Review: Kerry King’s From Hell I Rise is Too Familiar for Its Own Good
When Kerry King decides to call it a career, the dude will go down as a legend. His place in the pantheon of thrash is already cemented. But his debut solo effort From Hell I Rise likely won’t be more than a footnote in his long list of accomplishments. And that’s because despite the talent and ambition involved, I find it’s at its best when King makes the effort to step outside of Slayer‘s long black shadow. Otherwise it’s far too familiar, repetitive, and mostly forgettable.
Now, I’m not dragging the individual efforts of everyone involved — far from it. Slayer drummer Paul Bostaph, Hellyeah bassist Kyle Sanders, ex-Vio-lence guitarist Phil Demmel, Death Angel vocalist Mark Osegueda, and King himself play/scream their balls off. They’re an all-star cast of players that each contribute an undeniable potency to the album’s sound. Of particular note is Osegueda, whose ferocious vocal performance cuts through everything.
That being said, every time I sat down to listen to the 13 tracks found on From Hell I Rise, I couldn’t shake the feeling that nearly every song kinda sounded like the last. I regularly found myself losing interest through the album’s roughly 47 minute runtime and it wasn’t uncommon for me want to go listen to something else. And as a dyed-in-the-wool thrash metal fan, that’s the last thing I wanted to experience with this record.
Given the pedigrees of everyone involved, there are certainly high points to be found. The two singles that released before today, “Idle Hands” and “Residue” are bangers. The latter song, in particular, makes it hard to not want to bang your head and kick down a door or two on your way to the pit. Another high point for me was “Trophies Of The Tyrant,” thanks in large part to the slower, groovier riffage from Demmel and King on display.
Personally, one of the most disappointing things about this record is the fact that had King opted to get out of his comfort zone, we could have something truly remarkable here. As a legend with nothing to prove, he doesn’t need to stick to the Slayer formula. Case and point are songs like the supremely punky “Two Fists” and the explosive “Rage,” which is absolutely a teardown of today’s highly divisive culture. Both are a breath of fresh air that really highlight to me that I’d like to hear King explore more of that in the future.
As for the rest of the album, I can’t really say that it really grabbed me as much as I hoped. In the lead up to this album’s release, King told Metal Hammer that From Hell I Rise was “a definite extension, a follow up to [Slayer’s 2015 final album] Repentless for sure.” And that’s kinda my biggest gripe with From Hell I Rise — I feel like I’ve heard most of this before.
If I want to hear post-Hanneman Slayer, I already have those records. Next time I really hope King does something that would sound completely out of place on a Slayer release. Because the best parts about From Hell I Rise sound just like that.
Kerry King’s From Hell I Rise is available right now.
