Review: Kingdom - Long Live The King

Kingdom's concept is still one of the most interesting within the K-Pop world, focusing on famous monarchs from world history. I'd suggest anyone new to the concept to check out this post by me about the various kings the story is based on. Long Live The King is the video for member Louis, and to be fair, I see no resemblance to the song's inspiration, Louis XIV of France, minus the vaguely period outfits.

Thankfully, Long Live The King is musically much more interesting than conceptually. At the same time, it has a habit of stepping over itself at the most inopportune moments. As much works in this song as much as that doesn't.

One of the things that works best here is the chorus. Dramatic and towering, it soon morphs into an aggressive battle cry. This shouldn't work, but it morphs itself into the best moment in Kingdom's burgeoning discography. Its various repetitions peak in a ridiculously epic climax, putting together all the elements together for a segment that, while mildly overblown, works well enough to be highly appealing.

Unfortunately, the song lacks many moments that live up to this drama. The opening moments of the first verse hint at disco-funk, but the song largely abandons this for dramatic string-infused hooks. This could work, but none of these hooks land at all. A disastrous second-verse rap breakdown only worsens things.

Kingdom's Long Live The King is, for the most part, solid. Unfortunately, that makes its missteps all the more noticeable. Hopefully, Kingdom's producers can work out on ironing the material shown here, leading to the grand track the group has always been capable of providing.

Rating: 7.5/10

Purchase Long Live The King and its accompanying album, The History of Kingdom V: Louis, right here!

Image Source: The Bias List