Band:	Lyr Drowning
Album:	Blind From Birth
Style:	Melodic death metal, Progressive metal
Release date:	2008

01. The Awakening
02. Ride Of The Blind
03. Substitutes
04. Pawn
05. Man In Decline (Part 1)
06. Man In Decline (Part 2)
07. To The Gates Of Morning
08. Next Helpless Days
09. Bleak Dance

Self-released in 2007, "Blind From Birth" is now released by the French discoverer of young talents, Thundering Records. Lyr Drowning is a newcomer and their music is not displeasing. Between Heavy Metal, Prog and Death/Black, this first release is really convincing. Sure this is not the best album ever released but for a first CD, we have good ideas so who know, maybe that Lyr Drowning will find its place in the rude Metal world.

The thing that I really like in "Blind From Birth" is that the album is really varied and uses a lot of different influences. Here, you'll be able to find Heavy Metal melodies a la Maiden but also strong Black/Death tunes and even Thrashy stuff a la Megadeth and Metallica when they used to release hyper melodic albums in the 90's. Finally add some keyboards which give some Progressive touches and you can see how the album sounds. This is not extreme music, "Blind From Birth" is more an album which flirts with melodic Heavy than anything else but the vocals sound Black/Death and in general the riffs are really Dark. A bit like Artefact lately (which is however a bit more extreme), Lyr Drowning plays something which doesn't surf on the trends and which is original. Sure you will not have to buy this release if you want true Death Metal and if you're looking for extreme things but if you want good melodic music it will be a must.

With its good production and one more time a good interpretation of the artists, "Blind From Birth" is a good album definitely. Lyr Drowning has a lot of personality and even if its music maybe lack a bit of rhythm sometime, the guys have at least composed some good songs with melodies which will stay in your memories. Sure, it could be a bit more Progressive and technical to be perfect but right now, if you like dark Heavy Metal and extreme vocals, I think that the release should be ok for you. And plus, the songs are all really different and not linear. You'll find ballads, fast songs, mid-tempo ones and aggressive, epic or melancholic tracks. This is varied and always original, that's great.

With "Blind From Birth", Lyr Drowning release a great first album. Of course as I already said, don't expect real Death Metal here, but if you're looking for dark Heavy Metal this is a must. Some elements like the progressive parts of the album should be a bit more developed but all in all I'm convinced by this release. Let's keep an eye on these guys and we will probably have other good surprises in the future. "Blind From Birth" is a fresh album and I recommend it to the open-minded metalheads!