It's hard to write about Killer Be Killed without marvelling at their personnel. Comprised of vocalist/guitarist Greg Puciato (ex-The Dillinger Escape Plan), vocalist/guitarist Max Cavalera (Soulfly, ex-Sepultura), vocalist/bassist Troy Sanders (Mastodon), and newly appointed drummer Ben Koller (Converge, Mutoid Man, All Pigs Must Die)—who replaced The Mars Volta's Dave Elitch, KBK emerged in 2014 with an impressive self-titled debut. Most fans thought that each member's loaded schedule would nix the possibility of a follow-up, so Reluctant Hero is both a surprise and a surprisingly great return. Although KBK's debut was praised for balancing each musician's personalities without sounding cluttered or lopsided, the songwriting on Reluctant Hero feels even more poised and dialed into everyone's strengths. The record's melodic standout, "Dream Gone Bad," features a majestic hook from Sanders that could fill a stadium, while Cavalera's iconic grunts keep the track firmly planted in the world of heavy metal. That's one of the albums greatest feats: as massively catchy and sing-able many of these choruses are, and as clean as the production can be, there's always a chunky riff or a tumbling drum fill that makes them feel properly heavy—which is a line that many bands fail to toe. That said, there are some unabashedly whipping moments as well. The second half of "Inner Calm from Outer Storms" builds into a thrashy gallop that transitions nicely into the '90s punk-influenced "Filthy Vagabond," which features "woah-oh'" gang vocals that sound straight out of a Pennywise record. "From A Crowded Wound" begins as a lurching chugger that stretches upward like a classic Mastodon song, laced with tasteful solos and Cavalera's guttural yells. Although Puciato and Cavalera both have some amazing parts on here, Sanders' vocals are the album's guiding light, bringing to mind mid-career Mastodon material that predates their recent swerve into hard rock. For as tuneful and sleek as it is, Reluctant Hero is a badass metal album from a crew that no headbanger should be taking for granted. © Eli Enis/Qobuz

A supergroup featuring some of heavy music's heaviest hitters, Killer Be Killed don't disappoint on their vigorous self-titled debut. Featuring Dillinger Escape Plan vocalist Greg Puciato, groove metal legend Max Cavalera, Mastodon bassist Troy Sanders, and Mars Volta drummer Dave Elitch, the band's opening salvo is a crushing blend of thrash and groove metal that finds its members tempering one another's influence without losing their individuality. And while the music is, unsurprisingly, pretty devastating, the vocals are the real treat here. Sharing vocal duties, Sanders, Puciato, and Cavalera rotate in and out on every song, playing to their own strengths as they tag-team their way through the album. In a way, the band feels like a reaction to the wildly creative projects its members have been part of, allowing these guys to let off some steam and rock hard for the sake of rocking hard. Fortunately, it makes for a fine album of chug-heavy metal that'll make fans of these guys glad that their hobby from making killer music is to make more killer music. © Gregory Heaney /TiVo

After the success on their Love It to Death album and its hit single "I'm Eighteen," Alice Cooper seemed poised to make a giant leap to the head of the hard rock class. Killer delivers on the promise and then some as it offers moments of sweaty rock & roll brilliance, oddball horror ballads, and garage rock freak outs, all wrapped up in a glammy, sleazy package. Working again with producer Bob Ezrin, the band craft a sound that's powerful and lithe with guitars that slash and snake around each other, drums and bass that provide a solid foundation but also aren't short on melody and hooks, and of course Alice Cooper's one of a kind vocals. Whether he's strutting, crooning, or going slowly insane, his voice is like the character in a movie you can't take your eyes off for a second because you might miss a small gesture or look that will shock and surprise. The one-two punch of "Under My Wheels" and "Be My Lover" is one of the great album operners of all time, both songs taking classic rock & roll tropes and giving them a evil twist with romping horns, doo wop background vocals and the kind of libertine lyrics that are guaranteed to drive parents crazy. After this, the album takes off in a variety of directions including the horror prog ballad "Dead Babies," the raucous rockers "You Drive Me Nervous" and "Yeah Yeah Yeah" that come across like Steppenwolf tracks made by real bikers, the Western gunfighter ballad "Desperado" -- which juxtaposes some lovely orchestrated strings against Cooper's croaking vocals -- and the oddly rollicking title track where Cooper does a convincing carnival barker imitation while guitarists Mike Bruce and Glen Buxton get a chance to unwind and kick up some dust. Each and every track is handled with the same kind of unbridled glee that lets the listener know the band is having a blast; it's hard not to be swept along for the ride. The album's centerpiece "Halo of Flies" is a stunning work of rock & roll that encompasses the gutter freak psych of the band's earliest work, the expansive scope of prog rock, bits of the Sound of Music, martial drum solos, very stoned blues riffing, and Cooper's alternately pleading and withering vocals. It's the work of a band who can barely control all the ideas flowing out of them, yet somehow manage to corral their energy and creativity into something epic and unique. Indeed, there was no other group quite like Alice Cooper operating in 1971 and Killer is the moment where they put all the pieces together and began to soar.© Tim Sendra /TiVo

