Kill The Lights // Death Melodies // Album Review

Having released the debut album The Sinner back in the days of Covid-19 (remember that?!) the five-piece band from different areas of Wales and America are back with this monster.

Made up of band members from well-established bands – this side project is impacting the scene. It comprised Michael “Moose” Thomas (Bullet For My Valentine) on drums Jason “Jay” James on bass (previously of Bullet For My Valentine) from Bridgend, Wales and James Clark (vocals) who fronted Throw The Fight and then Jordan Whelan (guitar) and Travis Montgomery (guitar) from Still Remains and Threat Signal respectfully.

With such pedigree, it should come as no surprise when you press play and are immediately met by a wall of greatness.

Made up of 12 tracks that blend the classic with the modern, clean with furious vocals and melodic with furious – Kill The Lights are on fine form from the moment you press play. The scream is the first thing to welcome you before the guitars unload pure riffage and the drums crash and hammer the beat. This is Metal!

This formula of guitar-rich riffs and solos continues throughout the album as the vocals morph between the scream and a cleaner option that you will be belting out the lyrics along with before you know it.

The album is pretty much full octane, however, there is the exception of ‘Sleep With The Devil’ the album closer. The core Kill The Lights is certainly still very much on show, but here it is more stripped back and almost vulnerable at times.

The overall feeling from the album is that of a bag full of anthemic tracks that will have the crowd eating out of the palm of the band’s hands as they bounce up and down whilst singing along with every word, screaming every lung-busting aggressive outburst, air drumming and playing their finest air guitar but most importantly – forgetting about the daily shit and just enjoying the moment. Isn’t that what music is all about?

Death Melodies isn’t breaking new ground on any music scene – however, it is doing fantastic music and doing it very well. It shows how well when I struggle to pick out the highlights of the album as the entire album is just a blast and one for all ages and experiences of the world of Metal.

Please – just grab this, press play and enjoy this wonderful example of this amazing genre called Metal.

Death Melodies will be released on Friday, March 8^th 2024 via Fearless Records.

Review: Ed Ford

KILL THE LIGHTS have also revealed exciting tour news, announcing 19 European headline shows, including nine UK dates. The tour begins in Cardiff on April 19th, wrapping up in Cologne on May 10th. Special guests for the tour are yet to be announced. Tickets are available immediately via the band’s official website: https://killthelightsofficial.com/#tour.

The tour includes:

Fri 19th Apr – Wales – CARDIFF Globe

Sat 20th Apr – England – LONDON Downstairs at The Dome

Sun 21st Apr – England – SOUTHAMPTON Joiners

Tue 23rd Apr – England – NOTTINGHAM Rescue Rooms

Wed 24th Apr – England – LEEDS Key Club

Thu 25th Apr – Scotland – GLASGOW Garage Attic

Fri 26th Apr – England – MANCHESTER Star and Garter

Sat 27th Apr – England – BIRMINGHAM Asylum2

Sun 28th Apr – England – BRIGHTON Dust

Tue 30th Apr – Netherlands – DORDRECHT Bibelot

Wed 1st May – Netherlands – DEN BOSCH Willem Twee

Thu 2nd May – Netherlands – HEERLEN Nieuwe Nor

Fri 3rd May – Germany – HAMBURG Headcrash

Sun 5th May – Germany – LEIPZIG Hellraiser

Mon 6th May – Germany – WIESBADEN Kesselhaus

Tue 7th May – Czech Republic – PRAGUE Rock Cafe

Wed 8th May – Germany – SAARBRÜCKEN Kleiner Klub

Thu 9th May – Germany – STUTTGART Im Wizemann

Fri 10th May – Germany – COLOGNE MTC

DEATH MELODIES TRACK LISTING:

Hear You Scream
Die Alone
Broken Bones
Bleeding
Scapegoat
From Ashes
Wasting Away
Man Without A Face
Ghost Of Yesterday
Sleep With The Devil
Suicidal
Drowning

ABOUT KILL THE LIGHTS

Certain bonds cross all borders and boundaries. KILL THE LIGHTS harbour this kind of connection between them. Even though you’ve got Michael “Moose” Thomas [drums] and Jason “Jay” James [bass] in Bridgend, Wales, and – across the pond in the USA – James Clark [vocals] in Minneapolis, MN, Jordan Whelan [guitar] in Grand Rapids, MI, and Travis Montgomery [guitar] in Dallas, TX, the musicians lock into an impenetrable groove that eclipses physical distance. The band is especially adept at fusing classic, galloping guitar riffing with modern metal conventions, like alternately sung and screamed vocals and breakdowns that will incite pits to erupt.

Of course, the experienced musicians boast an experienced, stellar pedigree. Moose co-founded multi-platinum international heavyweights Bullet For My Valentine, while Jay also played in the band. James fronted Throw The Fight, and Jordan and Travis handled guitar duties for Still Remains and Threat Signal, respectively.

Upon forming KILL THE LIGHTS, they uncovered uncontainable chemistry, releasing their debut LP The Sinner in the midst of the global COVID-19 pandemic. Among many highlights, “The Faceless” posted up 2 million-plus Spotify streams and counting followed by “Through The Night” and “Shed My Skin,” which each crossed the 1 million mark. Metal Hammer rated it 4-out-of-5 stars and proclaimed “Kill The Lights nail the groove and the glory.” After piling up millions of streams and earning further acclaim from the likes of Kerrang! and New Noise, a sense of unwavering unity drives their second full-length offering, Death Melodies.

Tickets are available for the upcoming UK dates via the band’s official website: https://killthelightsofficial.com/#tour.

Fri 19th Apr – CARDIFF Globe

Sat 20th Apr – LONDON Downstairs at The Dome

Sun 21st Apr – SOUTHAMPTON Joiners

Tue 23rd Apr – NOTTINGHAM Rescue Rooms

Wed 24th Apr – LEEDS Key Club

Thu 25th Apr – GLASGOW Garage Attic

Fri 26th Apr – MANCHESTER Star and Garter

Sat 27th Apr – BIRMINGHAM Asylum2

Sun 28th Apr – BRIGHTON Dust

www.killthelightsofficial.com