Reggae rockers grow up

Bands at a crossroads between mediocrity and greatness tend to blossom when they’re able to share a stage with legends.

It would seem that this is what happened to reggae rockers Lionize after a couple of stints opening for fellow Maryland natives Clutch.

The band’s live show had always been its main selling point, but the songwriting has finally caught up with those performances. Unlike its earlier material that seemed to know it wanted rock elements and reggae elements but didn’t know how to marry them, the songs on “Destruction Manual” are bona fide fusion anthems.

“Dumb and Dangerous” and “D.C. Is Tropical” ride simple, catchy choruses to pay dirt, while “Killers and Crooks” sees the band at its spacey best.

What’s most striking about the new Lionize LP is how much it can sound like latter-day Clutch with a healthy appreciation for reggae instead of that band’s fling with the blues.

For many acts, that would make “Destruction Manual” sound plagiaristic, but Lionize has a strong enough identity that no such accusations would be fair.