Lyzanxia - Unsu

I really liked Lyzanxia’s Mindcrimes and they've come out strong again on Unsu. There’s something about French bands, I can only name two off the top of my head, but damn if they aren’t all really good.

When people talk about Lyzanxia, they talk about riffs. “Surely, Lyzanxia has the finest riffs in all of thrash metal,” says Blood Helmet Magazine. Ridiculous, but not so far off the truth. Melodically, this is band near the top in the thrash world. The guitar duo of David Potvin and his brother Franck is so refined. And their brand new rhythm duo of bassist Vincent Perdicaro and drummer Clement Decrock is locked tight like a welldigger’s a******. What really separates this band is the melody and songwriting, though—it’s a cut above most. And producer Fredrik Nordström again gets them a big sound.

The change I really notice on this album is a heavier sound, particularly with the vocals [Editor’s Note: Both brothers sing—cool.], which never enter a clean, melodic tone as they did on sometimes on Mindcrimes. The music on Unsu is more relentless, as if Lyzanxia had attended the Devin Townsend Institute of Metal. Rawer vocals and a sound that sometimes borders on Futurist. And yes, you still get those great riffs and choruses.

There’s really not a bad track on here. The album starts strong and then with track three, “Ache Power Control,” it becomes amazing. Listen to some of the wild screams on “Early Phases,” the emotional fadeout on “Strength Core,” the trading of solos between a lute and an electric guitar on the title track, the tape-melting ending of “X-Modification,” or the technical grooves of “Defensive Heart.” It’s all good.

For fans of melodic thrash, this is an absolute must. It might be too clean and structured for those who like their metal dirty and raw, but they’ll be missing out. I had been vividly anticipating both this and Into Eternity’s new album, and I think Unsu is better.