Lyoness are a band formed from the ashes of Gallows’ first incarnation. However, anyone going into this expecting hardcore punk may be rather disappointed. The band have released their debut EP, Fools Gold, and demonstrated their indie/folk rock leanings. I remember checking out one of the singles last year and enjoying it, so I am looking forward to checking out the full EP!
‘Deliverance’ starts the album off on some tribal-style humming. It’s becoming a rather popular style these days after US indie groups started using it, and has since branched out into other genres like here and with Zeal & Ardor. It’s a fun technique used fantastically well here as the clean guitar builds up behind it. The riff build out of the hum is definitely one to bang your head to but is gone again as quickly as it bursts in. The vocals fit the overall style well, being soft and melodic. The killer riff kicks back in for the chorus and the vocals have a bit more power behind them. It’s very much the dark hard rock-country-folk style that is getting popular these days. It’s a damn good intro track for the band!
‘Fever Dream’ goes in an entirely different direction, heading into almost stoner rock territory with the huge, sludgy riffs. My god is the bass tone pretty in this track too, it’s filled with fuzz and attitude. The vocals are also impressive here, fitting so well that I find it hard to single them out on their own. The guitar was the main highlight here for me but the drums were solid and the vocals were impressively powerful. Playlisted!
‘Heroine’ heads straight into the verse, a fun, simple guitar riff with the vocals playing awesomely over the top. The heaviness comes in for the chorus, the huge guitar chords filling out the track behind the catchy vocals. It drops down to just vocals around the middle and gives the perfect chance to highlight her impressive indie voice. She definitely makes the most of it, too. We even get a guitar solo in the track, albeit a rather basic one. It fits the track well, though! The track stopping dead at the end was a little odd for me and a tad jarring, but it’s a minor gripe really.
For the most part ‘Know Thyself’ seemed pretty similar to the previous two tracks, so much so I wasn’t really going to mention it much. However, it dropping down to the palm-muted electric and then utilising the acoustic guitar was fantastic. It created such an amazing atmosphere for the rest of the track. I honestly wish they’d used it throughout the track, but having it in that part is enough to make it onto the playlist for me!
The distant drumming to open ‘The Silence’ set the track up as slightly more of a jazzy one, continued throughout. It’s an interesting blend with their style as well. However, while it might have just been my laptop, that riff that kicks in mid-way through the verses didn’t hit near hard enough for me. Maybe it’s because the drums didn’t go harder? Lyoness rectify it with the closest thing we’re going to get to a breakdown on the EP too, and it was pretty heavy (for an indie band) and good fun. Another good track on an EP full of them!
The band slow it down, but keep it pretty heavy, on the final track ‘What is Left’. It reminds me of almost a darker Fleetwood Mac, it definitely has those pop-folk-rock elements. She even kinda sounds like Stevie Nicks here, too. It’s an interesting way to close an album by I very much dig it. This is my favourite track on the album, it’s a heavy ballad that blends together so many different styles. I hear everything from Mac to Tool to Evanescence. An awesome track that you should definitely check out from our playlist!
Overall: for going in completely blind, I loved this! While some of the indier stuff isn’t quite my style, their other tracks are phenomenal and could hopefully push them far in this business! A fantastic start and I cannot wait to hear where the band go from here.
The Score: 7.5/10
Did you enjoy our review? Check out more of them from our Facebook here.