Zerotonin--Reinvention
self-released 2002
A popular devise of bands and labels these days is to combine a lot genre tags for their music to make it seem "innovative" or "unique"--like "pop-punk-funk-jazz," or something along those lines. More often than not, this is all just spin which ultimately only serves to damage and discredit the music. However, there are certainly bands out there who have created a blend of styles making it almost impossible to discern which kind of audience they'd be best suited to target. Ireland's Zerotonin are one of those refreshing anomalies.
On this demo, Reinvention, Zerotonin have somehow crafted a unique blend of sludge/doom metal, grunge, and nu metal. The guitars are tuned down and the vocals are of the predominantly screamed sludge variety. At the same time, Zerotonin inject some post-modern Cure-isms into the mix, akin to nu metallers such as the Deftones and Korn. Also, as complex as the arrangements are, this material always gravitates back to "the riff." Those riffs are very melodic and groove-based and should appeal to fans of "stoner rock." With all this said, the most amazing thing is Zerotonin combine all these ingredients in a way that's sure not to scare off hardline fans of any the aforementioned genres--this is to say, if you love sludge/doom but hate nu metal and "stoner rock," or vice versa, those elements aren't so overpowering it'll turn you off to the music.
A unique sound is nice but if you don't have the songs, it's pretty much all for naught. Thankfully, this isn't a problem for Zerotonin--this is all extremely well-crafted, compelling material. The first song, "Vice," comes off like some strange combo of Daydream Nation-era Sonic Youth and a sloppier, sludgier version of Oversoul. Track two, "The Build Up," shows Zerotonin's grunge leanings, with a riff that puts off a very strong Soundgarden vibe. The disc's final track, "Arguments For And Against Self-Control," echoes the Rollins Band, circa End Of Silence. While these examples point out general reference points for the songs, Zerotonin constantly inject elements of all the previously mentioned genres into each of these songs to create music which is strangely familiar, yet never contrived.
Fans of any the above mentioned styles or bands will find something to like in Reinvention. For fans of other eclectic bands, such as Carrion, Zerotonin are crucial to check out. As much as this band has going on, it will be interesting to see how they develop over time. This demo is a promising start for Zerotonin and certainly worth a spin.
Get more info on this CD directly from ZEROTONIN
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