King Kobra

King Kobra is an American heavy metal band founded by drummer Carmine Appice following his tenure with Ozzy Osbourne from 1983 to 1984. The original lineup for the band's first two albums included Appice, vocalist Mark Free, guitarists David Michael-Philips and Mick Sweda, and bassist Johnny Rod. The band released two albums on Capitol Records, "Ready to Strike" (1985) and "Thrill of a Lifetime" (1986), followed by the independent release "King Kobra III" in 1988. After this period, Appice dissolved the band and joined guitarist John Sykes for the Blue Murder project in 1989.

King Kobra was reformed in 2010 with Appice on drums, Paul Shortino on vocals, Mick Sweda on guitar, David Henzerling (also known as David Michael-Philips) on guitar, and Johnny Rod on bass. This lineup released the self-titled album "King Kobra" in 2011 and "King Kobra II" in 2013 on Frontiers Records. The band went on hiatus after the 2013 album due to other commitments but resumed live performances in 2016 without Mick Sweda.

On July 18, 2023, King Kobra announced the release of a new album, "We Are Warriors," scheduled for August 11, 2023, with the title track released as a single. The lineup for this release includes new guitarists Carlos Cavazo and Rowan Robertson, formerly of Quiet Riot and Dio, respectively. Original King Kobra vocalist Marcie Free died on October 23, 2025.

Studio albums
Ready to Strike (1985)
Thrill of a Lifetime (1986)
King Kobra III (1988)
King Kobra (2011)
King Kobra II (2013)
We Are Warriors (2023) Read more on Last.fm. User-contributed text is available under the Creative Commons By-SA License; additional terms may apply.