Lions Share – Dark Hours

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The alternating between Lions Share and Astral Doors continues for Nils Patrik Johansson with the follow-up to his Lions Share debut Emotional Coma. And Dark Hours picks up exactly where Emotional Coma left off, sharing its tracks between fast power metal and slower slabs of brooding groove metal like The Bottomless Pit. High-speed opener Judas Must Die, muscular brace Phantom Rider and Demon In Your Mind, Heavy Cross To Bear, straight out of the Heaven & Hell catalogue (slower and heavier than RJD’s work with Black Sabbath), and The Bottomless Pit essentially mean that the first half of the album is far superior to the second half. Full Metal Jacket is about as by-the-book as it sounds, and along with Napalm Nights it brings the average quality slightly below that of Emotional Coma, while tracks like Barker Ranch do well enough to hold the albums head up until excellent closing pair of anthemic fist-raiser Space Scam and final slice of darkness Behind The Curtain (see the Iommi riff which occupies the closing minute). So, not quite, but very, very nearly. A live show comprised primarily of these two albums will be one of the best pure metal sets around.

Written by Andy Lye
More: Albums, Power Metal, Quick.Play Reviews, Lions Share