LYZZÄRD – The Abyss

Portuguese metal outfit Lyzzärd has released their second full-length album, The Abyss. This is their first release since 2017’s Savage on Fighter Records. The Abyss was recorded, mixed, and mastered by André Ribeiro.

Lyzzärd Bio

Lyzzärd was started in 2013 with the original lineup of brothers Tiago Quelhas Azevedo (vocals) and Ricardo Azevedo (guitar), Margarida Veiga (bass), and David Paiva (drums). One year later they released their first Hard Rock EP Release the Hounds with the addition of Tiago Tedim (guitar). Through time, the band gradually changed their sound and gathered all their influences from Traditional Heavy Metal to Black/Thrash. In 2017, Lyzzärd released their first album, Savage, with Fighter Records. In 2018, David Paiva leaves the band with Luís Ferreira taking his place. After a brief hiatus due to the pandemic and several personal ramifications within the band, Margarida Veiga (bass) and Tiago Tedim (guitar) left the band with André Ribeiro (bass) and Telmo Marrão (guitar) taking their places.

Sounds of The Abyss

Lyzzärd’s sound can be described as late 1970’s early ’80s Hard Rock/ Heavy Metal sound with a stripped-down guitar sound that is light on distortion in a style that is a mix of early 70’s Judas Priest meets early 2010s Ghost. Tiago Quelhas Azevedo’s Vocals are good at hitting the notes. The only thing missing is that little extra oomph that you typically have in this style of music. This full-length album has 10 total tracks with a runtime of a little over 36 minutes.

The Abyss opens with the prelude track, “Satan’s Well” with a macabre mix of growls, a woman screaming, and eerie sounding guitar in the background. “The Abyss” opens with an early Judas Priest-style guitar riff intro echoed by the second guitar kicking into high gear with a traditional chunky riff with Tiago coming in with clean-sounding vocal delivery almost reminiscent of early 80’s Paul Dianno (Iron Maiden years). “Shackles of Justice” continues the uptempo Classic Metal sound. “Agents of Death” is a mix of Traditional Thrash and Heavy Metal. “Resistance” changes up the pace as a chunky mid-tempo song with lots of power cords.

The Good

Each song on The Abyss has its own identity, is not repetitive, and brings enough change in each song to add depth and feel to each song. Standout tracks include”Shackles of Justice,” “Jailbreaker” with really good fretwork, and “From the Blade to the Grave” with a really good guitar solo and jam following the solo.

The Not So Good

The production of The Abyss compared to Savage (2017) sounds a bit too muddled and not as loud as 2017’s Savage. The bass in “The Abyss, “sounds a bit muted and overshadowed by both guitars. The mixing on the album isn’t consistently balanced across all of the instruments evident on “The Abyss,” compared to the rest of the album.

Final Thoughts

2022 has seen a resurgence in NWOTHM and NWOBHM with a number of bands releasing great albums and Lyzzärd’s offering of The Abyss is worth serious consideration. The content does not break new ground in any way but just simply rocks. The only thing holding this album back could be the slightly muddled sound in the production but solid in every other aspect. Good Porto Metal release.

Tracklisting

1. Satan’s Well
2. The Abyss
3. Shackles of Justice
4. Red Hot
5. Distant Skies
6. Agents of Death
7. From the Blade to the Grave
8. Jailbreaker
9. Resistance
10. As Above so Below

Album Lineup

Tiago Quelhas Azevedo – Vocals
Ricardo Azevedo – Guitars
Telmo Marrão – Guitars
André Ribeiro – Bass
Luís Ferreira – Drums