Album Review: The Sinner Rides Again - KK's Priest

KK's Priest has finally released his second studio album, The Sinner Rides Again.

An album that was already craving to be heard since the first singles that were previously released. The album opens with 'Sons Of The Sentinel,' a continuation of 'Return Of The Sentinel,' which in turn is a sequel to 'The Sentinel,' thus forming a very interesting trilogy. Ripper Owens enters with all the power immediately to destroy our ears with such a powerful voice. The album continues with 'Strike Of The Viper' that we had already heard previously and we could notice the melodic path that the band wanted to take for this second track. 'Reap The Whirlwind' follows the same path, a song that had already been played live. With 'One More Shot At Glory' the band wanted to rekindle the flame of Painkiller and as a result gave a strong theme, with completely unhinged riffs, especially the riff before the dueling guitars. It's absolutely brutal and a Ripper that comes with everything. The guitar duel between AJ Mills and KK Downing is simply impressive.

'Hymn 66' slows down a bit, and opens on a more instrumental path until Ripper Owens does the same with some simply brutal vocal changes. We arrive to the theme that gives name to the album, 'The Sinner Rides Again,' starting as a nostalgic ballad and somber melodies to give way to a simple but direct riff at the same time that the band seems to enter all at the same time, a song that seems roller coaster taking us from top to bottom. Again the duo Downing/Mills does their thing and gives a spectacular guitar duel.

'Keeper Of The Graves' has an even darker beginning, with an introduction by Ripper very much in the style of 'Burn In Hell,' another song where the melodies are more marked by the band which starts from the bottom to take us upwards and back down again. Towards the end with 'Pledge Your Souls' the band starts a path where the end is a brutal closure, again I have to mention those guitar duels that leave me speechless, adding those hits on the drums of Sean Elg that sound perfect.

Already in the final theme we find 'Wash Away Your Sins,' the band leans more towards the field of the epic, something that we were already beginning to notice since 'Keeper Of The Graves,' thus giving a complete turn within the material of the album.

The great thing about this work is undoubtedly the ensemble work that the band has done, they have coupled much better. The production I have to say, surpasses Sermons Of The Sinner and the work of Sean Elg and Tony Newton in their instruments are more incredible than in their previous work. Ripper Owens is a complete beast on vocals, sounding even better than on the band's previous work, and that has also been reflected in the live performances the band have already played. An album that compared to Sermons Of The Sinner, covers more epic and melodic ground but without leaving aside the legacy of classic old school heavy metal. KK's Priest giving us two albums in 3 years is completely appreciated, and I hope the third one won't take too long as the band leaves us wanting to hear a lot more material.