''Dogman'' is the fifth studio album by American heavy metal/ hard rock trio

King's X King's X is an American rock band that originated in 1979 in Springfield, Missouri. They were first called The Edge and later became Sneak Preview before settling on its current name in 1985. The band's current lineup has remained intact for ...

, released in 1994. It marks the band's second album under

Atlantic The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the "Old World" of Africa, Europe an ...

and their first to not be produced by

Sam Taylor Samuel, Sam or Sammy Taylor (male first name) may refer to: Arts * Sam Taylor (director) (1895–1958), American film director and screenwriter * Samuel W. Taylor (1907–1997), American author * Samuel A. Taylor (1912–2000), playwright and scre ...

; instead, the album was produced by Brendan O'Brien (who had recently worked with

Pearl Jam Pearl Jam is an American rock band formed in Seattle, Washington, in 1990. The band's lineup consists of founding members Jeff Ament (bass guitar), Stone Gossard (rhythm guitar), Mike McCready (lead guitar), and Eddie Vedder (lead vocals, ...

Stone Temple Pilots Stone Temple Pilots (also known by the initialism STP) is an American rock band from San Diego, California, that originally consisted of Scott Weiland (lead vocals), brothers Dean (guitar) and Robert DeLeo (bass, backing vocals), and Eric K ...

and

The Black Crowes The Black Crowes are an American rock band formed in Atlanta, Georgia, in 1984. Their discography includes eight studio albums, four live albums and several charting singles. The band was signed to Def American Recordings in 1989 by producer G ...

). ''Dogman'' signaled a heavier direction for King's X and, with strong approval from both critics and fans, is often considered one of their best works.

Background and recording

According to frontman

Doug Pinnick Douglas Theodore Pinnick (born September 3, 1950), sometimes stylized as dUg Pinnick or simply dUg, is an American musician best known as the bass guitarist, co-lead vocalist, and songwriter for the hard rock and progressive metal band King's ...

, while longtime King's X producer Sam Taylor had a big influence on the band's sound, he never captured the heaviness of their live performance in the studio. Taylor ended production duties with King's X after four albums. When the high-profile Brendan O'Brien approached King's X about creating an album together, the band enthusiastically accepted. In the end the band actually favored some of the demos over the final songs, and these would later be released as ''Dogman Demos'' in 2005. Nevertheless, working with O'Brien was a satisfying experience for King's X. In 1999, Pinnick described "Black the Sky" as his new "standard to

mix Mix, mixes or mixing may refer to: Persons & places * Mix (surname) ** Tom Mix (1880-1940), American film star * nickname of Mix Diskerud (born Mikkel, 1990), Norwegian-American soccer player * Mix camp, an informal settlement in Namibia * ...

to" due to its "big and fat" sound that simulated the band's live performance.

Music and lyrics

Although their previous self-titled effort featured dark themes and aggressive musicianship, ''Dogman'' was considerably heavier than previous albums and marked a transition in the band's sound. In 1999,

reflected, "For me personally, the ''Dogman'' record is what King's X really sounds like. The self-titled record was a step and an eye-opener and after that we could just make our music." Along with the heavier sound - and in contrast to the occasionally uplifting Christian themes of earlier King's X albums - Pinnick's lyrics expressed his building frustration with religion. " l of the records", he stated in 2005, "are always me questioning 'Is this really it?' because I grew up in a religious family all my life and I have always been going: something ain’t right here. So I have always sung about what I thought wasn’t right - my confusion and my disillusion with it. And then finally when ''Dogman'' came out I just spewed it all out. I was pissed at that point. Everybody was like: 'he’s not Christian anymore.' Everybody got freaked out."

Touring and promotion

''Dogman'' was promoted with performances including

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and opening slots for

Mötley Crüe Mötley Crüe is an American heavy metal band formed in Los Angeles in 1981. The group was founded by bassist Nikki Sixx, drummer Tommy Lee, lead guitarist Mick Mars and lead singer Vince Neil. Mötley Crüe has sold over 100 million albu ...

