LION’S SHARE – Emotional Coma

Lion’s Share used to be pretty prolific, releasing four full-length studio works between 1995-2001 as well as doing a healthy dose of gigging during said time span, supporting Saxon as well as the Monsters Of Millennium package featuring Manowar, Motörhead, and DIO around Scandinavia in 1999. But, since then, the band has been “on hold.”

Now, however, Lion’s Share has been resurrected. Consciously or not, the new, revamped Lion’s Share bares a slight resemblance to the “new” (actually, he’s been in the band four years already) recruit, vocalist Patrik Johansson, and his other band, Astral Doors, in overall musical direction. The Lion’s Share of today showcases a much more straightforward route. Slight Progressive leanings of past works are not present on Emotional Coma, and use of keyboards are kept to a minimum. This new direction proves for the better; not that Lion’s Share of old was bad (quite the contrary), but the band comes across fresh in this bare, new identity, which relies and builds much on the guitar work of main man Lars Chriss.

This is documented from the start with “Cult Of Denial.” “Edge Of The Razor” features ex-KISS guitarist Bruce Kulick. The riff actually chugs along, with Johansson offering a somewhat Bluesy feel during the laid back verses. The title track is a quite heavy and Doom-laden affair, whose main riff almost bears resemblance to fellow Swedes Candlemass, and includes another guest player: Megadeth’s Glen Drover. The up-tempo “Toxication Rave” further hammers down Lion’s Share seemingly new philosophy of “less is more;” a rotating riff circles around an infectious chorus.

Johansson’s vocals still bear quite a few nods to his hero Ronnie James Dio, albeit not quite as much as with previous recorded works, and he seems to evolve steadily towards a style more his own. Take the chorus during “Hatred’s My Fuel” as an example; a very harmonic sing-along that despite the songs title leaves a sense of well-being.

Kudos to Lion’s Share for having the sense too choose an Angelwitch track to cover (never mind that cheesy version of Queensrÿche’s “I Don’t Believe In Love” years ago) instead of something decidedly more mainstream. Because of the album’s general direction, it actually does fit in remarkably well, and may lead an additional person or two to actually find themselves a copy of that cult Angelwitch debut album. Who knows, maybe it spears interest for an old Angelwitch convert to check out Emotional Coma as well. It would only serve them right, as Lion’s Share’s latest work is a most enjoyable Metal piece. Catch it now and make it part of this summer’s soundtrack.