King Kobra: We Are The Warriors

There’s little doubt that in the world of bombastic melodic rock the first two King Kobra albums rightly retain a place in the hall of fame. Both are records that bristle with a well placed self importance and choruses that tower over everyone as they play. Since those heady days that band have slowly morphed - after many periods of inactivity - into a vehicle for legendary drummer Carmine Appice to gather a group of names about him and hammer out a set of songs that may, or indeed may not, have anything to do with the sound the band first purveyed, although the previous outing from this outfit, II, was a really pleasant surprise. We Are The Warriors is, by my count anyway - a few odds and sods compilations etc blur the lines - the seventh album under the Kobra name and admittedly it is also the third to feature singer Paul Shortino (Rough Cutt, Quiet Riot and many more) and bassist Johnny Rod (WASP). This time the twin guitar attack comes with some pedigree, Carlos Cavazo (Quiet Riot) and Rowan Robertson (Dio) debuting as a guitar duo.

Unfortunately, any attempt to get the issues with We Are The Warriors out of the way is going to take a little while. Firstly there’s the muddy, drum dominated mix/production courtesy of Shortino (producer), Appice (executive producer) and Pat Regan (producer and mixer), which really just makes the whole experience one to be endured. Thunderous rhythms hammering headlong into flabby riffs and vocals which don’t fare much better. Second up are those efforts from Shortino, a singer who many moons ago used to be one of my favourites now feeling like he’s struggling to keep up with even the mid-paced plodding that’s served up here. In fairness to him, unlike so many veteran frontmen out there, at least Shortino is trying to live within his limitations and not pretend one way or another that they don’t exist, but the results are all just a little uninspired. That said, all of those weaknesses could easily have been overcome by a set of sharply incisive hard rock songs that stay long in the memory, but not one of these twelve tracks can lay claim to that accolade. I’ve listened to this album seven or eight times before setting out to write this review and even now not one song feels like even a passing acquaintance, so utterly forgettable is “One More Night�, the well intentioned but lyrically lumpen “Music Is A Piece Of Art� or the gritty grind of “Dance�. That said, all three are better than the utterly awful cover of “Love Hurts�, which merely emphasises just what a good job Nazareth did with such a difficult song to master.

Harsh maybe, but I think that when you bring together a set of musicians who can between them boast time well spent with Ozzy Osbourne, Blue Murder, Dio, Quiet Riot, WASP and many more, you should be able to expect something that really is quite some distance better than this.

Track Listing
1. Music Is A Piece Of Art
2. Turn Up The Music
3. Secrets And Lies
4. Drownin'
5. One More Night
6. Love Hurts
7. Dance
8. Darkness
9. We Are Warriors
10. Dive Like Lightning
11. Trouble
12. Side By Side

Added: January 8th 2024
Reviewer: Steven Reid
Score:
Related Link: King Kobra online
Hits: 385
Language: english

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