Apparently one of those morphing bands who change their entire musical style with every album, Xysma's venture into swagger rock'n'metal is one of those affairs that invariably leave the listener scratching his/her scalp and wondering, "What is their point?" Throughout the album, the band attempts a form of groove busting, butt shaking rock with a heavy dose of Danzig doing deathy rock vocals but never quite pull it off. A couple songs, "New Gel in Town" and "One Hell of a Man", actually get some place in their quest but much of the songwriting is just clumsy enough to rid all semblance of groove. Lotto isn't terrible by any means but it isn't quite accomplished enough to fully grip the listener. Ever stranger is the album closer "Bravado" which becomes ambient atmospheric keyboards with occasional heavy guitar. Eventually the song dissolves down into complete ambient activity. Strangely, this song is also the most interesting on the album. Xysma is obviously full of ambition and even a healthy amount of talent. Unfortunately, the winning number wasn't picked on Lotto.

Review by John Chedsey

Review date: 07/1999

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