Lilitu

It’s hard (maybe impossible) not to get caught up in The Delores Lesion within the first few seconds of its opening chords. Lilitu’s third record (and first for label The End) starts off fast, blending machine-gun fire riffing with ridiculously catchy melodies. Harsh vocals that could peel the paint off any wall alternate and blend with high-energy clean singing, heavy groove opens up into fancy-ass soloing, and all the while strong keyboard lines (and the occasional tuneful female trill) force their way into a guitar-dominated tidal wave. While at first The Delores Lesion seems all ferocity and intensity, it gradually begins to reveal more of its softer side until by the midway point; the transition from delicate instrumental "Ether” to the fast-paced beginning of "Follow Through,” there can be no doubt about Lilitu’s capacity to bring it down with feeling intact and to crank it all back up again. There’s still a Finnish accent to Lilitu’s moments of melancholy (think H.I.M. or Rapture), a Swedish twist to their brutality, and not much Georgia, U.S.A. to any of it, but wherever the components to Lilitu’s sound derive from, the combination is a total success.