{"id":30859,"date":"2013-07-15T16:25:02","date_gmt":"2013-07-15T21:25:02","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/?p=30859"},"modified":"2014-02-08T08:36:56","modified_gmt":"2014-02-08T13:36:56","slug":"king-kobra-ii-cd-review","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/2013\/king-kobra-ii-cd-review\/","title":{"rendered":"King Kobra | II<\/em>"},"content":{"rendered":"

by Ron Higgins<\/span>
\n– Columnist —<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\"KingKing Kobra are back again. This time, it\u2019s their release II<\/em>, which is actually their 6th studio album, not their 2nd. That would be Thrill of a Lifetime<\/em>, which was the follow-up to their debut album Ready to Strike<\/em>, not their self-titled King Kobra<\/em> album, which was actually their 5th release. It does, however, feature their 4th lead singer, and happens to be his 2nd turn at the helm, hence the II. Got it? Good. Now that we\u2019ve mastered the metal math we can get down to the important stuff. Is this album any good? Let\u2019s just say it\u2019s predictable. But in a good way.<\/p>\n

King Kobra entered the music scene back in 1985 with the release of their debut album. It featured the legendary Rod Stewart, Vanilla Fudge, Cactus drummer Carmine Appice, David Michael-Philips and Mick Sweda on guitars, Johnny Rod on bass, and a superb but relatively unknown vocalist, Mark Free. They released two sensational albums but despite their musical pedigree and touring with the likes of KISS (even concluding their shows with the members playing light-up drum sticks), they were never able to capture the massive success of some of their contemporaries. They underwent several personnel changes, including a new vocalist, Johnny Edwards, and released a poorly received 3rd album. Predictably, they broke up. Over a decade later, Carmine resurrected the band. Sort of. He was the only original member on their 2001 release Hollywood Trash. This time, Kelly Keeling of Baton Rouge was brought in as the vocalist. It didn\u2019t matter. By all accounts, the 2nd half of the album\u2019s title was pretty accurate. Another decade later, the band rose from the ashes like a phoenix once again. This time, the right way — with all original members save for Mark (now Marcie) Free, who found success in the band Signal and the very good Unruly Child. For this latest incarnation of the band, they enlisted the help of veteran Rough Cutt\/Quiet Riot vocalist, Paul Shortino. As expected, it was better than the previous two releases but not quite as good as their first two. Predictably, that\u2019s exactly the same outcome for this release, which is a logical extension in both name and sound to its predecessor. <\/p>\n

The album kicks off in fast and furious fashion with the aptly titled \u201cHell on Wheels\u201d. It begins with sounds of an oncoming train which is apropos because this song comes at the listener like a runaway freight train. It\u2019s one of the best songs on the album and a great way to launch this new release. The only negative is its length which, running over six minutes, is about a minute too long. It gets bogged down with its repetitiveness. <\/p>\n

Following the crushing opener, is another album highlight, \u201cKnock \u2018Em Dead.\u201d It\u2019s also an up-tempo number with blistering guitar work. It would make a great anthem for any sports team. The chorus is extremely catchy, imploring the listener, \u201cwe\u2019re gonna knock \u2018em dead, bust some heads, knock \u2018em dead.\u201d It\u2019s not overly original though invoking memories of M\u00f6tley Cr\u00fce\u2019s \u201cKnock \u2018Em Dead, Kid.\u201d<\/p>\n

Other highlights include \u201cThe Ballad of Johnny Rod,\u201d \u201cRunning Wild,\u201d and \u201cGot It Comin\u2019.\u201d \u201cThe Ballad of Johnny Rod\u201d is quite interesting, starting off with the sound of an old scratchy vinyl record playing some kind of old tune with lots of horns that quickly morphs into Shortino playing the part of a man who has been thrown in a jail cell with a buddy. He says, \u201cEy, gimme a light, Johnny. I see they got you too. Waddaya in here for, bro? Yeah, it\u2019s going to be a loooong night.\u201d Then the music kicks in and it\u2019s full-on ZZ Top on steroids. This definitely plays to his vocal style and is a very cool, memorable track. Not bad since it\u2019s apparently named after the bass player. \u201cRunning Wild\u201d is another great song with more production tricks, this time the sound of wild animals in the forest permeate the song. Carmine\u2019s unmistakable drum beat kicks in along with some fiery guitar work and animal growling. It\u2019s a beast to be sure. \u201cGot It Comin\u2019\u201d is an entirely different animal, with a slower tempo and romantic lyrics. This is classic AOR and would\u2019ve been a big hit ballad several decades ago.<\/p>\n

