The Burning is a follow-up to British Lion’s 2012’s eponymous debut album, Steve Harris’ first ever musical venture outside of Iron Maiden. Despite the debut album having Steve's name on the cover, he considers it a side project and not a solo album. In fact, most of the songs are co-written with David Hawkins (guitar) and Richard Taylor (vocals). Now with the sophomore release, Steve's name is not part of the cover or band name anymore, it's simple British Lion.
"The secret to happiness is low expectations" as they say...and I firmly believe that the debut album suffered from this. If people were expecting a Bruce Dickinson clone soaring metal anthems over twin guitars then for sure they won't like this band much. British Lion sound is more hard rock than metal, very 70s-influenced (e.g. The Who and UFO). I remember that it also took me quite some time to get into their sound and for the debut to grow on me. Seeing the band live a couple of times has certainly helped.
Almost 8 years later, the sophomore effort, The Burning, is a worthy follow-up to the debut and it stays within the boundaries and sound set in 2012. The production is very clear and, as expected, the bass sounds amazing. The musicianship is not only very good (great drumming and guitar work), but also very different from Maiden. It's very interesting to hear Steve's capabilities being put to use in something different. Compared to latest Maiden album, Steve could "re-learn" how to write short songs. All the 11 tracks are between 4 and 6 minutes and the album clocks in at 60 minutes. It's a bit too long, I'd rather close with the powerful "Bible Black" (the most metal track on the album) and leave "Native Son" as bonus track. Also the title track (fantastic drumming and bass) would be a stronger opener than "City Of Fallen Angels". Other than the start and end hiccups, the album is full of catchy choruses and emotional melodies that only Steve can write. Some of my favorites being "Elysium" and "Legend". "Last Chance" is another great track, a pure UFO homage that works so well: Cool build up, amazing melodies and anthemic chorus. For the Maiden lovers "Spit Fire" is the closest you will get to it. The bass riff at the intro and the overall groove is very close to Bayley's Maiden era (in a positive way). Also the ending of "Father Lucifer" is so Maiden!
Overall The Burning is a great hard rock album, well written, produced and executed by a strong line-up of musicians. It's far from the Iron Maiden sound but still very catchy and melodic. It follows the same sound from the debut, maybe slightly more progressive. Highly recommended for fans of 70's hard rock or those who just can't get enough of Steve's playing.
SCORE: 80/100
Genre: Hard Rock
Released by Parlophone & Explorer1 Music on January 17th, 2020
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Rating System
96 - 100 Perfect
88 - 95 Excellent
84 - 87 Great
80 - 83 Very Good
75 - 79 Good
69 - 74 Mixed
58 - 68 Bad
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