The Bottom Line
Blistering metalcore.
Pros
- Intense and complex songs.
Cons
- The shrieking vocals can get grating.
Description
- Released June 13, 2006 on Ferret Music.
- Engineered by Steve Albini (Nirvana, Pixies).
- This is the band's seventh CD.
Guide Review - Zao - The Fear Is What Keeps Us Here
Zao has evolved a lot since their beginnings as a Christian hardcore band. They are much more metal these days, and their latest album is as extreme as they've ever done. They ratchet up the intensity and add grindcore influences to their usual thrash and speed metal riffs that make it sound even more sludgy and brutal.
Daniel Weyandt's vocals are searing, and range from low pitched death style growls to higher pitched screeching. The higher pitched vocals are especially abrasive and can be headache inducing after a while. Zao has some clever song titles on this album like "It's Hard Not To Shake With A Gun In Your Mouth" and "Pudgy Young Blondes With Lobotomy Eyes."
Zao is a band that continously updates and refines their sound, and this is no exception. It has all the elements that fans know and expect, but also a few new twists of metal inventiveness that keeps them sounding fresh.
