So here I am sitting in traffic. It’s at a complete standstill, and it looks like I’m going to be here for awhile. The radio station is on a commercial break, and the droning promises of easy loans, easy weight loss and easy money from ambulance-chasing lawyers permeate the air like a floating plague ready to devour anyone who simply takes the bait. Man, I need something to listen to. I frantically begin flipping through what seems like countless waves of little plastic discs. Page after page, it’s No. No. Been there, done that. No. Hell no! That is, until I come across one that catches my eye: Lizzard’s Out Of Reach. Okay, mes amis français, let’s see what you have for me this time around.
As the disc slides into the player like a hot knife gliding thorough butter, I kick back (the best that I can), relax and try to immerse myself in the followup to their decent but bloated 2008 EP, Venus. “Disintegrity” and “The Orbiter” immediately fill the cabin with Mathieu Ricou’s distortion fueled grooves, William Knox’s fluent bass lines and Katy Elwell’s driving skins. Combining elements of bands like Depswa, Tool, Helmet, A Perfect Circle and glisten along with subtle hints of acts such as Grinspoon (Guide To Better Living/Easy-era) and Kerbdog, Lizzard’s sound is easily digestible. I know that I’m only a couple of songs in, but so far, I’m diggin’ this.
Now my adrenaline is surging. I have just been hit with two very big, energy driven tracks. I’m wondering, What’s in store for me next? “Out Of Reach”, “Skyline”, “Loose Ends” and “Backslide” follow, but they take the album in a much slower direction. “Skyline” and “Backslide” are nothing more than filler/instrumental intros that basically take up space, while “Out Of Reach” and “Loose Ends” are about as straight forward as modern rock songs can possibly get. Ricou’s vivacious cleans are interlaced within the standard affair of clean to heavy guitar tones, constrained low-end and extremely subdued drum work. Both are strong songs for what they are, but they aren’t overly interesting or anything that you haven’t heard many times before. I blurt out, “Well, that wasn’t what I was looking forward to hearing. And why aren’t we moving yet?!”
Pausing the disc, I decide to roll down the window to see if I can get a glimpse of what is going on up in front of me. Nope. Nothing. I can’t see anything. “This is ridiculous!” I say in disgust. Nevertheless, I roll the window back up and press play. Out Of Reach resumes with the melodically charged and head-bobbing “Fakeworld” and “Twisted Machine”. Ricou’s croons move and groove alongside Knox and Elwell’s rolling bass and drum combination. The aggression kicks in during the choruses and really brings the song to life. “Twisted Machine” is loaded with abusing drums, flowing bass runs and jarring riffs that would make even Adam Jones (Tool) flash a grin. Ricou, Knox and Elwell’s naturally raw sound is captured perfectly within musician/producer Rhys Fulber’s (Fear Factory, Mnemic, Paradise Lost, Front Line Assembly, etc.) silky smooth production skills.
The album concludes with “Across The Line” and “Tear Down The Sky”. “Across The Line” may be a slow starter, but it quickly gains momentum and never lets up. I will say that at almost six and a half minutes long, it does tend to wear out its welcome quite a bit. It would have been a much more memorable track if they would have trimmed the fat by cutting it down by at least two minutes. “Tear Down The Sky” is yet another fatty instrumental that lacks any real depth. And at nearly six minutes long, it will most likely have most people searching for the skip button even before their first listen through.
As I look up to see that the cars in front of me have finally started to move, I gently remove the disc from the player and reveal the mundane and monotonous world of commercialized rock radio. Now that I’m almost home, I start to recall my nearly forty five minute harmonious adventure. Although there were things about the album I found rather safe or didn’t care for at all, Out Of Reach is an overall solid effort that should scratch even the toughest of musical itches. And the next time I find myself stuck in this situation, at least I’ll know what I can listen to in order to happily pass the time.
1. Disintegrity
2. The Orbiter
3. Out Of Reach
4. Skyline
5. Loose Ends
6. Backslide
7. Fake World
8. Twisted Machine
9. Across The Line
10. Tear Down The Sky