''Reluctant Hero'' is the second

studio album An album is a collection of audio recordings issued on compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl, audio tape, or another medium such as Digital distribution#Music, digital distribution. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early ...

by American heavy metal band

Killer Be Killed Killer Be Killed is an American heavy metal supergroup founded by Dillinger Escape Plan vocalist Greg Puciato and Soulfly frontman Max Cavalera in early 2011. The lineup also features Mastodon bassist and co-vocalist Troy Sanders and Converge ...

. It was released on November 20, 2020, by

Nuclear Blast Nuclear Blast is a record label and mail order record distributor with subsidiaries in Germany, the United States and Brazil. The label was founded in 1987 by Markus Staiger in Germany. Originally releasing hardcore punk records, the label mov ...

Writing

The band began writing the album in 2016, before going to Hybrid Studios in California in 2018 to record the music. They then finished recording the vocals in 2019.

Cover artwork

In an interview, guitarist

Max Cavalera Massimiliano Antonio "Max" Cavalera (; born August 4, 1969) is a Brazilian musician. He co-founded the heavy metal band Sepultura in 1984 with his brother Igor Cavalera, and was the band's lead singer and rhythm guitarist until his departure i ...

discussed the origins of the album cover:

"I'm really happy with how it came out, because I wasn't happy with the first one. I have a lot of these National Geographic magazines at home, and one had a story about haunted places in America. One of them was this cemetery in Cleveland, which has this really cool statue of an angel with a sword. I thought it would look so badass on an album cover — it almost looks like black metal — so I suggested to our label to find someone to go over and take a picture of the statue."

Singles

On September 4, 2020, Killer Be Killed announced the release of the album, along with the first single "Deconstructing Self-Construction". The second single "Dream Gone Bad" was released on October 13, 2020. On November 6, 2020, the third single "Inner Calm from Outer Storms" was released. In a press release, bass guitarist Troy Sanders said the single is "about having the ability to sense a distant or unseen target. It explores a journey of reckless abandon where the destination may, or may not, actually exist." The single also featured on

Consequence of Sound ''Consequence'' (previously ''Consequence of Sound'') is an independently owned New York-based online magazine featuring news, editorials, and reviews of music, movies, and television. In addition, the website also features the Festival Outlook ...

's Top 30 Metal & Hard Rock Songs of 2020. The fourth single, "From a Crowded Wound", was released on November 20, 2020, the same day as the album release.

Critical reception

''Reluctant Hero'' was met with generally favorable reviews from critics. Aggregator ''Album of the Year'' gave the release a 78 out of 100 based on a critical consensus of six reviews. Max Heilman of ''

Exclaim! ''Exclaim!'' is a Canadian music and entertainment publisher based in Toronto, which features in-depth coverage of new music across all genres with a special focus on Canadian and emerging artists. The monthly Exclaim! print magazine publishes 7 ...

'' said the songs on the release are "elevating poppy ideas with explosive, multilayered musicality and hard-hitting emotion. ''Reluctant Hero'' proves metal can be catchy without being stupid."

Accolades

Track listing

Charts

Credits

Greg Puciato Gregory John Puciato (born March 27, 1980) is an American musician best known as the former lead vocalist and lyricist of the metalcore band the Dillinger Escape Plan. He is also the lead singer of the Black Queen and Killer Be Killed, in which ...

– guitars, vocals *

Troy Sanders Troy Jayson Sanders (born September 8, 1973) is an American musician, best known as a member of heavy metal band Mastodon, in which he plays bass and sings alongside guitarist Brent Hinds and drummer Brann Dailor. He is also active in Killer B ...

– bass, vocals *

Ben Koller Ben Koller (born July 29, 1980) is an American drummer who has played with Converge, Mutoid Man, Killer Be Killed and All Pigs Must Die. He started playing a full drum kit at age 14. Musical career Early bands (1997–1999) Koller played i ...

– drums * Josh Wilbur – production, mixing, engineering * Nick Rowe – engineering * Cameron Rae – assistant engineering *

Ted Jensen Ted Jensen (born September 19, 1954) is an American mastering engineer, known for having mastered many recordings, including the Eagles' ''Hotel California'', Green Day's '' American Idiot'' and Norah Jones' ''Come Away with Me''. Biography Ted ...

– mastering *

Monte Conner Monte Conner is a former senior vice president of A&R for Roadrunner Records. He started at Roadrunner in December 1987. He has worked with numerous bands, including Slipknot, Trivium and King Diamond. The bands he has signed, in alphabetica ...

– A&R * Gerardo Martinez – A&R *

Gloria Cavalera Massimiliano Antonio "Max" Cavalera (; born August 4, 1969) is a Brazilian musician. He co-founded the heavy metal band Sepultura in 1984 with his brother Igor Cavalera, and was the band's lead singer and rhythm guitarist until his departure i ...

– management * Ryan J. Downey – management * Marcelo Vasco – cover artwork, design * Hannah Verbeuren – band photography

References

External links

Official website
{{Authority control 2020 albums Killer Be Killed albums Nuclear Blast albums