Hear Lies
EP: In War, Grief, Hope & Peace
Release: 27th April 2020

In War, Grief, Hope & Peace is the second EP from Brighton based Alt Rockers Hear Lies. Four tracks, each one of them is written with a lot of thought and passion, each track is telling their own story, as explained by the lead vocalist Orion Powell.

The EP kicks off with a rising synth paired with ghostly chimes before the drums jump in to throw you into a state of tension. The drums make you feel like you’re watching a movie where someone’s running through a forest trying to escape a captor, tense, but you’re hooked, eager to see the outcome.

‘Ministry’ is the track 1, and it’s been described as being like “a Dark Musical” and I can see the comparison. The song keeps building, giving you teases of an explosion before the operatic like chorus rips through, powerful vocals mixed with choir-like backing vocals. I can imagine live, the stage would be full of smoke and lights adding to the mystique feel. It’s easy to see why this was the first single release from the EP, it’s the perfect blend of suspense and mystery with breakdowns that give you some rest bite to allow you to enjoy the fantastically powerful choruses. The final breakdown leads you into a superb final chorus, like the culmination of any story, the mix of more chorus vocals and the lead vocalist Ori’s powerful vocal line driving you until the end.

The second track ‘You Can’t Separate Peace from Freedom’ takes a jump from the cinematic like ‘Ministry’ to a real Alt Rock banger. This song is a lot more upbeat with the punchy guitar and drums putting a real jump in your step. I get an Alterbridge feel from the pre-chorus with the fast repetitive notes before throwing you into the chorus with more Hear Lies signature power-vocals. I love the different elements to this song whilst it may be a simpler song to the track 1, little spots like the pre-chorus revving you up for the chorus and the beautiful half time post-chorus give it that progressive feature to make it really stand out.

‘Where You Are’ brings the pace back down a bit, starting with soft atmospheric guitar, while the drums keep things moving along. Suddenly that bass line kicks in, taking the song to another level. You find yourself uncontrollably nodding your head along to the track. While the lyrics feel like you’re talking about lost love, everything brought together makes it feel like you’re not letting that hold you back that you’re stronger because of it. While Ori has explained this song is “our tribute to those we have lost.” It feels more like a celebration of life and the times shared rather than an ode to sadness.

Whilst possibly the most standard “rock song”, ‘The Child Inside’ is possibly my favourite song from this EP. Ori references a Philip Larkin poem that “bluntly talks about the impact our parents have when we’re children – More precisely, how they mess us up” as a direction for the lyrics, and the feeling I get is that you’ve grown and you’ve triumphed in spite of what you may have experienced. It’s a real heartwarming song, it’s powerful, it’s moving, and it tells you to give ‘three cheers for the child inside”, to “stand tall” and “wear your heart with pride”, a real message of hope to anyone listening that may be able to relate.

From start to finish, this EP is a musical masterpiece, every song is powerful, gripping, moving and exciting. It’s Alt Rock meets Prog Metal, and it’s fantastic. Three Cheers for the child inside and three cheers for Hear Lies.

–  Chris Brain

You can also read our reviews and interview previously published. Click below!
* Hear Lies “Wide Awake” video premiere/interview
* Hear Lies “Ministry” single review

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