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"If the NWOBHM has been a land of welcome for you and Praying Mantis has accompanied you since then in your musical wanderings, listen to this "The Reality Of Miracles", you won't be disappointed."
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3/5
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Lionheart is a British band dating back to the NWOBHM (New Wave Of British Heavy Metal). The combo has indeed been on our turntables at the time in 1982. Its first eponymous track appeared in the compilation "Heavy Metal Heroes volume II" in 1982 and its first album, "Hot Tonight", was released two years later. Although he had supported Whitesnake, Saxon and Def Leppard in concert, his rise stopped in 1985, largely due to discordance with his record company, which had not been convinced by his initial LP. In 1999, however, a double album called "Unearthed - Raiders of the Lost Archives" was released, gathering titles coming from the drawers and distributed only in Japan. Then the source dried up.
However, in 2017 an unexpected "Second Nature" appeared. The line-up of yesteryear had then known little movement. Dennis Stratton, who played on the first Iron Maiden album and on Praying Mantis from 1991 to 2003, was still holding the guitar, supported on the same instrument by Steve Mann (Michael Schenker Fest), by Rocky Newton on bass (McAuley Schenker Group) and by Clive Edwards on drums (UFO, Wild Horses). As for the microphone, it was held by Lee Small (Shy and Phenomena) who had taken the place of Jess Coxx (Tygers Of Pan Tang) the singer of the origins. These five men are still there today on a "The Reality Of Miracles" that we couldn't wait to discover.
Lionheart smells the perfumes of the NWOBHM. He proposes, more precisely and mainly, the melodic hard rock to which Praying Mantis accustoms us since the 80's. Of course, other great names come to mind when listening to this album whose atmosphere, melodies and sounds take us back many years - Small has an old school voice that reminds us of those indelible moments. The ensemble is both melodically catchy and endowed with a calibrated energy. Listening to the object, we have the curious impression that the band could have released it in the wake of their first try, while not having the impression of dealing with an out-of-date product. This can be considered a fine success.
Many beautiful scores are scattered throughout this opus. Their rhythms are varied, ranging from sounds reminiscent of the grandiloquence of a Magnum ('Behind The Wall') to those evoking the melodious harmonies of Danger Danger ('All I Want Is You'). One can also enjoy reminiscences of old legends of the NWOBHM (the double pedal and melody of 'Five Tribes'!) from the guitar flights of April Wine ('Widows' and 'Outlaws Of The Western World') to the riffs of Motley Crue ('The First Man'). We can even go, in the same title, 'Overdrive', from AC/DC (the introduction) to Van Halen (the verse and its synth sounds from the '1984' era), then to Boston (the gimmick reminds us of a well-known passage from 'More Than A Feeling').
It is thus a kind of fountain of youth that is proposed here. If for you the NWOBHM has been a land of welcome from which you were chased with tears and that Praying Mantis has accompanied you since then in your musical wanderings, listen to this "The Reality Of Miracles", you won't be disappointed. - Official website
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TRACK LISTING:
01. Salvation 02. Thine Is The Kingdom 03. High Plains Drifter 04. The Reality Of Miracles 05. Five Tribes 06. Behind The Wall 07. All I Want Is You 08. Widows 09. Kingdom Of The East 10. Outlaws Of The Western World 11. Overdrive 12. The First Man 13. Still It Rains On Planet Earth (lacrimosa)
LINEUP:
Clive Edwards: Batterie Dennis Stratton: Guitares Lee Small: Chant Rocky Newton: Basse Steve Mann: Guitares / Claviers
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