If you’ve yet to indulge in the music coming from Detroit’s high-energy Alt-Punk band Kaleido, then there is no better time to start than right now as the band has offered up a cover of one of the legendary Misfits most seminal numbers “Halloween”. Starting off with heavy chord from guitarist Johnson and some sweet intro drums by Fava, the track rolls over you with the necessary speed for a Punk number like this. Singer Chriss sings with her own register and doesn’t aim at emulating Danzig at all which is refreshing. While its sometimes necessary to do so, I prefer when a band plays a cover like this as themselves and I’ve been a fan of Christina’s voice for a number of years now. Continue reading “Halloween” (Single) by Kaleido→
Artist: Kerry King Title: “Residue” (Single) Label: Reigning Phoenix Music Date: 4/12/2024 Rating: 4/5
With just about a month to go before the release of the Kerry King debut album “From Hell I Rise”, its time to get another taste from it as the folks at Reigning Phoenix Music have delivered another single from the album. It was only a couple of months ago that I gave their first single “Idle Hands” a spin and clicking the hyperlinked text will let you see that one. As mentioned before, Kerry King has assembled a solid lineup that features Phil Demmel (Machine Head), Kyle Sanders (Hell Yeah), Mark Osegueda (Death Angel) and Paul Bostaph (Slayer) for the new album and touring cycle. While I don’t like to use the term “super group” since its been overused so very often, this truly amounts to one considering the lengthy Metal resumes that each of the players have coming in to the group. The latest track is titled “Residue” and starts off with some solid, driving drumming patterns from Bostaph before the truly head-banging riff takes over. As a drummer myself, I love the solid double-bass pattern that flows along with the riffs and as I listened a little more closely trying to envision this in the live sense I could almost envision the pit forming. Demmell is putting some great lead guitar work into the material while Mark sounds awesome and one of the main things that I like is that its not a Slayer 2 band but a group that’s managed to bring their individuality together and make it something special. Moments of thrashiness on top of slow chugging groove that ends up quite satisfying. I felt that I enjoyed both “Residue” and “Idle Hands” equally and cannot wait to hear the full on release. So far so good but if you are going to be stoic about this material not bringing you right into the Slayer moshpit then you might be a hard sell of it. Don’t be that Metalhead. Instead, sit back and crank it up and enjoy these players united for new Metal material. Continue reading “Residue” (Single) by Kerry King→
Artist: Kerry King Title: “Idle Hands” (Single) Label: Reigning Phoenix Music Date: 2/4/2024
I guess it was only a matter of time after Slayer decided to formally retire that we’d be getting some new music from their legendary founder Kerry King. King has assembled a super-powered lineup that features Phil Demmel (Machine Head), Kyle Sanders (Hell Yeah), Mark Osegueda (Death Angel) and Paul Bostaph (Slayer) and together they are ready to deliver some molten hot Metal on a still growing record label, Reigning Phoenix Music. The first track released from the group comes via “Idle Hands” and I’ve spun it a few times before penning these thoughts. It’s a nice and thrashy number and Mark does a great job with the vocals here and despite his years fronting Death Angel I didn’t feel that he sounded like he was from that band. Bostaph is as solid as ever and after so many years on the drums for Slayer surely knows how to keep the time paced nice and fast with King delivering the riffs. “Idle Hands” is an energetic track that I can see inspiring some circle pit activity in the fans at a live and if you are wondering if it sounds like a Slayer track, well it doesn’t at all. At least to me it didn’t, it sounded like a new chapter from the creative mind of King. Great lead guitar work from Demmel and solid bass from Sanders make me interested in what is yet to come. Continue reading “Idle Hands” (Single) by Kerry King→
Artist: The Unlikely Candidates Title: “Father Christmas” (Single) Label: Century Media Records Release Date: 11/9/2018 Genre: Holiday Rock Rating: 4/5
The Alt-Rock band The Unlikely Candidates have offered up their take on the 1977 holiday classic “Father Christmas” which was an original composition by the legendary British Rock band The Kinks. This was my first time hearing the band do anything and I was glad to find a holiday track from them since around this time of the year I love to offer up spirited narratives that fit best with the season. The original Kinks version surely rocks but how did The Unlikely Candidates do with it? Let’s discuss. Continue reading “Father Christmas” (Single) by The Unlikely Candidates→
Artist: King Diamond Title: “Masquerade Of Madness” (Single) Label: Metal Blade Records Release Date: 11/8/2019 Genre: Heavy Metal Rating:
It was only a few short hours ago that the legendary King Diamond took over NYC with a show at Brooklyn’s beautiful King’s Theatre. While we were not in attendance to be able to share much about the show with you, I did learn that a brand-new song called “Masquerade Of Madness” was performed mid-way through the show. Now that the clock has struck midnight, the rest of the world can absorb it via whatever their preferred streaming service might be. The song is available on all of them and comes care of Metal Blade Records. Let’s discuss in brief. Continue reading “Masquerade Of Madness” (Single) by King Diamond→