Lionsault

8.5/10

Miramichi, New Brunswick has produced countless legendary bands over the years such as… Let me think here. Okay, well, actually I never even knew the existence of Miramichi, New Brunswick before. But there must be something in the water over there because Lionsault sounds like they share a jam space with The Pretty Reckless and Halestorm. They are nothing like the typical folky music usually associated with the East coast. The band was formed by brother and sister duo, Kortni and Chase Nichols; the former on lead vocals and bass, while the latter bashing the drums. They are joined by Taylor Sheasgreen on lead guitar. Are You Feeling Lucky is the bands debut LP and it is, simply put, a monster of a first release. A wall to wall, loud, groovy, fist pump inducing slice of good old fashion hard rock with swagger to spare.

Starting off the record is a trio of ballsy, hard rocking tracks: “Shoot ‘Em Up,” “Living with the Devil,” and “Reckless.” The record makes its statement within the first few minutes and does not stray too far for the next seven songs. The guitars are loud, the riffs are made up off power chords, and the licks are pentatonic. Need I say anything else? The Nichols siblings are more than capable of laying down some tight grooves that do a great job of supporting the lead riffs and vocal melodies. It doesn’t hurt that the drums sound massive, in fact, they are so clean sounding it’s almost suspicious. Either way, the results are all that matter, and it gives the music a nice glossy sound.

Vocally, Kortni Nichols is the main event. With a style similar to that of Lzzy Hale from Halestorm, she infuses the sometimes predictable and generic lyrics with swagger and a believability that is truly impressive. She has great range and lots of power, and she really makes the songs into something more than they would be without her. Lyrically, most of the tracks are either about how much the band wants to “burn this place down” or the seduction some unknown love interest; familiar territory for fans of the genre. That being said, it would be challenging for a lesser singer to make these songs entertaining and that makes Nichols’ performance that much more important.

Like many hard rock records, Lionsault falls victim to the ‘sameness’ problem. This is where every single song is mixed and built up in almost the same manner. If you get through the first couple of tracks, you’ve heard most of what the band has to offer. This is not necessarily a bad thing if it is what you are looking for, but some variety either in the songwriting or sonic palette would have been appreciated. I can say, though, that even if they are a bit of a one trick pony, it is a very well executed trick.

The band knows how to milk a formula of great guitar riffs, in your face vocals, and masterful song arrangements with lots of musical breaks and build ups to choruses that really get you excited. “Light It Up” is a prime example of how to give the listener a few goosebumps. Its huge chorus and screaming vocals in the verses are a highlight. I would have no problem throwing more than a couple of tracks from this album on a playlist to get me pumped for my weekly attempt at lifting weights or making a morning commute to work less painful.

Lionsault’s first album is an excellent debut by a band that has already earned its place on a short list of contenders for the modern-day, hard rock crown. Though they might not be kings just yet, Are You Feeling Lucky is a must listen for anyone looking to let loose and have a good time. - Bucketlist Music Reviews

Lionsault are a rock band from Miramichi, New Brunswick, consisting of siblings Kortni and Chase Nicols, and lead guitarist Taylor Sheasgreen. This three-piece group is a small-town band with a big, hard rock sound.

The New Brunswick hard rockers were originally a rock cover band until they mastered their craft in 2010. Now they play original material with two albums “High Stakes” and “Are You Feeling Lucky”, both released in 2015. The “modern hard sock sound with a heavy metal edge” comes through powerfully on their latest 10-track album.

The newest album opens strong with the first track “Shoot ‘Em Up”, but doesn’t slow down anytime soon. Kortni’s smooth and silvery vocals really stand out against but also complement their harsher sound. Lionsault’s style is similar to the likes of other female-fronted rock bands such as The Pretty Reckless, Paramore and Epica. “Are You Feeling Lucky” is a solid sophomore album that is sure to put Lionsault on the map. - Canadian Beats

When you think of the music scene in New Brunswick Canada, you might instantly think that country and folk being the dominant genre at the local bars and pubs. Instead, you’ll find a lot of Rock and Metal bands dominating the scene, and some with a lot of talent. This is exactly what you get with Lionsault, a three-piece band from Miramichi which consists of Kortni Nicols for Vocals and Bass, Taylor Sheasgreen on Guitar as well as Backup Vocals, and Chase Nicols on the Drums.

