 
This American rock act owe a damn lot to System
of a Down vocalist Serj Tankian; signing them
to his label, taking them on tour, helping them
with this debut and probably countless other thinks
he’s done for them. The members may all
be born and bred in Los Angeles but they have
other nationality traits with some members being
Armenian, Greek and Arabic, all of this comes
off in their distinctive sound. The main body
having the Latino metal feel but blending in some
alternative bits and bobs like reggae drum beats,
vocals reminiscent of the Middle Eastern style
Serj Tankian is famous for and many more little
diamond inclusion .
There’s some folk influence in the mix 2
which is harder to incorporate with the other
elements but not only do this band manage to mix
them effectively they even include some harmonica
sections which is such an underrated instrument
for the effect that it gives. Try “Poor
Pete” for effective use of this, the band
uses their imagination to produce some innovative
sounds and at times some really fun tracks full
of character like “Things are Awkward”
and “Tricky Tricky”, you’ll
struggle to get those melodies out of your head.
Their ability to switch between an assault of
aggression to soft melodies and then perhaps a
bit of bounce with some epic dance potential is
astounding to say the least.
One thing I can say for definite, if you’re
a fan of System of a Down, Ill Nino and all of
those types of foreign scene influenced sounds
then you will definitely find Viza right up your
ally. In all fairness I have as of late been getting
into more country rock styled stuff so this slotted
right into my current listening obsession, if
you take my advice it could be your next addiction
too.
4/5
Review by James Webb
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