Search - Lizzy Borden :: Visual Lies

"This ain't no false façade and this ain't no freak disguise

mwreview | Northern California, USA | 08/18/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Visual Lies (originally released in 1987) is my favorite Lizzy Borden album. It has some of their best material and, bonus track aside, is their most solid album Every track is amazing! My favorites are, coincidentally, every other track. "Me Against the World" flat out kicks! Killer power metal at its best with Lizzy's vocal dominance! The best track here, though, is "Outcast." This may be my all-time favorite Lizzy track. It is a slower track, but heavier than a ballad. It has a beauty to it, especially at the line "they're watching as I fall." It picks up the tempo at the chorus but does not explode into a rocker like some of Lizzy's other slower tracks. It stays consistent and, as it is such an amazing track, that is a good thing. In fact, all the tracks here stay pretty consistent in their sound and tempo. Skipping #4, the next stand-out is the title track. "Visual Lies" is another slower track. This may be closer to the perennial power ballad of the late 1980s, but Lizzy always kept an edge to their songs and never dived into the metal ballad realm. Like with Outcast, Visual Lies has a beauty to it especially at the vocal depth at the chorus. Skip the next song and you come to "Lord of the Flies" which is a powerful rocker. It is not as ferocious as Me Against the World, but still can kick. The verses before the chorus are amazing! The final stand-out is "Visions" which is another slower, power track. Lizzy demonstrates his incredible vocal range, singing low at the first part of the verses and then opening it up.



The other tracks, although not quite as stellar, are still excellent. Of the non-bonus songs, there is nothing weak here. "Shock" has some excellent guitar riffs at the verses. If it stayed that way, it would be another favorite of mine. I just do not like the chorus. It's too commercial-sounding: "Shock treatment I'm turning it on for you." It is a shame because the song had a lot of potential. "Den of Thieves" is a faster rocker. It is very good, it is just not as memorable as some of the other tracks here. "Eyes of a Stranger" is probably the most accessible song on Visual Lies. It leans a little too much towards the commercial side, but it is not bad. "Voyeur (I'm Watching You)" sounds better the more I hear it. On another album, it would probably be one of my favorites.



The bonus tracks feature different renditions of Me Against the World, Lord of the Flies, and Visual Lies. They are a little rawer and more reckless sounding than the album versions as they are "live demos", but not really that different. The original album tracks are better as they are, of course, more polished. The remix of Me Against the World is very annoying with "two against the world" being repeated at the end in a computerized way. I always have to skip that track. Because they are bonuses, I do not include them in may rating for Visual Lies. 5 stars + for my favorite album by one of my favorite 80s metal bands. The CD booklet includes full color photos of the band and Lizzy and lyrics."

Well worth another look

Justin Gaines | Northern Virginia | 11/02/2007

(4 out of 5 stars)

"I understand that Lizzy Borden's over the top image and stage antics were necessary for him to gain the attention he needed to break through in an era where image was everything, but I can't help but think that it was precisely that image that has kept a lot of "serious" metal fans from checking out Lizzy's material. It's a shame too, because when you get to the actual music Lizzy Borden was releasing, particularly around 1987's Visual Lies, you'll find some surprisingly mature heavy metal that is not too far removed from early Fates Warning, Crimson Glory, Helstar, or even Queensryche (I'm talking about EP and The Warning here, not Operation: Mindcrime).



Visual Lies is really where Lizzy broke free from the Twisted Sister-esque trappings of his previous albums, which I have to admit could get a bit silly. Visual Lies is anything but silly, hitting hard with all of the energy you'd expect from a California metal band in 1987, but with enough polish and maturity to take the band's sound to a new level. It's somewhere between the power metal of say, Fifth Angel or Warlord and the typical Hollywood hard rock sound. Lizzy vocal histrionics are in full effect here, and his supporting band delivers some surprisingly technical melodic metal to back him up.



I was a Lizzy Borden skeptic for a while, but albums like Master of Disguise and Visual Lies made me a believer. If you've avoided Lizzy for similar reasons (such as this particular album's cheesy cover art), do yourself a favor and take a chance on this band. I think you'll be pleasantly surprised.



NOTE: Visual Lies was reissued in 2002. The bonus demos and remixes don't add much, but the digitally remastered sound makes the reissue a must buy if you're a Lizzy Borden fan.

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