It’s been almost two years since Polish progressive outfit Lion Shepherd released their second album Heat. I’ve been enthralled by this band since seeing them support Riverside in 2015 and their third album is unlikely to cause any damage to my continued admiration of a unique, thoughtful and quite enchanting band. Opening track Uninvited is a gentle, fluid and organic track, dominated by a drum beat, haunting piano chords and fuzzy bass as the song builds in intensity and drama before a crunching guitar riff adds some beef. Kamel Haidar’s stunning vocals have a quality which is rare, his calm and mild-mannered delivery disguising a steel that emerges fleetingly yet effectively throughout.
Musically, Lion Shepherd once again combine progressive and alt rock with oriental influences and elements of world music that appeal greatly. Good Old Days is reminiscent of the quality of Frenchmen Lazuli, another great favourite of mine. Acoustic guitar combines with bouzouki, oud and a variety of percussion to create a superbly crafted piece of work. Having taken time to think, pause and reflect, Haidar, Mateusz Owczareck (guitar, bouzouki and oud) and drummer/percussionist Maciek Golyzniak have explored and widened their musical boundaries throughout III.
The emotional What Went Wrong, laced with delicate guitar work and captivating harmonies transports the listener on a journey far outside their own world. There is little to criticise here, but plenty to enjoy. Several lengthy tracks allow the band opportunity to expand and develop their sound, such as the eight-minute plus Vulnerable, an ambling and delightful track which moves at a sedate yet lively pace. Such is the variation here that every track offers something exciting and different. World On Fire opens with the oud in full effect, frenzied drum patterns and a pulsing bass line which underpin the haunting vocals. Lion Shepherd have an ability to create and build atmosphere, and nowhere is this more apparent than on this track which is the shortest on the album. Resonant guitar and steady increase in tempo, a pause and then the heaviest part on the album as the band edges towards heavy rock with Owczareck delivering some insane guitar work.
The emotional What Went Wrong, laced with delicate guitar work and captivating harmonies transports the listener on a journey far outside their own world. There is little to criticise here, but plenty to enjoy. Several lengthy tracks allow the band opportunity to expand and develop their sound, such as the eight-minute plus Vulnerable, an ambling and delightful track which moves at a sedate yet lively pace. Such is the variation here that every track offers something exciting and different. World On Fire opens with the oud in full effect, frenzied drum patterns and a pulsing bass line which underpin the haunting vocals. Lion Shepherd have an ability to create and build atmosphere, and nowhere is this more apparent than on this track which is the shortest on the album. Resonant guitar and steady increase in tempo, a pause and then the heaviest part on the album as the band edges towards heavy rock with Owczareck delivering some insane guitar work.
The laughter of children and families gathering, a distant rhythmic drumming, acoustic guitar ease into Fallen Tree, another deliciously Eastern influenced piece whilst Toxic uses an electronic beat to support a lone piano before the band kick into an almost pop song. I say almost as there are string sections which enhance the song adding depth and gravity; this is an epic and infectious track. The final three tracks, The Kids Are Not All Right, Nobody and closing song May You All Live In Fascinating Times all bring different sound and styles to the table. Lion Shepherd are moving to their own beat, comfortable and confident in their own style and a band who continue to grow and delight with every release. III is a natural progression and another beautiful release that deserves a wider audience. 9/10
LA Guns: The Devil You Know (Frontiers Records) [Paul H]
The reunion of Tracii Guns and Phil Lewis in 2016 resulted in 2017’s The Missing Peace, a sleazy return to form for the hair metal duo. Although the band have changed two members with Ace Von Johnson now on rhythm guitar and drummer Scot Coogan occupying the drum stool, LA Guns has always been about Guns and Lewis. Now LA Guns are back with the punchy The Devil You Know, which follows the tried and trusted path that the band have always followed. Despite my intense dislike of the sleaze rock/metal that bands of this genre play, The Devil You Know is a tight and impressive release. The title track is a slow, riff heavy burner, whilst the opening track Rage does exactly that.
