Review by Jeger on January 14, 2026.

Hardcore is not for everyone, but it's definitely for me. Three lifetimes worth of transgressions and suffering transpired and endured in 45 years. Not only does that harden a man, but it strengthens him; preparing him for wars to come. And that's why men like myself are here; to make sure that you kids get all your vitamins… Breakdowns like shots of B12 to the dick and all the meat & taters you can handle, son, because Lionheart is back! West Coast love all day and our boys are here sporting their latest LP, "Valley Of Death II", dropped on the 9th via Arising Empire Records. Just getting into this thing and god damn...

Except all new levels of violence, grime, horror and aggression. You're still in for all of the shit that makes Lionheart great, but compounded by a different kind of energy: death, hate and fuck… Just lost my train of thought. It'll happen to you, too, once you experience the breakdown in "Salt The Earth", but let's back it up a bit. Right off the break, you can feel it… A new level of fed up, a new level of fuck you and all new levels of vitriol to accompany such tyrannical Hardcore. The opening track, "Bulletproof", plays out with some Body Count vibes - similar grooves and a very Ice-T-like chorus. A clinic in breakdowns as usual but the major differentiation between "Valley of Death II" and Lionheart's previous LP, is in tonality. I guess whoever engineered this thing just decided to make the nastiest, most threatening sounding record ever. Kublai Khan's Matt Honeycutt gladly offers his contribution with his part in the following track, "Chewing Through The Leash". Fucking godlike vocals. The stuff of nightmares…

We've only got 23 minutes here… All the time you need for a concussion. Certainly all the time I need to throw this little review together. This shit will blow roofs off of venues and bust noses for sure. I once saw a kid get his eye knocked out in a pit. It was hanging down the side of his face and twitching. That's the sort of mayhem that music like this produces. Put the Black Metal sword down! Forget about all the Revocation technical mumbo-jumbo and get brutal! Or creeped out… "No Peace" unfolds to suspense and sheer terror. Demented singing echoes through the vile atmosphere like some kind of Mental Institution serenade.

Listen to it strictly for the breakdowns and you'll be satisfied, but there's a whole lot else to appreciate. This stuff is wicked like Get the Shot, and not your run of the mill tough guy shit. There's an element of cheese but that's to be expected and I quite personally wouldn't have my Hardcore any other way. Not gonna write the next War & Peace here, because it's not that kind of album, not that kind of band and not that kind of genre. Hates Core-infused Metal, loves straight Hardcore. I feel like that's the way it should be. Get your motivation to lift cars and smash through brick walls right here. Welcome to the West Coast…

Rating: 8 out of 10