By BRIAN GIFFIN
EVER since Slayer’s last tour Kerry King has vocalised his apparent displeasure about the band coming to an end prematurely (now, of course, they’re back together), and the difficulty he’s faced getting a solo band off the ground. Considering he’s basically only ever been in one band for his entire musical career, it’s perhaps unsurprising that he’s found it a little tough to move on.
That feeling is pretty evident on From Hell I Rise, his first solo album. As long ago as 2020, Paul Bostaph promised that he and King were doing something that was going to be “like Slayer, without being Slayer”. He wasn’t lying. Just replace Gary Holt with Phil Demmel and Tom Araya’s voice with Mark Osegueda’s, and what you have is pretty much exactly that, with plenty of emphasis on the “like Slayer” part. It’s like Slayer for sure, but Slayer it sure ain’t. Anyone looking for some creative spark from King, too, will be quickly disappointed.
Slayer didn’t really come up with many new ideas after their mid-nineties attempts at reinvention met with hostility, and King is hardly tapping a well spring of new creativity here, either. The opening intro is pretty standard King fare and “Where I Reign” offers no surprises. Regurgitated ideas abound. “Toxic” basically rips its main riff straight from “Angel of Death” and “Trophies of the Tyrant” and “Crucifixation” could have easily come from Repentless or World Painted Blood. The opening hardcore barrage of “Two Fists” offers some promise that lasts all of about 10 seconds before the whole thing turns pretty bland and “Everything I Hate About You” comes off as a weak copy of something like “Jesus Saves”.
The band King has pulled together here can’t be faulted. They all do an admirable job. There’s been some criticism of Osegueda’s vocals, but his frenzied approach actually really works here and to be fair the real weakness isn’t him or the band – it’s the material. From Hell I Rise is everything we’ve already heard from Kerry King, only far less interesting, exciting or memorable.
This isn’t terrible, but fans of Slayer and Kerry King should expect a lot better. There’s the bones of a potential Slayer album here, just nothing properly fleshed out. Really, the only thing less inspired than the songs is the artwork.
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