Killer Be Killed - Reluctant Hero (2020)^{Release ID: 24467}

What's that?  Another band project with Max Cavalera in it?  Is his brother involved?  Oh, no?  You sure?  Okay, but do we get just a regurgitated version of Sepultura still clinging to the alternative apron strings of Roots?  Well actually, yes and no.  I will go on record as saying early on in my review how this record has caught me off guard since my forays into groove metal early on in the 90s are not often revisited in my later metal years, however this album is actually very good.  With the debut having passed me by completely (and having checked it out this past week it is clear I missed very little) I have to admit that  I am all over Reluctant Hero to the extent that it has been on at least once a day over the past week or so.

The reasons for this enjoyment of the sophomore release are numerous if I am honest.  Firstly, it is catchy as fudge.  Yes, probably too catchy in terms of my usual extreme metal tastes but it is infectious beyond just anthemic choruses or chugging riffs. It is rich in depth across the vocal and musical styles it covers over the course of the record, so the opening track for example carries great use of hooks to pull you in to the momentum of the song whereas Dream Gone Bad feels like a real tussle between the clean and the more aggressive vocals and this is backed up superbly by changes of pace and tempo that run congruent with this ethos.  As such this adds a predictable and yet welcome variety to the album that increases that memorability factor even more.

Secondly, Ben Koller absolutely bosses it on the drum kit.  He mixes up runs and both complex and simple patterns to build structure on solid foundations on most tracks.  He is responsive to the subtleties required on the slower tracks and never feels like he is imposing yet retains an essential presence throughout the album.  In a band with a combined vocal presence such as Greg, Troy and of course Max it wold be easy to get lost behind that but one of the key successes here of the album is that (barring the bass) it all feels like a band effort, an album created by a cohesive unit.

Thirdly, each track offers something.  Even the weaker ones have a strong passage or standout part (the filthy and ugly bluesy style lead on the appropriately named Filthy Vagabond is a welcome highpoint on an otherwise average track) that keeps the mind focussed.  It is one of the few albums of late that I can remember all of the tracks.  Yes, it uses the same ideas more than once but they work so well in the grander scheme of what is still a varied album in terms of pace and musical style that they are more than forgivable.

Safe to say that after me enjoying the last Soulfly record, Max is on a bit of run as far as my experience of recent output goes.

What do you get when you form a heavy metal supergroup consisting of members of the bands Mastodon, Dillinger Escape Plan, Converge and Soulfly? If you guessed a marvelous experience that combines elements of all of the members past endeavours and meshes them well into a great album...well you’ve probably come to the wrong place.

I’m not sure where to start with Reluctant Hero. The overall sound of this record is very jarring and unconventional, especially considering the rep sheet mentioned earlier. Surely someone out of this group of upper echelon names within their respective metal subgenres would have mentioned somewhere during the recording process that it needs more of Troy Sanders bass. Considering how much of this album is borrowing from more recent Mastodon output, this would be one of the more important elements to have on full display. However, Josh Wilbur did produce it so I am not surprised.

As a result, many of these songs lack groove and forward momentum; kind of a problem on a groove metal album such as this. You will be hard pressed to find any semblance of a bass line on this album outside of its two slower tunes: “From a Crowded Wound” and the title track “Reluctant Hero”. And it’s not like the guitar leads are doing anything to help. These guitar riffs sound incredibly redundant in the alternative metal vein and mostly resort to palm muted chugging and it gets tiresome very quickly. In addition, the album isn’t very expansive. As I said off the top, for a band consisting of members spanning progressive/sludge metal, mathcore, as well as groove/thrash metal, you would think this record would be a little bit more diverse in its sound. Instead, what we get is an almost mainstream accessible type of alternative metal with hints of Deftones, and a lot of retro Sepultura and Mastodon nostalgia.

I will say on the positive side that the percussion provided by Ben Koller sounds excellent, and I did really enjoy the trio of voices alternating throughout the album to keep it somewhat fresh. But in the end, Reluctant Hero is an album by a band looking to suck people in on namesake alone, and then proceeds to do nothing with it. It’s passable and I wouldn’t be surprised to hear it on rock/metal radio stations, but I’ll forget it exists without it.