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Lillian Axe


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Check it out:

 

http://myglobalmind.com/2012/01/28/lillian-axe-xithe-days-before-tomorrow-review/

 

 

Lillian Axe are a band that some fans may be completely on the fence with at this point in time, especially if you consider they’re early catalog of material from the 80′s where they really made their mark initially. Now the thing to remember here is that no matter how much you enjoyed albums like “Psychoschizophrenia” and Love + War” then you can forget about that sound probably being reborn or revisited again from the band. It was gone in this new reincarnation of their sound. Some may not like it, but such is the nature of the beast. The one thing that I thought made Axe different from other bands was the songwriting in their music, it always had a deeper message between the lines and some people I think never quite fully appreciated that particular quality of the group.

 

The band has no doubt been through some trouble waters most notably getting some serious criticism from the genre an fans as mentioned above, but the big instability came from the lack of a stable vocalist. If you remember on their last album the singer Derek LeFevre was part of the band and recorded the record “Deep Red Shadows” but quickly after completion of that record plunged towards the exit road; and as quickly as his replacement came in the likes of former Metal Church vocalist Ronny Munroe; he was gone too, stating he couldn’t dedicate the time desired to be in Lillian Axe between his other projects so he chose the high road. Man the band just seemed that they just couldn’t catch a darn break, well despite the odds Axe has stayed around and kept going with what it looks like a permanent vocalist this time around in Brian Jones. I don’t know much about this guy but his vocals seem to fit more of the more more progressive elements the band is now using in their music, even though his voice won’t shatter any windows at least the group has a guy who hopefully can stick around a little longer and bring some stability to the forefront.

 

The new album was recorded in Covington, Lousiana and was produced by by Steve Blaze and mixed by platinum producer, Sylvia Massy (Tool, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Sevendust, Johnny Cash, Tom Petty and Prince). Blaze has been there since early days and still is the thinking pot behind the the band as the bulk of the writing comes from his head and here he still follows that path of dealing with real life issues and social problems, as the press release puts it “, deals with heavy issues of the outcasts, the innocent, the hopeless and the true believers”.

 

The music in parts can be bloody intriguing for instance the opening riff off the opener “Babylon” is keen as a razor blade, the rest of the song is alright but the tight guitar solo by Blaze maintains it mildly interesting somehow. The more driving tune of “The Great Divide” accentuates nicely to fit Jones style of singing, a more dramatic atonement for instance displays in full pledge on this track and the guitar work is killer indeed. The band’s first single comes via the up tempo rocker “Caged In” which sounds like a modern rocker in the style of recent modern hard rock bands like Velvet Revolver, an okay song with a nice guitar solo but that’s it. Another churner tune kicks the chair in the song “Lava On My Tongue” a nice hard rock edge dominates the main riff and the drums play a nice role in this kick ass tune, I can correlate this song to some of their old school sound from earlier records which fans will definitely enjoy, and the writing is intricate as it’s challenging.

 

Well I can honestly say this is the a step in the right direction for the band finally, let’s cut them some slack okay? There’s nothing wrong with reinventing themselves, bands do it all the time and shouldn’t get drowned to the pit because of it. The new singer Jones won’t turn a bunch of heads but he does job nicely and like I said fits the scope of the band’s style more then the previous singers. Steve Blaze is a guy I have a lot of respect forsimply because he could of just taken the high road and close down shop on Lillian Axe but, he still kept trucking spending 7 months with this line up and recording this new record, and you know what? It’s a good one and one the best and most complete albums they have ever made. Axe was always a band that was never given it’s due and often misunderstood, at least now they can rest their heads on the fact they are still alive and kicking in 2012 and sounding more like a complete unit then they have in the past.

 

 

 

Written by Denys

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Interesting review... almost makes me want to bother one last time... but I'm just so convinced that if I do, I'll still hate it.

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I've heard enough to know it's not really any different than the last few releases. Maybe just not as slow paced and dreary, which is a good thing. If Steve Blaze had just changed the band name to something else, then I wouldn't mind it as much. But to call the last few releases Lillian Axe albums is a stretch.

 

Since the band is from Louisiana and Steve absolutely wants to keep the Lillian Axe name then he should change it to Lillian Axe Po'boys.

 

I loved Lillian Axe so much, that I will still get this one...but it's the last time I tell ya' unless they go back to the way they were 20 years ago.

