Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * *

There in the deep heart of England’s countryside town of Cheltenham, a place that holds secrets and listens in to the chatter, gossip and state sponsored espionage, a town surrounded by the thought of the country’s green and pleasant land, is the roar of the unexpected, of the disquiet and arguably unrest against the rule of tyranny dressed in shining suits and old school money; there is bellow calling out in this heart land of conservatism and rigid social structure and one that has I, The Lion as the leader of this surprising, but ultimately welcome, fight back against pre-conceived ideas and demanding social inequality.

Cheltenham may be famous for many things, but as I, The Lion took the  Bank Holiday Sunday afternoon by the scruff of its neck, as the three young men prowled the stage, as drums beat savagely and the guitar took the opportunity to survey its surroundings, by stiffening its resolve and flexing its taut muscles and making sure the territory for the band was explored fully, this was indeed a performance, a sound that howled out into the Smithdown Road area with passion and which echoed long and hard against the beating of the all consuming sun.

It is always impressive that Liverpool finds such bands to put on in any festival, always content to put even greater feelers out and bring talent to the city, I, The Lion fits with the ethos of the encompassing passion that the Liver Birds on high demand and the memories of the early Cavern gigs expect, innovative, unafraid, challenging, wonderfully posturing, but one done not out of arrogance, but out of pleasure, out of respect and with the skill to back it up. It is a band full of anger, passion, brutal, the roar of the animal they base their name around is deep and perfect, it shudders and you cannot but help admire the sleekness of the sound.

It may have only been a short set inside the Craft Taproom but it was one filled with importance, this surely will not be the last time the band play in Liverpool, and if it is then it is a crime that requires reporting to those who listen in to our phone calls and who have the power to make the country bend to its will. In songs such as Hold Strong, Slaves, Own Way, the fantastic Icarus, Escape and Reset, I, The Lion growled, the music snarled and yet they were as approachable as finding the lion, mane glistening and ruffled by the plain winds, resting upon the stones on high, sated by the pride taken of an introduction to the town that was bold and creative.

A hope that the lion’s roar will again be heard in Liverpool again, a magnificent beast of band that will only get even better.

Ian D. Hall