I saw To Kill A King (also referred to as TKAK) back in 2009 at a little open mic showcase in Hove, at the beginning of their musical journey together as a band. Fronted by the powerhouse that is Ralph Pellymounter, TKAK have certainly had a journey in the 16 years since then - five albums later, now with over 22k followers on Spotify and 30k collectively on Facebook and Instagram. You would expect that this new release would be the beginning of something else for them, and you would be correct - it's the beginning of the end. TKAK announced in 2024 that this album would be their final album together, aptly entitled 'The King Is Dead'. The track opens with a perfectly balanced Damien Rice-esque acoustic guitar, leading into some lovely vocable do-do-doos that will be the takeaway singalong hook to make people say, 'ooh, I know this one!'. The lead vocal is vulnerable, even pitchy at the start. It takes the listener to a Karma Police style chorus which expands the second time around into an epic soundscape middle 8 with multiple layers of guitars and vocals, before rounding off with those lovely vocables again. Apparently it gets easier, Ralph tells us. I have a feeling that he's yet to believe it.