 

A small sampling

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l0NUmqBJo-s

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When I went to Baton Rouge, LA. in 1987 to see Joan Jett some chick I met gave me a Lillian Axe Demo. Of course I had never heard of Lillian Axe at that point and she had never heard of KIX... we made a pack that I would buy the Lillian Axe debut when it came out and she would buy the KIX - "Midnite Dynamite" release which had been out for over a year. We both kept our promises and we kept in touch for over 20 years just based on our love for those bands. Sadly this girl passed away a few years ago.. I still continue to get every new Lillian Axe release and see them whenever possible. Not because of this girl, but because I still believe that they are far superior to most bands releasing new music.

 

Looking forward to this one a bunch.

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I really like this disc. Took awhile to get used to another singer. But gone are the slow and dreary songs. This is pretty up-tempo and rocking! Very enjoyable and I can definitely hear elements of "Psychoschizophrenia" on this.

 

Anybody else digging this??

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i like 'Psycho' but this one looks pale compared to it, too average for me, but then it's only first spin, it's just that i haven't got the desire to spin it again

 

me neither and its seriously putting me OFF firefest...the Sunday at least.

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i like 'Psycho' but this one looks pale compared to it, too average for me, but then it's only first spin, it's just that i haven't got the desire to spin it again

 

me neither and its seriously putting me OFF firefest...the Sunday at least.

 

well but usually old band will mostly played their old hits, probably throw 2 or 3 new songs at most, just like JOURNEY and NIGHT RANGER did right ?

shouldn't be that bad I guess :D

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I haven't really liked anything they've done since the amazing 'Love & War'. I hope they play a few off that one at Firefest.

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I like it quite a bit. Have a few of the songs stuck in my head. Especially "Death Comes Tomorrow", which I think is my favorite song of the disc. A couple of fillers on it but overall, I'd rate it higher than all of the post-Ron Taylor releases. Singer takes a little getting used to because it's finally someone that doesn't sound like Ron Taylor.

 

 

Give it a chance. It's not the dreary crap of the last few discs.

 

:headbanger::banger::beerbang: :beerbang: :banger::headbanger:

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Here's my track-by-track take on the new Lillian Axe:

 

 

Lillian Axe -- XI: The Days After Tomorrow

 

 

1. Babylon -- A strong opener. The definite Axe harmony vocals. I like it. Pretty PSYCHO. sounding.

 

2. Death Comes Tomorrow -- An absolute monster song. Love it! Chorus stuck in my head for days now.

 

3. Gather Up The Snow -- A little slower pace. I still think it sounds good. The bridge/pre-chorus is great.

 

4. The Great Divide -- Another excellent tune. Very Axe imo. Strong hook and chorus. Great!

 

5. Take The Bullet -- Pretty cool track. Heard this a while back when they introduced the new singer.

 

6. Bow Your Head -- An excellent ballad. Very well done and a welcome return to a classic Lillian Axe gem. Love it!

 

7. Caged In -- This sounds a lot like HIBERNATE from SAD DAY ON PLANET EARTH. Awful. Hate it. Skip.

 

8. Soul Disease -- Another song that definitely sounds like Lillian Axe. Love it!! Excellent song!!

 

9. Lava On My Tongue -- Another PSYCHOSCHZINOPHRENIA sounding track. Not one of my favorites but still beats the hell out of their last three discs.

 

10. My Apologies -- Another slow acoustic track that picks up at the chorus. Another I like a lot. Classic Axe chorus.

 

11. Angels Among Us -- Pointless instrumental bonus track. A bigger clunker to end a pretty fine disc!!

 

I give this a 8.5 out of 10

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I haven't really liked anything they've done since the amazing 'Love & War'. I hope they play a few off that one at Firefest.

 

Wow really?

You don't like Poetic Justice or Psychoshizophrenia? Both are amazing IMO and Psycho is probably my fav LA release.

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I got this one in the mail today. To be honest I almost didn't buy this one, because the last EP did nothing for me, I never bought it, Sad Day On Planet Earth was way too dreary and slow paced in many places. Being a major Lillian Axe fanboy, I liked Waters Rising at first, but other than 2 or 3 tracks I wouldn't really play it today.

 

The Days Before Tomorrow is not a complete return to the classic sound, but it is the closest of the recent releases to sound like 'Psycho...'. Sad Day.. had 15 tracks and alot of filler, Rising Water also had lots of filler and some 8 minute tracks...really? This new one is a neat and tidy 10 tracks with a hidden track. The tracks are still a bit too long for my tastes. No real filler jumps out at me, but not many big classics either.

