Stephen
German traditional hard rock outfit, Kingdom Come, was despised as merely a Led Zeppelin clone when they came to the scene in 1988. The similarity in their sound and Wolf's voice are the main reason of this accusation, but the sophomore follow-up, "In Your Face", answered the doubt of whether Kingdom Come has the guts to reinvent their style or not. Out of ten tracks that were mainly written by Lenny Wolf, couple of tracks still can't escape the shadows of Zeppelin such as "The Wind" or "Highway 6", but the band began to show a positive improvement.
The opening, "Do You Like It?" puts Wolf's commanding vocal on top of Stag/Steier killer licks. This song has a memorable lines and I hardly think there's a single song on this album that can top this. The second best song is "Gotta Go (Can't Wage A War)", a midtempo blasting track with catchy hooks. "Stargazer" is another uptempo epic with a superb Verse/Chorus combo. James Kottak, whom later joined Scorpions, is behind the drum kit and he provided a dynamic beat to the band, from the blues-based slowtempo of "Just Like A Wild Rose" to the classic rock heavily-influenced "Overrated". If you like ballads, "Who Do You Love" and "Mean Dirty Joe" are worth checking.
The non-typical late 80s hard rock style can be a fresh breathe. Wolf's vocal is unmistakably awesome, the rhythm section is exceptionally tight, and the production is also very good. However, most of the songs are quite predictable and the band is still struggling with the originality issue. For fans of Led Zeppelin, Dio, and traditional heavy rock, "In Your Face" is a valuable goody, but fans of late 80s glam metal should also be able to appreciate the vintage classic rock style to enjoy this.