Return of thePride is the fifth and final studio album featuring original material by White Lion. The album was released in 2008 on March 14, April 9, April 29. This is the first original White Lion studio album since their 1991 albumMane Attraction and is the only studio album with the new-line up which still features original lead singerMike Tramp. The album is also a sequel to the band's 1987 album Pride. Following the release of the compilation albumThe Best of White Lionthe band was mostly known as Tramp's White Lion or White Lion 2 due to legal reasons with former members but is now once again simply known as White Lion.
Return of the Pride received mostly lukewarm reviews from fans and critics alike. Sea of Tranquility criticized the album for deviating from the core White Lion sound commenting the album "has absolutely nothing in common with the real White Lion." Reviewer Murat Batmaz noted that some of the songs were strong as Mike Tramp solo numbers but did not work under the White Lion moniker due to the absence of guitarist Vito Bratta. Sputnik Music gave the album a similar rating. It was defined as being "conventional" and " horrible." The review also argues that the abundance of keyboards is due to the guitarist not being up to the standards of Bratta. While the reviewer praised Tramp's vocals on some of the songs as being "strong" and "clear," they also pointed out that songs like "Take Me Home" were like a "third-rate" version of "When the Children Cry." Melodic Rock was more positive about the release, awarding it a 91 out of 100. The reviewer likened the songs to older White Lion albums such as Pride and Mane Attraction and considered them an "extension of ." Rock Eyez gave the album three stars and remarked: "this record is somewhat of a mixed bag to me with some truly good songs and a few misses along the way. Come to think of it, if you look back at the last couple WHITE LION releases before this you sort of got the same thing, so this maybe is closer to the old WHITE LION than I originally thought." The Metal Forge praised the epic song "Sangre De Cristo" comparing it to White Lion's "Lights & Thunder" but also pointed out that he couldn't "help but feel a little misled, cheated and disappointed" with the album in general. Greg Prato of All Music heaped praise on guitarist Jamie Law noting it is "no small task" to fill in Vito Bratta's shoes and described the album opener "Sangre de Cristo" "surprisingly heavy."
