LIGHTNING STRIKES
The King Is Victorious
Pure Legend Records

They were once touted as the first lean, mean Armenian heavy metal machine who predated SYSTEM OF A DOWN by a decade when they first formed in Los Angeles in 1985. Their name conjured up images of fast and furious forces of nature – so much so that their first single also shared the same title as their band name.

And then they suddenly disappeared without a trace for about 30 years.

And they were known as LIGHTNING STRIKES.

Was it the ultimate sin in naively trusting the music industry too well that left this fledgling band between a rock and a hard place? Perhaps, seeing as we’ve all heard that song before in many versions. Yet, the fact that they’d made a comeback in 2016 with their debut self-titled album to some overall positive reviews did bode some hope that LIGHTNING STRIKES had captured lightning in a bottle once more and were ready to build upon their small yet growing momentum enough to at least lift them up from underground cult status.

That is, until they suddenly disappeared without a trace again for a further 10 years.

That said, beyond their talent in performing frequent decades-long vanishing acts that would impress David Copperfield, LIGHTNING STRIKES also boast much sonic-sounding skills and well-crafted musicianship. Co-founded by drummer/producer Karpis Maksudian, the band had also featured guitarist Rob Math (currently in LEATHERWOLF), bassist Cat Tate and keyboardist Brook Hansen in their original lineup. Somehow, their self-titled 7-inch single featuring their namesake and a second song titled “Lottery Ticket”, despite its near anonymity, generated enough interest outside of the US to attract some overseas talent on their first album in the form of Brazilian-born vocalist Nando Fernandes (BROTHER AGAINST BROTHER, SINISTRA), who was also the only non-original LS member to be featured on the album. That album had everything going for it – most of the band’s original lineup, a fresh dynamic voice at the helm and a solid cover of a classic DEEP PURPLE cut. Even their two 7-inch singles were remastered and redone with Nando’s vocals to near perfection to create the perfect storm for LS’ then-imminent comeback.

Now, with their sophomore release The King Is Victorious, won’t you listen? Because the boys and the Dukes in LIGHTNING STRIKES are at it again and they’re ready to rumble with an entirely new lineup. And it’s quite the lineup featuring bassist Barry Sparks (ex-UFO, DOKKEN, YNGWIE MALMSTEEN, TED NUGENT), keyboardist Derek Sherinian (BLACK COUNTRY COMMUNION, SONS OF APOLLO), neo-classical Japanese guitarist Norifumi Shima (ex-DOUBLE DEALER) and rising Argentinian vocalist Mariano Gardello. The title track alone even hosts an even more eye-catching guest lineup of former DIO cohorts Rowan Robertson and Craig Goldy playing alongside the Moscow Symphony Orchestra among other established musicians, so probably no surprise that it’s one of the album’s more stronger tracks at 9 and a half minutes – mostly because of Rowan and Craig’s neat dueling solos on much of the song, which sure does its best in replicating “Stars” by HEAR ‘N AID. Also, pretty sure that I heard some sweet-sounding dueling bagpipes in the keyboard solo, so unless either the CORRS or Ally The Piper are going uncredited on this song, Derek’s rockin’ some mad notes on the ivories that would impress both Robert The Bruce and Morris Day. Further ear-grasping numbers on this album would include the galloping tones of “Voices In My Head”, featuring some of Derek’s most challenging-sounding time changes and some of Mariano’s most identifiable-sounding vocals which are on par with those of James LaBrie’s, “Clash Of Battalions” featuring some efficient-sounding riffs, and “Aim And Shoot” which displays some of Norifumi’s darkest-sounding riffs and some fine thick rhythm section work.

As for the more second-place achievements of The King Is Victorious…unfortunately, there’s more than a few. The first five songs probably could’ve used a dramatic fade-out or two to really draw the listener in some more instead of the prevalently routine sudden stop delivery; it’s the musical equivalent of test-driving a rental car just to see if the airbag will immediately deploy if you brake abruptly. Second, quite a lot of the guitar solos appeared to be almost unnecessarily long in parts throughout the album. The title track just barely gets a pass because there’s three top-notch guitarists playing on the number, but on the opening number “Fear Of Unknown” alone, it’s just Norifumi shouldering a quarter of the studio air time with some otherwise impressive riffing and noodling; by the nearly 2-minute mark, even he sounds like he’s waiting for the cue for the vocals to resume. And, finally – and obviously – there’s that unavoidable elephant in the King’s chambers known as that decade-long gap in between LIGHTNING STRIKES’ extremely scarce studio discography. For a band with a lot of ambition and drive that most other bands from the Sunset Strip’s halcyon years would have happily sold both their families and their organs for even a nanosecond of Penelope Spheeris sticking a mic and a camera in their general direction back in 1988, LIGHTNING STRIKES’ studio album catalogue ranks slightly above the SEX PISTOLS and slightly below RAGE AGAINST THE MACHINE. I’d even compare their situation to that of, say, INFRARED, in that both bands were on the cusp of rock stardom before suddenly fading away for years on end because of outlining priorities. By comparison, INFRARED are already three studio albums into their own rejuvenated career and being from my hometown, they didn’t have a lifeline to collaborating with European orchestras and two of DIO’s top-end guitarists like LIGHTNING STRIKES have. As stellar of a lineup that this new version of LIGHTNING STRIKES can boast on Victorious, the band’s real comeback victory appears to have taken place a decade earlier with most of the original lineup on their self-titled album. A shame too, given the otherwise electrified and sonically charged performances in full view here.

2.5 Out Of 5.0

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