Killer Be Killed is a group of mates from different parts of the heavy music spectrum who occasionally meet up to hang out and melt faces.
The band has an impressive pedigree, made up of Greg Puciato (The Dillinger Escape Plan, The Black Queen), Max Cavalera (Sepultura, Soulfly) Troy Sanders (Mastadon, Gone is Gone) and Ben Koller (Converge, Mutoid Man).
KBK launched their debut, self-titled album in 2014 and played their only live shows at Soundwave Australia the following year. Six years later, they’re back with their second album, Reluctant Hero from Nuclear Blast Records. The fun they had making the album is apparent here and translates to an enjoyable listen.
A band with 3 singers with 3 distinct vocal styles could easily wind up as an unlistenable mess, but Puciato, Cavalera and Sanders call on their collective decades of experience to know when to pull back and lean in – Inner Calm from Outer Storms is a great example of all of the puzzle pieces fitting together.
Filthy Vagabond is one of the heavier tracks on the album, fast paced with occasional bluesy pit stops and soccer stadium-style “Whoa-oa-oa” chants in the chorus. KBK throws lots of styles, tempo changes and ideas into this one, and it all flows together as a cohesive, well-written song.
Most songs on the album are true collaborative efforts with each member writing their own parts and lyrics, but From a Crowded Wound was Greg’s baby, as he mentioned in our interview last month. With this one you get Dillinger-esque distorted screams, clean vocals, and shouting. Despite everything going on in this 7+ minute song, Koller’s drumming gets a chance to shine here.
Album closer and title track Reluctant Hero is my personal favourite. Musically it’s not the heaviest song on the album, but the slow build, eventual explosion and lyrics combine to tell one hell of a story. Soft, solemn clean vocals and a simple guitar part set up a contrast and tension to the rest of the album before it. Gradually this builds to chugging guitars and vocal harmonies that relieve the tension set at the beginning of the song.
(Content warning: death and coping with loss)
Lyrically, this track details the loss of a close friend and wrestling with the complex emotions and stages of grief that come with it (Sanders gives some background on the lyrics in this Revolver interview.)
We start with Troy’s subdued soft delivery, as if what’s happened hasn’t fully hit him yet and he’s still processing his grief:
You’ve returned to me as a shadow
(You’ve come back)
To fill the empty canyon of my loss
(It’s not real)
I refuse to feel you’re in a better place
And now I know the pain of never reaching for your face
The lyrics then move on to a wistful, hopeful section similar to an Irish blessing. The tone here almost feels like the eulogy delivered at a funeral, as if the narrator shelved the feelings expressed at the beginning of the song for emotions that are seen as more socially acceptable to raise in public:
I beg the road to rise and meet you
May the wind be at your back
Let the sunshine warm upon your face, my friend
Until we meet again
We then circle back to the lyrics from the beginning, sung with more strength by Puciato, building to a powerful harmonised delivery as the wave of grief finally comes crashing down, ending with:
The pain of never reaching for your face
The catharsis delivered by the end of Reluctant Hero makes it a perfect choice to end the album.
If you’re a fan of any of the musicians involved in KBK, or metal in general, you’ll find plenty to like in Reluctant Hero.
