The gritty southern, stadium rockers have announced the release of their 6th studio endeavour, which is to be released on September 20th 2013 on RCA. The LP succeeds a three-year creative-hiatus that began with the birth of ‘Come Around Sundown’, a collection of lazy summer anthems, heat-stroked by the blaze of commercial glory they received for 2008’s ‘Only by the Night’, a success that saw Platinum and beyond sales in over 14 countries.

‘Mechanical Bull’ has a re-hashed brash, trashy twanging tonic to ease their fan’s withdrawal symptoms. It may not have the same boisterous balls of ‘Youth and Young Manhood’, ‘Aha Shake Heartbreak’ or ‘Because of the Times’, album’s that corroded a cult duct for the group before they spilt into the mainstream estuary, but it does have the visceral attitude of a biting, bruised comeback.

It’s clear that Kings of Leon were toying (on some plane) with the idea of reversion; Jared Followill told NME “I thought we were going to make a really mature album but I’m amazed how youthful it sounds.” The bassist described it as a ‘culmination’ of their sounds, the outcome being ‘musical complexity’. The band’s latter creations are full of rhythmical and harmonic weavings, an aura with a staunch identity founded upon subtle intricacy. It is important to note however, that Caleb, Matthew, Jared and Nathan seemed to value space, they may have harnessed a tenacious and relentless sound, but it certainly wasn’t soupy or overdone. Let’s hope that complexity doesn’t incur vagueness or convolution

. ‘Supersoaker’, the album’s sneak-preview single is certainly reminiscent; a bare, thudding snare, growling vocal moans, insistent bass and trill guitar melodies, but it seemingly has lost that love of restraint. As a precursor it is exciting, but the band still have a way to go before regaining a seat at the table’s head.