KILLING TYRANNY
"Church of the Twisted Prophet"
(Twisted Prophet; 2018)
Reviewed by R. Scott Bolton
It's funny. I've been listening to Killing Tyranny's "Chuch of the Twisted Prophet" for a couple of weeks now, writing my review in my head, and when I finally sat down and put fingers to keys, what do I find?
Well, I already wrote that review ... back in 2015 with the band's "Martyr" CD.
Because "Church of the Twisted Prophet" is much like "Martyr." And that's a good thing. It's chock full of raging heavy rock songs, with more of a punk edge here than I remember from the previous CD, and lots of political commentary in tracks such as "Politician," "Douche," "Scandal" and "Sleeper Awake." "Descendants of Christ" surprises with its Zappa-esque choruses, and "Can You Feel the Power" is the perfectly slick rock anthem, far less grubby than most of other tracks on the album.
The guitar solos are fast, furious and plentiful, the pace unrelenting and the songwriting ... well, if you want to follow along with the lyrics, they're included in the CD booklet. I will say this, however: The songs on "Church of the Twisted Prophet" are more about anger and rage at the status quo, rather than tribe versus tribe.
And, as on "Martyr," I must commend the production on this CD. "Church of the Twisted Prophet" is nicely balanced, leaving the rough edges where they belong and letting the production take over when it's called for.
So don't let the political theme turn you away (like it almost did for me). Instead, embrace the anger that Killing Tyranny is sharing, and you'll get a nice kick in the ass from this particular church.
Killing Tyranny: George Gregory - vocals; Scott Moller - guitars leads; Jason Bonsangue - guitars rhythm; Erick Owens - bass; Bill Giannattasio - drums.
For more information, check out http://www.killingtyrannytheband.org.
"Martyr"
(Twisted Prophet; 2015)
Reviewed by R. Scott Bolton
Let's discuss the elephant in the room before we go any further. As I've said on countless pages here on the wide world of Rough Edge, I don't like politics in my music. In fact, I usually hate it. When I hit play on my stereo, I want to have fun, I want to party, I want to bang my head with wild abandon. I want to escape the dredges of my every day life and I want to leave any lingering anger, malice or depression far, far behind. Political rock'n'roll forces me to think and, depending on the point of view, tends to rile me up. Pass. I'll take "Rock'n'Roll All Nite and Party Every Day" anytime.
So when I opened up the gatefold on Killing Tyranny's "Martyr," and saw the Last Supper painting with pictures of politicians replacing the disciples and Uncle Sam taking the place of Jesus, I thought, "Well, this is one CD I'm not going to enjoy."
I was wrong. Again. But you're used to that if you're a regular reader.
I really enjoyed "Martyr." It's a heavy metal album in the style of Metallica and Megadeth, perhaps not quite as heavy but close. It's fast-paced, well-produced and musically adroit. Most of the tracks are driving rockers that if they're not thrash, they're damn close. Occasionally a track like the poignant "God Bless the Child" comes along, which sounds like one of those famous Motley Crue ballads (by the way, the guitar solo in this track is fierce and perfect, as are most of the solos herein. Nice work, Daniel Waldrop!). Vocalist George Gregory has a great voice for this type of music, dripping with attitude and hitting glorious, Halford-like high notes throughout.
Yeah, some of those political statements creep in here and there, but most of them are all-encompassing rather than one-sided making "Martyr" a whole lot easier to listen to than any Rage Against the Machine album.
Killing Tyranny: George Gregory; Daniel Waldrop; Chase Ehle; Kristopher Towne Hams.
For more information, check out http://www.killingtyrannytheband.org.
Rating Guide:
A classic. This record will kick your ass.
Killer. Not a classic but it will rock your world.
So-so. You've heard better.
Pretty bad. Might make a nice coaster.
Self explanatory. Just the sight of the cover makes you wanna hurl.
Copyright © 2018 by R. Scott Bolton. All rights reserved.
