 KING
KOBRA
Thrill of a Lifetime
Capitol Records 1986
Read the Carmine Appice interview
What's the 4-1-1?
King Kobra was just one of the 1,528 bands that Carmine Appice
was a part of in the eighties. Their debut release was Ready
to Strike; a heavy metal powerhouse that bordered on pop-metal.
Thrill of a Lifetime, their sophomore release, finds the group
completely selling out to the pop-rock/AOR genre. Honestly,
that’s
not a bad thing. Maybe King Kobra would have lasted longer if
they didn’t try to sound like everyone else.
The dual guitar leads and heavy synths make “Dream On” sound
like a long lost Loverboy track. “Feel the Heat” channels
the sounds of Y & T with its faint guitar chords, and once
again, synth heavy intro. “Home Street Home” is King
Kobra’s sad attempt at rap. In their defense, everyone was
giving it a try at the time. I don’t know who’s rapping
here, it doesn’t really sound like him, but kudos for him
for sounding like the guys from “Rapper Delight”. As
you would expect, this one is heavy on the drums. Kobra put their
own stamp on it with finger-tapping solos and layered vocal harmonies.
To further support my theory of sounding like everyone else, “Never
Say Die” is the anthemic theme to the Top Gun rip off Iron
Eagle. Driving synths, powerful vocals, and a powerful chorus make
you feel like the jets are flying over head. I wonder what Kenny
Loggins thinks about this one? I swear that the exact same chord
progression from “Ballroom Blitz” is used on “Party
Animal”. Might I add this is a pretty light song about an
animal. Eighties cliché alert: A song using the work ‘rock’.
This anthem has a great sing along chorus. I’ll start: Raise
your hands to rock… (everybody)…rock, rock, rock!
The Verdict
King Kobra went from heavy metal to glossy, corporate rock in one
fell swoop. Call me crazy, but Thrill of a Lifetime is one of
my guilty pleasures.
Did you know?
Vocalist Mark Free is now a woman. You just can’t make this
stuff up!
Rating:  out
of 5
Related Reviews:
Blue Murder - S/T
--George Dionne |
