Year : 2019 (Australian Edition)
Style : Heavy Metal , Power Metal
Country : Australia
Audio : 320 kbps + all scans
Size : 157 mb
Bio:
Lord (sometimes spelled LORD) is a heavy metal band from Wollongong, Australia. The group began as a solo project for "Lord Tim" Grose of Dungeon in 2003 and expanded into a complete band when Dungeon broke up in 2005.They have released three albums and an EP to date. Lord has appeared with major acts that include Queensrÿche, Nightwish, Nevermore, Saxon and Gamma Ray. The band's name is usually stylised in all capital letters.Between 1988 and 2000, Dungeon singer/guitarist and founding member "Lord Tim" Grose had collected a number of compositions he felt were either too personal to submit to the band or inappropriate for its style. In 2003, he collected these songs on an album called A Personal Journey that was issued under the name Lord.At the end of 2005, Dungeon came to an end and Lord became a band featuring Grose and drummer Tim Yatras (also of Dungeon), along with guitarist Mav Stevens and bass player Andrew Dowling from Brisbane metal band Sedition. Yatras has also been a member of several black metal bands including Nazxul, Austere and Battalion. A Personal Journey was re-mastered and released to mark the occasion.Lord performed their first live show on 31 March 2006. The group launched a national tour within months and before the end of the year had opened for Queensrÿche,Nevermore, Gamma Ray, Leaves Eyes, Atrocity and Skinless, and appeared at the final Metal for the Brain festival. On 23 December 2006, it was announced that guitarist Stevens would be leaving the band for personal reasons and would be relocating to the United Kingdom. Shane Linfoot of Sydney band Transcending Mortality filled in as a live guitarist in early 2007 but due to both bands' hectic schedules, Linfoot departed to be replaced by FromBeyond guitarist Mark Furtner, originally in a temporary capacity but his addition was made permanent in December 2007. Furtner's work had already appeared on the August 2007 album Ascendence. Chris Brooks also contributed guest guitars by way of the solos in "Rain" and "Through the Fire".The band toured the Australian east coast with Saxon in May 2008. After this Lord began working on a third album. The EP "Hear No Evil" appeared in late 2008, featuring two new songs, live tracks and a cover of Kylie Minogue's "On a Night Like This". The Set in Stone album was released in September 2009 and included guest contributions from Craig Goldy of Dio, Glen Drover of Eidolon, Pete Lesperance of Harem Scarem, Angra's Felipe Andreoli, Vanishing Point's Chris Porcianko, Justin Sayers from Platinum Brunette, Chris Brooks, and Stu Marshall of Paindivision. Lord completed wide-scale touring of Australia, New Zealand and Japan in 2009.In June 2009, Tim Yatras left the band and was replaced by Damian Costas from Sydney band Vanquish.During January 2010, Lord Tim announced that a medical condition had severely restricted his guitar-playing and was advised to take at least six months off from playing guitar. Temporary guitarist, Matthew Bell, filled in during his recovery.In September 2010, LORD released the "Return of the Tyrant" EP which featured a ten minute long orchestrated title track and six unplugged versions of Dungeon and LORD songs, with a playing time of nearly an hour.
Album:
Dungeon were one of Australia’s most formidable metal acts over their 20+ year reign. When Dungeon broke up in 2005, “Lord Tim” Grose (founder and mastermind of Dungeon) took what had originally started as a solo project (2003’s LORD: A Personal Journey) and created a fully-fledged band. These days the band regularly play Dungeon tracks in their live set and they re-released the entire back catalogue under the LORD banner, so I don’t think I’m speaking out of turn to say that LORD (these days) is essentially a continuation of Dungeon. Either way, the hallmarks remain the same regardless of the Moniker; ‘Lord Tim’ Grose’s penchant for catchy and memorable song writing, his soaring vocals, top shelf riffs, and balls to the wall shredding.The snapshot above is purely for context and perhaps it doesn’t need to be said – it’s more than likely that you know who LORD are if you’ve taken the time to read this review. However, if nothing else I feel that some context is required to fully appreciate the sheer length of time Lord Tim” Grose has been leading the way of melodic metal in Australia – It’s been 3 decades since he formed Dungeon.Some 30 years since Dungeon was formed LORD are back with their first full length album since 2013’s Digital Lies. The gap between full lengths seems relatively large on paper, but the band have put a lot of time into a range of releases other than the traditional ‘new album’ over that period. At the same time LORD have also taken a ‘less is more’ approach to live shows too. Whilst I won’t speculate about the reasons for this I’d like to think this is a sign of a band who are happy to work at their own pace, which is always a good thing (especially within the context of writing new music in an era when bands seem to get caught in the churn of a 2 year write, record, tour cycle).But enough of the context and pleasantries, and on with the review of the new album itself; Fallen Idols.The album gets down to