Hamburg’s melodic dark-rockers Moonarch turn greed, technology and societal collapse into a stadium-sized warning shot. “King Of Nothing” arrives with stomping guitars, soaring vocals and enough dramatic atmosphere to make the apocalypse feel like it deserves its own arena tour.
The track imagines a dystopian world wrecked by the greed of its rulers and humanity’s increasingly obsessive relationship with technology. The kings remain, the magnificent buildings remain, the enormous thrones remain and, rather inconveniently, everyone they were supposed to rule has disappeared. Congratulations, your kingdom is now a very expensive empty building. It’s about the right kind of epic for a band whose sonic palette is all about space, and Moonarch, who are melodic dark rockers, “King of Nothing” is both squarely within that statement and full of it. Stomping guitars are the backbone that push the tune forward, and synths and keyboards provide an air of desolation all around the periphery of its sound. Meanwhile, melody from guitars guides the songs towards their massive conclusions, adding that modern big stadium production style. Finally, the vocals, an absolute best fit for this type of bombast, switch between sweeter, lower registered pieces and truly massive, wailing high parts
What makes “King Of Nothing” work, though, is that the music does not simply sit underneath the message. The band’s arrangement gives the song its own sense of escalation. The guitars and drums create a physical stomp, while the synths and choral elements push everything toward something grander and more ominous. It is easy to imagine the chorus being designed for a crowd to yell back at the band while several thousand people collectively contemplate the downfall of humanity.
Despite its enormous subject matter, “King Of Nothing” feels built from a straightforward rock impulse: find a riff, make it bigger, then ask how catastrophically large the thing can become.
The answer is: pretty damn large.
There is also something refreshing about a dystopian rock song that understands the appeal of its own ridiculousness. Yes, we are talking about rulers sitting on magnificent thrones in the ruins of civilization. Yes, technology has apparently helped get us here. All true, but Moonarch commits to the premise completely and that commitment gives the song its charm.
“King Of Nothing” ultimately works because its warning is simple enough to understand even beneath all the guitars: power means very little when there is nobody left to impress. Build the biggest kingdom imaginable, fill it with machines, surround yourself with monuments to your own greatness and you can still end up alone.
Moonarch just happens to provide that lesson with enough riffs and soaring vocals to make the apocalypse sound fantastic.
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About the Author
A tenured media critic known working as a ghost writer, freelance critic for various publications around the world, the former lead writer of review blogspace Atop The Treehouse and content creator for Manila Bulletin.
