Band:	Lie Big
Album:	Severed
Style:	Grunge
Release date:	May 2007

01. Just Don't
02. Underside
03. When
04. Surf
05. Substitute Lovers
06. Recoil
07. Severed
08. Last One Standing
09. Song For You
10. I Am I
11. Overcome

Style: Grunge/Heavy Metal
Country: United Kingdom
Label: Self-Released
Length: 40.38
Recorded: 2007

Line-up:
Adrian Jones - Guitars
Kev - Bass
Russ - Vocals


"Lie Big" are a band you may not have heard of in more ways than one. You may not have heard of their music before, and you might've never gotten the chance to as guitarist Adrian Jones was in a serious car accident before the creation of this album, the band's first, entitled "Severed". But let's just be thankful everything worked out for the better shall we!

Lie Big play a kind of mixture of Grunge/Heavy Metal with a touch of Doom type music added in. The closest band you could use as a reference point would be Alice In Chains. Lie Big aren't as fast paced though. Most of Severed is what you would call "mid-paced" but some of it here and there is slower, hence the Doom reference.

So does this UK band do justice to their USA genre forefathers? Well I'd mostly say yes. Lie Big's music is influenced by Alice In Chains, and other bands such as Black Sabbath, Stone Temple Pilots, Black Label Society, etc but thankfully they're also not a clone of any of those bands. What Lie Big does bring to the table is heavy and prominently strong riffs that will get your head slowly nodding along. They don't lash out with speedy structure here or instantly jump into violent guitar solos, but they slowly but surely direct their ship. You get more of an overall feeling that you can get into, more than picking your favourite songs out and only listening to them. That feeling is that you're experiencing a solid ball of Grungy Heavy Metal.

While I made mention that the album progresses along in not always a fast manner, but still strongly and surely, and while variety isn't the strongest point of the album, each track doesn't resonate predictability. Sure the overall direction of the music is fairly similar from track to track, but you can still specifically listen to each track and not think you've already heard it before. Severed still does have some standout tracks too. "Underside" was probably my favourite one with its steady and catchy drum beat, heavy on/off guitar strumming, and a bass line that accompanies the song perfectly. The vocals slide in and out on this track, almost as a background feature, but that's just how they are on the album. They might not be full of life, but it can't be denied that they don't suit the music all throughout Severed.

So if you're a fan of such aforementioned bands, then you will more than likely go for Lie Big's self financed first effort. Even if this sort of thing isn't right down your alley, Severed will perfectly suit any kind of non-hyper-paced musical craving.