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2004 is a holy ressurection for the band because of its brand-new lineup. Lycosia give birth to their third album, an extraordinary mix of electronic dreams, deep-grounded metal, tortured post-wave, wild rock’n’roll and tribal vibes from Central Asia. The four wayfaring dandies illustrate glam-goth-deluxe with their own interpretation of Paris by night.
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Man, these press releases make me laugh! The truth is, Lycosia are nothing but a standard goth metal act, with the «electronic dreams» being reduced to a few keyboards here and there, the «wild rock’n’roll» never really showing up and the «tribal vibes from Central Asia» finishing and ending on the lead to
Altai, the solo on
Rise Up and a few vocal melodies on
Scythia. And what the heck is «post-wave»?!
At the end of the day, what we have is a band heavily influenced by early-day Katatonia. Or should I say a
carbon copy of early-day Katatonia? The riffing does nothing to avoid that comparison, with some of the songs sounding like they’ve come straight out of
Brave Murder Day.
The difference lies on the vocals. Unfortunately, since my copy is a promo (don’t ask how I got it… ;) ) I don’t know who the singer is, but he has an absolutely horrible English pronounciation (unsurprising, since the group is from France). On some of the songs, however, there are cleaner parts in perfect English. A second singer, maybe?
The song structures are actually not half-bad. Some of the choruses are pretty attractive and the album does possess some replay value, particularly the first few songs. However, this being Lycosia’s third album, the band should have managed to stave off their influences by now. The sound is still somewhat derivative, and some of the songs are extremely uninteresting (
Elegy being the best example). However, the group keep a few surprises up their sleeve which are extremely pleasant, such as the blastbeats (!) on
Scythia or the Depeche Modian
Travelling Through Our Love. In addition, we are presented with two remixes for songs in the album, the excellent
wet remix for
Travelling Through Our Love and the dire
fat remix for the snore-inducing
Elegy.
All in all, this is a very recommendable goth rock album, especially if you’re into Katatonia.It may not be worth full price, but if you find it at mid-price, do not hesitate.
Here are the tracks:
Rise Up – After a few seconds of electronic effects, the album kicks off on a riff that could have been on
Brave Murder Day. The song structure is very similar to Katatonia, but the singer’s voice is different, and worse, since his English pretty much sucks. However, in the chorus, there are some clear vocals with good pronounciation. Speaking of chorus, it’s one of those you will be singing along to by the second time you hear this song:
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You should rise
Up behind the stars
I look in your eyes
See through your disguise
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There’s also an Arabic-influenced solo that adds a nice touch to a really good song. Recommended.
(5/5)
Velveteen Kiss – A quicker song, with a really heavy riff, but it falters in the chorus department. It’s also shorter than the rest and it doesn’t feature a guitar solo. However, it’s still an attractive song, that once again sounds a lot like Katatonia. It’s not as good as tracks #1, #3 or #4 though.
(3/5)
Cold Summer – One of the best songs on the album, this one introduces some female vocals on the chorus. The influence of Katatonia is not as visible here, and this is a more personalized track. Unfortunately, the singer’s accent is blatant on this one, as he makes the words
«it’s cold summer» sound like
«iz khawld samarr» :D. Still, the second best song on this album and one you should check out.
(5/5)
Travelling Through Our Love – The expression I came across most often while looking up Lycosia on the Internet was «goth dance vibes». Those people were probably referring to this song, which sounds a lot like Depeche Mode. Now I don’t like Depeche Mode, but I do like this song. It features good guitars, nice clean vocals (and with good pronounciation!) and a huge chorus that will stick to your head at once. All in all, this is one of the most different songs on the album, and undoubtedly its best.
(5/5)
Altai – The second most common expression associated with Lycosia, after «goth dance vibes», was «eastern influences». That expression was used mostly in the context of the intro lead for this song, which has large Indian influences. However, the song quickly develops into another rocking goth track, with a good chorus and very pleasant to the ear. That riff pops up from time to time, adding variety and making this another pretty good song
(4/5)
Trade In Your Hate – Apart from gothic metal, this band also shows some pop-rock influences, visible on the verse of this song. Some of the vocal melodies could have been created by U2 (!), but once again the chorus rocks plenty hard, and sticks in your head. This song is somewhat closer to what HIM usually do than to the omnipresent Katatonia influence. It’s not the best song on the album, but it’s undoubtedly good.
(4/5)
Glitter For Tears – Clichéd title, for sure, but it’s actually a pretty decent song, with an attractive chorus. It never strays too far from the band’s typical sound, but it’s a pleasant, if slightly unmemorable, listen.
(3,5/5)
Scythia – What the…?!
Blastbeats?! On a goth-rock album?! This song really catches us by surprise, with its varied musical basis and nice Arabic vocal harmonies. However, for all its variety, it’s not very interesting, and the structure is actually quite repetitive. Good thing it doesn’t last too long, then.
(3/5)
Elegy – Together with
Scythia, this song makes up the least interesting section of the album. It’s just hopelessly boring and never catches our attention. Do yourself a favor and skip it.
(1/5)
Ice Queen Baby – Fortunately, the album picks up for the final sprint. The title is symptomatic and what we have here is actually not too far from HIM
versus Depeche Mode. Nowhere near as good as what started the album, but better than the previous two songs.
(3/5)
Travelling Through Our Love (Wet Remix) – A fresh new take on an excellent song, if possible, it makes it even better. Awesome
(6/5)
Elegy (Fat Remix) – The opposite of the previous track – it makes the song even more boring by slowing down the tempo. Avoid.
(0,5/5)
Final considerations:
Likes – First six songs, choruses in general,
Travelling Through Our Love (Wet Remix)
Dislikes –
Elegy and its remix, English pronounciation, influences too prominent.
For fans of: Katatonia, HIM, Depeche Mode, recent stuff by Moonspell.
Recommended Tracks:
Rise Up
Cold Summer
Travelling Through Our Love
Travelling Through Our Love (Wet Remix)
