Search - Pride of Lions :: Destiny Stone

The `eye of the tiger' is alive and well

George Dionne | Cape Cod, MA | 01/24/2005

(4 out of 5 stars)

"The Good

The production on "The Courage to Love Somebody" is just phenomenal. Granted it could be mistaken for a long-lost Survivor track, but they just something about the guitar tone and the synthesizers that make it work. The vocals send a strong message of love with their powerful delivery. "Parallel Lines" to easily pass as the soundtrack to an emotionally charged movie climax with its driving rhythms and over-the-top chorus. Peterik's flair for the keyboard takes center stage on "Born to Believe in You". Toby and Jim pull off a great duel vocal melody on the chorus. What kind of fool relies a lot on the keyboard as well, but this time around it's for power ballad. There's a very 1980s-esque solo that goes along with it.



Pride of Lions seem to excel in the ballad department, which is evident on "Light from a Distant Shore". Little guitar licks here and there add depth to the song. "Letter to the Future" walks a fine line between melodic rock and an Andrew Lloyd Webber production. The song begins slow and understated, but finishes with all pistons firing. A catchy muted riff dominates "Falling Back to Then". On the verses the vocals seem a little darker and deeper, but that makes way for a high-registered melodic assault. I wanted to note that Pride of Lions don't skimp on material. There's no song shorter than four minutes, with most tracks clocking in between five and six minutes.



The Bad

It's not quite clear who's singing what.



The Verdict

The `eye of the tiger' is alive and well, now traveling with a Pride of Lions. The Destiny Stone truly is the best of 80s-era melodic rock with a modern twist. Each song is powerful and sure to bring out every emotion possible. The guitar tone and heavy use of keyboards is what will reel you in. A nice slice of what's missing in American rock today.



"

The Odd Duo Worked Another Wonder!

susumu-5 | Japan | 01/16/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"How can the duo made up by rock veteran Jim Peterik known as great songs by Survivor, 38 Special and a lot more and 25-year-old bud Toby Hitchcock work? It is truly unprecedented combination. Yep similar things are tried in Santana's SUPERNATURAL album when the rock legend Carlos Santana made great combination with Rob Thomas young talented rocker of Matchbox Twenty. With Pride of Lions debut two years ago and

this one just released, Jim Peterik competes fairly well with talented new singer Toby Hitchcock having strong vocal the rock world has been waiting for. Before Survivor Jim did sing during Ides of March and latter-day Chase. But after finding great singer Dave Vickler he was content with background role concentrating on songwriting. For most of Survivor and 80's rock fans Jim Peterik taking co-lead vocalist role is quite fresh somewhat like meeting a new singer. Not only uncovering his great talent as vocalist but his songwriting shown in this album is better than ever. All the track included are well-written and well-hooked. Among the great songs I would pick LIGHT FROM DISTANT SHORE, BORN TO BELIEVE IN YOU, and MAN BEHIND THE MASK as my top favorites.



Must-have album if you are a rock connoisseur."

A super CD that takes a few listens

andykay888 | Melbourne Australia | 06/14/2006

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Initially I was disappointed by this second effort from Pride of Lions. However, after several listens the cd grew on me. Whilst there are no unbelievable power ballads like their first CD, Light from a distant shore is excellent. As for the rest of the material on this CD, I would say that if you are a fan of Journey, Toto,or Styx, you really should add this Cd to your collection. Singer Toby Hitchcock has an unbelievable range and could easily be mistaken for both Dennis De Young or Tommy Shaw. (hard to believe but true)

The courage to love somebody and Parallel Lines are awseome. Born to believe in you is an excellent rocker, while Man behind the mask sounds like Dennis de young and the song is eerily familiar - Mr. Roboto. Second hand life and falling back to then make the album complete.

The filler tracks Back to Camelot and Gift of song are listenable but not unforgettable - mind you the lead singer in Gift of song shows off his range here and listen out for an Alan Parsons like bridge in the middle of the song.

All in all a worthy CD in any collection"