Review by Adam M on March 31, 2020.

Only Sons perform a take on Southern metal that is welcoming and accessible.  It recalls a mixture of Orange Goblin and Corrosion of Conformity and this mixing of sounds makes for a compelling album.  There is a definite blueprint for the songs and they follow a pretty standard path even though there is some deviation as can be seen from the track 'Bonfire' which adds a nice little bit of variety to the overall sound.  The style of the band is very groovy and has that nice Southern flavor to it that gives it a distinctive sound. 

The music is atmospheric enough, but it could be even more so and this is one of the biggest flaws with the release.  It is somewhat generic sounding despite having solid song-writing and musical performances.  The band gets through this with their penchant for having fun with the music and letting this enjoyment pour through every portion of the album.  The flow of the work is consistent and allows for catchy repetition in the songs, which become ingrained in your memory.  The last song 'Cabin in the Woods' ends things on a positive note and brings the whole experience together.  This is still a fairly standard sounding Southern release and it doesn’t do anything particularly innovative, even though it sounds perfectly fine. It is a solid album that is very well put together and presented nicely, but it stays within the confines of this presentation.  The groove of the tracks makes for a very fun time and the album has a certain addictive factor that is hard to deny. 

Fans of Orange Goblin will probably like this album because it has the same sort of swagger.  As a Southern release with heavy stoner influences, Lions and Unicorns gets a fairly hearty recommendation for those types of fans. 

Rating: 7.1 out of 10

Review by Adam M on March 31, 2020.

Only Sons perform a take on Southern metal that is welcoming and accessible.  It recalls a mixture of Orange Goblin and Corrosion of Conformity and this mixing of sounds makes for a compelling album.  There is a definite blueprint for the songs and they follow a pretty standard path even though there is some deviation as can be seen from the track 'Bonfire' which adds a nice little bit of variety to the overall sound.  The style of the band is very groovy and has that nice Southern flavor to it that gives it a distinctive sound. 

The music is atmospheric enough, but it could be even more so and this is one of the biggest flaws with the release.  It is somewhat generic sounding despite having solid song-writing and musical performances.  The band gets through this with their penchant for having fun with the music and letting this enjoyment pour through every portion of the album.  The flow of the work is consistent and allows for catchy repetition in the songs, which become ingrained in your memory.  The last song 'Cabin in the Woods' ends things on a positive note and brings the whole experience together.  This is still a fairly standard sounding Southern release and it doesn’t do anything particularly innovative, even though it sounds perfectly fine. It is a solid album that is very well put together and presented nicely, but it stays within the confines of this presentation.  The groove of the tracks makes for a very fun time and the album has a certain addictive factor that is hard to deny. 

Fans of Orange Goblin will probably like this album because it has the same sort of swagger.  As a Southern release with heavy stoner influences, Lions and Unicorns gets a fairly hearty recommendation for those types of fans. 

Rating: 7.1 out of 10

Review by Felix on February 14, 2020.

Greetings and best wishes to Thrashingfist Productions, because last year they gave the world 500 copies of this CD that bundles all four EPs / demos of the Australian semi-legend Armoured Angel from 1989 - 1994. Of course, 500 is a ridiculous number in view of the quality of the trio’s music, but it is better than none and it keeps the cult alive. Even the 'only vinyl is real' party will probably enjoy the fact that one can listen to 18 songs without interruption.

The CD has this magic element that makes the entire album more than the sum of its parts. Naturally, certain inconsistencies show up, because the typical album concept is missing. For example, “Ordained in Darkness” is a prototypical closer (it was the last track of the EP Stygmartyr), but here it is placed on the fourth position. Nevertheless, these details may slightly hurt the flow of the material, but the sound of all single releases is pretty comparable (full, dense, almost apocalyptic, droning solos, only the songs of Wings of Death sound a little bit less heavy) and this fact lends the compilation a surprisingly high degree of homogeneity.

