Metal Underground.com

The sophomore slump strikes on supergroup Kill Devil Hill's second outing, "Revolution Rise." Granted, there probably was nowhere to go but down following the band's stellar self-titled debut disc. Still, after coming on strong, "Revolution Rise" starts to fall midway through - and is at least two songs too long to boot.

There's no lack of technical skill here, especially when guitarist Mark Zavon gets to cut loose with one of his Zakk Wylde-style Southern-fried solos. The fretwork on "No Way Out" and "Crown Of Thorns" alone is probably worth the price of admission.

Dewey Bragg's still got the Layne Staley meets Phil Anselmo thing going on vocally. That gives "Why" and the ominous "Wake Up The Dead" a great Alice In Chains vibe.

Unfortunately, drummer Vinny Appice isn't nearly as engaged as he was on the previous disc. He especially seems to be phoning it in on "Stealing Days," which, along with the preceding track, "Endless Static," ought to have failed to make the cut for this album. Both the riffs and the vocals are quite uninspired on both.

All that said, "Revolution Rise" isn't a bad album. It just isn't as great as the first disc proved that this band could be.