“I hope I don’t sound too French... but we already know how most typical guitars sound. Why stick to someone else’s palette?” Meet Lizzard’s Mathieu Ricou, the delay-keen guitarist whose giant tone defies the power trio format
Five albums in, the European art-rock trio are still searching for new ways to expand their sound
(Image credit: Nicole Shaade)
The first thing you’ll notice when you hear Lizzard’s new album, Mesh, is that they’re a power trio with an emphasis on the word “power.”
There’s nothing one-dimensional or minimalist about this latest collection of songs – which, at times, sounds like nearly twice as many musicians locked in a room together and going for sonic gold.
Welcoming new shades of prog and shoegaze into their kaleidoscopic wall of noise, the beguiling layers of ambiences will appeal to just about any kind of listener.
“We’re really into bands like Radiohead, Gojira and Tool,” says singer/guitarist Mathieu Ricou, who is based in France and works with a British rhythm section. “I especially love Robert Fripp and King Crimson. We toured with Adrian Belew once, which was a huge deal for me. Seeing him do all that crazy shit was incredible.”
So how exactly does a band with only one guitarist manage to sound as rich, deep and complex as other groups with twice as many?
There are a few tricks, says Ricou, who uses his Boss DD-3 Hold function to create live loops, and pitch shifter pedals like the Electro-Harmonix POG to add textural weight, while also encouraging his bass player to dial in extra distortion where necessary.
“The short loop time on the DD-3 is actually why I love it,” Ricou adds. “I embrace the limitation. It forces you to find something that works – you can’t just go crazy or it will fall apart.”
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For the latest recordings, the frontman used a Fryette SIG:X head going into an Engl cabinet via his POG, Morley wah and Z.Vex Fuzz Factory, as well as an Eventide H9 in the loop handling reverbs and a DD-7 for his regular delays.
The choice of tube amp was inspired by Page Hamilton of Helmet, who has used a Fryette Pitbull Ultra-Lead extensively over the years.
Perhaps the most interesting thing about the rig is the guitar in Ricou’s hands, built by a local luthier by the name of Christophe Dufour, owner of Custom Design Guitars.
“He does everything exactly the way I ask,” Ricou says. “I don’t use pickup selectors, so I asked him to fit a blend knob like a bass. It gives me more tonal options, with a Van Zandt single-coil in the neck and a DiMarzio Tone Zone in the bridge.
“I hope I don’t sound too French when I say this, but we already know how most typical guitars sound. Why stick to someone else’s palette? Ultimately, my tone is pure. All I want to hear is the hands, the strings and the valves.”
Amit has been writing for titles like Total Guitar, MusicRadar and Guitar World for over a decade and counts Richie Kotzen, Guthrie Govan and Jeff Beck among his primary influences as a guitar player. He's worked for magazines like Kerrang!, Metal Hammer, Classic Rock, Prog, Record Collector, Planet Rock, Rhythm and Bass Player, as well as newspapers like Metro and The Independent, interviewing everyone from Ozzy Osbourne and Lemmy to Slash and Jimmy Page, and once even traded solos with a member of Slayer on a track released internationally. As a session guitarist, he's played alongside members of Judas Priest and Uriah Heep in London ensemble Metalworks, as well as handled lead guitars for legends like Glen Matlock (Sex Pistols, The Faces) and Stu Hamm (Steve Vai, Joe Satriani, G3).
