Kris Barras Band's 'Monsters We Made' - Album Review

Whilst not many of its bands have yet broken through into the big leagues, with the possible exception of Those Damn Crows who are genuinely pretty big these days, the current British rock scene is in pretty rude health at the moment. I might not fall for every band, but it has been great over the past decade or so seeing some new bands really start to make it. Pretty much all of the young British rock bands I was following in my teens no longer exist, so to see so many succeed on a number of levels of late is great - even if it still frustrates me that many of my long-departed favourites really struggled to find an audience. Members of the current British rock scene often fall into one of two camps, though, neither of which I am a huge fan of: overtly bluesy and retro; and very much overly inspired by 2000s US radio rock. I like bands that fall into both camps, but some mine their respective influence too deeply for me - although I have become more a fan of the latter over the years, hence my fairly recent appreciation of Those Damn Crows, as well as my fandom of bands like Stone Broken and The Fallen State. Another act which somewhat falls into that category, at least of late, is the Kris Barras Band - a Torquay-based four-piece fronted by singer, songwriter, and guitarist Kris Barras. Given that he lives fairly locally to me, I had heard of him long before I really took any notice - and it was not until seeing him open for Black Stone Cherry in 2021 that I actually became a fan. His early work is quite bluesy, which somewhat put me off checking him out as I am not always the biggest fan of pure blues, but the 2021 show saw him on the cusp of heavier things - as would be demonstrated when Death Valley Paradise (which I reviewed here) dropped the following year. Death Valley Paradise saw Barras consolidating his backing band, casting aside much of his blues background, and writing a pretty hard-hitting modern rock album. The Kris Barras Band were doing quite well for themselves before Death Valley Paradise, but the album took them to the next level. They are not on the same level as Those Damn Crows, but Barras is now a pretty known name across the UK - and is able to play just about anywhere and pull a decent crowd. It helps that he has remained busy, touring pretty regularly and keeping on top of things when it comes to new music. 2024's Halo Effect (which I reviewed here) built on the sound of Death Valley Paradise, throwing in some more prominent synths and upping the overall modernness of Barras' sound. Whilst 2025 was largely a quiet year for the band publicly, Barras and fellow Kris Barras Band member Josiah Manning formed the band Hollow Souls to allow the former to have an outlet for his older, bluesy sound - releasing a self-titled EP (which I reviewed here) and undertaking a very extensive UK tour. Barras' two main styles now have their respective main outlet, which is nice, and 2026 has seen him return to his modern hard rock sound with Monsters We Made - the sixth overall Kris Barras Band album. I think that much of the album was recorded last year, so its release has been a long-time coming - especially given the fact that Barras and his band had to drop off a tour with Smith/Kotzen earlier this year due to health issues that quite seriously damaged his voice. The recovery took a while, but Monsters We Made kept him going - and now the album is out, and the band's next tour kicks off in October. As such, what started out as quite a poor year for Barras will hopefully finish on a much more positive note.

The Kris Barras Band line-up here is the same as it was on Halo Effect, with bassist Fraser Kerslake and drummer Billy Hammett joining Barras and Manning - the latter of whom played guitars, keyboards, and produced the album as always. Manning also co-wrote some of the songs, whilst regular songwriting collaborators Blair Daly and Zac Maloy also chipped in. Sound-wise, the album is to be expected - and it follows nicely on from Halo Effect. For me, though, it is not as memorable as the previous two albums - but there is still a lot to like here. Kicking off with its title track, the album gets underway in pretty fine fashion. A barrelling mid-paced riff, over which a screaming guitar lead is laid, opens the song up - with the riff later forming a part of the song's chorus. As has been the norm of late for Barras, the songwriting here is snappy. All of the songs are on the short side, with a focus on riffs and choruses. The guitar tones are modern and heavy, even if there are sometimes shades of Barras' love of the blues in his leads, whilst Kerslake's bass takes on more of a dominance during the verses - thanks to some bass-driven sections that sit beneath some effects-heavy vocals. The song builds towards its chorus, then, with the chorus seeing Barras let rip a bit more vocally - laying down some anthemic hooks against some more riffing and a bed of synths. It is a chorus that is sure to work well live, before a relatively lengthy guitar solo section starts slowly before climaxing with some high-octane sweep picking. Beautiful Lie opens with a distant riff and some percussive drumming, but the song overall is similarly heavy and mid-paced to the opening number. Juddering synths add some texture, whilst a tough guitar riff drives everything, giving parts of the song a bit of an industrial feel - whilst some more overtly pop melodies are utilised in the verses. Barras' vocals feel more melodic here, with some kind of synthy effect added to them at times - whilst Kerslake once again shines with some busy bass playing. Structure-wise, the song is similar to the previous one, too, with a build towards a big chorus - although the chorus is perhaps less rollocking here, instead going for a poppier sheen with some smoother vocal melodies. It certainly sticks in the brain, and it is one of the choruses that stood out from the off, whilst the guitar solo section is much snappier this time. Perhaps my favourite cut on the album, though, is the punchy single Riot of One. This is a much more aggressive and metallic song overall - with a harder driving sound and less of the poppy, synth sounds utilised elsewhere. Tough riffing and occasional off-kilter guitar leads are big hooks here, whilst the verses are much more guitar-focused - with Kerslake not really getting to show off this time. In terms of its chorus, too, the song may well be the album's most anthemic. It is a hard-hitting, shout-along moment with gang vocals - so it will certainly go down well live. Interestingly, Barras recorded the crowd at the Hollow Souls show I was at last year in Tavistock shouting the song's gang vocals - so if those were the recordings which ended up being used on the album then I feature here. A fast-paced, shredded solo brings the song to a close - and the piece is likely to become a long-standing live staple.

