{"id":31587,"date":"2015-05-21T00:00:04","date_gmt":"2015-05-21T00:00:04","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/?p=31587"},"modified":"2015-06-18T14:23:13","modified_gmt":"2015-06-18T14:23:13","slug":"album-review-killer-monsters-of-rock","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/album-review-killer-monsters-of-rock\/","title":{"rendered":"KILLER – Monsters Of Rock (2015) | Album \/ EP Reviews @ Metal Forces Magazine"},"content":{"rendered":"

KILLER
Monsters Of Rock<\/strong><\/span>
\n\"\"
\nMausoleum (2015)<\/span>
Rating: 9\/10<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

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Before you start sniggering at the unoriginal band moniker, bear in mind that this Belgian posse was shitting out classy heavy metal when most of us were still in the womb.<\/p>\n

The Killer in question here released its debut slab back in 1980 under the title of Ready For Hell<\/em>, and while the band weren\u2019t quite prepared for the fiery pits of Satan\u2019s lair, the trio continued to wade through the silt of the River Styx well into the 80s with two more full-length chunks, namely; Wall Of Sound<\/em> (1982) and Shock Waves<\/em><\/a> (1984), before 1990\u2019s Fatal Attraction<\/em> signalled the end for the band.<\/p>\n

Like so many other veterans within the field, however, Killer rose from the ashes; re-emerging in 2002 with founding member Shorty (vocals \/ guitar) still at the helm. In 2003 Killer released Broken Silence<\/em>, followed two years later by 2005\u2019s Immortal<\/em>, and although it\u2019s been a decade of relative quietness in the ranks, I\u2019m glad to announce that Monsters Of Rock<\/em> is the new 15-track platter; an album that sees Shorty joined by Jakke (vocals \/ bass) and Vanne (drums).<\/p>\n

And so we\u2019re off, the title track sounding like one of those nostalgic yet always inviting trips back to the decade of the devil; a whistling solo, a fizzing drum, a combative bass and that sneering vocal display. It\u2019s not big and it\u2019s not overtly clever, but there\u2019s enough density here to escape the glossy manner in which so many so-called nostalgic yet modern records have succumbed to. \u2018Monsters Of Rock\u2019 is a stomping, sweat-soaked bag of nuts, bolts and oil which does exactly what it says on that now well-used tin. Indeed, there\u2019s nothing flashy here, but it\u2019s very safe and sound heavy metal featuring some nice, melodic solos, a hard-hitting back-beat and enough ramshackle and rust to get the kids banging on the door and yelling, \u201cWhat the hell are you playing daddy?\u201d<\/em>.<\/p>\n

If anyone owns the albums released by Killer in the 80s, then you\u2019ll no doubt be happy with this clanking slab of half-menace, half-anthemic molten metal. Okay, so the vocals are at times a little gravelled and strained, but when a veteran vocalist is booming \u201cWe are the monsters, the monsters of rock\u201d<\/em> there\u2019s no other way you\u2019d want him to sound, and I\u2019d certainly take this vintage creakiness over a whole host of modern mimics.<\/p>\n

The band continues its charge with the clomp of \u2018Hold Your Head Up High\u2019 which hints at that simple AC\/DC styled plod, but it\u2019s a song of hope for those \u201ctired of living\u201d<\/em> and without employment. The only issue here is again that vocal strain which initially starts as a reasonable rasp, but struggles with the chorus. However, it\u2019s still a catchy-as-hell track which I\u2019ve not extinguished from my ears for several days.<\/p>\n

This is the sort of ballsy, nodding metal I grew up with before the fluff of the late 80s clogged up the hi-fi needle. Killers play straight-down-the-line rootsy heavy metal, occasionally throwing in bluesy sways as with \u2018Making Magic\u2019, or a stinging traditional metal stab with \u2018Rock City\u2019, or even a Mot\u00f6rhead-styled rattle as with \u2018Children Of Desperation\u2019. So whatever path the band takes, there\u2019s always that high level of energy; Killer still giving the likes of Accept a run for the money with a dose of deadly metal sure to get the fists pumping and heads banging.<\/p>\n

Monsters Of Rock<\/em> rarely has time for subtlety; \u2018No Exception To The Rule\u2019 comes out of its cage like a rabid wolf featuring some brilliant guitar work and persistent hammering drum, while \u2018Back To The Roots\u2019 sounds as fresh as a daisy with that cutting riff and burning weight. Elsewhere, the sonic storms of \u2018Danger Zone\u2019 \u2013 with its doom-laden introduction \u2013 and \u2018Firestorm\u2019 are joys to behold; the trio sounding like a threesome of excited youngsters who\u2019ve just discovered the art of playing metal. In fact, \u2018Firestorm\u2019 is one of the finest metal songs I\u2019ve heard for a while. If you\u2019re after serious injections of speed though, then check out the sizzling \u2018Deaf, Blind And Dumb\u2019, which literally hammers the ears with its steely percussion, and the equally venomous \u2018The Reactor\u2019.<\/p>\n

Of course, by the time I\u2019ve reached the last few tracks, I\u2019m not interested in what flaws the album may have to offer. Instead, there\u2019s now several cans of beer soaking the vocals, two buckets of sweat on the floor, and enough blood in the ears to suggest that Killer\u2019s seventh full-length record is the sort of metal experience I lapped up in the 80s, and so why should it be any different several decades later? 2015 just got a major kick up the arse, and in \u2018Shotgun Symphony\u2019 I may have heard one of the best metal marches of all time.<\/p>\n

Not many veteran acts have the ability to release new material that matches their old stuff, but Killer has literally demolished their back catalogue with this fully-armoured vehicle and paved a new path of destruction. A killer album in the literal sense.<\/p>\n

Neil Arnold<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

KILLERMonsters Of Rock Mausoleum (2015)Rating: 9\/10 Before you start sniggering at the unoriginal band moniker, bear in mind that this Belgian posse was shitting out classy heavy metal when most of us were still in the womb. The Killer in question here released its debut slab back in 1980 under the title of Ready For […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[24,194],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-31587","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-album-ep-reviews","category-killer"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/31587","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=31587"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/31587\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":31592,"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/31587\/revisions\/31592"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=31587"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=31587"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=31587"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}