Lionheart
Second Nature

Lionheart is a band that can be dated all the way back to the earliest days of the eighties, their debut was released in 1984 and they released a demo collection in 1999 and that is all they have done in a career nearing forty years. Of course, they have not really been active all those years but have been doing some comeback shows last year and then they have ended up doing a new album called Second Nature and it is certainly not reflecting on their second nature of making albums as Lionheart. The cover art has a powerful lion on it and drawing parallels to the band Pride of Lions could be tempting considering how it looks but there are other AOR bands that seems a bit more akin to the sound of Lionheart than said band even though you could compare with them as well.

It is all about the catchy melodic hardrock with choruses that are designed to stick in your mind, excellent production and a strong vocalist. There are no surprises over the thirteen songs that are heard on this album, the songs are more or less what can be expected on an album within this genre – I think you can call it the usual variety of songs on an album within this genre. It is really well made by a band who knows what they are doing, although one could argue that they should have dared a little more and try to think outside the box a little but.

The album is good, the songs are good but I think they could have left a few out, perhaps ten minutes shorter would have been better. Not that there are any weaker songs, it is just that thirteen songs of similar feel and quality tend to devalue the feel of those songs and the album as a whole. Shorter and more dynamic would have been preferable to be. But I don’t doubt that the plaudits will come from reviewers and fans as this is an album that presses all the right buttons for an album of this genre, fans will like this.

I think that a good listen but not a very memorable one is a good description of this album. It is solid and well made on all accounts, the songs are good, as is the production and the vocalist. I think that anyone describing him- or herself as a fan of AOR or melodic hardrock should have a look at this album, so if you are: the album is called Second Nature and the band is called Lionheart – it is a good album!

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