The band has been rocking the scene, even promoting the rise of Metal shows in the Provence by opening for Motorleague at one of their most recent shows. Their debut Album, “Are you feeling Lucky?” was released back in September, so we thought we should give it a listen.

The Sound of the album

The album is a good mix of modern metal, with elements of classic rock/metal implanted in the album. The sound of the album feels like, it has a lot similarity to modern metal bands such as The Pretty Reckless and Five Finger Death Punch, but there are also hints of 80’s American and British metal like Megadeth, Judas priest and Motorhead for certain parts of some of the songs on the album and it flows nicely with the rest of the album. The lead singer, she has a very powerful and metal orientated voice such as Care Failure (Die Mannequin), Taylor Momsen (The Pretty Reckless) or Cristina Scabbia (LACUNA COIL), which is very awesome because you don’t see to many female lead signers in this genre of music.

The songs from the album

Living with the Devil, is a song that deals with of a lot emotions and also with ideals such as death and the concept of heaven and hell. At its core the song is very progressive and it’s similar to God Is Dead? By Black Sabbath it had a lot of the same kind of themes in the songs and that is why I find it as one of the most powerful songs on the album and a must listen.

Some of other songs that I really enjoyed on the album are Reckless, High Stakes, Counting Down, Running Wild.

End then there was LMD at the end of the album, holy shit this is a 6:24 min amazing piece of progressive music such as Dream Theater, TOOL or LACUNA COIL the song just felt like it went on for miles it was so massive and powerful… just amazing

End remarks

Simply is a solid record for a debut artist, I enjoyed most of the tracks on the album and if you’re a fan of modern metal with elements of classic rock/metal you should go check them out here: http://lionsault.bandcamp.com/ - Game It All

If you are familiar with some of my album reviews, you’ll likely have noticed that I have for the most part not converted to the more modern sounds that a lot of bands try to incorporate into their brand of rock and roll. It’s admittedly difficult for bands to modernize the rock and roll sound and still sound good at the same time. One group that seems to have mastered the art is Lionsault.

Hailing from the tiny “city” of Miramichi in New Brunswick, Canada with a population of less than 20,000 people (as per a 2011 census) hails three youngsters that play a brand of rock and roll well beyond their years. Actually, guitarist Taylor Sheasgreen, lead vocalist and bassist Kortini Nichols and drummer Chase Nichols take me back to the good old days when youngsters in their early 20s or sometimes younger were cranking out what turned out to be some of the best genre defining hard rock and heavy metal records of all-time.

The jury is definitely still out on whether Lionheart‘s debut album are you feeling lucky? will ever be considered one of the all-time great debut albums but I’ll tell you this — it’s one damn fine debut record! The album grabs your attention right away with a scorching guitar riff on “Shoot Em Up” before Kortini Nichols‘ young but beautiful sounding voice kicks in and the song takes you on a magical journey. Chase Nichols‘ drumming sounds absolutely monstrous on the opening track. My initial thought as soon as I heard the opening guitar riff on “Shoot Em Up” was “Alright Lionsault, you have got my attention for your entire album because this opening riff is so damn captivating that I know you’re going to have more great stuff on your record for sure.” The next track “Living With The Devil” reminds me an awful lot of Halestorm before that band lost its way with Into The Wild Life. Frankly, Lionsault‘s song “Living With The Devil” sounds like what Halestorm should sound like and I am more than pleased to have Lionsault take over the torch from Lzzy Hale and company while Halestorm continue to “experiment” with and modernize their sound. Lionsault seem to have found the perfect blend of new versus old mixing old school riffs, varying tempos, a monster rhythm section and a fresh young voice with fantastic results.

The first five tracks are all really good but there is something about the sixth track “Counting Down” that just seems magical and causes me to notice the song every time that I hear it. I think that it’s Kortini Nichols‘ vocals which sound so good. During the song, she belts out many times “I need your attention baby” and boy, Lionsault certainly have mine on this great track. Before you start thinking that I am taunting are you feeling lucky? as record of the year for 2015, there is one track that I am not that crazy about. “Sick As It Gets” does have a cool bluesy feel to it but does feel to plod along a little bit. I would be remiss if I did not mention that it is hard to believe that 24 year old Sheasgreen is playing such mature sounding guitar licks and melodies.

