Reviews : Albums : Lyzanxia, "Unsu"

The fourth album from the French group Lyzanxia also marks their first on Listenable Records. Interesting signing for them, considering their standard for brutality, which is something Lyzanxia have never been. Throughout their career, they have rather espoused a rather digestible form of modernized melodic death, which they further explore on the most recent album ‘UNSU’.

At this point, the scales of opinion have yet to be tipped either way. On one hand, melodic death is a saturated genre, but on the other hand there are a number of bands still playing it very well. Lyzanxia have not made much of an impression yet, but neither have they damned themselves.

Yet, on the next few tracks they do indeed damn themselves, and irrevocably so. ‘UNSU’ is catchy, easy to listen to, and at times the vehicle for some quality guitar work from the brothers Potvin, but none of these factors can save ‘UNSU’ from the fact that this album has been made before. This term is not used in the casual sense, that being a general comment on an album’s unoriginal method—in this instance, ‘made before’ can be interpreted quite literally.

Replace ‘UNSU’ with the album ‘Force the Pace’, play them side by side and the similarities will be impossible to ignore. ‘Bled Out’ from ‘UNSU’, for example, with its staccato drum/guitar hit and rippling synth effect intro is the simplified version of the track ‘Gears’ from ‘Force the Pace’. The first verse in each song even starts within three seconds of each other. Though ‘Bled Out’ and ‘Gears’ are the only undeniable parallels as yet unearthed, the rest of ‘UNSU’ is much the same.

The major problem with this parallel songwriting, other than ambiguity, is that Lyzanxia did not record ‘Force the Pace’. A lesser known, longer-standing band from Denmark called Withering Surface did.

To clarify, this is not an accusation of plagiarism. It is simply an observation. Metal is a vastly prolific genre, and in the oft-tread field of melodic death metal it has become increasingly difficult to craft a unique concept, and ‘UNSU’, unwittingly, most likely, have taken a path already explored.

Were ‘UNSU’ and ‘Force the Pace’ of equal value, it would be easier to disregard the similarities and simply enjoy the quality of each. This is not the case, though—‘UNSU’ is not only a step (or two) below ‘Force the Pace’, it is a step below what Lyzanxia themselves are capable of. Prior works of theirs, while not overpowering, were respectable entries into the ‘melodeath’ field, but ‘UNSU’ is truly dubious territory. Lyzanxia have diluted the death metal foundation that once existed and are now comprised more heavily than ever on simple start/stop riffs and one-two drum cadences, making groups like Adema more accurate comparisons than the Centinex or Callenish Circle one would aspire to.

Occasionally a solo will break out of this tepid mold, and there are some passages that evoke emotions other than boredom and impatience. Unfortunately, there are a great deal more simple mosh riffs and weak vocal lines (both clean and growled, the former is used too often and the latter have lost their power) than there are stirring solos.

In fact, it reaches the point where ‘UNSU’ is hardly classifiable as melodic death metal and might be better off in the MTV metal market, where this sort of rock riffing has been very successful. If they wish to maintain their credibility, Lyzanxia would do well to seriously reevaluate their direction and goals within the metal context. As of now few metal fans worth their salt will take this album or the band themselves very seriously at all.

Rahn