Review LIONHEART ‘Welcome to the Westcoast III’

Lionheart is not an unusual band name and exists more than once. Therefore, right here; this is about the American hardcore heroes from Oakland and nothing else. With ‘Welcome to the Westcoast III’ the band has a new album in the pipeline and what comes out of the speakers is worth talking about.

The Westcoast powerhouse started in 2004 and has since then established itself irretrievably in American hardcore. Lionheart have also managed to build up a solid fanbase in Europe, as evidenced by their appearance at the Summer Breeze Festival 2019, as well as showcasing the band’s power on their recently completed European tour.

Now comes with ‘Welcome to the Westcoast III’ the much-anticipated new album. The Californians have put a total of eleven songs on their new output and provide almost 30 minutes of hardcore fireworks, which comes along without frills.

After the intro ‘The Trilogy’ has faded away it continues with ‘Death Comes in 3’s’ straight forward. Not only the song itself is a blast. The band also has a guest with Hatebreed‘s Jamey Jasta, which does the intensity of the track extremely well. This also has to do with the fact that Lionheart and Hatebreed certainly have a musical intersection without duplicating each other.

‘Live by the Gun’ is another track with a guest contribution. This time it’s none other than Ice-T giving the groovy riffs a rap twist. And since the song also features a very well-done guitar solo, metal fans don’t miss out either.

Lionheart hammer their way uncompromisingly through the 11 songs of the album and there is no moment to take a breath. Tracks like ‘New Money, Old Pain’ and ‘Exit Wounds’ are merciless hardcore anthems that you can’t escape. Especially with ‘Exit Wounds’, the massive riffing should also be pointed out, which is reminiscent of Machine Head‘s ‘Davidian’. A massive wall of guitars is being crafted in this one.

The neighbors should be happy about Lionheart’s latest album too, because you are tempted to jump and slam around in your own apartment for the whole half hour and then start again.