These vaults were made for... staying open apparently because we (I) are (am) not slowing down. Can you blame me though? I mean you totally can but can you do that with a clear conscience? Damn you can do that too... You know what, why apologize? I've gots awesome music taste and considering how many "big" anniversaries are due this year, you can only sit back and enjoy my increasingly ramble-y and chaotic offerings. With all that said it's time to unveil today's player but not before an obligatory intro where I frame my experience into something relatable and hopefully interesting!
Synth-related music sits pretty well with most metalheads, especially its darker cousins and I, like many of you, indulged in those waters for many years. Still do but I've become more selective (as one does) due to certain things, certain stylistic choices repeating. Over and over again. For example the saxophone.
Great instrument, has such a specific yet universally fitting sound, love it. I'll never forget the first time I heard M83's iconic "Midnight City" and that soaring finale. Or Gunship or Carpenter Brut blowing my mind with their inclusions of this wonderful brass invention.
Logically, after positively reacting to a sound, I set off in search for more and eventually it started to get old. All of it. The reliance on nostalgic elements almost none of us here experienced, the saxophone spam (looking at you The Midnight, still love you), generic poppy vocals, same song structures, keyboard effects, pace, you name it.
Albums I used to swoon over are nowadays rarely touched, saved by the very special few.
ZETA's self-titled debut is among those and yes! Today it's its birthday (say that quickly three times!). Its fifth to be more precise. That means two things. Number one: holy shit tempus does fugit and number two: w...where's the follow-up?
Actually, I have the answer, it's Daniel Tompkins being a maniac. Tesseract, White Moth Black Butterfly, at one time Skyharbor, In Colour (RIP I guess?), his solo career, all those vocal features, ZETA... man's busy. No seriously, him and the rest of Tess are recording their new album RIGHT NOW and I could not be more excited.
ZETA too, have an album in the works, they had so for years now which was the case with this baby right here. Quality takes time and as much as the wait pains me, I am glad they remain just as ambitious and I am sure that will reflect there just as it has here.
And I now realize I still haven't said who is ZETA comprised of, barring Dan of course. The remaining two thirds of this neon-laden puzzle are Katie Jackson and Paul Ortiz of Chimp Spanner fame, cool stuff. A far cry in case of Ortiz, given that his main band is just him going absolutely wild but remaining tasteful which so many prog guitarists struggle with coughs John Petrucci.
Sounds promising and you haven't even heard the music yet... which is why I need to start talking about it. Hmm, maybe it's better if I just do this!
What was the first thing you noticed? Just kidding don't answer that, can't hear you anyways... or do, I'm not your boss! I can tell you what I noticed though. For an opener, this is very low energy which is not something artists go for usually but in case of Zeta (that's the album, band is in caps like MF DOOM) it works. Words like entrancing, immersive and expansive come to mind and while they fit the bill, they pale in comparison to the full picture. To be completely fair, it's far from a revolutionary one but that honor belongs to 0.1% of bands either way so yeah.
ZETA do in fact aim at pushing boundaries but those boundaries are set by each member and are unique to them. Which is great as that hunger and ambition are reflected in not just "Silent Waves" but the entire record. The whole retro-futuristic shtick, as much as it's cool, has become played out by so many parties in so many formats and in my opinion, most failed at doing anything that distinct. This was the case before and remains so long after Zeta's release and yet still it stand head and shoulders above practically any other release in this space, for me at least. Why? Being a huge Dan fan certainly helps but of course there's more. Follow me.
So with "Silent Waves" fizzing out, "Fountain Of Youth" appears and it's another laid back track but with a very different approach. A driving groove keeps you locked in while Ortiz, Dan and Katie all play around. Initially you're met with a simple synth melody which is surrounded by these huge sounding hums and another backing melody before the groove in question arrives with a cool guitar riff and vocals accompanying it. Every layer and texture has its place and are introduced accordingly, never cancelling each other out. The guitar work, I feel is another thing worthy of being pointed out as tracks like "The Distance", "Gates Of Hell" and "Chemical Zone" all make great use of this blessed instrument. Unlike so many names, the guitars here are not added for sake of flavor in shape of a solo or the likes, nay, here they are a central component of a given song and because of it, the aforementioned tracks feel much weightier and "metallized" than your usual synthwave fare. "The Distance" in particular does this very successfully which is why it was chosen as the second single.
Smart call for multiple reasons. Firstly it showcased a different and equally important aspect of ZETA and secondly, this is the most "metal" track on here which, in theory, should introduce this genre to Tess and Skyharbor fans which I'm sure it did later down the line. It's no GosT or later-era Carpenter Brut in terms of sheer weight but, unlike those two, it's a much catchier effort. Like all of the tracks, it boasts a kickass chorus but also Dan's strangest vocal performance to date. He utilizes most of his singing range to great effect during certain verses and those powerful choruses but he also kinda sing-raps but in a cool way. Cool because a gnarly guitar riff is accompanying him and certain vocal effects accentuating this dramatic and odd section.
That's another thing I really like about Zeta, the utilization of vocal effects. It's not auto-tune, at least to an extent we think of when the phrase auto-tune is uttered, but stuff like distortion, echo, reverb, delay, saturation, y'know, the classics.
Nothing new in modern music but I feel they're used sparingly and tastefully here, like another tool designed for polishing, seeing how all the other components fit so well.
Lyrically, it's a bit all over the place. Tales of love seem to be the main focus but there are also isolated stories of rebellion ("Beat The System") and drug abuse ("Causeway") to shake things up. Honestly, the lyrics could pose the biggest issue for some of you but I don't mind them due to how excellently they're delivered (read sung) and how well they fit the instrumental.
Speaking of which, went out of my way and checked out the instrumental version of the whole thing in preparation and found great adversity in shape of stopping myself from humming those banger melodies. It also reinforced my opinion that this is a masterclass in composition but to not repeat myself (again) I'll mention what I feel could be improved upon. The track list. I can't tell you how many times I've been here but I still struggle in remembering what song follow which. Funny as I know each almost by heart but the names still elude me.
This means that I am either extremely slow which I obviously disagree with (unless!?) or that the albums flows in a weird way. For example "Lock & Key" feels like it could close out the show but is only the fifth in line and "Chemical Zone", the actual finale and also my ringtone, doesn't until the very end. Lyrically maybe but then you realize "Causeway", that dark song about relapsing is just before it. Or maybe it's about technology enslaving us... or the demise of our inner child. OK maybe those two are a stretch seeing how that's showcased in the video which I will now smoothly link below. Not only is it excellent but once again shows how much effort went into all of this.
With all that said, I still feel I haven't done this record justice and demonstrate how deep my love runs for it but I did say how these will become more and more chaotic as we move forward so that's one promise kept hehe. Five years is a long time, at least in this point of my life so the fact I always had room for ZETA tells me everything. With their follow-up being a matter of time, now could the perfect time to begin your journey through these neon-tinted streets. They'll seem familiar at first before the scenery begins shifting in less expected ways. Maybe there's a dead end somewhere or a one way road leading into the shadows or it's a sprawling highway, completely illuminated with glass skyscrapers looming ever so closely. I know I'll return here just as many times as I have, the question is, will you?
Zeta was released independently on June 16th of 2017.
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