LIONSHEART: Abyss

Released: 2004

For several years, Lionsheart was the vehicle for former Grim Reaper and Onslaught vocalist Steve Grimmett. He fronted different versions of this group since the early 90s but this is the only time I’ve heard them. If I was expecting something similar to Reaper or Onslaught, I would have been surprised to discover that Lionsheart actually sounds somewhat like a heavier version of Whitesnake. Indeed, comparisons with Whitesnake are somewhat easy to draw.

Abyss provides some good quality, well-written melodic heavy rock songs, with some metal injections courtesy of guitarist Ian Nash whose playing, while not as spectacular, is reminiscent of the teams David Coverdale had working for him in the mid-80s. Grimmett’s vocals aren’t too far removed from Coverdale’s either at times, like in the fast rocking opener ‘Screaming’ and in ‘How Long’ that appears towards the end. Overall, apart from the slower acoustic tracks like ‘I Need Love’ and ‘If You Cut Me’, Abyss really is quite an enjoyable hard rock record with some pretty catchy songs and is worthy of a few listens, even though it may not become a real firm favourite.

Fans of Grimmet and late 80s Whitesnake should really check this out.

1. Screaming
2. Nightmare
3. All I Got
4. I Need Love
5. How Can I Tell You
6. I'm Alive
7. Don't Waste My Time
8. If You Cut Me
9. Save Me
10. Witchcraft
11. How Long
12. Abyss

Rating: 75%