LOVEBITES
“ELECTRIC PENTAGRAM”
Album Review by Vicky Jackson-Milne

7.5/10

If you hadn’t ever listened to or seen Lovebites before, you could easily envisage some rough rocking lookin older dudes, clad in side laced leather trousers, or even daring double denim! However, on their release of their 3^rd album in as many years, these busy little bees are a mahoosive giant leap away from the image above. 2018 Metal Hammer Golden Gods ‘Best New Band’ winners, this Japanese all female quintet absolutely storm in to 2020 with this power house of a record.

Opening up with ‘Thunder Vengeance’ a full on thrash bash for almost six long minutes with a fair bit of guitar duelling and noodling, but not so much that it gets stale. ‘Holy War’ starts with a symphonic edge but quickly mashes up power with keys romping swiftly in to ‘Golden Destination’ – a track where the lead guitar just sings out and harmonises perfectly with the vocals.

This album is almost definitely one of Lovebites best yet, proving that they still have all of the energy of their explosive arrival on the scene back in 2016.

Barrelling onward, there’s no let up in this ocean of Power Metal. ‘Raise Some Hell’ takes a bit of a beefier rock and roll type deal with a sprinkle of stompy thrash, deeper sounding guitars and a rumbling bass line. ‘Today Is The Day’ is an air guitarists dream with it’s opening assault on the ears. I love a good anthem don’t you? Well, ‘When Destinies Align’ is just the track to satisfy that itch. Super strong vocals, and a chorus full of synth and guitar licks to get you punching the air and shouting your lungs out trying to mimic the high notes that Asami so effortlessly achieves.

Finally, a welcome slowing down in pace with ‘A Frozen Serenade’, a track undoubtedly made for singing along to in the car. No? Okay perhaps that wasn’t their intention but It definitely stands out from the rest of the album, especially with the rather lovely acoustic picking halfway through.

Not allowing you to put your feet up for too long, we begin to gain pace once more with ‘Dancing With The Devil’, a good track, but a bit samey to the others. The same to be said for ‘Signs of Deliverance and ‘Set The World on Fire’. Excellent tracks, but after eight long tracks of similar ilk, the enthusiasm of the listener starts to wane. However, you most definitely cannot doubt the quality and catchiness of these final moments.

Lovebites round of their release with tracks ‘The Unbroken’ and ‘Swan Song’. ‘The Unbroken’ with it’s vocal style reminiscent of Kate Bush and swing type rhythm, bounces along rather vigorously in to the final, aptly named ‘Swan Song. Jam packed full of more melody, power, keys and more melody, it finely showcases Asami’s vocals and the flawless playing ability of the band.

My only couple of down sides to this record are a little hard to explain. It’s too clean. It’s so well produced and put together, it doesn’t sound real. It’s also probably a little too long, running the risk of giving up and switching off before the end. However, I am certainly not taking anything away from these ladies’ talent and song writing skills. This is an exceedingly excellent contribution to the world of power and speed metal.

They may be pocket size, but you definitely wouldn’t want them in there as they would probably do some considerable damage to your undercarriage. They pack one hell of a punch. 

LISTEN FOR: ‘Raise Some Hell’, ‘When Destinies Align’, ‘A Frozen Serenade’

TRACKLIST

Thunder Vengeance
Holy War
Golden Destination
Raise Some Hell
Today Is The Day
When Destinies Align
A Frozen Serenade
Dancing With The Devil
Signs of Deliverance
Set The World On Fire
The Unbroken
Swan Song

http://lovebites.jp/
https://www.facebook.com/LovebitesTheBand/

LINEUP

Vocals – Asami
Guitar – Midori
Bass – Miho
Drums – Haruna
Guitar & Keyboard – Miyako

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