| CD REVIEW Zeus! |
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Band : Zeus! Do not mistake Italy's Zeus! (wíth the exclamation mark) for that other Italian band that once went under this name (the forerunner to the celebrated Eldritch, you know, whom under hat name produced the one 1990 demo Eternal Mission). Also, do not confuse it for the still active British Black/ Death act (made a total of 4 demos since 1997), the temporarily inactive Dutch Stoner Rock act (formed in 2003, they released full-lengths in 2005 and 2007, and have postponed activities due to television work)...or for the now defunkt bands by the same bandname from Cuba (Thrash Metal act based in La Habana, released an official full-length album in 2000 and a new demo in 2004), and Indonesia (Goth Metal, only contributed to the Sumpah Abadi – 4 Way Split Gothic Album). Nay, according to the info sheet we got along with our promo copy, this album is one of the most anticipated releases of 2010. The thing is, Zeus! is already somewhat of a legend in the Italian scene, on the one side because of the incredible live shows the duo of Luca Cavina (on distorted bass) and Paolo Mongardi (on distorted drums) have put down, and on the other side because both come from very well known Italian Pop bands (Cavina is not only currently active with Funk act Calibro65, but has had tenures with Transgender, Hellish, Pornoise, Pixel Johnson, and Béatrice Antolini; Mongardi has also played with Transgender, but also with Mortuaria, Rebelde, Taunt/ State Of The Art Living Dead, Sub Pop band Jennifer Gentle, and currently session drummer for Electro Pop act Il Genio). For about a year the duo had been popping up at festivals or shows, sometimes invited but more often not, unloading their van onto the stage, which they figuratively set on fire, sold out the 20-some cdRs they'd brought along (culled from studio sessions in between the gigs), and leaving the audiences gasping for more. The thing is, the guys know how to write a good tune, and they dó add high-pitched vo-kills (I'm not even sure whether the screamer ever utters an actual word) and keyboards to the fray (probably the latter are pre-recorded onto laptop or other audio replicators. The whole gives something that is not Punk, not Metal, not Prog, not Noise, not Post- or Avant- anything, not JazzCore, but something that swivels craftily in between all of the aforementioned...and some GrindCore to boot! Something which attracted “specialist” (specialist as in “anything weird goes”) independent UK label Recommended enough to release something from the band...and that in itself is a positive reference for the band (regretfully I have not been able to find any info on that on the label's website). For the release of the band's official full-length, no less than 6 Italian labels (Bar La Muerte, Shove, Escape From Today, Smartz, Off-Set, and Sancue Dischi) joined in the effort, some burning the album on CD, others printing the vinyl version...and for once nót because of investment-saving measures, but because each party absolutely wanted to get involved in the project from the get-go! And I am simply not amazed of the fact. In spite of coming over like a bunch of Grindcore hippies, each and every track has some profoundly catchy melodies, and attention was given to give each and every song a something special! Dare to listen to the 4 songs posted at (www.) myspace.com/zeuspower, and be swept away by this band's great tunes (well, if what you read above already was “music to your ears”, there will be no daring...those among you feeling like experimenting a bit, stand almost certainly to be positively surprised). Luckily, us more experienced music journalists (hum, that's year N° 10 on the notch with this label, and N° 26 on my personal calendar soon) know how to bring ourselves together again after blasts such as this duo produces! Yeah Baby, year-list material, alright! 98/100 Tony. |