Lionheart : "Valley of Death II"

The first hard-core album of 2026. It is coming from this California-based band, which carries a bit of Biohazard-like swagger in its stomp. So East Attitude coming out of Cali is a weird combo, but ok. It works for the first song. There is a slight nu-metal balance, and they are shouting at you about drinking tequila, so they are not straight edge. Kublai Khan TX appears on this one. They bring a tough guy element to it. "Ice Cold" picks up to more of a punk pace. If you love acting a fool during breakdowns, they are bringing them for you. 

The title track grooves a little more. By the time we go "No Peace" it feels like they are crossing over more fully into nu-metal. The sing-song hooks, are catchy but they are clearly a formula midway into the album.  "Roll Call" works well despite only being a minute and a half. Gang vocal accents are produced to give them a much bigger feel than what is typical of hardcore. 'Salt of the Earth" does not dispel any of my theories about this band. 

"In Love With the Pain" feels more like hip-hop in how the lyrics are shouted it out as the syncopated guitars give him room for his ranting. The last song is a minute and a half of white trash cheerleading, which still has a certain charm. This album is fun, plenty of empty calories, but you are not expecting Opeth from this sort of thing. I will give it a 9. 

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Kublai Khan TX : "Exhibition of Prowess"

 My first time really paying these guys any attention. They play a version of metalcore that has so much groove to it, that it would not be hard to see this as an evolution of nu-metal. More of a thought guy take on the genre than say Knocked Loose. Dave Peters of Throwdown, is on "Cannibal'.  "X' is more in-your-face hard-core, it's also not bringing much to the genre that you have not heard before. By the time we get to "Theory of Mind,' the songs have begun to sound the same, as every riff sounds like a breakdown. 

The vocals are their weak link, they are tough sounding enough. But just do one thing. Things like the sample in "Mud" help to break things up. The lyrics are also nothing special, like a motivational drill Sargent. "972" Just sounds like every other band doing this sort of thing. The lyrics are beyond dumb. I can listen to bands like Harms Way who do this sort of thing in a darker manner that appeals more to me. If you are just desperate to practice your karate in public this sort of thing might work for you. "Low Tech' does not change the direction they are going in. It's funny because online I have heard so many singing this band's praises. 

"A Hopeless Fate" might feature Jamey Jasta of Hatebreed, but he is another hard-core cheerleader I never really got into. This is also the most nu-metal song on here so far. The pitch-bending riff that moves "Antpile' to at least has more hook to it. I will give this album an 8, as they are good at what they are doing, I have just heard it done better before, so it's not for me. 

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