Kill Devil Hill blazed through town playing a date at Battle Creek’s premier concert venue Planet Rock. The band is touring along with Eyes Set To Kill in support of their latest Century Media records release “Revolution Rise”.
Kill Devil Hill features Rock Icons Rex Brown (Pantera, Down), Vinny Appice (Black Sabbath, Heaven & Hell, Dio), Dewey Bragg (Pissing Razors), and Mark Zavon.
With names like that the band could easily be labeled a “Supergroup”, but don’t call them that. According to Rex, the term Supergroup is thrown around way too much these days and with it comes a certain attatched stigma. Are the members well known musicians each with a storied history? Yes, but that label can also come with downfalls.
Instead, he prefers KDH to be called a band. This is a band he and the other members are extremely dedicated and passionate about and they realize that the only thing that will lead the band to success is that dedication, passion and a solid work ethic at a grassroots level.
That work ethic is evident on their latest effort “Revolution Rise” which was released on 10.29.13 via Century Media Records. This is the bands first release with Century Media. The album was produced by the band as well as former Dokken / Dio member and current Foreigner member Jeff Pilson.
The band spent a considerable amount of time making this release the best it can be and the hard work seems to have payed off as the performance was absolutely incredible.
Did I wear earplugs? Hell NO, and it was LOUD as the band blasted through a setlist which was heavily dominated by tracks from the new disc such as “No Way Out”, “Crown Of Thorns”, “Leaving All Behind” and “Why” as well as tracks such as “War Machine” and “Strange” from the bands 2012 self-titled debut. They even threw in a couple surprises by jamming a bit of Sabbath and Zeppelin and the crowd absolutely loved it.
Speaking of blasting, Rex was blasting through his new Hartke setup which apparently cranks out over 2000W mono-bridged. Awesome.
Of course the set included a drum solo from “The Godfather of the Drums” Vinny Appice. Who I saw back in 1985 on Dio’s “Last In Line” tour in West Palm Beach, FL. Ironically, the openers on that tour were Dokken who were supporting their 1984 release “Tooth and Nail”. Needless to say, Vin is still “THE MAN”.
Vocalist Dewey Bragg and his intense stage presence belted through track after track with his now signature sound not missing a note and whipped the crowd into a frenzy. Meanwhile, guitarist Mark Zavon shredded like a madman possessed.
I have listened to this disc many times and there really isn’t a weak spot on it. I would have to rate this disc as one of the top releases of 2013.
This seems to be a common theme amongst critics as reviews have been overwhelmingly positive across the board.
The first single on “Revolution Rise’ is “Crown Of Thorns” which the band feels exemplifies the bands current state best. This track sounds a bit like Down and was a perfect choice for a first single. The song has a lyric video on Youtube which was released on 9.26.13 and to date has amassed over 68k views. Check it out.
[Youtube=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mFXKiU0bSGI&w=470&h=283]
Additionally, the label has released a lyric video for the discs 4th track “Why?”. This video was released on 10.18.13 and has already reached almost 25k views. Here it is.
[Youtube=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rtDK56dHTQY&w=470&h=283]
According to the band, they have recorded a video for their next single “Leave It All Behind” which is one of my favorite tracks on the disc. Apparently the video is very “apocalyptic” and was shot at an old burned out missile silo site in the hills north of the San Fernando valley and the video was directed by Vicente Cordero whom the band has worked with previously. Additionally, this track has been kicking ass and taking names on various radio testing segments. So definitely keep an eye out for that video.
Rex Brown and Mark Zavon took a few moments prior to the set to speak with NRR about all things KDH and more.
We appreciate the guys for taking time out of their intense tour schedule to speak with us and wish them the best of luck with the new disc and in 2014. Hopefully, they will be back in the area soon. I have a feeling they will.
A special thanks to Planet Rock for bringing these guys to town.
For more info on KDH, be sure to hit them up online:
killdevilhillmusic.com
facebook.com/KillDevilHillMusic
twitter.com/klldvlhll
itunes.apple.com/us/artist/kill-devil-hill/id216252398
instagram.com/killdevilhillmusic
www.youtube.com/user/KLLDVLHLL?ob=0
Brian Michael Jacques
aka “OLDâ€
If you want to hear some Kill Devil Hill and other metal you can listen to my radio show THE METAL on http://wkuf.fm or 94.3 FM in the Flint, MI listening area every Sunday 8pm-12am.
You can also check us out on Facebook at facebook.com/THEMETAL94.3