Kerry King From Hell I Rise

If I’m being honest, I wasn’t sure what to expect when I learned that Kerry King was going to start his own band. Sure, I knew it would sound like Slayer, how could it not? The issue I had was being worried about the choice of members to fill out the line up. I figured that he’d use Bostaph of Slayer drumming fame, he seems to be the safe bet for anything related to the Slayer camp these days. Yes, I prefer Lombardo, all day, every day, but Bostaph can get it done. I also figured King would grab up Gary Holt since they’d done such good work in Slayer on the last few releases/tours, but he didn’t. Instead, King, enlisted Phil Demmel which was a nice touch – he’s a great player and he’s been wearing the hired gun hat well the last few years. I believe it’s helped his playing; it’s certainly keeping him in front of people. I’m disappointed in the choice of Bassist for the effort though – Kyle Sanders. While Sanders is a product of my home state, a better player could’ve/should’ve been found. But if he was good enough for Vinnie Paul in Hell Yeah, he’ll do for Kerry King, right? Depends on how you feel about a rhythm section that already tends to paint by numbers. For what it’s worth, I didn’t care for Hell Yeah, it was a Hell No for me. However, I can look past the rhythm section fail due to the choice of vocalist Marc Osegueda of Death Angel!! When I read that’s who King had chosen for the vocalist spot, I knew everything else would work itself out as he’d chosen a legend in the Thrash scene. Osegueda, is a true titan in the Metal scene – Death Angel’s discography speaks for itself! 
 
I really took my time digging into King’s first solo album aptly entitled “From Hell I Rise”. I wanted to let it sink in and simmer. I didn’t want to just cast it off as a bunch of left over Slayer riffs and ideas. Yes, I hear Slayer in every track on the album, but after 40 plus years of being a primary song writer in Slayer, this is a given. I expect nothing less and I’d really be disappointed if I wasn’t catching Slayer vibes! Yes, I’ve read where several people have slagged the album due to it sounding like Slayer – to that I say WTF is wrong with you people? What did you expect? I’m quite pleased that King didn’t just grab up anyone and everyone and slap something together haphazardly. We may have wound up with something that sounded like Biohazard or Korn, not that there’s anything wrong with those bands, (I don’t care for them) but this is Kerry King of Slayer – expectations aren’t just high, they’re fucking huge! King doesn’t disappoint at all – this is an incredible nod to his past; he doesn’t shy away from his faster than the speed of light off-the-cuff lead breaks and his always stellar whammy bar dives. This album also shows off King’s Hardcore Punk influences, in a few tracks (“Two Fists” &” Everything I Hate About You”). Ferocious, very much in the vein of Undisputed Attitude but these tracks aren’t covers. There are also some vibes of leftover tracks from the album, Repentless. If I’m not mistaken though, I believe King himself said there were several ideas and tracks left over that would be re-worked for this effort. So, I’m not surprised or put out in any manner. And let me tell you why – the addition of Marc Osegueda on vocals is EVERYTHING to this album! I thought I’d heard just about everything Marc had to offer us, but man, was I wrong. He reached down in the pits of himself and conjured up his most aggressive output ever recorded. I, for one am feeling it, this might very well be one of my favorite pieces that he’s been a part of next to “Frolic Through the Park” & “The Ultra-Violence”. Stand out moments here are “Shrapnel” - it’s a non-stop scream fest with Osegueda leaning in and giving everything he has! I’m positive he was close to falling out, then again, you can’t attempt this sort of badassery without stamina and heart. Osegueda also shines bright on “Where I Reign” as well as title track “From Hell I Rise”.
 
For those who slagged this album, they didn’t take the time necessary to just listen and look past the names of the gentlemen who are responsible for it. Unfortunately, people want the wheel re-invented at every turn no matter who, what, where or how. As I mentioned earlier, this could’ve been so much worse, but it’s not, not at all. Next to the new Bat album, this is absolutely the Thrash album of the year! I don’t think there’s a release that could come close to dethroning “From Hell I Rise”, but I certainly welcome the challenge! If this is going to be the new output that Kerry King will be unleashing on us every few years, then I’m good with it!

~Black Angel