It’s been a long time coming, but damn the return of Killer Be Killed is a welcome one. Picking up where 2014’s self-titled effort tantalizingly left off, the core trio of Greg Puciato, Max Cavalera and Troy Sanders have been joined by Ben Koller (replacing Dave Ellitch) for a ferocious, eleven song blast that firmly cements the chemistry that was displayed so well on the debut.
A robotic voice introduces the all-guns-blazing opener, Deconstructing Self-Destruction, which makes fantastic use of the three vocalists on offer and delivers a bruising restatement of the band’s remit. With Greg and Troy perfectly complimenting each other, it’s left to Max to provide the track with its bludgeoning power, his gruff bark strategically deployed to make best use of its impact, and the end result is spectacularly effective. Dream Gone Bad takes Mastadon at their heaviest and throws in a series of surprisingly tangential thrash riffs, which sees Ben Koller doing his best to reduce his kit to matchwood. That said, it’s the aptly-titled Left Of Centre that really grabs the listener by the neck and slams them hard against the wall, the crawling lead work scarring the surface of the track as the central riff drives straight on through. Ben leads the charge on the mesmerizing Inner Calm From Outer Storms, a track that initially recalls the tribal might of neurosis, only to suddenly chase its tail down a hitherto unnoticed gap between Mastadon and Dillinger Escape Plan’s more experimental aspirations. In contrast, Filthy Vagabond wastes no time on subtlety. Delivered with all the force of an aural trepanning, it even finds time for an AC/DC-style gang chorus amidst the violence, just to ram home the point that anything goes within this endlessly creative quartet.
The stabbing riff that opens the lengthy From A Crowded Wound creates a sense of tension, which the band soon exploit with whip-crack drums a churning bassline, building to a monstrous, doom-laden piece that owes a debt to the darkness of vintage Sabbath. An album highlight, thanks to its deftly-woven harmonies and harrowing screams, it pretty much captures the band’s multifaceted approach to song writing in one, epic song. If the choral introduction to The Great Purge seems out of place, it is soon swept away on a tide of crystalline riffs and pounding percussion, although the track switches tone on a knife edge, constantly wrong-footing the listener as to where it will head next. Max’s influence is all over the crushing Comfort From Nothing, although it’s an Alice In Chains-style harmony from Troy and Greg that dominates the verse. Here, as with the opening track, it is the juxtaposition of vocal styles that works so well, and the track is sure to get heads banging everywhere. A short piece, Animus is all squealing feedback leading into a grind-infused blur – blink and you’ll miss it, and, if it initially sounds like Dead Limbs is attempting to out-bludgeon Megadeth, the band are a step ahead of the game, returning to that melodic Alice-In-Chains-Meets-Sabbath vibe that proved so effective on Comfort From Nothing. The album ends with its lengthy title track. A powerful summation and a vision of to where the band might head next, Reluctant Hero has it all – memorable melodies, carefully woven harmonies, gargantuan riffs and expert musicianship. An anthem that you could easily imagine hitting the airwaves despite the fact that it offers not a hint of compromise on the fundamental weight of the band’s output, it’s a perfect example of how Killer Be Killed are able to draw on their collective experience to craft enduring material that is accessible without being easy.
A varied and exciting album, Reluctant Hero builds upon the promise of a debut that looked increasingly likely to be a one-off. Although the band does, to some extent, combine the melodic nous of Mastadon, the ferocious rhythmic devastation of Converge and Dillinger Escape Plan and the raw bludgeoning power of Soulfly, Killer Be Killed offers much more than that, tipping the nod to Sabbath, Alice in Chains and Napalm Death and proving themselves both diverse and capable in the process. A strangely easy listen, despite the sonic twists and turns on offer, Reluctant Hero is an album that, remarkably, proves to be greater than the sum of its parts. 9.5/10
