This is the problem that haunts the majority of so-called "supergroups", and the bigger the bands members are plucked from the harder it is to establish the cohesiveness of a group truly working as a unit. That Killer Be Killed poaches its members from some big time metal and prog acts only serves to heighten expectations; fans of Mastodon, Dillinger Escape Plan, The Mars Volta and Sepultura have been treated to some earth-shaking moments from those bands, and it's a difficult task to combine these people into something that doesn't bear a certain weight of responsibility in terms of quality.
Those expecting the craziest metal album of all time out of this band on their first attempt will be disappointed, though it's really a testament to the quality of the members' original bands that people would even halfway expect such a thing. They don't try to reinvent the wheel here, to their credit; rather than attempt transcendence, they simply try to craft great songs, and the good news is they mostly succeed in that respect.
Each song has a dominant force, whether carried by Troy Sanders, Greg Puciato or Max Cavalera (drummer Dave Elitch, the only member without lead vocal duty, gets to sit back and pound the shit out of the kit throughout). However, all three singers feature on every track, lending their own spin on the songs' central core.
That said, nobody really stretches outside of their comfort zone and, as fun as it is to spot the influence of their respective day jobs seeping through, it does make for an album of three quite distinct speeds. Puciato's passages have the manic energy of D.E.P. without the frenetic math-riffage, Sanders' capture the essence of Mastodon's spacier and stonier moments, while the Cavalera-led sections are more or less straight-up chug-a-chug nu-metal.
That's still a minor gripe that doesn't carry much weight, as all three are in top form on the album. Puciato gets free range throughout, from the soaring chorus of lead track Wings of Feather and Wax to the frenetic verses of Face Down to an especially elastic and melodic turn on Melting of My Marrow to the unhinged Fire To Your Flag. Cavalera's input is often limited to chugging riffage, but his lead vocal turns on Curb Crusher and I.E.D. are suitably menacing. Sanders is at his best when he's got the groove behind him as on oddball rocker Save the Robots, the pummeling Dust Into Darkness and (especially) the hazy doom of closing track Forbidden Fire.
If I have to choose the album's MVP, I have to pick Puciato; like I said, everyone's in fine form, but Puciato's superior vocal range allows him to better adapt to the songs rather than have a place in the song cleared out for him. The vocal choices he makes add depth; whether it's a harmonious, soothing coo or a raw throated primal scream or something in between, his voice box does a great deal of heavy lifting on Killer Be Killed. It only makes sense that it would be this way since each member is playing to their strengths; like Cavalera's guitars, Snaders' bass and Elitch's drums, Puciato's voice is his primary instrument.
Whether or not this project proves to be a one-off or the start of something bigger remains to be seen, but I for one would love to hear what would happen if Killer Be Killed continued to gel and grow as a chesive unit rather than four undeniable but disparate talents. Something tells me that, with a little more cohesiveness in vision and refinement of execution, this group is more than capable of becoming truly super.
May 13, 2014 • Nuclear Blast
Hightlights Wings of Feather & Wax • I.E.D. • Forbidden Fire
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