Ever since the announcement of their appearance at MR4, the debut release by LOUD LION has become one of the most highly anticipated releases amongst AOR/ Melodic Rock fans worldwide. The band initially created quite a stir back in 2007 releasing the title track “The Hills Have Eyes” on THE HILLS HAVE EYES II soundtrack and three more tracks, “Love Will Break Your Heart,” “Die Tuff” and an absolutely stunning cover of the DEF LEPPARD classic “Rock Of Ages” all for the BALLS OF FURY soundtrack but yet, their CD never came… until now. FINALLY being released on MelodicRock Records, the debut CD by LOUD LION entitled “Die Tuff” is poised to make quite a splash in 2014… but was it worth the wait?

Traditionally, I must admit, I try to avoid reviewing bands such as LOUD LION simply because they’re one of those bands that sounds just a little “TOO” much like another band. Take VOODOO CIRCLE, for example. Truth be told, I actually enjoyed their release… probably more than just about ANYTHING WHITESNAKE has done over the past decade but bottom line, they are WHITESNAKE clones! Sure, the music itself may be original, BUT the guitars sound like WHITESNAKE, the vocals sound like WHITESNAKE and even the arrangements and lyrics sound like WHITESNAKE! So how do you review that fairly without taking away MAJOR points for originality? I don’t know, maybe it’s just me… but then I read through the LOUD LION press release where founding member Bleu McAuley is actually quoted as saying, ”DEF LEPPARD hasn’t put anything as good as LOUD LION out in at least a decade!” I like that! (And actually agree with it to boot!) FINALLY some honesty… this band isn’t trying to fudge over the fact that they sound EXACTLY like DEF LEPPARD, they are embracing it! And as a matter of fact, the whole project from the start was meant to pay homage to both DEF LEPPARD and super-star producer Mutt Lange. So with the whole “originality factor” out of the way, I feel I can actually give this a fair shake.

Let’s start with the opening track, “Love Will Break Your Heart.” As I mentioned, this was originally recorded for the BALLS OF FURY soundtrack and is actually THE most original sounding song on the release. The opening riff actually reminds me a bit of Lenny Kravitz’s opening riff on his rendition of “American Woman,” but then kicks in to that more familiar DEF LEPPARD style… BIG hooks, harmonic guitars and a thick, anthem-like chorus which really impresses and while the vocals do remind you of DEF LEPPARD, on this one at least they don’t sound EXACTLY like DEF LEPPARD… but we’re just getting started here.

Here we go… the follow up track “Lion’s Den” has an underlying feel of DEF LEPPARD’s “Women” with its haunting bass/ percussion driven verse melody that builds into a rich, harmony-filled chorus and DOG-GAM if lead vocalist Robbie Royce doesn’t kick it into FULL Joe Elliot mode! Holy shit… where did they find this guy?!? Not only does Royce sound as if he has the reincarnated voice of Joe Elliot from about 20 years ago, he’s got all his personality, accents and inflections down to a science! Great, GREAT tune that DEF LEPPARD fans will simply swallow whole!

MORE COWBELL PLEASE! “Lion Eyes” is an up-tempo rocker with a chorus and underlying guitar-riff similar to that of DEF LEPPARD’s “Photograph” but the whole melodic/ harmonic feel makes it sound like it should have fallen as an outtake somewhere in between “Pyromania” and “Hysteria.” This brings us to the title track “Die Tuff” which has “Love Bites” written all over it… maybe a little too much. Creepy…

At this point, the CD takes a bit of an abrupt turn as “Loud Lion Theme Song” begins with an almost 2-minute “shred fest’ accented by some well-placed “Loud… Loud… Loud… Loud Lion” chants and sounding like “Flight of the Bumble-Bee” (ON ACID!) This transforms momentarily with a very cool, mid-tempo melodic bridge before once again reverting back to that almost Yngwie-sounding speed composition. And please…
ENOUGH OF THE “LOUD LION” references in your song titles! Ok… we get it! You’re LOUD LION!!!

“Dawn of the Dead” is a pretty cool track. Falling into the same realm as “Lion Eyes,” this one again features all the aggression of a “Pyromania” rocker combining with the rich harmonies and melodic tones of “Hysteria” without sounding “too” much like another song. Hmmmm… think they were trying to get on that soundtrack too? And speaking of “soundtracks,” next up is their title track for the remake of THE HILLS HAVE EYES II soundtrack “The Hills Have Eyes.” Another very cool rocker and easily one of the better songs and one of the most original sounding on the CD.

“Sunset Slip” is ok, but the percussion parts and guitar fills REALLY emulate DEF LEPPARD’s “Rocket” in a BIG way. And finally we come to “None More Fast.” I am still trying to comprehend this one. It starts with a narration over a very foreboding melody which launches into another speed-guitar fest on the lines of “Loud Lion Theme Song” only this time there are chantings of “None More Fast” as well as more narration breaks through out and by the end, will leave you asking, “What the fuck was that?” For a band that makes no apologies for trying to emulate DEF LEPPARD, you would never, EVER hear Steve Clark, Phil Collen or even Vivian Campbell trying to put something like this on a DEF LEPPARD release… have to give this one an EPIC FAIL!

With the exception of “None More Fast” which I feel REALLY brings the album down, for what it is, “Die Tuff” is not a bad little release. It goes without saying that “some” DEF LEPPARD fans may find its overall content “blasphemy” but let’s be serious… most of these tunes really ARE the type of songs you wish DEF LEPPARD was releasing nowadays. So take it for what it’s worth all you DEF LEPPARD lovers! Sit back and enjoy what could and SHOULD have been with LOUD LION.