The Summary Judgment Reviews:
Title: Eden
Artist: Lyzanxia
Label: Trepan Records/Wargram Music
Release Date: 2000; 2/4/02 (US)

Rating: 4 Skulls
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    • Reviewed by Equinox (5/22/02):
    France's Lyzanxia have been perfecting their style overseas for several years now, and their 2000 release Eden has now reached American shores. Lyzanxia's sound lies somewhere between melodic technical thrash and traditional heavy metal, and Eden incorporates the better elements of each genre to produce an original and entertaining album. "Dream Feeder" one of the faster, thrashier songs, starts things off right, with some tight, Dark Tranquillity/Soilwork riffery and aggressive vocals reminiscent of a late-eighties Chuck Billy. Fluid harmonized soloing and crunchy guitar passages finish the opener off with a flash, then "Addicted" comes along, sounding a bit like Vulgar-era Pantera at times, with good, hard driving double bass throughout and layer upon layer of strong, heavy riffs.

    After a pretty acoustic guitar intro, "Lost" flows into a tasty riff mix, enhanced by a lush backdrop of dreamy female vocals. This tune gets progressively heavier, with a good blend of well-placed growled and sung vox, including a soaring, regal chorus. A sweet little bit of stop/start chugging and a nice segue back into the dainty acoustic intro and the song is closed out.

    On the mid-paced, more "heartfelt" tracks ("Medicine Slave", "Eden" and the hard rocking "Bewitched"), the clean lead vocals are eerily similar to Jon Bon Jovi, but somehow this sound is fitting. Though the Bon Jovi vocals are more noticeable in these tracks, they do also contain some growled vocals, which don't sound like Mr. Bon Jovi at all. Either way, these tracks are quite good too, sounding like a slightly more laid-back Dark Tranquillity. Speaking of DT, "Labyrinth" returns to the upbeat, melodic metal sound of the first two tracks, with mostly growled vocals, good guitar harmonies, and a nice Obituary-esque chug riff at the end, which fades out into a lone acoustic guitar playing the same riff. Very cool. "Terrible Old Man" has some groovy opening riffs, and sounds a bit like Arch Enemy at times, with more beautiful female vocals, and "Positronic" is more toward the power metal end of the spectrum, evoking images of bands like Hammerfall and Gamma Ray.

    It seems like this band has drawn influences from throughout the metal kingdom, and it has come together smoothly in the form of Eden. All in all, this is a very diverse album with some interesting songwriting ideas and a tight, professional overall sound. Lyzanxia are definitely a band to watch, especially with their new US distribution. Check it out.
    4 out of 5

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