After the success on their Love It to Death album and its hit single "I'm Eighteen," Alice Cooper seemed poised to make a giant leap to the head of the hard rock class. Killer delivers on the promise and then some as it offers moments of sweaty rock & roll brilliance, oddball horror ballads, and garage rock freak outs, all wrapped up in a glammy, sleazy package. Working again with producer Bob Ezrin, the band craft a sound that's powerful and lithe with guitars that slash and snake around each other, drums and bass that provide a solid foundation but also aren't short on melody and hooks, and of course Alice Cooper's one of a kind vocals. Whether he's strutting, crooning, or going slowly insane, his voice is like the character in a movie you can't take your eyes off for a second because you might miss a small gesture or look that will shock and surprise. The one-two punch of "Under My Wheels" and "Be My Lover" is one of the great album operners of all time, both songs taking classic rock & roll tropes and giving them a evil twist with romping horns, doo wop background vocals and the kind of libertine lyrics that are guaranteed to drive parents crazy. After this, the album takes off in a variety of directions including the horror prog ballad "Dead Babies," the raucous rockers "You Drive Me Nervous" and "Yeah Yeah Yeah" that come across like Steppenwolf tracks made by real bikers, the Western gunfighter ballad "Desperado" -- which juxtaposes some lovely orchestrated strings against Cooper's croaking vocals -- and the oddly rollicking title track where Cooper does a convincing carnival barker imitation while guitarists Mike Bruce and Glen Buxton get a chance to unwind and kick up some dust. Each and every track is handled with the same kind of unbridled glee that lets the listener know the band is having a blast; it's hard not to be swept along for the ride. The album's centerpiece "Halo of Flies" is a stunning work of rock & roll that encompasses the gutter freak psych of the band's earliest work, the expansive scope of prog rock, bits of the Sound of Music, martial drum solos, very stoned blues riffing, and Cooper's alternately pleading and withering vocals. It's the work of a band who can barely control all the ideas flowing out of them, yet somehow manage to corral their energy and creativity into something epic and unique. Indeed, there was no other group quite like Alice Cooper operating in 1971 and Killer is the moment where they put all the pieces together and began to soar.© Tim Sendra /TiVo

Few comebacks are ever as expertly executed as Morrissey's 2004 return to the stage, You Are the Quarry. It may have not sold gangbusters but it was certainly a hit, proving that he still had legions of devoted fans who would follow through hell and high water (or at the very least, seven years between albums), and earned his best reviews in years, elevating him to the status of well-respected elder statesman. It also gave him the opportunity to return to regular record-making, an opportunity that he seizes with Quarry's quickly delivered sequel, 2006's Ringleader of the Tormentors. Despite its near-genius title, perfect artwork, and pedigree -- instead of working with modern punk producer Jerry Finn as he did last time around, Moz has hired the legendary Tony Visconti, best known for his work with T. Rex and David Bowie, and even has the iconic Ennio Morricone provide orchestration for the epic "Dear God Please Help Me" -- Ringleader of the Tormentors is about as close to standard-issue Morrissey as it gets. There's always been a certain similarity to his work, particularly on his solo recordings, but each of his records either had a distinct sonic or aesthetic point of view or, at the very least, was graced by a handful of songs distinguished by a particularly sharp turn of phrase, whether it was lyrical or musical. It would seem that Ringleader has all the elements of being a cut above an average Morrissey LP, since not only are his collaborators storied themselves, but it's supported by a press campaign where the once celibate, often miserable singer has declared that he's abandoned L.A. for Rome, where he is living happily and living in love. All of these elements seem to be the core ingredients for a classic Morrissey record, but there is little about Ringleader that's distinctive: whether it's the standard-issue single "You Have Killed Me" or the grinding seven-minute art rock centerpiece "Life Is a Pigsty," each tune has an all-too-clear antecedent elsewhere in Moz's catalog. Again, since Morrissey often works within a strict formula, this familiarity isn't necessarily bad, but the songs lack memorable moments. Not to say that there aren't highlights -- the dirgeful opener, "I Will See You in Far Off Places," is dreamily evocative, "In the Future When All Is Well" and "On the Streets I Ran" are nicely propulsive -- but there is nothing noteworthy or fresh here besides Morrissey's new tendency toward blunt words. He writes candidly about his personal life on this record in a way that he never has before -- he implicitly outs himself on "Dear God Please Help Me" -- and while this outburst of frank emotion may add some resonance to his declarations of love and rebirth, his words are clunky, lacking his trademark elegant wit ("I see the world, it makes me puke" and "there are explosive kegs between my legs" are a long way from "Why pamper life's complexity/When the leather runs smooth on the passenger seat?"). That is also true of the very sound of Ringleader of the Tormentors, which is just a shade too slick and sequenced, veering too close to comfort to the overly glossy '80s productions Morrissey routinely denounced during his days with the Smiths. These are subtle flaws, something that only the Morrissey diehard can dig out, but that's pretty much the only kind of fan Morrissey has in 2006. And since these flaws are not enough to derail the record, just enough to annoy, it's easy to enjoy Ringleader of the Tormentors as merely an everyday Morrissey record, but it's hard not to shake the suspicion that this album is the closest he's ever been to forgettable.© Stephen Thomas Erlewine /TiVo