Tag: lillian axe

This is album number seven for the band and it was released back in 2009, twenty one years after their debut. They have kept banging away through a vastly changing musical landscape and indeed released their latest just album last year. I know the metal sound spreads far and wide and it’s very hard to lay down your own individual footprint, but Lillian Axe are one of the bands that have managed to do just that.

This is an album you won’t be able to digest in one sitting, concept albums rarely are, you have to return again and again for it to sink in. Tracks that really do it for me are Jesus Wept, the title track, Down Below The Ocean, and my favourite Blood Raining Down On Her Wings. Not the most metal track in the album but one that emphasizes the band’s great sense of melody.

Cool record.

8.5/10 from The Grooveman.

This is a first time vinyl release for this hard rockin’ record. It was originally only available through the UK boutique rock label Z Records back in ’99. The material on here was originally demos and outtakes but have been cleaned up and I really like this record.

The vibe on the first track Death Valley Days reminds a little of Saigon Kick, I think mainly through the vocal delivery of Ron Taylor but it’s still a kick-ass tune. Do It follows and starts with a huge progressive feel and I’m loving the quirky feel to the melody, and that solo sounds killer. Twilight In Hell rips in with a huge sounding monster riff and I’m not sure anyone sounds quite like these guys as they do have their own sound, and I mean in that in a good way. For Crying Out Loud closes out the first side and we are now in a power pop groove as the vibe is definitely Cheap Trick with a classical undertone.

The Last Time carries on that power pop groove with a really catchy hook line. Calm Before The Storm does feel like it was a cleaned up demo as the production is a bit mushy in places but it doesn’t spoil my enjoyment of what is a a great song. Pulling The Rats Out reminds me of classic Aerosmith, at least with that initial riff and groove. When It Rains brings Side 2 to an end with a ballad.

It’s favourite track time with Side 3 opener Daddy Long Legs. Superb riff and groove with some epic guitar. The mushy drum sound reappears however. A big epic intro to Blood On The Moon gives way to a more straight ahead anthem rocker. Kill Me Again is the one track you can definitely say this sounds like a demo. Great song with a very flat sound. A seriously nasty guitar sound announces the arrival of Become A Monster, quite literally a beast of a tune. Superb vocal harmonies at the intro to Throw You Away, another great tune but the drum machine is a tad tiresome. The album ends with Thirst, a huge sounding tune that travels into the realms of Prog metal.

I’d like to hear some of these “demo” tracks fully completed, but I guess there isn’t much chance of ever happening.

8.5/10 from The Grooveman.

I guess you can say this is a comeback album as it was released eight years after their 1999 album Fields Of Yesterday, which was released on the small UK independent label Z Records.

A very heavy opening with the title track, it has a dark sounding riff and groove. Antarctica sounds even heavier with a nice low end groove and riff that sounds evil. Nice to hear the melody and harmonies are still there with the vocals. Become A Monster carries on that evil vibe with another d-tuned riff. Quarantine is my favourite track. A superb psych-style riff and melody, I just love the whole groove of the thing. It’s ballad time with I Have To Die Goodbye, although I do like that little folk vibe they have going on, I’m glad that the heavy does kick in towards the end. Fear Of Time has a weird heavy Queen vibe going on, in a good way. The more melodic side of Steve Blaze comes out on Until The End Of The World, a tune to get all the melodic fans drooling.

Fields Of Yesterday is next and that melodic/aor vibe continues with a mainly acoustic driven tune. Thirst has a very odd sounding riff and sees the band channeling their inner King Crimson. The 2nd Of May has almost a progressive vibe going, and Lillian Axe sound like no one else on tunes like this. Deep In The Black has a killer intro, with both with guitar and vocals possessing a very dark vibe. A very epic piece! The album close out with 5, an instrumental with a killer evil groove and some serious over the top guitar. Great album closer.

Lillian Axe are a metal band, but that term doesn’t do them justice as there so many different vibes going on in their music.

9/10  from The Grooveman.

This is the band’s first album released back in ’88, and was produced by Robbin Crosby from Ratt. Nope, they sound nothing like Ratt, but they are a heavy melodic rock band with the emphasis on the melody. The band revolve around vocalist and lead guitarist, Steve Blaze – a killer player with a decent enough voice.

Opener, Dream Of A Lifetime, is a killer tune with a big hook and riff, and heavy on the melody. Inside Out has a hint of sleaze and blame, but it’s the solo that stands out on this tune. Vision In The Night has a generic riff and groove that could be any melodic rock band of the time. Picture Perfect is a fun track with a simple riff and a hands in the air groove. The More That You Get is more of the same, and Mr. Crosby seems to be having a say in proceedings as this sounds very Ratt.

Over to Side 2 with Misery Loves Company, and the riff is a lift from a Ratt song, but slightly inverted – great tune though! Ballad time with Nobody Knows. Big keys in the intro to Hard Luck, and the guitars sound huge. Waiting In The Dark follows and the hook and chorus are huge – definitely the big production number. The album closes out with Laughing In Your Face and this my favourite – a great fun track with a really cool riff and the customary big sing-a-long chorus.

After their initial burst they sort of disappeared, only to sporadically reappear to release albums every now and then. There is a new album just out so the comeback is on…again!

8.5/10 from The Grooveman.