It has taken seven years, since Deal With The Devil, for Lizzy Borden to release a new studio album.  So what do you get from their new album, Appointment With Death, and was it worth the wait? 

Appointment With Death is a themed album with, unsurprisingly, the theme of death running throughout.  They have roped in several guest musicians to appear on the album including George Lynch and Corey Beaulieu (Trivium) and the end result is a great album that fuses different aspects of rock and metal, from goth to glam, while also paying a passing respect to NWOBHM and elements of thrash. 

Not knowing any Lizzy Borden prior to getting the CD, I found that the NWOBHM element was noticeable from the opening couple of tracks “Abnormal” and “Appointment With Death”, with the guitar sound and harmonious choruses being quite reminiscent of old Iron Maiden. 

The more glam side to their sound comes across from Lizzy Borden’s distinctive vocals, which almost sound Vince Neil like on a couple of songs, while the guitar work also has an 80s glam influence in parts, although admittedly heavier.  This is shown on a lot of the album, including “Bloody Tears”, although, this song like most on the album, manages to shift and change direction throughout and incorporates a heavier instrumental aspect as well. 

The strongest part of the album comes in middle in the form of “Tomorrow Never Comes”, which in my opinion is the best song, and “Under Your Skin”.   These two are great songs, with “Tomorrow…” having a chorus that I found myself singing for a long time after the CD had stopped, there is also an acoustic version of the song hidden at the end of the album which sounds every bit as good as the original.  “Under Your Skin” starts with eerie keyboards, before having a bit of a kick, which you just have to scream along to.  The lyrics for this song are also more noticeably morbid (I have not got lyrics but other songs appear to leave it to the listener’s imagination more).  

The rest of the album continues along similar lines, bringing together heavy and melodic rock to give the distinctive Lizzy Borden sound.  However, they do vary things somewhat throughout the album, from the gothic style vocals on “Perfect World (I Don’t Wanna Live)”, to the heavier thrash influenced “Somethin’s Crawling”.   

Sadly I cannot comment on the last song “The Darker Side” as the promotional copy has “The Death Of Love” repeated here.  However I am confident that if it lives up to the rest of the album then it will be a song well worth listening to.  All in all this is a good album that is full of memorable songs that hold your attention.

Let us know your views on Appointment With Death

Track Listing

Abnormal
Appointment With Death
Live Forever
Bloody Tears
The Death Of Love
Tomorrow Never Comes
Under Your Skin
Perfect World (I Don't Wanna Live)
Somthin's Crawlin
(We Are) The Only Ones
The Darker Side

Line Up

Lizzy Borden - Vocals
Ira Black - Guitar
Marten Andersson - Bass
Joey Scott - Drums

Related Links

Lizzy Borden - Interview