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ZAO - AWAKE New Album Review
ZAO – Awake
Now as you may or may not know we are into honesty at Nihilista – I’m not about to pretend to you that I know alllllllll about metal (though I do know a fair bit) so usually at this point I’d be cracking on about the genre of the band and how they fit within that genre, I will spare you this as I reckon it doesn’t matter too much… and I’m not about to be a nerd and research the band's influences blah blah…. What you will find below is what I thought as I listened to the album.
Tracks are as follows:
1,000,000 outstretched arms of nothing
Entropica
They eyes behind the throne
Human cattle masses marching forward
Romance of the southern spirit
What will you find?
Awake?
Quiet passenger pt 1
Reveal
Quiet passenger pt 2/ The world caved in
The album opens with a riff that would hook the ears of any metal fan, dropping into a heavy chugging onslaught of noise (which is not an insult), all very standard metal sounds that you could quite happily cave your own head in to. Great… then something more unexpected happens. There is a pause, a subtle bass riff, a few words and a drop in to some deeply distorted isolated notes on the guitar which give that epically metal break down, plus rasping vocals. If this were live it would be time to punch the life out of the air, myself and the guy next to me. We are off to a good start methinks…
Tracks 2-6 offers us some more classic standards – ripping metal riffs, if not a tad predictable, some nice melodic wailing over the chorus, roaring verses - all good, no complaints but not ground breaking.
Track 7 – the title track! This track really smacked me upside my head space. The leading riff creates an awesome creepy sense of terror – like in a horror movie and then suddenly out of this come a really spacious chorus – almost romantic in its arrangement, brilliant juxtaposition. This track really cuts its own path – a really shining moment in something that was bordering on a bit standard. Much to my delight the next track follows on with interesting use of timing, very much picking up from where the last one left off, keeping up this dark tone in the music with great use of minor key.
‘Reveal’ sees a shift back to the ripping metal, but again with slightly darker notes and tones to the music than earlier. Finally the last track winds the album up nicely with a fairly melodic close, echoing lonely vocals and guitar placed rightly against some growling and hard riffing. Then an unexpected symmetrical moment to the first track, pausing, talking but a drop into the semi acoustic instead of the heavy – cheesy? No, I’d say more classic.
Over all, a really good album with a fair amount of moments of originality. Tasteful, classically, well arranged tracks; at worst generic, but at best some great metal - mosh-able and accessible.
7/10
review by Kelly Sabrina