Zatokrev

This album is a slow, chugging hallucinatory trip through the dark confines of a troubled mind; at least that's the impression you'd get from listening to this!

The guitars are down-tuned, distorted and extremely heavy; with the riffs to boot. The opener ‘Reveal’ is one of the most encompassing songs (this side of Esoteric, anyway) I’ve ever heard; indeed, when I first heard the song on a promo compilation, I immediately fell into an intense hypnotic trance. The song writing on this album is near-perfect: every riff fits in place; the drums providing a constant battery behind the guitars keeping the music moving, and the vocals…

…ah yes, the vocals. I can see a lot of people complaining about the vocals on this album, but I think they are perfectly suited to the music. They are high-pitched screams with a tortured and somewhat monotonous sound; but don’t misunderstand me here, they are purely complimentary to the album. The sedated quality and the way they’re mixed only serves to enhance the beguiling, droning sound of the band as a whole. There are occasional clean vocals (notably on ‘C Through’ and ‘Fourem’) but rather than developing into a complex melody, they simply add to the wonderfully ambient atmosphere of the album.

The production is very, very appropriate. That’s all I can think to say on that; every instrument is clear and fits together with the others; nothing really stands out, which is exactly the sound that you’d want from this kind of album. I’d rather not focus on just the guitars or just the drums on an album in which the collective sound creates the atmosphere!

This is one hell of a beguiling album, but won’t necessarily appeal to all metal – fans (the songs range from about four and a half minutes right up to fourteen and never really accelerate past mid-paced). I can’t really draw any direct comparisons with any other band in terms of musical style but I personally think the music would be best suited to those who are fond of bands such as Neurosis, Esoteric and Cult of Luna.

A slow and extremely heavy album; the songs are both crushing and sedating at the same time: the hypnotic guitars, the constant tick of the drums and vocals all draw you in, sending you off to another mind-state; so embrace the ethereality and let Zatokrev into your mind.