France is not normally known as a haven for extreme metal bands, but here comes Lyzanxia with their new album (and first for Listenable Records) UNSU. Combining elements of thrash, melodic death metal, and metalcore, Lyzanxia have put together a solid collection of twelve songs here on UNSU. Vocals are handled by guitarists David and Franck Potvin, and it's a pretty varied attack, including metalcore screams, gruesome, almost Cryptopsy-ish growls, and some clean melodic passages as well. The two players also can whip up some driving and crunchy riffs as well, like on the catchy anthem "Ache Power Control", a song that also features some bubbling electronics and the pummeling drum work of Clement Decrock. Produced by Fredrik Nordstrom, who has done wonders with bands like In Flames, At the Gates, The Haunted, Opeth, Dark Tranquility, Soilwork, Dimmu Borgir, among many others, UNSU has a very strong European flavor for those who are familiar with the sound that he gets out of the bands he produces. The band's penchant for writing catchy melodies, most of which are housed within bone crunching metal arrangements, forces most of these songs to stick in your head after a few repeated listens. Musically, there's a slight technical edge to some of the riffs, but this is by no means a chop fest, as the band sees the importance of groove, melody, and atmosphere, instead of showboating. In addition, the deft touch of keyboards on some of the songs adds a nice touch as well- "Strength Core" especially has a nice balance of brutal riffs, keys, melodic & harsh vocals.
UNSU, upon the initial spin, had a sort of "been there, done that" feel to it, but after the second and third time through many nuances started to rear their heads. The balance of clean and harsh vocals is pretty effective here, and although Lyzanxia are not the first band to do this, it's done well and combined with some pretty cool riffs ("Bled Out" being a great example). Fans of recent Soilwork, or even Scar Symmetry, would be well advised to check this album out.
Track Listing
- Wise Counselor
- Path Blade
- Ache Power Control
- Early Phases
- Strength Core
- Bled Out
- UNSU
- X-Modification
- Tedium
- Answer Fields
- Ascention
- Defensive Heart
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