Zao
Pyrrhic Victory
---originally published on Lambgoat---
Nearly a year ago, Zao released their critically acclaimed eleventh full-length album, The Well-Intentioned Virus. Following seven years of silence, the record found the remolded metalcore pioneers crafting some of the strongest and most technical songs of their entire career. Rather than rehash past successes or chase current genre trends, the five-piece instead continued carving out their own sound, building upon the dreary and apocalyptic foundation they began laying in the mid-nineties.
Luckily, fans of the band don't have to wait nearly a decade for the album's follow-up as their latest EP, Pyrrhic Victory, comes hot on its predecessor's heels. Its five songs are simultaneously an extension of The Well-Intentioned Virus and a step further into the progression of Zao's sound.
Centered around the teetering riffs and off-kilter interplay of guitarists Scott Mellinger and Russ Cogdell, Pyrrhic Victory is raw and unrelenting. Opener "Drifting Shadows In Walking Dreams" blasts through its thrashy, pinched harmonic heavy first half before dropping out into a slow, Neurosis-inspired mid-section. Drummer Jeff Gretz plays a minimalist rhythm, bringing to mind the stylings of original beat keeper Jesse Smith before corralling the track back to its noisy, dissonant conclusion.
"Gifts Of Flower And Stone" bookends its spoken word passage and soaring guitar solo with chaotic riffs and demonic screams while "Clawing, Clawing, Never Cutting Through" bounces between melody and aggression with a sophistication lacking in most of modern metalcore. The track weaves through wobbling guitars, clean vocals and sludgy rhythmic breaks before closing out on another wailing guitar solo.
One thing Zao have always done particularly well is melding the complex with the simple and the beautiful with the ugly. Pyrrhic Victory is no exception. Mellinger and Cogdell's guitars bounce off each other, complementing and contrasting at just the right moments. For every austere drum-beat, Gretz provides a creatively wild fill; and threading its way through it all is vocalist Daniel Weyandt's incomparable screams.
This is all perhaps best on display during closer "Feed It Pain." As the track builds, discordant tones accompany the driving riff and pounding drums only to drop out into a gentle winding mid-section. The band suddenly kicks back in to high gear as the track descends into its chaotic denouement. It's the type of well-structured song we've come to expect from Zao at this point.
Bottom Line: Pyrrhic Victory proves that The Well-Intentioned Virus wasn't a late career outlier soon to be lost amongst mediocre output. Not only are Zao for real nearly twenty years after dropping their landmark record, Where Blood And Fire Bring Rest, they may actually be better than ever.
Luckily, fans of the band don't have to wait nearly a decade for the album's follow-up as their latest EP, Pyrrhic Victory, comes hot on its predecessor's heels. Its five songs are simultaneously an extension of The Well-Intentioned Virus and a step further into the progression of Zao's sound.
Centered around the teetering riffs and off-kilter interplay of guitarists Scott Mellinger and Russ Cogdell, Pyrrhic Victory is raw and unrelenting. Opener "Drifting Shadows In Walking Dreams" blasts through its thrashy, pinched harmonic heavy first half before dropping out into a slow, Neurosis-inspired mid-section. Drummer Jeff Gretz plays a minimalist rhythm, bringing to mind the stylings of original beat keeper Jesse Smith before corralling the track back to its noisy, dissonant conclusion.
"Gifts Of Flower And Stone" bookends its spoken word passage and soaring guitar solo with chaotic riffs and demonic screams while "Clawing, Clawing, Never Cutting Through" bounces between melody and aggression with a sophistication lacking in most of modern metalcore. The track weaves through wobbling guitars, clean vocals and sludgy rhythmic breaks before closing out on another wailing guitar solo.
One thing Zao have always done particularly well is melding the complex with the simple and the beautiful with the ugly. Pyrrhic Victory is no exception. Mellinger and Cogdell's guitars bounce off each other, complementing and contrasting at just the right moments. For every austere drum-beat, Gretz provides a creatively wild fill; and threading its way through it all is vocalist Daniel Weyandt's incomparable screams.
This is all perhaps best on display during closer "Feed It Pain." As the track builds, discordant tones accompany the driving riff and pounding drums only to drop out into a gentle winding mid-section. The band suddenly kicks back in to high gear as the track descends into its chaotic denouement. It's the type of well-structured song we've come to expect from Zao at this point.
Bottom Line: Pyrrhic Victory proves that The Well-Intentioned Virus wasn't a late career outlier soon to be lost amongst mediocre output. Not only are Zao for real nearly twenty years after dropping their landmark record, Where Blood And Fire Bring Rest, they may actually be better than ever.
Zao - Clawing, Clawing, Never Cutting Through - Pyrrhic Victory
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