Lykaion “Nothin’ But Death” Album Review
LYKAION
Alessandro Sforza: guitar, vocals
Fabio Valentini: guitar
Alessandro Esposito: bass
Andrea Alberati: drums
review by Shannah Tighe
@Shannuhxo
Lykaion formed in 2003 in Rome, Italy. Their style is influenced by bands such as Sentenced, Poisonblack, Katatonia, Nevermore and can be described as a mix of heavy riffs, introspective melodies and raw vocals. After a couple of demos and ep’s and some line up changes, in 2009 they released the EP “Swallowed By The Sea” and received excellent feedback in most italian magazines and webzines. In 2012 Lykaion have signed a deal with Bakerteam Records for the release of their debut album Nothin’ But Death. The band offers a very personal blend of Heavy Metal, Thrash, Hard Rock and Gothic, very well balanced between powerful sounds and melancholic atmospheres. After having played hundreds of shows all over their native Italy, Lykaion are finally ready to unleash their fury upon the rest of the world. “Nothin’ But Death” was recorded and mixed at 16th Cellar Studios by Stefano “Saul” Morabito (Fleshgod Apocalypse, Adimiron, Hour Of Penance) and mastered at Fascination Street Studios by Jens Borgren (Katatonia, Opeth, Symphony X, Paradise Lost, Amon Amarth). The beautiful cover artwork was handled by Sergio Monfrinotti (Adhiira Art).
Not only is this a foreign band I’ve never heard of, this is their debut album with their current vocalist so I was excited to hear it and find another metal band that I could possibly add to the collection I listen to. You can never have enough metal. This band has gone through quite a few vocalist changes so I was also looking out to hear if he sounded natural with them.
Available June 19, 2012
Tracklist:
Nothing But Death
A cold summer day
Free from all your fears
Empty
The Dance
Fuck you (I love myself)
Passion kills
Sick love
Togheter
Dimenticherai
Lykaion kicks off the album with Nothing But Death. I read up a bit on this band before writing anything since I hadn’t heard of them before. I am definitely digging the Italian accent on the vocalist, Alessandro. He has a hard rock voice mixed with some 80’s metal. But with this song, the chorus is actually catchy. My definition of catchy is when a song can get stuck in your head WHILE listening to the first time through or right after the first time of listening to it. Nothing but Death starts out a bit light and is more hard rock in my opinion. Great guitar melody in the intro but isn’t as metal as you’d think until the vocals and following instruments chime in. It’s a slower song compared to some other songs on the album. The only thing I had an issue with was at first I didn’t know if some of the lyrics were in English or not. But after listening a second and third time, I could hear what he was saying. I’m really digging the lyrics, even though they are a little pessimistic.
A Cold Summer Day starts out a bit a heavier and faster than the last. Which is not an issue with me! Once again, another catchy chorus. Not as catchy as the first in my opinion but I’m diggin’ how epic it sounds and how the drums sound in this song. The multiple guitar solo that leads into the outro in this is really pretty sounding as well. Their title for this song really matches up with the feeling you get throughout the song.
Free From All Your Fears’ guitar intro briefly reminds me more of a few poppunk bands I’ve listened to but I think once the next guitar and vocals kick in, it makes all the different and that much more metal. I enjoy how raw Alessandro’s vocals are and I REALLY like the bass in this song. I’m seeing a pattern within the lyrics. Very emotional and kind of angsty. His voice fits perfectly with that. Love the guitar solo in this one. Not as much as A Cold Summers Day though, but it has a definitely “fuck yeah, metal!” vibe. The only thing I dislike about this song is how quickly it switches into the chorus. Almost sounds like the timing from his words and the instruments are a bit off.
Next is Empty. I LOVE this intro. The guitars sound gorgeous. One of those songs that almost paints a certain scene in your head right off the bat. Slows down a lot just to one guitar and vocals for a good 30 seconds or so then powers back up. I think besides “Nothing But Death”, this would be my favorite off of the album; simply for the guitars. I would love to hear an instrumental of this song. But I definitely can relate to the lyrics. So either or is good for me.
The Dance has fantastic bass kicking off the song (that you can also hear a ton throughout the song, which is awesome IMO. It sounds great) and right into some straight up heavy metal. No way around that. The lyrics are pretty straight-forward but they’re almost corny at some parts. I like how emotionally open this dude is with the lyrics though, instead of just singing about violence like a lot of metal bands think they need to do to be ‘metal’. I also dig how Alessandro gets more into a growl at some parts of this song.
Fuck You (I love myself) has an intro that reminds me more of Nothing but Death’s but this song kicks off more badass than that. This is perfect for anyone who is really damn angry at a recent ex lover. The lyrics kind of hit the nail on the head for me. This is also a catchy song with a great chorus instead of constant guitar solos or screaming. Some of the lyrics are pretty harsh though. This dude must have been mad. Love the guitar solo in this song towards the end. Very upbeat and I was tapping my thumbs to this song the whole time.
Heavy, adrenaline pumping intro on this next one. Passion Kills has pretty much the same vibe for the lyrics as the rest of the songs. I definitely like the tone that the lead guitar is playing in. I feel like this one would be one of the main favorites off of the album amongst listeners. They know how to gracefully transition from face paced to slower parts really well. You almost don’t notice it.
Sick Love doesn’t really stand out on the album amongst the others besides some of the bits of guitar in it. Same kind of lyrics, same kind of transition into the chorus with the same general sound. It’s not badly done, just doesn’t give me that “hell yeah, I’m loving this already” happiness I get when I first listen to a really good song a few times. I do enjoy the overall tone of the song.
Together starts out with almost a minute long instrument only bit. Which I actually liked. It was really well done, sounded solid, especially the lead guitar with that mini solo that was going on. Another song that I enjoy the drumming in. At this point with the lyrics, I’m thinking that a lady really pissed off this guy. But I do enjoy a cohesive story throughout an albums lyrics. So I can appreciate that. This is another song that nicely transitions from fast and heavy to quick slow parts.
Last on this album is Dimenticheral. It starts out with an upbeat intro but slows down really quick into a more dark verse. I think it was a decent song choice for the last song on the album. Although this doesn’t album leave me wanting more. It gives me enough in this album. This one is also one of the more catchy songs on the album. It kind of ended abruptly.
Overall, the lyrics’ emotion and style is a bit repetitive. But the album is well done and they’re a very talented group. I’m not sure if starting off with one of the most-catchiest songs on the album was the smartest choice but it was the main title of the album so I see how it fit. While the story throughout their lyrics is cohesive, so is their sound. Their songs were a perfect length and didn’t drag on. I DO however enjoy how distinct their sound is and the accent on their vocalist and can appreciate the hard work that went into this album. In my opinion, Alessandro does indeed sound natural with this band and sounds as if he’s been there from the start. Let’s hope this is their last vocalist change!
www.reverbnation.com/lykaion1
www.myspace.com/lykaion
www.facebook.com/LykaionMetal
www.youtube.com/lykaionchannel
About the Author
Denise Borders 39, Los Angeles. Denise founded PWV in 2008 and remains the primary manager and photographer/videographer. She is not secretly obsessed with Joey Cape.
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