If you were going to check out only one new band each year, Lionsault should be your pick for 2015. The group describes itself as “A hard-hitting, in-your-face hard rock band with a touch of classic rock influence, complimented with a modern metal twist, and intense melodic female vocals leading the way.” I could not agree more. The potential for Lionsault seems astronomical based on are you feeling lucky? which is an album that has the ability to transcend and appeal to fans of many rock genres. - Sleaze Roxx

Nominated for 'Best Outside Guest' for IHW 2015 Annual Nominations. - Innovative Hybrid Wrestling

FOR THOSE WHO DON’T KNOW, CANADA IS A VERY BIG COUNTRY LAND WISE BUT THERE ARE MANY AREAS WHERE THE POPULATION NUMBERS ARE RATHER SCARCE. NEVERTHELESS, EVEN THE SMALLEST OF CITIES CAN STILL PRODUCE SOME AMAZING MUSICIANS. HAILING FROM THE TINY “CITY” OF MIRAMICHI WITH A POPULATION OF LESS THAN 20,000 (ACCORDING TO A 2011 CENSUS) COMES THE GROUP LIONSAULT, WHICH CONSISTS OF GUITARIST TAYLOR SHEASGREEN ALONG WITH SIBLINGS KORTNI NICOLS (VOCALS, BASS) AND CHASE NICOLS (DRUMS). LIONSAULT HAVE RECENTLY RELEASED THEIR KILLER DEBUT ALBUM ‘ARE YOU FEELING LUCKY?’ WHICH LANDED THE #8 SLOT ON SLEAZE ROXX’S TOP TEN ALBUMS OF 2015. SLEAZE ROXX CAUGHT UP WITH SHEASGREEN AND THE GROUP’S FRONTWOMAN KORTNI NICOLS TO FIND OUT MORE ABOUT LIONSAULT.

Sleaze Roxx: First of all, congratulations on a very good debut album! You seem to have bridged the old school rock with modern sound very well. Was this a conscious decision when writing the songs?

Taylor Sheasgreen: Thank you very much! We’re so glad you liked the album. Yes, we think having a sound somewhere between old school and modern was a conscious decision. There was a point where we just realized that it was the sound we wanted. We didn’t need to consciously force it out though — as soon as we started writing, the sound seemed to come out that way naturally.

Sleaze Roxx: When I listen to ‘are you feeling lucky?’, it reminds me of Halestorm before the band went a little over the top in modernizing their sound with their new album. Do you agree and why?

Taylor Sheasgreen: Yes, we can definitely see why you’d compare us to an earlier Halestorm. How can you not? A hard rock band with female-fronted vocals. Definitely a compliment though, as we are big fans of theirs. We’re both very intense, high-energy bands with a female lead vocalist and a heavy rock sound. Not to mention the fact that both Lionsault and Halestorm share the fact that the singer and drummer are siblings!

Sleaze Roxx: Are you surprised with what seems to be the positive reaction to your ‘are you feeling lucky?’ album?

Taylor Sheasgreen: Not to be super conceited or full of ourselves, but not really, no. It’s like anything in life — if you really put your heart and soul into it, then it shows and people see that. That is exactly what we did in the making of this album — we poured our heart and souls into it. I think each of us left of a piece of ourselves in ‘are you feeling lucky?’ and we think you can feel that when you listen to it.

Sleaze Roxx: What is the music scene like in your tiny “city” of Miramichi and particularly the province of New Brunswick which is pretty big area wise but with a rather small population?

Taylor Sheasgreen: As far as Miramichi goes, there is really not much unless you’re looking for cover bands. There just isn’t many venues in Miramichi that want to do weekday shows with several bands playing original music. They want cover bands on Saturday nights, and we’ve done that, and that’s fine, but that’s not what we’re about. Some places have been good about it though — Dooly’s, for example, is always up for it.

