by Eduardo Rivadavia
Not to be confused with the young singer by the same name, Elysia are a five-piece deathcore band from Sacramento, CA, that formed in 2003 under the original handle of Elysium's Revenge. At the time, founding vocalist Zak Vargas and his bandmates (none of whom remain with Elysia today) were still attending high school, so perhaps immaturity was to blame for their controversial early song, "Incinerate," whose violent lyrics have often been misinterpreted as homophobic even though the band claims they are anything but. That didn't spare them from reportedly being attacked while touring through Phoenix, AZ, though, so the bandmembers worked hard on "growing up" their lyrics before recording their self-released debut album, Masochists, in 2006. Elysia almost broke up the next year, but Vargas managed to solidify a new, stable lineup comprised of guitarists Garrett Gilardi and Chris Cain, bassist/vocalist Jon Malinowski, and drummer Steven Sessler with which to record a sophomore album entitled Lion of Judas, released by Ferret Records in June 2008.