From their Facebook page, "The concept of being LANNON came during the recording of ICON AND THE BLACK ROSES second album, "Thorns" (2015). In 2009, Johnny Icon was looking for a guitar player to join ICON AND THE BLACK ROSES. Enter Lucien Yorg. With the recording of "Thorns" drawing to a close, Lucien began working on demos for the next album. As these tracks began to take shape, Johnny and Lucien agreed that the sound wasn't right for Icon, and thus LANNON was born. After the release of "Thorns", they turned their full attention to the new works. Their sophomore album here contains ten tracks.

"Heaven's Gate" leads us off. Dark, electronic tones open the song. The vocals are nice and full, and I get a bit of an Alt vibe here, but I like the chord progressions. Guitar is used minimally, which adds to the character of the song. It's structured more like a Pop song, which isn't necessarily a bad thing. "Numb" is a short, three-minute song, high with emotions. "I'm tired of trying to be what you want me to be" settles up the song pretty well. Johnny's vocals are poignant and full of feeling. "We are" is just over 30 seconds. It barely has any time to develop, and it's more of a pause...a filler that connects to "Martyrs," which opens with a heavy electronica. It's got some really strong hooks and the chorus comes through big and full, ending with a long fade-out.

"Twin Souls" is more of a love story. They really know when to turn up the emotions here. A lot of the song is tender and sweet, but when that chorus comes in, it turns your heart inside out. Very charming. "Gold" is another heart-tugging song that really forces you to look internally. Tender and sweet in the verses but full on when the chorus comes in. "Rise and Fall" opens with the beating of a heart, then the tender vocals of Johnny Icon. It has both dark and hopeful tones, but always with plenty of emotions. "Necromancer" is another song that focuses on the emotions it can evoke in the listener, Similar to HIM in that regard, LANNON really knows how to tug on your heart strings. The background piano and keys add a layer of depth here that is sadly missing in much of today's music. The vocal harmonies in the chorus are very well done.

"The Swarm" opens softly, but really kicks in hard as the vocals take a snarly edge in the chorus. If the rhythms here don't hook you, you might want to check your pulse to see if you are still alive. "Right through you" closes the album. It opens with soft, pensive vocals and supporting instrumentation...a "power ballad" if you will. Suddenly a key change kicks it up a notch. It rides the line of hope and despair as well as any song that I have heard.

This isn't normally a "go-to" style of music for me, but it's so packed with emotions that it just draws the listener in to this grey world of existence where all of your feeling as felt at a higher level...including pain, sadness, and happiness. The music is very well crafted, and centers around the outstanding baritone vocals of Johnny Icon. His vocals take the center stage, and the music is mostly there in support of him. This was an emotional roller coaster that I very much enjoyed, and the cover art is fantastic to boot!