"Zwishenwelt" (World Between) is an existential tale of a human soul caught between the polar political extremes (right and left) and changing society which is both depressing and hopeful, as it really can be. It is short and to the point but has a slightly progressive edge, especially in the first notes of some tracks (Wahrheit – Truth). Most of the typical hardcore melodicism recalls Trivium (or, perhaps, Trivium liberally borrows from hardcore melodicism) or Unearth while the succinct tight songwriting echoes the likes of Earth Crisis or Sick Of It All, so there are few surprises, mainly genre crossing.

In "Transzendenz" (Transcendence), a favorite, Townsend Löwen Unter Feinden (Thousand Lions Under Foes, TLUF) steps slightly into the death metal territory with a breakdown recalling Fear Factory’s "Concreto", while "Kraft" (Power) has thrash metal riffs akin to Anthrax’s "Stomp 442". The gang vocals and some of the powerful riffs remind me of early Biohazard (title track) and even Christian metalcorers War Of Ages (Geister – Ghost). in "Freunde" (Friends), TLUF is like Trivium the most, with the melody strongly reminiscent of "Drawn And Quartered", and most like Unearth in "Rattenkönig" (Ratking) while also echoeing their fellow countrymen metalcorers Heaven Shall Burn. The Germans have that same wonderful sense of melody but, sadly, too, the same inconsistency of songwriting, both traits also reminiscent of another influence, Killswitch Engage, as "Rattenkönig" is borderline melodeath.

As for the flaws, they have been already hinted at: the quality of songwriting, which is wildly inconsistent. I get the impression as if TLUF didn’t even care about that aspect, desiring more to tell the story and exorcise all the inner demons than to write cogent, consistent quality songs. Fortunately, it does not extend to either the production or execution which are both excellent.

Tausend Löwen Unter Feinden is a skilled average hardcore band with a strong metallic edge but "Zwishenwelt" is hardly a groundbreaking release and I don’t foresee myself returning to it anytime soon.

https://www.tluf.de/