Lord - Digital lies 4.5/5
Reviewed: 4-1-13
Tracklist:
1. Incipio
2. Betrayal blind
3. Digital lies
4. Point of view
5. Walk away
6. 2D person in a 3D world
7. Final seconds
8. The last encore
9. Because we can
10. The chalkboard prophet
11. Battle of venarium
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Tim Grose, aka Lord Tim decided to form a side project while reigning over his successful Australian heavy metal band Dungeon. Tim felt somewhat overwhelmed with the numerous revolving door of members coming in and out of the band that any new project was not to have the Dungeon name. So on that day back in 2003 the band Lord was created and it was initially to be quite different, almost experimental to that of his other band, Dungeon.
Under the Lord name, the debut CD was released in the same year (‘A personal journey’, in which Tim not only did vocals and guitar for, but also bass, keyboards and drum programming), and in 2005 Tim finally put Dungeon out to pasture after 16 years and 4 CDs, to concentrate on Lord and make it a fully-fledged band. Joining Tim (vocalist/guitarist) in Lord included bassist Andy Dowling, guitarist Maverick Stevens and drummer Tim Yatras. Maverick would eventually relocate to the U.K. within a year of joining Lord, replaced by Mark Furtner, while Tim left in 2009 after 2 releases with the band. Tim would be replaced by Damian Costas, which remains the line-up of Lord today.
As Lord was not typically a new band, being referred to as “Dungeon mark II”, they were already established in the arts of writing quality material, with all members of the band contributing to releases from ‘Ascendence’ onwards. The maturity and experience that comes through Lord’s music shows an evolvement from the Dungeon days; with ever-improving songwriting that has become more intricate and confident with each CD. The band’s influences from legendary outfits such as Queensryche, Helloween and Iron Maiden shine through brightly in a blast of memorable and creative melodic metal in Lord’s latest effort ‘Digital lies’. It’s appealing that the tracks don’t always seem to follow the same typical structures that this genre traditionally follows, nor have a similar theme flowing through it, aside from paying homage to the NWOBHM.
The catchy melodic harmonies and compositions layered throughout this CD are wonderfully constructed, flowing smoothly like water down a stream; while vocalist and guitarist Lord Tim’s powerful and concise soaring vocals is enough to get you hooked in the first place. Tim has an extraordinary talent for singing and has great strength and passion in his vocals; with a range and delivery that Bruce Dickinson himself would be impressed with. The twin guitar assault via Tim and Mark is another massive highlight on ‘Digital lies’, with the 2 working together as one, delivering sweet hooks and harmonies; while they don’t shy away from supreme solos and head-banging infectious scorching riffs either.
One such example of their powerful axe-handling abilities would be the ripping “Point of view”, with pummelling double-bass drumming keeping the tempo turbo-charged, the catchy and memorable dual guitar attack can be described as grandiose in anyone’s language. With so many song highlights to choose from, whether it be the silky smooth harmonies of “Betrayal blind” and “Walk away”, the sheer songwriting brilliance with tracks like “The chalkboard prophet”, or the passion and catchiness of “The last encore”; ‘Digital lies’ will appeal to a broad range of heavy metal lovers, obviously starting with the die-hard Dungeon/Lord fans, but also fans of melodic metal, power metal and classic NWOBHM.
In the end, Lord’s ‘Digital lies’ wasn’t intended to reinvent the wheel (or in this case genre), but the quality of musicianship, the depth and diversity of the tracks on the CD, and the overall polished class and catchiness is what will keep fans (old and new alike) spinning this CD longer than you normally would. Dungeon originally were one of a handful of Aussie bands leading the way in the early 2000’s, and now Lord continues that performance; their success not only with ‘Digital lies’ but also their preceding releases, possibly bettering what Dungeon achieved in comparison. This is a must have for any fan of melodic heavy metal with power metal influences and a fragrance for NWOBHM.
SEAN
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