Formed in 2015 and named after their (former) MMA-star frontman, Kris Barras Band have built their reputation on a ceaseless work ethic, charming much of Europe with their bluesy brand of alternative rock. Having won all sorts of plaudits via their five studio albums, the band have been on an upward trajectory that has shown no signs of faltering. Having recently inked a deal with Earache Records for a global release of their latest album Monsters We Made, it seems as if the Kris Barras Band are set to conquer the world…and just you try to stop them!
Some music immediately reaches out, grabs you by the lapels, then gives you a good shake, and that’s certainly the case with Monsters We Made. Opening (and title) track ‘Monsters We Made’ doesn’t go big on niceties (although it’s very nice), there’s no time to waste on fancy preambles or elongated introductions, there’s just a nifty drum roll and a hard-as-nails riff, then Kris Barras Band arrive with full force. A friendly earworm that burrows itself deep in your cranium, it’s a track becomes part of your physiology and when it’s pouring from the speakers you have no chance of resisting its magnetic pull. Encapsulating all that’s great about hard rock, ‘Monster We Made’ powers forwards like a runaway locomotive and carries the rest of the record along in its slipstream.
It’s often said that great art is created by those who fully commit to their work, so much so that it takes on the characteristics of the artist, and that’s certainly the case here. Kris Barras is a former MMA fighter and Monsters We Made certainly stalks like a martial artist, songs such as ‘Beautiful Lie’ (and, indeed the whole album) are at once heavy and fleet of foot; the neat time changes that pepper the songs are like a boxer dazzling an opponent with fancy footwork, whilst the hooks land like well aimed punches and put the listener on the ropes.
Despite hailing from the Deep South (of Torquay), Kris Barras and Band put an authentic spin on Americana. Their songs are rooted in the blues, southern rock, and country, yet they are wise enough to stitch it all together with a quintessentially English sensibility and it is here from which songs such as ‘All Fall Down’ gain their authenticity. The swing contained within ‘Alive’ could only belong to this bunch and it’s an approach which gives them an exorbitant amount of freedom and a wide palette from which to paint their sound and the tracks on Monsters We Made range from alternative rockers to bluesy stompers, meaning that it’s a record in constant motion and ensures that things never become staid. In fact, all that’s missing is a soppy ballad (the smouldering ‘End Of Me’ is as close as we come), but when the musical fireworks are as good as ‘Rewind’, no one will be shedding any tears.
With their latest studio outing Kris Barras Band have Made a Monster!
- Monsters We Made is released via Earache Records on 14th August 2026.
- Kris Barras Band Official Website
Track List:
- Monsters We Made
- Beautiful Lie
- Army Of One
- Unspoken
- All Fall Down
- Alive
- Otherside
- Fake
- Rewind
- End Of Me
- Levitate
