Review by UnhinderedbyTalent for Kerry King - From Hell I Rise (2024)
Post-Seasons in the Abyss studio output from Slayer took an immediate downturn for my liking and even with the might of Paul Bostaph drafted in to fill the seemingly unfillable boots of Dave Lombardo, the band continued to embrace mediocrity to my ears and my interest level registered zero beeps whenever word of new Slayer leaked into my vicinity. The prospect of the usually considered weaker guitarist from the classic line-up releasing a solo album left me with little expectation of any quality given the output he had collaborated with for the past 30 years or so at least. News that one of my least favoured vocalists (Mark Osegueda’s vocals with Death Angel have been an eternal curse in my book) was being drafted in alongside the consistent yet never remarkable Phil Demmel and the bassist from Hellyeah fleshing out the numbers, only served to further dilute the prospects of me giving From Hell I Rise any airtime whatsoever.
Then I heard the single Idle Hands and shifted a few inches closer to my box that I could foresee me soon being encouraged to climb back into.
Already hearing that Osegueda sounded like a man reborn, near in fact to a much younger and more angst-ridden Tom Araya it should be noted, alongside a consistent wall of riffs and functional yet never spectacular lead work (albeit still a lot more interesting than the work on the last seven Slayer albums) displayed against the usual service from Mr Bostaph on the drums, I soon found KK’s debut solo release getting a lot more plays than first predicted.
Raging thrash metal tracks such as Crucifixation were completely unexpected slabs of intensity long feared dead since the prime years of King in the 80’s. The social commentary aspect of the album’s vocals suggests a much younger age bracket is playing the music but with most of the band pushing sixty this is testimony to the youthful ambition that flows through the veins of the collaborators present. Toxic seethes and writhes in simmering frustration at all manner of social institutions and perceived cultural ills. The groove metal riffing of Two Fists helps drill home the already clear and present message in the track, kicking the intensity up a couple of gears when it takes precedence in the track. Whilst clearly a thrash metal album end to end, From Hell I Rise explores a couple of cross-border forays as well to mix up the content nicely.
Look, it isn’t flawless. But what it most certainly is for me is an unexpected win. Forget showmanship and wankery levels of technicality being on show because that was never what Slayer or Kerry King were originally about. Clearly showing there is life in the old dog yet, FHiR does the basics perfectly well enough and provides the listener with a consistent level of entertainment for over forty minutes.