King Kobra

King Kobra is an American heavy metal band founded by drummer Carmine Appice after his tenure with Ozzy Osbourne from 1983 to 1984.

History

For their first two albums, the band consisted of four relatively unknown musicians: vocalist Marcie Free, guitarist David Michael-Philips, guitarist Mick Sweda, and bassist Johnny Rod. After two albums on Capitol Records—'' Ready to Strike'' (November 9, 1985) and '' Thrill of a Lifetime'' (1986)—and the independent release '' King Kobra III'' in 1988, Appice decided to dissolve the band and join guitarist John Sykes for his Blue Murder project in 1989.

A new King Kobra emerged in 2010 with Carmine Appice on drums, Paul Shortino taking over vocal duties, Mick Sweda on guitar, David Henzerling (a.k.a. David Michael-Philips) on guitar, and Johnny Rod on bass. This lineup released the self-titled album '' King Kobra'' in 2011 on Frontiers Records and another album in 2013, titled '' King Kobra II''.

The band went on hiatus following the release of their 2013 album, largely due to the other commitments of the individual band members, They played live gigs again in 2016 without Mick Sweda.

Band members

Current members

*Paul Shortino – lead vocals, guitar (2010–present)
* David Michael-Phillips – guitar, backing vocals, keyboards, synthesizers (1983–1989, 2010–present)
*Johnny Rod – bass (1983–1986, 2010–present)
*Carmine Appice – drums, backing vocals (1983–1989, 2000–2001, 2010-present)

Former members

*Marcie Free – lead vocals (1983–1986)
*Mike Wolf – guitar (1983)
*Mick Sweda – guitar, backing vocals, synthesizers (1983–1987, 2000–2001, 2010–2016)
*Marq Torien – lead vocals (1987)
*Lonnie Vencent – bass (1986–1987)
*Larry Hart – bass (1987–1989)
*Jeff Northrup – guitar (1987–1989)
* Johnny Edwards – lead vocals (1987–1989)
*Kelly Keeling – bass, lead vocals, guitars, keyboards (2000–2001)
*Steve Fister – guitar (2000–2001)

Timeline

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Alignbars = justify
DateFormat = dd/mm/yyyy
Period = from:01/01/1983 till:01/01/2023
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Legend = orientation:vertical position:bottom columns:3
ScaleMinor = increment:1 start:1983
ScaleMajor = increment:2 start:1983

Colors =
id:Vocals value:red legend:Vocals
id:Guitar value:green legend:Guitar
id:Keys value:purple legend:Keyboards
id:Bass value:blue legend:Bass
id:Drums value:orange legend:Drums
id:Lines value:black legend:Studio_releases

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at:09/11/1985 color:black layer:back
at:01/07/1986 color:black layer:back
at:01/07/1988 color:black layer:back
at:01/01/2001 color:black layer:back
at:05/05/2011 color:black layer:back
at:05/04/2013 color:black layer:back

PlotData=
width:11 textcolor:black align:left anchor:from shift:(10,-4)
bar:Marcie Free from:start till:01/11/1986 color:Vocals
bar:Marq Torien from:01/11/1986 till:01/07/1987 color:Vocals
bar:Johnny Edwards from:01/07/1987 till:01/07/1989 color:Vocals
bar:Paul Shortino from:01/07/2010 till:end color:Vocals
bar:Paul Shortino from:01/07/2010 till:end color:Guitar width:3
bar:David Michael-Philips from:start till:01/07/1989 color:Guitar
bar:David Michael-Philips from:start till:01/07/1989 color:Keys width:3
bar:David Michael-Philips from:01/07/2010 till:end color:Guitar
bar:David Michael-Philips from:01/07/2010 till:end color:Keys width:3
bar:Mike Wolf from:start till:01/07/1983 color:Guitar
bar:Mick Sweda from:01/07/1983 till:01/07/1987 color:Guitar
bar:Mick Sweda from:01/07/1983 till:01/07/1987 color:Keys width:3
bar:Mick Sweda from:01/07/2000 till:01/07/2001 color:Guitar
bar:Mick Sweda from:01/07/2000 till:01/07/2001 color:Keys width:3
bar:Mick Sweda from:01/07/2010 till:01/07/2016 color:Guitar
bar:Mick Sweda from:01/07/2010 till:01/07/2016 color:Keys width:3
bar:Jeff Northrup from:01/07/1987 till:01/07/1989 color:Guitar
bar:Steve Fister from:01/07/2000 till:01/07/2001 color:Guitar
bar:Johnny Rod from:start till:01/07/1986 color:Bass
bar:Johnny Rod from:01/07/2010 till:end color:Bass
bar:Lonnie Vencent from:01/07/1986 till:01/07/1987 color:Bass
bar:Larry Hart from:01/07/1987 till:01/07/1989 color:Bass
bar:Kelly Keeling from:01/07/2000 till:01/07/2001 color:Bass
bar:Kelly Keeling from:01/07/2000 till:01/07/2001 color:Guitar width:7
bar:Kelly Keeling from:01/07/2000 till:01/07/2001 color:Keys width:5
bar:Kelly Keeling from:01/07/2000 till:01/07/2001 color:Vocals width:3
bar:Carmine Appice from:start till:01/07/1989 color:Drums
bar:Carmine Appice from:01/07/2000 till:01/07/2001 color:Drums
bar:Carmine Appice from:01/07/2010 till:end color:Drums

Discography

Studio albums

*'' Ready to Strike'' (1985)
*'' Thrill of a Lifetime'' (1986)
*'' King Kobra III'' (1988)
*'' King Kobra'' (2011)
*'' King Kobra II'' (2013)

Compilation albums

*''The Lost Years'' (1999)
*''Hollywood Trash'' (2001)
*''Number One'' (2005 - Re-release of ''The Lost Years'')

Soundtrack appearances

*"Iron Eagle (Never Say Die)" was included in the soundtrack album from the 1986 movie ''Iron Eagle''.
**Song credits: Jake Hooker-Duane Hitchings - 1986 - Capitol Records.
*"Hunger", covered by King Kobra but written by Kick Axe (listed as "Spectre General"), was featured in '' The Transformers: The Movie'', and included on the soundtrack album.
*"Mean Street Machine" & "Redline", were featured in RoadKill (video game) on radio station 69.3 QQQQ
*

Notes

* Rod left the band and joined W.A.S.P. in 1986.
* Torien, Sweda, and Vincent left to play together in the band BulletBoys.
* Free went on to form the bands known as Signal (EMI Records), and Unruly Child (Atlantic/Interscope Records). After coming to terms with her gender dysphoria in 1993 she is now known as Marcie Free.

References

External links

Historical Interview with King Kobra Guitarist

{{Authority control

Capitol Records artists
Frontiers Records artists
Glam metal musical groups from California
Hard rock musical groups from California