It’s punky in places, formulaic and with awful lyrics but Lewis retains the right voice for the sound, his high-pitched rasp spot on whilst Guns remains a solid and competent guitarist. Another Season In Hell is the obligatory slow number, a six-minute plus sprawling song with some very neat guitar work from Gunn. Overall the vibe is pacey, heavy enough to enjoy, with tracks such as Needle To The Bone, Going High and Loaded Bomb doing exactly what you would expect them to do. I’d never buy a ticket to see this band but as I said in 2017, if you like this kind of music, then this is at the upper end of the quality. 8/10
Rome: Le Ceneri Di Heliodoro (Trisol Music Group) [Paul S]
Rome are a neo-folk project based in Luxembourg, the project has been going for 13 years and has this is (quite Neatly) their 13th album. The project has only one permanent member, in main-man Jerome Reuter. Most of the music on offer here is simple strummed guitar with other folky influences like organ or fiddle. Jerome’s vocals are good, he has a nice bass baritone voice, that has personality. If I was going to criticise the vocals, they are occasionally a little over dramatic, and this is exacerbated by them being too high in the mix all through the album. The instrumentation is too low, and this harms the album as a whole. However, this is a small criticism, a slight tweak to the mix and this would be fixed. The songs are all tuneful and full of melody, even where the album is minimalist there is still lots of melody. I must admit initially I was a little worried by the lyrical content of the album.
For some reason the neo-folk scene has become infested with bands with far right and fascist ideologies, some of the song titles and lyrics started to set of alarm bells. There are several tracks that appear to be about the supremacy of European races The West Knows Best is one of those. There are a couple of tracks that have common right wing themes to do with strength, One Lion's Roar states that “A million sheep will be dispersed by one lions roar” the Sheep/Lion analogy is very common in fascism. Utopia O Morte asks the listener if “Are we bleeding enough for you now?” again a very well used right wing analogy. The album also contains recordings of crowds from large political rallies, that sound like they were recorded in the nineteen thirties (Possibly the Nuremberg rallies). The album starts with a very militaristic speech, performed by Jerome Reuter.
Although most of that is fairly circumstantial, the thing that sparked my suspicions seemed to be overt.The track Who Only Europe Knows, features a sample from Enoch Powell’s Rivers Of Blood Speech (you know, the one where he threatens ‘Rivers of blood’ if immigrants don’t go ‘home’), although the title of the song set off alarm bells as well. Once I picked up that this was what the sample was, I became quite worried and did some research. I googled ‘Rome Band Politics’ and found a history of Anti-Fascism. It seems Rome are one of the few anti-fascist Neo-folk bands. Clearly I had interpreted the song titles and lyrics in the wrong direction. I suppose if a band is going to attack fascism and racism, they are going to have to discuss fascist ideology, which confused me for a while, sorry about that Rome! So, a well played, tuneful, enjoyable piece of Neo-folk, where you don’t have to worry about the lyrical content. 7/10
Numenorean: Adore (Season Of Mist) [Paul S]
Numenorean: Adore (Season Of Mist) [Paul S]
Numenorean have been going since 2014, the Canadian band have released 1 album, 2016’s Home. That album was very well received, so there is a little bit of pressure for the 5 piece to follow Home, with a great album that delivers on Home’s promise. The album has 10 tracks, 5 long songs and 5 shorter interludes. The interludes include the intro and outro to the album; Nocebo and DDHS, as well as 3 tracks that help to break up the longer, huger tracks. Numenorean have a tendency to mix quite intense blast beat sections with much softer, cleaner parts. All the longer songs have these juxtapositions within them. The cleaner parts, which feel like clean electric, rather than acoustic guitar, gives these softer sections a similar feel to some early eighties new wave bands. Portrait Of Pieces has this new wave feel to the softer parts. The blasting, tremolo picked aspects of the songs are pretty brutal. Numenorean class themselves as a Post Black Metal band, which is a label I’m not going to argue with, but the blast beats this album have are savage, they are tempered with the soft sections, but don’t doubt this bands ability to do extreme.
The fast attacking sections of the song Coma are a good example of this, savage and bestial, but tempered by a soft beginning and ending, the over all feeling is cathartic, and definitely ‘post’. The track Regret is a great example of this. Starting with a tight aggressive riff and extreme vocals, the song slowly morphs into post rock, with some very interesting riffing and bass work. Horizon is another song that highlights the bands ability to perfect ebb and flow within a song. In fact each of the longer songs is like a microcosm of the album as a whole, ebb and flow dominate the over all feeling of this album. Numenorean have mastered this beautiful balancing act of mixing blasting savagery with more softer, introspective sounds. The album as a whole (and this is one of those albums that works as a whole, rather than trying to pick individual tracks), feels like it is in perfect equilibrium, savage with sublime, which makes it an incredibly meaningful listen. Home promised; Adore delivered. 8/10
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