After three pretty hard rocking songs, Unspoken opens more slowly - with acoustic guitar melodies and Barras singing in a quite sombre manner. This is not exactly an acoustic ballad, as its stature does grow, but it certainly has strong ballad vibes throughout - despite some screaming bluesy guitar leads later on and some chugging guitar rhythms. Barras often excels at writing these sort of songs, as he is able to inject a lot of emotion into his voice. He may not have the biggest range nor the most powerful voice, but he is a strong singer in my opinion - and these sort of songs really see him excel as there is a grounded realness to his delivery. The chorus pops thanks to his approach and some subtle vocal harmonies, whilst the mix of acoustic guitars and tougher rhythm guitars throughout have an organic depth which is not always present in Barras' recent work. An emotive guitar solo is later included, and it is a moment that harks back to some his older work - whilst keeping the overall tone in-keeping with the now. All Falls Down gets back to the album's core, harder rock sound - with a distant-sounding riff opening things up, before Hammett starts to lay down a percussive drum pattern to form the basis of the verses. The mechanical drumming and the use of synths gives the verses a bit more of a spacey sound, with the guitars dropping away a little, but this only makes the later chorus pop. Overall, it is not the album's strongest chorus - but the hard-hitting guitars that return and a few decent vocal melodies ensure that there are hooks to latch onto. In terms of Barras' current sound, though, the song is very much 101. There are songs here that are much more interesting in my opinion - but the riffing and decent chorus do a fair amount of heavy lifting, and I can see the song being a headbanging addition to the live set. Alive opens with some distant, effects-heavy vocals, before another tough riff kicks in. There is something a bit more edgy about the main riff here, with some of those industrial influences perhaps on show again, but the overall arrangement is very similar to that of the last song. The percussive drumming during the verses is almost identical, with lots of tom work to create a more booming sound, whilst the guitars again kick back in during the chorus. Unlike the previous song, though, the chorus here is less memorable. Sequencing the two songs back-to-back just makes it clear how very similar they are - and Alive feels like the less interesting brother of All Falls Down. Alive does win in terms of its guitar solo, though, which is much more shreddy and memorable. Otherside reins in some of the barrelling heaviness of the previous song, with a screaming, melodic guitar lead opening things up against a more restrained, mid-paced rock backing. The song is not a ballad, but it is certainly less heavy than most of the album to this point. There is a potency to its chorus, which is pretty hard rocking despite a more cinematic feel, but the verses are much more stripped back - with clean guitars and piano melodies dominating the crunching rhythm section. These verses allow Barras to deliver some more emotive vocals - as does the chorus, even though the latter is a little on the heavier side.

Fake opens with some big, strummed guitar chords - and, after a count in, a fluid guitar melody, that acts as a core hook throughout, comes in. The overall vibe of the song is about halfway between the more organic feel of the last song and the band's core, harder rock sound. It is more hard-hitting than the previous number - but it is certainly not as heavy as the band can be. Clean guitars are once again used during the verses, alongside heavier guitars and the potent rhythm section, but the song overall feels quite grounded - with that main guitar hook having something of a heavy country feel to it. There are heavy country vibes to the chorus, too, thanks to some sing-song melodies and subtle vocal harmonies - whilst the later guitar solo keeps the melodic vibes going, with the song overall being another strong one. Rewind picks the heaviness back up, opening with a pretty fast-paced melodic riff - with the song overall being one of the album's crunchiest moments. The song remains pretty mid-paced, despite the speed of some of the riffing, whilst there are early 1990s grunge vibes on show at times. The multi-tracked vocals of the verses have slight Alice in Chains vibes, whilst the overall production feels a little dirtier overall - despite everything still sounding big and clear. The vocal effects are just a bit murkier overall, and the guitar tones are a bit darker - but that does not stop the chorus from being hooky, with slightly brighter melodies and another guitar hook beneath the vocals. The guitar solo is more overtly metal, though, with more shredded motifs. End of Me opens with another pretty hard-hitting, mid-paced riff, but this ends up being something of a ruse - as the song is much more melodic and organic overall. Warm synths back the riffing as it progresses, before the band drop all pretence of heaviness for the verses - which are some of the most melodic and chiming on the album. Clean guitars and a gentle beat back Barras, in full-on storyteller mode here. His husky voice really works well here, and as the song builds towards its chorus he only sounds better. The chorus is a big heavier, but it still has a strong melodic and organic feel - with wordless vocal hooks interjecting the main lyrics, creating a powerful call-and-response approach. Later chorus renditions feature big guitar leads, too, building from the song's excellent guitar solo. The track is likely one of the best here, and it stands out due to it sounding a bit different. The album then comes to a close with Levitate, another pretty hard-hitting rocker. Returning to the core Barras sound one last time, the song feels a bit more up-tempo than some of the other tracks here. There is a real energy to the piece, then, as well as a strong sense of groove that is not always present. There is something pleasingly kinetic about the verses, which return to that mechanical vibe somewhat, whilst the chorus is hard-hitting and hooky - largely thanks to some snappy vocal melodies and another underpinning guitar lead. A shredded guitar solo with a double bass drum backing later cements the song's more metallic feel - and the tough, pacy song is a great way to sign things off here, with the track likely to become another live favourite. Whilst I said that I do not think that Monsters We Made is quite as strong as the two that came before it, especially Death Valley Paradise, it remains a very good effort - and Barras has further solidified his sound here, expanding the synth experiments and delivering some of his most metallic guitar soloing to date. The songs are perhaps growers more than they were in the past, and my opinion of this album has already increased over the past month or so. My opinion is only likely to strengthen - and I am looking forward to seeing Barras live again in his hometown of Torquay later in the year.

The album was released on 14th August 2026 via Earache Records. Below is the band's promotional video for Riot of One.