US band VIZA have been a presence in the US scene for around 15 years at this point, and since they released their full length debut album back in 2006 they have a total of five albums to their name. “Aria” is the most recent of these, and was released in 2014 through Graviton Music Services.
Viza is a band that is fairly difficult to pigeonhole into a specific style of music, as they do explore a fairly broad canvas with multiple stylistic tinges. Folk music is a part of that aspect, hard rock another, and punk and possibly hardcore can be thrown into the mix as well I guess. Melodic yet aggressive, smooth yet powerful. And just about always vibrant.
The band has a thing for the use of staccato guitar riffs, at least when exploring the more punk-tinged boundaries of their music, but also less aggressive staccato riffs is a common feature. Another aspect that is probably even more ongoing is the use of plucked guitar details, both in a more generic traditional rock style but also as pacier, intense runs that gives the compositions a distinct tinge of folk music with references to Mediterranean, Eastern European and at times Middle East flavored sounds in that particular context. Delicate orchestration details, accordion and clarinet also makes the odd appearance, expanding the scope and the depth of this production. All of these details, and a few others unmentioned too, are used in material that generally speaking might be described as hard rock. Energetic, with distinct lead vocals, compelling and vibrant too, but just about always with a softer edge that makes the material appealing, at least as far as I’m concerned this is music that should have a broad reach, if the general public was ever to be exposed to it.
System of a Down and Gogol Bordello are mentioned by the band as artists they enjoy, and I suspect fans of both those bands will find Viza to explore sounds familiar to them. I also note down some subtle similarities in sound and approach with bands such as Austrian band Gasmac Gilmore and Norwegian outfit Kaizer’s Orchestra, although both the latter entities have their main stylistic foundations quite a bit removed from the type of material Viza explores. Still, I do suspect that fans of all four of these bands would find this album to be an interesting one, and that quite a few of them would really like this production.
My rating: 82/100
