Lullacry - Vol. 4 3/5
Reviewed: 2-17-06
Tracklist:
1. Perfect tonight
2. Love, lust, desire
3. Fire within
4. Stranger in you
5. Heart shaped scars
6. Soul in half
7. Killing time
8. I want you
9. King of pain
10. Zero
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Lullacry serves me as a refreshing change of pace. You're not going to hear complex songs, fast double bass drumming, or convoluted lead guitar work. In fact, Lullacry would sound right at home on your average U.S. FM modern rock station. They play a very simple, streamlined, but very catchy brand of hard rock/heavy metal with engaging female vocals. I've really enjoyed their last 3 CDs (including 'Vol. 4') for their simple, lively songs.
'Vol. 4' kicks off with "Perfect tonight", "Love, lust, desire", and "Fire within". All 3 songs are very representative of the "typical" Lullacry sound. Plenty of heavy, catchy riffs with compelling vocal melodies and sing-a-long choruses. This is exactly the type of simple, effective songwriting that makes me enjoy Lullacry. Things sort of go into a lull after that, sadly. "Stranger in you" is a slower, mellower, moody song that leaves me cold. "Heart shaped scars" is a ballad that just really doesn't work for me. I like Lullacry to ROCK, not dish out lame ballads! Things get better (and heavier) later on the CD, thankfully. "Killing time" is probably the heaviest, most "metal" song I've heard from Lullacry. It has heavy riffing and just more "angry" sounding melodies than usual. "King of pain" and "Zero" also feature more downbeat, minor key melodies that permeate metal, but aren't always heard from Lullacry, and they rock!
If I were to complain about anything on this CD (aside from its lackluster middle) it would be that sometimes vocalist Tanja "squeezes" her voice which results in her sounding a lot like some chick pop singer. I can see this turning off some people. It tends to annoy me slightly. Thankfully, most of the time she sounds fine and has a very charismatic voice. I really think that Century Media is dropping the ball with Lullacry in the U.S.. They have much more mainstream appeal than either Lacuna Coil or Nightwish, but don't seem to get nearly the same level of promotion as those bands. It's too bad, as I enjoy these Finns quite a bit. If you want to hear some good, catchy heavy hard rock, be sure to check them out. But, I would probably start with their 2nd or 3rd CDs ('Be my god' and 'Crucify my heart') as they are both stronger CDs.
JOHN
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