As Lions – “Selfish Age” [Album Review]

As Lions are a young, British metalcore band who are a bit of a rarity in so much as they’re making some very decent sized ripples across the water Stateside where they recently hit the road with US big-hitters Five Finger Death Punch and Sixx AM. amongst others. To be honest though, before you even get to the Iron Maiden connection, a quick listen to their new album, Selfish Age shows exactly why the young UK band are becoming a bit of a hit Stateside.

Slick, polished, pristine metalcore is the order of the day right throughout Selfish Age. Taking elements from Bullet For My Valentine, Avenged Sevenfold and Linkin Park amongst others, Selfish Age is a massive sounding album full of big melodies, big hooks and a huge production. The difference between this and other albums of this ilk is that, despite the almost too flawless nature in which As Lions set about their business on tracks like “Deathless”, this slickly produced, clinical affair never sounds too flawless. Songs like the piano-driven “Bury My Dead” have enough emotion and heart to really hit the spot and that is exactly why As Lions are getting the plaudits they so rightfully deserve.

Of course it’s nothing dramatically original, bands like Avenged Sevenfold, Bullet and Disturbed have been churning this stuff out for years but As Lions certainly have enough about themselves to be able to compete with the big boys and when you’re related to the frontman of Iron Maiden, as is son of Bruce and As Lions frontman Austin, it can certainly be doing the band no harm that they’re guaranteed that the right people will be seeing them. On that note, you have to be honest and admit that, given the fact that your frontman has been brought up in the shadows of Iron Maiden a band who do big, grand metal on a massively epic scale, Selfish Age was never going to be rubbish was it?

Selfish Age Track Listing:

01. Aftermath
02. The Suffering
03. Bury My Dead
04. Deathless
05. Selfish Age
06. White Flags
07. Pieces
08. World On Fire
09. One By One
10. The Fall
11. The Great Escape

Release Date: January 27, 2017
Run Time: 39:59

Check out the track “Bury My Dead”