As far as New Brunswick goes, the music scene is actually really great right now for the most part. There are a lot of great venues in Moncton that are always booming with bands. Plan B or the Tide And Boar to name just a couple. Fredericton is good too, and Saint John as well. The scene seemed to be quiet for a few years but the past couple years in New Brunswick has been very good to bands and fans alike.

Sleaze Roxx: Do you think that the three of you need to move to a bigger city population wise for the band to break out to that next level and if so, where are you thinking?

Taylor Sheasgreen: Right now we don’t have any plans to relocate, but who knows. That being said though, playing in bigger cities across Canada is definitely important to us and is at the top of our hitlist. Just because we’re in tiny little Miramichi doesn’t mean we’re not ready to pack up and hit the road and show the big cities who Lionsault is.

Sleaze Roxx: Kortni — Everyone can guess how you and Chase know each other with your last name but how did all three of you hook up together?

Kortni Nicols: Chase and I have been playing together for almost 10 years now, I really wanted to start a band but I couldn’t find a drummer, so I convinced Chase to get a drum set for Christmas. We started a band together playing Green Day and Paramore covers. Meanwhile, Taylor was playing in various metal bands, and since we live in a small town with very little opportunities to play, we were always playing at the same places. In 2009, all three of us were recruited to play ’80s covers for our high school drama production and we decided to continue to jam outside of school, and started to write our own material and things really progressed from there.

Sleaze Roxx: How did you come up and who came up with the name Lionsault?

Taylor Sheasgreen: We’re wrestling fans. It’s a pro wrestling move! We just thought it was a cool name and something about it just matched the sound and style we were making. Also, it is a pretty damn cool wrestling move. Shout out to Y2J [Chris Jericho].

Sleaze Roxx: What got each of you started in music?

Taylor Sheasgreen: I always liked rock music — I got a hold of my uncle’s copy of ‘Clumsy’ by Our Lady Peace and I always used to listen to that as a kid, but I really got into music when I was around 13 years old or so and somehow got a hold of a CD of Nirvana’s ‘Nevermind’ album, which of course got me hooked on Nirvana. I started fiddling around with my mom’s acoustic guitar from there. Then I moved onto an unhealthy obsession with Metallica, and it just grew from there.

Kortni Nicols: I’ve always been into music and I’ve always loved singing, but I didn’t start learning how to play guitar until I was 13. My step-dad had an old acoustic that I loved to play around with. My mom put me in guitar lessons, and I eventually convinced her to buy me an electric guitar, which really fueled my fire to want to start a band. Then, I got Chase on board with it too and got him into drums.

Sleaze Roxx: What are Lionsault’s plans for 2016?

Taylor Sheasgreen: Well, following up on an earlier question, we want to hit up the big cities. Our main goal of 2016 is to tour all of Eastern Canada as much as we possibly can. Besides that, we’ll be continuing to play all around the Maritimes [in Eastern Canada], and we also have plans to release more music videos in early 2016, and more Lionsault media to keep our fans interested. We will also begin our next album at the tail end of 2016.

Sleaze Roxx: Last question for each of you — what are your three favorite all-time albums and why?

Taylor Sheasgreen: The first would be ‘Master Of Puppets’ by Metallica. This is just a classic album that I discovered in high school and it has stuck with me ever since. Every track on this album is thrash metal gold. I’ve been listening to this album so long that it is almost hard to put into words what I think of it. I love just about everything about this album — the riffs, the vocals, the bass, the solos. It is hard to pick between this iconic album and Metallica’s follow-up album ‘…And Justice for All’ but ‘Puppets’ has the edge by just a bit.

My second pick would be ‘Furiosity’ by Monster Truck. I have a feeling all three of us would have this one. Here’s an album that you should check out if you haven’t already. It was Monster Truck’s debut album released in 2013 and man, is it badass. This is a band I discovered by accident when I went to see Billy Talent and Sum 41 in Ottawa, but Sum 41 backed out and was replaced by Monster Truck, and I’m glad they were. I’ve been listening to ‘Furiosity’ every day since. It is a really good blend of blues and rock. Every single song is wicked and I think it was integral to the sound we’ve achieved with Lionsault.

