Kerry King - From Hell I Rise review
Band: | Kerry King |
Album: | From Hell I Rise |
Style: | Thrash metal |
Release date: | May 17, 2024 |
A review by: | omne metallum |
01. Diablo
02. Where I Reign
03. Residue
04. Idle Hands
05. Trophies Of The Tyrant
06. Crucifixation
07. Tension
08. Everything I Hate About You
09. Toxic
10. Two Fists
11. Rage
12. Shrapnel
13. From Hell I Rise
Hell awaits.
Well, it's finally here: years of anticipation, expectation and drama have come to fruition with the release of Kerry King's solo debut. With all the talk of who was behind the steering wheel in Slayer since Hanneman's passing, now not only do we get answers, we also get an album from one of the most influential musicians in the thrash genre with no filter on his ideas. From Hell I Rise has some hefty expectations to meet.
To address the obvious first, yes, it's Slerry King; it is latter day Slayer in all but name (with two songs written by King during the Repentless sessions to boot*). Is that a bad thing? Well, that's up to you: for those who want more Slayer in their lives, then good news; if people wanted something different? Sorry to say, but King hasn't taken the opportunity to spread his wings. It is a shame that, for all the talk and drama, From Hell I Rise wouldn't merit much attention if you were to strip away the name attached to it; it sits in that middle ground that sees it pushed to the back of the record collection while other records, for better or worse, pre-occupy people's attention.
Still, this isn't to say From Hell I Rise has nothing going for it; "Where I Reign" kicks things off on a high note, with guitar work that is more than atonal soloing, while "Toxic" manages to be just as powerful without keeping the tempos at full speed. "Crucifixation" feels like a song that King has written before, even down to the title; however, thanks to some frantic work by Bostaph, it sticks out as one of the stronger moments on the album. As they don't do much to stand out given they are pretty much used to fill the Slayer mold, Demmel and Sanders may not catch much kudos either way, but they do a good job at providing a platform for King.
For all the drama surrounding Araya and King's partnership, it is clear Kerry King sees Araya as the vocalist for his music, as From Hell I Rise has a surrogate vocalist in Araya's place in the form of Mark Osegueda. While Osegueda has done rough and gritty vocals in Death Angel and does a good job of it here ("Two Fists"), it feels like wasted potential that the album doesn't, at least occasionally, take advantage of Osegueda's range and try something different (although, to Osegueda's merit, he puts effort and passion into his performance).
Like latter-day Slayer, From Hell I Rise sounds like what we've heard before, but without that lightning-in-a-bottle riff or moment to really invigorate a track. It is clear there is a passion and anger here (the lyrics are certainly an improvement, and delivered with venom by Osegueda), but it isn't channeled in a memorable way; "Residue" is bland, while "Everything I Hate About You" sees the band fall into autopilot, though is thankfully short.
As I imagine many had expected, From Hell I Rise is a Slayer album in all but name. Unfortunately it is latter-day, not early years, Slayer, unlike I imagine most would want; hell, I'd have been happy with a Christ Illusion.
* "Rage" and "From Hell I Rise"
Rating breakdown
Performance: | 7 |
Songwriting: | 6 |
Originality: | - |
Production: | 8 |
| Written on 24.05.2024 by Just because I don't care doesn't mean I'm not listening. |
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