Killer Be Killed, Dream Gone Bad
Nuclear Blast
Heavy metal supergroup Killer Be Killed are back with yet another teaser from their upcoming sophomore album. Coming a hot six years after their initial debut, Reluctant Hero is set for release 20th November – and it’s shaping up to be pretty fierce. Following in first single Deconstructing Self-Destruction’s blazing tracks, the group’s latest single Dream Gone Bad is an atmospheric whirlwind. With a gloriously classic heavy metal sound, this is a track that’ll have you charmed within seconds.
Thundering drums greet you as Dream Gone Bad rumbles into your life, right before Troy Sanders’ full-bodied, powerful vocals crash onto the track. Sanders’ calls of ‘we carry on with tradition…’ are timelessly anthemic, while the intoxicatingly heavy instrumentals make for a killer combination. The track is a lesson in how to match a soundscape to a vocalist, delivering ruthless drumming or floaty, soft instrumentals when necessary.
What truly sets Killer Be Killed apart from the rest is their varied vocalists. While Mastodon’s Troy Sanders has that classsic, low heavy metal sheen, Soulfly’s Max Cavaler takes on the deeper, harsher, more deathly grunts. To top it all off, Dillinger Escape Plan and Black Queen vocalist Greg Puciato is able to put his mark on tracks, a man whose vocals have previously been described as so diverse that they often ‘don’t even present themselves as human’. This allows for a truly superb combination of textures, allowing Dream Gone Bad to shift from softer, yell-along choruses, to moments like Puciato’s final, gruelling growls of ‘you always know where you are!’
With a plethora of vocalists and some absolutely glorious instrumentals, Dream Gone Bad is a prime example of how rewarding a supergroup can be. With all these musical minds in one place, it’s pretty much guaranteed that a magnificent track will come as a result. If this single is anything to go by, we’re placing our bets that November release Reluctant Hero is going to be an absolute classic!
Reluctant Hero is out 20th November. Pre-order here.