• New Music Reviews
• |
• Archives
• |
• News
• |
• Submissions
• |
• About
• |
• 
• |
• 

November 2024

• Voodoo Circle: Hail To The King
• Lionville: Supernatural
• Starchaser: Into The Great Unkown
• Empires Of Eden: Guardians Of Time
• Lonerider: Down In The Dust
• Seventh Crystal: Entity
• Neal Morse & The Resonance: No Hill For A Climber
• Beardfish: Songs For Beating Hearts
• Impellitteri: War Machine
• Brothers Of Metal: Fimbulvinter

October 2024

• Casandra's Crossing: Garden Of Earthly Delights
• DGM: Endless
• Daytona: Garder la Flamme
• Fate: Reconnect 'N Ignite
• Frost*: Life In The Wires
• Aries Descendant: From The Ashes Of Deceit
• Fans Of The Dark: Video
• Radioactive: Reset
• House Of Lords: Full Tilt Overdrive
• Cleanbreak: We Are The Fire

September 2024

• Sinner's Blood: Dark Horizons
• Serious Black: Rise Of Akhenaton
• Eclipse: Megalomanium II
• SteelCity: Reverence
• Hydra: ReHydrated
• Heartwind: III
• Gabrielle De Val and the Dragonlords: Tiger
• Find Me: Nightbound
• The Nail: The Nail
• Timeless Fairytale: A Story To Tell
• Stryper: When We Were Kings
• Phil Mogg: Moggs Motel
• Pure Reason Revolution: Coming Up To Consciousness
• Jordan Rudess: Permission To Fly

August 2024

• Siege Perilous: Creation's Call EP
• Paralydium: Universe Calls
• Mike Tramp: Songs Of White Lion Vol. II
• Bite The Bullet: Looking For Paradise
• All For Metal: Gods Of Metal (Year Of The Dragon)
• Hammerfall: Avenge The Fallen
• Jim Peterik & World Stage: Roots & Shoots Vol. 2

[ More Music Reviews ]

Lawless: R.I.S.E.

Hard Rock/Heavy Metal

4.0/5.0

Website Facebook Twitter
Escape Music
Words: Craig Hartranft
Added: 13.11.2014

A couple of years back Paul Hume (v,g) and Neil Ogden (d) decided to shed their NWoBHM persona of Demon and muck things up in the UK with a new band, Lawless. The intent was something hard and heavy, that right combination of hard rock and heavy metal, something that blurs the lines between the two.

Lawless

As with their debut Rock Savage, R.I.S.E. is another mission accomplished. Sharp riffs and a brisk rhythm section keep things heavy and steady, significantly forgoing speed, but not without significant groove. Hard rock meets heavy metal (sans references to speed or power metal), with Pain, Rise Up, and Diamond In The Rough as fine examples. And from their NWoBHM roots, Lawless cannot escape adding strong a melody to each song and, somewhat surprisingly at times, rich vocal harmonies. Notable for this is the ballad Song For A Friend.

A few other songs require some mention. One is The End of the World simply for it's distinct bass line you hear from the start, but also another good vocal arrangement. Another is Kiss My Glass, significant for it's blues groove wrapped in a liveliness not found in most of the other songs. Call it the monkey in the wrench, fly in the ointment, it's the stand out track here. Some songs seemed to run together, creating a sort of a hard and heavy redundancy, like the trio Dead Man Walking, Heaven's Raining and How Long. But even these are not without their merits (not the least of which are Howie G's blistering guitar solos) and their differences. A second listen will deepen your appreciation for them. Fundamentally, with R.I.S.E., Lawless stays the course and succeeds with their melodic and metalish hard and heavy rock.

Note: All Amazon advertising in this review first benefits the artist, then Craig Hartranft also receives a residual. Click, and thanks for your support.

With R.I.S.E., Lawless stays the course and succeeds with their melodic and metalish hard and heavy rock.

Alphabetical Index

eviewing my archives, I was pleased to find that I have had the privilege to review every Lionville since their self-titled debut in 2011. Formed by Stefano Lionetti, a songwriter, singer and guitarist based in ... [ Read More ]