Thursday, July 10, 2014

Band Review: Lionfight


Lionfight did follow me on Twitter, but recently enough that it would not be their turn for a review for probably about four months. However, they followed me after I wrote something about not being able to make it to Farewell, My Love's Portland show, as they are touring with them.

This tour is currently ongoing, with several tour dates left over the next month taking in cities across the United States, it felt like it would be more valuable to review them now than later. Also, tomorrow I am reviewing Tigers Jaw, and I am a sucker for these kinds of pairings. If I had a "bear" band on deck, I would have had to do three reviews this week.

Incidentally, Tigers Jaw is currently touring with Touché Amoré, and if you are a fan of Touché Amoré you are probably going to like Lionfight. There is a similar energy in the vocal delivery, with lots of throaty growls and shouts. The similarity can probably be best felt on "Fake Friend".

At the same time, the instruments are not going full on all aggro, all the time, but tend to be more thoughtful. "Vortex" demonstrates this especially well on the intro, bringing in some softer notes that reach out to the universe, giving a cosmic feel to the rest of the song.

"Uncle Ben" starts more softly and more melodically, so that even as vocals, percussion, and guitars amp up, there is a lingering poignancy. Actually, I would say one of their strengths is doing a setup to each song that will give the right flavor before it starts thrashing.

I am currently only aware of five songs, but they are currently getting some great tour experience and showing a lot of stamina. They should have some options as this one wraps up.




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