Band:
Steeve "Zuul" Petit - Vocals
Karim - Guitar
Shag - Bass
Aurélien Ouzoulias - Drums
Diskography:
By The Cross (2005)
Live Free or Die (2007)
Live in the House (Live 2009)
Info
Released 28/2-2011
Reviewed 16/3-2011
Links:
zuulfx.com/v2
myspace
xiii bis records
Zuul can be described as a force of nature, it is a good description of what we have but for you who like a longer description it is thrash metal. Period. If you like it even longer I can say that it sounds like Mozart meets a massive earthquake with the obligatory tsunami which ends up in a nuclear power plant and creates a massive explosion and accompanying disaster, it sounds exactly like that. Maybe those who think out crazy genres can add nuclear disaster thrash metal with explosive elements to those crazy genres.
I can report that the production for this album is fantastic, it brings out both the force and amazing power as well as the very melodic Mozart side of the natural disaster. This album is also a thematic album, it reflects a “grindhouse” spirit and is structured like a film synopsis, which is something that the band has apparently been looking for since it was created. This concept is not something that is audible in the musical structure and music throughout the album. I haven’t really listened through the album lyrics but I guess the concept is seen in the lyrics but there is really not much in the music that would indicate that it is a conceptual album.
It all starts with a song that has the clever title I Want to Kill You Like They Do, which is a really good starter song, it creates good interest for the album, it represent the album in a representative way with its power and melody. It is a sign of what is to come when you start venturing further down the list of songs.
I would say that there are two real top songs, one which is the track called Man of Silence which is found as track number six, it has a bit more melodic touch than the rest of the album. It has a nice feel to it as well as it has the energy and brutal power that the rest of the record have as well but maybe a little less of it. The same cannot be said for my second favourite track, it is really heavy but it has some great melodic touches that stick in your mind, it is also cleverly placed as the final track which also gives it the role of being that track that makes you want to hear the album over again when it is finished.
The torture never stops is a fitting title if you define torture as enjoyment, and never stops as ending in 44 minutes. So with a small redifinement Zuul FX’s title for this record is spot on, which is a clever thing to do I think.
This melodic nuclear explosion clearly surprised me, I was not expecting something so well balanced, so well made and so cleverly executed when this album came in the mail, the envelope even missed the other album that was supposed to be in it, just the promo information about that album was included, fortunately Zuul FX’s album was there and it was as I said a pleasant surprise for me. It is just that good.
I must also say that I compared this album to fellow French people Dagoba’s Poseidon that was released last year. In many ways it is a valid comparison, they are both extreme metal with a melodic side and everything. I must say though that Zuul FX is a lot heavier than Dagoba, it is just so much weight in what Zuul do compared to most other bands really. Zuul FX is also more melodic than Dagoba which is a quite impressive balancing act. Where Dagoba, who incidentally did a really good album, wins over Zuul is the record cover which looks a million times better for Poseidon, I think Zuul FX has a really ugly record cover which is a bit sad for a really good album.
Not 44 minutes of torture this, it is 44 good minutes with eleven really good tracks and two fantastic which makes this into a really good album. I have been debating somewhat over the rating but there was no real difficulty in the end, another album which receives the five H that indicates a really good album.
I tend to enjoy playing the track about me, which one that is you have to figure out for yourself but I can simply say that Zuul FX has with The Torture Never Stops created a record that does not only not have a title that says what it is about, it is a force of nature and a balancing act between the very, very heavy and the melodic and I can in the end state that this is an amazing album and whoever that doesn’t buy it really deserves torture that never stops.
HHHHHHH
