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Lawless: R.I.S.E.

Hard Rock/Heavy Metal

4.0/5.0

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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.

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The Powell Payne project, created in 2022 is the collaboration of Mark "Penfold Powell (ex-drummer of Psycho Kiss) and Adam Payne (former vocalist of Airrace). With guitarist Adam Davies and keyboard player ... [ Read More ]