business with the first single, United (Welcome Back). Machine gun riffing is the name of the game here and whilst it’s still clearly a LORD tune I’m immediately struck by the harder edge to this track. A pleasant surprise.Track 2 is entitled Immortal and is an absolute belter. It’s got a Testament style ‘into the pit’ sort of groove to the main riff, is filled with massive vocals hooks, and the solo is a face melter. Top marks.The Title track Fallen Idols is a really strong piece of music, and is the sort of melodic track which I think fans of the band will be expecting to hear on a new LORD release. Arguably less riff orientated than the two tracks that proceeded it, it’s a melody driven track which is fitting of sharing the title of the release.Wilder than the Wind is a thrashy rock ‘n roll tune, with a Judas Priest swagger and some riffs that evoke mid-era Megadeth vibes. Extended harmonised solo sections are always worth bonus points in my books too!When I heard Nod to the Old School I thought ‘Whoa this sounds like Dungeon’, and after reading the notes provided with the review stream I now know why! Probably best if I let the band explain; This song is a love-letter to everyone who stuck with the band for so long. It’s packed solid full of Easter Eggs and call-backs to Dungeon songs (some even hidden in plain sight) and features some blistering solos by Mark, and a trademark hook-filled chorus. Having been there from the start, LT knew a thing or two about the Dungeon era, and drew on all of those experiences to create this nostalgic song.At this stage of the release it’s worth noting that the lead playing (in particular) on this release is of a super high calibre. No doubt in my mind that this release has some of the most slippery lead playing you’ll hear on any release, period.Chaos Raining is a mid paced track with a darker vibe than your typical happy-clappy-power-metal-offering. The verses see Lord Tim employ a lower, gruff vocal style which contrasts nicely with the more typical vocal approach of the chorus. I think this track has a similar vibe to some of the tracks on Helloween’s ‘The Dark Ride album’. I Whatever the case it’s a nice change up at this stage of the release.The Edge of the World is the heaviest track on the album, but the catchy chorus provides a cohesive link to the LORD sound generally. The instrumentation at certain stages of this one would be at home on a melodic death metal release. If I allow myself to be critical, I’m not totally sure why the band felt the need to flex that muscle on this album but I guess it’s its cool to hear them play some different sort of riffs.Counting Down the Hours is a really great, ballad style track. I’m getting classic Queensryche vibes from this one at times which is a good thing in my book.The end of the album is really strong, with the last two tracks being up there with the best that the release has to offer. Kill or be Killed is one of my favourite tracks on the album. It seems destined to be a crowd favourite in the live setting thanks to the 2nd half ‘whoa-whoa’ section and generally being packed with great riffs and solos. The album is then closed out in style with Master of Darkness. It’s got a really traditional ‘Power/Prog’ vibe with a fast riff, layered synths, galloping drums, and a big chorus. Really great track. The solo on this one is particularly tasteful yet face melting at the same time. Superb.The band have talked a lot in their press releases about the nostalgia of harking back to the days of mix tapes: a time before ‘metal heads’ cared so much about genre classification. I can certainly see where they are coming from with these comments, but had wrongly assumed this might be foreshadowing a bit of a ‘scatter gun’ release in terms of musical styles. On the contrary, to my ears the album is cohesive and well balanced, so whilst there is clearly some heavier moments and some elements which make certain tracks unique in the context of the release, it’s still very much a LORD album.Have LORD done anything wildly innovative or genre defying with Fallen Idols? Probably not, and to some extent you wouldn’t want that form these veterans anyway. Perhaps the biggest compliment I can pay is that after decades of quality releases I’m struggling to put my finger on an album in the collective back catalogue which I’d say is better than this one, such is the strength of Fallen Idols – it’s certainly been worth the wait. If hard edged Power Metal is your thing, and/or you enjoy a quality riff, a good chorus, and a head turning solo then look no further.
Line Up:
Lord Tim - Vocals, Guitars (2003-present) - See also: Platinum Brunette, ex-Dungeon, ex-Ilium, ex-King Oath (live)
Andy Dowling - Bass (2005-present) - See also: ex-Sedition
Mark Furtner - Guitar (2007-present)
Darryl Murphy - Drums (2016-present)
Tracklist:
01. United (Welcome Back) 04:58
02. Immortal 06:06
03. Fallen Idols 04:48
04. Wilder than the Wind 04:55
05. Nod to the Old School 03:49
06. Chaos Raining 06:27
07. Counting Down the Hours 05:57
08. In Dreams 05:26
09. The Edge of the World 04:54
10. Kill or Be Killed 06:13
11. Master of Darkness 06:38
12. Break the Ice (John Farnham cover) 03:31 (Bonus Track)
13. Touch the Fire (Icehouse cover) 03:52 (Bonus Track)
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