When checking out new bands people often try to relate them to other bands that the members have previously worked with. For Frontiers Records brand new band Three Lions that isn't exactly an easy task. Their lead guitarist had previously played with Asia, Ten, and Magnum's Bob Catley, their drummer has also played with Ten and Catley, and their vocalist and bassist is essentially new to most people as in he hasn't appeared to be in any other notable bands. From this information we can pretty much deduce that it’s going to be melodic rock, potentially progressive, and possibly a little bluesy at times.
The album starts off with a lot of fire on the track “Trouble in a Red Dress”. There are a lot of guitar solos to begin the song, the singer has a pretty strong range and the track has an undeniably catchy chorus. From the first glimpse of the album it’s not extremely progressive or bluesy, but has a very happy vibe with a lot of shredding guitars strewn throughout. Honestly I feel like it sounds a lot like later period Journey, which is by no means a bad thing. This is definitely the perfect way to start an album, with a lot of intensity and a chorus that won't leave your head for days.
“Twisted Soul” begins with a catchy piano intro that almost sounds like Foreigner's Cold as Ice. Once again it begins with a really clean and competent solo before the first verse begins with some dark keyboards and acoustic guitar parts. The singer is definitely one of the strong parts of this band, a very clean voice and a hell of a range. Once again the song has an extremely memorable chorus and the verses begin to get a little bluesier, almost like mid-period Whitesnake. There is so much guitar shredding in this song and it’s easily one of the best on the album.
Halfway through the album we get to another incredible bluesy rocker in “Holy Water”. There is a lot of ride cymbal throughout the song accompanied by good ole rock and roll riffage giving the song a very uplifting and memorable feeling to it. There is also a common theme through most of the album and that is the shredding guitars and catchy choruses and it definitely does not let up here. This one will have your feet tapping by the end of it.
Every melodic band has their forte, a lot of them are incredible at writing power ballads and Three Lions is no different. “Two Hearts Beat as One” has an I Wanna Know What Love Is kind of vibe to it and sounds like it would have been a massive hit if it were written a couple decades ago. The song is extremely relaxing and emotional and definitely the kind of song you'd want to play for your girlfriend to get her in the mood. I can imagine this band would end up doing a lot of songs like this in the future as it seems like the kind of song that a lot of fans of the genre want. If you listen to a couple songs later there can be a very similar description for the song Made for One Another. A couple memorable power ballads are never a bad way to attract fans and sell albums.
Towards the end of the album is perhaps the most intense and heaviest song on the album in “Hellfire Highway”. It begins with a lot of 80s melodic hard rock riffs at a more upbeat tempo than virtually any other song on the album. It continues with the common theme of the rest of the album in extremely competent guitar solos, memorable choruses, and a hell of a vocal performance. For someone looking to check this band out this is probably the song I would most recommend.
I am not going to lie and say this is a flawless album by any means. There are a few sleeper tracks, but all in it’s an extremely solid debut. It actually is kind of what I would expect from some of these members, something that is a combination of bluesy, slightly progressive at times, melodic, and extremely memorable. The guitar work is incredible, the vocalist has an excellent voice and range, and the songs are extremely well put together. I would easily recommend this to fans of bands such as Foreigner, Journey, Whitesnake, etc. I expect big things out of these guys in the future. Although the album is by no means perfect I'd still give it an 80% since no tracks are particularly horrible and the good tracks are utterly amazing.
Adam Philips, HMS
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