My last pick would be ‘Burn The Serum by Kyng. This is another album that any fan of rock or metal should check out. This album is a really cool blend of heavy metal with really old school taste as well as with some very progressive and different ideas. This is my go-to album at the gym. It kicks you right in the chest and really makes your blood flow. Personally, “Electric Halo” was definitely my song of the year for 2014. I picked these three albums because they have had a lasting impression on me more so than others. Honorable mentions go to ‘Road To Bloodshed’ by Sanctity, ‘Something Supernatural’ by Crobot, and ‘Shogun’ by Trivium.

Kortni Nicols: My first pick would be Monster Truck’s ‘Furiosity.’ What really drew me in with Monster Truck was when I saw them live. They put on an amazing show and the fact that Jon Harvey plays bass and sings, which isn’t a common thing to see. I immediately went home and started listening to their stuff and instantly fell in love. For me, ‘Furiosity’ was one of those albums that you fall in love with every song right away. There’s a good blend of blues and rock, and you can definitely hear the classic rock influences as well. My second pick would be Alexisonfire’s ‘Crisis.’ I go through my fair share of musical phases but this album has always seemed to stick with me. The songs on this album transition so well, and it has a perfect blend of upbeat and darker themes. Finally, my last pick would be Motley Crue’s ‘Dr. Feelgood.’ Motley Crue is one of my favourite bands, and “Kickstart My Heart” is my favourite song of all time, so of course this has to be in my top three albums! - Sleaze Roxx

8. Lionsault – are you feeling lucky?

As soon as I heard the opening guitar riff for the first track “Shoot Em Up” on Lionsault‘s debut album and having already seen the video for the Canadian group’s first single “Living With The Devil” — I knew that I would likely really like what the band had to offer. My first impressions were confirmed as Lionsault delivered what is very difficult to do — a great record mixing classic rock and ’80s sounds with more modern rock. Reminding me at times of Halestorm before they lost their way with Into The Wild Life, the trio that comprise Lionsault seem to have the total package with the bombastic drumming of Chase Nichols, the killer riffs from guitarist Taylor Sheagreen and the young sounding but powerful vocals of singer/bassist Kortini Nichols. Lionsault are definitely a band to watch for in the future.

Essential Tracks: “Shoot Em Up”, “Living With The Devil” and “Counting Down” - Sleaze Roxx

Canadian rockers, Lionsault, have released a second video in support of their critically acclaimed debut album are you feeling lucky?, which was released on September 19, 2015. The song “Light It Up” is featured in the group’s new video which sees the young rockers show a humorous side to them. The first video released by the band was for the track “Living With The Devil.”

Lionsault‘s entire debut album, which ranked number eight in Sleaze Roxx’s Top Ten Albums of 2015, is available for streaming at the band’s YouTube page.

Speaking exclusively to Sleaze Roxx, Lionsault guitarist Taylor Sheasgreen was asked how the band came up with the idea for the “Light It Up” video and he replied: “As far as the video goes, we had been fiddling with some other music video ideas that weren’t quite panning out so we were really hurting our brains trying to think of a good idea. At the time, I was watching the TV series “The Office” and that’s really what inspired it. I brought the idea to the band and we came up with the script together.”

In terms of the person who played the part of villain Chip Whitley in the video, Sheasgreen stated: “Chip Whitley was played by our friend James McClafferty, who we know through the music scene in Miramichi, as he actually has his own metal band called Nihilo Machina. Fortunately, he was super into the idea, so it was easy to get him to do it. He kicked ass too. Mostly everything was improv — we had a script of where we wanted to go with it and what we wanted the story to be, but for example the whole opening scene was improvised. We told James the idea of the scene and he just ran with it, and it turned out to be hilarious in an awesome way. He did an amazing job.”

Finally, Sheasgreen was asked why Lionsault chose “Light It Up” as the next song to get the video treatment and he stated: “At the time, we had been getting a lot of positive feedback on “Light It Up” specifically and on top of that it is certainly a song on are you feeling lucky? that has a bit more mainstream appeal than the others. Then, once the idea for an office workplace music video surfaced, we felt like we needed to use one of our more upbeat songs that would fit the mood. Naturally, “Light It Up” was the perfect choice.” - Sleaze Roxx