Lovebites – Judgement Day
Release Date: 24th February 2023
Label: JPU Records
Pre-Order
Genre: Melodic Metal, Heavy Metal, Power Metal, Symphonic Metal.
FFO: Unlucky Morpheus, Light Bringer, Hagane, Trident, Dragonforce.
Review By: Mark Waight
If you love your Metal delivered at a relentless speed that just never lets up then Judgement Day, the fourth studio album release by Lovebites should be a welcome addition to your playlist. Take a deep breath, strap yourself in and prepare yourself to be entertained at a frantic pace where your only chance of a breather is the brief interlude between the ten fantastic full-on tracks.
Judgement Day is pure Melodic Metal Japanese style and Lovebites serve it up by way of a super tight band performance with more than a generous sprinkling of wow factor. Lovebites is Asami (vocals), Midori (guitars), Miyako (guitars, keyboards), Fami (bass) and Haruna (drums).
Opening track, We Are the Resurrection, is a high-speed introduction to the Lovebites musical style that will leave you completely aghast. Intricate, technical playing, soaring vocals and high-speed drumming! No gentle introduction from this quintet!
Title track Judgement Day has an almost symphonic metal feel to it that creates a real depth to the sound that Lovebites generate – fabulous! The Spirit Lives On is a sing-along anthem with an uplifting air about the song craft, which also features a wicked duel between the two lead guitars and finishes with a gong!
Wicked Witch is a more traditional Heavy Metal offering which will please the purists among you, but still has that unique Lovebites twist. Stand and Deliver (Shoot ‘em Down) has a deep and crunchy bass riff, catchy chorus line and a pretty-mean guitar solo thrown in, too. Some definite old school metal vibes on this one!
Victim of Time is a slightly softer and tamer song, the pace is still white-hot, but it comes with a much gentler edge and prog rock style to it in the guitar work It sits well around the middle of the album, giving you just enough respite for what’s to come next.
My Orion puts us on a more retro footing by encompassing a stadium rock style performance that would not have been out of place during the 80s Hair Metal scene. Lost in the Garden is full on Heavy Metal with an even blend of traditional and modern variations that combine to give it a completely new spin – superb!
Penultimate track Dissonance has a much darker flavour running through it that at times shows up as a very short sharp Punk riff with a splash of vocal Punk attitude too.
Soldier Stands Solitarily is a super finale that will leave you crying out for more and searching for the repeat button. Rock!!
Lovebites have done exactly what the Japanese do best and taken something (in this case Melodic Heavy Metal) and improved the hell out of it! The musical performance is absolute perfection, it is just so razor sharp and in Judgement Day they have nailed every single element to create the perfect metal album without reinventing the wheel. The whole album has such a tight and solid band performance, with each member shining as brightly as each other. Best enjoyed, like me, with a couple of bottles of cold Ashanti beer!
(4 / 5)
5 out of 5 for me. This is not Japanese style music. This is a European or British style music.