POP REVIEW : Sober Set of Intricate Rock From King’s X

Though most people might not have come up with power-trio rock ‘n’ roll as a suitable medium for sober reflection, there is in fact a long line of three-piece heavy-metal philosophers, culminating, of course, in the philosophical ditty-mongering of Rush.

And although Texas trio King’s X, which played the first of two nights at the Henry Fonda Theatre on Wednesday, burst onto the metal scene a few years ago as a brand-new kind of heavy, a sort of sophisticated dessert for people who cut their teeth on Metallica, the band was quickly recognized as an heir to that tradition, though the band’s inspiration seems to come more from C.S. Lewis’ mysticism than Ayn Rand’s objectivism.

At the Fonda on Wednesday, King’s X played an extremely sober set of its intricate hard rock, note-perfect, carefully conceived, all the i ‘s dotted and all the t ‘s crossed, close vocal harmonies exactly in tune. Like Rush, King’s X is fond of tuneless vocal melodies, extended riffs based on the rising pentatonic scale, and seemingly free-form jams expressed within precise moments of time.

Jerry Gaskill’s whomping backbeat was almost Bonham-like; Doug Pinnick’s bass had an appealing sort of broken-glass distortion that made every note sound like a distant power chord. There were constant guitar whinnies from Ty Tabor. There was never a moment when the band seemed as if it were about to go out of control, and the audience, much of which mouthed the words to every song, seemed ecstatic. But did the unconverted find it dull? You bet.