Ain't modern technology wonderful -  one e-mail from band main man Lars Chriss asking if we had reviewed this album (have now) and if we fancied doing an interview with him (Will do) and then another e-mail to AFM's ever helpful UK rep Mike Exley and I had a link in my mitts to the promo for the new Lion's Share album 'Emotional Coma'

I picked up this review for two reasons. Firstly I already owned, and liked, a double CD package from Lion's Share called Perspective, which collected the band's cleverly named first two albums (One and Two) and secondly for this, the bands fifth album, they had recruited the talents of Astral Doors' frontman Patrik Johansson, a man for whom I have a lot of respect, to handle vocal duties. From what I can remember of the first two albums the band played heavy, melodic rock couple with impressive progressive keyboard parts. However on first listen to Emotional Coma, the bands fifth album and first for six years, what was immediately obvious was how heavy and direct the songs are, and also that said keyboards are long gone.

If I hadn't have known then it would also have been hard to believe that Johansson provided the vocals for Emotional Coma, such is the difference in style from that on his Astral Doors material using, in the main, a lower register for the songs on offer here. In fact it's only on the later tracks that he sounds at all like the same vocalist as featured in Astral Doors, on Trafficking and the cover of Angel Witches' Sorcerers to be precise. This just goes to show how talented Johansson is, very few vocalist could sing for two bands and yet not make them sound similar.

As mentioned earlier Emotional Coma is heavy and direct and comes across, musically, as blend of Black Sabbath, Queensryche and Pantera, with a few hints of Accept and  Metallica thrown in for good measure. The lyrics are often dark and brutal, Cult Of Denial deals with suicide, whilst Hatred’s My Fuel talks about a family murder. Heavy certainly, but one thing the band don't do is forget about the all important melody. Stand out tracks are the aforementioned album opener 'Cult Of Denial', which starts acoustically then kicks into overdrive and the quite excellent doomy title track 'Emotional Coma' which features a guest solos from Megadeth's Glen Drover. Another noteworthy  guest appearance comes from former Kiss six stringer Bruce Kulick who lends his talents to The Edge Of The Razor and finally there's Trafficking, one of those instant tracks that screams heard this before but sticks in head for days....

All in all Emotional Coma is an album, that although completely different to what I was expecting and one that takes a few listens to get, turns out to be worth the effort and a classic slice of modern heavy METAAAAAAAAAAAAL!!