Killer Kings - Burn For Love (Album Review)

Killer Kings is a new band featuring guitarist Tristan Avakian, who has over the years been in the orbit of the great Brian May. Vocalist Gregory Lynn Hall is a seasoned AOR rock veteran who was pounding the pavement in Los Angeles back in the 1980s. The name Killer Kings might be a nod to Queen's Killer Queen. Many of the guitar solos will take you back to that classic Brian May style. Hall adds a David Coverdale element to the band. And stylistically it comes off as part Journey, part Whitesnake with a touch of Foreigner and Queen.

An absolute juggernaut of melodic rock greatness. This thing hits like a ton of bricks from the very first rockin' note. If you want the genre to continue, you put this on the radio. Songs one and two are both made for radio singles that instantly solve a 30 year old dilemma. "Burn For Love" with it's Vandenburg acoustic intro and it's sweeping proggy-melodic imprint is a joy for rock fans looking for some meat and a sweet side dish. Gregory Lynn Hall's smoky and seasoned vocal is the perfit fit for these well written melodies. Tristan's guitars will not only fill out those speakers, they will twist, turn and solo with reckless joy. The sound is big and impressionable. 

"I Will Be Stronger" puts the guitar hook right in your face. This is rock radio material if the rock radio era still existed. "Higher" harkens back to the great band Guiffria with a lot of Whitesnake's most accessible top 40 moments. It soars and rocks and feels like an instant radio favorite. The chorus contains enough feeling for one entire album. "In A Different World" mixes in a lot of that Queen guitar sound while the keyboards end up segueing into a wonderful bold lyrical word-guitar cacophony. It's such a forceful song. "Another Night, Another Fight" is a 6 minute opus combining elements of late 70's progressive rock with 80's melodic rock. Like all this material, there is a grandness to it. These are all playable album cuts that you could play on an 80's FM rock station. "Phoenix" is a "killer" battle between guitars, keyboards and vocals. And each instrument comes though without the heavy handed modern production that often plagues newer releases. 

"Two Ships" is a a power ballad that Alias and Mr. Big would have written if they were a couple back in the 80's. The guitars really kick in during the chorus making this more glam than west coast rock. "Losing Me" jumps out of the gate with elements of pop and hard rock and is super convincing in both areas. 

The quality of songwriting is really something to behold on this record. "Do Or Die" is a hard rocking MSG sounding track with vocals, drums and guitars blazing. "The Plains of Yesterday" is another keyboard drenched rocker with more powerhouse vocals and a groovy bass line. "Ain't No End in Sight" is almost a power ballad. It rocks out, but those keyboard parts bring everything back to the glory days of melodic rock.  

In summary, what an amazing album. The powerful singing. The incredible songwriting. Let's not forget Alessandro Del Vecchio who did the production on this one. He really brought out all of those textures from so many influences. This collection will engage you from start to finish and proves that this kind of music can still be creative and relevant. The Killer Kings are Killer.

Album Rating 9.9