Living Things

Ahead of the Lions offers a fresh, socially conscious slant to fist-pumping music. The Living Things blend beer-swilling rock with Dead Boys attitude, combing snarling vocals with lyrics that rant about the failings of religion and youth used as cannon fodder. The album temporarily runs out of gas mid way through on a couple of songs where slick ballads tip too close to Def Leppard territory for this reviewer’s liking. From these detours, the group rights themselves and returns to more furious form. With only a few missteps, Ahead of the Lions is a solid disc of boisterous rock’n’roll.