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A three-piece hard rock band, Black Lesion formed in the latter part of 2018 in Edinburgh, Scotland.
After guitarist Andrew Murray's band, White Lightning, disbanded, he joined forces with vocalist and bassist, Andreas Koutoupas – who had been in numerous music acts prior, and sought to find musicians for a new project. Over the coming months, the duo collaborated on Lesion’s initial material, producing a wide variety of alternative-style tracks. The band later recruited Craig Whitelaw, who was with numerous bands at the time, but was in search for something more grounded. Whitelaw brought his divergent style of drumming to the table, helping refine the group's sound.
Black Lesion’s overall sound is a combination of rock and metal genres, combining chunky guitar riffs, high-treble slap bass, and hard-hitting rock beats – all of which is centred around three-part vocal harmonies.
Their first EP, "Mindless Feeding Device", showcases the band's varying repertoire of tight grooves alongside bittersweet lyrical content.
Novacaine Rating: 10/10!
For a rising band in the rock and metal sphere, Black Lesion have nailed it to the cross with this EP!
Alongside two previous singles - 'Delusion' and 'Pity' - we are treated to three new tracks, all of which are an excellent performance from this three-man show. May I point you, in particular, to the opening of 'Engulf', which had me bobbing my head around in such a way it earned a confused look from my dog - high praise, indeed!
The unrelenting control Andreas has over his voice, paired with glorious triple harmonies and the sumptuous riffs and drum work by Andrew and Craig absolutely sold me on this band. And, once again, if you would direct your attention to the specific riff in 'Engulf' at 3:54, as it had me turning to my mum in the living room and saying "Oh, I love this job". Seriously, being able to witness bands carving their way into the scene with such intense precision and craft is a blessing.
Maybe I'm being a little biased towards 'Engulf' at this point, so I'd like to say - as a whole - that every single track in this EP has such a well-crafted zest to it. Opening with 'Hornets Nest' was such an excellent introduction into this band as it, quite literally, shoved my head into a hornets nest and bonked that nest with a hammer - and I loved every second of it!
And, wrapping all of this sheer talent up in a pristine bow is the demonstration of lyrical perfection. Black Lesion effortlessly peel back the skin of human nature to reveal the most complex parts - both good and bad - of us as a species. This EP is binding, captivating and deeply introspective to it's core.
A huge and hearty congratulations to Black Lesion for 'The Human Essence' and a big thank you for the pleasure of getting to hear and review it!
Check out their official site for merch!
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