Album review: LILLIAN AXE – The Box Vol 2, The Quickening

Cherry Red [Release date : 29.03.24]

The Quickening is the second instalment of a two part series documenting the recorded life and times of metal’s most underrated band, Lillian Axe.

There are six CDs.

CD1: Deep Red Shadows (2010) w/7 bonus tracks
CD2: XI The Days Before Tomorrow (2012) w/7 bonus tracks
CD3: Fields Of Yesterday (a 17 track compilation of demos from 1999)
CD4: One Night In The Temple (Acoustic live set part 1, 2014)
CD5: One Night In The Temple (Acoustic live set part 2, 2014)
CD6: Live Summerfest (1992)

Even if you hadn’t heard the music, mainman Steve Blaze makes his views clear in a 2014 interview: “I write about life, emotions, events that move me, happiness, sorrow, death, afterlife, anger, power and strength. These are the basic spiritual essences of life and our existence. If something moves me, chances are it will move others, and I write about it.”

So, not for Blaze the cheap thrills or easy wins gained by formulaic, cliched, verse, bridge, chorus heavy metal.

The two new studio albums confirmed this emphatically, digging down deep, unearthing several nuggets of classy heavy metal. ‘Nocturnal Symphony’ and ‘Under The Same Moon’ from Deep Red Shadows both weave elements of Prog through the Metal, keeping us on our toes. ‘Death Comes Tomorrow’ and ‘Gather Up The Snow’ from ‘The Days Before Tomorrow’ resonate with older school metal, showing us that they have very effectively assimilated past and present influences.

Both reissues here are knee deep in bonus tracks.

Notwithstanding the band’s high value stage performance on Disc 6 and a suite of demos on Disc 5 that many metal bands would think constituted the finished article, the real good stuff is found on Discs 4 and 5.

One Night In the Temple was recorded in South Landing Studios, a still functioning Temple known for its artist friendly aura and the warmth of its acoustics. It was performed live in front of an invited audience of around 100 family and friends.

There are many highlights here. The real standouts perhaps are fan favourite, ‘Ghost Of Winter’, a touching expression of youthful fears; the heart rending ‘Bow Your Head’; the self examining ‘Crucified’, and the crowd version of ‘Nobody Knows’.

Blaze intertwines stories and memories between the songs, adding further relevance to the lyrics and engaging further with the audience.

These songs and more prove it’s as much the lyrical content of Lillian Axe’s music that has created such a solid fanbase. And kudos to “new” vocalist, Brian C. Jones for enunciating the thoughts and emotions in Blaze’s lyrics so clearly. *****

Review by Brian McGowan

Featured Artist: JOSH TAERK

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Power Plays w/c 9 December 2024

In this sequence we play ‘The Best of 2024′ GRTR! reviewer selections

Featured Albums w/c 9 December 2024

09:00-12:00 The Best of 2024 (Melodic Rock)
12:00-13:00 The Best of 2003-2024 (Melodic Hard Rock)
14:00-16:00 The Best of 2024 (Singer Songwriter)