical identity.
