Kingfisher Sky – Feeding The Wolves

Kingfisher Sky
Feeding The Wolves
Out: November 8^th, 2024
Playing time: 43:41

Kingfisher Sky from the Netherlands will soon be celebrating their twentieth anniversary as a band. Officially founded in 2005, only singer Judith Rijnveld and drummer Ivar de Graaf are still with the band. The band’s sound is very unique, a mixture of Melodic Metal, Progressive and Folk Rock. The last album ‘Technicoloured Eyes’ was released in 2018, in between there were only a few EPs, some of them acoustic. The current album ‘Feeding The Wolves’ was released at the beginning of November. The production was pre-financed via crowdfunding.

The title track ‘Feeding The Wolves’ opens the album. Strings, flute and piano introduce the song. Incidentally, the flute is played by Troy Donockley (Nightwish). Judith Rijnveld sings in a duet with Edward Reekers, a well-known musician in his homeland of the Netherlands. In Germany, you might recognise him from the Langnese adverts. An overall calm, sensitive song with subtle drums. ‘Fade Away’ is a little faster. Guitars can be heard at the beginning, accompanying Judith’s uniquely beguiling voice. You can admire her vocal range here. ‘Nobody Else Is Watching’ sounds a little experimental at the beginning with some sound gimmicks and recorded spoken words. The singer is accompanied by acoustic guitars. The initially spartan instrumentation later becomes more powerful. Synth staccatos introduce ‘It Never Ends’. These can also be heard later in the background. The singer sometimes sings with a darker timbre and is accompanied by slightly funky-sounding guitars and string tapestries. ‘Bess’ is a quiet ballad in which acoustic guitars underlay Judith Rijnveld’s ethereal vocals. Even though synth strings, drums and electric piano are added later on. ‘Distant Memories’ starts with piano and keyboard tapestries and also has a ballad-like character. Once again, Judith can be admired in a lower vocal range. After a quiet start, ‘Because It’s You’ moves into the mid-tempo range. Some harder riffs can be heard during the vocals. The chorus later on is very catchy and sounds upbeat. ‘Dormancy’ is another one of the quieter songs. The flute and uilleann pipes (Irish bagpipes) are used discreetly here. This gives the song a strong Folk Rock edge. In contrast to this, ‘Embrace The Moment’ rocks lively. Every Rock fan will immediately feel at home here. A catchy song with distinctive riffs. And the tempo and rhythm changes continue. ‘Vertigo’ is a little quieter again, but has its rocking moments, especially when the singer is accompanied by guitar riffs. There is also a melodic guitar solo. At the very end, we hear another ballad with ‘Big Dipper’. Once again, acoustic guitars characterise the sound, accompanied by keyboard tapestries and tapestries of strings.

‘Feeding The Wolves’ is mostly dominated by calm and contemplative tones. However, there are also one or two journeys into the Rock realms. Thanks to the instrumentation with violin, viola, cello and various flutes and even bagpipes, fans of Folk Rock should also feel at home. As I already noticed on the EP ‘Rise’, the songs may sound like one piece, but the differences in tempo and rhythm between the individual songs are quite large. This is what Progressive Rock sounds like in the colours of Kingfisher Sky. And this diversity, indeed multi-colouredness, is aptly characterised in the album’s artwork.

Kingfisher Sky – Fade Away: https://youtu.be/ZwdjdLDm_3Y?si=Z4krM4YdN_P95wbb

Lineup:

Judith Rijnveld – Vocals
Ivar de Graaf – Drums
Erik van Ittersum – Keys
Edo van der Kolk – Guitar
Maaike Peterse – Cello
Nick Verschoor – Bass Guitar

Guests:

Edward Reekers – Vocals on “Feeding The Wolves”
Troy Donockley – Uilleann Pipes on “Dormancy”, High Flute of “Vengeance”, Low Flute of Justice on “Feeding The Wolves”
Ruben Margarita – Violin, Viola
Bouke Visser – Flute on “Dormancy”
Esmée van Vliet – Backing Vocals on “Dormancy”

Track list:

• Feeding the Wolves
• Fade Away
• Nobody Else is Watching
• It Never Ends
• Bess
• Distant Memories
• Because it’s You
• Dormancy
• Embrace the Moment
• Vertigo
• Big Dipper