Review

TO THE LIONS – TO THE LIONS
Released 13th August 2012

Words: Gaz Martinez

Not by the band that wrote Breathless, the spanking new EP from Cambridge four piece To The Lions kicks you in the crotch with There’s a Reason, that starts and progressive with tightly knit chords and breakdowns and a soft harmonised passage that breaks up the brutal with a little melody. A similar approach to the lyrics is here as well, while main vocalist Tony Stead screams out, while the rest of the band back him up melodically, making the line “There’s a reason I won’t lay down and die.” Carry much more dynamic.

If There’s a Reason can be considered a kick in the crotch, then Oceans Away can be seen as a repeated set of fists to the stomach. Stead and James ‘Sage’ Croft throw more harmonies into the mix, which is never a bad thing.

Wolves & Lions is much more of a headbanger than the previous two, as the band drop the tempo and crank out the quite bluntly, awesome riff, despite one pseudo verse section with guitars panning left and right, and another with clean tones falling slightly flat, the rest of the song keeps the ears tingling.

Having known of this band for a while now I know that the fourth and final track on this EP (Originally called Fourth) was released as a single on iTunes earlier in the year, and without sounding harsh, the clean chorus left something to be desired, on the EP it has been rerecorded/mastered and I must say it’s pleasing to hear the major improvement in Stead’s voice, a gear has certainly been stepped up. While none of the guitars, bass or drums particularly knock holes in walls with flashes of virtuosity, everything is played and mixed in tightly and makes up for the lack of obvious flair with a different kind of talent. To The Lions can definitely be seen as a decent first EP, something to own and say you had way back when.


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