Review: “Parting Shots” by King Street

London is home to Metallic Hardcore crew Street King, a five piece who have been making threatening noises since 2020’s “Original Sin” broke lose on atmospheric re-entry and left a crater in the back yard. Engineered by Matt Darby, otherwise known as the bassist of London Death Metal band Ancient Rivalry, their latest burnt offering “Parting Shots” was recorded at Persopolis Studios in Chelmsford Essex during the summer of 2025. Mixed and mastered by Anthony Burke (War Nerve, Watch You Fall, Detention), its the follow up to 2024 album “War Scrolls“, an effort which has a stellar cast of guest vocal appearances gracing it…

A classic crushing Metallic Hardcore introduction piece “Still Bleed” dispenses will the vocals and instead finds Wesley Snipes setting the scene with a classic quote from the 1998 vampire movie Blade: “You better wake up. The world you live in is just a sugar-coated topping! There is another world beneath it: the real world. And if you wanna survive it, you better learn to pull the trigger!”. Its a deeply satisfying moment because both the drum sound and guitar sound are phenomenal, meaning the track is very much the push that makes you want to move before “Life Betrays Us” slaps you hard across the face. Roaring out the gate with classic Hatebreed vibes, this one has the chant along chorus of “Lit the match, watched it burn, no regard for lessons learned” and the pummelling grooves in pure Beatdown Hardcore make it undeniably good. The downtempo moment in the pouring rain that brings it to its bitter end is the icing on the metaphorical cake, bridging the gap to “Salvation” perfectly. Alex Lee of Agency joins the party for an adrenaline rush of a cameo on the cut, a classic Hardcore lyrical narrative of grit and integrity about fighting day to day just to survive matched to bludgeoning percussive battery and heavy hitting riffs. Its the variation in the rhythmic patterns that makes each track a stone cold winner, the band mixing it up with poise, power and persistence, never afraid to strike while the iron is hot. Title track “Parting Shots” hits like Biohazard at their peak, the five piece embracing the Brooklyn beat with a fearfully addictive catchy chorus to match their aggressive tendencies. A tour de force to delight the two steppers “Honour the Few” is a breathless piece with a catchy scream-a-long chorus that feels like it’s built on the ethic of albums like “Stay True” from Deez Nuts with the power of Deathcore never too far away. The gang chanted parts in the final third are so damn powerful that it beggars belief. Performed at the New Cross Inn in London on 5th July 2025 with live vocals from Vince Wills of Crippler a cover of the final track from their 2012 demo in “Crippler LBU” brings the house down. Rather than feeling like a needless addition it makes you want the full set to be issued by Rucktion Records because its that good [8/10]

Track Listing

1. Still Bleed
2. Life Betrays Us
3. Salvation (ft. Alex Lee of Agency)
4. Parting Shots
5. Honour the Few
6. Crippler LBU (Live) (ft. Vince Wills of Crippler)

“Parting Shots” by King Street is out 26th January 2026 via Rucktion Records and is available over at bandcamp.