Zevious: Passing Through the Wall

Boy, what a furious disc. This is a full-on assault from start to finish, brewing with complex rhythmic interchanges. More than anything, this music reminds me of certain iterations of King Crimson, mixed with the intricacies of the best math rock. Each song uses a strategy of repetition and drive, layering increasingly complex polyrhythms over a growing sense of dread. Each song lasts only as long as it needs to, meaning that the songs don't overstay their welcome; they build to a climax and end. Only at the final song, "Plying the Cold Trade" do they slow the music down. This ends the disc as a slow, mournful dirge, though it climbs the gorge toward its end.

The band is comprised of only 3 musicians: the Eber cousins (Mike and Jeff) on guitar and drums, with Johnny DeBlase holding down the bottom on bass. As a bass player myself, the bass really makes this disc in so many ways. It is deep, rolling and at times almost dublike. It rattles your bones. Over this there is highly technical drumming and guitar, worked with incredible dexterity; these cannot be easy songs to play. The comparison with math rock is apt. A concert featuring, say, Meshuggah with Zevious might be too much for one person to take in in a single sitting.

All the songs are wonderful. To my ears, the best of the best include the title song and its follow-up, "This Could Be the End of the Line." "Passing" is chordally drive, with heavy bass underneath. It is jagged and edgy. Repetition is really used to great effect here. This is perhaps the most prog-like of all the songs on the disc. "This Could Be the End of the Line" is most Crimson-like. One can hear strands of Fripp-like precision in the playing.

From humble origins as a more traditional jazz-based band, the musicians evolution into these technically gifted rockers is incredible. There is not a lot out there like this. It is a worthy record, and for anyone looking for driving fusion-style music, this is heaven.

Track Listings

1. Attend to Your Configuration
2. Was Solis
3. Zevious
4. White Minus Red
5. Crime of Separate Action
6. Entanglement
7. A Tiller in a Tempest
8. Passing Through the Wall
9. This Could Be the End of the Line
10. Plying the Cold Trade

Added: March 4th 2014
Reviewer: Dana Lawrence
Score:
Related Link: Band Website
Hits: 2006
Language: english

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