# Reluctant Hero

Reluctant Hero is the second studio album by American heavy metal band Killer Be Killed. It was released on November 20, 2020, by Nuclear Blast.

## Writing

The band began writing the album in 2016, before going to Hybrid Studios in California in 2018 to record the music. They then finished recording the vocals in 2019.

## Cover artwork

In an interview, guitarist Max Cavalera discussed the origins of the album cover:
   "I'm really happy with how it came out, because I wasn't happy with the first one. I have a lot of these National Geographic magazines at home, and one had a story about haunted places in America. One of them was this cemetery in Cleveland, which has this really cool statue of an angel with a sword. I thought it would look so badass on an album cover — it almost looks like black metal — so I suggested to our label to find someone to go over and take a picture of the statue."

## Singles

On September 4, 2020, Killer Be Killed announced the release of the album, along with the first single "Deconstructing Self-Construction".
The second single "Dream Gone Bad" was released on October 13, 2020.
On November 6, 2020, the third single "Inner Calm from Outer Storms" was released. In a press release, bass guitarist Troy Sanders said the single is "about having the ability to sense a distant or unseen target. It explores a journey of reckless abandon where the destination may, or may not, actually exist." The single also featured on Consequence of Sound's Top 30 Metal & Hard Rock Songs of 2020.
The fourth single, "From a Crowded Wound", was released on November 20, 2020, the same day as the album release.

## Critical reception

Professional ratings :
| Review scores ||
| Source | Rating |
| Exclaim! | 8/10 |
| Kerrang! | |
| Louder Sound | |
| Spectrum Culture | 75% |
| Sputnikmusic | 3.2/5 |
Reluctant Hero was met with generally favorable reviews from critics. Aggregator Album of the Year gave the release a 78 out of 100 based on a critical consensus of six reviews.
Max Heilman of Exclaim! said the songs on the release are "elevating poppy ideas with explosive, multilayered musicality and hard-hitting emotion. Reluctant Hero proves metal can be catchy without being stupid."

### Accolades

Publications' year-end list appearances for Reluctant Hero :
| Critic/Publication | List | Rank |
| Consequence of Sound | Top 30 Metal/Hard Rock Albums of 2020 | 21 |
| Kerrang! | Top 50 Albums of 2020 | 22 |
| Loudwire | Top 70 Rock/Metal Albums of 2020 | N/A |
| Revolver | Top 25 Albums of 2020 | 9 |

## Track listing

All tracks are written by Killer Be Killed

## Personnel

Killer Be Killed
* Max Cavalera – vocals, guitar
* Greg Puciato – vocals, guitar
* Troy Sanders – vocals, bass
* Ben Koller – drums
Additional personnel
* Josh Wilbur – producer, mixing, engineer
* Nick Rowe – engineer
* Cameron Rae – assistant engineer
* Ted Jensen – mastering
* Marcelo Vasco – cover artwork, design
* Hannah Verbeuren – band photography

## Charts

Sales chart performance for Reluctant Hero :
| Chart (2020) | Peak position |
| Australian Albums (ARIA) | 45 |
| Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia) | 46 |
| German Albums (Offizielle Top 100) | 52 |
| Hungarian Albums (MAHASZ) | 35 |
| Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade) | 69 |
| US Top Hard Rock Albums (Billboard) | 16 |
| US Top Album Sales (Billboard) | 47 |