It’s unsurprising that Killer Hill‘s music feels like it could come out either today or in 1993. The LA-based trio feature two members of alt-metal heavyweights Helmet, making their connection to the heyday of alternative rock more than just stylistic. Their sound, meanwhile, is a frantic mixture of punk and noise rock rolled together in a blanket of groove metal, but takes the genre back to when that term referenced staccato weirdos like Prong and Exhorder instead of just the molasses riffs of Dimebag Darrell. With their new EP Frozen Head produced by Travis Pavur (Black Lips, Eagles of Death Metal) and mastered by Pete Lyman (Sturgill Simpson, Trash Talk), fans of that era and those genres should be stoked to hear them.
Killer Hill’s new video for the title track of the EP also feels like it has due respect for metal’s weirdest decade. From the get-go, the song is fuzzed-out and furious in a way that it sometimes feels like metal bands have forgotten, bringing together elements of various heavy genres rather than entrenching itself in one niche. But the video is equally cool in an old-school way, cutting between lo-res footage of the band playing in front of LA’s smog-blurred skyline and a black-clad figure painted as a skeleton and wielding a machete. It feels like the kind of music video you used to catch on MTV at two in the morning, if you were lucky and caffeinated enough.
“‘Frozen Head’ is the next step in the natural evolution of Killer Hill,” says guitarist/vocalist Dan Beeman. “Themes include: recreational outrage, pushing on despite setbacks, and the title track based on a meth head Jesus freak going nuts with a machete, true story. Recorded on 2″ tape, the old school way with no computer tricks, non-GMO, organic, unfiltered and raw heavy music. Good for your health, enjoy!”
Check out “Frozen Head” below:
Killer Hill’s Frozen Head is out now and available for purchase.
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Words by Chris Krovatin
