Phaze 1 - Self-Titled

We started the week with one, so we’ll end it with another – a metal band with keyboards and horrible artwork. I don’t get why bands give themselves two strikes like this at the outset. Maybe they enjoy the challenge. Although ugly artwork is an occupational hazard one accepts as a metal writer, this cover is especially hideous; it’s like a cheap video game from 10 years ago.

Brothers David and Franck Potvin (no relation, as far as I can tell, to NHL players Denis, Jean, Marc, or Felix “The Cat” Potvin) of French band Lyzanxia make up two-thirds of Phaze 1. Lyzanxia is a fine band and all its album covers are horrible, too, so we shouldn’t write off Phaze 1 just yet. Truth be told, it isn’t far off from Lyzanxia – Gothenburg-style melodic death metal with keyboards.

However, Phaze 1 is scruffier. That’s really the first word that occurs to me. The difference is mainly the production, which is grittier, but it’s also in the music. The vocals are distorted, and the songs are less baroque. Normally, these traits would be liabilities for this style of metal. But I’ve heard more than enough glistening, over-produced melodeath, so the human feel here is welcome.

On drums is Soilwork’s Dirk Verbeuren, who has played in a slew of other bands (Lyzanxia, Scarve, No Return, Phazm, Yyrkoon). His style isn’t very flashy or idiosyncratic, but his timekeeping does the job.

This album is sequenced quite strangely. It literally gets better as it goes along. This is a change from the frontloading albums often have; it begins rather unspectacularly, but overall it’s enjoyable. While I can’t help but feel that the Potvins save their A-game for Lyzanxia, this debut should appeal to fans of the more aggressive side of melodeath. You can find it at The End.