LAWLESS - R.I.S.E. (2014)

Genre - Hard Rock / Melodic Rock

Label -

 

Track listing:

01. 1914 (Ghosts of No Man's Land)
02. Pain
03. Rise
04. Twisted and Burned
05. Song for a Friend
06. Kiss My Glass
07. Dead Man Walking
08. Heavens Raining
09. How Long
10. Diamond in the Rough
11. Is This the End of the World

########################## The following review is not my work but I reproduce it here as I couldn't agree more. All credit to the original author ####################################

Both stalwarts from legendary act Demon, Paul Hume and Neil Ogden, decided a couple of years ago to try something different, still hard rocking and classic inspired but more modern & dynamic, and LAWLESS born. After a very good debut, they are back with their sophomore release "R.I.S.E." released today.
So, what have the Lawless boys served up for their second effort? Can it live up to the first record?
Well it's a resounding YES from me.
As with their debut Rock Savage, "R.I.S.E." is another mission accomplished for Lawless, but better and augmented. Sharp riffs and a brisk rhythm section keep things heavy and steady, significantly forgoing a powerful sound but not without significant groove and melody.
Lawless mix classic hard rock with classic British metal, something that blurs the lines between the two, always with melody as main focus.
Opening the album with an anthemic rocking tribute – full of passion and genuine pride called "1914 (Ghosts of No Mans Land)" honouring the brave soldiers who fought during the Great War which ties the album into the centenary celebrations - Lawless head into the what would once be classed as NWoBHM, yet more modern.
But as heard later in some songs in this style - like "Pain" or in "How Long, Lawless cannot escape adding strong a melody to each track and, somewhat surprisingly at times, rich vocal harmonies. Notable for this is the ballad "Song For A Friend".
There's also a very good classic Brit metal in "Dead Man Walking", akin '80s Black Sabbath / Tony Martin, awesome track for sure.
But there's another side of Lawless; classic hard rock.
"The End of the World" is very classy with a distinct bass line you hear from the start, alongside another clever vocal arrangement. This is a remarkable Lawless strength; the vocals are consistently good and don't follow the same formula, they change to suit the music.
Another standout cut in this vein is "Kiss My Glass", significant for it's American groove wrapped in a liveliness in the Damn Yankees style. A highlight.
Then "Diamond In The Rough" brings some 'US Whitesnake' to the table with a terrific chorus and a pump recalling as well Thunder.
"R.I.S.E." is a killer, solid heavy rock album with bits of classic British metal thrown in and a stadium hard rock feel here and there.
Lawless stays the course of their debut but this time more meaty, consistent, and succeeds with their melodic and metalish hard rock. The vocals are top notch, Howie G's delivers blistering guitar solos in the vein of Dave Meniketti (Lawless has much of Y&T in their sound) and production is crisp, punchy as it should be for this kind of material.
I think any classic hard rock / metal fan would find something to appreciate here. Definitely worth getting hold of.

Highly Recommended.
Rating - 8/10

Lawless - Rock Savage (2013)

Genre - Hard Rock / Melodic Metal / Melodic Rock
Label - Escape Records

Track listing:

01. Heavy Metal Heaven

02. Black Widow Ladies
03. F.O.A.D.
04. Misery
05. SOS
06. Rock n Roll City
07. Step In
08. Scream
09. Pretender
10. Where Heroes Fall
11. Metal Time


Lawless are a new band founded by veterans from the UK scene.
Featuring Neil Ogden who has been hitting the skins in cult legends Demon since 2002 and his more recent bandmate there Paul Hume (vocals, guitar), plus Persian Risk guitarist Howie G and bassist Josh Williams (Headrush), they have created a dynamic, crisp-sounding rockin' album.
At first glance, you could suspect that Lawless plays heavy metal or NWOBHM due the guy's pedegree, the cover artwork and some track titles here: "Heavy Metal Heaven" or "Metal Time" for instance.
Well, not at all. "Rock Savage" is pure '80s British Melodic Hard Rock with some melodious hard 'n heavy touches but you know, what was considered 'heavy' in the eighties, nowadays it's just hard rock.
This is certainly old school MHR with a fantastic modern production, melodic and catchy choruses together with lots of big riffs and sweet solos from Howie G (his sound set is truly amazing). Hume’s vocals are ideally suited to the style of music (although in my honest opinion they are the weakest link here, I would have loved them to have recruited Demons Dave Hill to handle the vocal duties!), and the rhythm section is fat and bombastic at places.
Groovy, contagious cuts like "SOS", "Scream", "Rock 'n' Roll City" or the Skin (UK Rockers) sounding "Step In" are arena-ready quality anthems, the driving "Heavy Metal Heaven" is bloody melodious akin early Thunder, and "F.O.A.D." puts the pedal to the metal a bit, but the chorus is really commercial.
"Black Widow Ladies"  is a Whitesnake-esque mid tempo monster, there's soaring melodies on the punchy-razor "Misery", then "Pretender" rocks with a Pretty Maids vibe enriched by great harmony vocals and punctuating riffs.
"Where Heroes Fall" is a high class ballad never losing the band's muscular approach and showcasing Hume's more emotional side (he's a solid singer for sure), before closer "Metal Time", an ode to the genre, begins as an amusing Twisted Sister joke developing into a Y&T sounding rocker packed with melting riffs and terrific solos all over. Another favorite of mine.
"Rock Savage" is a fun, catchy, and extremely effective Melodic Hard Rock recording in a typical British style, just as it should be
All songs are instantly likeable, focused on catchy vocal melodies backed by soaring harmonies and meaty riffs, all driven by pounding bass lines and a thumping drum work. The sound is awesomely polished helped by a crisp production and a superb mix (listen with headphones and then tell me).

Surprisingly killer debut by Lawless.

Highly Recommended

Rating 9/10