Band's List Hard Rock Lillian Axe Sad Day on Planet Earth

By expanding the scope of their sound to cover many kinds of rock and metal templates, Lillian Axe has come up big with a very entertaining group of smartly written songs on their 2009 release “Sad Day on Planet Earth”.

For sure, there is a certain playfulness that can be sensed when taking in some of the more provocative tracks on the album, which is very welcoming if not outright impressive. “Within Your Reach” and “Blood Raining Down on Her Wings” matches some seriously dark poetry with tones and melodies that would be classified as quite light and cheery. “Cold Day in Hell” alternates between soft rock verses with metallic riffs for the refrain giving off an impression of split personality. Acoustic guitar will atypically appear on a lot of tracks like “Divine”, “Jesus Wept”, and the rhythm line late on “Fire Blood the Earth & the Sea”. Finally, what Lillian Axe appears to do most and best is transition from slow to fast and soft to hard with a very methodical and persistent sway (“The Grand Scale of Finality” and “Blood Raining Down on Her Wings”). At the very least, no track will bore you.

The album maintains a strong sense of balance, too, with no dominant instrument playing over implied weaker contributions (“Megaslowfade” and “Down below the Ocean” provide the clearest examples). What’s more, the tracks remain straightforward even though some various extra tones constantly make appearances like the title track “Sad Day on Planet Earth” with its acoustic verse and whistling background. It should be noted; however, that whatever does grab the spotlight will leave as simply as it enters so that at no time does the core sound of each song venture out of the hybrid boundaries of their brand. With this in mind, the glue that keeps it all together could be found in lead guitarist Steve Blaze. A virtuoso with impeccable discipline structurally and melodically, Blaze appears with solo segments on each track with much attention to keeping every song cohesive. Of all his appearances “Nocturnal Symphony”, “Blood Raining Down on Her Wings”, and the great ballad “Sad Day on Planet Earth” are just a few shining examples.

It may be that metal fans will find it too light and rock fans may find it too heavy, but for those who like and enjoy both, Lillian Axe’s “Sad Day on Planet Earth” should not disappoint. It’s a very strong and scintillating work of aggressive yet melodic hard music.