Remember when there was a boom of supergroups not too long ago where it felt like every other musician in a bigger band was coming together to create a fresh name the likes of which, ideally, would make the whole world of metal a much larger place. It wasn’t often that we got something that was actually worth a lot of the press that each of them got for many reasons whether or not a great sense of being underwhelmed was one of them. When Killer Be Killed came around, there were very few people who could argue against the fact that the band was one of the few who truly embodied the idea of the supergroup, and it was the follow-up to their bombastic debut that many of us were waiting for.
I’ve always felt that to ask for another work like what we got with the band’s eponymous debut would be to asking for something that was almost sure to never happen so easily. With four greatly noted and well-respected musicians coming together under one name to craft something that can’t quite exactly be likened to anything else out there, big band or small, and their creative minds would never allow them to replicate what they had done six years ago. In every moment of “Reluctant Hero”, we not only see the progression of Killer Be Killed as one unit but, rather, the evolution is something that’s almost certainly greater in every facet. The riffs that we’re treated to here are as potent as ever, the triple set of vocals is just as dynamic as you’d imagine, and the musicianship is about as top-notch as we’d fathom. All is par for the course when considering everything that Killer Be Killed is capable of, but across the dynamic soundtrack and the potent emotion that comes seething through every song with the grand intoxication factor being something that comes later but is just as enthralling, “Reluctant Hero” wastes no time in conquering the listeners attention in order to achieve something that can only be categorized as an unmitigated victory for Killer Be Killed.
As one of the more anticipated releases that this year has offered us so far, I cannot help but sit here and think that what has been created here is nothing but everything that many fans of Killer Be Killed have been craving since we first got their debut. While that was a glorious experience all of its own, it was but a taste of what the band is capable of. “Reluctant Hero” shows us a truly scrumptious meal the likes of which I, and many others, will gladly take a bit out of time and time again until it is time for the next course.
“Reluctant Hero” releases on November 20th via Nuclear Blast Records! You can purchase the album via multiple sources here.
Track Listing:
1. Deconstructing Self-Destruction
2. Dream Gone Bad
3. Left of Center
4. Inner Calm From Outer Storm
5. Filthy Vagabond
6. From A Crowded Wound
7. The Great Purge
8. Comfort From Nothing
9. Animus
10. Dead Limbs
11. Reluctant Hero
Just a metal head who loves just about all metal. I want to spread the word about the REALLY great bands out there, well known and underground. I do this for fun and don’t want any sort of money from doing reviews. It’s its own reward. I also do daily reviews for my own review site, Head-Banger Reviews, where the reviews are longer and daily as mentioned. No bullshit, just here to have some fun, listen to cool music and meet cool people.