 

 

1. Babylon -- Great riff, reminds me of Deepfreeze, good opener. 8/10

 

2. Death Comes Tomorrow -- Probably the 2nd best Lillian Axe track in the new era, my fav is Until The End Of The World from Waters Rising. 9/10

 

3. Gather Up The Snow -- This one is alright, too much like the stuff they did on Sad Day.... 7/10

 

4. The Great Divide -- Slower paced but epic, fans of classics like Ghost Of Winter should enjoy this one. 8.5/10

 

5. Take The Bullet -- Bad intro with the guns firing, but a solid track like the opener, no real strong chorus, but it does have some groove...not something Lillian Axe has done much of lately. 7.5/10

 

6. Bow Your Head -- A really good ballad, a band that always did great ballads. Fans of Needle and The Pain should like this one. 8/10

 

7. Caged In -- Heavy and sorta punky, it's alright. 7/10

 

8. Soul Disease -- More groove with some killer guitar work as per usual with Steve. I really like this one. 8.5/10

 

9. Lava On My Tongue -- WTF!!! More groovy guitars, I like! Missing a bigger chorus. 8/10

 

10. My Apologies -- A typical soft starting track with a heavier build up to the chorus. It's pretty good. Steve shreds on the solo, love it! 8/10

 

11. to 15. -- 15 to 20 seconds of baby talking!?!?!....the albums biggest filler, no doubt.

 

16. the bonus track - very soft, very slow, big on synths, accoustic only, no electric guitars. It's sorta like a simple Queensryche/Dream Theater styled ballad, I like it, probably the bands most original/different song. Great solo, as usual Steve's playing is brilliant! Weak lyrics mind you! 8/10

 

IMO, this is easily the band's best since Psycho..., the guitars and vocals don't sound like a death march or some sort of grunge. As much as Derrick LeFevre sounded like Ron Taylor, I think this new guy Brian Jones fits the band's post Psycho... sound much better. His vocals are lighter and softer, as is Steve's guitar sound, it's not tuned down so damn much..no 'megaslowfade' Soundgarden wanna be riffs. The riffs are crunchy and heavy. For the most part the solos stand out on their own and don't simply blend into the riffs.

 

If Steve can lighten the mood, especially the lyrics, even more for the next one and trim the songs from 5 to 6 minutes down to 4 minutes (some songs do tend to drag on a bit). I can see them regaining more fans of old.

 

This one is good enough for me to want to buy the next release.

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I got this one in the mail today. To be honest I almost didn't buy this one, because the last EP did nothing for me, I never bought it, Sad Day On Planet Earth was way too dreary and slow paced in many places. Being a major Lillian Axe fanboy, I liked Waters Rising at first, but other than 2 or 3 tracks I wouldn't really play it today.

 

The Days Before Tomorrow is not a complete return to the classic sound, but it is the closest of the recent releases to sound like 'Psycho...'. Sad Day.. had 15 tracks and alot of filler, Rising Water also had lots of filler and some 8 minute tracks...really? This new one is a neat and tidy 10 tracks with a hidden track. The tracks are still a bit too long for my tastes. No real filler jumps out at me, but not many big classics either.

 

 

1. Babylon -- Great riff, reminds me of Deepfreeze, good opener. 8/10

 

2. Death Comes Tomorrow -- Probably the 2nd best Lillian Axe track in the new era, my fav is Until The End Of The World from Waters Rising. 9/10

 

3. Gather Up The Snow -- This one is alright, too much like the stuff they did on Sad Day.... 7/10

 

4. The Great Divide -- Slower paced but epic, fans of classics like Ghost Of Winter should enjoy this one. 8.5/10

 

5. Take The Bullet -- Bad intro with the guns firing, but a solid track like the opener, no real strong chorus, but it does have some groove...not something Lillian Axe has done much of lately. 7.5/10

 

6. Bow Your Head -- A really good ballad, a band that always did great ballads. Fans of Needle and The Pain should like this one. 8/10

 

7. Caged In -- Heavy and sorta punky, it's alright. 7/10

 

8. Soul Disease -- More groove with some killer guitar work as per usual with Steve. I really like this one. 8.5/10

 

9. Lava On My Tongue -- WTF!!! More groovy guitars, I like! Missing a bigger chorus. 8/10

 

10. My Apologies -- A typical soft starting track with a heavier build up to the chorus. It's pretty good. Steve shreds on the solo, love it! 8/10

 

11. to 15. -- 15 to 20 seconds of baby talking!?!?!....the albums biggest filler, no doubt.

