photo courtesy of Glass Onyon PR

Album Review of King Kobra: We Are Warriors (Cleopatra Records)

I first got into King Kobra‘s music back in mid-eighties, when the band was touring in support of its 1985 debut album Ready to Strike. The band’s latest recording, We Are Warriors, features original members Carmine Appice (drums) and Johnny Rod (bass). Vocalist Paul Shortino has been with King Kobra since 2010, though many classic rockers may remember Shortino best as the widely-lauded lead singer of Rough Cutt in the mid-eighties. Guitarists Carlos Cavazo (Quiet Riot) and Rowan Robertson (Dio) round out the line-up for this release.

With so many of classic hard rock’s best players on this album, you can expect songs that showcase the guitarists’ shredworthiness and Appice’s legendary skinswork. And, of course, Shortino’s trademark powerful rock ‘n roll wail. The album lacks that obvious, in-your-face, hook-filled hit single that grabs the listener’s attention right off. The songs are well-crafted, showcasing the band’s musicianship in the way album-oriented rock discs from the seventies and eighties typically did. Throughout, We Are Warriors is a strong collection of songs with staying power. And the hooks are there, they’re just a little subtler; after a few listens, favorites emerge.

image courtesy of Glass Onyon PR

Album-opener “Music is a Piece of Art” is a representative introduction to the band’s 2023 sound; it’s a solid rock number that features Appice’s drumming coming to a peak, stopping, then continuing. Shortino convincingly sings his ode to music, with lyrics like “you are my passion, you’re heaven-sent, you’re my companion without end.” And the song features a classic mid-song guitar solo, more soaring than shredding, taking the listener on a brief journey before returning to the melody.

It’s not the only ode to music on the album, though. It’s immediately followed by the funkier-rockin’ “Turn Up the Music,” another song extolling the band’s love affair with music.

“Secrets and Lies,” next, ratchets up the energy; it’s a more intense rocker with a catchy sidewinding rhythm; it’s drum-heavy and the first song on the album to showcase some serious shredding in the guitar parts.

Several more songs stand out on the disc. For example, “One More Night” coolly cycles through three tempos from verse to bridge to chorus, with the frequent changes giving the song a more progressive rock feel.

King Kobra’s cover of “Love Hurts” is well-done, featuring the power and anguish of the original, though I’ll never understand why so many online lyric sheets – and this song – use the lyric “love wounds and marks” instead of Nazareth’s – and the Everly Brothers’ original – “love wounds and mars,” which has the added benefit of rhyming with the previous line. But that’s a personal pet peeve. Ignoring that, the song is well-done and, stylistically, it fits neatly and cleanly into this collection.

Following “Love Hurts,” the rest of the disc tends more toward album tracks that showcase the band’s skills, not quite as hooky as the first half but enjoyable songs to kick back and enjoy. In fact, with the exception of the title track, the rest of the songs I’d release as singles – those with the catchiest hooks – are found on “Side A.” As any AOR fan knows, that doesn’t mean I’m slagging on “Side B”; it’s called album-oriented rock for a reason.

“Darkness” connects with the listener quickly with its funky rock rhythm, crunchy axework, and soaring vocals. The song somehow feels densely-packed with instruments (perhaps due to Appice’s hard-hitting drumming) yet airy enough for the guitars and vocals to dance around a bit. Pretty cool stuff.

Title track “We Are Warriors” is a heavily playful ode to the L.A. rock ‘n roll lifestyle (opening lyrics: “I like hitting the Strip, there’s action everywhere…”) with a beat that seems to keep constantly pushing forward, with the drums imploring the song to speed along faster. Alternately, the guitars and vocals could be seen to be running behind, sitting at the back of the rhythmic envelope, as it were. However you choose to describe it, it sounds cool and maintains an engaging tension. Old-school ’80s rockers are gonna enjoy this song.

Disc-ender “Side By Side” is one of the softer songs on the album, still with a steady, driving rhythm but with a softer edge and guitarwork that soars, like the vocals, more than it shreds.

In its entirety, We Are Warriors is an exceptional classic hard rock album that showcases the talents of several of the genre’s icons. The instrumentation is exceptional and varied, and Shortino is one of hard rock’s iconic voices. Although each listener will have different favorites, every song is well-conceived and performed. Indeed, if you’re an eighties hard rock fan, assuming you give this disc a few spins and take the time get to know the songs, you’ll dig it. More with each listen.