LION’S SHARE – Dark Hours

Lion’s Share did quite a comeback almost two years ago with Emotional Coma that renewed the Metal scene’s interest after six years of silence. This album proved that the Swedish act still possesses what is necessary to create fuss in a scene that is literally flooded by Metalcore releases.

The main thing that one notices as “Judas Must Die” enters is the straightforward song structure. Fat guitars, fast tempos and hearty harsh vocals are some of the-easy-to notice elements in this powerful opener. Time for the guitar solo and Lars clearly shows who is the boss here; with ‘silent’ Progressive foundations the guitars do not follow the overloaded-over-sophisticated path but rather ‘prefer’ the distinct melodies and fortunately the not-showing-off approach. The rhythm section is solid as hell and in the faster parts brings to mind the latest Symphony X album, Paradise Lost. After all, this resemblance is kind of logical taking into account Mike Romeo’s guest appearance behind the six string instrument.

Patrik Johansson, also in Astral Doors, sounds more confident here since the music was composed over his singing style. Adding to that, is the fact that the band did some touring giving them some more rehearsing time and thus solidifying their performing attitude. In fact these vocals can be described as something that lies between Tony Martin (ex-Black Sabbath) and Russell Allen (Symphony X) with Dio as the icing on the cake (of the latest Master Of The Moon era). The Black Sabbath-esque “Heavy Cross To Bear” really lights the spotlight on the Tony Martin influences from his Headless Cross days proving that Johansson has a wide ranged and powerful voice.

Even though, the straightforward song structure points towards the Power Metal genre, Lion’s Share really spice their sound up with the dark atmosphere that was initially introduced with Emotional Coma. “The Presidio 27” is a fine example of this; as this track enters with a mild tempo under the expressional vocals and the nice clean guitar chords that steadily build some serious tension. Then the guitars take over with catching edge riffs and an addictive tempo that will warm every neck out there. “Napalm Nights” takes the ‘best track of the album’ by force; the killer rhythm introduces an addictive groove that becomes even more powerful from the nice keyboard work on the back. To top things off, Lars adds some hard hitting guitar fills and leads with a hearty vibrato. You have to try hard not to sing the chorus that sets an anchor in your mind from the very first CD spin.

The musicianship is high here and this is not something to be surprised of; Lars has Sampo Axelsson (Glenn Hughes) on the bass guitar and the session musicians Richard Evensand (Chimaira, Soilwork, Therion) and Conny Pettersson (Anata) who share the time behind the drum-kit.

The album is simply a killer and will definitely claim a spot in the ‘best album of 2009’ list. The old school Metal influences performed through a modern looking glass is something that the Metalheads will appreciate. Learn and hear more by clicking the links below.