Out of a "forced necessity", THE KISS OF DEATH was formed in the Winter of 2001. Vocalist Jon Gula and guitarist Jeff Hydro threw out the idea of starting the new band. They wanted a band that didn't resemble their previous band, TURMOIL, while still staying true to the music that they grew up with along with the music they were currently listen to. They then enlisted to the talents of John Gardner (SEVER THE FALLEN), Chris Frey (DRAGON GREEN) and Jimmy Dorward to complete THE KISS OF DEATH line-up. In the Fall of 2002, the band got into the studio to record the drum tracks for their first five songs. It would then take until January of 2003 to finally finish the recordings for what would become their debut MCD, “The Kiss Of Death.”

“The Kiss Of Death” contains five tracks clocking in at nearly twenty-five minutes, so there is no shortage of material here to showcase what THE KISS OF DEATH represent, which is a hard rock biker affair that is as extreme as it is drawn-out. Slow, crushing breakdowns top off most tracks, which will please the hardcore fans not accustomed to songs this long and riffs so heavy. THE KISS OF DEATH display a sound very traditional and mature in nature. Thanks to the very clear and bass-heavy production of Josh Martin, the sound comes across exactly as it was intended: DIRTY and DESTRUCTIVE. KOD is recommended if you enjoy Eyehategod, Crowbar, Iron Monkey, Sleep and Church Of Misery.