Zao
Decoding Transmissions From The Mobius Strip
Decoding Transmissions From The Mobius Strip
This current incarnation of Zao is firing on all
cylinders. Since regrouping in 2015 for
their first batch of new material in six years, the Xenophobe/Fear Itself 7”, the metalcore stalwarts have put out a
steady stream of impressive material including a full length record and a five
song EP, both of which stand as some of the bands best material to date.
More recently, Zao shared one half of a split single with tourmates
Yashira. On their side of the 7”, Zao
provided “Hide From The Light”, a more straightforward, albeit crushingly dark,
song. The track focused less on the complex
technicality of their recent records, and more on the grating darkness that
helped to make up their 1999 classic Liberate
Te Ex Inferis.
Decoding Transmissions
From The Mobius Strip gives us a little bit of both. The A-side offering,
“Transmission 1: I Saw The End,” delivers similar moods to “Hide From The
Light”, drawing from their sludgier, more Neurosis-like side. Vocalist Dan Weyandt’s signature layered
screams lead the song from heavy post-metal atmospheres to hammering riffs. “Transmission 2: I Saw The Devil” alternately
sounds more like something to be found on their 2016 full-length The Well-Intentioned Virus. The track weaves it’s way through bouncing,
wavering riffs, speeding up and slowing down before mellowing out into a
melodic clean sung section. And just
when it seems “Transmission 2” is closing on a lighter note, Zao drops one of
their classic minimalist breakdowns to finish it up.
Everything about Decoding…
is distinctly Zao while yet again continuing to progress in new
directions. They don’t play a throw-back
style of metalcore, the genre they had a hand in creating, and they certainly
don’t play the modern version of it either.
Zao have always, and continue to, exist in their own world, unafraid to
do things their own way.
Bottomline: Zao are putting together a new full-length for a
potential release this year. If this 7”
is any indication of the group’s current state of songwriting, that record could
continue the trend of the band being at the peak of their long career. The two tracks on Decoding Transmissions From The Mobius Strip will have to hold us
over in the meantime, and their good enough to do just that.
Zao - Transmission 1: I Saw The End - Decoding Transmissions From The Mobius Strip
Comments
Post a Comment