, the

Scorpions Scorpions are predatory arachnids of the order Scorpiones. They have eight legs, and are easily recognized by a pair of grasping pincers and a narrow, segmented tail, often carried in a characteristic forward curve over the back and always end ...

and

Type O Negative Type O Negative were an American gothic metal band formed in Brooklyn, New York City in 1989 by Peter Steele (bass, lead vocals), Kenny Hickey (guitar, co-lead vocals), Josh Silver (keyboards, backing vocals), and Sal Abruscato (drums, per ...

. The album artwork by Leon Alvarado was released in four color variations: red, yellow, green, and blue. The album's title track was its first single and

music video A music video is a video of variable duration, that integrates a music song or a music album with imagery that is produced for promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a music marketing devi ...

. According to Doug Pinnick, " Dogman" received strong radio rotation in

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but the lack of a hit single hampered the album's commercial success.Doug Pinnick interview from March 1999
SteveLawson.net (March 1999). Retrieved on 1-16-11. To date, "Dogman" remains King's X's last charting single, peaking at number 20 on the

Mainstream Rock Mainstream rock (also known as heritage rock) is a radio format used by many commercial radio stations in the United States and Canada. Format background Mainstream rock stations represent the middle ground between classic rock and active rock ...

chart. The album produced three more singles: "Fool You", "Pillow" and the radio-only "Pretend", but none charted. A concert in

Dallas, Texas Dallas () is the third largest city in Texas and the largest city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States at 7.5 million people. It is the largest city in and seat of Dallas County wi ...

was filmed during the ''Dogman'' tour and released as a two-disc CD entitled ''Live & Live Some More'' via Molken Music in 2007.

Critical reception

''Dogman'' was critically well-received upon its release. Chuck Eddy of ''

Entertainment Weekly ''Entertainment Weekly'' (sometimes abbreviated as ''EW'') is an American digital-only entertainment magazine based in New York City, published by Dotdash Meredith, that covers film, television, music, Broadway theatre, books, and popular cult ...

'' described the heavier sound as "less muddled than ing's X's previousattempts at Beatles-derived

psychedelic pop Psychedelic pop (or acid pop) is pop music that contains musical characteristics associated with psychedelic music. Developing in the late 1960s, elements included "trippy" features such as fuzz guitars, tape manipulation, backwards recording, ...

", and in a 4/5 star review,

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the dat ...

's Alex Henderson praised the varied musical styles despite the album's heaviness, noting that King's X "addresses spiritual concerns without trying to force its beliefs on anyone."

Accolades

Track listing

Chart performance

Singles - Billboard (North America)

Personnel

;King's X *

– lead vocals, bass *

Ty Tabor Ty Tabor ( ; born September 17, 1961) is the lead guitarist, songwriter, and co-lead vocalist for the progressive metal band, King's X. Tabor has a wide-ranging guitar style, from big guitar riffs to middling melodic passages. His use of volum ...

– guitar, backing vocals *

Jerry Gaskill Jerry Wayne Gaskill (born December 27, 1957) is an American rock musician who is the drummer for King's X. History Gaskill has been interested in making music and playing drums for as long as he can remember. His father bought him his first ...

– drums, backing vocals ;Production *Recorded by Nick DiDia *Mixed by Brendan O'Brien except "Manic Depression" mixed by Nick DiDia. *Keyboards and percussion: Brendan O'Brien *Recorded at Southern Tracks, Atlanta, GA. *Mastered by Bob Ludwig at Gateway Studios, Portland ME *Art Direction: Leon Alvarado *Design: Leon Alvarado, Randy Rogers *Photography: Catherine Wessel

References

External links

Official King's X Site
Accessed on July 10, 2005.

Accessed on April 26, 2006.
site francophone
Accessed on July 24, 2006. {{Authority control King's X albums Atlantic Records albums 1994 albums Albums produced by Brendan O'Brien (record producer)