Perhaps keen to appease their horde of fans salvating for the follow-up to last year's awesome Ascendence album, LORD has released this EP that no doubt serves as a teaser to that follow-up, a recording that is set to feature a jaw-dropping guest list (believe me when I say this). While consisting of only five songs, "Hear No Evil" clocks in at over 23 minutes, and fans of pure heavy metal should go nuts for at least 19 ½ of those minutes without any reservations.
The two new tracks here, "Set in Stone" and the title track, are further refinements of LORD's style but with even more lead guitar histrionics, if such a thing is indeed possible. Should these two songs be any indication of what the forthcoming album will be like (and I would be amazed if they did not), then it will be a totally barnstorming one. Both original songs are catchy, rifftastic monsters with vocals that are spot-on and some simply epic soloing, with the Eastern-flavoured section of "Set in Stone" a real stand out that pips it slightly over "Hear No Evil" for best track. Live versions of "Through the Fire" and "Going Down" are also included, a blitzkreig of shredding that virtually segue into each other without a break and obviously recorded on a night when the band was absolutely on fire; they almost sound like they're about to burst into Maiden's "Heaven Can Wait" at one point.
The other track is a cover that the band was at pains to keep secret until the EP was released (and were surprisingly successful). LORD has a knack for unexpected cover songs, inserting bits and pieces of Europe, Bon Jovi and other such artists into their live shows, but by including Kylie Minogue's "On a Night Like This" on here they have utterly surpassed themselves. Even Machinae Supremacy doing Britney Spears is barely eyebrow-raising compared to this. Synth-heavy and featuring some breathy vocals from the gloriously talented Tania Moran, this reminds me of nothing more than Gamma Ray's version of "It's A Sin" and should perhaps be taken as seriously. Considering the mileage Frankenbok once got from their gimmicky cover of "Don't Call Me Baby", this could lead to a considerable level of airplay but it could also leave them open to ridicule to outsiders who just don't get the joke. It's either the smartest or the dumbest thing LORD has done.
"Hear No Evil" will no doubt please both long-time fans hankering for the next full-length album and newer ones who've caught the band live somewhere, but while "On a Night Like This" is undoubtedly a bit of fun, it's guaranteed to leave some people totally mystified.
- Hear No Evil
- Set in Stone
- On a Night Like This
- Through the Fire (live)
- Going Down (live)
Rating: 80%
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