Australia natives LAVIDIUS was formed by Ben Bowen and Marcus Glover. Then came the search for the rest of the band. Nizzy (vocals) was found in 2012 in a local pub. Now with vocals the band figured out where they wanted to go with their overall sound thus leaving us with "gut wrenching and apocalyptic evil with a touch of groove inspiring deep and cryptic lyrics." Jon (guitar) auditioned for his spot and with his touch entered the addition of Melodic and Disharmonic Metal. After a search that lasted over a year, the permanent bass player (Nathan) was introduced into the band. Thus LAVIDUIS was born. They are influenced by acts such as PANTERA, METALLICA, SLAYER, SOILWORK, OPETH, etc. They are here with their first EP release "Prison Within".

The album consists of seven tracks with a listening time of just about 24 minutes. The Metal these guys produce will appeal to almost all Metalheads. There is a bit of everything, with the exception of Heavy Atmospheric or Folk Metal influences. There are no clean vocals. This is a straight gritty vocal. I wouldn't call it a growl so much but it is a scream and stressed vocal with out the "screamy" feel, similar to those in SOILWORK and PANTERA. The music is heavy but has tons of melody for those who like it and tons of classic elements for those who like that.

For such a young group they have a sound that will hold its own against some of their influences. They don't sound like any of them, but they have the sound and grove that would put them on the same stage. I liked each of their songs, but all for different reasons. The album starts slower with "Rising" and completely shows off their guitar work, something similar to Classic Rock, but as the album moves along it changes so much throughout ending with something that is more fun and energetic "Wannabe". The complete opposite to its beginning.

Some of the best tracks in the album are "The Red Sky Calls", "Concentrated Hatred", and "Tremulation", songs two, three, and four. So, I really enjoyed the middle of the album. The tracks were written extremely well. Each instrument was represented the best and you can hear the cohesiveness of music that is written well. These tracks were a little less energetic than the last bit of album as well. The one track that I just didn't like is "Wannabe". The music sounds forced a bit and the back up vocals throw it off. However, I did love the energy and most of the music. It is the most different track on the album which maybe why it sounds forced.

This is an amazing album, with a really talented group of musicians. It's nice to see and more so hear that Metal is still alive, well, and played well. Keep these guys on your radar. I think Australia has a great Metal band on the rise.