LIONHEART (UK)
LIONHEART (UK) “The Grace of a Dragonfly”
By Colonel Angus
Here is a band that I haven’t heard since 1984 . I remember back in the day being disappointed in their “Hot Tonight” album. I purchased it without even hearing a single note because it contained the guitar work of Dennis Stratton who played guitar on IRON MAIDEN’s debut. At that time in my history, I was into all things metal and I couldn’t get enough of the NWOBHM bands that were churning out music at lightening speed. I should have known that “Hot Tonight” was going to be lighter based on the cover art but I was willing “not judge a book (in this case a record) by its cover”. Well, I’m sorry to say that I did eventually trade it in at the used record store for another item because I just never played it. I was onto heavier music by that point and even my older favorite like FOREIGNER, JOURNEY, and BOSTON were collecting dust on my shelf.
Little did I know that LIONHEART (UK) reformed three decades later and have put forth a few new records in that time. Enter 2024 and the band unleash onto us a brand new disk of eleven songs that form a concept record based on World War II. Now, I have not heard their music since the debut so I was a little intrigued as to what they would sound like all these years later. Most of the band has returned with original members Stratton and Steve Mann filling in guitar duties while Rocky Newton and Clive Edwards make up the rhythm section. The new guy on vocals is Lee Small who was part of the British band SHY but I am not familiar with his work as I had only heard the Tony Mills era disks. Needless to say, I have to give the band credit for coming back with four-fifths of the band intact.
Upon hearing “The Grace of a Dragonfly” for the first time, I was immediately brought back to the mid-80s with their brand of melodic rock. I actually went and listened to “Hot Tonight” again to see if there was much of a difference but this new album sounds like the last thirty years never happened. One might say that it sounds dated but I would argue that that is the band’s sound and they are sticking to it. Obviously, the production is better as studio technology has improved a lot in these last three decades but I would also say that the songwriting has improved. While going through the first spin of this disk, I felt that the music was too similar and all the songs sounded the same but after giving the album repeated spins, I started noticing differences that helped tell the stories of this concept record but still had a similar musical theme to give it a cohesive feel.
Opening track “Declaration” has a very grand feel that contains an infectious chorus and some great guitar work. That same formula is utilized on the next batch of tracks with “V of Victory” standing out a little more than the others; not that the others are filler tunes by any stretch. Things change up a bit for “The Longest Night” which has a more rocking vibe with a charged up tempo giving it a sense pf urgency.
Many of the songs on “The Grace of a Dragonfly” are radio friendly melodic rockers and there is no better example than “The Eagle’s Nest” which is a bit odd when you consider the subject matter. There are a couple of ballads , with “Just a Man’ being the better one but I understand the idea behind “Remembrance, Praying for World Peace” as it is a plea for this crazy world to just take a step back and work towards peace. It is a fitting end to the record and it helps draw the story to a close but in the end I tend to like the more upbeat material on this album.
All in all, I am surprised that I enjoyed this new material as much as I did but truth be told, it took a few listens to rally grab me. LIONHEART (UK) is certainly not breaking any new ground with “The Grace of a Dragonfly” but the material is very good and isn’t that what really matters. I’m glad that they are sticking to their guns and not changing their sound to fit into the current trends. They are who they are and they are flying the LIONHEART(UK) flag proudly. “The Grace of a Dragonfly” is good enough to not be overlooked and I would recommend it to anyone who is looking for some melodic rock that is not only well written but beautifully performed.