ALBUM REVIEW ~ KERRY KING ~ 'FROM HELL I RISE'

I'm music magazine, slayer, kerry king, from hell i rise, reigning phoenix music, idle hands, mark osegueda, death angel, kyle sanders, phil demmel, paul bostaph, — Photo Credit: Jim Louvau

For anyone still in withdrawal from the recent retirement of Slayer and the resulting lack of new music from the thrash metal legends, fear not!

Kerry King, the iconic Slayer co-founder and songwriter/guitarist is unleashing his first solo album, From Hell I Rise, on May 17 on Reigning Phoenix Music.

Listen no further than the opening riff of the first track, the instrumental, “Diablo.” There’s only one person on the planet who can assault your senses with those evil licks on his Dean guitar. “I like pointy guitars that look like weapons,” he once notoriously said, as only Kerry King would!

“Where I Reign” is up next. It’s absolutely impossible NOT to compare this song and the remaining 12 tracks to Slayer – and Kerry’s proud of that.

He addresses the most frequently asked question about the comparison: “I think people are going to compare it to Slayer. I’m not afraid of that because I think it stands up to anything we’ve done in our history, musically, performance-wise.”

“Residue” was written when Kerry was locked down in a hotel room with COVID. It’s a ripper. But there’s not a song on this album that can’t be described that way!

Vocalist Mark Osegueda (Death Angel) was the only singer who auditioned for the band. He’s not Tom Araya, but who is? His voice is perfectly suited to devilishly deliver Kerry’s ominous lyrics… “From Hell / Through fire I will rise / Until blood rains from the skies.”

“Two Fists” is a track that you might not expect to hear on this album. Still as heavy as it should be, it also has an unmistakable punk vibe to it. “I think I need another drink,” is NOT a lyric you’d ever hear in a classic Slayer song.

The song titles on From Hell I Rise are 100 percent Kerry King. “Toxic.” “Rage.” “Shrapnel.” Yep, those check all the appropriate thrash metal boxes. The music and lyrics are all very intentional, with topics that weigh heavy on Kerry’s heart and mind, including war, women’s rights and the current state of American politics.

Kerry and his new band – Kyle Sanders on bass, Osegueda on vocals, Phil Demmel joining him on guitar and Paul Bostaph on drums, will hit the road this summer as a special guest on the Ashes of Leviathan Tour, co-headlining with Lamb of God and Mastodon.

If you expected the self-proclaimed “metal kid” to go sideways and take a different musical approach to his first solo album, you’d be sadly mistaken. You’ll find zero traces of the Backstreet Boys here!

This is exactly what we expected and wanted from a Kerry King project. If you liked him in Slayer, you’ll love him on his own.

I’m Music Magazine Writer Steve Pawlowski