To understand why renowned Canadian magazine Brave Words & Bloody Knuckles calls LYZANXIA the "possessors of quite possibly the best thrash riffs in the business" and why in April 2004, the readers of the legendary German magazine Rock Hard have voted LYZANXIA the "best newcomer of the year 2004", you just have to immerse yourself in the obsessive world created by the French musicians, in which beauty and terror intertwine, crafted by an incomparable technique and a brutal yet melodic approach. Fans and media alike are embracing this phenomenon and as American magazine Explicitly Intense declares: "LYZANXIA has released their American debut and will soon be the standard of measure for every metal band here after." LYZANXIA's music is all about diversity and creativity based on an astonishingly energetic, aggressive and melodic style boasting the incredible chemistry of two vocalists-guitarists (David Potvin - lead and Franck Potvin - rhythm). Beside delivering mindblowing riffs and enraged guitar solos, the talented brothers give LYZANXIA their trademark addictive, dueling vocals in every range imaginable from thrash to death to clean to heavy and much more. Add to this an implacable and powerful rhythm section (Gaël Feret - drums, and Eguil Voisin - bass), a sound quality that is nothing less than amazing and impeccable arrangements from mastermind producer Fredrik Nordström, who has totally adhered to the extraordinary world of LYZANXIA and their many faces, and you can begin to glimpse the foundations of a unique and essential band.
Before LYZANXIA firmly anchored themselves onto the international metal scene in 2004 after signing a world deal with American label Reality Entertainment and embarking on a major US and Canada tour in September-October '04, they experienced a strong and steady evolution as soon as the inception of the band back in 1996. Founded by the Potvin brothers, LYZANXIA recorded their first demo "RIP MY SKIN", which turned out to be a great showcase of the band's potential and a tremendous way of getting the ball rolling. In 1997,LYZANXIA recorded their first full-length, self-produced 11-track demo album entitled "LULLABY", which the media and the underground world fully embraced. As a result, LYZANXIA got to play live with such bands as Edge Of Sanity, Disfear, Loudblast, No Return" revealing themselves to be a powerful live band motivated by so many positive experiences, LYZANXIA finalized their line-up with Eguil Voisin on bass and Gweltaz Kerjan on drums, and above all enrolled the services of one of the best metal producers in the world for their first album "EDEN": Fredrik Nordström. He joined LYZANXIA at the Backstage Studio in Lyon, to record the 10 tracks in 2000 and then took the band to the Fredman Studio and Mastering Room in Göteborg, Sweden for the mix and mastering. LYZANXIA's own label Trepan Records then secured licence deals with Japan (Soundholic), Italy (Lucretia) and France (Wagram), where "EDEN" was released in 2001 and was acclaimed everywhere by the fans and the media (6/6 Hard Rock: France, 84/100 Burrn: Japan, 9/10 Metal Mania: Canada, etc.). A French tour followed in the spring and at the end of 2001, the band worked on two videos ("Bewitched" and "Dream Feeder") which got aired on MCM and in other distributed countries. "EDEN" also marked the beginning of the ollaboration between the band and artist Alain Tréhard who designs all the covers and booklets of the band.
2002 was a major step for LYZANXIA with the recording of a new album, "MINDCRIMES", which more than two years later keeps garnering the praise of the international media and the ever growing fanbase of the band. The band worked once again with Fredrik Nordström and Don Romano 666, achieving breathtaking results marked by the clear branding of the LYZANXIA style and sound on "Mindcrimes". Due to a serious ankle injury, Gweltaz Kerjan could not play his drum parts so LYZANXIA asked their friend, Dirk Verbeuren (Scarve, Soilwork), to play the drums on the new album. In May 2002, David and Franck flew to Göteborg in Sweden to mix the tracks with Fredrik at the Fredman Studio and to do the mastering of the album with Goran Finnberg at the Mastering Room.
On October 2nd 2002, Japan (King Records) became the first country to distribute "MINDCRIMES", which was immediately embraced by the Japanese media and fans. "Mindcrimes" received the impressive score of 86/100 in the highly respected Burnn! Magazine, which put the band in the top five scores out of seventy releases reviewed in that issue. To support the album, LYZANXIA shot a video for the track "Silence Code", directed by Yohann Jouin and it got aired on various channels, including on major European music television MCM, which had it in heavy rotation. "MINDCRIMES" came out on March 10th 2003 through distribution label Wagram and received excellent reviews everywhere. To further promote the album, the band shot a new video in June 2003 for the song "Medulla Need", directed by Guillaume Pin, featuring mindblowing special effects by Jacques Olivier Molon, and introducing the new drummer of the band, Gaël Féret. LYZANXIA then took to the stage in June, offering the French fans shows with Shaman then Behemoth and appearing at the renowned Fury Fest in Nantes with Entombed, The Exploited, etc.
The end of 2003 symbolized a major turning point in LYZANXIA's career, who, following a glowing feature in renowned magazine Brave Words & Bloody Knuckles, entered negotiations with Californian label REALITY ENTERTAINMENT to sign a worldwide record deal. "Mindcrimes" was released in the USA on March 9th 2004 and a couple of months later in Europe. The fans and the media acclaimed the album with such enthusiasm that LYZANXIA's new label decided to launch a major US tour for the end of the summer. Today, LYZANXIA are just back from their first US/Canada tour called the Harsh Reality Tour 2004. As co-headliners with label mates Sybreed (Switzerland) and Freakhouse (USA), LYZANXIA played all accross north America for four weeks and blew away fans from L.A. to Tampa, Toronto, Atlanta, Dallas, etc., with their show full of power, energy, precision and professionalism. The fans who came to suppot LYZANXIA from the East coast to the West coast commented that they had been blown away by the stage quality and presence of the band, and as the tour was barely over, rave reviews and comments were already spreading everywhere. Reality Entertainment is already excited to get LYZANXIA back to the US for another major tour in 2005. The new year will also mark the beginning of a new collaboration for the French fans since Overcome Records takes over Wagram to distribute the albums "EDEN" and "MINDCRIMES" in France.
LYZANXIA will be touring extensively in 2005 and recording their next album. The best is yet to come!
