Lionheart

The Will To Survive

Written by: PP on 08/03/2009 23:57:22

You better pull out your moshing shoes, because the next generation of bands inspired by Hatebreed are starting to trickle down, with San Francisco-based Lionheart being close to the forefront in the rush to beat the living shit out of your fellow concert goers. "The Will To Survive" is their debut album from 2007, only being released now here in Europe with additional six bonus tracks, and it's all about hard music and real lyrics from guys that didn't have everything handed to them", as their Myspace 'sounds like' field reads.

In other words, Lionheart play by the books moshcore with a strong incline to the lessons of New York Hardcore; relatively catchy songs where gang vocals are thrown in pretty much every other line to the extent that it almost feels like the entire album is one big gang shout, but I suppose if bands like Terror and Hatebreed are on your weekly musical plate, you'll like these guys as well. The intensity level is kept overwhelmingly strong throughout the record, recalling the same in-your-face feel that surrounds all recent Terror, and, for a more local example, Raised Fist material. It's fairly difficult to avoid banging your head to the songs just because the riffing is so effective, though I'm sure that a live environment will surely multiply the effect. The band achieves this through simplistic but crushingly heavy, down-tuned riffing played at reasonably fast speeds, while the vocalist's ear-piercing yell dominates the soundscape. That's clearly the focus and the point of the whole album as well, to sound as pissed off, tough, and brutally angry as possible.

And if that's the only objective Lionheart were going for, then they've absolutely succeeded in their goal. I haven't heard a better moshcore release since Hatebreed's "Supremacy" and Terror's "Always The Hard Way" (both excellent albums), so I suppose "The Will To Survive" lives up to its role in the scene. It's perfect for those times when you just need to vent out some anger, and instead of breaking down your bedroom walls or beating the hell out of someone you don't like, you just wanna stick on some pissed off music. That being said, I'm not entirely convinced about how often I, or any of you, will feel that way, and thus I'll be a little cautious in assigning their grade.

Download: Hard Times, This Is Who I Am
For the fans of: Terror, Hatebreed, Hoods
Listen: Myspace

Release date 13.02.2009
I Scream Records

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