Lionheart – Valley of Death II

Lionheart are a California based Metallic hardcore band formed in 2007. Since 2007 they have earned much success having recently ended their 2024 European headline tour in which they sold out the majority of the venues. The band consists of Rob Watson (Vocalist), Nick Warner (Guitarist), Walle Etzel (Guitarist), Richard Matthews (Bassist) and Jay Scott (Drums). Their upcoming album Valley of Death II, is produced by Jamey Jasta of Hatebreed and is mixed by Will Putney who you might know as the guitarist for the deathcore band Fit For an Autopsy. The band are set for another European headline tour in January of 2026.

The first single released in the build up to this release is titled “Bulletproof” I quite enjoy this song, it’s very punky for lack of a better term. The riffs are undeniably simple but it definitely works better for this track, and I love how the guitar cuts out leaving the bass at the front of the mix at times, I think it makes the track a lot more punchy.

The second and last single to be released for this album release is titled “Role Call” this song definitely seems more like a fun anthemic kind of song, with the lyrical hook being “where my dogs at” which has seemed to get stuck in my head a bit. It’s a hard track to take seriously like a few other tracks on this album but I think that’s okay because although they might come across a bit cheesy it comes off in more of a fun manner than a cringe manner. The vocals in this track are actually probably the most varied on the album despite maybe a couple of tracks, which makes it enjoyable nevertheless.

The mix of fun anthemic songs and deeper songs that seem to be a bit more emotionally fueled make the album quite listenable from start to finish, not to mention the brilliant production and mix which is one of the standout parts of this record for me. The hatebreed influence is also very clear to me in this record which isn’t surprising at all. So if you enjoy hatebreed then I would certainly recommend this album for at least one listen. The LP has a lot of feel good tracks of self confidence which seem to be pretty surface level in meaning. There are also a few tracks which seem to be talking about something more, I saw themes of pain and suffering being explored in the context of love and a lot of anger, like a lot.

I really enjoyed the drumming in this album, specifically the consistent switch ups between double-time beats and half-time beats which I think really carry a lot of the songs for me instrumentally, as well as Will Putney’s mixing especially around the bass and drums they sit just perfectly in the mix making the record all the more listenable. Overall I’d say if you like Hatebreed’s projects then you’ll definitely like this and it’s probably worth at least the first listen. https://www.facebook.com/lionheartca/