Lizzard: Eroded

Lizzard are a French power trio that play an interesting blend of note dense prog and rhythmically challenging modern rock. Their newest album, Eroded, is an interesting and diverse record, but also not without it's flaws.

The first thing that jumps out to the listener is that these three are seriously talented and can play their asses off. The first half of the album is packed with great riffs and flashes of guitar and bass pyrotechnics that are understated but are the secret sauce that allow some of the songs such as "Blowdown" and "Flood" to shine. The drums are nice and punchy, and are simultaneously groovy and complex enough to keep things interesting. There's certainly a lot to appreciate from a technical standpoint, which is a great asset for the band.

After the opening track, which is more or less a moody intro with clean reverb soaked guitars and ethereal feedback, the band quickly gets to work with the riffy, heavy, and driving "Blowdown". It's an easy album highlight, as is the next track, "Haywire". Both are filled with nifty note choices, kick ass riffing, and while singer and guitarist Mathieu Ricou's voice is clean, he adds enough grit and emotion in parts to spice things up when things get more intense.

"Flood" is another highlight. Probably the closest the band comes to just letting it all hang out and embracing full on prog in a way that most listeners will be familiar with. The back half of the song features a particularly cool flurry of math rock riffage that I honestly wish they dished out more frequently over the course of the album.

Ironically, after the song "Decline" the album goes into a bit of a slow, moody, slog. The band wakes up just in time to start rocking again on the final track "Avalanche", but by then most of the energy has been sucked out of the whole experience, which is a shame because the album starts off very strong and stays engaging up until then.

There's a lot to like here, though. Eroded's first half or so is a fun, and surprisingly complex rock romp that will keep you coming back even if you'll end up wishing they kept their foot on the gas for the whole album.

Track Listing:
1. Corrosive
2. Blowdown
3. Haywire
4. Flood
5. Hunted
6. The Decline
7. Eroded
8. Usque Ad Terram
9. Blue Moon
10. Inertia
11. Avalanche

Added: January 24th 2021
Reviewer: Brandon Miles
Score:
Related Link: Band Website
Hits: 991
Language: english

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