It’s been a long time coming, but with From Hell I Rise, Slayer’s Kerry King returns to the stage, and under his own name. In recent interviews, Kerry expressed a certain degree of surprise that he was not in demand among existing bands. On the one hand, it’s a fair point but, on the other, he’s one of metal’s most visible and outspoken characters, and with that comes baggage; not to mention the very real risk that Kerry would simply overshadow the band with his presence.
The first step for Kerry King was to find a band. And not just any band. It would have to be shit hot and, on this front, Kerry certainly delivered. With ex-Slayer drummer Paul Bostaph on board, Kerry recruited Death Angel singer Mark Osegueda, Hellyeah bassist Kyle Sanders, and ex-Machine Head six-stringer Phil Demmel. It’s a hell of a line up and, while Kerry’s name may be on the cover, he sensibly picked veterans capable of matching him every step of the way.
The album blazes into life with the stabbing riff of Diablo, a suitably satanic, instrumental scene-setter that paves the way for the frenetic Where I Reign. Delivered will all the piss ‘n’ vinegar that we’ve come to expect from Kerry, it’s a sonic battering ram, complete with dizzying Kerry King solo, and a throat-ripping vocal from Mark. Inevitably, comparisons will be drawn to Slayer – it was Kerry’s band for some four decades after all – but, in choosing a band of industry peers, Kerry found a group of musicians unlikely to be overawed into submission, and each gets to make their mark on the record, although there’s no doubting that it’s Kerry’s show. Keeping the pace brisk, Mark ups the ante, delivering a towering performance as Kerry digs into his God Hates Us All songbook to unleash a series of hulking great riffs, all underpinned by Paul’s typically relentless assault.
With no let up, the gruelling Idle Hands simply barrels ahead. Led by Kerry and Phil, and nailed by Paul’s double kick, the track sees Mark sounding uncannily like Tom Araya, with the result that it could easily sit on the much maligned Diabolous In Musica – an album that has received a degree of undue criticism over the years, despite having some absolute belters on it.
While not exactly slowing things down, Trophies Of The Tyrant adds both melody and groove to the mix, providing a much-needed change of pace, not to mention some impressive harmonised leads. Then, the first half concludes with the doom-laden Crucifixation, a title which bears all the more hallmarks of Kerry’s arch sense of humour. Nomenclature aside, it’s a brilliant track, boasting an unhinged vocal and an instrumental passage that is delivered with real panache, providing the perfect showcase, not only for the stunning twin lead work of Kerry and Phil, but also for Paul’s increasingly virtuoso drumming.
Kicking off the second half, the sub-three-minute Tension slowly builds over a minor-key riff, with Mark’s spoken-word vocals building the tension to fever pitch. It segues into the even shorter Everything I Hate About You. A lightning-fast burst of acid-edged riffing, it harks back to Slayer’s glory days, and it is guaranteed to set the pit alight when Kerry hits the stage. The pace slows once again for the crunchy Toxic, which picks up the groove and runs with it, only to run headlong into a chorus made of burnished steel. Fast and furious, Two Fists casts a nod towards the hardcore punk Slayer so enjoyed abusing on Undisputed Attitude, only for the aptly-named Rage to blow it out of the water, as Kerry leads his band down a back alley teeming with Slayer’s early output. In contrast, the lengthy Shrapnel has a doomy aspect, although it soon picks up momentum, emerging as one of the album’s darkest, heaviest cuts.
The album neatly concludes with the title track, and what could be seen as a mission statement for the band. I’d like to think that its 3:33 minute runtime was deliberate (a demi-hell?), but regardless, it’s a deliriously fast finale, putting a neat full stop at the end of Kerry’s first solo endeavour.
With From Hell I Rise, Kerry King makes a defiant return, delivering an album that’s more than worthy of his impressive legacy. Sure, it sounds like Slayer – how could it not – but since when was that a bad thing? Here we have one of thrash’s great progenitors, clearly having a blast in the studio, with a band comprising some of metal’s most respected players. While there may be few surprises on offer, From Hell I Rise feels like an act of consolidation, with future albums perhaps offering the opportunity for experimentation. Ultimately, those who love Slayer will absolutely love this, and in that band’s absence, this is a most welcome release from a guitarist unapologetically unleashing the sound he helped pioneer. 8.5/10
Review is just as terrible and insincere as the album. Any seasoned metalhead is going to find this record to be a yawn-inducing waste of time: as if anyone couldn’t tell that from the painfully generic, zero-effort cover art and the fact that we’re decades removed from even any interesting Slayer material.
This K.K. album is nothing but stock, rejected Slayer riffs performed with all the energy of a sloth going to sleep. Much, much poorer than even the worst Slayer album. I can only conclude this reviewer is new to metal or is lying for the $$$.
Why “Meatwater”, my cherub. What a remarkable comment. The inevitable corollary, of course, is that you are a metal expert, whose opinion is inviolate. In response to your musings, I offer the following.
1. If the review is insincere, the reviewer (who has been listening to metal for a good few decades), probably shouldn’t have gone out and bought the album. That feels like a step too far in the search to prove authenticity of feeling.
2. That you imagine that the label (or perhaps Kerry himself) appeared with a fistful of used-oncers, slipped into a brown envelope, only goes to show how lacking in awareness you are as to how the industry works.
3. We are far from the only site offering a positive review of the album. Presumably you are arrogant enough to believe that all of the reviewers have been bribed or are new to the wonderful genre of metal, purely because they disagree with your edgy take on the matter.
4. Music is subjective, old lemon. That’s the whole joy of it. You may hate the album, and we wouldn’t consider you wrong, bribed by a mysterious anti-Kerry lobby, or naive, because it’s your opinion. That’s rather how opinions work.
5. Last but surely not least, the fact that you claim Slayer are decades past any interesting material really shows a certain bias on your part. While you are far from the only person to have that opinion (please take note of this oft-repeated word in this missive and add it to your vocabulary), it does rather suggest that you really aren’t its audience. Given that the review mainly references new Slayer albums, you could even say we tacitly allude to the fact.
Now, if you’ll excuse us, we’re off for a cruise in the new Mercedes Kerry bought us as a thank you…