Poisonous and alluring, King Kobra’s latest album is full of surprises.
Classic ’80s metal floods the ear with the two opening tracks, Hell on Wheels and Knock ‘Em Dead while a bluesy vibe appears with Have A Good Time and The Ballad of Johnny Rod. Indeed, the rest of the album maintains this varied style with ballads, riff-based heavy metal, lighter, more mainstream rock and the killer track, The Crunch, which sees King Kobra swing their sound in the direction of Bad Company.
Have A Good Time will probably become a favourite with live audiences, and overall there are some great tracks on this album. The only drawback is that, at times, it is hard to keep up with the changing tempos of the many different styles on the album. King Kobra II is slightly demanding in this way. It is the mix of styles, rather than each song itself, that seems to be the trademark of this album and it could have benefited from a little more cohesion as the songs almost seem to come in pairs which jars the flow of the album.
Ultimately, you will appreciate this album more after you have listened to it a few times, which really, on the plus side, only makes the album hard to get tired of.
