Considered somewhat of a power group, Kill Devil Hill takes pieces of Pantera, Sabbath, Dio, Pissing Razors and jumbled them all to come up with an impressive continuation of their self titled debut record.
"In 2009 Vinny had found the perfect guitarist in Zavon, who was also looking to start a new band. Zavon played a demo he had recorded with vocalist Dewey Bragg, and Vinny was floored. “Dewey has a fantastic sound, and has the perfect voice and image for this new band.” Dewey is also a master of melody, with the gift of enhancing even the most jagged arrangements with his haunting vocals." -Kill Devil Hill (press release)
Kill Devil Hill is:
Mark Zavon – Guitar | Vinny Appice – Drums | Dewey Bragg – Vocals | Rex Brown – Bass
“Vinny is a brilliant drummer, and of course, I was immediately interested when he asked me whether I wanted to play bass on a demo tape he was working on.” -Brown
Now like I stated before, I was not a huge fan of the debut. I honestly felt (at the time) that the album was being pushed and promoted more for the names behind the band rather than the music itself. It was one of those times where I felt the music should speak for itself rather than it's member notoriety.
What I liked about this quote from Bragg was not only regarding his initial reaction to the music, which in fact has progresses quite impressively, but also the fact that he grew up listening to his band member was almost like a Rockstar movie moment. Think about it for a second, how would YOU feel if you got a chance to audition for a band that has members you looked up to for inspiration? Pretty f**kin cool if you ask me.
“When Rex first auditioned for the band he put bass on ‘War Machine’, and I was on the 405 freeway and I had to pull over the car in the breakdown. I was like ‘Holy Christ.’ I was floored by that sound. I grew up listening to Pantera and having that bass tone on my right hand side every night is just amazing.” -Bragg
Revolution Rise was released in north America (as well as the rest of the world) on October 29th, 2013 via Century Media Records.
1. No Way Out
2. Crown Of Thorns
3. Leave It All Behind
4. Why
5. Wake Up The Dead
6. Long Way From Home
7. Where Angels Dare To Roam
8. Stained Glass Sadness
9. Endless Static
10. Stealing Days
11. Life Goes On
The album was produced by KDH and Jeff Pilson (previous work done with Dokken, Foreigner, Dio) and was mixed by Jay Ruston (previous work done with Stone Sour, Anthrax, Steel Panther). The album artwork was done by Sam Shearon (who has also worked with Rob Zombie, Iron Maiden, and Fear Factory). Check out the first single (and the song that won me over) "Crown of Thorns":
The day I got the link for their first single "Crown of Thorns" off their new album, I was brought right back into the fold. Call it what you will but I feel that the band did a much better job of executing a few of their singles and the flow of the album as a whole. Some good classic riffs and chugs in the songs will make any metal fan nod in approval while also adding a pinch of grunge to KDH (at least in my opinion). Some tracks for moi SCREAM old school Alice In Chains and original Drowning Pool. I know some loyal metal heads will retort with "Alice In Chains? Drowning Pool? Are you kidding me?!" Sadly, I am not...
“This new KILL DEVIL HILL record is definitely one of my favorite moments of my career – it’s got balls, great melodies, awesome guitar riffing and a low end that’ll set your ass on fire! The album far exceeds our wildest expectations and we can’t wait to take this music out on the road and share it with all of our friends and fans. Buckle your seat belts, we’re all in for one hell of a ride!” -Brown
And one hell of a ride we got out of the deal. It's always a warm feeling when you feel you got what you paid for when it comes to an album. A good trade off for fans and band. You make a good album and fans buy the album. Win win!
Some of that confusion seemed to have found it's way onto Kill Devil Hill's debut album, but with "Revolution Rise" we have a band who appears to have fallen into a strong groove, a band who after recording their first album together and ran through one tour on the road are more comfortable creatively with each other and are creating some even stronger music. Songs such as "Crown of Thorns" and "Why?" are prime examples of the members of Kill Devil Hill truly in their element, allowing one another to stand out without having any one section taking away your attention from the rest of the composition. Some more apparent grunge overtones are evident on "Why?", but add more to the song than one would initially expect. "No Way Out" is the opening track off of the album, and wouldn't dare waste any time with slow introductions: not when you have Zakk Wylde waiting patiently on the sidelines to deliver an electrifying solo halfway through the cut. -Ultimate Guitar
Couldn't agree more. AFGM recommended tracks for "Revolution Rise" are:
Crown of Thorns | Leave It All Behind
Long Way From Home | Where Angel Dare To Roam
"Kill Devil Hill’s strength is clear, they are an outstanding band who have written a brilliant album featuring powerful songs, and will be a musical force to be reckoned with for years to come." -Kill Devil Hill (press release)
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