{"id":20733,"date":"2024-01-30T20:35:29","date_gmt":"2024-01-31T01:35:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.southeastofheaven.com\/?p=20733"},"modified":"2024-12-19T09:57:32","modified_gmt":"2024-12-19T14:57:32","slug":"album-review-lucifer-lucifer-v","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.southeastofheaven.com\/?p=20733","title":{"rendered":"Album Review: Lucifer – Lucifer V"},"content":{"rendered":"

Lucifer – Lucifer V<\/strong><\/p>\n

Multi-national rockers Lucifer<\/strong> have released their latest offering, Lucifer V<\/em>.\u00a0 When lead vocalist\/songwriter Johanna Sadonis kicked things off with Lucifer I on the heels of her band The Oath, I was so excited, and I wasn\u2019t disappointed.\u00a0 That album catalyzed a nearly nine-year life in the hard rock\/metal world.\u00a0 All these years later, Lucifer is back with their fifth album, but there\u2019s one problem.\u00a0 I had difficulty remembering the three previous ones, which told me something.<\/p>\n

I went back and revisited the debut and still loved it as much as I did on day one, but I found myself indifferent to the previous three, and by the end of Lucifer IV, I was hard-pressed even to distinguish where one started and one ended.\u00a0 While I hoped Lucifer V<\/em> would break that cycle, it didn\u2019t.<\/p>\n

Kicking things off with \u201cFallen Angel,\u201d I just listened to see what was happening.\u00a0 Was this song going to go someplace great and different?\u00a0 I waited, but that moment never came.\u00a0 I continued to listen, but suddenly I found myself drifting, and before I knew it, I was on the 5th<\/sup> song, wondering what the fuck happened to the previous three.\u00a0 I went back to the tracks and felt like I was listening to the first one again.<\/p>\n

Johanna and Co. seem to try too hard to have some sort of \u201cthing.\u201d\u00a0 The death, graveyard, and cryptic puns cause me to roll my eyes just slightly.\u00a0 \u201cAt the MORTUARY,\u201d \u201cSlow Dance In a CRYPT,\u201d and \u201cA COFFIN Has No Silver Lining\u201d are just a few examples of how this kind of gimmick feels a bit overplayed and contrived.\u00a0 This alone isn\u2019t enough for me to write the album off, but the songs themselves are.<\/p>\n

I thought Lucifer was onto something truly remarkable with their debut album.\u00a0 I hoped to see a natural progression over time, but with lineup changes and a change of dynamics of writing, Lucifer adopted a more classic rock sound ala KISS, Deep Purple, and Blue Oyster Cult.\u00a0 There are a lot of terrible bands that can influence a band, and while these influences don\u2019t suck at all, they didn\u2019t necessarily inspire Lucifer to create something new.<\/p>\n

Look, I\u2019m a big fan of bands such as AC\/DC and KISS.\u00a0 Those bands have songs that I thoroughly enjoy and would enjoy any and every time I saw them live.\u00a0 Lucifer is no different.\u00a0 Every time I have seen them, they are outstanding.\u00a0 The shows are fun, energetic, and a sweaty-ass good time.\u00a0 Maybe Lucifer is just a great live band for me, and that\u2019s ok.<\/p>\n

Lucifer isn\u2019t re-creating the wheel here and more power to them.\u00a0 It seems to make them happy and bring many new fans in, so that is a plus.\u00a0 As for me, Lucifer V didn\u2019t do much for me.\u00a0 It was un-insulting, generic, but solid.\u00a0 Unforgettable but perfect music to play while sending emails or doing some chores.\u00a0 With Lucifer V<\/em>, I heard an album of good, no-frills hard rock music.\u00a0 It wasn\u2019t terrible, nor was it out of this-world mind-blowing.\u00a0 It was good, and sometimes, that\u2019s all an album needs to be. Just good.<\/p>\n