Photos by Andy Argyrakis

When progressive metal was just getting off the ground in the late 1980s, King’s X were helping lay its foundation, on top of soul, funk, gospel, blues and British Invasion influences that truly made the trio unclassifiable.

Over four decades later, vocalist/bassist (and Braidwood, Illinois native) Doug Pinnick, vocalist/guitarist Ty Tabor and drummer Jerry Gaskill are still defying convention and keeping faithful guessing on “Three Sides Of One,” their first album in 14 years.

Together, King’s X held the iconic House Of Blues completely captive, which quickly turned into a “Groove Machine” as members furiously unfurled “The World Around Me,” “Pillow” and “Cigarettes.”

By comparison, current cuts such as “All God’s Children” and “Nothing But The Truth” took a somewhat stripped down approach yet maintained their metallic undercurrent, though head-bangers “Alright” and “Black Like Sunday” from the 2000s appeared hot on their respective heels.

“Let It Rain” and “Festival” were more aggressive examples of King’s X today, while “In The New Age” and “We Were Born To Be Loved” came across agelessly, despite dating back towards the very beginning.

As the 100-minute evening advanced, so did the complexity of the jams, plus it was regularly apparent how having a consistent line-up for so long contributed to everyone’s continuously evolving chemistry.

The melodic gem “It’s Love” kicked off the encore emphasizing the guys’ Beatles-esque harmonies, followed by the increasingly muscular “Dogman” that could’ve easily competed with any of the grunge groups populating the radio at the time of its release.

Then again, King’s X never really took a commercial approach or gained much of a mainstream audience, but to those in the know, the closer “Goldilox” was certainly a signature, and as anyone inside the House Of Blues could attest to as they literally sang the entire song themselves, these “musician’s musicians” remain razor sharp in all aspects of their execution.

For additional information on King’s X, visit KingsXRocks.com.

For a list of upcoming Live Nation concerts, visit LiveNation.com.

Upcoming concert highlights at the House Of Blues include Knox (Oct. 17); Rebecca Black (Oct. 23); The Wrecks (Oct. 24); Erik Vilar and Ed Wood (Oct. 24); Streetlight Manifesto (Oct. 25); She Wants Revenge (Oct. 26); Esteman & Daniela Spalla (Oct. 29); Winyah (Oct. 30); Akeem Ali (Oct. 31); James Tom (Nov. 1); Abbie Gamboa (Nov. 5); Basement (Oct. 6); The Music Of “Hey Arnold!” Live (Nov. 7); Better Than Ezra (Nov. 8); Michelle Branch (Nov. 10); Moonbloom (Nov. 12); Almost Monday (Nov. 13); Lucky Boys Confusion (Nov. 14); Saosin (Nov. 15); Skilla Baby (Nov. 17); Hawthorne Heights (Nov. 18); Jake Cornell (Nov. 19); Magic Honey (Nov. 20); Dax (Nov. 21); Yung Gravy (Nov. 22); Amorphis and Insomnium (Nov. 23); The Pineapple Thief (Nov. 27); Gnarls Barkley (Nov. 28) and Yaelokre (Nov. 29). For additional details, visit HouseOfBluesChicago.com.

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