on 2010-10-21 hstisgod Said:

I agree with you on this bro, Fans is the best, and it's ultra hard to go with one rhythm through a whole song and not bore me, but I couldn't agree more, the balance of their career.

"It's a darker affair but it suits the Kings Of Leon" should be tattooed on every page of this website!

Yo Nicholas, this album is their strongest increase of talent and focus, this latest (CAS) is not nearly as free and open. This happens with indie growth sometimes. Try not to take it personal and find another band on it's way, that's the hard and fun part.
Rating: 10/10

Review:

on 2008-03-12 Nicholas Smicholas Said:

What the fuck. The Kings of Leon started off awesome. And I mean awesome. They had a fucking sweet southern rock garage band vibe going. Every track on their other albums are so solid. Super catchy without being annoying, super tight without sounding simple, and just a little bit of crazyness in the singers voice to pull in the emotion without being distracting. Now take everything that I just said and replace my "withouts" with "but really" and that is the album "Because of the Times." It felt like they made some money on their last albums and spent it on some new effects pedals to use in their new album, thinking it would make it better, meanwhile the record company decides that the southern garage rock dude thing isn't cool anymore so they make them where tight black pants and more hair gel in their next music video so they look like emo vampires.

Goddamnit. I hope these guys grow some balls and say fuck you to the man and start being themselves again.

They are really talented and I just hope that "Because of The Times" was a product of them being naive and they can still get it back.
Rating: 3/10

Review:

on 2008-01-15 Dharma69 Said:

'Because Of The Times'(the title refers to an annual preachers' conference the boys attended growing up) contains Kings of Leon's first-ever album track that clocks in at longer than five minutes (Knocked Up..and despite the title it's actually a very romantic and ode-to- fatherhood song), the first song with vocal effects (On Call...the song that utterly charmed me), and the first one you might call an arena-rock anthem (Black Thumbnail...2:20 minutes into the song an ass-kicking bridge of music begins...bass and guiter, baby!). Then theres the breakneck McFearless,the reggae-smoother Ragoo, the scuzzyCharmer, and the slow-waltzing The Runner- a song so pretty, it's damn near a lullaby ('I talk to Jesus...Jesus says I'm okay'). This album is not KOL-business-as-usual as there's a lot less dirty South music going on here and, in comparison to their previous 2 albums, most of the songs are markedly slower but no less authentic and fearless in showing what good musicians they've truly become ('Arizona'....so lovely, a bit of the weeping guitar). The end results are a freer, looser, more expressive and expanded sounding KOL. Referencing 'On Call' again; it's got an emotive, slow-drag rock, textured, smokey, thumping, sexy, almost R&B, 'where the hell did that song come from?' thing going on as, from the first time that I heard it, it surprised me (and that's always a good sign) with how mature and groove-heavy it was yet complete with a full-bodied riff. Vocals...strong and flexing, as Caleb's voice is as fine instrument of character and textures. I tell you, even if I didn't like KOL that song would make me give them a second glance.
Rating: 9/10

Review:

on 2007-07-22 SolitaryMan Said:

This was my first experience with Kings Of Leon, and it's certainly impressive enough to warrant my diving into their back-catalog at some point. Their sound, to me, falls somewhere between bands like My Morning Jacket and Tom Petty...it has a classic-rock feel with modern production and aesthetic, and plenty of warm atmosphere. Many songs stand out, little filler to be found as full ideas are clearly displayed throughout. Like the original reviewer, my favorite song here is "Fans", the melodies (especially vocally) really work. I imagine this will appeal to just about any fan of rock in general, and I am very interested to see if their previous work matches or surpasses this.
Rating: 7/10

Review:

on 2007-04-13 christopherdrew Said:

It took me a while to warm up to these guys, as they reeked of 'Flavour Of The Week' when they first surfaced; since then, though, they've consistently improved in my view. This album's no different; a solid effort, full-blown rock with a lot of twists and no nonsense. Hell, 'Charmer' and 'On Call' channel the Pixies by way of Skynyrd, although Kim Deal's bass never growled like this. Fuckin' A.
Rating: 9/10