King Kobra : King Kobra
by Alex Barbieri
Staff Writer
Remember King Kobra, that ‘80s L.A. hair metal band with the bleached blond hair? They were pretty good. Better than a lot of bands back then, actually. In fact, their 1985 debut Ready To Strike is considered a hard rock classic in the melodic rock subculture.
Well, King Kobra—the “other snake”—is back with a new album featuring the almost-original lineup of founding member and drumming legend Carmine Appice, David Michael-Philips and Mick Sweda on guitars and Johnny Rod on bass. Original singer Marcie Michelle Free—who released a stellar album last year with Unruly Child—has been replaced in KK by gravelly-voiced former Rough Cutt vocalist Paul Shortino, aka Duke Fame in “Spinal Tap.”
Frontiers Records delivers another high quality release to feed the ravenous appetites of hard rockers around the world. Word on the street is that Frontiers’ label owner Serafino Perugino is a perfectionist who expects nothing less than excellence from his bands—and King Kobra maintains the high standards of its Italy-based record label.
The stark album cover depicting the classic King Kobra logo on a black background is simple but sends a clear message: King Kobra has returned to its classic sound and is ready to rock. The first song is the barnstormer, “Rock This House.” Shortino’s signature vocals fit the new KK’s style well, but it’s hard not to compare the sound to earlier Rough Cutt and even Shortino-era Quiet Riot. His vocals are so recognizable that new KK lacks some of the identity it had with Free. That can happen when a band replaces their signature singer with one associated with another band. Still, this album recorded by hard rock vets sounds absolutely stellar both writing- and production-wise.
“Turn Up the Good Times” sounds just like the title reads. A killer riff leads into a great hook about Saturday night happy hour. With all the f***ed up s**t going on in the world today, a little rock song like this can mean so much—fun, life-affirming and able to bring a smile to the most jaded rocker.
A standout track is “Live Forever.” The mid-tempo groove recalls “Red Skies At Night” by The Fixx—not a bad thing. This song about hitting the open road is one of the finest and most emotionally sincere moments on the album— the heartfelt vocals, big chorus and keyboards are utter ear candy.
The album opened with a hurricane and closes with a gentle breeze in the acoustic “Fade Away.” On this in-the-pocket, emotional power ballad, Shortino sings, “Just let your love show before we fade away.” A mature sentiment from a man that’s been around a time or two.
Like many hard rock and metal bands from the ‘80s that are still at it today, the musicians in King Kobra are all seasoned professionals. They are experts at their respective instruments, and more importantly, know what their fans want to hear. This is an album that was done for the fans. Is it anything you haven’t heard before? No. But it is a new batch of songs designed to make you rock out and feel better. And for that, it’s worthy of praise and the price of the CD. Buy it … you know you’ll love it.
Genre: Hard Rock
Band:
Carmine Appice – Drums
David Michael Philips – Guitar
Johnny Rod – Bass
Paul Shortino – Lead Vocals
Mick Sweda – Guitar
Track Listing:
1. Rock This House
2. Turn Up The Good Times
3. Live Forever
4. Tear Down The Walls
5. This Is How We Roll
6. Midnight Woman
7. We Got A Fever
8. Top of the World
9. You Make It Easy
10. Cryin’ Turns To Rain
11. Screamin’ For More
12. Fade Away
Label: Frontiers Records
Online:
Hardrock Haven rating: 7.5/10
Not especially good. You can’t beat the first two albums. Read my full review here: realgonerocks.blogspot.com/2011/04/king-kobra-king-kobra.html