Review: Kris Barras Band 'Death Valley Paradise'

Kris Barras Band

By Mike O’Cull

Heavy-duty British rock and rollers the Kris Barras Band deliver a career high-water mark on the group’s new album Death Valley Paradise. Set to be released March 4th, 2022 thanks to Mascot Records / Mascot Label Group, the record is a hard rock gem that directly confronts modern pandemic life in an intelligent, physical, and musical manner.

Barras is a top-flight guitarist and vocalist (as well an ex-MMA/cage fighter) with a natural toughness to everything he does, a quality that suits these songs perfectly. Produced by Dan Weller (Enter Shikari, Bury Tomorrow, Monster Truck), the new record is dark, bold, inward-gazing, and massive. The songs on Death Valley Paradise came to life out of Barras’ own pandemic and lockdown experiences, a bout with depression, and the warrior’s focus that removed all his limitations and helped him survive and thrive.

One of the things that makes Death Valley Paradise a major evolution for Barras is his introduction of outside songwriters to his creative process. He co-wrote new material with home run hitters Jonny Andrews (Three Days Grace, Fozzy), Bob Marlette (Alice Cooper, Airbourne, Rob Zombie), Blair Daly (Halestorm, Black Stone Cherry) and Zac Maloy (Shinedown, Tyler Bryant). This blast of fresh air and new ideas allowed Barras to take his intensity up a few levels and turned out to be a positive game-changer for him. “I wrote more than half the album with Blair Daly,” he said. “We’ve become good friends now.” Indeed, the songwriting on Death Valley Paradise is ridiculously strong, relevant, and memorable. Each track packs arena-sized power and the kind of artistic uniqueness that fuels long, successful careers.

Barras slams into the album with the stiff modern rocker “Dead Horses.” It’s a tightly-written and performed excursion built on a big riff, amazing drum sounds, and some ripping guitar work. Barras is an entrancing singer, full of guts, angst, and nuance. His vocal tones are fully present in the mix, cutting through the band and staking out their own territory. The guitar sounds here and throughout the record are equally cool and properly captured.

“Long Gone” is a heavied-up blues/rock song injected with a melodic chorus that’ll definitely live in your head for a while. The sound of Barras in front of drummer Billy Hammett, bassist Kelpie Mackenzie, and rhythm guitarist/vocalist Josiah J. Manning is massive and wide and the four musicians play together with a dynamic fury that needs to be felt to comprehend. Barras and his band mix styles and eras at will without ever losing sight of their tough-punching core. Put simply, this one flat-out jams.

The centerpiece of Death Valley Paradise is the protest anthem “My Parade.” It’s a chanted statement of individuality and societal alienation backed up by extra-large, fuzzed-out riffing and a fearless lyrical disposition. Barras lets everything he has fly in his takes on this epic track, as does everyone else involved. Once you hear it, forgetting it is impossible. This track contains the soul of the album and the intention of its creator. Listen close and you’ll start to understand.

“Devil You Know” a cathartic, driving song that asks for no quarter or mercy. Barras absolutely goes for the throat in the guitar solo and his vocals rage out of your speakers and commandeer your consciousness like few singers can. Straight-ahead rock is still mighty to behold when handled correctly and Barras doles out more of it than seems humanly possible. Other sure-fire songs on this fine set include “Hostage” and “Chaos. Kris Barras may be new to some folks out there in our musical village but anyone into breathtaking rock music with both brains and brawn needs to crank him up at once. This record is the one you seek.

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