King Kobra was just one of the 1,528 bands that Carmine Appice was a part of in the eighties. Their debut release was Ready to Strike; a heavy metal powerhouse that bordered on pop-metal. Thrill of a Lifetime, their sophomore release, finds the group completely selling out to the pop-rock/AOR genre. Honestly, that's not a bad thing. Maybe King Kobra would have lasted longer if they didn't try to sound like everyone else. The dual guitar leads and heavy synths make "Dream On" sound like a long lost Loverboy track. "Feel the Heat" channels the sounds of Y & T with its faint guitar chords, and once again, synth heavy intro. "Home Street Home" is King Kobra's sad attempt at rap. In their defense, everyone was giving it a try at the time. I don't know who's rapping here, it doesn't really sound like him, but kudos for him for sounding like the guys from "Rapper Delight". As you would expect, this one is heavy on the drums. Kobra put their own stamp on it with finger-tapping solos and layered vocal harmonies. To further support my theory of sounding like everyone else, "Never Say Die" is the anthemic theme to the Top Gun rip off Iron Eagle. Driving synths, powerful vocals, and a powerful chorus make you feel like the jets are flying over head. I wonder what Kenny Loggins thinks about this one? I swear that the exact same chord progression from "Ballroom Blitz" is used on "Party Animal". Might I add this is a pretty light song about an animal. Eighties clich? alert: A song using the work `rock'. This anthem has a great sing along chorus. I'll start: Raise your hands to rock... (everybody)...rock, rock, rock!
