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- Bands:
KERRY KING - Duration: 00.46:34
- Available from: 05/17/2024
- Label:
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Reigning Phoenix Music
Streaming not yet available
As we have already had the opportunity to say in our podcast dedicated to this album and Slayer’s return to the scene (here is the link), there is nothing that disappoints expectations in Kerry King’s debut album, but inevitably there aren’t any too many moments of exhilarating surprise.
Simply, as was logical to expect, “From Hell I Rise” is the album that we could have expected from Slayer themselves in 2024: the songwriting is in pure King style, just like on “Repentless”, Bostaph’s style is unmistakable and has also characterized a third of the band’s releases, with all due respect to those who thought “no Lombardo, no Slayer” (and the writer admits to being of this school…), while the remaining members of the band perform their task without flaw.
On bass we find a thundering Kyle Sanders (Hellyeah), while on second (but often first, to be precise) guitar there isn’t exactly the latest arrival, given that we’re talking about Phil Demmel. And here there is no point in making comparisons with Hanneman, given that Gary Holt has already demonstrated that one can duet with King in different ways, without causing dismay among fans.
Finally, Mark Osegueda is the potentially most divisive choice, at least in terms of appreciation: his characteristic voice is exploited in very various registers, he frequently pursues Araya’s wickedness, but very often an almost thrashcore direction prevails, even playful, yet effective (” Residue”, or “Trophies Of The Tyrant”, perhaps the most divergent piece of the lot).
Once the organization chart is finished, and given the premise, there is little to say about the songs: the ability to write songs is there, and it would be sincerely incorrect to underline the prevalence of craft over brilliant ideas (“Where I Reign”, “Toxic” ) in a musician who defined the coordinates of the genre over forty years ago, or the obvious references to Slayer, who nevertheless give joy in several songs: from the initial “Diablo”, a midtempo that evokes many memories, passing through the very rhythmic ” Idle Hands”, the backbone remains the same until the end of the album, obviously with particular reference to the more furious side of the Huntington Park band, which has always been Kerry’s prerogative: nomen omenlisten to “Rage”, where a certain Teutonic thrash intransigence also appears.
All things considered, if you were expecting a miracle, expressed as a new “Reign In Blood” or as the discovery of an unprecedented, sensational sound of new revelation by Kerry King, you will be severely disappointed; if instead the awareness of the path taken over the years by Slayer prevails, it is certainly a record that can be listened to several times. And no big deal if, given other events, he will also be the only one to come out in the name of Kerry King alone.