Thrashingfist Production did not prefer a chronological order of the EPs / demos and so Wings of Death, whose material is slightly weaker than the remaining tracks, does not open the release. This was a good decision, because a compilation needs, like any other release, an icebreaker right at the beginning. The four songs of the (original) Stygmartyr kick off the album, the only EP with six songs is following (Mysterium), Communion closes the album after Wings of Death. All tracks deliver mostly mid-paced, heavyweight thrash with a sinister atmosphere. Some dudes say they identify death metal elements as well, but from my point of view, these nuances can be neglected. The riffs, the vocals, the guitar sound and the entire aesthetics of the music make me speak of (black) thrash metal, even though high velocity is mainly missing.

The output from 2019 fails to deliver an information overload, to express it mildly. The thin booklet does not hold a detailed history of the band or something like that, but it shows the original artworks, some tour posters or the original tape design. To put it positively, the booklet does not take away the mysterious touch of the compositions. The music speaks for itself and each and every listener can enrich it with her or his own thoughts.

Highlights? Too many to mention, but “Stygmartyr”, “Myth of Creation”, “Enigmatize”, “Castration”, “Communion” and even the outros/full-songs bastards “Ordained in Darkness” (with a few lines of text) and the instrumental “Elegy” are definitely wonderful examples of metallic strength, robustness and power. (More details to the music are in the reviews of the original releases, so I will be brief here.) The riffs of steel, extended version, provide 18 monolithic grindstones and mark a fantastic feast of controlled, malignant brutality. I recommend looking out for a copy of the limited edition. 499 is the maximum number of copies which are still available.

Rating: 9 out of 10

Review by Felix on February 14, 2020.

Greetings and best wishes to Thrashingfist Productions, because last year they gave the world 500 copies of this CD that bundles all four EPs / demos of the Australian semi-legend Armoured Angel from 1989 - 1994. Of course, 500 is a ridiculous number in view of the quality of the trio’s music, but it is better than none and it keeps the cult alive. Even the 'only vinyl is real' party will probably enjoy the fact that one can listen to 18 songs without interruption.

The CD has this magic element that makes the entire album more than the sum of its parts. Naturally, certain inconsistencies show up, because the typical album concept is missing. For example, “Ordained in Darkness” is a prototypical closer (it was the last track of the EP Stygmartyr), but here it is placed on the fourth position. Nevertheless, these details may slightly hurt the flow of the material, but the sound of all single releases is pretty comparable (full, dense, almost apocalyptic, droning solos, only the songs of Wings of Death sound a little bit less heavy) and this fact lends the compilation a surprisingly high degree of homogeneity.

Thrashingfist Production did not prefer a chronological order of the EPs / demos and so Wings of Death, whose material is slightly weaker than the remaining tracks, does not open the release. This was a good decision, because a compilation needs, like any other release, an icebreaker right at the beginning. The four songs of the (original) Stygmartyr kick off the album, the only EP with six songs is following (Mysterium), Communion closes the album after Wings of Death. All tracks deliver mostly mid-paced, heavyweight thrash with a sinister atmosphere. Some dudes say they identify death metal elements as well, but from my point of view, these nuances can be neglected. The riffs, the vocals, the guitar sound and the entire aesthetics of the music make me speak of (black) thrash metal, even though high velocity is mainly missing.

The output from 2019 fails to deliver an information overload, to express it mildly. The thin booklet does not hold a detailed history of the band or something like that, but it shows the original artworks, some tour posters or the original tape design. To put it positively, the booklet does not take away the mysterious touch of the compositions. The music speaks for itself and each and every listener can enrich it with her or his own thoughts.

Highlights? Too many to mention, but “Stygmartyr”, “Myth of Creation”, “Enigmatize”, “Castration”, “Communion” and even the outros/full-songs bastards “Ordained in Darkness” (with a few lines of text) and the instrumental “Elegy” are definitely wonderful examples of metallic strength, robustness and power. (More details to the music are in the reviews of the original releases, so I will be brief here.) The riffs of steel, extended version, provide 18 monolithic grindstones and mark a fantastic feast of controlled, malignant brutality. I recommend looking out for a copy of the limited edition. 499 is the maximum number of copies which are still available.

Rating: 9 out of 10