法国前卫金属 LALU is a Prog-Metal conceptual outing from French keyboardist/composer Vivien Lalu of SHADRANE and HUBI MEISEL, initiated during the fall of 2003.After working two times as composer for ex-DREAMSCAPE vocalist HUBI MEISEL, LALU felt that it was time to finally produce an album of his own and compose music without restrictions. Using leftovers from the actual Meisel sessions and other ideas he had on tape since a while, Vivien named his debut album "Oniric Metal" after the comments of some people who described his music as a kind of "dream" or "mood" metal. While some parts try to maintain the same "dreamy" vibe, the material sounds more aggressive than ever. Vivien recruited a few session players to help him realize his vision. None could have done a better job on "Oniric Metal". than the solid team of Ryan Van Poederooyen (from the DEVIN TOWNSEND BAND on drums), Russell Bergquist (formerly of ANNIHILATOR on bass) and JoOp Wolters (Dutch guitar virtuoso pf THE JoOP WOLTERS TRIO,ARABESQUE) together. For the vocal duties, Vivien called up for Martin LeMar (frontman for german proggers TOMORROWS EVE) to join him and bring the music to another level. "Oniric Metal" has been critically acclaimed worldwide and LALU changed its lineup to a more stable "band" lineup, in order to be able to tour in the future (the members basically coming from different continents). With a style similar to AYREON or DREAM THEATER,LALU is highly recommended for progressive metal fans.