The rest of the songs are decent as well, ranging from full-on rockers to slower ballads. \u201cHave a Good Time\u201d is a nice little party tune, complete with hand clapping and a sing-a-long chorus. It would work well as an encore song during their live shows. The video is cool too. It\u2019s shot at rock club Vamp\u2019d in Las Vegas and features a veritable Who\u2019s Who of rock and roll including Zakk Wylde, Vinnie Paul and Ace Frehley, not to mention Ron Jeremy and Carrot Top. Now that\u2019s a party! \u201cTake Me Back\u201d is a slower song with a Black Crowes vibe. \u201cWhen The Hammer Comes Down\u201d is another faster-paced, Wild West song. The opening line is, \u201cOut on the plains where the cowboys ride, if you\u2019re looking for trouble you\u2019re going to die.\u201d It\u2019s not bad but not nearly as good as the similarly named hair metal classic \u201cHammer Swings Down\u201d from Babylon A.D but it\u2019s not bad and has a cool drum intro. \u201cThe Crunch\u201d has an \u201cUnskinny Bop\u201d feel to it, which isn\u2019t necessarily a good thing. \u201cDeep River\u201d is interesting as it includes running water sound effects mixed in to accentuate a slower groove. Unfortunately, it\u2019s almost eight minutes long. King Kobra is not a prog metal band so they should probably stay away from Dream Theater length songs. \u201cDon\u2019t Keep Me Waiting\u201d has a cool rhythm and is a nice showcase for Paul\u2019s vocals. It has some fantastic guitar work and an artistic ending as all of the instruments stop until there\u2019s nothing left but Carmine\u2019s drums. Finally, the record wraps up with \u201cWe Go Round.\u201d This is a good mid-tempo, melodic rocker reminiscent of something Bryan Adams would do. The backing vocals are a nice touch but overall it\u2019s not too memorable. It has some unnecessary vocal noodling but does have an impressive guitar solo.<\/p>\n

Overall, this is a very good release and a welcome addition to King Kobra\u2019s discography. Shortino\u2019s rough vocal style is quite different from Free\u2019s so it\u2019s hard to compare the two but the first two albums still stand the test of time as their best. With this release though the band has fully embraced their current vocalist, writing songs that seem to cater to his more bluesy, distinctive style. Don\u2019t be surprised to see a 3rd album with this lineup. But they already have an album called III<\/em> so they\u2019ll have to come up with something witty like Strike Three. Fans of their last album will love it and fans of good old-fashioned classic hard rock will like it as well. Grab your anti-venom and enjoy 12 songs of slithering good fun because King Kobra are back!<\/p>\n

Genre: Hard Rock<\/p>\n

Band:
\nPaul Shortino – vocals
\nDavid Michael-Philips – Guitar
\nMick Sweda – Guitar
\nJohnny Rod – Bass Guitar
\nCarmine Appice \u2013 drums<\/p>\n

Track Listing:
\n1.\tHell On Wheels
\n2.\tKnock \u2018Em Dead
\n3.\tHave A Good Time
\n4.\tThe Ballad Of Johnny Rod
\n5.\tTake Me Back
\n6.\tWhen The Hammer Comes Down
\n7.\tRunning Wild
\n8.\tThe Crunch
\n9.\tGot It Comin\u2019
\n10.\tDeep River
\n11.\tDon\u2019t Keep Me Waiting
\n12.\tWe Go Round<\/p>\n

Label: Frontiers Records<\/p>\n

Website(s):
\nhttp:\/\/www.myspace.com\/officialkingkobra<\/a> \/ https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/pages\/Official-King-Kobra\/270854497159<\/a><\/p>\n

Hardrock Haven Rating: 8\/10<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

by Ron Higgins – Columnist — King Kobra are back again. This time, it\u2019s their release II, which is actually their 6th studio album, not their 2nd. That would be Thrill of a Lifetime, which […]<\/a><\/div>\n","protected":false},"author":10,"featured_media":30860,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8704],"tags":[2105,336,374,1103,7084,1600,1599,334],"class_list":{"0":"post-30859","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-arcrvws2013","8":"tag-carmine-appice","9":"tag-cd","10":"tag-frontiers-records","11":"tag-hard-rock","12":"tag-ii","13":"tag-king-kobra","14":"tag-paul-shortino","15":"tag-review"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30859","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/10"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=30859"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30859\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/30860"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=30859"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=30859"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=30859"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}