Kingston Wall - I, II, III (Reissue, Limited Edition) (1992-94)

Founded in Helsinki, Finland in 1987 - Disbanded in 1994

This psych-rock trio inspired by the inventive guitar play of Petri Walli was formed in Helsinki in 1987. After a change of drummer, the permanent line-un consisted of Walli on guitar and vocals, new drummer Sami Kuoppamäki and bassist Jukka Jylli. Their influences are noticeably of the LED ZEP/ JIMI HENDRIX kind but they did manage to bring something new to the "stoner rock" sound. Releasing all of their albums on their own label (Trinity), they never really made it big but had a small cult following in Finland and Estonia. By the end of 1994, six months after the release of their third album, it seemed they were on the verge of breaking through when their leader, Walli, committed suicide by jumping off a church tower. That spelled the end for the band.

Their first album is perhaps their rawest whereas "Kingston Wall II", their most accomplished, features broader, more exotic textures, even some acoustic guitar. Also, the instrumental interplay is given freer reign than on the first album, allowing the pieces to stretch out more. It treats the listener to a variety of moods: soaring guitar pieces, quiet violin, LED ZEP-like blues and high-octane jamming. With the album "Tri-Logy", the band somewhat tried to distance themselves from hard-rock. It still features plenty of acid guitar but also includes drum machines; an interesting concept but perhaps not quite as convincing as "KW II". A word of caution: a fourth CD entitled "Freakout Remixes" was released in 2000. Don't expect to hear KW's fine play here: this is a kind of tribute by various artists who did a techno/trance remix of the band's material.