Lionheart – Welcome To The West Coast III
Release Date: 9th December 2022
Label: Arising Empire
Pre-Order/Pre-Save
Genre: Hardcore
FFO: Hatebreed, Body Count, Terror, Madball.
Review By: Ryan Payne
Hardcore heavyweights Lionheart are back with a crushing new album that packs all the punches. The album “Welcome to the West Cost III” acts as the third instalment, following on from “Welcome to the West Cost” (2014) and “Welcome to the West Coast II” (2017), marking the end of the trilogy. The album also features a wide range of guest vocalists from many established hardcore acts, as well as some features from some newer bands.
Unrelenting hardcore brutality is the best way to describe this album. From beginning to end, Lionheart bring the heat as they take no prisoners with their metallic hardcore approach, mixed in with elements from old-school hip-hop and more modern metal/hardcore elements. “Welcome to the West Coast III” delivers a constant display of heavy riffs and ear thumping drums, complimented more by the incredible production on this record. From the solos to the breakdowns, this album has everything a hardcore fan could ask for and more.
Vocalist Rob Watson delivers another incredible performance on this record, bringing his hate and pain to the table and releasing it to the listeners. The delivery of his harsh vocals is almost done in a rap like fashion, playing with structure throughout and making every track a lot more interesting to listen through. Throughout the record, we see several vocalists from the hardcore scene lend a hand to Lionheart on a couple of tracks, such as Jamey Jasta (Hatebreed), Ice-T (Body Count), Alex Taylor (Malevolence) and more. The addition of these vocalists isn’t really necessary for the music, but you can’t help but feel a kind of unity about the record, bringing in so many names together to help with this album and make it as impressive as it is.
Lionheart have created one of the most punishing albums to come out of this year, bringing hardcore back into the mainstream kicking and screaming. It’s difficult to pick a favourite song or section as the whole album hit all the right spots for me. For anyone who hasn’t had the chance to listen to Lionheart yet, I strongly suggest diving straight into this record when it drops on the 9th of December.
(5 / 5)
