King's X is an American rock power trio formed in Springfield, Missouri, whose origins trace back to 1979 when bassist and vocalist Doug Pinnick and drummer Jerry Gaskill were brought together by Greg Volz of the Christian rock band Petra for a musical project that dissolved within a month of Pinnick's arrival from Illinois. Rather than going their separate ways, Pinnick and Gaskill stayed in Springfield and landed work as the rhythm section for guitarist Phil Keaggy's live touring band. At a Springfield show, Gaskill was approached by Ty Tabor, a guitarist from Pearl, Mississippi, who had grown up playing bluegrass and was performing with a local band. The three began playing together in 1980 under the name The Edge, working the Springfield bar and club circuit doing Top 40 covers before shifting to original material under the name Sneak Preview, releasing a self-titled album of originals in 1984. In 1985 the band relocated to the Houston area with the promise of a record deal that fell through, but there they met Sam Taylor, vice president of ZZ Top's production company, who became their mentor, convinced them to rename themselves King's X, and helped secure a deal with Megaforce Records in 1987.
Their first three albums under the King's X name are among the most critically esteemed and musically adventurous records of the late 1980s and early 1990s. Out of the Silent Planet (1988), whose title comes from a C.S. Lewis novel, introduced a sound that confounded genre categories: heavy guitar riffs informed by hard rock and progressive metal, a deep rhythmic funk pulse driven by Pinnick's bass playing, three-part vocal harmonies drawing equally on gospel, soul, and British Invasion pop, and lyrics steeped in spiritual questioning and Christian faith without the sentimentality of Christian rock. Gretchen Goes to Nebraska (1989), a concept album based on a short story by Gaskill, deepened everything the debut had established and is widely regarded as one of the definitive progressive metal records of the era. Faith Hope Love (1990) was their commercial breakthrough, reaching number 85 on the Billboard 200, going gold in the United States, and producing It's Love which hit number six on the Mainstream Rock chart — their highest charting single. The band toured as the opening act for AC/DC and Living Colour at the peak of their respective popularity. A self-titled Atlantic Records album followed in 1992 and Dogman in 1994, which took a harder and more stripped-down approach produced by Brendan O'Brien.
The band's influence on the generation of artists who defined the 1990s alternative and grunge explosion is documented and widely acknowledged. Pearl Jam bassist Jeff Ament said plainly that "King's X invented grunge." Alice in Chains, Soundgarden, The Smashing Pumpkins, Pantera, and Dream Theater have all cited the band as a significant influence. The irony was not lost on anyone: the band that helped create the conditions for grunge found themselves commercially out of step once grunge dominated the market. They continued releasing albums through the 1990s and 2000s on Metal Blade and other labels, including Ear Candy (1996), Tape Head (1998), and Ogre Tones (2005), and all three members have pursued extensive solo and side project work. Pinnick and Tabor in particular have released acclaimed solo records. The band continues to tour and perform with the same trio that has been together since 1980.
Wayne Dennon photographed King's X as part of an archive that documents rock's most genuinely original voices. There is no other band that sounds like King's X — the combination of Pinnick's gospel-drenched bass and vocals, Tabor's melodic guitar work, and Gaskill's pocket drumming produces something that has never been replicated, only influenced, and the depth of that influence on the music of the past four decades is still being properly accounted for.
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