LIONHEART

It seems fair to say that LIONHEART love a sequel. Their last release was the third installment in the Californian band's "Welcome To The West Coast" series, and it was one of the most brutal and impactful releases in their history to date, with crowd-pleasing cameos from the likes of Jamey Jasta and Ice-T, and plenty of the punishing, beatdown metalli-core that has served them so well since their formation two decades ago. "Valley Of Death II" harks back to LIONHEART's 2019 album of the same name and seeks to pick up where "Welcome To The West Coast III" left off, way back in 2022. For those who like their hardcore rugged, tough and defiantly knuckleheaded (but never stupid),LIONHEART have been a consistent source of the good stuff throughout their career, and it will come as no surprise that this 24-minute burst of aggression has been strategically designed to cause more joyous violence.

It certainly helps that KUBLAI KHAN TX's Matt Honeycutt pops up to bark like a rabid dog on the brilliantly feral "Chewing Through The Leash". LIONHEART have never been a purely one-dimensional beatdown band, but here their mastery of groove and grit hits a new level of lobotomized intensity, as frontman Rob Watson is audibly inspired by Honeycutt's animalistic contributions and delivers one of the most furious vocals of his career. Anyone hoping for a windmill punch to the chin at their next LIONHEART show will be more than sated by this one track alone. Fortunately, the rest of "Valley Of Death II" keeps foot to floor and fist to face. "Bulletproof" is a fine opener, and one that showcases the album's superb, ultra-heavy production, as Watson spits his rage over a muscular, mid-paced assault. "Ice Cold" is a nailed-on, instant LIONHEART classic: deceptively catchy but still caked in concrete and shattered teeth, it oozes authority and nearly creaks under the weight of its hellish, bellicose riffs and wicked changes in pace. "Valley Of Death" is fraught with anxiety and loss, "4 funerals in just the last month/Yeah, it could be worse but it still adds up" is a powerful expression of the cost of urban decay, and Watson's vocal is taut with wrath. Similarly powerful is "No Peace", which battles with the ghosts of the singer's past and concludes that the pursuit of wealth is no substitute for being left the fuck alone. Elsewhere, "Roll Call" is a simple but ruthless cautionary tale about unity and strength in numbers, and the closing "Death Grip" heralds a somewhat unlikely appearance by A DAY TO REMEMBER's Kevin Skaff with some of the nastiest riffing in LIONHEART's repertoire to date.

It is all over in a flash and will leave devoted fans craving a more substantial consignment of tunes to sink their teeth into, but the overwhelming impression given is that LIONHEART have briskly conjured a bunch of killer new songs with the central purpose of giving the band more material to batter audiences with. This is what they do, and they do it with huge force and conviction.