Zeus! Are a duo comprised of Luca Cavina and Paolo Mongardi hailing from Bologna in Northern Italy.
This is their third album.
Having no prior knowledge of this band or their musical style I decided to just leap into it.
The fun starts straight away with the eclectic and dissonant ‘Enemy E Core’ which demands your attention with its emphatically bizarre rhythms and eccentric tone.
Next we plunge into ‘Colon Hell, travelling along break beats and distortion – it’s hard to tell where the music stops and the vocals begin – amazing.
We now jump into ‘Forza Bruta Ram Attack’ which sounds like it could be used to break down the defensive walls of a city under siege – vigorous and unrelenting it peaks with a powerful crescendo which serves to lead us toward the peaceful ‘San Leather’ with astounding artistry.
Don’t be fooled by the melodic and placid intro, the sheer brutalism of sound continues as the track progresses, building itself ever upward and readying you for the cataclysmic explosion of ‘Krakatoa’ which rumbles and grumbles ahead of the inevitable eruption.
Now we have ‘Panta Reich’ – a mellow oasis in this desert of discordance, a hauntingly beautiful tune which belies the obvious influence of Steve Reich (modernist composer) who it is a tribute to.
Onwards we go with ‘All You Grind Is Love’ which assaults you on every level of consciousness – fast and unyielding bass, drums and vocals it serves as a reminder of the wild and wonderful world of the ZEUS!.
‘Rockocock Fight’ keeps the intensity up as we plunge into the final section of the album, more brutality of sound than is probably sane to enjoy.
With ‘Shifting’ comes an overpowering mixture of bass guitar and drumming that is so strong and precise you could use it to either stop or restart a human heart – whichever takes your fancy.
Finally we get to the epic (seven and a half minute duration) conclusion that is ‘Phase Terminale’ which acts as a showcase of exactly what ZEUS! Seem to be about.
Rhythmic yet dissonant, advancing, retreating, expanding, compressing, progressing, regressing, twisting, turning and refusing on basic principle to allow themselves to be categorised – in my opinion this is music for the sub-brain, listen and enjoy!
(8/10 Theta Sigma)
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