Kill The King is a thrash metal band from India formed in 2016, releasing their self-titled debut album in 2023.
Founded by guitarists Aditya Swaminathan and Rishikesh Dharap, the band are completed by bass player Saurabh Lodha, singer Pritam Adhikary, and drummer Rahul Singh. Lyrically, the album addresses issues of “hate and violence endured by minority groups, transgender and homosexual people. The band expose manipulative leadership and societal injustice while delving into the corrosive influence of money. Addressing governance, deception and inequality fervently, Kill The King dares to delve into the misuse of culture for division and control, along with the relentless cycle of mistreatment, whether from family, systems, or those in power”.
Musically, the album is a high velocity forty-five minutes and nine songs of fast and furious thrash, a non-stop roller coaster ride of gruff, soaring vocals, thundering drums and searing guitars – ‘Sirens’ a sub one minute instrumental, building a highly anticipative atmosphere for the band to let all hell break fucking loose with the speedy opener (proper) ‘Hate Advocacy’. And an opening “metal scream” of the rougher, gruffer nature than the screams of legendary singers Bruce Dickinson and Rob Halford – Kill The King punishing the airways with a savage barrage of all-out thrash to terrify listeners all over the world. The band are at full tilt here, smashing their way across the land with a devastating display of brute force. ‘Money Talks’ maintains the album’s highly aggressive start, increasing speed and roaring down the highway, ignoring speed limits and the local traffic police – Kill The King is a fierce five-piece featuring a high level of menace!
And increasing the speed even further, the band roared on with the feisty ‘Freedom’, banging heads harder, and faster, than ever! The power and pace oozing from ‘Freedom’ is incredible, the band an immense force of nature that’s gonna destroy everything and everyone standing in its way. So I’d look out if I were you, there’s a force ten hurricane coming from India with only one thing on its mind – to deliver ferocity-laden thrash metal! And that’s exactly what ‘Kill The King’ offers, a torrent of aural abuse, the album storming on with the menacing foot stomper ‘Abuse’ – the band taking on a terrifying aura as ‘Abuse’ sends shivers down the spine, raising hairs on the backs of the necks of every single metalhead in the world. And the vocal display here is frightening, lacerating the skies with a sharpness not heard so far – an electrifying change of speed just after halfway sending ‘Abuse’ rocketing to a finish! And at less than three minutes in length, ‘No Country For Women’ is the shortest song on offer, adopting the more melodic style of thrash metal, casually striding on with shoulders back and head held high. Until once again, an electrifying turn of speed by the band sees ‘No Country For Women’ hurtle to a close.
And the phenomenal speed remains for the blistering ‘In The Name Of Culture’ – the band sending the mosh pits fucking wild with a brand of brutal thrash that’s gonna rock heads back and forth at an extremely high rate of knots. I hope you got a flexible neck ’cause this is gonna be fucking mental, local A&E services standing by for a mass invasion by listeners complaining of sore, sprained or broken necks! And still, there’s no let up in the brutal savagery, ‘Kill The King’ roaring forth with the raucously fast ‘Regicide’, displaying a fierce, frisky nature not heard in any of the previous songs – the vocals too, featuring a more menacing feel than ever before! Closing the album, ‘Dystopian Reign’ is the longest song on offer, clocking in at nearly seven and a half minutes in length – and is a ferocity-driven fury! The band are at full tilt once again, offering the opportunity for every single metalhead in the world to furiously bang their heads one last time! And bang them you will, for ‘Dystopian Reign’ bristles with so much force you’re gonna be powerless to resist.
Overall, a savage barrage of gruff, rough and tough thrash metal, delivered at high velocity with immense head-bang ability.
TRACKLIST
Sirens
Hate Advocacy
Money Talks
Freedom
Abuse
No Country for Women
In the Name of Culture
Regicide
Dystopian Reign
Kill The King: Facebook
Release Year: 2023
Label: self-released
Category: Album
Country: India
Reviewed by Iron Mathew for Frenzy Fire and Metal-Roos.
