Lazy is a French metal band from Paris.
The members are:
Sebastien: vocals
Olivier: drums
Aurelien: bass
Julien: guitar
Lazy is quite a bit different than alot of American bands out there. Unlike those bands, there aren't alot of hardcore influences to be found. More so, the band draws influences from grunge/rock acts from the '90's, such as Soundgarden, Alice in Chains and Korn. Next to that, there's also a heavy rock 'n' roll vibe to this record. Most of the riffing is very catchy and invites you to nod your head along.
So, why is this in the metal section then? There are multiple reasons for that
First off, vocalist Sebastien employs extreme vocal stylings with raw growling and screaming. His voice is very extreme. It really sounds like he's screaming his lungs out at times. The screaming, however, is not to be mistaken for the kind you'll find in Death Metal/Black Metal. It's one of the bands few treats that seems rooted in hardcore stylings(think Cedric Bixler-Zavala during his time at At The Drive-In or Dennis Lyxzen's style from his days in Refused.), although Sebastien really has his own very distinctive voice. Apart from screaming he also has a wide range of more melodic raw singing, which reminded me of Jonathan Davis at one point and of Chris Cornell at another.
Next to that, the riffing laid down by Julien and Aurelien can get very heavy at times. songs like "irresonsible Riot Act" and "Koma White" have a very slow, sluggish, heavy style to them usually featuring slow, sluggish rythms, drifting away from the rolling guitar and drum work found on the title track and songs like Target Me and Botch. Dont expect the songs to be full of solo's. While there is a solo here and there the band also does both hard and soft breakdowns.
Apart from the rythm work, which consists largely of down-tuned power chord riffing, Julien also adds in alot of tasty leads over his riffs and a solo here and there.(he seems to be fond of his wah pedal quite a bit.) And yes, he's got his chops down. (check out the ripping solo on "Gist Of Tomorrow") All of these things combined, it keeps the band from getting boring fast or falling into repetition, not one song sounds quite the same, yet they're consistent enough to be recognizable as "Lazy", which, indeed is a very good aspect of this band.
The downsides? Well, while Sebastien has a distinct voice, it's defintely not for everyone. Next to that, despite the variation, I couldn't help but find it a long listen one time through, but I should note I have that quite a bit with alot of records. Seperately, there isn't a notable weak track on it though.
4/4
Overall, Lazy offers something a little different than the new wave of american heavy metal. Next to that, thanks to Sebastien and different influenes on their music, they really have a recognizable sound that is their own.
