Lion's Share's first two albums were staples in the prog/power community back during their 'reissued' phase in the latter part of the 90s. They were a hard rock band with a cold, progressive sound that turned away some that looked for more 'warmth' in their music, but excited others by presenting a fresh take on tired sounds. And of course the inclusion of Anders Engberg on vocals, who has a magnificent voice and tackled the material with his usual fervor. Being semi-hot and simmering right above underground status, they had quite the fan following, and then after a few more albums, ending with "Entrance" in 2001 the band just up and disappeared. Band leader Lars Chriss felt burnt out, and that was the reason stated for the long absence.
Now it is 2007, a good ten year-decade long gap from their popularity peak and they lay out a new album, and disappointingly enough, a new singer (who has apparently been with the band for four years already, nothing recorded mind you). And with the new singer, comes a change in the guard where their sound is concerned. Perhaps that is not such a shock, since Chriss had felt that he was so tapped out where music writing was concerned that he had to fold the band and take off for some recovery time. So gone is the curious hard rock/progressive fusion that saw trippy album covers of dolphins jumping out of checkered kitchen tile looking floors and the prominence of mind warping swirly keyboards. Now they have guests tagging along from
Megadeth and songs that remind one of
Candlemass' doomy gloominess. Not exactly the band we largely forgot about so many years ago.
The album cover manages to be the most hideous thing I've seen recently with a three horned flesh eaten monster-creature that screams "DOOMY METAL BAND!" just by a glance at the grotesque cover. Digging around in the music, and ignoring the artistic direction for the disc's slipcover, the music is hammering, doom infested and raw. Raw like a crimson slab of bleeding steak before it's thrown on the grill, all exposed with the blood dripping all over the place and the fat glistening like some disgusting offering to a dark demi-god. The new singer, Nils Patrik Johansson (Astral Doors) comes ripping through the music, imitating
Dio and trying to bring some of that majestic mysterious energy that Ronnie James is known for. Instead he kind of growls and spits out each line with a haughty fury that sears its marks into the music. However, he also seems to have a forced feel, as if he is really stretching the limits of his range. Nothing embarrassing like squeaks or cracks, but it has an unnatural quality that is more like fire and brimstone than a smooth lava flow. Lion's Share also cover an
Angelwitch song, and seem to have totally thrown their past roots into the fire and laugh as they watch them burn.
"Emotional Coma" is drowning so much in its own bleak despair with terrifying futures, true horror tales of murder rampages and mass suicides, that afterwards you might need to "purify" your soul with something else to feel clean again. Lion's Share is that deeply disturbing at times.
This is a wicked sounding band, and they make no apologies of forsaking the temples of their past to forge new ones for the future.
"Cult of Denial" slams into the head, taking a mid tempo and a heart stilling subject matter. It revolves around a tragic story where a group of internet chatting teenagers decide to kill themselves and instead of their web peers trying to stop it, they encourage them on. While
"The Arsonist" is fast and fury laden, it was created with just that end in mind. Title track
"Emotional Coma" clips through some power shouts and a ripping guitar solo all the while maintaining this dark, doomy approach that gives casual listeners goosebumps.
"Clones of Fate" is a downer look at the future where machines have taken over our world.
"Toxication Rave" is thrashy, crunchy and pounds right through your bones.
"Trafficking" has the slick poppiness of some
Soilwork music and has another sickening theme - this one is about trading human minds on a kind of blackmarket.
"Killer On the Road" is about a mass murderer just traveling around the countryside of America killing random people. It's Black Sabbathy dark and has that
Candlemass gloominess seeding through the riffs. Oh the happiness to be poured forth so far..
"Soultaker" is an old school metal track that speeds by on power and untamed energy.
"Hatred's My Fuel" is about a guy that killed his family and then.. ate them. Another song based upon a sick slice of real life, true stories and all that. A great chorus, for this album anyway, but the subject matter is downright stomach churning. Maybe death/black fans can get more out of this disc than power metal fans, if you get down to the lyrical content. The
Angel Witch track is
"Sorcerers" and is a refreshing pause from all the black hearted evilness that seems to be wrapped up in this disc.
It's all very dark, doomy, depressing, angry and violent - all elements that many metal head ascertain to be a necessity to a good
"real" metal disc. It covers alot of ground, holding hands (skeletal, half-eaten-by-disease hands, one would imagine) with quite a few of the band's main influences. You can hear a wide range of old talent bustling around in here, inspired bits that remind one of the blacker doomier Black Sabbath, the bullet quick Judas Priest, the thrashy roughness of the intelligent
Megadeth and the media favorite, Metallica, the doomy dreariness of
Candlemass, the NWOBHM legends Celtic Frost... and the list goes on.
However, glancing at their past, this 'raw meat' approach seems to see the band de-evolving instead of moving forward. The previous discs were so well honed, and fresh that this throwback to heavier metal seems to be a waste. However, taken on its own terms, Lion's Share's
"Emotional Coma" has appeal for the darker hearted and those that enjoy a depressed crunchy detour now and then. They are surely excellent musicians, and many metal fans will embrace this new direction with arms wide open. The main barrier being that half of these songs are far from being anything close to accessible, and require an open mind and penchant for dark metal to truly enjoy. Not to mention many spins of the disc to get acquainted with the music properly. And even after that, one keeps wishing for a few less gravely screeches and more attention to the melody and hooks, which both seem to be greatly neglected for this disc. Those that are still waffling on this
"new" Lion's Share can be soothed by knowing that the main writer and band leader/guitarist Lars Chriss has written an all melodic rock album to be out this fall with Sampo Axelsson's help. So look forward to that if
"Emotional Coma" is too rough for you.
Written by
Alanna Thursday, September 20, 2007
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