 

16. the bonus track - very soft, very slow, big on synths, accoustic only, no electric guitars. It's sorta like a simple Queensryche/Dream Theater styled ballad, I like it, probably the bands most original/different song. Great solo, as usual Steve's playing is brilliant! Weak lyrics mind you! 8/10

 

IMO, this is easily the band's best since Psycho..., the guitars and vocals don't sound like a death march or some sort of grunge. As much as Derrick LeFevre sounded like Ron Taylor, I think this new guy Brian Jones fits the band's post Psycho... sound much better. His vocals are lighter and softer, as is Steve's guitar sound, it's not tuned down so damn much..no 'megaslowfade' Soundgarden wanna be riffs. The riffs are crunchy and heavy. For the most part the solos stand out on their own and don't simply blend into the riffs.

 

If Steve can lighten the mood, especially the lyrics, even more for the next one and trim the songs from 5 to 6 minutes down to 4 minutes (some songs do tend to drag on a bit). I can see them regaining more fans of old.

 

This one is good enough for me to want to buy the next release.

Great review! It's definitely their best post-Ron release. I love it!

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I'm in the minority but I love "Water's Rising" and "Sad Day on Planet Earth". Lillian Axe should be touring with Jack Russel and Pretty Boy Floyd (and maybe Bullet Boys) this summer. They should also be headlining a few random club dates in the USA. They should also be playing at Rocklahoma in late May.

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I've listened to most of the tracks online and really like 'Babylon', 'Death Comes Tomorrow' and 'The Great Divide'. The other tracks sound okay, albeit probably not good enough for me to buy the CD. I'll definitely be getting those 3 tracks from iTunes though, really good tunes.

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It's shit.

 

 

I love your very informative and intelligent comment, you must be a regular on the Melodicrock.com noticeboard.

 

There is no way you've ever been a fan then. I'd be surprised if you even listened to more than the samples...come on be honest! If you did buy it, why the fuck did you waste your money on something you think is shit?

 

I was ready to write this one off because I was only wanting a return in sound to the 1989-1992 glory years. But being a longtime fan, I gave it a chance and to be honest I didn't really care for the last few releases without Ron Taylor on the vox, they were way too dreary. This album is good, not the best ever mind you, but very good and true fans of the Psycho...sound should enjoy this one.

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It's shit.

 

 

I love your very informative and intelligent comment, you must be a regular on the Melodicrock.com noticeboard.

 

There is no way you've ever been a fan then. I'd be surprised if you even listened to more than the samples...come on be honest! If you did buy it, why the fuck did you waste your money on something you think is shit?

 

I was ready to write this one off because I was only wanting a return in sound to the 1989-1992 glory years. But being a longtime fan, I gave it a chance and to be honest I didn't really care for the last few releases without Ron Taylor on the vox, they were way too dreary. This album is good, not the best ever mind you, but very good and true fans of the Psycho...sound should enjoy this one.

 

Good post. From what I've heard it isn't going to be a classic, but there are a few good songs on it and I've heard much, much worse from many other bands recently.

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It's shit.

 

 

I love your very informative and intelligent comment, you must be a regular on the Melodicrock.com noticeboard.

 

There is no way you've ever been a fan then. I'd be surprised if you even listened to more than the samples...come on be honest! If you did buy it, why the fuck did you waste your money on something you think is shit?

 

I was ready to write this one off because I was only wanting a return in sound to the 1989-1992 glory years. But being a longtime fan, I gave it a chance and to be honest I didn't really care for the last few releases without Ron Taylor on the vox, they were way too dreary. This album is good, not the best ever mind you, but very good and true fans of the Psycho...sound should enjoy this one.

 

Good post. From what I've heard it isn't going to be a classic, but there are a few good songs on it and I've heard much, much worse from many other bands recently.

 

Ive had a quick listen on Spotify, which was nothing close to resembling a full proper spin, but what I heard didnt fill me with joy it must be said.

 

Will reserve judgement though until I have a free hour for a proper listen, really cant see me buying this tho

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