King Of Rock 'n' Roll, The - Daniel Lioneye

.../> Track number one 'The King of Rock 'N Roll' I recognised as the opening theme tune to cult MTV show 'Viva La Bam'. The raunchy electric guitar and egotistical lyrics make this song memorable and endurable, with some interesting sound effects added in for good measure.

'Roller' is another hard hitting track boasting a very active drum beat, provided by HIM's lead singer, Ville Valo. Straight forward and to the point. A perfect second ...
...little too similar to 'The King of Rock 'N Roll'.

'Eldorado Baby' is a hypnotic, blues type track with haunting yet honest vocals. One of my favourites from here.

'Lonely Road', although a little melancholy, has a great feel about it, giving some much needed back bone to the album. Seemingly, a heart felt rant at 'Mama' in this one.

'International P-Lover' brings humour back to the album once again. Still ... more

Being a supporter of the band HIM - and back in the day a little bit of an obsessive fan, it must be said - I went to see them live as a late birthday present.

Their guitarist, dread locked and extremely thin, Mikko Lindstrom, to me, stole the show; his edgy, passionate guitar riffs simply made the performance and kept the fans driven all night long.

Upon my return from my live experience, I began to get more interested in the band, learning about their inspirations and stories from life on the road.

Then, I heard about a HIM side project called 'Daniel Lioneye', the band's 'sleaze rock' record.

Curious, I soon got the album. Lets just say I was shocked at what I was hearing...

Track number one 'The King of Rock 'N Roll' I recognised as the opening theme tune to cult MTV show 'Viva La Bam'. The raunchy electric guitar and egotistical lyrics make this song memorable and endurable, with some interesting sound effects added in for good measure.

'Roller' is another hard hitting track boasting a very active drum beat, provided by HIM's lead singer, Ville Valo. Straight forward and to the point. A perfect second track.

'Dope Danny' takes the listener on a journey from the life of a drug addict (hence the title). A little distorted for a creepy effect, this one won't win any awards for lyrics but is damn sure entertaining!

Next is 'Never Been In Love (till the day I die)'. Not much to the words here but boasts a very good, hard rock feel here; great for head banging! Perhaps a little too similar to 'The King of Rock 'N Roll'.

'Eldorado Baby' is a hypnotic, blues type track with haunting yet honest vocals. One of my favourites from here.

'Lonely Road', although a little melancholy, has a great feel about it, giving some much needed back bone to the album. Seemingly, a heart felt rant at 'Mama' in this one.

'International P-Lover' brings humour back to the album once again. Still with soaring and well written riffs, this one is a standout track.

'We Gonna Rockin Tonight' is the penultimate and least memorable track on the album. Although not a bad track, really, it's just a bit too repetitive to be called good. A bit of a let down considering it's the bands final original track on here.

The closing track, a cover of the Bob Dylan classic 'Knockin on Heaven's Door' gives the impression of a deeper side of the band away from the sexual innuendo jokes and drugs. Personally, I'm not a fan of the song but I do know people who are and who liked this cover. It does have the 'Daniel Lioneye' feel plastered all over it though, bringing the song up to date with more modern music.

The sleeve displays some very good, creative artwork of the man himself with the lyrics in non-listed order, creating a hippy, rebellion type effect. When I got the album from Amazon, it was in good condition and played very well too, currently retailing at £18.49 for a new copy. I got mine a lot cheaper and - if I’m being brutally honest - this CD is not worth quite as much as that.

All in all, I'm a big fan of this album; it's a lot different to the normal stuff HIM promotes, a band that seemingly only write about love and death, not necessarily in that order. However, with Linde on vocals, his raspy, traditional rock star tone added a lot of depth to this album, the listening process enjoyable and unforgettable.

May not be suitable for everyone - only those amongst you who can take a bit of a joke and some real rock action! 

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